CHAPTER NINE
Bethany was standing alone in a clearing, the cold breeze causing her breath to be seen as it came out of her mouth. No, she wasn't alone. She could sense someone else was there. Beth turned to see that Mori stood across from her. She wanted to ask her what was going on…but Beth found her mouth didn't work. She tried to move toward Mori, but found she couldn't move either. The two just stood there, staring at each other.
A soft breeze caused Beth's coat to flutter out around her form along with twirling Mori's cloak around the girl, making her look larger and more ominous than she really was. Beth then saw her eyes. Mori's usually stone cold, ice blue orbs were not the same as they usually were. They were showing emotion. A storm swirled inside the blue ice that composed of what looked to be anger and sadness. There was something else in them as well. Regret…or was it weakness? Beth couldn't tell. Was this really Mori? If it was, why was she showing emotion? That wasn't like her at all. What could she be so upset about? Or was it something else? Was what Beth was seeing a glimpse inside the tormented soul of a half-blood, the soul of Mori?
"I'm so sorry Beth." Mori told her. "Please forgive me. I never wanted to do this."
Beth tried to call out to her, to speak to her. She tried to ask what Mori had to do to her. Why would Mori harm her? What was happening?
"It…" Mori choked on her words, unable to continue.
Was it just Beth, or was Mori choking back tears? It couldn't be. Mori was so strong. Nothing could phase her. How could something send her this deep into sadness?
"It has to be this way."
Why! Beth wanted more than anything to ask her. What had to happen! The teen was so confused. What was going on? Suddenly, a message appeared in Beth's head.
Save me!
Instantly, Beth was falling through mid-air. The was nothing around her but blackness. And the light above her grew smaller and smaller till…
Beth bolted upright in her bed, gasping for air. Her head was drenched in cold sweat and she noticed her hands were shaking as she pulled the covers back over herself, but she wasn't paying attention to any of that. First thing when she awoke, she heard this.
"You're awake. You're awake! SHE'S AWAKE!"
"Arg, Jen, not so early." Beth told her friend, who was turning ecstatic at her awakening.
"Sorry." Jen said quietly so as not to disturb her injured comrade.
Beth suddenly heard the rapid pounding of boots on a stone floor and then the door to her room was flung open to reveal Mori behind it. Her ice blue eyes immediately fell on a slightly confused looking Beth. Mori smiled slightly at seeing her friend awake and seemingly human.
"Morning sunshine." Mori told her.
"Morning, Mori." Beth told her.
"You sleep along time." Mori said calmly. The girl pulled over a chair next to Beth's bed before she placed herself in it, her legs hanging over the arm of the chair and her back resting on the opposite arm.
"How long is a long time?" Beth asked as she tenderly felt the bandages around her wound with the tips of her slender fingers. To her surprise, it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. "And what happened after I blacked out?"
"I carried you."
All three girls turned around to see Van Helsing, Carl, and Anna standing in the doorway.
"Where is Frankenstein? Is he alright?" Beth asked, noting the absence of the rather large and slightly green tower.
"He had to go back into hiding, so we found him a place while you were still unconscious." Anna explained gently to the girl. Anna almost seemed to think that if she spoke with her voice at normal volume, she would shatter Beth's eardrums.
"You were out for three days, Bethany. And you really do sleep deeply. Something could have exploded and you wouldn't have woken up." Mori told the teen.
"Three days! Well, I won't need to rest for a while then, will I? Wait…" Beth said, a thought striking her. She looked over to Mori, her own green eyes wide. Mori shook her head 'no', for she knew what Beth was already thinking about.
"You are fine and as alive as you've ever been." Mori told her.
"Someone up there seems to like you." Van Helsing told Beth as he walked over to sit at the foot of her bed.
Beth looked up at the sky before she spoke. "Thank you."
"Thank whoever you want (though what you did wouldn't hurt), but you got lucky…really lucky." Jen told her.
"You have to have some of that stuff in this business." Beth said smirking slightly. "That is, if you want to live, I mean. If you want to die then be my guest, though I know Mori and I would be terribly upset. Right Mori?"
All eyes were turned to Beth's dark haired friend, who was staring off into space deep in thought. After a moment she shook her head and realized that someone had spoken to her.
"I'm sorry, what?"
Beth laughed slightly at this. It was just like Mori to not pay attention to that little conversation Beth had just been having with Jen.
"Jen…died…upset…" Beth said covering the points quickly.
"Oh, yeah, terribly upset. Now my dear Bethany, when do you think you will be able to train with me again? The only other option is to do it with Mr. Pompous over there and I'm not going to do that." Mori said, referring to Van Helsing.
"Hey!" Van Helsing said in an offended tone as Carl started to giggle like a little school girl behind him. Beth rolled her eyes before she spoke, irritation dripping from every syllable.
"Shut up Carl."
After about a week and a half, the wound on Beth's torso had completely healed and she had returned to training with Mori along with doing even more research in the library. The only thing left was a scar, and Beth had quite a few of those from past experiences. Nothing really interesting happened until one day in the library.
Beth sighed as she flung off her long black coat and set it over the top of a chair, revealing the black square-neck leather corset, black long sleeved shirt, black pants, black boots, and the black belt she wore underneath it. She walked over to Mori, who had fallen asleep with a book on her face and her feet propped up on the desk. Beth got within and inch of her ear and smiled slightly. This would be interesting.
"Boo!" Beth shouted, causing Mori to jump about a mile high. Beth's smile only increased when Mori pulled the book off her face and glared at her evilly.
"I hate you." Mori told her.
"That's my job. Find anything before you fell asleep?" Beth asked her walking around to the front of the desk before leaning on it.
"No. Nothing about the half and half." Mori said.
Then something stuck Beth. It was so simple…but could the prophecy really mean that? Beth questioned herself whether or not to ask as she watched Mori get up. The girl was in a black long sleeved shirt, black pants, black boots and a black jacket that fell halfway to her knees that she wore open. She tossed her braided hair over her shoulder as she looked for another book to look in.
"Do you think it could mean…half-blood?" Beth asked and Mori immediately froze in place. Carl, Van Helsing, Anna and Jen all looked up from their books. Apparently the conversation Beth and Mori had been having was not a private one.
"As in half one species, and half another?" Jen asked.
"That's impossible. There aren't two species of human" Anna pointed out. "Then how could their be half and half?"
"Not species of human…but species of night creatures." Van Helsing said. "They could be half human and half vampire, half werewolf and half human, or maybe half vampire and half werewolf."
"Did you say half vampire?" Mori asked him, turning on her heel to face the monster hunter.
"Yes, I did. But why would that be so important?" Van Helsing asked.
"Yes, they most likely don't exist." Carl said.
"I killed one once, that's all." Mori lied as she grabbed onto the book shelf. Could she really play a key part in defeating her own father? She had to admit, however, nothing would make her happier than to have a part in his murder.
"Are there any other unholy creatures it could be?" Beth asked.
"Yeah, like witches or warlocks or something like that?" Jen asked.
"No, those skills are learned or taught. You can't be half a witch. A werewolf or vampire half breed is all it could possibly be." Carl pointed out.
"You know this how?" Anna asked the little friar.
"I read." Carl replied.
"Forget the books Carl." Mori snapped at him. Her head began to spin madly.
"I will not neglect my books, thank you." Carl told Mori. Beth turned to her friend and saw (if at all possible) that she was paler than usual. Her knuckles were turning translucent from holding onto the book shelf.
"Mori? Are you alright?" Beth asked her.
"Yeah." Mori chocked as she let go of the book shelf. "I'll be f…"
Mori's legs gave out from under her and she collapsed. Van Helsing quickly stood and caught her as Beth quickly jumped over the couch that separated the two. What was wrong with Mori? Beth had never seen her this weak, then it hit her.
"Mori, have you had your wine?" Beth asked her.
The girl shook her head 'no'. "I was worrying about you."
Beth sighed with aggravation. Mori needed blood, and Beth was the only other person besides Mori herself who knew it. But where was Beth going to get blood? Where had Mori been getting her blood before this anyway? Well, no one in the village was killed the last time Mori needed to be replenished…so then where was it coming from? Beth had no idea. However, she did know one person who knew…well actually three. She was not going to like this at all.
Beth ran into her room sometime later that day. Mori had lost consciousness shortly after her little episode in the library. Van Helsing carried Mori off to her room, Jen and Beth following him the whole time. However, Beth never did enter Mori's room. She had stopped in the doorway and just looked at her friend. Something other than the blood was zapping Mori's energy, and Beth knew it. Mori hadn't said anything or had some huge attitude turn around. It was just the little things that Beth had noticed, like how Mori was a little more high strung recently. She tended to get annoyed a lot easier, however, before that was still fairly easy. Was this problem all in Beth's head?
The girl hadn't forgotten her dream that happened about a week and a half before. 'Save me.' Did Mori need saving? What did she have to do to Beth? Why did she have to do it? Was this just a dream or an oracle of some kind? Were those two actually destined to do something to one another? If so, what would they have to do?
But Beth's thoughts were not on the subject of her dream at the moment. She was more concerned with Mori. Did Mori drink human blood? If so, where did it come from? If not, then what kind of blood was she drinking? Can vampires survive without human blood? Beth didn't know the answers to these questions, but knew someone who did.
Before she changed her mind, Beth went to her wardrobe and pulled out a long midnight purple cloak. The girl threw it on and then stormed out of the room, her cloak billowing out behind her. She immediately went to the armory, where she found Carl.
"You're not wearing black." he said with a look of shock on his face.
"I'm going out." Beth told him slipping a silver dagger into her boot and strapping on a belt with a holster that hung off each hip. The teen then slipped in revolvers into the holders, each loaded with silver bullets.
"Are you crazy! It's dark outside." Carl said.
"And…" Beth asked him as she turned toward the young friar. Her face said it all. 'And the problem with that is…what?'
"Dracula could be out there." Carl pointed out as Beth slid a small silver stake into her boot.
"That's why I'm not wearing black. That way he won't recognize me if he or one of the bimbos finds me." Beth replied and pulled the hood of her cloak up. Carl noticed that the cloak completely hid the girl's form and clothes. The hood covered her face in shadow entirely, making her look slightly sinister.
"I'll be back soon." Beth shouted behind her as she left the armory and headed toward the two large oak front doors. "For Mori's sake." the girl added quietly to herself.
Once out in the night, Beth was on full alert. She really didn't have a plan on what to do…just a really vague conception. And even that was a little fuzzy. She was just going to walk around until she found who she was looking for.
The girl didn't have to wait long. All of a sudden, Aleera appeared before her, her eyes violet from her vampire change at the prospect of blood.
"Hello stranger. And what are you doing out here so late at night and all alone?" Aleera asked her.
"I have a proposition for your master." Beth told her, disguising her voice with a very convincing British accent she had learned from Mori.
"And what would that be?" Aleera asked.
"I know what he wants. There could be a possibility that I might have a solution to his problem." the whole time Beth was speaking, her mind was saying over and over I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe I'm doing this.
"How could a mere mortal know the desires of the undead?" Aleera asked.
"I know the undead well. I am close to one of your kind. In fact, that is what the proposition is about." Beth told the vampiress. "And how do you know I am just a mere mortal? For all you know…I could be a demon of some kind."
"And what kind of demon would you be? By your voice, you sound like you couldn't have lived for a very long time." Aleera told her.
"I was born this way." Beth replied, which was half a truth. She was born as Bethany…but she was surely no creature of the night. Not yet, anyway. Who knows how tonight would end.
"Dear Aleera, how many times must I tell you not to have conversations with your food."
Aleera and Beth turned to see Dracula standing some distance away from Beth on the ground. He looked smug…probably because he had no intention of letting Beth walk out of there alive.
"Master, this person has a proposition for you." Aleera said gliding over to his side.
"And what would that be? What could a mere mortal have for me, and why would they require my assistance?" Dracula said turning to the girl in the violet cloak.
"I need some information about vampires. My master has taken ill, and I must know what could cure them." Beth lied and prayed Dracula wouldn't be able to see right through her fib.
"What are you, stranger?" Dracula asked the girl.
"Nothing but a humble werewolf servant awaiting their first full moon." Beth replied.
"A werewolf, huh? And who would your master be?" Dracula asked her. Clearly, he wasn't accepting Beth story just yet.
"Lawrence McKee, sir." Beth replied. Well…Beth killed him about a day or so before she came here. He was annoying for a minor vampire. Not to mention conceded. Killing him was easy. Beth just wished that Dracula hadn't found out of his death just yet.
"Ah yes…him." Apparently, Dracula didn't like him any more than anyone else. "Well, what has he taken ill with? It is very unlikely that the immortal fall subject to illness."
"He has not had blood in a long time sir. He didn't want to arouse suspicion on our voyage over here, and therefore has not fed for two weeks. He sent me out to fetch him nourishment. However, I'm new at being an immortal and do not know what kind of blood in acceptable." Beth replied, slightly shocked that Dracula seemed to slightly be buying this.
"And if I help you, what is in it for me?" Dracula asked her.
"I know you want children."
Dracula froze after Beth said that. He was shocked that this young werewolf could know his deepest desire. How did they know anyway?
"If you help me," Beth took a deep breath. I can't believe I'm doing this. "I may be able to point you in the correct direction."
"You now have my full attention." Dracula told her. "Tell me about my children."
"You are notorious for slipping through your half of the barging. You uphold your half, and I shall uphold mine." Beth replied. I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe I'm doing this.
"Intelligent werewolf, aren't you?" Dracula said eyeing the purple form in front of him. "Very well. What do you want to know?"
"What kind of blood do vampires need?" Beth asked. I can't believe this. It's actually working! Thank you God. Now just let me get out of this alive.
"Human blood usually works best." Dracula replied. "However, if none of that is available, then the blood of livestock will work just as well. The best is pig's blood if you get a choice. Now, about my children?"
"Ah yes, my half." Beth was going to kill herself for this in the morning. "You might have one child…"