Hey there y'all. New chapter up, just like me at four in the morning. Insomnia is a great thing. Cheers again to endoreo vende for the fantastic review, I aint too sure if they can have wives either but since Balfour isn't a religious person per se then I say he can (that and it's my story). I feel I have to apologise now for the lack of action but this is kind of an explanation chapter, if it isn't written then nothing else will really make sense.
Anyhow, here is the next bit, although where it's going to go, goddess only knows...
Chapter 3 – Life, Death, and Something Else.
Van Helsing blinked, taking in that last bit of the conversation. "Married?" He could not picture Balfour as being married, at all.
"Well, that is usually what a ring on this finger means, yes." She smiled at the gormless faces on both Gabriel and Carl, highly amused.
"I'm sorry, but Balfour just doesn't seem to be the type to be married." Van Helsing said, as if it was the only thing he could think of to say in the moment.
"He told me that would be your reaction, described it down to the smallest detail," she said still smiling. "He even included the gaping mouth."
To this, both of the men closed their mouths with an audible snap. Smiling, Tarja turned and picked up the first aid kit and walked over to Van Helsing's horse, placing it back in its correct place.
"How did you know where the first aid kit went?" Carl asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously. All they had was her word that she was Balfour's wife, and since Carl had never met Balfour he had no basis on which to decide if this was true or not. In his line of work he had always found that caution was always the best cause of action.
"It's the same place that Nico keeps his. You hero types are always the same." She turned to face them, pulling her singed coat around her more tightly. "Look, if you want to play twenty questions you can, but can we at least do it back at my house where we can warm up? I don't know about you, but I happen to have had a fairly tiring day."
"That does seem like a reasonable idea," Van Helsing stated, easing himself into a standing position from where he was sat on the fallen tree. "Perhaps you should borrow my horse for the journey," he began.
"I will be fine walking, thank you," Tarja interrupted, moving towards the edge of the small clearing and waiting for them to gather their gear and ready their horses. "Besides, my house isn't that far. I live in the woods for a variety of reasons; one being that it is generally quieter. The rest I will explain when we have had something warm to drink?"
"Thank you, we would be grateful, and perhaps you could tell us more of Nicandro?" Gabriel said as he mounted his horse with his usual ease.
Turning and heading off into the woods, Van Helsing and Carl followed Tarja at a reasonable distance so as not to be overheard by the woman.
"Van Helsing, are you sure we can trust this woman? It's not as if she has given us any real proof of who she is. This could well be a trap." Carl whispered to Gabriel, keeping his eyes on the woman in front, who was walking at a brisk pace confidently through the woods.
"I trust her Carl. I can sense no evil from her and she was trying to save that man. At the cost of her own life, Carl," Gabriel whispered back. He turned to look at Carl as he said the next. "She was right about Balfour storing his first aid kit in the same place, and it would be just like him to know how I would react to the knowledge of him being married." He turned in time to see that Tarja was turning off to the right onto a slightly more used track than the one that they had been on before they heard the scream. "For now I don't see why we cannot trust her and return to her house. We may learn what has happened to Balfour and what exactly is going on in these parts."
"Well if you trust her than I suppose that I can too," Carl grudgingly admitted.
Turning to see if they were keeping up, Tarja sighed to see them deep in deliberation. No doubt talking about whether I'm telling the truth about you, my love. She thought back to the last conversation she had with Nicandro about the great Van Helsing over a year ago:
"I never told you how I first met Van Helsing did I?" Nico turned to give her two of the few mugs that they had left in the house that weren't chipped.
"No, you didn't but I can imagine that it didn't go quite as planned?" she asked with a smile, placing tealeaves in both mugs and adding hot water.
"You got that right Angel. We were assigned together to take down some Harpy-like things that were wreaking havoc in one of the coastal villages back in my native Yorkshire. We were meant to meet in a local pub, but because Van Helsing has quite a bit of a reputation over in Europe, he was recognised by the local Bobbies." He paused taking a sip of the tea that she had passed to him, sighing in contentment at the soothing taste.
"So there he was making a break form the pub, with the police on his tail when I arrived. He must have recognised me because he just leapt up on the back of my horse and said 'move it before we both end up arrested'. So there we were, running from the local law, headlong into the moors and the mist, with no idea where we were going and could barely see through the mist in the night."
"And what happened then, my dashing hero of a husband?" she asked snuggling closer to him as he placed an arm around her shoulders.
"Well, we ended up getting completely lost and while he hid from sight, I had to ask for directions from a local farmstead." Nico answered with a laugh. "Poor guy, he had to hide every time we came across a town behind his hat and scarf."
"Sounds like the start to a beautiful friendship," she said laying her head on his shoulder, eyes closed.
"Yeah, you could say that Angel. Good fighter, that man. None better to watch you back. And the most resourceful man I ever met, even though he cannot remember much of his past. Has this uncanny knack of sensing evil...."
Her musings were cut short when she realised that they had reached the last part of the journey to her house. Turning to the men she raised a hand to bring them to a halt. "You will need to dismount from here and walk. The path becomes narrow and is along the edge of a river gorge. It would be easier for the horses and far safer. I don't want to have to peel you off of the rocks below."
Dismounting from their horses, Van Helsing and Carl followed her through the edge of the tree line to look down, and down, and down upon the river in the gorge. Looking around they could see what she meant about the path. It was very narrow and winding with some parts overhung by rocky outcrops, which would only just allow the height of the horses or a grown man to pass.
Below, the river roared on its way towards the sea as it cut through thousands of years of deposited rocks, to create the huge gorge. Mist rose from the river in a steady stream as the thunder of a nearby waterfall could be heard.
"You weren't kidding about the trail." Carl said, still gazing in awe at the gorge. "Its beautiful. You live in the gorge?"
"At the top of it actually. From where we were in the woods, this is the quickest route, and the most scenic." Not actually turning to look at them, she continued, eyes watching her footing. "I like to walk this way when I feel the need to become closer to my surroundings, and the life present in the woods. It's one of the few places where death doesn't seem to permeate the air as much. My home is at the top of the falls, in a large clearing. You will see when we reach it."
They continued on in silence, concentrating on their footing. None wanted to take the perilous plunge into the frigid waters below, or onto the rock under the water. Soon, they came to a large waterfall, where only the thunder of the water could be heard. Here, the path took on a steeper incline as they climbed upwards along its edge, well away from the spray that created the mist.
Upon reaching the top of the falls, the roaring began to fade with distance from the falls. And a clearing within the woods became visible. Within it stood a small two story wooden cabin. It had fallen into slight disrepair, but appeared sturdy and well built. Outside the cabin was a small garden with various herbs and other plants that neither Carl, nor Van Helsing could name.
"Welcome to my home. Round the back are the stables. My horse is tied in the larger stall but there are three smaller stalls in which you can tie your horses with racks for your tack. I should warn you that Obsidian doesn't really like strangers, so keeping your distance would be a good idea, unless you wish to get booted." Tarja pointed to the east side of the house, which as they had neared had brought the stables into view. "I shall be inside preparing tea." With that last she made for the house, saying a small prayer before entering.
"She was being sincere about the whole death being less of a presence in the gorge, wasn't she?" Carl asked Gabriel as they pulled their horses into the stables.
"Yes, she was. I could feel the stench of death lessen to almost nothing while we walked in the gorge, it seems that even here has almost none of the bad vibes that the woods had." Gabriel confirmed, taking a wide birth around the glaring jet-black filly tied within the largest stall.
"So you think that she really is married to Balfour? And why did she call him Nico?" Carl asked, removing his saddle from his horse and began brushing it down.
"I think that she is married to him, yes. She called him Nico because his first name is Nicandro. I never referred to him as that because he told me that if I couldn't remember what mine was then I shouldn't get to call him by his." Van Helsing smiled at the memory of that 'discussion'. "I have to admit though, it would be interesting to find out how those two met and ended up getting married..."
Finishing brushing down their horses and ensuring that they were securely tied down, they made their way back towards the front of the cabin and into the main room of the house.
The interior was sparsely decorated with only a few metalwork designs hanging from the wall that were Celtic in design. Above the mantle of the fireplace hung the one item that Van Helsing thought Balfour would never part with. His sword, still dented from his many encounters with monsters, was mounted in a horizontal position and gleamed like it had been polished only recently.
"He swears that that sword has saved his life more times than he can count," Tarja said, appearing from a deeper room with a tray and three steaming mugs of tea upon it. "Claims it can cleave gargoyles into pieces."
"He would be right about the Gargoyles. I've seen him use it with great proficiency. The important question is why it is hanging on the wall and isn't with him. Where is he?" Van Helsing turned to look at Tarja as she passed both him and Carl mugs, gesturing for them to sit in the sturdy hand crafted chairs.
Staring down at her mug, a sad look crossed her face before she looked up at them both. "That is a long story which I will tell you on one condition, that you answer my next question truthfully."
"Which is?"
"Do you believe that I am married to Nicandro and that what I have told you already is the truth?" Her eyes bored into Gabriel's.
"Yes, I believe that you are telling the truth. Now, where is Balfour?" Van Helsing asked looking straight back into her eyes without flinching.
Tarja sighed and looked down. "This may not be easy for you to hear and you may not believe what I am telling you is true." She placed her mug on the floor and crossed her legs under her. Looking up at the two of them with tears in her eyes, she began:
"I don't know where Nico is. The last time I saw him was a month ago when he told me that he was going to get help. I think that he was going to call you for help but he doesn't talk about order business with me.
The reason his sword is on the wall is because as a wedding gift, I crafted him a new one, which I empowered with pure white magic to help him fight the monsters and the evil spirits that we have been fighting for the last five years. He took his new sword with him. Through it I can always sense where he is and whether he is in danger, but my connection was cut off three weeks ago. I'm worried that Mercer had something to do with it."
Van Helsing who had remained silent throughout this piped up. "Who is this Mercer and what does he have to do with this and with Nico?"
"Mercer is the local Lord of the land and is evil in the purest sense of the word. You are aware that magic exists in the world and that there are practicing Wiccans, I take it? Mercer is heavily involved in magic, only instead of it being what we would call white magic, he is completely into the dark arts." She paused at the look of confusion on Gabriel's face and then almost laughed at the look of disbelief on Carl's face. "I know that you, Carl, don't believe in magic, but hear me out."
"Okay." He said and sat back, his face going into 'listening' mode.
"The world is full of magic, light and dark, magic that I practice is mainly white, although some aspects are what you would call grey. The magic I used earlier to save that stupid idiot was almost pure white energy. Anything less would not have driven that demon back into the underworld. Mercer had sent it to no doubt intercept you. I have been walking the woods for days to see if anyone would come. The idiot, who was called Paul, had followed me and got himself caught by the demon.
Mercer has the ability to control the dark creatures of the underworld, or what you would call hell, and get them to do his bidding. How I do not know, but he uses this to maintain his iron grip on the local populace, most likely through dark magic. He can also control spirits and the dead. To what degree I do not know, and I am sure that only Nico and I knew that for sure." She was looking at them both carefully. Gauging their reactions, she could tell that Van Helsing was considering this while Carl looked as close to instant disbelief as someone as open minded as he could be.
"How do you know that he can control the dead and spirits? Can that not be done using ritual magic?" Van Helsing asked. He had only a small amount of knowledge of magic, but did know that it involved a ritual of some sort.
"Because, aside from being a Wiccan priestess, I am also a necromancer, a person who can control the dead and summon ghosts and ask them to do my bidding, the grey aspect to my magic. That is the difference between Mercer and I. He has enough power to force the spirits in the area to do his bidding, I believe by his dealings with the devil, whereas I can only beseech their help. Ritual magic has its place in the summoning of a ghost, but is a natural born talent and cannot be taught to someone who is insensitive to the spirit world. Carl, here is an insensate, and cannot feel the presence of the spirits."
To this Carl looked slightly offended, but remained silent as she continued.
"My mother taught me, as her grandmother did before her. Because of my 'faith' as it were I am the local doctor through my knowledge of healing herbs and spells. I am also the protector of the people and help whenever I can, but Mercer has become too strong."
"So Mercer is using the spirits of the dead and lower minions of hell to control people and maintain his power base?" Van Helsing asked, processing the information.
"Yes, Nico and I have been trying to stop him for the last five years. I suspect that he is the reason that I have lost contact with Nico. He told me that if anything ever happened to him, to contact the order and ask for your services. He trusts you with his life, and so do I."
"So the reports of people dying under suspicious circumstances were Mercer killing people who were threats to him and Nico got involved and is now missing?" Van Helsing asked, the pieces fitting together in his head.
"That about sums it up in a nutshell, yes." Tarja said, rising and taking the empty mugs from them all.
Before she could move to the kitchen however, an unearthly shriek rent the air and the door to the outside of the house began to glow. Tarja staggered as if she had been hit and gasped.
"He must have known what happened in the woods," She bent over double as the door rattled threateningly. "He must have had a spirit in the woods watching that I could not sense!"
With a tremendous roar the door shattered to reveal a flaming demon, howling in fury as the wards on the door exploded and Tarja dropped to the floor in a scream of agony, leaving Van Helsing and Carl facing the demon and the three undead who stood behind it.
The evil CLIFF HANGER, heh heh. Thought I would leave it there and see what you think, as always please leave a review, even if it's just to say its ok so far - Fen
Oh and one final thing, is it me or should snow be banned as an evil substance??