After a clever interrogation of a member of the group Crimson Sun, Anna Van Helsing learns that Mina Harker is not affiliated with the group. Anna also learns of the whereabouts of the famous Todo Hotsumi. She now sets out to California's capital Sacramento to pay an uninvited visit to Hotsumi's mysterious estate which will involve many twists, turns and shocking revelations.
Chapter 21
The wind is blowing through my hair at 40 miles per hour. I'm taking the highway en route to the capital of California, Sacramento. The intelligence I gathered picked up one name; Todo Hotsumi. Todo Hotsumi supposedly mentored The Bride of Dracula into what she is today. Maybe he could help me tap into Mina Harker's weaknesses. To accept help from a vampire is to show absolute disloyalty to the human race. Not accepting the enemy's help in this particular case would eradicate the human race as far as I was concerned. I thought it was all up to me to put an end to the threat of Dracula's one and true replica once and for all. It takes me about three hours to get to a place where I had a hunch Todo Hotsumi would likely be. Sacramento Valley was known for its abundance of green lands and what was known as the smallest mountain range in the world. This place has a lot of forest and nobody would ever think about living here. This estate of Hotsumi's has got to be here.
I finally make it to the mountain with a long track that laid in the middle of the forest. I thought going further on the bike would be rough so I decided to go on foot rolling the bike along side with me. It was late in the afternoon which brought on the winds. The leaves both dead on the forest floor and alive on the trees made a beautiful sound every time the breeze blew. The forest was so dense I wondered how I the fuck I would find this guy in this shit hole. I kept pushing for about thirty minutes until I saw what apparently was the exterior of a three storey manor about fifty feet away from me. The estate was supposedly built thirty one years prior but it didn't have the aspects of the modern day architecture of that time. The walls were made of old European stone and the windows were crafted in beautiful Victorian matter. Whoever lives in this house sure digs the time of my great-great-great grandfather Abe Van Helsing. I decided to hide my bike in some bushes and take a run to the wooden doors. I stopped at the doors and slowly walked up close. I looked at it with awe at the Victorian craft. I then stretched out my hand onto the door and touched it gently. Suddenly the door slowly swung open. I was shocked. Surely a smart person who was really concerned about his security would never leave the front door open. I slowly crept inside and closed the door behind me.
Inside the room was very dark. Surely the afternoon light shone brightly, but not enough to give you the impression that it was 2:00 p.m. I walked slowly and pulled out my hand gun and cocked it. I looked around cautiously pointing my gun straight ahead and turning my body in the direction I moved the gun. Suddenly I was startled by the faint dragging of feet coming from my left. I swung my body in the direction of the sound and saw nothing. I heard it again coming from over my shoulder. I pointed my gun up to the concrete ceiling again seeing nothing. I have to remember, these mothrerfuckers could scale walls. I turned my direction ahead to a large staircase. I approached the staircase and looked up the staircase. The moment I proceeded to walk up I heard the strange sound again, this time it came from my right. I spun quickly to the direction of the sound and saw nothing. It was beginning to get fucking annoying. Suddenly I felt a sharp blow in my back which set me flying across the room. It felt like I got hit by a sledge hammer. I was now lying on the floor on my stomach in pain.
I turned on my back and looked up. Nobody was there. Then who the fuck tried to fuck me up? I slowly began to get up. I started to reach for my gun that was lying next to me. It was suddenly kicked away from me and before I could look up to see who was responsible I was given an uppercut which sent me flying across the room. I landed on my back in pain and when I looked up I saw a figure in all black coming down on me with what appeared to a sword clutched in both of his hands. I got up and moved out of the way just in time. I rolled across the floor and got and suddenly engaged in combat with the figure in black. The figure who had the build of a man wearing a full face black mask, wearing black combat boots and black gloves kept swinging a five inch katana sword at me. He was moving so fast I had difficulty evading his every move. All I could do was duck his sword. There was a moment where he made a move to chop off my head. I ducked in time and kicked him in the abdomen. The kick made him stagger back and I started to run. Suddenly another figure in black armed with a sword dropped in front and started to throw kicks at me. By the figure's grunting I could tell it was a woman. Her kicks struck me in the face and in the stomach and she threw one more kick in my abdomen that sent me rolling across the floor. I landed on my back and open my eyes. The moment I opened my eyes I saw the blade of another sword dropping down at high speed aiming right for my face. I rolled away and the sword went right through the floor. I got up to see another male-shaped black figure brandishing a sword. I felt a kick on my left shoulder which sent me staggering to the floor. I got up to see four black figures in all who appeared to be two males and two females. I heard a yell behind me as if there was a man charging for me. I stepped out of the way quickly and saw another figure in black driving his sword into my place. He then charged for me and started swinging his sword at me. I started to run away but these guys jumping in my way in a single bound. I found myself evading five swords. In all the confusion I saw my gun a few feet away from me. I rolled across the floor and grabbed the fully loaded H&K USP and started firing in the direction of one of the figures in black. To my astonishment, every time I fired a bullet he would block everyone with his sword. Instead of hitting him the bullets would hit the sword. I ran a few feet, turned around and fired again. Four of the black figures jumped out of the way and one figure, a woman, blocked all the bullets with her sword. Suddenly, CLICK. Shit! I was out of bullets. I felt a sharp blow behind my back and fell flat on my stomach. I turned on my back and was looking at the blades of five swords. I then heard faint footsteps coming from my left. I turned my head and saw about ten figures in black armed with the same sword running towards my direction. I looked up and saw ten more black figures jumping from the windows. I heart dropped. This was surely the end for me.
About a minute had passed and I realised that the black figures were still in the same defensive position. I began to wonder why they were hesitant to kill me. I then heard footsteps slowly coming in my direction. I looked up and saw a man of Japanese descent dressed in dark grey suit, white shirt and a black trench coat. He stood over 6ft 3 inches tall with yellow eyes and was fairly handsome. I knew for sure he was a vampire. He walked slowly between the sea of black and silver swords. The figures who were pointing there swords in my face moved them away as the man stopped next to me. He stood there just looking at me with stern yellow eyes as if he was examining a rare specimen. He then turned to the figures in black and said something in Japanese that I can't translate. Two figures then grabbed me by the shoulders, bounded my hands and placed a black hood over my head.
Minutes probably passed when I felt my feet moving and both my arms being squeezed tightly. I then felt being thrown unto something soft. The hood was then pulled from over my head and I found myself with my hands still bound behind my back sitting on a chair with the Japanese man seated with his legs crossed in front of me. He seemed rather calm and discreet despite the fact that came on his property uninvited. His calm made me very wary because I knew that deep shit would follow that calm look. "You're a Van Helsing, are you not?" he said in surprisingly fluent English.
"You know who I am?" I said.
"By the scent of your blood I knew you were no ordinary human. I came across a Van Helsing no more than ninety years ago. His name was Alexander I believe."
"Yeah…Alexander Van Helsing was one of my ancestors."
"Alexander Van Helsing pursued me for two years until we finally met each other face to face. He was ultimately unsuccessful in finally killing me, but I respected him greatly for his efforts. I never thought I would ever meet one of descendants. I could feel your could feel the fear all over you. I know you didn't come here to kill me."
"…That's correct… I'm looking for a vampire… called… the Bride… of Dracula."
"Ah, Mina Harker. None has ever been successful in killing her and none ever will. Why would you engage in such a foolish task?"
"Well.., for one thing…she killed two of my comrades. She's been stirring up a lot of trouble lately and she… has a huge following."
"You search for Mina in the name of revenge. That was the key to Alexander's defeat."
"What're you talking about?"
"I believe he had a lover who was taken by a member of our race."
"Yeah I know all that…"
"But what you don't know is that once a human's intention is to kill for revenge it continues a cycle that would last to all eternity that will lead to his end."
"What the hell do you know about it?"
"I discovered this in Mina Harker. Yes, she carried the spirit of the vampire, but it was her human side that ultimately imprisoned her."
"I don't understand."
"I came across her 95 years ago when she was feeding upon the homeless in her former home of Great Britain. I offered her a chance to join me and my followers to engage in a journey that would make her powerful anyone's imagination. I guided her to Osaka, Japan were she became a member of my student body. She was trained in the various martial arts where she grasped unto what would be her passion; the samurai sword. Her skill with katana surpassed other students. I was so impressed with that I awarded her with a blade of her very own, The Final Dawn."
"I wanna know something about sword, because the intelligence I've getting is that The Final Dawn is no ordinary sword."
"Precisely. I am the one who carefully forged Final Dawn into the weapon feared by humans and vampires alike. I inherited my talent of forging swords from my father who was a blacksmith and a shogun who crafted swords for many vampire warriors around the world. The Final Dawn took ten years to forge and finally craft into perfection. It was plated four times the strength of titanium making it difficult to bend or break cutting through anything it sets its sights on. When I gave it to her she had one request: to have an engraving of Psalm 23 on the blade in Latin. This engraving with the word of the god of the human race had isolated her from me and her fellow pupils. We could not believe there was a member of our race who still worshiped the human god. Her fellow pupils considered her inferior; one in particular was Alexandria Wolfe. Alexandria was one of my first students and Mina's skills and her love for the Christian god had created a fierce rivalry and entity between the both of them. Psalm 23 is the weapon that finally kills a member of the vampire race. That is why it is faired by the vampires more than the humans.
Mina's skills in the art of Kenjutsu served her well when I made her a member of the Hallow Dragon, a military force secretly created by the empire of Japan during the Second World War. After the destruction of Nagasaki and Hiroshima the war came to a close, but Hallow Dragon continued to fight the American occupation. It was during this time Mina Harker became disengaged and wanted nothing to do with us. Mina became aggressive and started to kill fellow members. Alexandria lost her right arm in the slaughter. I finally engaged with Mina and tried to reason with her. She said she was tired of slaughtering the humans whom she considered her people. I told her they were not her people and if she tried to go back she would bring nothing but pain and suffering upon herself. We were suddenly engaged in bitter combat. I was defeated left with a dreaded mark." He started to unbutton his shirt and slowly began to reveal a very deep ghastly scar that ran from the upper left of his chest down the lower right of his abdomen. "Since then she was never heard from or seen until twenty years ago when she killed one of my top lieutenants," he continued, buttoning back his white shirt. "We were unsuccessful after many attempts until I encountered her once again two years ago. She seemed stronger and more determined than before. However I sensed doubt and uncertainty within her. She told me that I was right to some extent that the fact that Dracula's blood has brought more burdens that she could bear. I told her that I once knew Dracula and that I know what calmed him and troubled him."
"You knew Dracula?"
"Yes. I was one of Dracula's first followers. He had taught me all the ways of the vampire and I was his closest associate. Dracula's goal for wiping out the human race was not only for the supremacy of the fear vampire but for a great fear of the human race. He had told me that he once saw the vampire as far more powerful than man, but he would soon realise that we was at war with an adversary that was far more intelligent than he would ever imagine. Yes, even Lord Dracula had great fear. Fear that, from my perspective led to his death. I told Mina that with my experience I could help her to go on the right path into knowing who she is and what her purpose in her eternal life meant. She seemed to consider that I was right but she said that there was one person was capable in showing her path I was offering. God. I balked at her remark saying her chose was fruitless that it would take her all eternity for her god to truly reveal his path to a vampire. Her simple reply was "So be it."
I was amazed by his story. This guy was really inspirational to some degree. But I still had some questions. "You really don't think I should be tracking her down?" I said.
"You're a Van Helisng. I would expect no less from a descendant of Alexander Van Helsing. I've heard many stories about your family. You are breed of vampire killers that will continue to exist longer than time itself. You have intelligence that is far superior than the average human. Do you not realise that many in the vampire race fear your name?"
"I'm flattered. But how do you think I can kill something that carries Count Dracula's blood?"
"Child, Dracula is a name that has carried great respect through the generations. What you don't know that he had a great fear of the human race; a fear that ran through his veins. Mina Harker carries the skills off Kung Fu, Jiujutsu, Tae kwon do and Kenjutsu; but her human side and the animal within her carries a fear that is beyond comprehension. Tap within that fear and you will break your enemy."
"Where can I find Alexandria Wolfe?"
"She leads the Supreme Legion just west of here within the city. I give you this as a means of gathering more information. We are still very close so it should not be very difficult for you." He placed a flash card on my lap. I looked at the flash card and him with amazement. A vampire would never give away what he considered vital information. Then again, he probably wasn't like other vampires. "Uh…thanks," I said. I paused and then finally said. "You didn't tell me who were."
"Child, I am Todo Hotsumi," he said. With those words the black hood came over my head again.
I suddenly felt both of my hands free and both of my feet off the ground. There was the sound of leaves rustling and the breeze blowing through my hair. I immediately knew I was outside. I suddenly felt as if I was falling and I landed on the ground in pain. The black hood was pulled off form over my head and I found myself were I was before: a few feet away from the house. I was baffled and amazed I didn't know what to make of the encounter. It was if it was a dream; none of it seemed real. So that was the famous Todo Hotsumi, huh? Just by listening to that guy I knew that Mina Harker learned from the best. His words were so seductive and he seemed to have a kind of wisdom that the moment you listened to him you just can't ignore him. He was almost like Dr. Martin Luther King jr. I shove my hands into my pocket when I walked over to my bike when I felt something small in my pocket. I pulled it out and found the flash card that Todo Hotsumi gave me. Still baffled I placed it back in my pocket and started to roll away my bike back to the highway.