Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Van Helsing characters. I only own Kida. The italicized composition also does not belong to me. It belongs to an anonymous writer.

Van Helsing: Blood Rain

Chapter Seven: Finality

The girl emerged from her manmade womb; hair and wings dripping with thick fluid. The newly born heart's beat spread throughout the chamber, and with each of its beats had lain mankind's fate.

Why this little girl? And how is she connected to the fate of thousands everywhere?

That question that lingered unfailingly in Van Helsing's mind through the centuries, was about to be answered with an intimidating display of her awesome power.

Her amber eyes locked briefly with Dracula's before they strayed to the environment. As she did, the torches that gave the chamber its light flickered and dimmed as the focused glare memorized every aspect of the tower, pinning every living being's movement with the mere gaze.

Beside her, the friar gave a slight shift. The girl merely glanced at him then turned back to the figure standing before her. Dracula stood with an outstretched hand and a smile that would have resembled a genuine act of tenderness, of the eyes that accompanied it had not been empty and desolate.

In the outstretched hand rested the worn, stuffed griffin that the hunter had seen with Kida time and time again. Though in the fading light, the comfort object that Kida once held within her little arms seemed… dead.

"Welcome to the human plane… Cadence." In the vampire's lethally beautiful azure eyes came the unmistakable flicker of mankind's ultimate doom.

The girl merely nodded dismissively, as the corrupt heart would not permit otherwise. Cadence — the name of the newly baptized — accepted the stuffed creature with less than eager hands.

Pride… Igor thought to himself in wonder. How could a little girl have so much?

Van Helsing set his jaw determinedly and went about the newly formed plan rushing through his mind. Instinct was the fuel for this courageous attempt, and although Van Helsing was kept alive by this instinct, the impulse-driven line of reasoning was poor basis for a plan.

Cadence eyed the tall man with contempt. Even with the knowledge that the man was Lucifer's personal pawn, her gaze washed over him with the air of suppressed jealousy.

The evident envy of the girl brought a despicable chuckle to the vampire's lips. "Aah… pure, untainted envy… you give me so much of it." An almost adoring smirk came to his lips. "Good."

At that moment, the whizzing of Van Helsing's tojo blades reached for the vampire's neck from above. He nonchalantly dodged it and allowed the strong, unseen force push Van Helsing upward, slamming him bodily into the rock ceiling. The girl, firmly rooted to the ground, giggled at the sound of the hunter's pained groan and continued to slam him upward repeatedly until all thoughts of resistance was beyond him.

The girl's evident desire for pain assured the Count that lust had set in and was being displayed by the well-corrupted spirit.

The Count's eyes closed s he heard the hunter's groans and allowed himself to drown in momentary bliss. The girl seemed not to want to share the hunter's anguish with the Count, whom was increasingly confident that the Fourth of the Seven had, in fact, taken effect.

"Greed." The Count then looked up at the hunter, and smirked. "Van Helsing… are you not happy for the girl?" A disturbingly lighthearted laugh replaced the silence of the chamber. "She is doing well for a child." Dracula glanced meaningfully at Cadence. "So far, she has shown me the Fourth of the Seven Sins."

Through the pain, Van Helsing managed to give a defiant snort. "Why are you even wasting your time on your stupid antics? Even now, you continue your self-obsessed quests for approvement and appreciation. You could have been doing something with your da—" A short, strangled gasp followed as an immature, but pure wrath took the hunter's breath in annoyance at his ability to speak.

A short, sharp pang of anger and agony staked the Count through the heart. The hunter's arrogant words awakened mortal memories hidden for long, hard, cold centuries in the vampire's subconscious.

"You haven't changed, I see." The vampire sighed, then shook his head. "My so-called antics would have saved millions… But you…" Dracula cringed accusingly at the hunter. "You whom I called my closest friend and confidant… you were the first to discourage me."

The girl allowed Dracula his rant and continued to hold the hunter to the ceiling with her powerful gaze.

"You… you were the person who led them to believe that my research was black sorcery. You had me condemned… because of my knowledge." Dracula nudged the now motionless friar with a foot. "I am surprised the monk hasn't met the same fate."

Friar… Van Helsing thought, fondly recalling the times that he'd enjoyed with Carl, with many people having to be corrected of the friar's title.

Cadence impatiently clicked her tongue and lazily released the hunter from the ceiling. The hunter plummeted a few feet before being pushed back up against the hard stone. A corner of Dracula's mouth quirked upward in a smirk. "The Sixth. Hmm… Very good, Cadence. But where is the Seventh?"

Cadence merely shrugged as her gaze continued to hold an exhausted Van Helsing to the ceiling.

Dracula turned once again to the man on the ceiling. "But, then again, Gabriel, I have you to thank for this power coursing through this hollow form. Also, it is you who will contribute to the last Sin."

Van Helsing briefly coughed, and blood spilled from his mouth and dripped quietly onto the tower's flooring.

The girl observed the droplets of blood and the small streams they created between the stones. After a few seconds, she fixed Van Helsing with a hungry, amber gaze and used the cold, Transylvanian winds to quickly slice shallow wounds on the hunter's body.

His blood came in small streams and rained down on both the Count and Cadence.

Cadence greedily consumed the hunter's blood with the voracity of the Count himself. And, Dracula, now more than satisfied, permitted the warm crimson to drip onto his face, shoulders, and arms and slide down to drown him in the hunter's agony.

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This is the last chapter of Blood Rain. There shall be a sequel. For Van Helsing's fans, I am truly sorry for Van Helsing's torment… The sequel is prologued by the epilogue on the next "page". I hope that you will find it satisfactory.

FireBlood