VAN HELSING 2: THE DEMON'S RISING

Led by Furie, the group rode on for miles until they reached a vast forest. Everyone was to the point of exhaustion when Furie finally stopped them. "We can stop here for the night." she said. "I would keep riding for the night until we made it to our destination, but I can see you're both exhausted." she dismounted her horse and slumped near a tree.

As Van Helsing set his foot down, a large object caught his eye. It appeared to be a house of some sort, but it wouldn't give them much shelter, for it was partially destroyed. The roof seemed to be caving in, and the walls were crumbling.

Furie saw Van Helsing's face and followed his eyes to the house. "I don't like the looks of that place. It feels a little ominous." she said. "I'll go check it out." she said. She stood up and turned to the others. "Set up camp while I'm gone. If I'm not back in 15 minutes, that means I'm dead or taken prisoner and you will journey without me." with that said, she walked off to the house. "Come on, Shadow." she called, and in an instant, her falcon landed on her shoulder.

"She's very strange." Carl said to Van Helsing. "She's never shown an ounce of fear this whole trip, except for seeing Dracula's skeleton."

"She's seen things far worse than anything a child her age should ever see." Van Helsing said. "It's only natural she's grown accustomed to it."

"She reminds me of you." Carl said.

Van Helsing turned to him. "We're not similar! She's stubborn, peculiar, dangerous, and-"

"See? You two are alike!" Carl laughed. Van Helsing gave him a look.

Meanwhile, Furie opened the door to the strange run-down building. She signaled Shadow to go right while she went left. There was no light in the house, making it pitch-black.There was no furniture to be found about the place.

What happened here? The only thing that is here is darkness. Furie thought.

As soon as that crossed her mind, the roof caved in! She jumped back and withdrew her dual-blades. The stillness of the room was now filled with moonlight. Furie saw no danger, but kept her swords out. She then remembered her falcon. "Shadow, where are you?" she called out. She turned to the large pile of wood that had once been the roof. She sensed a presence trying to escape it. Furie dropped her swords and dashed over to the pile, removing large pieces of wood. In moments, she saw part of the figure. She grabbed it and pulled with all her might.

The figure wasn't her trusted companion like she thought. She screamed as the figure got up on its feet. She stood up and grabbed her swords. "Who are you? How'd you get in here?" she shouted.

"Shh! Shh! He'll hear you!" the person whispered. The voice belonged to a woman, probably around Van Helsing's age.

"Help! Hey! Van Helsing! Carl!" Furie yelled. The figure then covered Furie's mouth to stop her yelling.

"Calm down! I won't hurt you!" the woman yelled. She backed up into the light, revealing her face. She was an incredibly beautiful woman. She had dark, curly brown hair and brown eyes that were mysterious and dangerous but also gentle and caring.

Furie's mind went into a frenzy. She knew this person, she just had to remember her. Her mind traced back to the story Van Helsing told her before they left, about how he came to kill Dracula and how me met this one woman he fell in love with...

"Anna Valerious?" Furie asked, mostly to herself.

"So you do know me." Anna said with a smile.

"You're supposed to be dead! I thought your family was freed from Dracula and you went to heaven!" Furie said.

"Yes, I was. But I became a spirit, trying to find you. I knew your adventures would lead you to Van Helsing, so I thought you were my only way to keep him safe when you two met!"

"How have you been following me?" Furie asked with a little anger in her voice. She had once never been followed this way.

"I've been traveling with you all this time." Anna said. And before Furie's eyes, a falcon emerged where Anna stood.

Furie had to laugh. "You've been Shadow? The whole time?" she managed to say.

"Yes." Anna had returned to her human form.

"Now what? Do you intend to tell Van Helsing, or shall I?"

Anna'a eyes soon filled with fear. "No! Don't tell him!" she pleaded.

"Why not?"

"Do you know how he'll feel when he finds out? He'd feel horrible. He thinks I'm in heaven, enjoying eternity with my family, and is pleased with that!"

"What's the point of being dead of you keep secrets?" Furie placed her hands on her hips.

"Promise me that you won't tell! Promise!" Anna said.

Furie rolled her eyes. "Alright! I won't tell, but you should!" with that she opened the door and left. Anna sat down on the floor and buried her face in her hands.

"What was that loud crash?" Carl asked when Furie returned.

"The roof caved in while I was inside. There was... nothing there." Furie said.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Furie replied quickly. Truthfully she wasn't. She wasn't injured, but to keep Anna's secret away from Van Helsing was a burden very heavy to bear.

"Where's Shadow? Normally she follows you everywhere." Van Helsing noticed.

"She's probably exploring somewhere." Furie lied. "I wouldn't worry about her. You should get some rest. I'll keep watch." Furie said.

Van Helsing didn't sleep peacefully. He found himself in a large black pit, that seemed to be filled with water. He turned to see Furie drowning. He swam to her and grabbed her arm.

But the figure wasn't Furie. She was a horror to see. She had bright red eyes and long black hair. Her face was as pale as a corpse. The only thing that remained the same was her chain that dangled around her neck. The chain seemed so familiar, like he'd seen it before. Before he could examine it, the demonic person grabbed his arm and pulled him close. She revealed a set of fangs and plunged at Van Helsing...

Van Helsing sat upright, back in the safety of the woods. He turned to see Carl asleep, his back against a tree.

"Had a nightmare?" came a voice.

Van Helsing grabbed his revolvers and pointed about him. A small laugh came. "Calm down, it's just me." the voice said. He looked up to see Furie sitting on a tree branch.

"How'd you get up there?" he asked.

"The traditional way, I climbed." Furie replied. "It's almost sunrise. We should be leaving soon."

"You stayed awake all night?"

"I rarely sleep." Furie answered, her eyes to the sun.

"Why not?"

"I'm an archdemon who eats the hearts of mortals, with no memory of my past and have been cursed with nightmares that are probably worse than yours. Sleep seems pretty much hopeless."

Van Helsing then saw a glimmer of gold about Furie's neck. He soon felt the strange sense of seeing it before. "Where'd you get that chain from?" he asked.

Furie turned to him with a strange look. "I honestly don't know. I had it around my neck for as long as I can remember. I've seen it before, that much I know, so I've kept it around my neck ever since. Why do you need to know?"

He shook his head. "You probably won't believe me."

"Try me." Furie said with a smug smile.

Van Helsing explained about his previous nightmares, and how he saw the chain in them. He thought it was an omen of some sort.

Furie considered this for a moment after he finished explaining. "Maybe we'll find out when we get to the safe house."

"Where's that?"

"It's not far, only about 2 more miles southward. We should get some information there." she said. She dropped from her tree branch and landed on her feet, waking Carl with a start. She let out a long whistle, and Shadow appeared at her shoulder. "Let's go!" Furie said. With that she got up on her horse. The other two soon followed her and were off.

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