Chapter 9

Catherine flopped down on the bed. It wasn't very comfortable, but it was better than her horse saddle. She started to drift into sleep as Amelia came in the room and threw her pack on the bed. She lowered her arm over the bed and coins began spilling out onto the covers. Catherine watched with fascination.
"Did you cheat that poor old bartender?" asked Catherine accusingly.
"Only because he tried to cheat us. I saw the sign on the window of how much the rooms were. I had offered him over ten times as much, to see if he was an honest man. He failed. He cheats me, so I cheat him." She sat down on the bed and tested that the old wooden frame could hold her weight. Then she checked underneath like a little girl checking for monsters.
"Scared that there might be monsters under your bed, Amelia?" Catherine asked sarcastically, although in almost a whisper for she was too tired to speak loudly.
"Can't be too careful here, can we?" was her reply as she was untying her knee-high boots. Catherine didn't bother changing; her sword was still at her hip. She sighed and let sleep overtake her.

Catherine was awakened by a pillow slap in the face.
"Get up, sleepy! Now!" was what Amelia yelled at her after she dropped the pillow back on the bed. Catherine was curled into a ball at the foot of the bed, and that is how she had slept most of the night.
Amelia walked off to the other side of the room, where she had her pack sitting atop an old wooden table. She was dressed differently this morning. She had a long-sleeve green and white tunic underneath a piece of armoury that Catherine thought looked like a tight black corset, but with a metallic look. She hoisted the back onto her back and threw Michelle's pack which was lying at the foot of the bed at her. Catherine caught it out of reflex and sat up unhappily. She got up lazily and pulled a shoulder strap of her pack over one shoulder. She walked out the room door with Amelia right behind her.

The two girls left the bar into the street where their two horses waited patiently. Van Helsing waited atop his horse. He was already up and alert despite the time. And so was Amelia. Catherine envied them for it.
The three of them left the town and followed the shore northwards once again, this time at a run at first. Catherine supposed they were doing this just for the joy of being back on the road and away from that wretched town. Catherine felt tired enough that she feared she might fall off her horse. This thought kept her awake, and she was able to cling on to her galloping blood bay until they rounded a hill and the small fishing town was out of sight.
Most of the journey that day was in silence. They were either gazing out to see, or trying to avoid falling over the edge of the cliff into the craggy rocks and perilous waters below. They only stopped twice to eat, and that was only slices of bread Catherine was told they would eat first before it went too hard or turned bad. Their horses were allowed to graze at the foot of the rolling hills.
When they were back to riding again, Catherine was getting tired of the silence. She sped her horse up so that she was riding between Amelia and Van Helsing.
"How do we expect to get Michelle back? I heard nobody knows how to slay Dracula. Why do you two act so confidently with this in mind." she looked side to side at her two companions. Van Helsing had a smirk on his face. Amelia was biting her tongue.
"You know, we were hoping you would never ask that." was Amelia's answer. Catherine hoped that this was not the end of their conversation. Then Van Helsing spoke.
"We do not know if Michelle is alive, but she is most likely not for food because there are plenty of humans scurrying for vampires to take in Transylvania, there would be no need to cross the ocean to Italy. But we do know how Dracula works. He takes someone important in the eye of his enemy, not to kill them, but to trade them for what he wants. This is a successful way to work. Almost everybody has fallen into it so far." He looked past Catherine towards Amelia, who was looking a bit ill. Catherine was meanwhile putting two and two together.
"Wait. So that means you're going to trade yourself for Michelle? No! There has to be another way! My expectations were that I was going to come home with both my sisters." Catherine was almost at tears. Amelia would not look at her.
"Never does a person go into Dracula's plans, and expect go out with what they were hoping for." Amelia now looked at her. Her eyes were intense, like she knew she was doing the right thing, and she wouldn't change her mind about it. Catherine kicked her horse and it jolted ahead, only to stop sideways, blocking Amelia and Van Helsing from going any farther.
"But there is another way! Amelia, you know there's another way! You're a werewolf now; well you are soon to be anyway. Another weakness against vampires is a werewolf bite. Maybe it could work against Dracula, to get Michelle back." Amelia looked up at Catherine with anger, like Catherine said something that she was definitely not supposed to. Van Helsing's expression was that of shock. Catherine now understood that Amelia had never told him of the bite, or what was to come of it.
"Amelia? Is that what that is? Why hadn't you of told me?" Van Helsing was concerned, and he wasn't afraid to show it. Amelia looked into his face, only to see it turn into surprise. She didn't understand.
"You know, it would wisest to run at the moment." He spoke loudly, almost yelling. Amelia and Catherine understood when they turned and saw a winged figure that was way out proportional or large, to be any bird, flying towards them from the cloudy skies above the ocean. A vampire was headed their way, and probably not to say hello.