CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Beth got up minuets later and quickly brushed her hair to get it untangled. It felt good to finally get her hair under control. The girl then walked down to the hidden library. She knew they needed to find something on a half creature like Mori was. Beth also hoped to find something out about why Dracula was able to get into Mori's mind. Was it a spell, or something entirely different?

The first thing Beth saw when she entered was Mori reading in a chair. She just had to smiled slightly at his familiar sight. Things were back to normal, well, as normal as things could ever get around here.

"Hello sunshine." Mori told her.

"Hi Mori." Beth replied. "Where are the others?"

"They haven't gotten back yet." Mori replied and then shut her book with a snap.

"Now, would you care to fill me in on what happened to me tonight?" Mori said leaning toward Beth.

Beth sighed and slowly sat down on the couch. She was feeling extremely lightheaded. The room almost seemed like it was spinning and she was hanging two feet in the air. Her stomach was churning continuously, which only added to her reason to sit. She didn't want, in a sudden wave a nausea, to throw up. That would only make her feel even worse. Her soreness had yet to wear off as well. Beth had decided that it was better to sit now than to collapse later.

"Well, he had control of your mind for the past week." Beth told her quietly. This was hard to say. The teen knew that Mori had no control over it, but what Beth had gone through was painful. The week when she didn't know what was going to become of Mori, Beth was overcome with her worry and grief. She thought, at times, that she would never see her friend again. Afterward during the fight…Beth didn't even want to think about it.

"HE WHAT!" Mori roared at the top of her lungs. Beth shuddered slightly at the sound of her voice. She knew it was coming. This wouldn't go over well with Mori. It was hardly believable to Beth herself who had just lived through the frightening ordeal. Nevertheless, it was true and nothing could change that. That is why Beth tried to tell her as calmly as possible.

"Bethany?" Mori asked, waiting for her to explain herself.

Beth moaned slightly and began to rub her temples. She was getting a rather large and painful headache. It wasn't Mori's fault of course. However, a headache was a very exasperating thing right now and the last thing the girl needed to add to her list of recent ailments.

Mori had stood up and was now ranting as she paced back and forth in front of the couch. Beth wasn't paying any attention to her. She was too busy with her head at the moment. She had learned to stop listening to Mori's fuming outbursts a long time ago. Suddenly, Mori stopped right in front of Beth and looked over at her. It was only then she noticed that the teen wasn't feeling to well.

"Are you alright, Bethany?" Mori asked her as she sat down on the other end of the couch.

"Yes, I'm fine. After what I just lived through, I'm lucky to be alive." Beth told her with a soft smile. She was trying to put Mori's mind at ease. Of course, it didn't work.

"Who did this to you Bethany?" Mori asked looking over all her friend's cuts, scratches and bruises. At the moment, Bethany was a piteous sight to behold. Usually, she was strong and wouldn't show her weaknesses, but today something or someone had broken that image. It seemed that whatever it was did it with ease as well. "Did one of the brides beat you up this badly?"

"Yes."

Mori looked into Beth's green eyes, who quickly turned them to the floor. Beth hoped that the sadness and turmoil inside her wasn't showing through. That would only make Mori feel worse if she knew. Beth didn't blame her for what she did. Mori couldn't help it after all. It wasn't Mori who did it to her. It was Dracula, and him alone. However, she knew Mori would see things otherwise.

"You are lying to me."

Beth looked up at Mori, shocked that she could tell. How was it that Mori always knew what was going on?

"I know you are." Mori continued. "Now, who did this to you?"

Beth sighed softly and then looked down at her feet. She was going to tell Mori the truth. That is what she wanted. However, Beth knew she wouldn't like the answer at all.

"You did." Beth told her.

A heavy silence hung between them. Mori couldn't believe it. She was the reason Beth was in such pain? She was the cause of all those wounds? How was this possible. Mori would never do something like that to Bethany, ever.

"I don't…"

"You were under his control at the time." Beth cut Mori off. She needed to finish this, or else she may not get it out otherwise. "He told you t…to…he told you to kill me."

There were the words that cut through both of them like a knife. It hurt Beth so much to tell her this because she knew it hurt Mori to hear it. Mori wanted the truth, and now she had it. She knew what she had done. Beth wanted so badly to make it easier, but she couldn't.

"Mori, I…"

Mori wasn't listening to her. She simply got up from the couch in a huff and stalked out into the hall way. Beth sat still, listening to the echoing click of Mori's boots on the stone floor. Moments later, she heard and angry grunt and then the sound of ceramic breaking. Beth closed her eyes and lay down on the couch.

"Great…" she mumbled to herself before her body gave way to sleep.

---

"Beth! Oh my gosh!

Bethany jumped awake on the couch and let a small shriek of surprise escape her lips. Her rapid heartbeat only returned to it's normal speed when she saw that the person who had woken her was only Jen. The girl sighed in relief as she slowly sat up. She accidentally leaned on her left shoulder when she did this and fought not to wince in pain. On the upside, her stomach seemed to be settled and a pounding head no longer ailed her. Oh, what miracles sleep could do for a person.

"Not so loud Jen, please." Beth told her.

"Sorry." Jen said and helped Beth finally sit upright. She looked her over and worry washed over her soft features. "What happened to you? You look like something ate you and them spit you back up."

"Wonderful analogy, but that's pretty accurate." Beth replied with an encouraging smile, which Jen returned full heartedly.

"Where did you go!"

Beth moaned inwardly at that voice. Why did Van Helsing have to disapprove everything she did? Couldn't he see that this was important. Van Helsing then rushed into her line of sight. Beth then saw something on his roguish face that she had never seen before, worry and concern. His coat billowed out behind is form when he bent down on his knees so he was at the same level with Beth. The teen lowered her eyes to her lap. She didn't know why though. There was nothing she had to be ashamed of. She was only doing what her heart told her was right.

"Look at me Beth."

She looked up and her eyes locked with the monster hunter's deep brown orbs. So many things were said in those dark pools. There was longing, worry, concern, and even a bit of fear. An unusual combination. Beth thought to herself. You think that he, as a hardened monster hunter, would learn to get over his fear.

"Where were you?" Van Helsing demanded again, this time only softer.

"I found Mori." Beth told him flatly. She really didn't want to talk at the moment. She just wanted to go back to sleep.

"We could tell by the broken vase in the hallway." Anna said as she came to stand behind Van Helsing. Beth noticed that Carl was with her. The two also looked worried. Were all of them worried just about her?

"Where did you find her? Where did you go? What happened to you? Who beat you up like this?" Van Helsing asked.

"Stop it Van Helsing." Jen told him. "Can't you see she's not feeling well?"

"But we need to know!" Van Helsing raised his voice at Jen. He was a bit testy at the moment.

"Stop shouting at me!" Jen shouted back. She had no idea that what she had just done defeated the purpose of her statement.

"I wasn't shouting!"

"Yes you were!"

Jen and Van Helsing began shouting madly at each other. Anna then began shouting at the two of them to stop shouting at each other. This entirely defeated the purpose, of course. Beth now knew where Jen got it. Carl, to make matters worse, began trying to break up the fights with more shouting. Beth remained quiet, trying to soothe her pounding head.

"Turn it off." she moaned as she began to rub her temples.

"SHUT UP!"

Everyone in the room just froze in the position that they were standing in. Van Helsing and Anna were leaning into one another, Van Helsing with his arms wide with Anna pointing a finger at him. Poor Carl was in between the two, attempting to push them apart. Anna was also holding Jen back behind her with one arm. Beth sat to the side of all this chaos, thrilled that it was quiet once again. The group that had been fighting each other was now staring at the entrance to the room. Beth sighed and turned on the couch to see Mori standing square in the middle of the doorframe. She looked fairly calm compared to when she left the room. Thank goodness, otherwise she would look for something else to take her anger out on. That meant another vase would have met an untimely end.

"Mori!" Jen squealed in delight and ran over to the dark teenager. Mori quickly put a hand on Jen's shoulder an arm's length away from her before the young Valerious got too close for comfort.

"No hugging." Mori told the girl. Jen looked into Mori's eyes for a moment and what she saw caused her to quickly step back. Whatever happened earlier, Jen could tell it wasn't good and that she should not test her friend's limits at the moment.

"Right, sorry."

"Don't worry about it princess." Mori told her as she leaned against the doorframe with crossed arms.

"How do you always manage to sneak around like that?" Van Helsing asked. Mori just shrugged and saw a soft smile appear on Beth's lips.

"It's a gift. Now, what were you all screaming about?"

"Beth." Carl replied. Beth rolled her eyes and collapsed against the back of the couch, rubbing her temples. Mori shook her head at her when she saw this.

"Why?" Mori asked no one in particular.

"She's a mess!" Jen replied with slight worry in her voice. Beth couldn't tell if she was worried about her, Mori's sanity, or both.

"Well," Mori started as she moved towards Beth and sat on the arm of the sofa. "that's what happens when you go up against two vampire brides. Isn't that what you said Bethany?"

"Yes, I did say that." Beth replied. She really wasn't lying. She did say it was the brides, she just happened to be lying when she said it was the brides. Technically, she was telling the truth about a lie. The girl looked up at Mori. Obviously she was feeling better. She was almost like her old self again, before all this started. "Both of them."

"Mori," Jen said suddenly, but quickly fell silent again. Apparently, something was on her mind that she wanted to say. For some reason or another, she decided against it.

"Yes?" Mori asked turning to her, urging the girl to continue.

"When Dracula had you…uh…nothing…um…well, happened, right?" Jen asked.

"Nothing at all." Mori replied as she somehow managed to keep her calm sangfroid. Beth had no idea how she did it. How did Mori keep that secret, something that big, locked inside her for sixteen or so years? How could she deal with something so dark and terrible? It was who she was, and she couldn't deny that no matter how much she hated it. Beth just couldn't imagine what it would be like to live with something like that.

Mori looked at Beth for a moment, and then turned back to Jen and the others before she spoke.

"Nothing at all."

A few days passed and Beth had finally healed up. First thing she did was go back to her training. She always trained with either Mori, Van Helsing, and sometimes even both of them. It was especially challenging when it was with both of them. Two to one were never good odds, but her skills were improving nonetheless. When Van Helsing wasn't with them and when they couldn't be seen by others, Mori would use her powers in her fight against Beth. That way, Beth would be able to at least escape in case the events that took place at Dracula's castle should ever repeat itself, heaven forbid. Even there, Beth was still improving.

Mori would never admit it, but those training sessions also helped her gain more control over her powers. She began to learn how to unleash them little by little, which could be a crucial element in a fight. In order to manipulate the enemy, you must first learn how to manipulate yourself.

"Beth?" Jen asked one day while the two were alone in the library. They were still looking for what Dracula wanted from that book. Was it a spell? Or was is a prophecy? No one really knew.

"Yes, Jen?" Beth replied, urging her to continue.

"Are you good at keeping secrets?" Jen asked.

Beth closed her book and then looked at her friend. Worry was written all over her features. Clearly something was bothering her. This caused Beth's own concern for her to grow. Was something wrong with Jen? If so, what was it?

"Jen, what's wrong?"

"Just answer the question." Jen told her. "Are you good at keeping secrets, even from Mori?"

"Yes, even from Mori." Beth replied. What was Jen talking about? Did she somehow find out about Mori's family? How did she do that? How could she have known?

"When people are born with…with…um…certain abilities, you know they can't help it, right?" Jen began, really fumbling over her words. She seemed to be doing her best to choose her words as carefully as possible.

Beth froze in place. Jen had found out about Mori. How? How could she? Did she hear Mori and Beth talking one day? Did she see one of the training sessions? How did Jen find out?

"I know." the girl replied. She needed Jen to clarify some things for her troubled mind. That meant she needed to get her to speak.

"Well, I…"

Suddenly, quick booted foot steps were heard and Jen stopped in mid-sentence. Mori appeared in the doorway. She was breathing heavily and looked flustered.

"What happened?" Beth asked standing up, her conversation with Jen temporarily forgotten.

"We have a problem with an overgrown puppy." Mori said.

"What happened to Carl?" Beth asked. Jen smiled slightly at this remark.

"No Bethany." Mori sighed and rolled her eyes at the girl.

"Mori, you of all people should know sarcasm when you hear it." Beth replied.

"No, I recognize good sarcasm when I hear it." Mori replied.

"Shut-up."

The werewolf escaped them, unfortunately. They almost killed it. Beth shot at it. She would have hit it too if Van Helsing hadn't moved her out of it's path. That was a good thing, however. The entire group escaped relatively unharmed. The most anyone had was a few scratches or bruises. Beth suspected that Carl had wet pants and if he in fact did, it would've been quite humorous.

"Mori, we have to tell Jen." Beth told Mori as the two entered Beth's empty room back at the manor.

"Tell her what?" Mori asked as Beth closed and locked the door.

"About you."

Mori froze, her icy gaze falling on Bethany. Beth stood still, her emerald orbs locked onto Mori's own. Mori was clearly not in favor of this new idea. Beth understood why. Jen was a Valerious. If Mori were evil, she would've been trying to kill her and Jen would in turn be trying to kill Mori. Thankfully, things did not turn out that way.

"No." Mori told the stubborn teenage girl.

"We have too." Beth said trying to reason with her.

"No, we don't Bethany. If you recall the only reason you found out about my family was by accident. I wasn't going to tell you that little fact about my life, no matter how good of acquaintances we became." Mori replied.

"Mori, I remember. We will have to tell her soon. Who would you rather have her hear it from, you…or your father?" Beth argued.

"Well, me." Mori replied, defeated. Of all people in the world, besides her mother, Beth was the only person to win an argument with her.

"C'mon, we better go tell her now." Beth said. She wasn't looking forward to this.

"You know she will most likely faint." Mori pointed out as the two made their way to where Jen was, which was the outside courtyard.

"Well, at least we will be ready for that." Beth said.

The two found Jen rather quickly. She was laying on one of the stone benches staring up at the stars. They didn't know it, but she was trying to find the winter constellations. So far she had found three and Polaris, the northern star.

"Hi Jen." Beth said cheerfully enough.

"Hi guys." Jen said turning her head in order to see them. She then sat up to make room for Beth on the bench. Mori remained standing. She really didn't feel like sitting at the moment. She was far to anxious.

"Jen, we have to talk."

"About what?" a voice asked.

The trio spun around to see Aleera behind them. They then looked the other way to see Verona on the other side of them. Beth and Jen stood up quickly as Mori pulled the two toward her protectively.

"Oh, do tell us!" Aleera cooed and then laughed. Mori pulled Beth and Jen behind her. Mori was the most intimidating of the three seeing as she was about an inch or two taller than Beth, who was taller than Jen. Also, being part vampire didn't hurt either.

"I see no reason why we should discuss our own matters with deranged psychopaths." Beth said calmly.

"What?" Verona asked.

"You have to use smaller words, Bethany. Otherwise, they can't understand the insult." Mori told her.

"You little…"

"In case you haven't noticed Aleera, I'm not so little anymore." Mori snapped at her.

"Yes, we have noticed."

Beth's heart froze when she heard Dracula's voice. Why did he have to show up every time! Mori's blood boiled at just the thought of her father. If he knew what was good for him, he'd run away screaming from his daughter. That was if she didn't kill him first.

"But you were just so cute!" Aleera teased the dark, angry teenager before her.

"I was never cute." Mori argued. She glared evilly at the bride before her. Mori was doing her best to hold back her rage at the vampires before her. Dracula noticed this and smirked.

"Why don't you let go Morianalynn?" Dracula asked. Mori's eyes flashed hatred that Beth and Jen didn't even know existed. "Like you did with Bethany. Don't tell me that it didn't feel good to finally let your emotions run wild. If you did, you'd be lying."

"We all know what good that did us." Mori replied calmly, her voice masking the raging fire that flowed through her veins.

"Give up the masquerade my dear. No one is buying it. No one trusts you anymore." Dracula said.

"And how do you know that?" Beth interrupted, defiance flaming in her emerald eyes. Who was he to talk to Mori like that? He had no right to toy with Mori, with anyone that way.

"You are far too stubborn for your own good!" Aleera spat at her.

"I believe I wasn't talking to you." The teen snapped at the red haired bride. Mori couldn't have been more proud of her at that moment. Beth was beginning to sound like her. A small smile threatened to slip onto her lips. However, now was not the time for that.

"Having your friends fight your battles? You have become soft." Dracula said shaking his head at Mori.

Mori closed her ice blue eyes to try and calm herself. She couldn't loose control. Not now, not here. She knew what happened last time, and it would not happen again. History would NOT repeat itself as long as she had her say in it.

"At least I have friends." Mori replied, her eyes snapping open. The glare she gave Dracula froze him in his tracks. He was so close to getting her to erupt. He could tell by the death glare he had received. It was much like his own…only worse.

"I have my brides." Dracula replied.

"Hostages don't count." Mori snapped, venom dripping from every syllable she uttered.

Beth slowly and discreetly reached into her coat and pulled out one of her revolvers. She then slipped it into Mori's pale hand. The half vampire then hid the firearm in the folds of her black cloak.

"You and Jen make a run for it. I'll stay here and hold them off." Mori whispered to Beth. The girl nodded silently and grabbed Jen's arm.

"Get ready to run for it." Beth whispered in the youth's ear.

"We are not hostages." Verona retorted.

"I beg to differ." flew out of Jen's mouth. Beth cocked and eyebrow as she looked at her friend. Well, that was a first.

"Nice one." Beth told her.

"You little…" Aleera began, but Mori wouldn't give her the chance.

"Go!" the girl said as she revealed the revolver and began to fire. Beth and Jen took off immediately. Beth pushed the young Valerious in front of her. It was more important that she survived and not her.

"Beth!" Jen said turning back to her as the two ran for the mansion.

"Get to the manor." Beth ordered the girl. Jen nodded and turned back around.

Aleera swooped down from Beth's right and shoved the girl as hard as she could. Beth flew though the air and landed hard on the ground. Without wasting a second, Beth pulled out her trusty silver revolver and fired at the bride. The bullet embedded itself in the bride's shoulder. She screamed in pain, which gave Beth time to get up and run like heck. The bride followed her, which made Beth duck to avoid being hit. The girl dodged low tree branches, which would cut her face and hands if she hit them. She tripped occasionally on stones and roots that had worked themselves out of the ground. Every time, Beth would push herself up and keep running.

The youth reached a clearing and turned around to see if the bride was still following her. Her firearm was still out and ready. All five shots left in the gun had the bride's name on them. For some odd reason, the vampire had vanished. Beth couldn't even hear the flapping of her great wings. All that reached her ears was her own rapid and deep breathing. The teen search for some kind of sound, anything to tell her what happened. The forest was dead silent. No birds were chirping. All the leaves were unmoving on the ground. Not even a hoot of an owl or the scampering of a squirrel was heard. The forest was too silent. Aleera was close.

The bride pounced with a scream of fury and Beth opened fire on the large white bat-like creature. She hit her in the wings, gut and face. Beth turned and hightailed it out of there. Two bullets were left in her revolver. She needed to save those. The girl had to loose the bride. She hoped to do just that under the cover of the forest.

The bride was on the tail of the girl and Beth was weakening. She was tired, and Aleera knew it. With a surge of speed, the bride flew forward and picked up the girl with the sharp talons in her feet. Beth moaned in pain as warm blood began to trickle down her arms. Beth shot the bride in the ankle. Aleera screamed, but didn't let go. Beth shot up one more time before her revolver clicked empty. The bullet landed in the vampire's neck. Aleera screamed again in agony and finally released the girl from her clutches.

Beth fell through the air as the top of the forest raced closer to her. The girl fell though the trees, the sharp branches tearing her skin apart. The youth landed hard on a thick branch, which knocked the wind from her chest. Beth continued to fall, hitting various branches before she finally hit the ground with a sickening thud.

The girl pushed herself up on all fours and began gasping to fill her deflated lungs. She stuck her revolver back in her coat as she began to cough like mad. Beth felt terrible, but she had to keep moving if she wanted to get away from Aleera. The youth forced herself up and then began to run. She had no idea where she was. She had gotten turned around when Aleera had her captive. Getting to the manor wasn't important now. Surviving was.

Beth ignored the searing pain in her shoulders as she pushed on. A combination of sweat and blood threatened to roll down in to her eyes. Beth swiped it away angrily. How could she have been so stupid not to see this coming. All three of them were outside without Van Helsing or Anna in earshot. They were even out in the open! Why couldn't she see the danger signs! Sloppy, just plain sloppy.

Beth burst through the edge of the woods and hit the edge of a cliff. She glanced over the edge to see a roaring river about five stories below her. The girl swore under her breath and turned to go back. She froze in her tracks when she saw that Aleera was already there. The bride was smirking and her eyes had already changed to violet at the prospect of fresh blood.

Beth backed up slightly, but stopped then her heel hit the edge of the ground. The girl weighed her options. She could go over the cliff and possibly die, or face the bride with inadequate weaponry and possibly be turned into a vampire. It was death, or serve her mortal enemy for all eternity. Just a real win win situation for me. Beth growled in her mind.

"What are you going to do now Bethany?" Aleera teased her, causing the girl's blood to boil. "You are trapped."

The two locked eyes for a moment. Aleera was shocked to see a fire roaring in the girl's crystal green eyes. She had seen that look before. Aleera had seen those eyes, but where?

"Bye."

Beth jumped over the cliff's edge. The sensation was amazing. It almost felt like she was flying. Her arms were outstretched in an attempt to slow her descent as the water flew closer and closer. The girl's coat and hair was swept away from her form. Her flight ended when she was submerged beneath the frigid water. Beth swam up to the surface and gasped for air in order to fill her lungs.

The current was rough and swift, carrying Beth with it as it roared along. Beth was flung around wildly. She was being pulled underwater at random times and was thrown against rocks with great force. Every time the girl hit a stone, it would cause red blood to seep through her skin only to be washed away by the water.

Beth was thrown against a sharp rock and hit it with her already injured shoulder. The girl screamed in pain as the stone cut into her wound. She was then mercilessly yanked along the river. The coldness of the water was beginning to get to her and dull her senses. Beth knew she had to get to land as soon as possible. The girl began trying to grab onto slippery stones, but she was always pulled away by the tumbling current.

Beth was thrown against another rock with the back of her head colliding with it hard. The girl used this large stone to push off of with as much strength she had left in her legs. Beth began to swim desperately to shore against the current. Her limbs felt like they were being weighed down by sand bags. After struggling for what seemed like hours, Beth finally crawled onto dry land.

She was dripping wet and her hair was stuck to her face. Beth was breathing heavily to get air to her deflated lungs. The girl then began coughing madly. Her stomach gave a painful lurch and water spilled out of her mouth. Beth ran a hand through her drenched hair to get it out of her face. She felt a warmth on the back of her head. Beth pulled her hand in front of her and found that her fingers were covered in fresh blood.

"Sh…"

Her eyes rolled back in her head she collapsed in a heap on the ground.