Chapter 9: Unraveling

Their journey seemed to end right where it began, but so much had changed. Brooke looked better…healthier and she wasn't speaking or even looking at him. Both hunters seemed be lacking sleep as they walked into the Holy Order with tattered, bloody, sweaty and smelly clothes. Once inside, anyone who happened to be near them instantly turned their head to prevent themselves from inhaling their unique perfume.

For Van Helsing this was a far cry from their last mission…rushing her up the stairs as Brooke appeared lifeless in his arms. The vampire incident they decided to keep between them and that was just standard protocol; the less the Order knew the better. Besides, all Cardinal Jinette cared about was if the witches were taken care of…he never really asked for the details.

Brooke went straight to the baths to clean up and put fresh clothes on. She found it strange how quickly her body healed after being given the antidote. The last time she had seen that treatment given, the man was in bed with illness for two weeks. There were a lot of things on her mind…The connection she had with Dryden, the strange events she had been seeing that felt so real, and just the total madness of those witches.

"Good work Van Helsing. You did what you had to in order to get the job done. Next time, don't wait so long to strike." The Cardinal stated as he rose from his chair.

"How did you-?" Gabe's face turned pale.

"After the last time, did you really think I'd send you two on a mission without some oversight? And yes…I've been informed on everything." He grinned and put a hand on the hunter's shoulder, "relax, you did the right thing. Had she of fed they would have terminated her. But all is well my friend! Tomorrow night I encourage you both to attend a ball. Prominent members of society will be there and they've asked for some extra security. It's a different kind of mission, but I hope you and Ms. De Alkincoats will have some much needed social time."

Gabe released a heavy sigh before agreeing with him. As much as he hated these so called social missions…he would enjoy the free food and wine. Lots of wine. However, this also meant spending another evening with Brooke…during a time he knew she'd want to stay as far apart from him as possible. It still irritated him how much she cared about the vampire. Every time he got closer to her- Dryden would always come between them.

As he walked to her room he noticed her door closed halfway. Since threatening her life, the two really hadn't spoken and she seemed weary of him.

"Brooke? I got a message from the Cardinal. He wants us to attend a ball tomorrow night."

She had just come out of the shower when she heard Gabriel. It scared her at first…she still sort of felt threatened by him, and in time she would get over the fact.

"Alright…sounds like one of those testing missions. He probably wants you to go…but figures you'd look like an idiot without a date."

He laughed, "you sure about that? He knows about Dryden…and what happened on the mission. Turns out we were being watched the entire time."

"Serious?" She held the towel around herself tighter. All of these things came to mind...rules broken and so on. "I'm gonna kick his holy ass someday. Nice and slow…see if God saves him then."

"Brooke!" he rushed to stop her before anyone else happened to hear. Those words! That was what he loved about her. "He didn't sound upset or anything...Just said if I hadn't of cured you, they would have killed you."

"Well, that's good to know. Actually, there are a lot things I'd like to know. I saw some things…things I don't remember, but at the same time they felt familiar. We were fighting…and I got hurt really bad. It's hard to describe."

Gabe was a little uncomfortable as she started to change her clothes in front of him. Brooke didn't seem to mind it…but he turned around to give her some privacy.

"What's wrong? You've never had an issue seeing me naked when we shared a bed," she laughed.

He ignored her and started to explain what he swore he never would.

"You were on a mission before this one. You were missing for a long time…the Holy Order had sent others before you, but they met a worse fate. They sent me to finish the mission fearing you were dead. I found you….injured but alive. It was now you, Carl, and I on a new mission." He paused to see how she was reacting.

"We were outnumbered… Carl had been taken and killed, but we were on a rescue mission in hopes that he was still alive. You were getting sicker by the hour, only I didn't know it. Brooke, you lied to me- you told me you were taking care of the wound, but you weren't. Always so stubborn. By the time I had a chance to see it again, the wound was black…the infection was spreading throughout your body like the plague. No doctors would touch you- superstitious bastards. By the time I got you here, you were near death. They said no medicine could cure you in time. They talked about euthanizing you! I refused to let you die. Father Francis held a solution…a potion that would heal you, but had side effects: memory loss, healing abilities, and an ageless appearance."

Brooke rested her hands on a table and looked down in shock. She didn't know whether to believe him or not, but his story was so detailed that it had to be true. Now it all was starting to make sense…the images she saw and the healing.

"A magical potion? Even if I do believe you…you lied to me. Get out..." she whispered but Van Helsing didn't move. "I said GET OUT!"

This wasn't the reaction he had been expecting, but he obeyed. "I'm sorry for not telling you…Father Francis said it was for the best, and for once I agreed with him."

Brooke shook her head. She couldn't believe he had kept this from her...and of course he would be somehow involved.

"Don't tell anyone else, alright?" He said to her before walking out.

She closed the door behind him and went out through a back door. Within a few minutes she was outside the Vatican…roaming the streets with just a knife on her. She needed to get away from that place. She needed time to think and absorb…and maybe even remember. Brooke knew just the woman who could help her.

Gabriel returned to his own living quarters to take a shower and prepare for a real dinner. To be honest, the food and hot water were the only reasons he liked staying there…it damn well wasn't for the company or mass. At dinner, Brooke's seat remained empty and it worried him. He excused himself and took off on horseback to find her.

She sat down at the wooden table behind a beaded curtain. It was dimly lit by candles and smelled of burning sage. The smoke was sitting just above her head.

This was a woman who knew…saw things. The Vatican secretly consulted her advice from time and time.

Within a few more minutes she emerged. Her garb fit the room like a painting…she belonged in this element and Brooke couldn't picture her anywhere else. This woman was unlike the others…she didn't use a magic ball or a deck of cards.

"I've been waiting for you…you're a few minutes late," she said as she sat down across from her.

"Uhm…sorry?" Brooke looked into her eyes and noticed one of them was white and cloudy.

"Don't apologize. You're here and that's all that matters. My name is Rachelle, and you must be Brooke de Alkincoats. An heir of such a high society family in Lancashire, yet in the absence of your parents and brother you've found yourself here. Such a woman would have been married with many children by now in a comfy estate, but instead you arm yourself with weapons and sleep on a cot." She looked into her eyes, "but that's not the reason you're here. No. You want to see what you have forgotten. What was not long ago, but lies out of reach. The magick saved your life…you seem to doubt such magick exists, but it does and it can come with some unfortunate consequences. Are you sure you wish to see it? Feel it? Experience this traumatic past again?"

It only took a few minutes for her decide that this was what she wanted. Brooke felt like something was missing and this would fill that void, no matter how horrible it was. She had to know.

"Yes. I need to know."

Rachelle sighed, "Very well…"

The woman stood up and returned to the table half an hour later with an old cup.

"Come," she motioned Brooke. "This will let you see what you seek to know, and then some."

Brooke laid down on a bed took the cup. She wasn't sure what Rachelle meant by "then some"; she was too desperate to care and drank the contents quickly. It tasted terrible…worse than the black mixture she drank to cure her vampirism. Within seconds the world around her went black and she went to the beginning….the snow, the cold, the monster, and the chase.

It was like reliving everything…she was there seeing things through her own eyes, but she had no control over what she said or did. It felt like days were passing, however it really had only been minutes.

Then, once back at the Vatican, things started to change. Suddenly she found herself in a dress at a ball. Brooke looked around and realized this was what Van Helsing told her about. She looked out in the crowd and saw Dryden, but Van Helsing took her gloved hand and pulled her away. Just at that moment there was an explosion. The entire room shook and fireball rose up to the ceiling looking to escape. It was pure chaos as people fled for the nearest exit in their beautifully large gowns.

She broke away from Gabriel and went to find Dryden. It was impossible to find anyone as there was a sea of panicked faces.

Rachelle slapped Brooke on the face and got her to wake up.

"That will be seven hundred shillings."

"Wha?" Brooke was groggy as she sat up and saw the woman with her hand out. "Put it on the Vatican's account…they'll owe me for this."

The woman huffed, but seemed pleased none the less and showed her to the door.

Brooke staggered outside and wandered the streets like a drunk lunatic as she talked to herself.

"The pain…" she reminisced. "The explosion…Dryden…all those people. Who would do something like that?"

Van Helsing noticed some people staring a woman that was wandering around in the square. He grinned seeing Brooke…even though she was acting strange. The hunter dismounted his horse and tied it to a light pole in order to approach her.

"Time to come home," he took her by the arm and walked her back to his horse.

"I saw it…everything! Carl's body, saving you, my insides rotting away. I also saw the ball we're attending…Someone is going to blow it up."

He didn't smell any alcohol on her, but that didn't mean she wasn't taking something else; although, she seemed to know more details about their previous mission.

"Let's get some sleep and we'll talk about it in the morning."

To Be Continued….

Completed: September 4, 2011