Loving A Monster (Van Helsing)

Twelve || Inner Turmoil

Searching was no strange concept to Shade, whether she was searching for answers or the creature she had been sent to hunt, now the search was for Dracula's castle and she could barely stay focused on the task at hand. A million thoughts were running through her head while fear gripped at her heart, she could sense the wolf becoming stronger in Van Helsing's body, threatening to take away the man that she had fallen in love with. She should have been happy, overjoyed in fact at the possibility of them being together perfectly like she had always imagined, but she didn't want this, she didn't want him to suffer the same curse that had plagued her throughtout her entire life.

Even now as she sat there, watching Carl, Anna and Van Helsing work to find Dracula's lair, she just couldn't bring herself to read the maps in front of her. Every word upon the pages, every line of perfectly cursive letters swam into a see of inky nothingness before her eyes, eyes that would drift until they landed on Van Helsing, causing her heart to hammer painfully against her chest. It was the monster that lay beneath his skin that scared her, they were running out of time and if they didn't find Dracula soon, she may just lose Van Helsing forever.

With a sigh and a heavy heart, the woman shook her head, allowing herself to finally listen in on what the others were saying. She had drowned them out at first, to lost in her own thoughts to even care what they had to say until a wave of utter detemination hit her like a battering ram. She made her way over to the others, taking Van Helsing's hand as Carl decided to give them a lesson on Dracula, a lesson Shade has sadly heard far too much.

" Dracula can't bring his children to life until the sun sets.The sun sets in two hours "

Now there was the boice of Carl, a vouce that Shade was becoming rather annoyed with so far.

"We've been looking for him for more than 400 years!"

And the voice of Anna, a woman much despised by the werewolf that stood close by.

"Yes, well, I wasn't around for those 400 years, now, was I?" Carl mumbled to himself.

"Oh for the love of God. Count Dracula was the son of Valerious the Elder.The son of Anna's ancestor." Shade jumped in out of impatient annoyance, earning a death glare from her friar friend.

"Everybody knows that. What else?" Anna spoke in return.

"All right. Well, according to this rubbing...it all started when Dracula was murdered." Carl had quickly jumped in to aboid being interrupted by the female werewolf, wanting the one to share the information he had found.

"Do you know who murdered him?" Van Helsing asked, his hand slightly squeezing Shade's, he could feel how tense she was and he understood because he felt just as tense.

"No, there's just some vague reference to the Left Hand of God.And in 1462, when Dracula died...- he made a covenant with the Devil." Carl started as he began to flip through some books, even showing them a picture of Dracula making the said deal with the deal. "And was given a new life."

"But the only way he could sustain that life was by drinking blood" Van Helsing interrupted.

Shade tutted him, lightly punching him in the arm, she could see Carl's excitement growing over this find so even she had elected to stay quite for a moment.

"Let him tell his story." She growled softly.

"Sorry."

When Carl waited for a brief moment to make sure that he could continue with what he had been saying beforehand, without interruptions.

"And your ancestor, having sired this evil creature...went to Rome to seek forgiveness. That's when the bargain was made.He was to kill Dracula...in return for eternal salvation of his entire family...right down the line all the way to you.But he couldn't do it.As evil as Dracula was..." Carl spoke to Anna this time, allowing the two werewolves to just listen in on the conversation and process the information being given to them.