VAN HELSING 3: SOUL HUNTERS
(Disclaimers on pages 1-6) Chapter 7 : We finally meet the master Gabriel was the first to wake up. He opened his eyes too soon for his liking, but he would have to wake up eventually. He turned to see his sister lying face down on the couch. She had her hood up to cover the back of her head. Around her head like a halo, was a dark area. Gabriel wanted to see if she was alright, but didn't want to risk getting hit in the face again. He sighed and got up, soon realizing Carl was awake. He was sitting on the floor, seeming to be absorbed in a book he was reading. He was also scribbling notes onto a sheet of paper. When he finally looked up, he realized the monster hunter was standing right by him. He let out a frightened squeal. "V-Van Helsing. I did-didn't know that you were awake. I w-w-was just, uh, finishing something h-here." he said, his voice shaking. He tried to block out any more ideas in Gabriel's head, but to no avail. "But it's done! No one needs to panic! Victoria's fine! She's been fine! She's not slowly losing her life-" "Carl," Gabriel put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You're shouting." "Oh, no I'm not." "Yes you are." "No I'm not." "Yes you-" Carl interrupted him. "Alright! I'm shouting I'm shouting I'm shou-" WHAP! A pillow came flying at the back of his head. Carl turned to see Anna from behind him, her hand still in a throwing position. "Would you please keep it down?" she asked, exasperation in her voice. The argument roused Antonio and Isabelle, who opened their eyes blearily. "What time is it?" Isabelle asked through a yawn. "Around seven." Gabriel replied. "I'm surprised this hasn't made Victoria even move." he said, gesturing towards the girl who was now the only one not standing up. "If she can sleep through this, she could sleep through a whole thunderstorm." Isabelle said. BOOM! Thunder cracked through the sky, causing everyone to jump. Victoria's head popped up, her eyes read from crying. "What was that?" she asked, her voice cracking due to lack of sleep. Her answer was a raindrop falling flat on her hood. Unknown to them until just then, the roof of the house they were staying in was filled with holes. More raindrops began to fall through the holes. Soon, everyone was in a scramble to find anything to catch the rain in. Well, everyone except Isabelle, who felt that she should stay out of everyone's way and just sit around. She had a pillow placed over her head, keeping her dry. Carl was muttering something along the lines of "If you're going to make someone welcome, you should at least make sure the roof is alright." Gabriel heard his complaints and turned to him. "Quit your moaning, Carl. I'm sure they didn't mean to leave holes in the roof. We'll just have to put up with it." Isabelle folded her arms across her chest. "And I say we go back to the woods." Everyone turned to her as though she was insane. "Not on your life!" Victoria said. "If the Cornelius boy says we have someone to see, they might have information for us." Anna said. "And it would be nice if we had a little more help." she added, placing her hands on her hips. Isabelle rolled her eyes and grabbed something off the floor. She walked towards a shelf and slapped it down on the hard surface. She then went back to her couch and sat down. Gabriel soon recognized that the object was his hat. He snatched it from the shelf, emptied it out, and placed it back on his head. "At least I'm not wet." Isabelle whispered. As if to reply, a wave of thunder and lightning came, with a heavier downpour of rain. It seemed to aim for the only hole that didn't have anything to catch the rain in. The force of the rain caused Isabelle to drop the pillow and become soaked, much to the amusement of Victoria. It was at that point when the door opened to reveal an old man leaning on a cane. He looked to be over a thousand! His beard was silver and almost touched the floor. He had on a bright, red robe with a bird on his shoulder. His eyes were protected with glasses that reflected the light. "Please forgive me for the leaky roof." he said, his voice quavering. "I told that boy to fix it, but I see he never got to it." Victoria was the first to speak. "Excuse me, but, are you the master we've been waiting for?" The old man turned to her. "Indeed I am. Allow me to help you." he said. He waved his hand. In an instant, new tiles appeared over the holes of the roof, stopping the flow. Everyone turned to him, eyes widened. Carl pointed to him. "Y-you're a-a-" he stuttered. "Wizard." Gabriel finished. The old man turned to him. "I prefer the term sorcerer, if you will. And I already know who you are." he said. He pointed to him with his cane. "Gabriel Van Helsing, a hunting prodigy. You've been in the service of the Knights of the Holy Order for five years to try to regain your lost memory and in that time, found love, your sister, and vanquished many monsters." "You're just showing off, aren't you?" Isabelle said. The sorcerer turned to her. "Isabelle Baronette, a young proper woman. She has never left her home in England before except to go to Rome to acquire help from your uncle, who sent you on a quest to vanquish an evil society." Isabelle could only let her jaw drop with complete speechlessness. "Now, unless anyone else doubts me, I'll take you to my chambers. We have much to discuss." with that, he left the room, everyone following. The sorcerer's part of the house appeared to be the home of a chemist rather than one who practiced magic. Phials containing different colored liquids were placed over small flames, causing them to boil. Books lined the walls. Carl found one book that appeared to be as old as the sorcerer. A quick look at it revealed that it was probably made around the time of the Middle Ages. "This sorcerer is probably well over 500 years old!" he whispered to himself, yet everyone could hear him whisper it. "Yes, I am." the old man said. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Merlin, the closest friend to King Arthur." Victoria's face was filled with shock. "You don't mean the Merlin?" "Yes, I do mean that. How many Merlins are there in this world? Believe me, if I would, I would end this existence I am living in, but I have a quest to finish." "Why would you try to end your life?" Gabriel asked. Merlin whirled on him. "Do you know what it is like to watch all of your loved ones die? To know that you cannot save them? I have lived past the extent of my years, watched this world grow, knowing I am doomed to this life forever. Have you any inclination as to what that feels like, Left Hand of God?" Gabriel tensed. No one had ever brought up the Left Hand of God subject with him. They merely put up with it and let it slide. What does that have to do with anything? he thought to himself. "Everything." Merlin said, as though he was reading the hunter's mind. " Your being what you are makes this situation more perilous. But mostly it harms Victoria, being what she is!" Victoria turned to him. "And what am I?" "You're about to be one of the very few people who'll understand what I'm trying to do." Merlin said. "You're all exhausted." he said, directing it to the others. Get some rest, you leave soon." Everyone left, but as Gabriel and Victoria were leaving the room, Merlin called to them. "You two stay." he said. "Is there anything you need?" Gabriel turned to the old man. "I need you to understand that what you dream about for the past few nights, are real, whether they are from the past, present, or future." he said. Gabriel and Victoria turned to each other, confused looks on their faces. They kept these looks on when they returned to their room. Surprisingly, they were the first two to fall asleep. "Normally they're the last to fall asleep." Carl said. The others were quietly speaking to each other, not in the least bit tired. "I wonder what put them out so quickly." Anna said. Gabriel and Victoria couldn't hear anything, because at this point, they were falling through a hole.
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