Chapter 15-
A/N: Just another sorry for posting that last chapter on Christmas…. ; I still feel dumb about it, but, just enjoy this chapter.
Valerious Manor-
"What, is Jimmy insane?!" Kevin tried to sit up but only succeeded in hurting his shoulder. He fell back to the bed and squeezed his eyes shut, hard.
"What's going on?!" Rachel yelled, waving the letter around her head furiously.
"This will take a while to explain properly." Carl said.
"I'm going after him." Marcum said.
"Um, no!" Alice grabbed his arm and held onto him.
The room exploded in conversation, Carl, try as he might, just could not raise his voice above the others. Finally Marcum noticed this and yelled, loudly.
"Let the friar talk."
"Thank you, Marc." Carl stood up on a chair. "James is correct, you have to go back to your time and continue with your lives; but at the moment we have no way to send you back to your time, so, until the Hourglass is found, you have no other choice but to remain here."
James's P.O.V-
I pushed the mare hard down the snowy path; I had to make that stretch, I had to prove to myself that my childhood nightmares were just that, nightmares; I couldn't accept that Kate was gone. The cold wind blew fiercely at my face, but I didn't care I had to make that four miles. 3 miles…. 2 miles…. 1 mile, I came to the bend and my horse and I slid around it on the ice and I rolled off into the icy, cold snow. My jaw gave a horrible throb of pain as I hit the frozen ground, however, I did not let that stop me; I pushed myself up and staggered through the snow only to slip on a hidden patch of ice and fall face down in the snow once more. I could feel the cold stuff infiltrating my mouth and turning to water, sliding down my throat, causing me to cough and cough. I could tell my face had grown red from all the coughing I was doing; finally I stopped and looked up.
No! No! It's not real!!
There in the snow lay Kate and Van Helsing, their hair frozen to their faces and their clothing turned to nothing but ice. A red substance, long frozen, ran out into the snow beneath her. I pounded my fist into the snow and winced as I felt something snap beneath my balled hand.
"No, for years…. no, I…I'll find a way… no…. Kate…" Hot tears began to pour forth from my eyes and down my face, quickly turning cold in the icy air.
Adriana and Corbett-
Adriana held the amulet in her hands, looking it over while her brother flipped through a large dusty volume.
"Lets bring father back first, Corbett, I can't remember his face."
Corbett looked down at the book; a finger was marking the page in the dusty book that he had just flipped to. He gave a sigh and opened it up and read it for a few seconds.
"Adriana, we can't bring father back…yet." Corbett sighed as his sister's face fell; this was the most emotion she had shown since their father had been killed. "We must bring back things of a lower power than father… so who shall we bring back first."
Adriana looked at her brother with a slow, evil grin.
"What is it that is in your head, Adriana?" Corbett said, snapping the book shut and setting it on the mantel. She slowly got up, letting the amulet dangle from its chain.
"How will we know when it is ready?" She said, letting the firelight reflect in it.
"According to the book, ve shall know when it glows with a black a yellow entwining flame.
Adriana looked at the amulet, removing it from the firelight; it didn't even shimmer. "It seems as though we have some work to do." She smirked, revealing sharp fangs.
"Vhat's in your head?" Corbett had now moved over to his sister and gave a lopsided smile, something of a flame glowed in his eyes he revealed his sharp fangs.
"Let us burn our enemies!"
James's P.O.V-
The tears had long dried, my sobs went unheard and the winter's coldness stayed with me. I walked along the path of the riverbanks and gazed up at the stars and continued to walk.
I should be balling my eyes out right now for my cousin, but I'm not, why I don't know. I guess I have no more tears left to cry. I feel so cold…like it's consuming me, just like it consumed Kate and froze her bones and flesh…froze her to death.
Something suddenly jerked me out of my thoughts and I fell to the snowy ground. I winced, the fall rattled my jaw and it throbbed again; I found myself looking up at my mare, she was frozen in place. I climbed to my feet and squeezed my eyes shut again; upon opening them I saw that the mare's brown eyes were full of pure terror. I slowly turned, following the fearful gaze to a clump of bushes off to my left. Suddenly the mare reared back, tossing Van Helsing and Kate's bodies into the snow and causeing me to fall back once again. I was looking up at the sky as I slowly sat back up, why had my horse done that? I clambered up and gripped the hilt of my gun and looked around, nothing, just the night's silence. I bowed my head and looked down.
All at once and brown blear tore out of the bushes and charged at me; before I could even un-holster my gun I was thrown up into the air and landed, hard, on the back on something very big and furry; the last thing I remember is the feeling of branches whipping at my face as we moved, then the darkness that threatened to over take me since I found out, finally won.
Valerious Manor-
"So, you mean, this is Van Helsing's time?!"
"Yes."
"Oh my god, I'm dreaming."
"No, no, its real. Watch."
"OW! Carl!"
"Sorry. Their, its real."
"Did you have to trip me?"
"It was for purposes of proof."
"I would still be annoyed even if that made sense."
"My brain hurts."
Rachel held her head and shook it. Carl looked curiously at her.
"Possibly a head injury, must have a look at that."
"I don't think Rache, meant it in that sense."
"Oh."
Marcum and Carl were, at the moment, trying to explain just were they where to Rachel. They were not doing much more than confusing her more.
"….So those freaks….they got Kate and Van Helsing?" She said quietly.
"Well….we don't know if they "got" them or if they are alive." Carl said looking down, avoiding the two questioning pairs of eyes. "We do know they got the Hourglass, though. I think the amulet was with Kate."
"Hourglass?" Marcum and Rachel looked questioningly at the friar.
"Oh dear, you better have a seat, Marcum."
Meanwhile Libby had taken Anna to the kitchens and persuaded her to drink some hot tea, to at least see if she could be clamed enough to talk.
"There, isn't that better." Libby said, smiling at Anna.
Anna looked at the teen before her and then looked back down at the cup in front of her.
"Hey, listen, it helps to talk."
Anna looked up. "How could you possibly know…."
Libby sighed and took off her bracelet and handed it to Anna, who looked at it blankly.
"This is how, do you see the picture of the elderly woman?" Anna nodded and looked at it. "That is-was my grandma. She died when I was young, but oh god, did I cry, I got all isolated and wouldn't come out of my room for sometimes days on end. I got all silent and withdrawn, like you are doing now. But you know what? Kate came and made me talk about it, she cried with me and helped me see past the bad to the good. Remember all the times we spent together and cherish them for what they were. The point is, Anna, I'm not letting you leave this table until you get all of it out of you system about Gabriel." Libby looked at Anna with a level gaze she was serious she was not going to let Anna leave that table.
"…Gabriel…. I-I-he jumped after Kate a-and a hell beast cut his grappler cable. I saw the whole thing…."
Libby sat in silence for a moment before dropping her head. She could no longer hold in her tears they swelled to the surface of her eyes. The very tears she vowed to hold back came bursting through the floodgates of her eyes and spilled over her face and onto the wooden table. They pooled into puddles of sadness and hate and ran down the length of the solid wooden table. Such bitter tears they were; filled with sadness for her fallen best friend and hate for those that condemned her to an early and undeserved grave. Silently, unknown to the gypsy princess, Libby vowed, to find Corbett and Adriana and avenge her friend's death; she had to, otherwise Kate will come back as a vampire, according to Alice's Vampire Encyclopedia, and she could not see Kate deprived of her soul, just because of a few lousy vampires.
James's P.O.V-
My jaw's throbbing brought me back to reality; I slowly opened my eyes to find myself in a cave, the iciness of winter was taken off at the entrance and cast aside by the natural barriers against the wind and snow. A thin, wore looking figure, stood, just in the faint light; he seemed somehow familiar, but I couldn't place his form. He turned; his face remained hidden, and limped toward me. I felt around for my weapons, only to find them missing.
Shit…this isn't too good lookin.
The figure advanced even further into the cave and stopped at my feet; he looked down at me, I could hear his ragged breathing. Whoever this man is, he must have a hard life.
"W-what were you doing with those bodies?" His voice sounded forced, like a low growl slowly morphing into a normal voice.
"T-they are my friends, they…had an accident." I said, drawing myself up to a standing position, just incase I had to make a run.
"What kind of accident?" His voice…. its so familiar! Who is he?!
"They…were thrown out of a window at Valerious Manor…." I was about to continue but something stopped me, the man took his chance.
"Valerious Manor?! Tell me, is Anna still alive?" He said, almost in a feverish tone.
"Yes, she is…though…her world is shattered…"
"What? How?" He took a large step forward and revealed his face in the small glimmer of light that shown through a hole in the roof of the cave. I gasped and fell over.
"Valken Valerious! But how?!"
A/N: I think I'll stop here. Valken is alive?! Find out in the next chapter, more will be revealed, I promise. Right hand up to the sky. ;