CHAPTER 6

"Is it dead yet?" Carl asked, popping his head out from underneath the bed. That's when he saw the pieces of blown up beast all over the place. He cringed. "Ewww...I'm glad these aren't my quarters," he stated before crawling out and climbing to his feet.

Gabriel took a few deep breaths and then dropped the crossbow onto the floor. He was feeling drained. His adrenaline rush was now crashing and he could really feel the pain his shoulder now. "Anna?" he questioned as he slowly turned his head in the direction she had been thrown.

He spotted her lying on her side on the floor on top of the remains of the chair that she had been sitting in before the beast interrupted them. The chair had obviously broken her fall and then shattered because of the force of it.

"Anna?" he said again when she didn't reply. He stared at her a moment longer and then realized she wasn't moving. Immediately, he was across the room and at her side. He quickly rolled her over and pulled her into his lap. "Anna! Anna, wake up!" he said, his voice shaking ever so slightly.

There was a long, quiet moment and then she finally moaned. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she looked up at Van Helsing. She blinked a couple of times to clear her vision and then finally spoke. "Is it dead?" she whispered.

Van Helsing smiled down at her, relieved that she was alive. For a moment, he had thought he had lost her again. "Yes," he replied with a small nod.

"Thanks to me!" Carl interjected from where he was now sitting on the bed, poking at a piece of charred beast flesh with one of the arrows that Van Helsing had shot it with.

Gabriel glanced over at the friar and raised a threatening eyebrow.

"And Van Helsing!" he quickly added, seeing the other man's look.

Shaking his head, Gabriel turned back to Anna and looked down at her again. Placing his arm around her shoulders, he helped into a sitting position, but immediately became concerned when she let out a pain-filled gasp. "Are you all right?" he questioned, a look of worry passing over his face.

She closed her eyes a moment, trying to mentally push the pain aside, before she opened them again and slowly nodded. "Yes, I will be fine," she replied before she reached up and fingered the torn clothing around Gabriel's wounds in his shoulder. "But you need to have those cared for."

Just then, Cardinal Jinette and a few others came storming into the room. "Van Helsing!" the Cardinal snapped, "What happened here?!"

Gabriel stood and then helped Anna up as well. He opened his mouth to reply, but was suddenly cut off my Carl.

"It was an Opacus Belua, Father! It was really quite extraordinary!" he said excitedly. Then he frowned. "It would have been even more extraordinary if it hadn't been trying to kill us." Everyone looked at Carl as if he was going insane, but he didn't seem to notice. "I must say that the sketches of this creature in the manuscripts hardly did it justice, but its name certainly does!" He looked over at Van Helsing and Anna, saying, "Opacus Belua is Latin for 'Shadow Beast' which I think fits it rather nicely, don't you? I mean, it blended into the shadows of the corridor so well! I walked right in front of it and didn't even realize it was there. Until, of course, it threw me through the door, but—"

"That is enough, Carl," Jinette said, having gotten tired of the friar's babbling. He turned his attention to Gabriel and Anna. He narrowed his eyes and stared a moment before speaking. "I was told that Princess Velarious was dead."

Carl immediately began speaking again. "Well, she was in fact dead, but—"

The Cardinal silenced him with a stern look before he stepped forward toward the other two. "Either she is dead or she is not dead. Which is it?" he asked, directing the question toward Gabriel.

"Carl is right, Father. Anna was dead," he answered.

Jinette looked at her and then back at Gabriel. "She does not appear to be dead to me."

"That is because she is no longer dead."

Raising an eyebrow, the Cardinal gave Van Helsing an inquiring look. "And would you care to explain how this obviously miraculous event came to pass?"

Gabriel glanced at Anna and then looked straight at Jinette. "I asked the Lord to return her to me," he answered simply, "And He did."

"You asked the Lord to bring her back to life and He did?" he asked, sounding somewhat incredulous.

"That was my exact reaction, Father!" Carl interrupted, "Why does Van Helsing get what he asks for while the rest of us who have been praying for years and have devoted our lives to Him get nothing?!"

"Be quiet, Carl."

"Yes Father."

Jinette stared at Gabriel and Anna for a few long moments before shaking his head. "You realize what this means?"

"That I am now a beacon for evil?" Anna said, speaking for the first time since the Cardinal had walked into the room. She nodded. "Carl informed Gabriel and I earlier."

"Yes," Jinette replied, "And it also means that in order to keep the secrecy and safety of the Holy Order—"

"I must leave here," she finished for him. "And I plan to do so immediately."

The Cardinal studied Anna for a moment and then nodded. "I do not wish to cast you out, Princess, but there is no other alternative." There was a long pause. "Unless..."

"Unless?" Van Helsing prodded.

Jinette raised his finger in the air as a thoughtful expression passed over his face. "In the ancient manuscripts, there is a myth of an Amulet of Vedette which was said to have the power absorb the essence of sanctity and protect those placed here by the Hand of God," he recounted. "I do not know if this myth is true or not, but it was written in the same manuscripts as was the warning to those not born naturally, but simply created by the Lord. The warning about being the beacon for evil."

"The same that Carl told us about?" Van Helsing questioned.

Cardinal Jinette nodded.

"We've already seen that Anna attracts evil. She was even called the Holy One by the beast. So if that part of the manuscript was true, then the other part about the amulet must be as well," Gabriel rationalized as he cast a hopeful glance Anna's way. "If there is any chance that we can prevent Anna from being constantly hounding by these dark creatures for the rest of her life, we must take the risk and search for whatever can save her. If it is this amulet that can do this, we must find it."

TO BE CONTINUED...

(A/N: Hey all! This chapter was a bit boring, but hey! It's up! LOL! Thanks for all your reviews! They're greatly appreciated!! -Grin- Oh Dare, it would seem that they're going shopping in chpt 8, not 7! Sorry! LOL! But don't worry! I've got most of 7 done and I'm planning out 8. -smile- Anyway, thanks again for the reviews!! And remember to REVIEW this time too! HEHE -Emily)