Disclaimer: Stella is my not-so-hideous progeny. Bella is mostly mine. Buena Vista still has dibs on her species.
A month had come and gone too slowly and Van Helsing had never been so eager to see the Roman skyline. The sides of his horse were drenched in the sweat of a hard day's ride, but it showed no sign of tiring. He thanked Anna silently for the stallion, his one memento of the Transylvanian over a year ago. The horse was eager to run; finally free of the tight cargo hold in which it had spent the journey home—almost as eager as Van Helsing was to reach the Vatican City, and to see his little one once more.
At last, they reached the city limits but even then, they did not slow. Monks and pilgrims scattered, diving out of their way. Merchants hawking rosaries and prayer books ducked behind their carts, shouting words that the saints on their prayer cards would surely disapprove of.
Racing past the stables, Van Helsing went straight to the library. He dismounted in the alleyway before his horse could come to a halt and tied its reins to a drainpipe. He did at least undo horse's saddle and removed some oats from his saddlebags so that he could eat. The rain barrel beneath the pipe was full and the stallion drank heavily from it.
The door behind him opened and a yellow blur shot out from behind it, throwing its arms around his legs. Van Helsing stumbled back but caught his balance and lifted the tiny assailant into his arms.
"I missed you so much," Bella declared, nuzzling against him. He kissed her forehead and she giggled as his whiskery cheek rubbed against hers.
"And I missed you. Were you brave?"
"She was very brave," Stella appeared in the doorway. "Come in, come in," she beckoned.
The flat was a nice relief from the hot air. They made themselves comfortable in the kitchen and Stella offered him ice tea from a pitcher. Bella declared that she had made it herself, with the librarian's help, before hopping down from his arms and racing into the study. When she returned, she was holding long piece of paper.
"Look what I did!" She held it up for him. The drawing was crude, but Van Helsing could recognize Stella by her black hair and Carl by the scribbled brown robe. Bella had drawn herself as well, using a yellow crayon, and Van Helsing too, hat and all.
"You gave me wings," he noticed, a bit puzzled but not displeased. Bella shrugged and wriggled under the paper and into his lap. "It's very good." She beamed at his praise.
"She's been waiting all week to show…" but Stella was interrupted by a knock on the door. Answering it, she found a very harried Carl.
"What is it?" Van Helsing asked from the top of the stairs. Hearing the friar's voice, Bella peeked out from behind him and waved.
"They've captured him," he said breathlessly, "Ten miles outside of the city, at least that's where they're keeping him. I didn't know what to do, I mean, I couldn't just storm the place and…but now that you're back…"
"Hold on Carl," Van Helsing hurried down the stairs. "Who did they capture? What are you…?"
"Frankenstein… I don't know what he's—" suddenly, Carl remembered that they were not alone. He lowered his voice and the two began to whisper animatedly. Van Helsing grew serious, then angry.
"What's wrong?" Stella asked. Van Helsing struggled to regain his composure.
"I may need to leave Bella here another night."
Bella let out a cry of protest, and clambered down the stairs
"Just for a few hours. I'll be back before dawn, I promise." He turned back to Stella. "If that's alright. I wouldn't ask it of you unless I had no other choice."
"It's fine. She's always welcome here. But—" Van Helsing cut her off.
"Thank you, I have to leave now." He beckoned Bella over and reluctantly she came.
"Just a few hours?" she asked. She took his hand and refused to let go until she extracted this promise from him. Gabriel always kept his word.
"Yes. I'll come back and take you home before the sun sets, and you can tell me everything that's happened while I was away." It was good enough and she let him released him.
… … …
Outside, Van Helsing pressed Carl for more information.
"Do you know where you're keeping him?"
"From what I've heard they've converted an old barn into a prison. It's just off the road. They're planning on using him in some sort of side show. That's how we learned of it. They've been advertising, calling him 'The Demon.'"
"Those fools! They wouldn't last a minute against a real demon. And the Order is allowing this?"
Carl shook his head.
"They're sending an agent to destroy him tonight."
"We have to do something," Van Helsing said angrily. "Maybe I can get myself assigned to it. Stella could pull some strings…" but Carl shook his head.
"Stella has no influence here. Besides, they've already assigned someone, and Van Helsing, it's Canmore."
His blood ran cold. Canmore was here in Rome. Did he know about Bella? Had he hunted her here, all this way? And if he was still being assigned cases, the Order was doing nothing about the murders. The Council of Faiths knew that Canmore had killed innocent creatures in cold blood, and ignored it.
"How long has he been here?"
"About two weeks. He's been harassing Stella about these records—"
Van Helsing cursed and whirled about, slamming his fist against the side of a building. Carl flinched and bits of plaster flaked off the wall.
"He doesn't know about Bella, at least not that she's here anyway," he said reassuringly. "Stella's held him off so far, but I don't know how long she can keep it up. He's made an appeal before the Council of Faiths."
"Do you think they'll back him?" Van Helsing knew little about the Orders bureaucracy, only that they insisted on working their agents to death.
"I don't know. But what should we do about Frankenstein?"
Van Helsing had not seen or heard from the creature since Transylvania. They had parted on good terms, each having saved the other's life at least once. Friendship was a rare thing for Van Helsing; he and Frankenstein had that in common. The most wanted man in Europe got few dinner invites. He was not about to let one of the few friends he had hang.
"Do you know where they're keeping him?"
"In a barn ten miles west of the city. It's close to the roads."
Van Helsing checked his pockets for weapons. It was almost ten now. There was no time for planning. He'd just have to cross himself and hope that he didn't get caught.
A new dilemma occurred to him. In the past, when he had taken risks, there had been no one to worry about but himself. Now, if something happened to him, who would take care of Bella? What would become of his little one?
"Carl, I want you to keep Stella out of this."
The friar was puzzled.
"Van Helsing, we can trust her. I've known her for years; she'd never—"
"You're probably right," Van Helsing admitted, "But if I'm caught tonight, I need to know that someone will be able to look after Bella for me."
"Don't talk like that…I mean, surely the Council wouldn't do anything to you, would they?"
Van Helsing shook his head, but was not entirely convinced.
"The Left Hand of God is too valuable," he said sarcastically, "But there may be…an inquiry or something. I don't know. But all the same,"
"I understand. I—I'll try and keep quiet about it." Carl kept could hold his tongue like a fish could breath air. Still, the chances of Stella being connected to the rescue were slim. There was no reason for her to be involved.
A/N: For some reason, this chapter took so much work and effort. I have no idea why, but I ended up going through at least two drafts, not including the original, before getting this final product. I think a lot of the upcoming chapters will be like that, now that we're about to get into the thick of things.