Van Helsing: Where You Are Is Home

Chapter 7

Warning: slight language, blood, injury, mentions of murder, mentions of capture, kidnapping, mentions of nightmares, mention of parental death, character death

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As day turned to night and changed back to day again, Gabriel, with Page sitting beside him, drove the team of six. Anna was not wrong. The horses were not only fast, but they had tremendous stamina, galloping tirelessly full darkness descended upon them. Whenever Page did fall asleep on occasion, he'd make sure she was strapped to the seat so she wouldn't fall off as she rested on his lap.

Without stopping to rest, Gabriel and Page drove the team through the forest. The young teen thought she saw a glimpse of bat creatures, but then she lost track of them a second later. Maybe it was her imagination, but she can't be sure.

The sound of wings and a screech. That caught her attention as well as Gabriel's.

"Gabe?" Page started, but he was ahead of her.

"I know," he told her.

A whole day of riding and the count's consorts had found them so easily. Gabriel and Page had destroyed one of the brides in the village, but they had no illusions about that encounter. They had been lucky.

"Page, take the reins. Hold them steady. And get your gun out and ready," Gabriel instructed Page as he handed her the reins and picked up his crossbow.

"Be careful," Page told him.

He prepared himself as he looked around for their pursuers. He didn't need to look far when he whipped behind him with his crossbow. The next thing Page knew, Gabriel was lifted off the driver's seat and into the air, sending his weapon flying.

"Gabe!" she screamed with worry as she watched Verona carry Gabriel in the air.

The long-haired hunter fought the claws that gripped him until he grabbed one of Verona's wings. Without hesitation, Page whipped out one of her revolvers with the silver bullets and shot the vampire straight on the leg holding Gabriel. When she let him go with a cry of agony, he found himself falling, almost instantly landing on one of the lead horses of the team. He was safe for the moment, but the brides could be anywhere.

When Page looked ahead, her heart dropped to her stomach when she realized the situation was moving from bad to worse.

Just ahead, the path they were on made a hairpin turn, and beyond the turn was a long drop. She couldn't see how deep it was in the darkness of the night, but she could tell it was deep enough to kill you.

She could slow down the horses now, and they might have a chance of making the turn. But she never had enough time.

"Page, look out!" Gabriel cried.

The blonde teen glanced behind her, only for Aleera to charge in and strike her hard, knocking her off the driver's seat and sending her flying ahead in the air as she screamed. Gabriel was quick to catch her in time by grabbing her arm and pulling her up in front of him on the lead horse.

"Gabe!" Page shouted when she saw the broken bridge coming up close.

By now, the team was already struggling to negotiate the sharp turn. Gabriel knew they wouldn't make it, but still, he held onto Page, hugging her close. "Hang on!" Gabriel said to her.

Everything felt like a blur. Gabriel and Page screamed as the team leaped over the open gap between the two sides of the bridge. The horses landed on the other side safely, but the couplings holding the carriage snapped when it hit the broken edge. The coach spiraled through the air, then plummeted to the valley floor below.