"Ok, this is boring. What exactly do they expect us to do?"
"Well, I rather like to make sure I bring a book with me. That way, I can block out when they-"
"AAAAAAAAAAA!"
"…when they scream?"
"Right." Both Carl and Izabella were sat on grassy floor, Carl with his brown leather book open on his lap, and Not looking at the scene before him. He had been on enough errands with Van Helsing to know better than look at him while he works.
But being the fresh girl she was, Izzy didn't know that. So she looked.
Blood was gushing from the bandit's broken nose, busted lips and bleeding gums. There were blood lines showing through his tattered clothes, and a brown riding glove dug their fingers into his quivering shoulder.
"Now, let us try again." Crack. She smacked the back of his head cruelly. "Why did you attack us?"
"And who sent you?" Van Helsing added, and raised his silver stake crossbow to the bandit's eyelevel.
"…we…we were…were…"
"This is taking forever! And I don't think I can stomach too much more of this…" Izabella looked away, and to Carl. "How much longer?" she whined.
"Until he talks."
"But it's already nightfall. I don't like being outside when it's dark."
"Old habit?"
"…yeah." She frowned, remembering how as children, they had…no! Not thinking about that!
"Nasty things vampires. I had a rather bad run in with them two years ago."
"Yes, your reputation precedes you both." She smiled to him, glad to be having a conversation as the two protectors beat the living hell out of the bandit for information he didn't want to give. That alone was getting him the sharper side of the blade. Because it meant he had something to hide. "How did you defeat Dracula?" her eyes were wide. She had only heard stories of their cleansing of their lands, never heard it first hand from the actual saviours.
"Oh, my." He beamed, feeling admired. "Well, at first with my brilliant mind, I discovered that Dracula was one Vladislaus Dragulia, son of the Valarious who made the pact with the lord to vanquish the evil monster he sired-"
"Dracula?"
"Yes. The pact would prevent his future family from entering the gates of Saint Peter, until he was destroyed. But, no father can kill their son." Carl closed his book, the gruesome scene before them forgotten for the time being. "So he left clues for his future generations. Only, the clues were hidden so well, none of his descendents could find them. And so, it was only when myself and Van Helsing arrived at the fray did we discover that the parchment left behind, was the 'key' to opening the door. And, there was an inscription on the wall, a picture, showing how to vanquish Dracula once and for all. We had to do it, or he and his brides would have brought to life their children, and gone to war with the world…and we would have lost."
"So what killed Dracula in the end?" she was like a little girl listening to a bed time story.
"Only werewolf venom could kill Dracula."
"So how did you get werewolf venom into him?"
"I bite him." The two looked up, seeing only the lips downwards of Van Helsing's face, as his hat covered his eyes. He held his long black coat open with one hand, and attached his crossbow to his side with the other. "Velkan Valarious bite me, and I became poisoned with the werewolf venom. My first moon was the night I faced Dracula…and I fought him. And won."
"You're a werewolf!" Izabella jumped up, her green dress billowing in the night wind, and she stepped back.
"No."
"But you just said…"
"Van 'elsing was cured, with the only existing vial of werewolf venom, antidote, by the last living Valarious. But she died." Gabriella said no more, knowing far more than she let on, and pushed the bandit to the floor. "Now, we have yet to get what we need."
"Then let's stop playing nice." Van Helsing spoke darkly, and turned swiftly to the bandit, his entire leather outfit spinning with his fast movement.
"…what?" Izabella turned to face the woods. She had heard a twig snap. She listened hard, and stepped towards the trees.
"Now Van Helsing." Carl tried to sound like the voice of authority. He tried. "Don't go too far again. Please." He added, when he received a snarl. "Just, well, remember what the order said last time!" Van Helsing back handed the bandit, and pulled a knife from inside his coat.
"Stop." Now Gabriella was all for scaring him into telling her what she wanted to know, and even beating them up. But he looked like he was going to kill him. Literally. "Van 'elsing." She warned, standing in front of him. "What are you doing?"
"Stand back." His eyes were still hidden by his hat, and Gabriella didn't move. "Move."
"No."
"Guys." Izabella stood before the trees now, a hand reach away. She could have sworn she heard something…
"That is an order, Ionache."
"No, 'elsing." He growled, and gripped the long dagger tightly.
"Guys, really. I think I may have heard…" she leaned forward. Had she just heard breathing? "Something…?" then she did see something. "RUN!" She whipped round, and her shout had drawn Gabriella from the bandit, drawn her sword, and yanked her sister behind her. But Izabella grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her and Carl back with her. "RUN!"
"Why?" Carl panicked. Then they heard a loud snarling roar.
"WEREWOLF!" Izabella screamed, and it emerged.
It stood at 8 feet, had dirty brown fur, glaring yellow eyes, a long snout and two jaws of sharp, dagger like fangs. Even the maulers were like knifes. Its claws were like talons, and a low rasping growl vibrated in its chest, and erupted from its daunting, open mouth.
"Well this isn't good." Carl said on cue.
"What should we do?" Izabella had only ever read about werewolves. Seeing one face to face was a HUGE difference.
"Stay behind me." Van Helsing raised his silver stake crossbow, and aimed at it.
"And me." Gabriella held her long smooth sword before her, staring like a trained hunter at the beast.
"My stakes are silver, and as you know, only silver can stop werewolves. Swords don't help."
"My sword is silver." She smirked at his silence, and scowl. That shut you up. She chuckled mentally, but focused solely on the creature before her. Her sister's safety was all that mattered to her.
"Carl, get your apprentice out of here, now."
"Will do." Carl said eagerly, and grabbed her wrist. But as soon as they moved, the werewolf threw his head back, and howled up at the full moon. "That's odd…it wasn't supposed to be a full moon tonight…"
"Carl!"
"Right!" he yanked on the frozen Izabella's arm, and dragged her backwards to the woods. The bandit was forgotten, as was his two friends, as the four of them backed off. Van Helsing and Gabriella stood side by side, looking at the beast.
"Are you good at this? Fighting monsters I mean?"
"I am." They spoke seriously, and he nodded. He then looked to her, and she was looking right at him.
"Care to dance?"
"I would love to." She said, in her feminine Romanian accent, and they looked back to the werewolf, that was slowly crawling forward. It stood on its hind legs, and Van Helsing held his crossbow with his left hand. He then searched with his right, and grasped her left wrist.
"Like to fly?" he leaned away from her, and she nodded.
"Do it."
"Wait…" The creature looked over them to the two running pray, one in lots of brown, and the other with blood red hair, and snarled. He leaped forward, and they began.
Van Helsing shot a stake at it, and made it dodge to the other side. He then yanked on Gabriella's wrist, and she put her left foot on his knee, and pushed off with her right. She then reached round with her right hand, holding her silver sword at arm's length, as Van Helsing swung her round like a blade of his own. The tip of the sword cut a long slice from one monstrous shoulder to its lower rib cage, very deeply. But it jumped back in pain, and managed to avoid too much damage.
Gabriella landed on Van Helsing's other side now, and span round, holding the hilt of her sword in both hands, and aiming the sword at him from the side of her face, samurai style. "Nice form."
"I do try." They smirked.
"But I prefer my crossbow." He smirked, and shot one straight through the creature's arm. With it, another shot through a leg, and another finally through the heart. The werewolf screeched in pain, and fell down, dead. "And it's good to see someone else with no problem in killing."
"I was doing what I had to, to protect my sister. She matters to me, nothing else." There was a cold tone to her voice, that made him looked at her with a frown. Something must have happened to her, to make her so adamant on protecting her sister. Well, something has happened to us all, somewhere down the line. I of all people understand that.
Snap.
They both span round, weapons raised as the father of all werewolves emerged from the woods to their right. He was even bigger and far bulkier than the other, and as black as night. His dark red eyes scanned over them both, and Van Helsing would have started shooting, if it hadn't looked so much like he did as a werewolf. It sniffed at the air, and looked to the fallen werewolf. A low hissing growl erupted from its throat, and it hunched its back.
Ok, not friendly. Now he started shooting, and saw Gabriella poise herself next to him. The silver stakes were missing their mark, as it moved far quicker than the smaller werewolf. Which was a feat itself because of his size.
"You are missing."
"Thank you." He growled, and continued to shoot rounds at the dodging creature.
Then, a large howl echoed through the woods, and Van Helsing cursed under his breath.
"Van 'elsing!"
"I know. There is more than one."
"I must go, that came from near my sister."
"Then go. You cramp my style as it is." She bolted into the trees, her heart racing, and wishing the horses hadn't run off, startled by the werewolves. She didn't know what happened to Van Helsing, but knew he would be alright. All that mattered now, was her sister.
Oh no…it's happening again! As she ran, as her heart pounded in her chest and her arms swung back and forth with her legs, she saw images of her past.
She was smaller, with a messy braid, askew from running just like she was now, in only a long white peasant dress, and holding a large club sized stick with her. And again, she was racing to save her sister. She only just managed to save her then. She would not allow herself to cut it any closer this time, or arrive too late either.
She skidded to a stop when she saw Carl up a tree, with a small ebony werewolf pressed up against it, snapping his jaws at him.
"GABRIELLA! HELP ME!"
"In the process." She jumped on its back, and held on as it reared back. It snarled angrily and thrashed from side to side to buck her off. But she grabbed a clump of his head fur, and with her right hand, brought down her sword. She drove it down through his neck, through the top of his heart, and twisted her sword to the side with a crunch. The creature fell to the floor, and she pulled her sword out of its corpse with a sickening squelch.
"Thank you." Carl sighed, and made the cross sign to God for thanks.
"Where is my sister?" she demanded, very Van Helsing like.
"Another werewolf chased her down there!" he pointed down the path. "Hurry." But she had already started running.
Izabella's legs were hurting, fear caused adrenaline to power her body into a burning sprint, as she was running for her life. She screamed all the way, hoping to attract attention from anyone to help her. Meaning her sister, of course. But she had yet to show, and she was cutting it short.
The biggest, nastiest looking alpha werewolf was tailing her in the shadows.
Her dark velvet green dress billowed as she ran, and her long blood red hair was whipped off her face by the sheer speed at which she was running. She stuck to the path, as the monster was using the trees as trampolines, bounding from one to the next. She screamed again, as it landed right in front of her. It was huge, with large muscles and thick grey white fur. Dark black eyes bore into her, and froze her solid to the spot. She panted, and her emerald eyes were wide with fear. It took one menacing step forward, and bore both rows of dangerous fangs. His jaws shook with the force of his snarling, and he stalked towards, her, and she whimpered.
She was going to die.
It brought a large claw up, ready to strike her. Izabella closed her eyes, and hung her head forward. She sobbed once, knowing she was going to die, and couldn't do anything about it. If she was lucky, it would kill her quickly, and not make her one of its' kind. She waited, and heard the whooshing sound of its claws swiping through the air.
But the hit didn't come.
Instead, she heard an agonising snarl of pain, and opened her eyes.
It was gone. But that's impossible…it was right here… she even felt something snag at her sleeve.
"Lady Ionache!" that rich, gentle voice. She knew that voice. It had only been hours since she heard it last, after all.
"Vladimir!" She looked to the direction of where the pained snarl came from, and saw Vladimir running from right there, to her. He grabbed her shoulders, and shuck her into reality.
"You have to run back the way you came, to your friends. You are safer there, do it now!"
"Come with me." She grabbed his wrist, and began to run.
"…you…" he looked down. Again, this woman showed concern towards him, a complete stranger.
To him. "You have to go. I will follow, but you must go first."
"But-"
"RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR." The werewolf snarled, and emerged from the trees…right were Vladimir ran from. His electrifying blue eyes begged her, and he pushed her backwards.
"RUN! DON'T LOOK BACK!"
"I WON'T LEAVE YOU!" It launched at them, and Vladimir jumped in front of her. He grabbed one shoulder in each hand, and pushed up so it couldn't bite him. But its sharp claws scratched and tore at his arms, making dark blood trickle down his skin.
"YOU MUST!" He didn't look at her, and snarled at the beast. "NOW!"
"NO!" She quickly grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground, and threw it into the werewolf's eyes. It recoiled in pain, and Izabella grasped his wrist defiantly. "No I will not." She then bolted back the way she came, as told, but with Vladimir in tow. He ran at her side, looking down at his hand.
She still held it. And she wouldn't let go of him, encase he went back to hold it off.
"This way!" he held her hand back, and yanked her into the trees. "I know a hiding place. Somewhere they won't go." She didn't question him, and ran as fast as she could. But she had been running for so long, her legs were cramping up on her, and she was struggling behind him. Vladimir span round, scooped her up into his arms effortlessly, and didn't stop running once. She clung to his neck for the second time that day, and watched as he jumped over grave stones…
Gabriella followed the sound of roaring howls, and soon came face to face with a large grey white werewolf. She saw something on the floor by its feet, and saw red.
There was green velvet at its feet, and it was snarling, blood dripping off its claws.
"You Bastard! YOU BASTARD!" Gabriella might have well have been a werewolf herself, as her attack was relentless. She charged forward, and swung her sword at its neck. It jumped back, and barely avoided having its head severed. From the moment on, it back off and off and off, not attacking her back.
Before she even took another breath, she had trailed a long slice up one shoulder to neck, put many cuts on its defensive arms, and snagged its legs once or twice too. Blood weeped from wounds on even its face, before she brought her sword right back to strike it good. But it saw this opening, and brought a monstrous fist to her chest, and set her careering back into a tree, hard. She winced in pain as her back met with the hard wood bark, and fell to the floor. She was immediately back up to pick up the fight…
To find no werewolf.
Gabriella ran forward, and looked around her frantically. "Come out you son of a bitch. Give her back to me. Give her back!" she screamed, tears falling down her face. "I am never too late to save her, never! You hear me! NEVER!"
"Gabriella!" Van Helsing, closely followed by Carl, ran over to her, Gabriel aiming his crossbow around them just encase. "Are you alright?"
"Bastard…" She dropped her sword, and then joined it on the floor, on her knees. Her hands ran through her hair, and she screamed loud enough to send bats fleeting through the trees in fright. This made Van Helsing shove the crossbow at Carl, and kneel down in front of her.
"Gabriella, what happened? Were you bitten!"
"No…my sister…Gabriel…" she grasped something slowly from between their knees, and held it up. It was a piece of green velvet. Van Helsing looked to it, and then to Gabriella's wavering, watering emerald eyes. "It…it got her. I…I was too late. I was too late. I was too late! I was her protector, her sister, and I was too late!" she sobbed, and Van Helsing pulled her into a hug.
"Don't give up just yet. There is no body, this might have gotten torn off her dress somehow, and she might be-"
"Blood." She interrupted. "I saw the blood on its hands…" she whimpered, and thumped his chest in vex. "I saw the fucking blood on its claws…and there was no one else here. We were the only ones in the area, and it had blood on its claws…her blood. Izabella meu Sora. Eu cadere nu…" She wailed for her sister in her one tongue, and only Carl understood her.
"Izabella my sister…I failed you." Carl translated for Van Helsing's benefit, and frowned. Van Helsing however, grabbed her shoulders and forced her to her feet.
"You don't know she is dead. She could still be out there, and she could need you now more than ever." He said sternly, and she slowly looked up, her eyes still bursting with tears, but she was silent. "You sister wouldn't give up on you, right?"
"No…"
"Then why are you giving up so easily? Buck up, get back in the hunt, and help me save your sister's ass. Or are you just going to stay here, and cry about it?" He didn't like it. But the only way to snap her out of her sorry state, was to verbally slap her back to reality. He realised it had worked, when she grabbed the hilt of her sword.
"If I don't find her…I am going dog hunting." She spat, and never looked so blood thirsty. Without another wore, letting her tears fall down her face, Gabriella stalked off into the woods, Van Helsing and Carl keeping a healthy distance, but on guard. Carl could only look out, but the other two held their weapons at the ready, listening for any slight sound of life…
"Where are we?" Izabella asked once he closed the door.
"The mausoleum." On the way here, she had noticed the distinct abundance of headstones and graves, crumbling from age and weathering. Weeds and long grass had sprouted up over the solemn place, and he had carried her inside the centre stone building.
"I know that, but where? In the middle of the werewolf infested woods? Or nearer the village?"
"Nether." He one word answered her, and pulled the bolt down over the door. "Come, quickly." He walked to the centre of the stone building, and stood by the stone coffin. "We haven't got long."
"Long for what? Where are we going now? We are locked inside a mausoleum. We aren't going anywhere."
"Yes we are." He seemed in a great rush, as he took hold of the slab top. He then gave a heave, and pushed it half off the coffin. "Get in."
"No." she said sternly.
"We haven't got time for this." He begged. "Please, he will be upon us in moments."
"He? You know the werewolf?"
"Forgive me."
"Wha? Why-ah!" one hard blow, and her world went black.
His neck long curtains hung forward, as he bent over her. He didn't want to back hand her like that, to knock her out, but he didn't have time for this. He frowned all the time, hating this, but he scooped her up, and carried her into the stone case with him. He laid her down, and sat next to her inside it. With a groan, Vladimir pulled the slab back over them, and sealed it shut.
And then silence.
Out cold, her breathing was slow and steady, and he had learnt to train his breathing to low also, even in the most stressful situations. He had had to.
He took this time, to turn on his side, and look at the woman laid next to him in more detail.
Her dark green dress was torn on the sleeve, her green gloves covered in dirt, her face pale from the cold, and her rose lips parted ever so slightly. Her face was a pale peach colour, her eyes closed and two long prongs hung at either side of her face, as her fringe. The rest of her hair was far longer, and fanned down her back with a slight wavy nature to it. Her body was slender and shaped perfectly, and she was shorter than he was. But he was tall anyway. Vladimir resisted sighing contently, as he pulled her filthy gloves from her hands. He placed the gloves to one side, and kissed each of her soft fingertips one at a time. This woman had shown him such kindness, such unprompted concern, it was touching. To him, who had never had such luxurious as the care of another, it was touching. He wrapped his arms around her, sad that he had had to harm her. He never wanted to harm her.
He held her close, and closed his eyes, concentrating on slowing his breathing further. Vladimir would just have to enjoy holding her, as he would never meet her again after this incidence.
I am just glad I followed him, followed my gut feeling. Or Izabella would be dead right now, not in my arms. He tensed.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Heavy foot steps vibrated through the stone of the coffin casing, and he listened carefully. He then closed his eyes, and listened harder.
Babum.
Babum.
Babum.
That loud beat, it was defiantly him.
The alpha wolf prowled through the mausoleum, sniffing at the air. He had trailed the smell of human fear, and it came to a stop here. But it was so faint, it could have been a human visiting their forgotten relative here, hours and hours ago.
He sniffed harder, and no. It was so weak, there was no way humans were near now. And there was just it, and the coffin here. And that thing was sealed, it could see that much. That is why he couldn't smell rotting flesh, as it sealed all air inside.
He raised its head, looking to the sky outside.
It would be dawn soon, and that would mean no more full moon.
It snarled once, on loosing its pray, and scampered out, to rely with the others.
Vladimir waited until he thought it too dangerous to stay in there any longer, before pushing up against the stone slab. He slid it off easily, and sighed with relief when there was sunlight peeping through the open door. No moon, no werewolf.
He sat up, and looked back down at Izabella. She still slept soundly, from her not to soundly sending to sleep. He felt so guilty, but they had to be quick, or their scent would be too strong to disguise themselves in the sealed tomb.
With another sigh, knowing his punishment from his grandfather when he got home, Vladimir cradled Izabella tenderly, and made his way back to the village.
