All I can say is sorry for the delay, a case of serious writers block and a death in the family have meant that I either couldn't write or didn't really have the motivation to write this. More will be coming, I will finish it.
Disclaimer: I am only borrowing Van Helsing and Carl, and am making no money from this. No infringement in any form is intended. Any similarities are unintentional.
However, if I could, I would keep Hugh Jackman and David Wenham all to myself and only ever let them out if they were very good.
Oh, and major typo in the last chapter- Balfour is actually meant to say – ". I wasn't able to stop him, and I'm now trapped." Instead of "Not trapped." Sorry, I was kind of stressed at the time of writing it.
Chapter 5 – Revelations and Interlude.
Stirring from her sleep, Tarja stared at the ceiling of her room. I don't remember going to sleep… Continuing to stare at the roof she let her thoughts drift back to the last thing she remembered. Walking in the woods first thing in the morning came to her first, then trying to save Paul came back to her clearly. Further images then became clearer, a stranger appeared trying to help – "Van Helsing!" Suddenly everything came back to her, including the fight and the presence of demon that she had banished and the zombies behind it…
Rising from the bed, she looked around for her warmest cloak, feeling the chill of early morning creep along her skin. Wrapping it tightly around her shoulders, she made her way out of her room and down the stairs into the kitchen. Nothing seems to be destroyed; perhaps they are as strong as Nico said they are.
Walking into the main room she came upon a sight that made her laugh. Gabriel was sprawled with boneless grace on one of the large chairs, pistol in hand and out for the count. Carl however was perched right on the edge of his chair cuddling one of her pillows like a teddy bear and was snoring loudly. Between them she had noticed that they had cleaned up whatever mess they had made and had even attempted to patch the door with a heavy blanket.
"Good Morning!!!!" she called in a loud voice, silently laughing as Carl attempted to leap out of his chair and only succeeded in landing hard on his back on the floor with his legs sticking in the air. Van Helsing had instantly snapped his eyes open and had aimed his pistol in her direction before realising whom it was and lowered his weapon.
"Wha?" Carl asked blearily as he blinked up at her from his less than ceremonial position on the floor. Rolling onto his front, he rose and placed the pillow back on the chair as quick as possible, realising that he must have been asleep with it.
"I said 'Good Morning'," Tarja replied with a smile. It had been a while since she had had visitors at the house and had forgotten how much fun it could be to wake them up.
"Morning," Van Helsing said as he rearranged himself into a more comfortable position in the chair. "I trust you slept well?"
"Yes, although I don't remember getting upstairs. What happened after I banished the demon? After that I can't remember," she asked sitting in the nearest vacant chair. Winding her cloak tighter and folding her legs under her, she turned her full attention to her surroundings. Nico's sword was missing from the wall and there was the faint smell of burnt flesh which was coming from outside.
"The concussion blast from the demon threw us all on the floor, and you passed out," Van Helsing began, crossing his legs and placing his pistol in it's customary position. "Once the demon was gone we had the other things to deal with. Carl realised that they were zombies and that the only way to free a zombie is to burn it and release its soul. Because we had not raised it, that was the only way, unless you are a necromancer yourself and you we out on the floor."
"True, that is the only way to free them. You were lucky that I had enough energy left to banish the demon. It could well have killed us all if I had not. Although, in a way it was useful," she replied, nodding in thought.
"Useful?" Van Helsing asked, a frown crossing his face. "In what way?"
"The amount of energy it took for me to return the demon to the underworld was everything I had left except for the bare minimum needed to sustain my life force. Because of that I went into a deep state of sleep." She looked down, as she continued, not wanting them to see the tears forming. "Nico spoke to me."
"Balfour spoke to you?" Van Helsing looked doubtful at best.
"Yes, he did." Hearing the tone in his voice, she snapped her head up to glare at him and Carl. Carl too, had a dubious look on his face. "He came to me in my dreams, using the sword that I gave him as a wedding present. When I made it I lodged a part of my personal energy, my soul, into the sword and also a part of his. That is how I know that it was Nico. Only he could reach me in that state and only by using the sword. Until now, only he and I knew about the sword and it's use."
"Do you know where he is?" Gabriel asked, still looking doubtful although willing to hear her out.
"He told me he was trapped betwixt and between this world and another, and that the only way that we could free him was to destroy Mercer."
"Why would destroying Mercer free Balfour?" Gabriel asked looking confused.
"Mercer is using the Cross of Rhade, with it he can increase his power over hundredfold. Once he has done that he can unleash an army of undead, from zombies to hunter ghosts and demons." She rose and began to pace back and forth whilst saying this, as if the pacing would make the whole thing go away.
"What is the Cross of Rhade? And what are Hunter Ghosts? " Gabriel asked.
Unexpectedly, it was Carl who answered. "The Cross of Rhade is an item of enormous mystical power. It is believed to have been one of the few items that the Devil and God collaborated on, which was used to seal a breach between this world and the world of the dead. Only someone with a connection to the dead can use it, and with it they can tear down the walls to this realm and the under world, or use it to destroy any evil," he said looking between Van Helsing and Tarja.
"Yes, that is what it is. Because both God and the Devil had a hand in its creation it can be used for both good and evil. With it Mercer plans on sealing his power base, and destroying any who stand in his way." She gave them a sad smile and said; "That includes Nico and us. It was how he was able to trap Nico. Once the power has been unlocked we only have short amount of time to both free Nico and gain control of the cross, and destroy it."
"But wont destroying the cross mean that the barriers of this world and the next will be torn away?" Carl asked. He had only a basic knowledge of the cross from reading at the abbey. He never believed that he would have to help in its destruction.
"It is a possibility, which is why we need to stop him from gaining control of the cross. Hunter Ghosts are spirits, which are called specifically for the task of hunting down and killing specific targets. It requires an awful lot of power to summon one."
"So that is how he has been killing people in plain sight without anyone seeing them? Because most people can't see ghosts?" Carl asked, realisation dawning.
"Yes, that is why we need to go and see an old friend of mine. She will be able to tell us what we need to do to stop Mercer." Tarja had stopped pacing and had turned to look at them. "But before we do that, I could do with some food. I don't know about you two, but I haven't eaten since yesterday morning and the food will help to restore my energy resources quicker than anything else."
At the mention of food, both men's stomachs began to growl loudly, voicing their approval of the idea. With a smile Tarja turned and walked into the kitchen and began to fill the kettle with water and heat it on the stove, which she kept lit all the time.
"I have some bread and honey if you want some, and some cured meats in the pantry under the stairs if you want," she called over her shoulder as she reached into the small cupboards next to the stove for the plates and cups that she would need.
Upon her offer Carl headed straight for the Pantry and busied himself with collecting some meat and the bread that they would need. Placing it on the table, which occupied the centre of the kitchen, he again turned to the Pantry to find the Honey.
Van Helsing had in the mean time rose from his perch in the chair and brought some more wood to feed both the fire in the hearth and in the stove. Whilst placing the wood in the stove he leaned in closer to Tarja in order to not be overheard by Carl. "Are you sure that you are alright to be up and around after losing that much energy?"
She smiled at his inquiry. "Yes, I am a fast healer and have found that with each time I grow stronger from such use, although it does make me tired for a few hours. But then you already knew that." She looked up into the concerned eyes, "Do not worry, if there is anything wrong my friend will be able to tell me. I feel fine, honest."
Satisfied by her answer for the time being, Gabriel retreated and helped Carl with the organising of the food. While helping Carl, Gabriel mused over his pre occupation with the health of the fiery woman. She reminded him of Anna in many ways. It had only been a scant year since his fateful trip to Transylvania, and his feelings for Anna had not diminished with her death. Perhaps her felt something due to his feelings of love for Anna and that Tarja reminded him so much of her?
No, as beautiful as she was, he felt nothing more than concern for someone who he had placed under his care. Whether she wanted it or not, he had decided that he would protect her until Balfour was returned to them. After all, he was certain that if the situation were reversed, that Balfour would do the same for him. With that comforting thought he let his mind drift back into the conversation that Carl and Tarja were having on the quality of data that was stored at the order on witchcraft from the point of a real Wiccan and from the viewpoint of a friar.
Far away in a large foreboding castle stood one of the most powerful and evil men that the world had seen in eons. Long black robes stirred in a non-present draft, barely seen in the shadows, which seemed to be a cloak of their own, hiding almost any hint of the true outline of his cloak against its surroundings. White staring eyes watched as the witch and her two new companions sat and ate breakfast. Waving a hand the pool of water returned to being clear, the image vanishing like a dream.
"So the witch survived did she?" He turned towards his throne, hewn from the stones of the castle itself, bones and skulls engraved within it. Sitting in his throne he turned to glance at the stand to the left of his throne, where a white cross stood. Delicately carved with a Celtic design and Latin inscriptions, it glowed dimly pulsing slowly to and unseen pace.
"Soon I will have enough power to crush her and her troublesome husband. For now I will have to settle with condemning Balfour to the Never realm." He began to laugh, its harsh sound echoing around the hall and into the depths of the castle.
Yes, it was another kind of explainy chapter, but if I didn't include it then you wouldn't get the rest of the story. As always review if you feel like it, or not. More will be following soon and will be a bit more interesting, I promise. Fen.