Of Gods and Monsters

Hunted

"I am all in a sea of wonders. I doubt; I fear; I think strange things, which I dare not confess to my own soul." 

- Dracula

As soon as Elek was out of sight and decidedly gone, Ambrus shoved Victor off of him with as much force as he could muster. Victor sputtered at the action which had knocked the wind out of his lungs.

"Get the fuck off of me, Victor. That end bit of your speech was highly unnecessary. He would've left without it."

Ambrus spit out, referencing Victor's hint at some sort of romantic relationship between the two of them, of which there most certainlywasn't. Victor composed himself and gave a small chuckle.

"I just wanted to be sure our friend got the picture. If he ever sets foot in Budapest again I will personally see that his existence is snuffed out, understand? Nobody can kill my family and not suffer the consequences."

Victor growled with redoubled venom. Ambrus winced at his tone and felt with acute pain the full extent of his injuries. He knew they were only temporary but he was still the vulnerable one in this situation. He said nothing. Instead there was a long pause until Victor huffed and spoke.

"I suppose my work here is done then. Do drop by sometime for a show, mon ami."

And with that, Victor and the rest of his vampir gang left, leaving Ambrus in his own personal hell.

He was alone, alone and had hurt the one person he loved the most, without any way to rectify the situation. He knew that nothing he could say to Elek would make him believe him, nothing he did would heal the venom that had come from his own mouth. No, definitely not. But fortunately, he'd lived long enough to know what they needed.

What they needed was time. Time could heal all wounds, right? And all they had was time. In a few short years, Elek would forgive him and in that time, he'd have gotten over whatever travel bug had crawled up inside of him from those blasted books he always read. Ambrus thought bitterly on his predicament. The only thing he could do momentarily was make sure that Elek was safe. He could even do what he'd done before and simply follow him, voyeuristically watch over him like a silent guardian angel. Yes, that sounded like the best idea.

And with that Ambrus decided he'd rest and regain his strengths before seeking Elek out.

--

The next night Ambrus made his way to the whorehouse. Elek was predictable, that much he was at least certain of. With nowhere else to go, he'd seek out the most familiar place he could think of. He knew he'd be there. Slipping in at just the beginning of the evening, Ambrus greeted the red-faced man known as Gabor. Gabor was a greedy man by nature and this had been the perfect sort of person for Ambrus to entrust with his business.

After finding him in debt, being hounded and pursued by loan sharks, he'd paid Gabor's debts for him. He'd assured Gabor that he'd been looking for someone like him. Someone special. That he was the exact kind of person who could help Ambrus run his little business.How much money Gabor would make for himself, the women, the alcohol, the drugs. All of it could be his. And predictably, he'd taken the deal in stride. And it had run splendidly thus far. Of course, that had been many, many years ago. Gabor was now a much older man. Gabor didn't mind that Ambrus was a devil, he didn't really put much thought into what other people chose to do, or not to do. After all, who was he to judge?

Ambrus shook Gabor's hand then, giving him a forced smile.

"Ah, good evening. By any chance, is my dear friend Elek here?"

He asked; Gabor smiling back and nodding.

"Yes, sir, he is. I could get him if yo- "

Ambrus cut him off abruptly.

"Ah, no, thank you. That won't be necessary. Instead, I need you to give this to him please. A letter, his hands and eyes only."

Gabor took the envelope Ambrus held out with his grubby, meaty hands, a fake smile plastered across his face.

"Certainly, my friend."

After that, it was quite simple. He'd escort Elek invisibly to the train station he'd undoubtedly run off to, and then make sure he was settled. Then, return to Budapest and wait until Elek decided to seek him out. However, fool-proof this idea of Ambrus's was, it turned out fate had other plans.

--

The train in front of him blew big puffs of smoke, making the train station look like it might be high in the sky, nestled amongst the clouds. The night was crisp and clear, perfect for a good view of the scenery, where it was lighted. The crowd for the night train was thankfully vast, providing a good cover for Ambrus as he watched the back of Elek's head dip inside of the train. Waiting a few moments, he entered as well, a large coat and hat obscuring him from view. Elek sat down at a small booth and Ambrus sat in the one behind him, viewing once again the back of Elek's head.

Elek looked dejected. A part of him was glad for it since it meant Elek still held affection for him, but the vast majority of him felt the tinge of guilt. The train ride went by pretty uneventfully for Ambrus, who simply watched with some amusement Elek's attempt to look human. Which, he was failing at miserably. He'd ordered a small bit of food and a tea, of which he largely left untouched.

He could also make out just how pale and gaunt Elek looked, which alarmed him. He hoped that he'd keep himself fed in his absence. Just as that thought passed its way through his head, the train gave an unexpected lurch, causing a violin case from the stowaway to fall and hit Elek squarely on the side. It then tumbled down and flew violently open.

In haste, a young man ran over attempting to scramble up the contents of the violin case, which was obscured from Elek's own vision. Elek himself had leaned over to speak to the boy, in obvious ignorance of what was making Ambrus's whole body tingle in fear.

Inside of the case there was no violin, instead, there were all matter of devices. Stakes, garlic, holy water, a myriad of crucfix's. As if that wasn't alarming enough, the object that had flown out of the case that the boy had lurched forward to grab, was a gun.

And not just any gun. With Ambrus's keen eyes he was able to make out the insignia and felt his stomach drop.

Dei Gratia Rex - A.V.H

Abraham Van Helsing.