Chapter 6-

Kate jumped half the steps, while still yelling out James's name and landed with a loud thud.

"James!! Where's your History book?!" She said quickly.

"What's wrong??" James said quite alarmed.

"History book where is it??" Kate repeated.

"My bag." He said.

Kate dove for the bag just as Carl came down the steps, every eye turned to him.

"Van Helsing your in a history book. So is Dracula." He said, scurrying over to where Kate was flipping through the table of contents.

"WHAAAAAAT?!" Helsing yelled and literally dove over the back of the couch. A startled shout followed by a loud scuffling sound, then a groan came from behind the couch. Everyone looked alarmed behind the large black sofa.

Van Helsing, in his haste to see the book that could possibly tell him his past, had landed on Kate, who had backhanded him in the jaw, in her surprised state. He sat massaging his pained jaw, his green eyes closed tightly. Kate was rubbing the top of her head and glaring at the monster hunter.

"Gabriel are you alright?" Anna said coming over to boyfriend, Van Helsing quickly nodded and let go of the bone before looking back up at his princess.

"You need to work on your reflexes girl, they are getting too good." Libby said, looking back and forth between the two.

"Sorry, Helsing, you have got to not do that..." Kate picked up the book that was diagonal from her and flipped back to Transylvanian history.

"Your backhand is getting much better...and a lot stronger too." Van said, now looking over the girl's shoulder, as was everyone else in the room.

Finally after some searching Kate came a crossed a section entitled "Crusades." She skimmed down to a likely paragraph and read aloud.

"During the Turkish crusades through Transylvania a man by the name of Gabriel Van Helsing rose through the ranks, contributing to the Romanian victories on several different occasions. Sometime after the fighting had stopped he betrayed Vladislaus Draguila, claiming his death to be a holy right. Ironically enough he went on to be a priest for the last 15 years of his life." Kate finished and looked at Van Helsing who looked rather crestfallen.

"This is what I already know!" He grumbled. "Does it say anything more?"

Kate handed him the book. "Not that I can see, angel boy. But I need to finish that report." She went back up the steps, pausing briefly to think over something but shook it off and continued.

Several hours later Van Helsing sat slumped over in the recliner, having stolen it while Carl was in the kitchen making a sandwich, sleeping very soundly. The history book was slumped over his lap, having long fallen useless. Everyone had migrated to the deck, in order to give the monster hunter some quiet.

"Aww he looks so cuddly when he's asleep." Libby said, standing next to Anna and looking in on the fallen angel that was Van Helsing. Anna tilted her head to one side, with a dreamy smile on her face.

"Hey love struckies! Get your heads back on earth and out of the clouds. We have a game to play!" Kevin said, leaning over his hand of cards, in the game War.

Libby turned back to her seat, glaring, and righted her hand, tugging on the gypsy princess's sleeve to get her attention. Anna turned back and picked up her cards, growing red. She covered her face with the cards and laid one on the table.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!" The entire group of teens shouted, as Anna and James's cards matched.

Kate closed down her word processor and put her stapled report in its cover and tossed it into her pack and headed down the steps. She looked to her left and saw Van Helsing sleeping deeply in the chair; the history book slumped sideways, now.

"AWW." She whispered, walking over to him and watching the now seemingly completely harmless monster hunter rest.

She opened the screen door just as Anna was raking in an armful of cards, while Libby was wearing her plotting face.

"Have you seen Helsing? He looks so cute when he's sleeping!"

"Yes. Anna and Libby where oogleing him." Alice said rolling her eyes.

"Oh you know that you where doing the same thing with Dracula!" Libby shot back.

"At least he's hot." Alice retorted.

"HE IS NOT!!" Libby yelled back, disgusted.

"And Van Helsing is?"

"HEY!" Anna yelped and looked sharply at Alice.

"Well.... he.... is." Alice said carefully, slowly backing up towards the door. The two where advancing upon her. The others could only watch in confusion.

Alice threw open the door and ran smack into a tussled looking Van Helsing, the former promptly fell on her butt with a thud." Helsing looked down, blinking and rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Later that night-

Everyone was crowed in Kate's room, ready to make the trip back to Helsing's time to obtain some info on the mysterious teardrop amulet. Kate clutched it in her hand; she pulled her hat low over her eyes and pulled on her coat. You could swear that she was a mini Van Helsing. James held the Hourglass up but just as he was about to activate it a loud crash came from the lower level. Everyone froze. Kate looked to Van Helsing who looked to Anna who looked to James, Carl, Alice, Libby and Kevin. They all nodded in conformation that they too heard the crash. Kate balled her hands up, but Carl put a hand on her shoulder, the girl turned, he held out a set of mini Tojo blades, with an odd squirter in the middle of them. Kate smiled broadly at the friar before following Helsing and Anna out into darkened hall.

They inched along, silently, shadow like. Until they reached the landing, there, in the silver moonlight stood a person, no not a person...a ghost. Kyle Dragon.

A/N: MUWHAHAHAHA!!! Sorry I felt the need for a real picky cliffhanger! Ducks and runs for life EEP!!! Don't kill me or you'll never get to read the rest!!