Edge of Midnight, prologue
Summary: In the absence of Dracula a dark power is rising in Rome; The Order is less than happy about Anna’s presence in the Holy City; Anna and Gabriel come to blows.
Warnings: Violence, gore, sex and religious themes. This is rated hard R/NC-17, if that is not your cup of tea then do not read it.
Author’s Notes: This is a sequel to Sweet and Tender Beasts; if you haven’t read it this will make very little sense.
Disclaimer: ‘Van Helsing’ and all its related articles are the property of Universal Studios and Stephen Sommers. I am not making any money off this. The story is mine.
Dedication: Again to my lovely beta Ruby, who has managed to find time to help me work through the kinks of this story. And most of all by helping me find depth and character and for saying the things I needed to hear the most.
Transylvania 1879
Her lungs were burning for oxygen; legs trembling from the speed she commanded them forwards. She could feel the breath of the beast, its stench behind her; gaining as she tore through the forest. The sharp needles of the trees scratched her face; her throat was constricted by tears and panic. At a root of a large tree she stumbled, the beast’s claws landing in the soft earth next to her face.
Its body was heavy on top of hers; slobber and foul breath spreading around her face. The beast’s red beady eyes stared at her, its bloodlust for her there to read. The handle of the knife was cold and unfamiliar in her hand. She had practiced with it for a year, but now she had forgotten all of her father’s teachings. The beast growled the action reverberating through its frame echoing in Anna’s chest. She squeezed the knife tighter in her fist and snarled into the beasts eyes; sinking the blade into its lung. The beast screeched horribly and she sunk the blade again pulling it within the creatures flesh. Warm blood spilled on her; coating her clothes and trickling right to her skin. The coppery smell of it filled her nostrils. The beast was clawing the ground; paws sinking into the earth right next to her body. She pushed the blade in once more; into its chest aiming for the heart. Its struggles stilled; its body slumping onto one side.
Anna crawled away from underneath the creature’s body. She let herself lay on the ground breathing hard. She turned to look at the wolf; its breathing was laboured and whiny. The beast's eyes collided with hers; keeping her gaze prisoner. There was such desperation and such longing in the gaze of the wolf. She felt the tears form and fall, but could not break the connection. Finally she felt the life of the creature slip away; its eyes staring at her empty. Slowly she moved onto her knees, reaching with trembling fingers to press its eyes close. Her hand moved onto the animals head petting the matted fur. Her voice was so hoarse from running and crying that it was barely audible above the murmur of the trees.
“O Divine Master, grant that I may not, so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved, as to love.”
Anna could hear Velkan’s frantic voice calling her through the woods. She pressed her face into the wolf’s pelt.
“For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.”
It smelled of death and of the trees surrounding her home.
“It is in dying that we are born to eternal life. “
Warnings: Violence, gore, sex and religious themes. This is rated hard R/NC-17, if that is not your cup of tea then do not read it.
Author’s Notes: This is a sequel to Sweet and Tender Beasts; if you haven’t read it this will make very little sense.
Disclaimer: ‘Van Helsing’ and all its related articles are the property of Universal Studios and Stephen Sommers. I am not making any money off this. The story is mine.
Dedication: Again to my lovely beta Ruby, who has managed to find time to help me work through the kinks of this story. And most of all by helping me find depth and character and for saying the things I needed to hear the most.
Transylvania 1879
Her lungs were burning for oxygen; legs trembling from the speed she commanded them forwards. She could feel the breath of the beast, its stench behind her; gaining as she tore through the forest. The sharp needles of the trees scratched her face; her throat was constricted by tears and panic. At a root of a large tree she stumbled, the beast’s claws landing in the soft earth next to her face.
Its body was heavy on top of hers; slobber and foul breath spreading around her face. The beast’s red beady eyes stared at her, its bloodlust for her there to read. The handle of the knife was cold and unfamiliar in her hand. She had practiced with it for a year, but now she had forgotten all of her father’s teachings. The beast growled the action reverberating through its frame echoing in Anna’s chest. She squeezed the knife tighter in her fist and snarled into the beasts eyes; sinking the blade into its lung. The beast screeched horribly and she sunk the blade again pulling it within the creatures flesh. Warm blood spilled on her; coating her clothes and trickling right to her skin. The coppery smell of it filled her nostrils. The beast was clawing the ground; paws sinking into the earth right next to her body. She pushed the blade in once more; into its chest aiming for the heart. Its struggles stilled; its body slumping onto one side.
Anna crawled away from underneath the creature’s body. She let herself lay on the ground breathing hard. She turned to look at the wolf; its breathing was laboured and whiny. The beast's eyes collided with hers; keeping her gaze prisoner. There was such desperation and such longing in the gaze of the wolf. She felt the tears form and fall, but could not break the connection. Finally she felt the life of the creature slip away; its eyes staring at her empty. Slowly she moved onto her knees, reaching with trembling fingers to press its eyes close. Her hand moved onto the animals head petting the matted fur. Her voice was so hoarse from running and crying that it was barely audible above the murmur of the trees.
“O Divine Master, grant that I may not, so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved, as to love.”
Anna could hear Velkan’s frantic voice calling her through the woods. She pressed her face into the wolf’s pelt.
“For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.”
It smelled of death and of the trees surrounding her home.
“It is in dying that we are born to eternal life. “