6

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

Dracula was feeling very smug. Two down, two to go. Young Jennifer would be easy to capture, but keeping her posed as a problem. She was a vampire and that meant she had special talents that needed to be taken into consideration in her capture and her bonds that would keep her in captivity. No matter. He had already solved that problem. Being a vampire himself, he knew what would and would not be appropriate for that task. Capturing the great Van Helsing would be quite a challenge however. This intrigued him. He loved nothing more than a good challenge.

Once that was accomplished, he would have what he wanted. After Morianalynn killed Bethany for him, the others would fall like flies. He would win and nothing could stop him.

Nothing…except two very angry teenage girls.

- - -

Bethany walked into the library to find that Mori and Jen were still pouring over maps. It was early in the morning, so Beth had her trusty cup of coffee in hand. Sometimes she didn't know if she could get on without the stuff.

"Did you two sleep at all?" Beth asked them.

"Is it dawn already?" Mori asked looking up at the girl. Beth just nodded and met her gaze.

"Past it."

"Oh." Mori said and looked over toward Jen to see what she would think. Jen was asleep in her chair. Beth followed her gaze and smiled slightly when she saw the young Valerious. She wasn't really surprised. Beth then turned back to Mori.

"How did you manage to stay awake?" she asked her dark friend.

"One: I'm an insomniac. Two: I don't need to sleep. Three: coffee."

Beth almost laughed as she sat down in a chair, but didn't because of the circumstances that she was in. If two of her friends had not been kidnapped and she didn't have the knowledge that she'd have to kill Mori, she would've let herself laugh.

"Any new developments?" she asked instead.

"None whatsoever." Mori answered as she shook her head.

"Well, we'll find something." Beth replied half heartedly. She didn't want to admit it, but her hope was slowly dwindling away. This mission had taken its toll on her, mentally, physically and emotionally. She was exhausted and almost numb to the thoughts of despair creeping around her. Still, she did her best not to give them any thought. Just because she was trying, however, didn't mean that it worked all the times.

Mori just nodded and looked back over at Jen. She closed the book she was reading and threw it at the sleeping girl. The book landed in her lap with a loud thud, making Jen jump awake.

"Go to bed, princess." Mori told her. Jen mumbled something that not even Mori understood as the girl got up and left the room.

"I'll take over where she left off." Beth said as she got up and moved to where Jen had been sitting.

"I'd appreciate the help." Mori said a soft smile playing in her eyes at the edges of her lips. Beth smiled back at her as she pulled out a map and the search began once again. The day went by and the girls barely noticed since they were working. The sun lowered in the sky and they didn't notice that it had set till Beth realized she couldn't read the words on the maps anymore because it had gotten so dark. She lit a few candles and then continued pouring over maps once again. By nightfall, the girls had compiled a list of where Dracula could be in Transylvania. The grand total of places he could be; 39. Now began the process of elimination. So far, it was taking longer than finding a list of places.

"Girls?" Van Helsing's voice cut through their focus. They looked up to see the monster hunter sticking his head in the doorway.

"Yes, dad?" Beth answered.

"Jen and I are going to take care of the horses." He told them.

"Okay." Bethany replied nodded. "Give Eclipse a carrot for me."

"Will do midget."

"Thanks Gabe."

And then he was gone. Mori just rolled her eyes at the conversation that had just taken place. Beth saw the motion and turned to her with a questioning look on her face. Mori, in turn, saw the look that was being given to her.

"I will never understand you and your father." Mori told her.

"I'm not even sure if I even understand my father and I, Mori. But what I do understand is that we have some kind of unspoken understanding." Beth replied smiling.

"I have to stop seeing you so much, Bethany." Mori said shaking her head. "You're beginning to sound like me."

That made Beth laugh, ever so slightly. Mori just had to smirk. Good, the old Bethany was still in there. Not the Bethany from the Order before they began this mission, but the 13 year old Bethany she had first met in that alleyway in London. It was nice to know that that girl was still in there under all the black leather, weapons and that hat she was forever wearing.

Twenty minutes went by with Mori and Beth checking sights and seeing if they could be eliminated or not. Suddenly, Beth's back went rigid. Something was terribly wrong. She could sense it. She didn't know how, but she could. There really wasn't a way to explain it. In some subconscious part of her mind, an alarm bell was going off to signal her conscious mind that something was not right in her corner of the world. Too bad there wasn't an alarm bell that let her know what it was. Mori noticed the girl's sudden change in composure, which caught her attention almost immediately.

"Are you alright, Bethany?" Mori asked her, knowing the answer would be 'no'.

"You mean you…" Beth stopped herself. Mori couldn't sense it? Then was Beth imagining this entire thing? "It's nothing."

I've heard that before. Mori mind-liked her.

Stop that, Mori, please.

Mori just shrugged and went back to her map. "As you wish."

No sooner had the words left Mori's lips did they hear the whine of a horse. It sounded terrified. What really alarmed the two girls was the thunderous gunshot that sounded shortly afterward.

"Okay, it is something." Beth said. The two dashed out the door toward the stables. Mori made sure that she got there first, which she did, and for good reason. The dark girl ran inside, turned around and locked the doors closed so Bethany couldn't get in. Also, she didn't want her to have to see what she was seeing. The place was a wreck. A horse had been torn to pieces, it's gallons and gallons of blood soaking the ground, the other nervous horses and everything else in sight. The sweet, hot aroma filled Mori's nostrils, but she quickly ripped her mind away from the very thought.

The stable was dark, but Mori's eyes had already adjusted. She had no trouble seeing in the dark. She looked the place over once again with her icy eyes, hoping to find some detail she had missed. Over in the corner lay a small dark shape. It took her a moment to recognize the object as Van Helsing's hat. Mori went over to the corner and picked it up, ignoring Bethany's constant pounding on the door and her shouts to let her in. The dark girl looked over the ground. There were signs of a struggle, so one had obviously taken place. However, there were no bodies. They were gone.

"Damn." Mori swore quietly. This was not good. Dracula had taken two valuable members of their party, including Van Helsing. Bethany was not going to take this too well.

She then decided to leave. She had to get away from all the blood. It was driving her mad. Plus, Beth needed to know. Mori exited the stable, locking the door behind her.

"Mori…" Beth stopped when she saw the hat in Mori's hand. It was her father's. What was Mori doing with it? What happened? Mori held out the hat to Beth, who took it with shaking hands.

"Bethany," Mori began. "he's taken them."

"No!" Beth breathed clutching that hat to her chest. Her father! Dracula had taken her father! It just couldn't be! There was no way! But Beth only knew that there was no denying what happened. Her father was gone.

"But…" the young huntress licked her lips nervously as she tried to hold back the tears that threatened to run out of her eyes. "But…that means…"

Mori only nodded solemnly.

"We are the only ones left."