Chapter 5

Catherine and Van Helsing now sat at the main dining room table. Amelia was pacing back and forth alongside it. Nobody had said anything for a while after Catherine was told what happened. She had kept her head in her hands, pondering what to do next. She still couldn't register to the fact that Michelle had been kidnapped. At first she had thought Amelia had done something, before Michelle or Catherine had awaken. But when Amelia came upstairs with the worried look on her face and began explaining what happened, the fact that Amelia was a werewolf had completely vanished from her mind. They were once again sisters, worried about Michelle. Catherine raised her head from her hands.

"So where do you think she is? Do we have any clues?" Catherine spoke hopefully. Amelia stopped pacing, finally seating herself across from Van Helsing.

"We don't even know who or what took her. Until that's solved we haven't a chance of finding out where we can find her." she spoke with one hand flat on the table, the other one, the bitten one, was twitching nervously. Van Helsing still had not known about the bite. And it appeared that Amelia wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.

"So how do we find that out? Were there any clues left." Catherine was looking for any shred of hope that might be there. It was useless though.

"There were no clues. It was a grab and run." Van Helsing was speaking. He was combing both hands through his long hair. He didn't know what to do now. They were supposed to leave an hour ago.

"What if the intruder didn't run though?" Amelia had gotten up now. She walked toward the window and looked outside. It was still daylight out, but there were a few clouds scattered along the blue summer sky. "I mean, what if it flew. It had only rained two nights ago. The ground is still damp. Any footprints would have been clearly visible. We wouldn't have missed it." she was right. She looked back at Catherine and Van Helsing, biting her lip. She could be right. Van Helsing replied.

"But the only thing that would be able to come in and take her would be a vampire. And rarely do they take hostages. Besides, It was daylight when she was taken, we know that for sure. Vampires can't hunt in the sunlight." He had a point. Amelia looked back at the window. The clouds. They were large enough to block the sun for a few minutes or so. Vampires can't hunt in direct sunlight, but they can hunt when the sun's behind a cloud.

"The clouds would of blocked the sunlight, for a few minutes or so. It would of given it enough time to come in and get out." Amelia was right, she knew it. She had to be. As for the hostage. If the vampire only came for a kill it would have been at night, and it would of left the body, which there was none of. Then she remembered something. "Bait! Or a trade! Do you remember what you told me last night? Of how a sibling of a monster hunter is a popular target of monsters. What if they took her to get back at me for something, or to lure me in to rid of me." Amelia was in thought now. She was trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. She was distracted though by Catherine's sudden outburst.

"Monster hunter? You're not a monster hunter, you can't be. Besides, what would vampires want to do with you? As long as you've been here you haven't killed anything." Catherine never knew about Amelia's training at the monastery, or why for that matter. Van Helsing did though.

"But before she came here she has. He knew you were coming, somehow he knew." He was staring into Amelia's eyes. Hers were so full of confusion.

"Who knew you were coming? How come I don't know? Will somebody please explain this to me." Catherine was losing her temper. And she had a right to. Her sister was kidnapped for reasons nobody would tell her.

"Dracula." was all Amelia answered. She left the dining room, her footsteps were heard climbing the stairs. Van Helsing and Catherine were left in silence.

Amelia left the dining room and climbed the staircase to her bedroom. There she saw her pack laying on the bed. It was full, but now with things that would prove useless to her. She grabbed it and emptied it's contents onto the bed. A bundle of clothing, weapons wrapped in small towels, a compass and map fell into a heap on the bed. She unravelled the towels from the weapons. She set them neatly on her nightstand. There was a small dagger, two pistols, a case of bullets (some silver), and a sheathed sword.

Amelia bit her lip, thinking. She let go immediately though. There was still a scar on her lower lip from the night before. She didn't want to think about it. But it was the only thing swamping her mind and it wouldn't leave. She leaned against her nightstand, gazing down at the weapons. She stared at the case of bullets. She took her uninjured hand and opened the metal box. Inside was a neat array of bullets. On the left side she had her original copper ones. On the right she had a neat pile of silver ones. She picked one up. She held it in her palm, as if measuring it's weight. She ran a finger down it's length. It was smooth and cold. She pulled back her finger and placed the bullet back in the box quickly. She felt different about it now. She was repulsed by it. She slammed the lid down on the container. A new thought pulsed through her head.

Is someone going to have to use one of these on me? She knew the answer was most likely yes. And it hurt her. She was going to be that of what she had hunted.

Amelia pushed aside the dagger and sword. They were going to be of no use. The pistol and box of bullets remained on the table. She straightened herself and took a deep breath. She wrapped the pistols and box, tucking them back in her pack.

Amelia then went to her armoire. She opened the left cabinet and an array of drawers were revealed. She pulled open the top one. It was too high for her eyes to reach. She had to use her hand and fish around it blindly. She finally found what she was looking for. She pulled out a metal bottle. The cap had a cross on it. Holy water. It was placed on her bed, and she returned to the armoire. She closed the top drawer and pulled open the one below it. This one she could see into. She shuffled some clothes around and at the back of the drawer she found a metal cross. It had intricate details carved into it. The cross was placed on the bed and the drawer was closed. The two items were wrapped and placed along with the pistols and box at the bottom of the pack. Now she needed one more thing. She wandered over to her mattress and placed her arm underneath. Her hand was reaching for something, but it wasn't there. Her silver stake was gone. Then a flashback of that morning hit her. Catherine.

Catherine had the silver stake. She must of grabbed it when Amelia was in the bathing room thra...No! Don't think about that, Amelia told herself. She was mad at Catherine for a moment, for taking her belongings without permission. Then the anger disappeared, replaced with understanding. Catherine had taken the stake to protect herself, and Michelle, from Amelia. Catherine knew what weapons worked against what creatures. Her and her books. Catherine knew everything about anything.

Amelia sighed, regretting her anger. She stood back up and looked at her heap of clothing. They were only necessities. She had a plain tunic, a chain mail tunic, a pair of deer hide gloves (for the weather can be harsh in Transylvania). It hit her then that she was actually going to Transylvania, the place she had wanted to see for years. She placed the rest of her needed clothing in the pack and heaved a strap over her shoulder. The pack was heavy, but it was manageable. She walked to the door, turned around and took a look at the room. It might be the last time she sees it. She left the room and descended the old oak staircase.