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Chapter 29
New York City, New York, America, 1891
They had been a few minutes too late; that had been evident in the hurried evacuation of the East River Hotel their suspect made as Aaron and Ward rounded the corner of the poorly lit Manhattan street. After years of investigation, deduction, conversation, and a near miss back in Whitechapel last winter, they had watched the Jack the Ripper case go silent in London. For months, there was nothing, not a peep. It wasn’t until Aaron had finally stumbled into his old informant friend one night about a month ago that he learned Jack was quiet because Jack was gone. Fearing he could not escape their clutches next time, he had taken off for America, New York to be exact, and with permission from the Guardian Leader, Aaron, Ward, Vicky, and Frank had followed.
Aaron had discovered teams operated quite differently here in America, and while it took some getting used to, he appreciated the new experience. From the beginning,
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Aaron Chapter 30
Aaron didn’t give up. He knew he was faster than most Vampires, and there was still a chance he could catch the Ripper. Without another thought, he gave chase, tearing down Water Street as fast as he could.Soon, it became quite certain where Jack was headed. Even though he zigged and zagged a few times and was still a good block and a half ahead of him, Aaron could tell he was headed for the bridge. Toward what end, he wasn’t certain. Perhaps if Jack knew he was still being followed, he thought he could lose him in the water. Thoughts of plunging into the East River were not particularly inviting, but after three years, this needed to end tonight.It was past 2:00 in the morning and there were very few people in sight as he followed behind Jack who, despite constantly checking over his shoulder, had given no indication that he was aware that Aaron was still behind him. He seemed to have slowed his pace a bit, as if he was calculating what to do next. The f
Aaron Chapter 31
Jack saw the attack coming, and stepping out of the way, he used his forearm to block the stake, hitting Frank’s arm with his, jarring the weapon free, and in one smooth motion, he spun Frank around so that his back was pressed against Jack’s chest, the knife poised against his neck.“Take me in without harming me?” Jack screeched. “I knew that was not true!”“Calm down, Jack,” Aaron said, hoping his own voice sounded as tranquil as it needed to. “We can still work this out. There’s no reason for anyone to get hurt.”Aaron heard the sound of footsteps behind him and turned to see Ward had finally managed to find their location. Having the leader on sight now, Aaron gestured for him to take over, but Ward shook his head, an indication that he wanted Aaron to continue to run the situation. At this point, it didn’t seem to matter which Guardian did the talking; Jack was in control.&ldqu
Aaron Chapter 32
Swimming to shore, and making his way back to the location of his team that way would take a very long time, and since he was very concerned about Frank’s condition, Aaron was in a hurry to get back. There was a pier close by, so he fought the current of the salty river and swam over to it, then climbed up using the large stone bricks as hand and footholds.When he reached the top, Vicky rushed over to help him transition back to the top of the bridge. “Are you all right?” she asked as he made the awkward leap through the suspension wires and across the railing. She reached out and steadied him upon landing.“I’m fine,” Aaron assured her, though he was soaking wet, a sensation he didn’t particularly care for. “How’s Frank?”“He’s just fine,” Vicky assured him as they both rushed back to the location where Frank’s throat had been cut.Aaron couldn’t believe that was p
Aaron Chapter 33
Wallachia, Romania, 1894In 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 s
Aaron Chapter 34
The Hunters and Guardians had been asked to bring their own weapons, but she recommend each of them stop by after the meeting to have them blessed by one of several priests she had on hand and dipped in Holy Water. She said that Holy Water worked best when administered by a priest and that poor results some had reported may be due to missing this step. She also had several stakes available for team members to take which had been carved from demolished holy structures. She reported having better results with these weapons than others.“There are one hundred twenty of us assembled here, including my team, which is still scattered across the mountainside keeping eye as we congregate here. Each of you has been assigned to a team, and I will meet separately with team leaders at the conclusion of this meeting. You will be placed in various key locations, and while most of you will simply help form a perimeter, some of you will have more important jobs, such as ferreting out a
Aaron Chapter 35
Van must have been very confident in the abilities of the individuals she placed on this team as their task would not be easy. As Ward had explained it, Dracula had a lair beneath the castle where he held three temptress Vampires. They were extremely dangerous assassins who had the ability to manipulate their opponents, particularly those of the male variety. Van offered no explanation for why she had chosen this particular group, but Ward assured them it was purposeful. Perhaps she knew they were the least likely to be distracted by the sirens’ beauty.Ascending the mountain took time, but it was not difficult for any of them. There was an advanced team that would go in first and clear the entrance ways. Van and her core team of six would then go in and concentrate on finding and destroying Dracula while five sub-teams, including Wards, would carry out their assignments. The rest of the team members held various positions from right outside the castle gates to a perime
Aaron Chapter 36
Entering the castle itself was no problem. Once inside, sounds of battles raging on in various locations could be heard. All of the special mission teams came in at the same time, and without taking time to look around the opulently decorated, though recently ransacked, interior, the leaders split off in the various directions they’d been instructed to follow.Ward led them down a hallway that led to a steep stairway that went both up and down. They chose to follow it down, further into the depths of the castle. It was made of marble and the floor was slick, but all of their team members were sure-footed.It was also dark, though none of them needed torches. Their highly attuned vision was able to cut through the darkness.Once they reached the next floor, Ward looked around and then, nodding, he took them down another corridor. Here, they found a thick oak door, which Ward asked Morris to knock down, and he did so easily. This led to yet another flight of
Aaron Chapter 37
Catherine brought her elbow down hard right into the Vampire’s face, which angered her immensely, and she began to try and buck Aaron off. “Well, that didn’t work,” the Hunter muttered.“You think?” he agreed.Catherine looked around the room, as if she wasn’t sure what she could use to decapitate the monster. “Pull it off, Catherine,” he shouted, beginning to lose patience.“With what?”Aaron hadn’t realized this technique wasn’t part of every Hunter’s repertoire. “With your hands!”Her eyes widened, and it was quite clear she’d never done something like that before. She didn’t hesitate though. She dropped back down to her knees, and placing once on each side of the struggling Vampire’s head, she slid her hands around the top of her head and the bottom of her jaw and began to pull. Nothing happened.“Sides of her head,&rdq
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