Chapter 204

Two girls, both beautiful with large, perky breasts, flirting with Aaron McReynolds. Christian watched in fascination as he shrugged them off, sending them on their way only a few short seconds into their inquiry. It was as if he didn’t even know the impact he had on them. They knew about The Ripper and were impressed. Not to mention, the man looked like he’d fallen straight out of heaven, if Christian did say so himself. With intense blue eyes, dark hair, and a perfectly sculpted face, he was the sort of man Christian dreamt he could be. Yet, he didn’t even seem to care that women were fawning all over him. If he looked like that guy, Christian would be having sex with five or ten women a night, maybe at the same time.
As soon as they walked away, Aaron took a step back and almost collided with Christian, who hadn’t realized just how close he’d gotten until they were almost shoulder to shoulder. “You must get that a lot,” Christian said.
Had he startled the Guardian? He jumped a little, as if he hadn’t even noticed Christian was there. Maybe this guy wasn’t as talented as the rumors suggested if Christian could sneak up on him.
“What’s that?” Aaron wanted to know, once he’d recovered from the surprise voice out of the darkness so close to his ear.
“That,” Christian said, shrugging toward the women who were still smiling at Aaron over their shoulders as they walked away. “Girls approaching you out of the blue, gushing all over you.”
“Why would you think that?” he asked, his forehead crinkled.
“An attractive fellow like yourself, known for beheading Jack the Ripper. I don’t know.” It began to dawn on Christian that he might be acting a little… odd. He decided it was time to get out of the conversation. “It just seems like that would get their attention; that’s all.”
“I suppose.” Aaron took a step backward, like he wanted to run away.
Christian blew out a deep breath, thinking he’d already come across as strange, and he’d just met this person. There was a chance they may be working together soon, so he didn’t want to make a bad first impression. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… I’m not…. Let me start over and say something a little less invasive. Hello, I’m Christian.” He offered his hand, hoping that he’d take it.
He did. “I’m Aaron.” His shake was firm, and he seemed to be relaxing slightly, as if he wasn’t alarmed at Christian’s abruptness.
Until he said, “I know. I mean… like I said, word gets around. Nice to meet you.”
Despite his weirdness, Aaron stayed and chatted with him for a few minutes, asking where he was from. He was glad to confirm Aaron was Irish--not British. He hadn’t quite gotten over his anger with the Redcoats yet, despite the fact that it had been over a hundred years since his last battle against the British.
Eventually, Ward Bernard, Aaron’s Area Leader, came over and began discussing who was on their team. Christian tried not to eavesdrop, but he heard his name and his ears perked up. What were the chances that they’d be on the same team? Christian glanced around and saw Jamie Joplin in the distance, and his question was answered. Jamie had worked with Aaron on the Ripper case. He must’ve had a hand in this, putting people he was affiliated with together. It was just a theory, but it made sense to Christian. He kept his mouth closed, though, until Aaron told Christian he was on their team.
Christian pretended to be surprised, as if he hadn’t been listening.
Aaron continued. “Ward, this is Christian....”
“Henry,” he supplied, realizing he hadn’t told Aaron his last name. He offered his hand because that’s what people did when they were meeting new people. “Christian Henry.”
“Nice to meet you.” Ward shook his hand, also following the rules of polite society. “Do you happen to know where we can find Morris?”
“Yes, he’s that bowling-ball-shaped fellow standing over there.” Christian gestured in Morris’s direction. He was still talking with his friends who were acting more like they were about to attend a card game in a saloon than find a demonic Vampire.
Ward turned to look in the direction he’d pointed in. “Perfect. He’s also our Healer.”
“Really? Interesting.” Christian wondered if Jamie had lost his mind. The last time he’d seen Morris heal anyone was when he’d smashed his own finger with a hammer while hanging a picture in his home, and even then he’d continued to shake his hand for several minutes.
“Is he not a Healer?” Ward’s voice sounded slightly alarmed as he led them over to where Morris was standing.
“In a pinch I suppose,” Christian answered. Technically, he did have some healing powers, but he didn’t think the man was up to saving anyone’s life.
Ward set about assembling everyone, which included two women, Catherine and Margot. Neither of them was particularly pretty in Christian’s eyes, but he kept his distance. At least Catherine had a rather large chest. Not that Christian was going to let it interest him. Besides, he saw the way both of them were looking at Aaron. Again, he found himself jealous of the man’s looks and the way he never even seemed to notice women gawking at him.
They ascended the mountainside, taking their time, not because they couldn’t all sprint up to the castle relatively easily but because Van needed to get into her position first. Ward explained their mission, and once again, Christian found himself short of breath. They’d be going deep below the surface of the castle to take out three Vampire vixens. It seemed like just the sort of job for someone else.
He had plenty of time to try to calm his nerves as they walked. For the most part, they were silent until they took up a position near the entryway to the castle, a large gate Van’s people spared no time in removing. Christian and the rest of his team rested under cover of trees and shrubbery, The castle in the distance was large and foreboding. The moonlight glinted off of the light colored stone, making it appear as if the entire structure were illuminated.
Ward went around to another position to get a closer view, leaving the rest of them behind.
The weight of the silence got to be too much; even though he hated being the one to start a conversation when he so rarely knew what to say, Christian felt as if he had to say something. He saw Aaron intently watching the advancing team, Van and her minions, and tried to keep his tone casual as he asked, “You doing all right?”
Noises erupted from inside the castle as Van made contact with Dracula’s forces. The roars and shrieks, screeching of furniture and God only knew what, might’ve had anyone on edge, but when Aaron answered, he said, “Yes. You?”
The proximity of the two women made Christian more uncomfortable than the monsters inside. He tried to be nonchalant. “Sure.” He had nothing to be afraid of, after all.
Catherine moved so that she was sitting on a large rock between Christian and Aaron and said, “It’s exciting. That’s for sure.”
Unsure what to say, Christian only nodded. Aaron had his back to him, but after a moment of silence, he acknowledged her remark with, “Yes, I think we’ll be talking about this night for years to come.”
They all focused in on the sounds from the castle again, waiting for the signal that it was their turn. Christian expected it to be a while. Van seemed to be the type who wanted as much of the glory for herself as possible.
Catherine, who was blonde so she looked nothing like the woman of the same name Christian had had an affair with all those years ago, seemed to hate the silence as much as he did. “Say, do either of you know what Van meant by, ‘demonic’ Vampire?” she asked. “I have never heard that term before.”
“No,” Aaron admitted. “I was wondering that myself.”
Surprised to hear that Aaron didn’t know what that was, Christian decided to take it upon himself to enlighten all of them. He hoped he wouldn’t say too much, but once he started talking about a topic of such interest, it was difficult to make himself stop. “A ‘demonic’ Vampire is one that has returned from hell. In this case, we believe that Dracula is the reincarnation of Vlad the Impaler, one of the most violent Vampires of all time. Are you familiar?”
Both of them nodded. It shouldn’t have surprised him that they were familiar with Vlad, but then, he would’ve thought Aaron at least would’ve known about demonics.
He continued. “Though it’s just speculation, I suppose, there is a commonly held belief that Dracula was able to escape from hell through a portal, and now that he has returned, his powers are incomprehensible.” Mentioning the portal was dangerous, but it was also a little thrilling. He knew better than to get personal about the opening, though.
Catherine scrunched up her nose. “A portal? What kind of portal?”
Glancing around to see if anyone else was listening, and finding that no one was, other than these two, Christian cautiously asked, “Are you familiar with the Blue Moon Portal?” Neither of them was. “Well, legend has it that during a blue moon, if the remains of a deceased Guardian are placed directly in the beam of the moonlight, the Guardian can be reached. And if he or she wishes to, can actually return from the other side.”
“What?” Catherine looked at Aaron, her eyes wide, before she looked to Christian again. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. But what does that have to do with Dracula?”
“Some people think that when a Guardian comes through, so does an evil entity.” She laughed, which made things slightly personal. Getting his dander up, Christian began to tread on dangerous ground. “I know that the Blue Moon Portal was used in 1804, and some think that this is when Dracula came through. Van seems to be of that opinion.” She’d said something to that degree during her speech.
“You don’t think so?” Aaron asked, apparently reading his statement differently than he’d intended. Christian had meant to imply that he knew so.
Now, he was in an odd position. Deciding to continue to play devil’s advocate, he said, “I don’t know. I was there when the portal opened. If he came through, he didn’t actually come through with the Guardian. It just seems far-fetched to me.” Was that what he really thought? If so, why was he so leery of letting others know he’d gone through the portal himself? He wasn’t sure, but as much as he liked to inform people about information he’d gathered in his lengthy lifetime, he needed to get off of this topic before he said too much.
Nodding, Catherine said, “Yeah, five years ago I thought the idea of hunting Vampires for a living seemed far-fetched, too. Anything is possible. Of that I’m sure.”
Christian agreed with her, out of politeness. She was a little odd. Maybe prettier than he’d initially thought. Perhaps when this was over with, he might proposition her. She might take him up on it if she wasn’t too smitten with Aaron. Or maybe if she was, and Aaron denied her.
He was distracted by the blonde so much so that when Aaron asked, “Who was the Guardian you witnessed coming through?” his answer came too quickly and without thought.
“Alexander Hamilton,” Christian said.
Aaron’s eyes widened, but he didn’t get a chance to say more. Just then, Ward alerted them that it was time to move in.
With a deep breath, Christian pulled himself up and went along with the others, hopeful that this would all be over soon and no one important would die. Since he couldn’t die, he was fairly certain that no one of importance would.