Chapter 33
*Wallachia, Romania, 1894*
In half a century, Aaron had never seen so many Hunters and Guardians assembled in one location. There had to be at least a hundred, maybe more, bodies crammed into the village meeting house at the base of the Carpathian Mountains near Bran. When Ward had explained they’d been summoned to help out in the efforts, Aaron had jumped at the opportunity. Though he had no idea what the operation entailed, he had heard that the renowned Vampire Hunter, Van Helsing, would be present, and he was willing to accept any offer that involved potentially observing the legend.
As Aaron surveyed the room, he realized he knew very few of the faces congregated there. Seated on rickety chairs, crammed into the small space, it was difficult to see everyone, but they certainly seemed diverse. It was as if Jordan had summoned the best he had to offer from across the world.
Aaron did see one familiar face and attempted to wave to Jamie, who was seated far on the other side of the room. The Healer must not have seen him though, and he hoped he had a chance to speak to him later. They hadn’t worked together since the Ripper case and that had been years ago.
He had hoped he might see Vicky, but as far as he could tell, she wasn’t there. He’d written to her a few times, and initially she had replied. Her last letter, nearly a year ago, said she had fallen in love with a Hunter she worked with in San Francisco, and while Aaron was happy for her, it still stung to think about the opportunity he may have wasted.
There was no time to think about that now as a man who appeared to be in his mid-to-late forties with thinning hair and a charismatic smile signaled for their attention. Aaron had never had the opportunity to meet the Guardian Leader, but he assumed this must be Jordan Findley. He was surprised to see him so far away from America, which indicated that this was an important mission.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Findley called in a strong tenor voice, “if I could have your attention: I know it’s crowded in here, and I’d like to get this meeting underway so that we can get out and get to it. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some of you, others not yet. I’m Jordan Findley. It’s my honor to have all of you here with us today. The case we have met here to discuss is unlike any I’ve ever encountered in more years than I care to reflect on. But I am not the expert here, and I will not be taking the lead. I am here only to help with organization and planning. This hunt belongs to the highly talented, highly skilled Van Helsing, and so I will turn things over to Van.” He made a gesture, as if to hand the floor over and took a seat in the front row as a short, muscular figure dressed entirely in black rose and nodded in his direction, a dark cloak swinging out behind as Van turned to address the captive audience.
Alice Van Helsing was known for her deadly aim. Choosing to fire her steel-tipped wooden stakes through a crossbow, she was quick and lethal. No one knew for sure the number of Vampires she had destroyed in the last century, but estimates put it in the thousands. She was tiny but compact, and with one penetrating glance from dark eyes framed by heavy brows, she had the room silenced.
“Thank you, Findley,” she said, her Dutch accent thick but understandable. “I, too, want to thank you for joining me here today. The task my team and I have undertaken has been both dangerous and deadly. You will help us close in on the demonic Vampire we have spent the last several years hunting. You will help us destroy him.”
Aaron was tempted to question Ward about her use of the term “demonic” Vampire, something he’d never heard before, but he didn’t dare move his lips while she spoke for fear the dark-haired warrior would put him out or end him.
“As you may know, my team has lost many members attempting to annihilate the monster who resides in the castle atop this mountain. We have chased him from country to country, continent to continent, and now he has returned home to his castle in Wallachia. We hope that we can contain him with our sheer numbers and then find a way to finally put him out of his misery.
“The name of our mark is Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler.” The crowd gasped collectively, but the expected whisper that often follows such a response did not occur, and she continued. “We know that he has returned from hell, and because of his time spent on the other side, his power has grown strong. He is full of tricks the likes of which we’ve never seen before.”
Audience members looked around at one another, catching each other’s eyes, but once again no one said a word. “You have heard the rumors, yes? Dracula can shift his shape, becoming a bat or a wolf at will. He can turn into a fog or mist. He has the mental power of manipulation. You may have him cornered and then suddenly decide you should let him go for no apparent reason. To combat this, we have brought in some of the most talented emotional manipulators available to us.” She gestured to a group sitting near the front of the congregation. “But even this might not be enough. This is why it is so very critical to monitor your teammates’ reactions as well as your own thinking. We do not believe he is capable of using this power on an entire group of us at one time, but we do not know for sure.”
Van continued to go over the plan for containing and destroying Dracula, who also had several other Vampires living on the premises with him. It was estimated that he had fed on or changed thousands in the time he’d occupied the castle atop the mountain, which may have been fifty years or more; no one was exactly sure. He had been operating secretly for so long, the locals afraid to speak his name or report the missing for fear of retaliation by evil spirits. Some of these victims had likely been turned while others were held as reserva de sange, reserves that the Vampires could feed off for several weeks before they expired. Others would have been devoured quickly, their bodies left to rot beneath the castle. She mentioned her team had already destroyed dozens of warrior Vampires meant to defend their leader, but she had no way of knowing how many others lived within the castle walls.
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