Chapter Seven - Urgency
Lena POV
I paced restlessly, my boots clicking on the marble floors, despair driving my every move. Giovanni had been subdued into a restless sleep, though his fit was the worst one I had seen. Oh, Cat, why did you leave us? A silent tear fell down my cheek, and I dashed it away with a distinguished sound of footsteps prompted me to turn, regarding the Commander approaching me with masked calm. "Do you bring news?"
The Commander nodded and bowed respectfully, her strong figure instilling a sense of tranquility into the throne room. "Yes, my Lady. We have brought him."
Carl POV
We had been in the main square when they came upon us. Van Helsing, though strong, had been disoriented from Dracula's parting blow. Subdued and unconscious, the officers simply dragged him along, and I followed, led roughly by a single soldier. A jeering crowd lined the sides of our procession through the streets, towards the palace. From a window, a young woman, fair and graceful, gazed coldly down at our plight. Ah… so that is why…
At the gate, we were met by another soldier. The armor was of fine workmanship, and denoted the importance and rank of this particular soldier. Our captors stood at attention until their Commander motioned. "So…" My eyes widened at the voice of a woman. "This is the famed Van Helsing, vigilante and executioner? Did not take much of a fight to put him on his knees, did it?" She studied my partner's exhausted form before drawing back her foot and kicking him roughly in the diaphragm. He jerked, coughing and gasping, but not fully conscious. She sneered, disgust etched into her face, before whirling and calling to her soldiers. "Bring them."
I could not pay much attention to the fine architecture of the palace on the way to what I presumed was the throne room. However, certain details stood out to me. The walls depicted murals of angels, including a figure that was very familiar to me. Perhaps she spoke the truth… Ahh, this would explain so many things! The strangest thing, however, was the opposite walls' murals. Instead of angels, they featured demons; vampires took the most prominence. Dracula stood to the right side, surrounded by his brides. The four brides stared balefully across the way at the mural of Gabriel and the angels of Heaven, but Dracula himself looked to the side, past his brides. Then I saw her. In the very outmost corner of the mural, Catalina Dracula stood, the weight of her eyes on the image of Heaven. A sudden jerk of my arms wrenched my attention away from the murals, and onto the immediate danger.
The woman I'd seen at the window stood before me, her light hair flowing down her back and shoulders. Her deep green gown was embroidered with golden thread, pearls, and a single red rose at the center of her bodice. However, in contrast to her angelic appearance, her green eyes were cold and hard. "Do you know what you have done, voi sciocchi?" Her hands were clasped in front of her, a silver ring set on her right hand. A Ring of State. The epiphany washed over me before cold dread sunk in. This was the princess of Italy, the very same that had harbored the last vampire, Catalina Dracula. She had the power to do anything to us, and her motivations were unclear.
While I was pondering, she looked from me to my lethargic companion. Her pretty face creased in a severe frown, and she barked at a servant standing nearby. "Wake this disgraceful man, before my patience runs thin." As if expecting this, the maid hurried forward and emptied the contents of a bucket on Van Helsing. A droplet on my hand told me that yes, the water was quite cold. Van Helsing (Gabriel?) jerked upright, sputtering and shaking violently. "Thank you for deciding to grace us with your presence, Gabriel." His attention jerked to rest on the princess, and his face darkened into a scowl.
"I suppose," she drawled airily, startlingly at odds with her rigid demeanor, "that you are wondering why you have been brought before me." She paused, then called out. "Bring in my brother, Sister Isabel." The doors opened, and a nun wheeled a cot into the room. Murmurs of horror and awe filled the room before we were dragged closer.
My heart stopped, beholding the once-powerful prince of Italy. Giovanni Rosso was little more than a corpse clinging to life. I examined the skin and tissues surrounding his neck thoughtfully, and was puzzled to note that no punctures reminiscent of a vampire disrupted the surface. I glanced at my companion, but found only stony silence and a hard, stubborn face. "Well," he stated, his tone irritable, "I suppose you didn't drag us through half of Venice simply to show us your brother's body first-hand. Or is it that you want him blessed before he dies?"
A collective shout of outrage exploded through the throne room. The Commander drew a dagger from her belt and held it, unwaveringly, close to Van Helsing's face. "One more word," she whispered dangerously, "and I will cut out your tongue. Perhaps the healing qualities of angels are not simply a legend. Care to help me find out?" A pale, delicate hand rested on the woman's shoulder, and the princess's face appeared, icily calm.
"Thank you, Commander, but that is not necessary." She turned her attention to me. "You, man, what is your name?" I stuttered out my given name, and a small smile graced her face, softening it minutely. "Ah, yes. Thank you, Friar Carl of the Vatican." My blood ran cold as I realized the implications behind her words, while cursing myself for even hoping that she wouldn't realize what was happening in her own country. "I must admit, when I asked the Father for aid, I was not expecting him to believe me to be in peril from a trusted friend. Nay, I begged for help with my brother's condition, but was plagued by the presence of several of your hunters. Demon slayers, attempting to kill the very person I treasure most." Her gaze, sorrowful now, turned to the northern window, the direction that the vampire had gone.
"Catalina may be a vampire." Her words rang powerfully through the room, addressing all of those present. "But she has never acted with anything but the desire to aid our fair city." Pinning several higher class members of the society with her gaze, she added frostily, "That is more than I can say for several of those in attendance."
Resting her eyes back on the still form of her brother, a single tear streamed down her face. "Though he was still weak, my brother was stronger by far when the 'monster' was still with us." Blinking away any more signs of emotion, she raised her voice until it rang through the halls. "Hear now my decree, people of Venice!" In that moment of strength, I was reminded so strongly of Anna that it was physically painful. "These you see before you, of the Vatican, are tasked with returning Catalina Dracula to our fair city. Should they fail, or should my brother sicken and die," she hesitated, "they will be dealt the punishment their failure deserves…" She met all the eyes in the room, before locking onto Van Helsing's eyes. "Death."