Disclaimer: I still do not own Van Helsing or Count Dracula, but I do own the story and April. Live long and prosper. -Linwe

April turned off the paved street. She strode into the desolate Town Graveyard, feeling very uncomfortable. She warily looked around, but could see no signs of the gravedigger. Not even a shovel was lying around, which it usually was when he was taking a break. Although he was quite the gossip, or just knew too much and too many people, he hardly ever left the graveyard at all. April didn't even have a clue where he lived or if he had any family, but everyone seemed to know him. Suddenly, she heard a sound and whirled around, only to find nothing.

"Hello?" She called, looking around and walking forward. "Is someone there?" No one answered her. She continued to walk forward, looking around all the while, but still seeing nothing out of the ordinary. "I suppose he's not here," she thought to herself. All of a sudden, she felt an arm slip around her waist. She shrieked.

"Nice day, don't you think?" It was the gravedigger. She looked up at the cloudy sky and then at him, shoving him away none too gently.

"Excuse me, sir," she said, brushing her cloak off. She hated the attention this make-up was getting her. "You are the town's gravedigger, are you not?" She asked in her false, husky voice she had taken to using.

"Why yes," he said, studying her carefully. "Who wants to know?" Raising an eyebrow, he continued to analyze her quite lecherously. She rolled her eyes in disgust.

"I'm Prudence Leolius." She said, extending her hand. He reached out to kiss it, but she shook his hand forcefully, stopping him in his tracks. He looked rather hurt.

"Anthony," was all he said, not bothering to include a last name.

"So I've heard." Although she actually hadn't.

"Is there something I can do for you, Madam?" He asked. "Have you had a death in your family? Or is someone about to--" he made a cut-throat gesture with his finger across his neck. He then took out his measuring tape.

"N-no," she said, suddenly very nervous. "I have a question, that's all."

"Oh." He said, looking disappointed. "And what would that be?"

"What do you know of a Count Dracula?" She asked, glancing around to make sure no one was watching them.

"I know that he is no more, my dear. Why do you ask?"

"So he is gone?" She was surprised the gossip had been true.

"I just said that."

"Do you know how it happened?" She asked.

"My sources say that it had something to do with that Mr. Van Helsing." He said with a puzzled look on his face. "Again, why do you wish to know?"

"I have my reasons." April said cryptically, looking away to the west at the sunset. At that moment, she got an idea. It was a crazy idea, and she knew it, but she didn't care. Suddenly, she knew what she had to do. "I must be going." April turned on her heel and left the puzzled man in the graveyard.

"Wait!" He called after her, so she turned, slightly annoyed. "Would you happen to be busy on Saturday night? I know of this great pub---"

"Yes! I'm busy, very busy. Goodnight!" She called quickly, and almost ran back onto the road, eager to get away from the creepy grave-digging man.

As April walked into her front door, not an hour later, she was completely consumed in her own thoughts.

All she could think about was her idea. She knew it was crazy, but she really didn't care. She knew she owed Count Dracula a debt for saving her life, and she thought that maybe this was the way to repay him. A life for a life. He saved hers, so now she had decided to give him back his. In addition to that, when he returned to life, he would no longer be a vampire, just a human. That way, he couldn't decide to suck her blood, and he wouldn't posses any of his extraordinary powers such as flight or hypnotism.

April knew she would have to use her amulet because she neither knew, nor possessed any other gypsy magic, though gypsy she was. Although, now that she thought about it, she had absolutely no idea where Dracula's ashes were… that could be a problem.

After cursing her own foolishness for not asking Anthony, the gravedigger, if he knew the location of Dracula's ashes, all she could do was think. She wondered if anyone was with Van Helsing when he was in Transylvania, or if they knew him personally. No. She could thing of no one except that short monk who had been following him. Trying to find Van Helsing was like trying to find your lucky sewing pin in a pile of many other lucky sewing pins. It was nearly impossible (unless they are colour-coded), and probably quite dangerous and painful. He was the most-wanted man in all of Europe, after all. She'd have to find that monk somehow, but how could she if she didn't even know his name? She wondered if anyone might know him, and then it hit her. Beatrice!

Beatrice was the lucky woman who had been saved by the young monk about a month before. April had been out of town when it happened, but everyone said they were attacked by thousands of baby vampires. April was personally, very glad she had missed it. Beatrice on the other hand, bragged that she had gotten to know the monk quite well. If that were true, she could probably tell April his name, and maybe his location, if they had stayed in touch. Beatrice was a braggart, but not a liar, maybe she could help.

As April climbed into bed, she said to herself, " resurrect a twice-dead vampire? What are you thinking, fool?" Even so, all she could think about was when he kissed her. She could still feel the security of his strong arms, his handsome face, the feel of his cold, yet searing lips upon hers. Those thoughts kept her both up all night and farther and farther from giving up.

TO BE CONTINUED…