The next three days were a journey in silence. Despite Carl's best efforts, he was unable to draw Van Helsing into a conversation of any reasonable length. To the considerable relief of both men, their nightmares lessened in intensity the closer the two got to Rome. And as time passed, grief for Anna Valerious became a distant thing. The subject was enough to sadden the men, but finally remote enough to prevent them from falling into the despair of raw sorrow.

With his renewed ability to derive rest from his sleep, Van Helsing was once again healthy and ready to battle. Carl was also restored, the weakness from his abuse at Igor's hands dispelled. To Carl's relief, during the last two days of their journey, Gabriel returned to his normal congenial humor, and banter once again arced between the two friends. At last, both men began healing from the trial that had wrung their emotions dry.

After completing their journey with fair weather, the two men returned to Vatican City in near the same condition under which they had departed a month ago. The beautiful capital was never free from worshippers, yet the complex of devotional areas and space for the clergy was so massive that the region in which Carl and Van Helsing usually found themselves was nigh on deserted.

The two men parted company when they reached a discreet corridor branching off from the main hall. It led to the clergy's living quarters, and eventually to the subterranean workshop which was the main complex for the Church's work.

Carl stopped for a moment, looking at Van Helsing. The two men had been friends since their first meeting, four years ago. Van Helsing, having healed from his terrible wounds and illness, had been introduced by Cardinal Jinette to the Church's true calling. When the two had met, Gabriel had been unable to hold back an ironic comment, to which Carl had dryly responded, and their friendship was fast in the making. After working and travelling with one another, the men had become even closer. For a moment, the two paused, contemplating the changed nature of their relationship, before Van Helsing held out his hand.

Carl gripped the hunter's wrist, and the two exchanged a warrior's handshake. Before the hunter could pull back, however, Carl caught him in a quick embrace. He then stepped back, and said lightly, "See you in the workshop. And this time, do try not to annoy the Cardinal, hmm?" With that, he turned and strode down the hallway, leaving Gabriel to contemplate his retreating back.

When Van Helsing reached the confessional, he stepped inside and knocked on the division between the confessor and priest. The solid wooden divider was thrown back, partially revealing the irritated features of Cardinal Jinette.

"I sent you to Transylvania to save the Valerious line, not ensure its demise," the Cardinal began, his exasperation plain.

For once, Van Helsing had no retort to make. Velkan had been transformed, but there was no such excuse for Anna's death. In one instance he had acted as a man of God, and in the other, a murderer. He was ever one or the other, and never simply a man.

"Some say you're a holy man. Others call you a murderer. Which is it?"

"It's a little of both, I think."

He met Jinette's gaze evenly, remaining silent. The Cardinal, despite his apparent callousness toward Van Helsing, perceived the unhappiness in his stance. "Oh, come on," he said, pulling a discreet lever in his side of the confessional.

"Thank you," muttered Van Helsing a little snidely, recovering his voice.

"Do not think that your killing of Dracula will get you off the hook this time," Jinette cautioned. "I want a full report on how you accomplished this."

Van Helsing rolled his eyes. "Perhaps you'd be better off asking Carl. After all, he was more on top of the research than I was," Gabriel replied, conveniently ignoring the fact that he had been the one who had pushed for the information which led to Carl's revelation in Castle Dracula.

The Cardinal turned and gave him an appraising look. "You may well be correct." His tone was slightly surprised, and Gabriel rolled his eyes.

The hunter followed the Cardinal down the stairwell, stopping for a moment in an alcove that was covered, floor to ceiling, with a single massive piece of slate. On it were the initials of all those who were presently out on assignment, answering the Church's calling. Every man on the list, aside from Van Helsing, was a priest or other member of the clergy. These men were sent on exorcisms, and to deal with more common occurrences of evil, such as the activities of witches, warlocks, and malignant spirits. Van Helsing's assignments were usually the more violent and dangerous. The few women on the list were all either nuns or abbey-dwellers, whose prominent works dealt with prophecy.

Van Helsing watched as Jinette used a soft cloth to erase the listing of his previous assignment, which had read: Transylvania - Dracula & Valerious. True to form, however, Jinette did not write in what his next assignment would be. Brushing a small quantity of white dust off his immaculate crimson robes, Jinette also wiped away the initials of another member of the Order. Gabriel noted with a brief tinge of concern the number of names missing from the extensive list.

After this brief stop, Jinette continued to the main workshop. "We have a different job for you now," he said. "For the past several weeks, members of our Order have been turning up dead. There is reason to believe that they are being murdered for the valuable work they do." By this time, the Cardinal had led Van Helsing through the groups of men working on various new tools and weapons, and had reached the general briefing area. The two men approached the projector, and Jinette nodded to a monk standing nearby. The man quickly switched on the device, and on the opposing screen appeared a picture so gruesome that Van Helsing involuntarily flinched, and turned away for a moment.

The young man on the screen was clearly dead, his sightless eyes staring out of the picture. He had been stripped naked and stretched out upon a stone floor in what Gabriel assumed was a chapel. His arms were extended straight out, his legs together, and the only thing lacking from this mockery of a crucifixion was the wooden frame. His feet and hands were nailed to the floor, and there was blood pooling beneath his back. There were gashes on his forehead, and a deep stab wound on his right side, just beneath his rib cage.

"His name was Father Williams," said Jinette, his voice low. "He was sent to a parish in the outskirts of Rome." Gabriel glanced at Jinette sharply. He hadn't thought the threat was so close to the Vatican. "He was twenty-four, and has been a member of our Order for six years. He was well trained. Very well trained. It is inconceivable to me how anyone would be able to constrain him in such a manner without any marks to show for it. There are no wounds on his body, aside from the obvious. No bruises, or puncture marks to indicate that there was a fight or that he was drugged. " The Cardinal's accented voice was soft with sorrow.

"There's a lot of blood on the floor," Van Helsing observed, detaching himself from the horror of the scene. "He was flogged?"

Jinette was surprised. "Yes, he was. How did you know that? Have you seen something like this before?"

"No," Van Helsing responded, glancing down at the table in front of him momentarily. A vivid image flashed in front of his eyes, and he pushed it aside. "But the Christ was whipped before his own crucifixion."

"This is the seventh such murder in Italy alone," Jinette replied after a short silence. "Each man killed was the only member of our Order in his parish. There were three murders in Spain, six in England, and nine in France. We receive word of another murder almost every four days. They occur with disturbing regularity, and yet from our accounts, one man is responsible for all."

The friar changed the slides, and a picture was projected up on the screen. It was a front, full body shot of a man who appeared about thirty-two. His blond hair was so light it was almost white, straight and untangled, brushing his shoulders. Pale eyes gazed out from the angular, chiseled face. His build was broad and tall, and he was strongly muscled without being unattractive. His clothes were practical, finely made and yet plain. His bearing and features were harshly angelic, and Gabriel felt an unexplainable shudder of revulsion run through his body.

"There is no obvious link between the victims," Jinette continued, "aside from their membership in our Order. They did not specialize in the same areas, they are composed of different ages, body types, and specialties within the Order. The only indication we have of movement is a north-to-south migration of the killer."

"And with the death of Father Williams, you believe that he has finally reached his goal," Van Helsing replied, studying the figure and processing all the information that had been so abruptly tossed at him.

Jinette sighed, shoulders slumping. His posture radiated weariness and defeat. "Yes. We at first did not believe this situation serious enough to merit your attention," he admitted. "After all, this man does not appear supernatural in any way. Yet, every agent we have sent after him has ended up murdered in this fashion."

Van Helsing raised a brow, still staring at the man's picture. There was something almost vaguely familiar about the man, yet simply looking at him was somehow abhorrent.

"I want you to stop this man," said Jinette. He stared deeply into Van Helsing's eyes. "No matter how. This threat must be stopped."

Gabriel nodded, glancing once more at the blond man.

"And I will ask Carl to work with you once again," Jinette continued. He caught Van Helsing's surprised glance, and an expression passed over his face that, on anyone else, might have been called a smirk. "Your success working together is unparalleled. Not only did you kill Dracula, but you also destroyed his brides and all the vampires in Budapest. In addition, you killed a werewolf and the Frankenstein monster." Van Helsing kept his face blank at the last, knowing that among the many truths listed, one lie would most likely not be noticed.

"Of course," said Van Helsing.

"You two will begin to work on this situation immediately. You may use the Vatican as a sanctuary and a working base, but I beg you, do not lead this man to us."

Van Helsing nodded his understanding, and Cardinal Jinette turned back to the projector. Recognizing his dismissal, Gabriel left and began to search for Carl. The conspicuous absence of explosions and mayhem in the underground laboratory suggested that he was still in his quarters, preparing to meet with the Cardinal.

Gabriel quickly left the sublevels of the Vatican, using the confessional as an exit. Retracing his steps, he returned to the corridor leading to the living quarters of the clergy. Within the capital of Christianity, every man who was of age was somehow associated with the Order, as a spy, researcher, or agent. Thus Rome was ripe with targets for this new killer, and Van Helsing was worried for his friend.

He walked down the corridor, which in contrast to the elaborately decorated areas of worship, was plain and spartan. The stone walls and floor were bare but clean, the black mahogany and oak doors standing out against the beige marble. Upon reaching Carl's door, he knocked, listening closely for a response. He heard faintly, "Just a minute!" through the wood, and waited.

A few moments later, the dark oaken door was opened slightly, and Carl's face appeared. "Van Helsing?" he inquired, confused.

"Carl?" came a light, feminine voice from inside the room.

Van Helsing raised a brow, the corner of his mouth curling upward slightly.

"I'm only a friar," Carl retorted somewhat sharply, his face coloring.

"I didn't say anything," said Van Helsing.

"Never mind." Carl's voice was impatient, his expression begging Gabriel to drop the subject. "Why are you here?"

Obliging, Van Helsing replied, "The Cardinal wants an account of our latest project from you, and we have a new assignment."

"We?" asked Carl, confusion apparent.

"That's what I said. But apparently we're more than twice as effective working together, and that's the kind of firepower this new . . . task requires," said Van Helsing, mindful of the woman in the room and being deliberately vague.

Intrigued, Carl opened to door wider, only to be stopped by Van Helsing grabbing the knob and halting the door's inward motion. "Why don't you get dressed, and I'll meet you in the archives?"

Carl blushed, and then said, "I'll need no more than fifteen minutes."

Van Helsing nodded, and the door closed. Staring at the dark wood, he shook his head, a smile on his lips, and departed.