Purgatory of the Werewolf - The Wolf of Dorian Gray (Book 2)

Chapter 10 - The Demon Eye Part 2

The demon flung up its hand and another curse reverberated through Van Helsing's mind. "Mizerie și chin să fie peste voi". The metal string of the crossbow snapped, the sharp edge of the longer piece ricocheting back and towards his right eye. Searing pain burned in his eye and brought him to his knees. Van Helsing screamed in rage as he realized his eye had been put out. The demon smiled, exposing pointed teeth--until it's large red eyes looked down at the crossbow bolt sticking from its chest. Just as the Holy water and spit had released his body from its paralyzed state, so had it allowed the bolt to fly true and embed deep in the black skin. The creatures distorted human face changed to a look of disbelief as foul-smelling dark blood spurted from the wound, steaming and sizzling as it hit the cold ground.

Van Helsing wasted no time, gritting his teeth against the pain and drawing the long sword from the sheath on his back. As he strode forward, the monster once more raised its terrifying hand--only to have it sliced cleanly off with a mighty swing of the sword. Hot blood splattered on Van Helsing's face, burning the spot where his right eye had been. The demon screamed and spoke the next curse out loud with a raspy voice that came from everywhere at once. "Foolish man. My death will seal your fate and my blood will bind this curse to you forever. Misfortune and misery will follow you wherever you go. Whatever you seek shall be hidden from you, your mind will be paralyzed with terror, and failure and pain will impede your every move."

With a defiant yell, Van Helsing swung his sword with two hands and separated the unnatural horned head from its body. Only when the lifeless body of the demon hit the ground, did the family finally regain the ability to move. Now released from the curse, the father's kneeling body fell over sideways. The mother and daughter immediately began screaming and Van Helsing was unable to comfort them as the sound brought the other villagers running. They all watched as the dead form of the creature suddenly caught fire and began burning. Van Helsing extinguished the fire enveloping the severed right hand that had cursed him. This he kept as a trophy of his kill.

Van Helsing was rewarded generously with the villagers' silver for his efforts, though it seemed a poor trade for the loss of his right eye. The wound continued to pain him as he covered it with a patch and set to repairing his repeating crossbow. The pain was a constant dull throb and he traveled to a nearby doctor to see if anything could be done to ease it.

Doctor Ivan Vladimir was an elderly Russian doctor with a long trailing beard and squinty eyes behind a pair of bifocal spectacles. He examined his patient carefully. "A very strange injury this is. How did you say it happened again?"

Van Helsing thought it better to keep his response free of as much detail as possible. "A broken crossbow string."

Doctor Vladimir ran his fingers through his beard thoughtfully. "Yes, that's right. Very unfortunate that. I have a special ointment which may help it to heal somewhat. The damage doesn't appear as bad as you described. It is possible you might eventually gain partial vision in the eye. You said you have silver, yes?"

"That's impossible. I felt the eye crush and die. Yes, I have silver for all the good it does."

The Doctor chuckled quietly to himself. "Best to leave the medicine to me my boy. The damage isn't as bad as you think. I can already see new tissue forming around the wound."

"Pass me a mirror, I want to see it."

"As you wish, but the area is still irritated. I have cleaned out the infection as best as I can. The ointment will help, but the healing is up to your body now. It's amazing really, the resilience of the human body. I have studied it for some time and am still unlocking new mysteries every day. I have successfully treated even the most terrible injuries."

The Doctor reached over to a side table covered in dusty books and strange instruments. After a moment he found a small mirror and passed it to Van Helsing as he continued speaking in his slow and rhythmic way. "Why, I even was able to save a young girl from a ghastly bite to the neck from a bear. She was bleeding everywhere and I was able to slow the bleeding enough to stitch the bite closed."

Van Helsing paused with the mirror half-raised to his face. "What did you say?"

"It was a matter of slowing the beating of her heart and replacing the lost blood while I sealed the damage. The very same ointment I am giving you helped to stop the wound from fouling."

Van Helsing's thoughts went back to his father dying slowly in his arms. "You could teach this knowledge to others? Could you teach me to save those who are dying?"

The Doctor's face brightened with the prospect of having someone to do the heavy lifting and cleaning. He smiled at the thought of having someone to listen to his many theories and experiments. "Why yes my boy, of course. I will make you a bargain, keep your silver for now and become my pupil. Help me with my experiments and the cleaning and I will teach you everything that I know."

"You will teach me to save people?" Van Helsing considered the Doctor's words as he viewed the reflection of his swollen and ravaged eye. The aged man was right. It didn't look quite as bad as he had imagined.

"I will, if you follow my instructions carefully and dedicate yourself to learning. I will also provide the ointment for your eye at no cost."

"You are very kind. Consider the bargain struck."