Chapter 4: Lies and Deceit

Van Helsing watched closely as the witches reemerged from the underground lair. He noticed a man with them and found it strange. The hunter took mental notes as he looked around at the women.

Gabriel decided to go into town and see how things are. When he walked into the tavern he wasn't surprised at how busy the place was. As he walked around…He could sense him.

Vampire.

As he started to do a sweep he discovered not just a vampire, but a familiar face. Gabe cursed and started to decide as to whether or not he was going to tell Brooke about this. It made him wonder if the witches already knew he was in town. This was potentially dangerous and could ruin their whole cover. Van Helsing was now considering killing the vamp. before he caused any issues. Talking to him was out of the question.

When the vampire spotted him he looked even more pale- as if that was possible. Like any scared creature aware of death, he fled from the tavern. His friends were confused, but they could see Gabriel was close behind him with a hand in his pocket.

Dryden hadn't noticed the monster hunter enter…his guard was seriously off after taking up residence in the town for a while. He came on business, which was to take out some witches practicing necromancy. Other vampires had come into town seeking to kill the witches and none of them were ever seen again. Dryden knew he had to be smart about this and that meant studying them from a distance. In that time he had made friends…not typical of a vampire, but he was no typical vampire.

As he was being chased by Van Helsing he wondered if the monster hunter still had it out for him because of Brooke. Perhaps Gabe had information on Brooke? The vampire was always curious about her and still wished to reconnect with her. For now he was running for his life. Once he ran into the woods, the vampire had the ultimate advantage.

It didn't take long for Gabriel to lose track of the vampire. The hunter went back to the cabin and started to wait for Brooke's return. He didn't know what he was going to tell her about running into Dryden. It was inevitable that she would run into him soon. He threw a bottle across the room in anger and watched it smash.

Brooke left the circle as the sun was rising. The vampire the witches brought back to life was kept under tight lock even as he slept. They knew he was no longer a vampire, but the witches weren't ready to let him around loose during the day time.

She let herself into the cabin and found Van Helsing asleep with his hat down over his face and his feet up on a table as he sat in a wooden chair.

"Gabriel…wake-up," she yawned.

He shook himself awake and asked her how it went.

"How did it go? These witches are insane. They had a vampire with them...they starved him, deprived him of sleep and left him exposed in the sun. Not to mention they staked him in the heart."

He didn't see what was so wrong about that. "Sounds like they're doing our job for us."

She glared, "then they brought him to life. They brought him back from the dead, Gabriel…dead dead. He's not even a vampire anymore; he's a breathing, soul, heart beating body. Can that actually be done without consequences?"

Gabe took off his hat in utter shock and began pacing the room. "That's the craziest thing I've ever heard! Why would witches want to bring vampires to life? This makes no sense. They can't honestly be the helping nurturing type…There has to be more to it Brooke."

"I know. I have yet to discover it though. But anyways, they seemed to buy my cover and I quickly caught the attention of their high priestess. I don't know how long I'll be able to keep this up though. We need to work fast on this; I don't trust them Gabriel."

He stopped moving, "Alright…tonight we gather more information and the next night we'll make our move. I don't want to risk your safety."

"I'll be fine…but it seems like there's something else your concerned about. Did you find out anything?"

Van Helsing played it cool, "the town doesn't speak much about witches. I think they're oblivious to their practices. In a way it's good. I think. I'm just worried about your safety, that's all."

Brooke wasn't believing him...her partner saw something he didn't want to tell her. Van Helsing was always a bad liar.

"Alright, I'll be careful until we get this whole thing figured out." She left it at that knowing whatever he discovered she was gonna have to find out for herself.

"I'm getting some sleep. Wake me if you find anything important," she yawned and headed to the bedroom.

Brooke stripped down and got underneath her wool blanket before it started to rain outside the cabin. She faced the window that was covered with an old sheet that had many holes in it. These were not the worse conditions she had ever slept in.

The more she thought about it…these strange images were coming to the forefront of her mind.

Snow. Coldness. Dark. Pain.

Van Helsing stood in the doorway as he watched her twist and turn. She was shaking, but it wasn't even cold. He found himself unable to look away from her.

"Kaden..." she whispered in her sleep.

The name drew his attention closer to her. Did she just say Kaden? That name…that was the demon he asked to help them on their last mission. The mission Brooke should have no memory of.

Now he debated as to whether The Order should know about this. Could he trust them? And what exactly did they mean 'she was better off having no memory of it'? Van Helsing gave her his blanket knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep anyways.

He returned to the table and started to sharpen an ax. Dryden was still a vampire and Van Helsing was planning accomplish both tasks at once. Rid of the vampire tonight and ride of the witches the next night. Sounded simple enough, but each task would be way more complicated than that.