Chapter 7.

It was not until midday that Henry returned. Weary from staying up all night and morning on watch he allowed himself to faint on the sofa in the study. Reinhardt came down from upstairs after having taken a shower and dressed himself in his traditional shirt and vest combination. Under his arm he carried the books that Matthew Golden had brought for Henry. Reinhardt laid the books on the table in front of Henry and then sat himself in a chair opposite the sofa.

"How was the watch?"

"No one died," Henry said with his head face down on a cushion of the sofa. He then lifted his head and looked at Reinhardt, "for how long would you go without sleep?"

"Several days. With practice, of course. Now I can barely get through a day without a nap." Reinhardt said sarcastically. "What is in these books you want to look for? I thought you had a library all of your own."

"It doesn't have everything. I am following two threads of evidence. One would be the hair, the second would be the full moons."

"You have the same theory as I do regarding the hair."

"Yes. But I have a deeper theory." Henry sat up and grabbed the book titled Index of Mystical Creatures from air, sea, to land. Henry quickly flipped through the voluminous text. Finally Henry let loose a loud "aha!" Henry looked up at Reinhardt gestured for the hair sample. Reinhardt handed it to him and Henry compared it to the page in the book. He then flipped the book around so that Reinhardt could compare it himself. Reinhardt took the hair and placed above one of the detailed drawings in the book.

"We both knew that it was a wolf hair. The kind of wolf hair was the question. A wolf hair of that length, shape, texture, and color I have seen only once before in my life."

Reinhardt looked up to Henry. "Wolfgarian?"

"Not your average werewolf. Their origins go back to the time of the ancients. Wolfgar, no one really knows what it was. Could be the name of a place. Could be the name of the tribe or clan that these wolves belonged to. Stories say that they were once warriors who worshipped a God in the shape of a wolf. But something happened, no one knows for sure what. Their God punished them. Turned them all into man-wolves. As man-wolves they hunted and killed humans for years until rapid loading guns gave humans a fighting chance. Their numbers dwindled. Then they disappeared."

"That's not the whole story. Your friend was one of them."

"Cornell, yes. His clan was a dying breed. The only way to survive was to rejoin humanity. The ancient curse however was not easily sealed away. After a time, it seemed like the seal would be broken. And eventually it was."

"Dracula," Reinhardt said the name quietly.

Henry nodded.

"What happened to Cornell?"

"I don't know. We lived together for a time. With Ada." Henry sat up. A faint smile came across his face. "We were happy." He realized that Reinhardt was staring at him amusedly. "Ada and I were happy, anyway. He however seemed…" Henry paused, looking for the right word. "Haunted." The smile faded from Henry's lips. "One night, Cornell, attacked Ada. It was as if he had reverted to being…"

"A were-wolf?"

Henry nodded. "He ran away after that. I never saw him again."

"And Ada?"

"Blames herself. Married Christ in an attempt to atone for something that isn't her fault in the first place."

"I take it you tried to convince her otherwise."

"I lo…" Henry started to speak but cut himself off. "It was no use. She made her choice. I was recruited by the Order shortly thereafter."

"Could he still a man-wolf?"

"Dracula robbed him of something. What I don't know. He never tried to use his power again, but he still felt the animal inside him. That is why he left. He felt ashamed. He was afraid he was still an animal on the inside. Ada and I tried to ease him but nothing worked."

"Could he be behind these murders?"

Henry paused for several moments and he looked into Reinhardt's eyes. "The Cornell I knew would never do it. He has a guilt ridden conscience, but he's not a murderer."

"He used to hunt humans down."

"That was before."

"This is now. If it is Cornell, then you have no idea where he has been or what he has been through. Always keep an open mind, Henry." Reinhardt stood up and stood over him for a moment. "I won't always be there to keep yours open for you." Then he walked away.