"It usually takes less to get my attention," Marseille remarked, "but I admire your sense of presence."
It took all of her self-control, but Marseille stared calmly at her opposer, whose steady hand on the crossbow spoke of years of practice. Her composure was watery: every instinct seemed to scream that she should flinch away from the crossbow or throw herself to her knees and leave this for Van Helsing to deal with. The person on the other end of the crossbow was like a rapier: slim yet muscular. She glared fiercely at Marseille with her brown eyes smouldering with determination. She appeared to be an avenging angel: brown hair coiled in elegant tussles that snapped over her shoulders like writhing serpents, high cheekbones and a strange, victorious twist to her lips.
"Back away from the corpse," The woman commanded, her voice shining with a Transylvanian cadence.
Marseille heard the sound of crunching snow as van Helsing and Carl shifted into standing positions, but the crossbow-wielding woman's piercing eyes shot up to them in a way more menacing than any crossbow could ever be.
"Not you," The woman snapped with her sharp eyebrows quirked, "Just the girl."
Despite the grumbled protestations of Van Helsing, Marseille slowly got her bearings with her hands stationary by her sides, hands held up in a sign of submission.
"Very good," The woman's praise felt mocking, "Now, I demand to know your names."
Marseille smiled, "Ah, of course. And our weapons too, I wager? I didn't expect you to be so trusting of strangers."
The woman narrowed her eyes, her grasp tightening on the crossbow, "You know of me?"
"You're of the Valerious line," Marseille replied coolly, ever calm. "I've read about your family - and their curse."
"And who are you to be privy to such information?" The woman demanded.
"Spies!" Bellowed a village man in outrage, brandishing a pitchfork as he pantomimed the strangers, "Hideous spies sent by Dracula to torment us!"
"We are not spies!" Van Helsing glowered at the villager, ascending to his feet, "We have been sent to protect you, to aid you against Dracula's menace."
"Then you will have no qualms handing over your weapons?" The Valerious woman questioned.
Van Helsing's stony stare glided across her face, "You can try."
The woman seemed even more satisfied as she tilted up the end of her crossbow, resting it against her shoulder as she observed him. Her stare was returned with as much fervour and - although she was relieved to be out of the line of fire - Marseille did not like the way Van Helsing and the Valerious woman were looking at each other.
"You do not follow our laws?" Valerious asked, her brows still puckered but her eyes softened.
"Laws mean little to me." Van Helsing replied, his own brows arched in challenge.
"Fine," Valerious spat, "Then kill them."
The crowd began to move in, jerking their weapons dangerously at them. Carl cried out in distress and stumbled into Marseille, who had to stop herself from tripping.
"Wait!" Marseille pleaded, "We are not the enemy - neither of us is the enemy. We were sent to aid the people of Transylvania, but we were instructed to aid you specifically. There have been studies about you, Anna. About you and your brother, Valkan."
"For the last time," Valerious insisted, "we do not need - "
Then there was a sound. A sound that burbled from the throat of hell and shattered all semblance of peace - the sound was a harbinger of death as Anna Valerious dodged to the side, narrowly missing a dozen simultaneous shots of van Helsing's silver stakes. People screamed in terror and scrambled to escape, not above shoving and elbowing those around them as three vampires appeared in the sky like harpies from the gates of Hades. Van Helsing immediately sheltered Anna with his bulk, taking aim at the descending vampire that swooped down and caught a villager in her claws, the man howling in horror as his throat was exposed, the vampire snapping back his neck and jamming their hooked fangs into his pulse points. The vampire screeched with satisfaction and dropped the lifeless body to the ground, where his skeleton shattered like glass as he struck the pavement.
YOU ARE READING
Virgin Sacrifice - Van Helsing Fanfiction
Fiksi Penggemar"He was a shadow-man: his entire being seemed to be only of haze as if he was crafted from the first fog. The light caught on the ridge of a strong jaw, highlighted a sliver of a pale, high-placed cheekbone that hung in the darkness like a half-moon...
