Van Helsing continued down the corridor, making a left at its end, followed by another right and then a left again. The innermost hallways of the buildings in Vatican City were labyrinthine, creating intricate mazes of rooms within rooms, stairs that led up and down without actually going anywhere, and passageways that looped back around upon themselves.
Despite the complexity of the route, however, Van Helsing was actually taking the shortest path to the archives and library, where all journals, logs, and written accounts of missions were kept. The vast rooms were valuable storehouses of knowledge, kept hidden from everyone except higher members of the order. He turned left, opened the fourth door on his left, and continued along that passageway as it curled to the right, making the first left after reaching a mural of the Madonna and Child.
The corridor he was in led to one of the main areas of worship in the Vatican, its entrance concealed behind a thick tapestry depicting on e of the thirteen stations of the cross. When he reached the cloth barrier, he knew that he would have to be careful not to be seen as he exited, although the tapestry was located at the rear of this shrine, and was half-hidden behind a huge candelabra made of glowing bronze that was over eight feet high.
Gabriel carefully grasped the right side of the red tapestry, the silken thread soft under his fingers. The entire woven masterpiece was stiff, encrusted with gold, gems, and brocade. In one smooth motion, he pushed the tapestry slightly outward and moved forward and to the right, emerging behind the elaborate candelabra. Glancing in every direction to make certain that no one had witnessed his appearance, Van Helsing silently stepped from behind the tall bronze construction, and turned to leave.
As he did, something caught his eye and jogged his memory. An almost overpowering aura of evil permeated his senses, and he gasped. A fragment of recollection surged to the forefront of his mind, but as he tried to grasp it, it disappeared once more. Every nerve tingling with danger, Van Helsing swiftly surveyed the room.
He caught a glimpse of a tall, blond figure dressed in white before a side door, leading into an adjoining corridor, swung shut.
Ruthlessly shoving down a surging tide of emotion, Van Helsing raced for the door, opening it and looking in both directions. The sound of feet moving to his left indicated that the man was headed outside, where he could blend with the crowds of worshippers and disappear. The evil in the air was so potent it made him flinch.
Gabriel began to run after the footsteps, and despite his efforts to be quiet, he heard the pace of the man in front of him increase, the echo of steps resounding down the corridor speeding into a thunderous tumult. Throwing all attempts at silence to the wind, he ran flat out, pursuing the tall, blond man whom he could now see, not ten yards ahead of him, racing towards the doors leading to the outside square. If he reached them, he would be lost in the mass of devotees.
Feeling his blood pound, muscles straining, Gabriel ran after the figure in white, who was pushing his way past members of the clergy and church-goers. Gabriel leapt over a woman still sprawled where she had fallen after being shoved, and continued to gain on the man. The foul sensation of wickedness grew stronger as Van Helsing got closer. He didn't dare throw one of his spinning blades, out of fear for someone it might hit after ricocheting off the walls.
The blond man glanced back, and Gabriel saw his face, not fifteen feet away, twisted in a snarl. Light reflected off something in his hand, and Van Helsing felt a jolt of horror. The man grabbed a nearby altar boy, stopping him with a strong hand clamping upon his shoulder, and plunged the blade into his side.
The crucifix in the little boy's hands fell to the ground with a clatter. The child's scream of pain cut through the low murmurs of the worshippers, and he fell to the floor limply, a pool of blood spreading out from the deep wound. Van Helsing raced to the boy's side, dropping to the stone beside him, and pressed down on the source to halt the bleeding. The boy cried out once more, and then, mercifully, fainted from pain.
Gabriel looked up, and saw a familiar face in the crowds. "Brother Nino!"
The blond youth, scarcely seventeen, called back, "Yes?" His voice was frightened.
"I want you to run and get Father Taddeo, and bring him here immediately. Then I want you to tell Cardinal Jinette what has happened. Do you understand, boy?" Gabriel forced the words out quickly, gasping for breath.
"Yes!"
"Run!" The gangly teenager took off, and worshippers quickly got out of his way. "Everyone must move back, now!" Gabriel shouted, and his tone was unyielding. A large space was created, with himself and the injured boy at the center. He pushed aside the child's robes, to get a better look at the wound, and gasped. It was very deep, though it appeared small. Blood pumped out and Van Helsing quickly replaced his hands. The boy's body trembled with pain and shock, and though unconscious, he moaned heartbreakingly.
Gabriel did not dare stop pressing on the wound, for fear the boy would bleed to death, but he desperately needed bandages of some sort to staunch the flow. He looked to the crowd, and saw Carl pushing his way forward, demanding to know what the ruckus was.
"Carl!"
"Va - Gabriel?" The friar responded, remembering not to address the hunter by his notorious surname.
"Quickly!"
Seeing that the man was calling for the aid of the friar in their midst, the crowd parted and Carl rushed forward.
"What in the name of God happened?" Carl gasped, kneeling down opposite Gabriel. He quickly grasped the boy's outer robe and began to tear it into strips.
"Our next assignment," said Gabriel in a low voice, still pressing down on the wound. "Hurry with the bandages?"
"I am. What about our next assignment?" The words were quick and terse, both men concentrated on keeping the child on the floor alive.
"He's been murdering members of the Order. I was on my way to the archives, and I saw him. I chased him out here, and he stabbed the boy to create a diversion, and force me to stop. Amen," Gabriel breathed as Carl handed him a thick cloth pad, placing it upon the gash and pressing sharply down. "He's long gone by now."
"And he hurt this child just to stop you chasing him?" Carl's voice was high with outrage, though he was still speaking in a near-whisper.
"Yes."
Carl swore, and Gabriel was in complete agreement. "He's been unconscious almost since I began applying pressure to slow the bleeding."
"Thank heavens," Carl murmured.
"I sent Nino to fetch Father Taddeo and Cardinal Jinette. He should be back soon, but we must send these people somewhere else."
"I'll do it," said Carl, standing. "We've done all we can for Michael - he needs Father Taddeo." Rising, Carl continued in a much louder voice, "Friends, I must ask you all to move into the chapel. Healers are on their way as we speak, and in order to help young Michael, they will need room to work and to be able to move him without impediment."
"Lead them to the chapel, Carl," murmured Gabriel. "Leave them in the care of Father Dante - he'll be certain to keep them praying for several hours."
Catching Gabriel's words, Carl continued without pause, "Follow me, please, to the Chapel."
He turned and began leading the horrified worshippers deeper in to the church, opening the double doors at the far end of the hall and ensuring that all made their way inside. "Quickly, please, quickly," Carl urged, his clipped tone conveying his impatience.
As the worshippers disappeared into the Chapel, only clergy were left. Gabriel saw, to his relief, that Marius was barring the door, preventing anyone coming in from outside, and Luke and Santo were entering with a board on which to bear Michael to his quarters.
Taddeo rushed into the hallway and was immediately at Gabriel's side. "Santo, Luke," he called, his deep voice commanding. The two young men rushed to the healer's side, and placed the board down next to Michael.
"Do you want me to move?" asked Gabriel.
"No, stay where you are. Keep pressure on the cut. How did this happen?"
"It's a deep knife wound. Michael was attacked by a man that I was pursuing out of the chapel."
Taddeo's sharp green eyes fixed on Gabriel, who glanced at him, his expression impassive. Understanding flashed between them, and Taddeo's visage grew bleak. The boy shifted slightly, and Gabriel's gaze locked onto Michael's pale face. The only indication of life that came from the boy was the shallow rise and fall of his chest. "Move," Taddeo said abruptly. "Marius!" he called. The forty-something man hurried over, and Taddeo said, "Take Gabriel's place. Keep constant pressure on the wound. On three. One, two, three!"
The two men seamlessly shifted positions. "Go find the monster that did this," said the Father, his voice grim. "Luke, Santo, we're going to move him onto this board and carry him to the healing rooms. Ready?"
Gabriel stood back, and Carl joined him. The two men stayed by the wall, watching as Michael was swiftly and carefully maneuvered onto the board and carried away. Gabriel's eyes fell on the broken crucifix that Michael had been holding. It was the size of his palm, delicately carved from a pale wood. It had been crushed under the foot of the white-clad murderer, as he turned and fled. Van Helsing wordlessly knelt and gathered the pieces.
Cardinal Jinette, followed by five members of the Order, entered the room just as Taddeo, his assistants and patient, were exiting. The men crossed themselves, and Jinette looked over to where Van Helsing was straightening up from the ground, his hands and the broken crucifix covered in Michael's blood.
Jinette's face was a portrait of shock, and he strode over to the monster slayer. "What is the meaning of this?" he hissed, voice low and intense. His eyes remained trained on the men exiting with the gravely wounded child.
His own voice equally low, Gabriel responded, "Your murderer was in the chapel." The high flush of alarm drained from Jinette's face, leaving him pale and ashen. "I pursued him from out the eastern corridor. When I came too close, he grabbed the boy from the crowd and stabbed him, to provide a distraction for his escape." Gabriel's jaw clenched, and he was filled with disgust for his failure to yet again protect an innocent from the viciousness of evil.
"This man must be stopped," Jinette whispered. For the first time in his acquaintance with the Cardinal, Van Helsing saw fear on his face. Not for himself, but for the men and children around him. The brutal attack on Michael had brought home the closeness of this new danger to all in the room, and fear and awareness of vulnerability would only grow. The man was certainly accomplishing part of his mission, Gabriel mused grimly. The members of the Order were now definitely wary, frightened and apprehensive. Steeling his resolve, he said, "Come on, Carl."
Quickly Van Helsing strode from the room, ruthlessly pulling his mind from the horror of watching a boy of no more than eight years old be brutally knifed. He looked down on the blood-smeared crucifix in his hands, and the sight of the crimson liquid staining his skin and clothes made him ill. Swallowing hard, he turned down a corridor on his right.
"Van Helsing?"
Gabriel started, turning right down another hallway. "Carl."
"Where are we going?" The friar's face was pale, but he was valiantly pulling himself together. He followed Van Helsing as he turned left.
"I need to change," the hunter responded. The corridor dead-ended, and he sighed. Reaching out with a booted toe, he pushed a block on the floor in the right-hand corner. There was a faint click, and Van Helsing said, "Carl, push the wall."
Reaching forward, the friar shoved at the right side of the wall. The bricks gave way easily, and Carl fairly flew forward as the wall swung inward on a central pivot. "Ooof!" he grunted, his fall stopped by yet another wall.
Van Helsing raised a brow.
"It has more give than I expected," Carl sputtered, looking at the massive wall he had moved.
"I keep the hinges well oiled," Gabriel returned. Grasping a candle, ignoring the bloody smears he left on the wax, he gestured toward the wall again, and Carl pushed once more, with less force this time. Just as he was wondering how it closed, Van Helsing toed a block in the left corner, and it moved back to create the impression of a seamless wall.
This corridor was completely dark. "Where are we going?" asked Carl, intrigued. He, like everyone, knew of the complex structure of the edifices in Vatican City. As a youth he had explored many of these passages. Yet he had never come across this one, although the idea of false walls had occurred to him.
Van Helsing grinned. "You're not the only one who has to sleep, you know."
"It's too dark. I suppose it's expensive to put candles in a corridor only one person uses, and not even every day, either. There must be some simple way to provide a more constant source of illumination in here."
Gabriel's smile remained in place as he listened to Carl expound on his ideas. After a few minutes of walking, the corridor turned at a right angle, and ended abruptly. In the wall on the right was a door, made of thick oak and studded with metal rivets. "Would you mind?" asked the hunter, holding out his sticky, blood-smeared hands.
Carl reached out and gently pushed the door.
"Carl - "
"No, I can get it," the friar cut Van Helsing off. He pushed harder.
The door didn't budge. "Carl - "
"It's stuck. I thought you said you kept the hinges oiled," Carl grunted, throwing all of his weight against the door. He shoved futilely for a few more minutes, then gave up, panting harshly as he leant against the wooden panels.
"Carl?" Van Helsing asked, and the friar looked up, the candlelight illuminating an expression of irritation on his normally congenial features. "Pull."
"Oh. Of course. I was just about to try that," Carl responded.
Van Helsing grinned, and Carl jerked the door open with a glare. "You know, it wouldn't be too difficult to label the only door in Vatican City that opens outwards rather than inwards." He was forced to jump out of the way as it easily flew toward them. Gabriel walked in, and moved to the right corner of the room. He reached up, transferring the flame to the wicks of several candles located in a sparse candelabra. Carl followed, and looked around curiously.
Van Helsing's quarters were in many ways like the rooms each friar was assigned. There was a bed with blankets and a pillow, a chair, and a chest for clothing and personal items. Yet, the room itself was very different. It looked to have once been an inner storage room, or perhaps a last sanctuary for the pope in a time of need. There were many cabinets and shelves built into the walls, and in a corner was a pump with a bucket beneath.
"You get running water this deep within the building?" asked Carl, moving to pump some. It was icy and clear.
"Yes," said Gabriel, kneeling and plunging his hands into the bucket. He picked up a small scrap of soap lying on the floor behind the pump and started scrubbing at his hands. The blood had dried, sticky and brown, and he rubbed harshly at his skin to get it off. It also was on his pants, shirt, and the sleeves of his leather coat. He had not had a chance to change his clothing since arriving, having been given an assignment immediately after parting with Carl.
When most of the blood was off his hands, he pulled off his jacket and carefully washed the sleeves. "Make yourself at home," he invited Carl, concentrating on cleaning himself up.
The cloth around the wrists of his black shirt was also bloodstained, as was the skin of his forearms and his pants. Silently Van Helsing stripped off his shirt, listening to the sounds of Carl taking him up on his invitation, opening and closing the various cupboards built into the walls. Some were empty, but most contained various weapons, both broken and in good repair.
Van Helsing pulled off his boots, and moved to the chest at the foot of his bed. He opened the lid, ignoring Carl, who was muttering over one of his failed contraptions - it was a small cooking set that was supposed to contain all eating utensils within the pot. The only problem was that it was so intricate to pack that Gabriel had been unable to put the damn thing back together after using it.
Reaching in the chest, he pulled out a clean pair of black pants and a black linen shirt. Both articles of clothing, while slightly loose, were of a close, less flowing cut that allowed for more economical movement, and had less of a tendency to get caught and ripped.
While Carl's back was turned, Van Helsing stripped naked and, noting that the blood had not soaked through the cloth of his pants, pulled on the clean trousers. He then moved to the bucket, lifted it, and poured the dirty water down a drain located directly underneath the pump. After pumping more water, he washed his forearms and face. Toweling himself dry with a soft cloth, he pulled the linen shirt over his head.
As he sat on the bed pulling on his boots, he heard Carl's exclamation of interest and glanced over toward him. "What's - wait! Van Helsing, I recognize this!"
Gabriel turned away quickly, and Carl's ire grew. "No wonder I couldn't find it! I never got the chance to finish it before it disappeared. I searched for days. I knew I hadn't misplaced it!"
The object in question was a small dagger made of steel, with small curved prongs extending from the sharpened edges of the blade from hilt to tip.
"It's not done?" asked Van Helsing, walking around the room and discreetly concealing weapons and tools about his person. Knives in his boots, darts and a blowgun at his hips, and several other handy gadgets found their ways into various pockets. Although he would be spending the majority of his time in the Vatican City complex and it unnerved the clergy and worshippers to see him so armed, he refused to be weaponless, especially since the murderer had proven his ability to sneak inside and wreak havoc not an hour past. Leaving his coat behind for now, simply so the garment could dry, he moved to the door.
"No. I never got the chance to test it."
"I did. Works well. Very effective. Tough to remove, though."
Carl rolled his eyes. "Well of course it wasn't perfect, was it? After all, most of the time I have the chance to test and modify the weapons I give you."
Van Helsing shrugged. "Let's go."
"Go? But I thought you - oh. You're done. Well then. Let's go!"
Van Helsing gestured to the door, and Carl took a candle from the candelabra, blowing the rest out. This time, Carl led the way out of the passages. When they reached the main hallway, Van Helsing turned right, and Carl's voice pulled him up short.
"Gabriel, this way."
Van Helsing turned, somewhat surprised. "But the archives are -"
"Closer if you take the shortcut through the friars' sleeping quarters. Less twisting and turning." The friar grinned.
"Less turns. Good. Lead on, Carl."
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Reviewer responses:
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First, many thanks to everyone who has so far shown an interest in this fic. It's starting to develop beyond what I thought it would, and that's mostly because the enthusiasm of my reviewers has kept me from dropping it. Every review I receive reminds me that I like this story, and after getting a bunch of reviews, I usually laugh with glee, and then go write another chapter. (moral = review!)
Carveus666: Thank you, I will attempt to do just that!
ThePet: Wow, you are one of my most consistent reviewers! Yipee!! (And I'm thrilled that you put me on your favs list!!) Charachtarization is actually a bit tough for me with this fic - I'm struggling to keep VH from blending into a Carl-like character, simply because while he's prominently a warrior in the movie, he's also intelligent, and keeps pushing to discover the why and how, even if he's not as scholarly as Carl. Your reviews let me know I'm succeeding. Gratias!
Christie: Thanks a million! No, I don't think I'm going to bring Anna back. I actually liked the movie ending. Besides that, however, I'm tossing around an idea that might become actualized later, and for this idea to work, Anna kind of has to be dead. But if you want, I'll try to bring her up more, or have more of her character revealed somehow. As a matter of fact, I think I have an idea on how to do that . . . what do you say??
Breaking Benjamin: grins I always get hyper-happy when people say they love something I've done. About Dracula - I really hadn't thought about it. I kindof operate under the "dead stays dead" policy (except in the case of Sirius Black in HP, but that's a totally different situation, where I can pretend it never happened and actually get away with it without destroying the storyline). He will most definitely not be totally gone from the story, but I think he's gonna hafta rest in pieces. Sorry.
Trinity Infinity / Rhea: Wow. (blushes). Just, wow. Thank you so much! I worked on the first chap on and off for a long while, and I was wondering if I should bother posting because I honestly didn't think I had a plot or anywhere for it to go. Your review blew me off my feet, and I was giggling and blushing for about ten minutes after; it's also one of the main reasons I decided to continue with this. Muchas gracias!!
TKAt: I was wondering if I was the only one out here who liked the ending of the movie, and thought Anna should be dead. For me, the movie was poignantly bittersweet: finally there is a heroine who is not a wimp, and is perfectly able to take care of herself. She's determined and hard-core without being over-the-top, and is in addition very competent. Catch: she expects to die. And then she does. So, it was most definitely bittersweet, but it was very good at the same time. Thanks for supporting the movie canon.
RedCelt: Gracias! And yes, to both A & B!
Sara: The fact that I couldn't find a fic about this subject when I went searching is the main reason I decided to write this one, mostly because the implications are wonderful to think about and create!
Gwachaedir: Yes, most intriguing, indeed. grins. Glad to know that you'll be checking it out!
Becky Greanleaf: Thanks very much, I'll try!
Kari: I'm going by what I remember from the movie, since I haven't yet gotten my hands on one of the movie tie-in novels. I'm actually afraid to get one, because in my experience they never do justice to what I personally read into the personalities of the characters (which has a lot to do with the skill of the actors). I was aware that it was ok for Anna to die after Dracula kicked it, because her family's mission was accomplished. I guess I'm not getting Jinette's hard-ass personality across well enough. . . that's what I was going for. Hmm. Will work on it. Thanks so much for your review, and for adding movie-fact tidbits; they're invaluable to me!
HorseRider: Thanks very much! Yes, I'm using the timeline I remember from the movie, in which Jinette states that "Four years ago, we found you crawling up the steps of this church half-dead" or something along those lines. Movie tie-in novels scare me. So I know that it's wrong, to a point. But to the same point, it's also right. grins sheepishly.
Cryptkeeper: No, I'm pretty certain that she'll only make cameos in this fic.
