woman, dressed as a servant and with gray hair tied up in a bun, brought in a bottle of wine. Andrew thanked her. She said nothing, not even a smile. Andrew opened the bottle with the cork screw and let it breathe for a couple of minutes. He was about to pour, when Kara made her appearance.
Kara had on a strapless black, flowing gown. Her fair skin was accentuated with a black onyx layered necklace. Kara’s lips matched her fingernails which were a shade of dark green with diamond accents. Her long hair was neatly swept up and held in place with a diamond encrusted hair comb.
Andrew swallowed hard and stood up to help Kara to her chair. The scent of her intoxicating perfume filled his senses. Andrew did his best to shake off the affects as he seated Kara and afterward re-took his own seat. He poured each of them a glass of wine. Andrew handed Kara hers and was about to take a drink. He paused and Kara noticed.
“Trust me,” Kara smirked slyly and raised the glass to her lips.
“Of course,” Andrew raised his glass as well.
“To unexpectedness,” Kara toasted and immediately took a sip.
“Salute,” Andrew said as he also took a sip.
The older woman returned with the first course. She set before each one a bowl of soup and a basket of dark rye bread. Kara offered up the basket to Andrew and he took a piece of bread. Kara took one and set the basket aside. Andrew tasted the soup. It was delicious beef soup. Kara tore off some bread and paused for a moment. Andrew stared as Kara opened her lips and seductively slipped the bread in her mouth. He quickly focused on his own, but Kara smiled devilishly.
“You’re a private investigator?”
“Yes,” Andrew answered.
“Do you like it?” Kara asked. “I mean is it what you’ve always wanted to do?”
“Yes,” Andrew answered again.
“Not much for conversation this evening,” Kara teased with a seductiveness look in her eyes. She found Andrew extremely handsome and was attracted to him. It had been a long time since she was intimate with someone. Kara had noticed the wedding band on Andrew’s finger, but it didn’t matter. He was hers for at least this night.
“What made you want to write about vampires?” Andrew asked, pushing his empty bowl aside. “Why is there this fascination with it?”
“I think it is the idea of eternal romance; to live forever,” Kara answered. She drank some wine. “I wrote the book to let people know that this whole culture exists and has done so for centuries. It is a fascinating world of loyalty, romance, and a respect for life.”
“And now you are part of that world.” Andrew drank some more wine.
“As they say, my transformation is complete.” Kara lips spread into a sly grin.
“And the Knights of VanHelsing are after you because you revealed them to the world and they no longer can act in secret,” Andrew said. He poured some more wine. He was about to go one, when Kara’s servant came in and removed the empty bowls. She returned a short time later with the main course of roasted lamb, braised red potatoes and glazed medallion carrots. Andrew could have dined on the aroma alone. But he was starving and immedatedly dove in. Kara ate a fork full of potatoes as she watched Andrew eat his fill. She was aroused by the way he moved. Kara dipped her fingers in the glass of wine and ran them over her lips. She was no longer hungry for dinner, but instead wanted to feast upon Andrew.
Kara and Andrew had retired from the banquet room to the more intimate surroundings of her bedroom chamber. The flames from the fire danced across the logs burning in the hearth. A small round table with two linen cloths and a knife was surrounded by two chairs with Andrew in one and Kara in the other.
Kara had let her hair down and was tousled about her shoulders. She was completely entranced with Andrew and hoped he felt the same about her. If it was his desire to have her, Kara was willing to give in with all her heart and soul.
Andrew watched as Kara effortlessly rose from her chair. She walked over and stood in front of him. Kara undid the back of her dress and let it cascade to the floor. Her body glistened in the firelight. Kara stepped out of her dress and approached the table. She picked up the knife. Andrew quickly stood and took his place behind Kara. Her chest heaved with anticipation. Andrew slipped his one arm around her waist and drew her closer to him. Kara could feel his warm breath as it drifted down her neck. Andrew leaned closer and kissed Kara’s shoulder. Her body tensed with anticipation and it was consuming her. Kara tingled as Andrew’s other hand massaged her shoulder blade. She finally heard him murmur, “There it is.” Kara felt a slight twinge of pressure. She looked at Andrew and seconds later closed her eyes. Kara went limp in Andrew’s arms. Andrew lifted her up and laid Kara on top of the bed. Andrew drew back the covers and put Kara underneath. He recovered her. Andrew leaned down and kissed Kara on the forehead. She would be unconscious for several hours. Years ago he had traveled to China to learn kyusho jitsu. He studied under a kyusho jitsu master. The old master had taught him the pressure points to use for both defense and attack. Kara was comsumed with seducing him, and she never suspected that he was on to his game from the moment he arrived. Andrew felt bad, but it was the only way he could explore the rest of the castle. As far as he knew there was only the one servant. Now she could possibly also be the chauffer, but if not, he would have to be extra careful. Andrew gently caressed Kara’s soft check and took off.
Andrew cautiously walked down the hallway. There were three more rooms beside Kara’s on the second floor of the castle. He tried the second door on the left. It was not locked. Andrew opened the door and slipped inside. He was in the library. There were floor to ceiling book shelves on three of the walls. On the other was a massive window with no curtains. In the middle of the room were a retangular wooden table and four chairs.
Andrew ran his hand over the leather bound books as he walked along the premeter of the room. It appeared there was nothing worth looking for, and he was about to leave when the title on the binding of one book in particular caught his attention, The Legend of Abraham VanHelsing. Andrew took the book and sat down at the table. He lit one of the reading lamps and opened the book. According to the author of the book, VanHelsing was a real person and that he did in fact, hunt those who were ‘vampires’. It further claimed that Bram Stoker base his book on the true adventures of VanHelsing. From what Andrew read, Vlad the Impaler’s Grandson was the first of many ‘vampires’ and that VanHelsing killed him. Years later, as VanHelsing grew older; he could no longer carry on the fight by himself. So VanHelsing and his son Joseph formed the Knights of VanHelsing. Since his homeland of Holland opposed violence, the VanHelsings purchased a remote castle in the highlands of Germany. There they brought in teachers of all the ancient arts of combat. In fact the book stated that VanHelsing’s daughter, Mary, was one of the first Knights. Once trained, a threesome of knights was assigned a territory to protect. For centuries, the Knight of VanHelsing hunted down and killed those who practiced vampirism.
There was a period of time from 1860–1960 were both the Knights and those practicing vampirism, disappeared. According to the book, vampirism experienced a rebirth in the seventies with a man by the name of Vlad Ravenclaw, a direct descendent of Vlad the Impaler. With this resurgence, the Knights of VanHelsing was also reborn. Andrew read further that once you joined the order, you could never leave, and if you did, you were marked for death if your identity was ever discovered. How could such hatred consume someone like this for centuries? The more Andrew learned about all of this, the more surreal it became. Andrew was about to close the book when he noticed the inside of the cover had previously been slit open. Someone had re-taped it to look like the original binding. Andrew used the knife he had removed from Kara’s room and carefully split the tape. He found a folded piece of parchment paper. Andrew took paper and opened it up. It was a map of the location of the Knights of VanHelsing castle. The map contained a detailed description of where the castle was located, along with a mark where one could enter the castle undetected. Andrew refolded the map and tucked it in his shirt. He closed the book and quickly put it back in the shelves. Andrew quietly left the library and returned to Kara’s room.
Andrew found Kara still unconscious. He walked swiftly and silently over to the bed. Andrew removed his shirt and then his boots. He folded the map and slid it into the toe of one of the boots. Andrew quietly slipped beneath the covers. He thought Kara looked beautiful and peaceful as she lay there. Her full lips were inviting to kiss, but Andrew abstained. Andrew drifted off into sweet slumber.
The next morning Kara woke to find Andrew in her bed. She smiled, remembering Andrew’s arms around her. After that it was not so clear. Kara shrugged it off and got out of bed. She walked over to her large walk-in closet. Kara flung open the doors and went inside. She selected a sheer, full length black night gown. Kara slipped in on and left the closet. She saw that Andrew was still asleep. Kara smiled again and left to make them breakfast.
Andrew was aware of Kara’s movement even with his eyes closed. He pretended to be asleep. As soon as
