VAN HELSING 2: THE DEMON'S RISING

After weeks of riding, they finally reached the land land of Transylvania. Furie kept looking around the world about her, Shadow resting upon her shoulder. "I've never been inside Transylvania, I've only been to the outskirts of Romania." she said one day.

Van Helsing didn't bother to look around the familiar setting. He only looked on forward.

When they reached the village, they knew something was wrong in an instant. The usually busy and loud city was now silent. No sign of life was to be seen.

"The whole city's deserted." Carl whispered.

"Probably out of fear, no doubt." Furie said.

"They didn't leave when Dracula was around. What makes demons so different?" Van Helsing wondered.

"Demons don't care about people nearby. The only thing that stood between the villagers and leaving was the door this time." Furie said.

"Don't demons feed off humans?"

"No, only archdemons. That would've stopped them. The people got lucky this time."

No one spoke until they reached the home of the Valerious family. It was exactly the way Van Helsing and Carl left it. Books were scattered all over the floor. The painting of Valerious the Elder was set against a wall, gathering dust. They made haste and ran to the door to Castle Dracula. It remained open after all these months. The reflection of the mirror was still as clear as ever.

"Well, now what?" asked Carl.

"It's simple." said Furie. "Dracula and his family wouldn't want to be separated, so they remained close together, sharing the same door. All we have to do is step in and stop halfway."

"How do you know?"

"I remember a small fraction of my life. One of them was walking through a door and stopping. I just didn't remember where." she said.

No one moved. Furie rolled her eyes. "Alright. If it makes anybody feel better, I'll go first. If I'm not back in 30 seconds, that means I made it, and it's someone else's turn."

The other two nodded.

Furie walked up to the door and stepped in. Carl took a step back. Van Helsing sighed and went in next. Remembering what Furie said, he stopped halfway.

As soon as he stopped, he felt himself falling into blackness. He couldn't see or hear anything. It felt like he was drowning, until a solid earth fell underneath his feet. He was lying on the ground when he opened his eyes to a snowy landscape. His hat had fallen to the ground next to him. He grabbed it and put it back on.

"There you are." Furie said from next to him. She was already on her feet, and extending a hand to help Van Helsing. He took it and felt himself being pulled up.

"Carl hasn't come down yet?" Furie asked.

"No, I don't know if he even stepped inside yet?"

Almost as in response, the friar fell to the earth, landing face first into the crisp snow.

"Don't ever make me do that again." he said as he pulled himself up. Furie laughed, and from her shoulder, Shadow seemed to be laughing along with her.

They turned around and saw a massive fortress, almost exactly like Castle Dracula, except there were no stakes outside the door.

When they reached the door, they saw a problem. The door was locked, and the only way in the was a small window about 15 feet in the air.

"Don't demons fly?" Van Helsing turned to Furie.

"I've had my powers for more a few years now, and I still can't fly." Furie said. She then saw a small, round opening in the middle of the door. It was big enough to allow a hand inside, but not much else.

"I've seen this type of lock before. Stay back, guys." Furie said. She shut her eyes in concentration, and made a fist in her hand. When she opened her eyes, her fist dropped to reveal a small, glowing orb. It had dark hues of purple, black, and gray. She extended her hand inside the opening, and placed the sphere inside. In moments, the great wide door opened to reveal a grand hallway lit by many torches.

"What was that thing you made?" Carl asked Furie.

"Dark energy. It's the very first thing you use when you're a demon. It's very good for just about anything." Furie said. With that, she walked in.

"Oh, Van Helsing, you might need these." Carl said. He threw him a small box that contained bright, solid bullets.

"Golden bullets. One of the three ways to kill a demon. Furie told me all about it." explained Carl.

Van Helsing then loaded his revolvers and ran down the hallway after Furie. There was no movement anywhere, like the village. They expected to see a demon or two running about, but none were to be found.

"How come there's no demons? Where's Amelia and William?" Carl wondered.

"Maybe they moved to a new-" Furie then let out a scream. Van Helsing ran to her and covered her mouth. "Do you want to be caught?" he whispered. Furie pointed to a skeleton that was dangling by two chains from the ceiling.

"It's just a victim of Amelia and William. Why are you scared of that?" He let her go and examined the skeleton. It was old and rotted, like it had been there for centuries. It's shoulder and neck bones were damaged severely, like knives had cut them in half.

Van Helsing then saw its skull. It looked different from others. It's teeth were huge, especially the canines, which looked exactly like fangs.

The monster hunter's eyes grew wide and he stepped back. "It's him." he whispered, mostly to himself.

"Now I understand." said Furie. "They want his killer to experience the pain of losing everything by watching the man he was sent to kill months ago come back."

"They're going to bring Dracula back." Van Helsing said. "How? Frankenstein's equipment isn't here."

" No, it isn't." came a man's voice. It was dark and eerie, like a ghost had followed them about.

"Our brother's way of bringing the dead to life isn't the only way." a woman spoke.

"We need to go! NOW!" Furie yelled. "It's Amelia and William!" she grabbed Van Helsing's arm and practically dragged him out of the castle into the snowy world outside.

"I didn't see that coming!" Furie said as she slammed the doors.

"Now what are we supposed to do? If we go in there, we'll be killed on sight." Van Helsing said.

Furie thought for a moment, when Shadow nibbled on her hair.

"What is it?" Furie asked. The two spoke with each other, then turned to Van Helsing and Carl.

"We know where we can find answers. We need to leave."

"How?" asked Carl.

Furie walked to where she landed from falling through the door. With a flash of light, she vanished.

The other two followed her actions and found themselves back inside the home of the Valerious family.

"Are you coming or not?" Furie yelled from the hallway. The trio soon left the house and were on their horses, riding to a place only Furie knew of.

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