When I got back to headquarters; I returned to my room and started going through all the things that I had recovered from my father's study. I finally found his journal and a message inside the front cover instructing me to read the last two entries. The first entry I read was an apology about having ever told the count of my gift and for the agreement. I already knew about that since he apologized before he begged me to kill him.

I turned to the last page in the journal and saw then that this was a warning. Just before I could start reading; I heard a knock at my door. I laid the journal down and called "Who is it?" "Eva; it's Gabriel" came the voice of my beloved. I breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door to let him in.

As soon as he was in; I quickly shut the door and locked it. "Eva; you look pale. Is there something you need to tell me" he asked. "Very much so Gabriel; it has to do with a strange encounter I had today while I was out and I find this warning. Perhaps I had best tell you about the encounter first and the connection to the warning" I replied as I pulled a stool up to my desk. He sat down and I sat in the chair and told him "I was out picking up a few things for our wedding when I ran into a stranger. He revealed himself to be the brother of a girl I had been friends with before I left."

"What's so strange about that" Gabriel asked. "He claimed that he was to be my husband by some arrangement. I was about to read this last entry in my father's journal which may explain everything" I replied. Gabriel went quiet and I briefly scanned the entry before reading the passage aloud. 'Not long after you had left; your dear friend was Veronica was killed in a horse riding accident. Her brother, Demetri went after her only to be injured. When he had come home; he knew he didn't have long. In her fit of agony; their mother unleashed a powerful curse and Demetri became possessed by a demon. This demon kept what was left of his soul alive and fed off the despair of the family. Yes; there was talk of you maybe marrying Demetri when you were ten but I decided he wasn't good enough for you. Now that he is this possessed shell of himself; he will do anything to marry you should Dracula turn you. You must not let him marry you. Destroy the demon within him and set his soul free so that he may finally go to paradise in peace.'

I finished the entry and Gabriel looked at me. "The only chance we have of accomplishing that task is in the church" I told him. "This had instructions for just you to do this" he replied. "I'm not doing this without you Gabriel. You are the only one I will pledge my life to, the only one I love. Please, help me with this" I pleaded. He walked over to me, pulled me out of the chair and held me close to him, kissed my forehead and replied "I won't leave you in the lurch Eva. Let's talk to the cardinal and lay the trap."

We quickly left the room and spoke with the cardinal and had our trap laid out. Tomorrow would be the day that the trap would snap and then perhaps; Gabriel and I would finally be able to marry without another worry.