The first thought in Carl's mind was that, for a holy relic and dangerous weapon tainted by the forces of darkness, the thing looked like Van Helsing had pulled it out of a rubbish heap. "You're sure?" he questioned, dubiously eyeing the rust-encrusted object.

Gabriel raised a brow, glancing at him, and Gaspar snorted. "What else could it be?" the older friar demanded pettishly.

Taking in their surroundings, Carl grudgingly admitted, "Good point."

"This is it," Gabriel said, and there was a strange containment to his tone. He was holding the object as far from his body as possible without drawing undue attention to himself, and there was a tiny line between his brows as he studied the Spear. Carefully, he turned it over in his hand, and started.

"What?" Carl jumped in almost nervously, nearly desperate for some noise to break the unnatural silence.

Gabriel lifted a hand, showing them a thin line of red scored across his skin. "It's razor-sharp," he muttered in a surprised undertone. "I wouldn't expect a blade no one's handled in hundreds of years to still carry such an edge."

"Well, it is a holy relic," Carl pointed out, glancing down to see how the youngest member of their group was dealing with this revelation. The boy was quiet, wide eyes fixed on the Spear.

"Yes, and it is tainted," Gabriel added grimly. Hazel eyes were hard, staring at the innocuous-looking piece of metal.

Gaspar harrumphed impatiently, and Carl could see that he was just as unnerved by the silence as all of them – with the exception of Van Helsing – seemed to be. "You said that the creature would come to us," he reminded the hunter.

A smile quirked Gabriel's lips. "Well I didn't mean right this moment," he replied reasonably, straightening from his slight examination of the blade. He ignored Gaspar's frustrated glare, keeping his eyes focused on the Spear. "The Spear is still within the Basilica, and thus is still subject to the protections laid on it. Until we remove it from here, into any other part of the Holy City, it will be protected. Should it pass these doors, all veils protecting it from Beelzebul's sight will be peeled away." Raising his palm, Van Helsing regarded the cut there, flexing his fingers as he continued speaking. "I suggest that we decide, now, what we want to do and how soon we need to bring the creature here."

"Now?" Gaspar was surprised.

Van Helsing frowned at his hand, before glancing up, scowl still in place. "Jinette is indisposed," he coolly reminded Gaspar. "And may remain so for a good time. Your men are calling for my imprisonment, and while the creature remains free no one – least of all the very people he believes have knowledge of the Destiny – are safe. In addition, there is the taint on the chapel which grows stronger with each passing hour. No, we have very little time, and less to delay. We need to decide quickly what is to be done."

Carl gulped noisily at hearing the true state of affairs laid bare. "How much time do we have?"

Van Helsing shook his head. "Three hours, maybe."

"Why do we always have to cut these things so close?" Carl asked the heavens.

The smile Gabriel shot him was terse, and Gaspar frowned between the two of them before dismissing their byplay and moving on. "We need to apprise my men of the situation," he asserted.

Gabriel jerked, staring at him. "You're going to tell the entire Order what's going on?"

Gaspar glowered at the incredulity in his voice. "You would keep them in the dark about something as vital as this?"

"What assurance can you give me that word will not reach the entirety of the Order and start a panic?" the hunter snapped, eyes flashing with emotion.

Gaspar drew himself up to his full height, staring down at the hunter. "You underestimate us," he warned softly.

Gabriel stared at him, the weight of ages in his eyes. "I know humanity," he gently qualified. "I know the heights to which courage can reach – but I do not think it will stretch even this far."

"We will be there," Gaspar insisted levelly. "To give assistance, to do anything we can."

Gabriel barked out a harsh laugh. "The only thing you would be able to do is die." Gaspar's chest expanded as he drew in a furious breath, but Gabriel closed his eyes and shook his head, raising a hand to halt the impending explosion. "Do as you will. We have other matters to attend."

For a moment, Carl was sure Gaspar would continue regardless, but the man surprised him when he expelled his breath with nary a snarl, and nodded resolutely. "Where do you think to lure the creature?"

Gabriel frowned. "The chapel is the only truly safe place," he murmured, and Carl frowned.

"I thought you said it was overrun with the taint," he objected, glancing down at the Spear.

Gabriel shook his head. "Should worse come to worst, the Basilica will be the safest, the longest protected. It will be the last to fall. I want all the women and children in the Holy City to gather here. Father Taddeo and Jinette will lead them in mass."

"But – why the chapel?" Carl asked forthrightly once more.

Gabriel shot him a look. "The creature already has entrance there. If he is not called to enter any other part of the Holy City, we will be able to keep the greater part of the Vatican free of his presence, and thus the protections on the whole will be stronger. And the taint there may hide, for a short time at least, a bit of the Spear itself."

Carl frowned, leaving off his study of the relic to look at the hunter. "How so?"

"While in the Basilica, the Spear is layered with protections that hide its true nature," Gabriel explained patiently. "In the chapel, it will be surrounded by an aura that is a pale imitation of its essence. Think of it as, not hiding a needle in a haystack, but hiding a particular needle in a pincushion with a hundred others."

Carl nodded his understanding, and then looked to Gaspar. "How long will it take you to gather your men and evacuate the women and children here?" he asked, his logical mind running the numbers.

"We have three hours," Gaspar replied with a shrug. "It will be enough."

"Michael," Gabriel said, drawing their attention to the young boy staring wide-eyed at them. He looked the youth straight in the eyes and gently continued, "I need you to go to the tower, and tell the men there to ring the emergency signal. They'll know what you mean."

Carl's eyes widened, but he nodded his agreement, as did Gaspar. The specific sequence of chimes rung from St. Peter's would alert all in the Holy City to gather there. It was a signal that hadn't been used in several centuries, but there was no one in the Holy City who wouldn't recognize the distinctive bell pattern. "Gaspar, wait at the door and separate your men, and any others who feel they must come. Remember to leave some here to assist the women and children."

Gaspar nodded impatiently, not needing to be told how to divide up his men. "Where will you be?" he asked.

"I'll wait here until the first evacuees arrive," Gabriel said. "Then, I'll leave and make my way to the chapel. I'll wait there for you."

"Won't ringing the bells alert the creature that something has happened?" Carl ventured.

Gabriel shrugged. "Regardless, it's the fastest way to gather everyone in a protected location."

"Alright," the auburn-haired man sighed.

"Michael, go quickly," Gaspar instructed, and the boy ran off, feet slapping against the floor.

Gabriel slid the Spear into an inner pocket, wincing as the object came in closer proximity to his skin. He shifted his shoulders, settling the long coat more comfortably before nodding to Carl and Gaspar. The two men moved to the main entrance, and the three waited, spread out in the massive church, listening to the silence.

It seemed a very long time before the first resounding clang echoed through the buttresses, ringing out over Vatican City. The emergency cadence of bells, three staccato chimes followed by two deeper, drawn out tones told a disturbing message that could not be ignored. The pattern repeated itself, over and over, and within minutes people began trickling into the Basilica, abandoning their afternoon's work. Gabriel caught Carl's eyes, and moved toward a side entrance before the slight flood of people became a deluge.

Carl inched his way to Gaspar's side, and under his breath he hissed that he was following Van Helsing, and that they should come as soon as possible. Gaspar nodded, not once breaking off his conversation with Lamar, who turned curious, far-too-perceptive eyes on the friar. Carl slid away into the gathering throng, guiding worried residents of the Holy City toward the pews. As he surreptitiously made his way to a small side door, he found Father Taddeo, Luke, Santo, and Marius escorting Jinette and Father Anthony, both of whom were pale and sweating. While Jinette looked haggard, Anthony appeared vaguely ill, and Carl nodded to the man whose primary function within the Order was that of an exorcist. He spoke for only a few moments with Jinette, informing him of the situation and attempting to allay any worries. It was a futile attempt, but both he and the Cardinal felt better for trying.

Carl extracted himself from the conversation soon after, and turned towards the tainted chapel where already so many things had happened. In opposition to the earlier silence, the halls around the Basilica were abuzz with controlled confusion. Time seemed to be slipping away faster with each passing minute, and Carl politely shoved his way through the hordes of people coming inside. Catching a wayward remark as he passed by one of the last crowds, he turned quickly to the nearest window and peered out, finding the nameless speaker to be correct. The sky was indeed darkening, with frightening speed. The bells continued to toll out their warning, overlying the ominous roll of thunder in the distance.

With a sardonic frown, Carl strode quickly through the halls, relieved to find them completely bereft of human presence the farther he got from the Basilica. By the time he reached the chapel doors, the lack of any sign of life was downright eerie, and he burst quickly into the chapel.

Only to pull up immediately, freezing in place.

Gabriel rose out of his defensive crouch, and raised a brow at the distraught friar. "Quite an entrance," he huffed, straightening his spine.

"Jumpy?" Carl asked, moving toward the hunter's position at the front of the chapel.

Van Helsing shook his head. "I would sense the creature's presence. I'm more worried about Gaspar and his -"

He was cut off by the bang of the chapel doors being thrown open. "Speak of the devil," Carl murmured, paling as he realized the implications of his thoughtless remark. He shot Gabriel a contrite look, and the other rolled his eyes.

The fiery haired friar marched into the chapel, at the head of what looked like nearly every able-bodied member of the Order.

"Oh my God," Carl breathed. "Did you leave anyone with the women and children?"

Gaspar sneered at him. "Of course," he spat. "There were twenty-five more who wanted to come but were refused."

They were all here to ascertain which side, truly, the hunter was on, Carl realized with a shock of indignation. Their presence here was perhaps to prevent Van Helsing from simply handing the spear over, though what they thought they might actually be able to accomplish was a little unclear.

"Then I suggest that you have your men move back against the walls, out of the way," Gabriel advised. There was something in his voice that Carl had never heard, in all the years he had known Van Helsing. The burden of wisdom, the price of knowledge shone through in his entire stance, and for once, he was not bothering to hide it. Something about him seemed ancient, unchanged since the beginning of time; and Carl knew that he was now seeing the being who had lived for eons under the title of Destroyer, one of the sons of God. Mortality was truly only a veneer for him.

Without a word, Gaspar indicated to his men that they should line the walls, and they were packed shoulder to shoulder against the stone. Distance from the confrontation would be their only salvation.

Carl stopped before moving with them. "Gabriel?" he asked, using the hunter's true name.

The face that turned to him was an impassive visage that softened with recognition. "Yes?"

Carl silently strove for words, speechless for a moment. "God be with you," he managed, and the hunter gave him an amused smile.

"Perhaps," he said finally, andthe quixotic responsewas not quite what Carl wanted to hear. Gabriel grasped his shoulder and squeezed gently, trying to convey a modicum of reassurance. "Go in peace." The benediction was somehow fitting, both comforting and familiar.

Carl nodded tightly, dredging up a smile, but it was genuine enough for both of them to feel that perhaps, everything would turn out alright.

Carl had barely taken his place against the wall, pressed up next to Gaspar, when the hunter froze. A small hand crept into Carl's and he looked down to find, to his horror, that Michael had come with the men from the Basilica. With a feeling of dread banishing his calm, Carl knew that there was nothing to be done about it now.

Gabriel turned slowly from his contemplation of the crucifix above the altar, to stand facing the doors.

After a few moments, steps could be clearly heard outside the chapel. Carl could somehow feel the taint oppressing the air around them, and realized that, as close as they were, the men of the Order were touching enough to form a chain. The sensation of something not right, something evil, swept through the group.The door swung open with deceptive gentleness, and the creature dressed in white appeared.

-

((( I swear to you that I don't do this on purpose. I had intended to have that one scene we're all waiting for – yup, you know it – in this chapter, but my characters stoutly refused to let me skim over the details. So, unfortunately, it's not here. It wouldn't fit. But I can promise, if the number of reviews for this chap exceeds the number for ch.14, that it'll be up next weekend at the very latest. (and no, I'm not above extortion or blackmail when it comes to getting a response. I'll take anything, but commentaries are good. Yup, I'm greedy. Also, a stranger to shame. Hit the button!) )))