CHAPTER TWENTY

Dracula dropped Bethany in the gigantic entrance of Castle Dracula. Her body hit the ground with a thud and Beth desperately gasped for air. She believed that he had made the journey here as long as possible just to make sure that Beth was suffocating for the longest amount of time he could manage. But why hasn't he killed her yet? Why just take her captive instead of murdering her on the spot? What did he want now?

"Now my dear," Dracula began. "where is Morianalynn?"

And there it was. He wasn't going to be happy when he found out that she wanted to know the same thing. Mori had been gone for a day. She was probably on a ship on her way back to the Vatican by now. To far away. She out of his reach.

"I don't know." Beth replied still trying to catch her breath.

"Don't play stupid, child." Dracula said pulling her to her feet roughly. Beth tottered a bit before she got her feet under her. "Of course you know. You and my daughter are inseparable."

"Hate to break it to you, bat brain, but I'm telling the truth." Beth told him. Dracula, enraged, grabbed Beth's shirt and held her up. "Mori vanished yesterday. She's most likely on her way back to Rome by now."

"I refuse to accept that fact. You are lying."

"What makes you say that?" Beth asked teasing him. Her goal was to annoy him as much as she could without endangering her life. However, being in the same village with Dracula was life endangering. Might as well annoy him to no end anyway. It's what Mori would want and frankly, Bethany was enjoying it.

"I can just tell." Dracula replied. "You wouldn't die so soon if you told the truth. However, if she had joined me in the first place, you wouldn't be in this predicament."

They were interrupted by a feminine, amused laugh that echoed around them. The two people looked up to see where it came from. The voice echoed so much that it seemed to come from the very stone around them. Finally, it died away.

"Nice try. You were doing well for a while there." resounded a voice. It took Beth only seconds to place it. The voice was Mori's! She had laughed! This was new! Mori didn't even smile, let alone laugh.

"Am I insane or did you hear that to?" the teenager asked the vampire who was holding her captive.

"You're asking him that, Bethany?" Mori's voice reverberated.

"No." Dracula just replied, his gaze still toward the ceiling. "Come out, come out where-ever you are."

"Did you really think I'd fall for that?" Mori asked slightly laughing in enjoyment. "My gosh, how I've over estimated your intelligence."

"Stop playing games with your friend's life, Morianalynn." Dracula said now with his eyes searching around the room. "If you don't come out, I'll kill her."

Dracula waited a moment with no response except dead silence that filled the room. In a flash, he had the young huntress by the throat. Bethany choked as he compressed her windpipe. She couldn't breathe! She knew Mori would do something. If she didn't…Bethany would be dead soon. Suddenly, Dracula dropped Beth to the floor. The teen rolled onto all fours gasping for much needed air. She didn't get it. Why hadn't he killed her? Did he have another use for her?

"If you were here, you would've done something." Dracula said.

"May…be." Mori's voice replied sounding like a small child.

"This is nothing but a trick." Dracula said and rolled his eyes.

"Don't make faces!" Mori instructed loudly. Dracula jumped visibly and Beth gave a short scream of surprise. How did she do that! Mori's laugh then surrounded them once again.

"Okay, this is getting really creepy." Beth mumbled to herself.

"Have I played with you long enough?" Mori's voice teased.

"You are not here, Morianalynn. I don't know how you pulled off that little trick, but Bethany is done for because of it." Dracula said, his annoyance and anger showing in his voice.

"Think what you want." Mori's voice replied, sounding like she really didn't care at all.

"You vanished, Morianalynn. You left your friends. What else am I supposed to believe?" Dracula asked.

Unexpectedly, a swirl of black landed in front of Bethany between her and the infamous vampire. It was Mori! She looked fine, but her hair was much shorter. Now it fell about an inch above her shoulders. Dracula turned to see his daughter. Mori was smiling widely. Clearly, she had been enjoying herself.

"I've been away for a day or two getting to know myself, and you know what I concluded?" Mori asked cheerfully enough.

"What?" her father asked. Mori's face then rapidly changed from calm to extreme anger.

"You really piss me off!" she said, venom dripping from her words.

To Beth's surprise, Dracula just bowed and then vanished from sight. After a moment of silence, Mori walked toward Bethany.

"You alright?" Mori asked her as she helped her to her feet.

"Yeah, you?"

"I will be." Mori replied. She was clearly still angry. This was something Beth wasn't quite used to. Mori was usually so calm. Now, seeing her with sever emotion swings, she wasn't quite sure how to react.

"Lucky you where here, huh?" Beth said as the two friends moved toward the door.

"It wasn't really luck." Mori replied. "I'd been following him for the entire night."

"Why?" Beth asked. Silence was her only response. It then dawned on Beth what Mori was going to attempt. She was going to try and kill Dracula on her own!

"Mori!" the young huntress replied in shock. "You could have been killed!"

"At least then I'd have it over with, Bethany, because I'm tired of waiting for it to happen." Mori answered hotly, catching Beth off guard. The half vampire sighed irately before she continued walking, leaving the young Van Helsing to catch up with her.

"You don't really mean that, do you?" Beth asked her. Her emerald orbs were full of concern and worry. Mori didn't even look at her.

"If you want, I'm sure Van Helsing would be glad to do it." Beth replied softly, half joking. However, there was no doubt in her mind that he would actually do it, whether Mori wanted him to or not.

Mori then stopped as if something had hit her. Beth stopped next to her, worried that her little joke had gone too far.

"I can't go back, Bethany. I'm not going to." Mori said.

"What? Yes you are!" Beth told her. There was no way Mori was ever leaving her again. "You have to."

"And exactly how are you going to make me?" the dark teenager asked her friend as she looked at her expectantly for the answer. Beth remained silent for a few seconds before responding.

"I don't know, but when I think of how, it will be brilliant." Beth declared confidently.

The corners of Mori's lips twitched up into a small smile, but she then shook her head as if to shake out all the emotions. "Bethany, I have no reason to go back. Your father is trying to murder me."

"Jen needs you. She still needs you to teach her." Beth argued.

"No she doesn't. She can handle herself."

"She was almost burnt to a crisp this morning." The young huntress pointed out putting her hands on her hips.

"What?" Mori asked turning to her friend quickly.

"She forgot about the light issue."

Mori sighed and shook her head. Was it Beth's imagination, or was Mori amused by this news? It was probably both.

"Honestly, that girl…"

"would loose her head if it wasn't attached." Beth finished for her.

"Exactly." Mori replied. There was a moment of silence where Mori thought about her options for a moment.

"Alright. I'll go back with you." Mori said opening the massive front door to the castle. "But only for Jen."

"Oh, of course." Beth said smiling at her. "Only for Jen. I understand."

"Good." Mori told Beth as she walked out the door. " If you didn't, I'd have to beat it into you."

Beth laughed as Mori followed her out of the castle.

- - -

Beth and Mori entered Valerious manor side by side. The walk back had been relatively quiet. Mori was very upset. Bethany was thinking about the way things could go. If Van Helsing got angry, then he'd shoot Mori. If Mori got offended, she'd leave and go after her father on her own. That would also result in her death. Beth was trying to find a realistic situation that wouldn't leave Mori dead at the end of it. She couldn't find one at the moment. That wasn't a very comforting thought. Beth's thoughts were broken when she saw Jen walking toward them.

"Welcome back Mori." Jen told her smiling warmly. "I have to talk to you."

"Not now princess." Mori growled coldly and pushed past the young Valerious. Jen sensed the delicacy of Mori's mood and didn't say anything till the half vampire was well out of hearing range.

"Jen, please go gently break it to the others that Mori has come back." Beth asked her as she began to move toward her room. Jen followed her, a quizzical expression on her face.

"Why?" she asked innocently.

"Mori is dead if you don't." Beth said glaring at her tiredly.

"I'll go do that." Jen said and left quickly, sensing that Bethany was in no mood to explain her thinking. She knew that it would come eventually anyway…that or she'd just figure it out.

Once in her room, Beth collapsed in a chair. She leaned on her right elbow and touched her fingers to her forehead. The girl's eyes closed as if to shut out the world. Since when was her life her own personal Hell? Beth sighed heavily and looked up. She balled up her fingers and placed her fist against her lips. How were she and Mori getting out of this one? There had to be a way; there always was one. All she had to do was find it before Van Helsing gave Mori a sudden case of death. Beth knew one thing for sure; there was absolutely no way she was sleeping tonight.