Gothica castle had been forged out of the very mountains of the Ore Mountain range. With its towering, impenetrable walls, no one dared attempt to challenge it. It stood solitary, forbidding to all who dared enter the valley long forgotten by both man and time.
Kara watched from the window as the helicopter touched down. The door slid open and a solitary figure jumped out. Whoever they were, the person was in full knight’s garb right down to the weapons. The person strode with an air of confidence towards the woman that was waiting for them. Her hair was black and streaked with stokes of silver gray. The black dress she wore was long and flowing. Kara thought for a second and snapped her fingers as she remembered. Of course, the woman was Anastasia VanHelsing, the leader of the Knights of VanHelsing. Kara watched them embrace and soon after, walked together arm in arm inside the castle.
Talia had been staring out the narrow window of her room ever since she was taken there after her interrogation by Anastasia. She was reflecting on the cards life had dealt her. Some were good cards worth holding onto. Others were not so good and Talia wished she could have traded them in for better ones. Talia grew tried and was about to step away from the window, when she saw a helicopter approach the castle. She watched the helicopter land. The side door of the helicopter slid. Talia’s blood ran cold at the sight of a Knight of VanHelsing. Talia also saw Anastasia waiting to greet them.
Gold Blade and Anastasia walked down the long stone hallway and finally stopped at a large metal and wooden door. Anastasia twisted the knob and gave the door a gentle push to open it. She led the way inside and Gold Blade followed. Anastasia closed the door behind them. She locked it.
Anastasia walked over and sat down on the canopy bed. She stretched out her arms invitingly for Gold Blade to join her. He walked over but stopped just short of her reach.
“Please remove your hood,” Anastasia asked.
“Both Silver Blade and Bronze Blade are dead,” Gold Blade sadly informed her.
“How?” Anastasia demanded.
“Silver Blade was killed in the park and Bronze Blade was in a fight with Andrew Knight and some policeman from Berlin,” Eric answered.
“You removed all of their identification, right?” Anastasia asked.
“I know the drill,” Eric shot back.
“At least we have the others,” Anastasia answered instead. ‘And Knight is out of the picture. He will be in a German prison for quite some time.” Anastasia laughed.
“Where are the women?” Gold Blade inquired.
“Safe on the third floor in two of the empty guest rooms,” Anastasia answered.
“Now forget about all that and take off your hood,” Anastasia ordered.
“We both know the rules,” Gold Blade reminded. “Our identity is to remain a secret.” He gestured around the room. “Even within the walls of Gothica, a knight’s face is never to be revealed.”
“I know the laws.” Anastasia was getting upset.
“I will not remove it.” Gold Blade was defiant.
“But we were lovers once and you showed me your face.” Anastasia pouted. “Why not again?” She rose from the bed and walked over to Gold Blade. She slipped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. “Perhaps we could rekindle the passion we once had.” Anastasia drew her glance upon his hooded face. “What happened that night is in the past.”
“Not that far in the past,” Gold Blade grabbed her arms and slipped from her embrace.
“He meant nothing to me,” Anastasia eyes swelled with tears.
“Nothing?” Gold Blade scoffed.
“Do not get upset, Eric,” Anastasia finally said his name. “Please remove your weapons and place them on the table.” Anastasia gestured towards the table not far from the bed. Eric went over and removed his belt. He laid it on the table. Next, he took off the scabbards that held his swords. He laid them also on the table. Then he took off his long leather coat and gently draped it across his things. Eric walked back over to Anastasia.
“Listen Ana.” Eric took hold of her hands.
“You haven’t called me that name in years.” Ana started to cry again. Eric took her in his arms. It was a rhapsody for Ana to final feel Eric’s embrace. “Why now?” Eric lifted the hood just a little. Ana exhaled deeply and her bossom quivered as Eric brushed his lips against the flesh of her neck.
“I’m not the same man as I was before,” Eric whispered. Ana felt a chill from the warmth of his breath.
“What do you mean?” Ana broke free to face him.
Gold Blade finally removed his hood for Ana.
“You!” shrieked Ana. She gave Andrew a shove and ran for the door.
Andrew took off after Ana and reached her as she was about to unlock the door. Andrew grabbed Ana and tossed her aside. Ana rebounded and slammed Andrew with a kick to the chest, but it had no affect because of the body armor he wore. Andrew countered with a spin kick that struck Ana in the midriff. She doubled over and Andrew finished her off with another blow to the head. Ana crumpled to the floor and was out cold. Andrew walked over to the door to make sure it was still locked; it was. Andrew walked over and scooped Ana up into his arms and he carried her over to the bed. He gently laid her down.
Andrew sat next to her and reflected on recent events. Andrew knew that Hannah was not alone on the train. She had to have a backup. So when Andrew left the baggage car he searched for her partner. It was either by luck or whatever, but Andrew located him in the first sleeping cabin he tried. Andrew chuckled as he remembered the shocked look on Eric’s face when he opened the door of the compartment to see Andrew standing there and not Hannah. Even before Eric could react, Andrew knocked him out and pushed him back inside. The idea to switch identities just came to Andrew as he was searching the compartment. Andrew had taken both their passports and with his pocket knife carefully slit open the lamination. Once he had switched their photos, Andrew used a bit of superglue he had found in a drawer in the compartment. When the police arrived, Andrew waited for the right moment to step out of the compartment and put on his act. He knew at first that Captain Brewster was suspicious of him, but when he saw the passports all of that disappeared. In order to convince those at Gothica, Andrew sent the text message. He knew it would be the only way to convince them that he, Andrew, was out of the picture even if only for a little while. Hopefully, and it was, long enough to get inside the castle. Also, Andrew had to conceal his identity, and betting on the fact that none of the other knight’s had seen each others faces, Andrew dressed in the knight’s garb. Andrew felt bad that he had to shoot Captain Brewster, but it was necessary to convince the ones in the helicopter that he was in fact Gold Blade.
Andrew bounded off the bed and over to the dresser. He opened the drawers and searched for something to tie Ana up with. Andrew found a bunch of silk scarves. He tied several together to make them a bit longer. Andrew returned to the bed and secured Ana’s hands and feet together. He further secured Ana to the bed posts. And as a finishing touch Andrew tied a scarf in Ana’s mouth to keep her from calling for help. Once he was satisfied that Ana would be unable to escape, Andrew retrieved the coat and weapons. He strapped the belt back on, put on the leather coat and finished securing both sword scabbards on his back. Andrew slid the hood back on and took one last look at Ana. She was still out. Andrew walked to the door and unlocked it. He opened the door and peered out to see if the coast was clear. Andrew stepped into the hallway, relocked the door and closed it behind him. The sound of the heavy door, closing signaled the beginning of his search for Kara, Talia, and Wyatt.
Andrew crept along the dimly lit hallway of the third floor. Not a soul was in sight and he hoped that was a good thing. Andrew had tried several doors and found them to be unlocked. There were only four doors left to try. Andrew grasped hold of the door knob of the first one and gave it a twist. It was not locked. He tried the next one and it was also unlocked. Andrew quietly crossed over to the other side of the hallway. A sense of disappointed and doubt set in for a second as Andrew reached for the door handle. He gripped it firmly for fear of letting go and gave it a turn. It was locked! Andrew knelt down and reached inside the long coat. Andrew retrieved his lucky lock pick set that he had remembered to take from his duffle bag on the train. Andrew inspected the lock and removed the necessary picks.
Talia was lying in the bed when she heard some sounds coming from the door. She quietly slipped off the bed and over to the door. Someone was about to come inside, so Talia readied herself for an attack. Whoever it was; was going to get the surprise of their life. Talia heard the click in the lock and she poised for her attack.
Andrew slowly opened the door and stepped inside. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught some movement. Andrew immediately dropped to the floor as a fist swung to hit him. Andrew kicked out his foot and knocked the person to the floor. He jumped on them and pinned the person down.
