Blood Red Diamonds

A/N: Oh my! Sorry for not updating for months! -avoids glaring eyes- SQUEAK! Please, have mercy for my soul! Please! If not, well, I shall not update! And that's even worse, is it now? Lol -wicked smile- Ok, so well, anyhow, I hope you enjoy, review and yeah, ENJOY! XD -throws cookies in the air- Also, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR BEAUTIFUL REVIEWS! XD They were so awesome and heartwarming! -SQUEE!- Thank you so much! X3

Summary: This time Van Helsing is accompanied by his adoptive daughter, and Dracula is forced to seek help from his murderer. The enemy draws near, but no one realizes that not all things are as they seem when they find out the truth. R&R!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the movie Van Helsing. All I own is Valoel, the young man and the enemy that will soon to be revealed!

Is That A Challenge?

Rain fell heavily and beat harshly down on the trees where four figures stood. Three of them were helping a man in the center get up, and one of them was a man dressed all in black, his dark hair dripping with rain. But he wasn't even shivering as he looked with amusement towards the Van Helsing, Carl and Valoel.

"Are you going to be alright, Dad?" Valoel spoke worriedly as she let go of her father's arm for a few seconds. Her hair was dry no more, and her cloak was also not as beautiful as it once was when worn outisde in a sunny day.

Van Helsing nodded, leaning for a moment at Carl before releasing his grip on Carl also. His legs wavered for a moment, but he balanced himself again. He smiled reassuringly at Valoel, who narrowed her eyes a little.

"Are you sure?" Valoel remarked, her eyes this time following the bite mark under his ripped sweater.

"I'll be alright, Val."

This time both Carl and Valoel were narrowing their eyes doubtfully towards Van Helsing, but a look from him made them gaze elsewhere. Dracula only chuckled behind him.

All of them walked out of the forest in silence, mostly because they saw corpses of the remains of what was once living. Many were humans sprawled on the ground that had been werewolves before. Valoel, seeing this, could only cry in her Uncle's shoulder as Van Helsing looked at all of them with sadness in his eyes. Dracula, on the other hand, seemed to be quite alright with seeing these things. After all, he is the Son of the Devil.

When at last they found their way out onto the path, they found a terrible sight of more dead bodies, the ground spilled with blood. Even Carl wasn't ready for this as his face turned sickly green for a moment. When Valoel had lifted her head to see the scene, her eyes had widened in horror and more tears filled her eyes, trailing down her cheeks. Why did the innocent have to suffer...? Valoel thought as she felt her heart burn sorrowfully.

"We have to burn their bodies..." Van Helsing said slowly, looking towards his daughter. Valoel gave out a gasp, and looked up at her father's face. "Can't we bury them?"

"We... We don't have time, Valoel..." Van Helsing spoke softly and Valoel looked away from him sadly. Van Helsing stepped away from them, patting Valoel on the shoulders before gathering the bodies of the dead into one pile. Valoel wiped away her eyes, trying to make herself stop from crying. Valoel rushed to Carl, hugging her uncle as Carl hugged her back.

"You could come by my side, my love..." Dracula slurred invitingly, but Valoel only glared at him. Carl looked at Dracula with suspicion as he pulled Valoel closer towards him.

"You will never come near her..." Carl spat, his eyes glaring furiously.

"Is that a challenge, little Friar?" Dracula drawled with a raise of his eyebrows, as he smiled venemously.

"Yes, it is." Dracula's eyes glowed at this answer. "We shall see... friend."

Carl only glared and wrapped a protective hand around Valoel, who now gave out a painful gasp. Carl turned to look at her, perplexity in his eyes and Valoel's blue orbs looked painfully at him. "What is it?"

"I-I broke my arm, and my leg, when I..." she stopped, trailing off, and glanced just slightly towards Dracula. "... fell. And I didn't feel too much of the pain... until now. Ahh..."Valoel winced terribly as she grabbed for her leg with her left arm. Carl looked towards her leg, as he bit his lips regretfully. If only I had my equipment, then I may be able to help her with the wounds... Carl thought as he winced as much as Valoel when he saw her pain. Dracula was looking a bit amused by this, and the dripping of Valoel's blood made him lick his lips. He took a step forward to them, and Carl immediately pulled his granddaughter away from the Count.

"I can help you heal her wound, Friar," Dracula spoke with a growning smile as Valoel's head went up. Carl only glared, a warning to back away. Dracula chuckled. "How do we know we're telling the truth?" Carl countered and the Count nodded understandingly.

"You don't, little Friar. Either you ask for it or not. Come now, I do not give away charity that easily," Dracula slurred, raising both his arms up into the sky as if he was hailing God from the Heavens. Which, really, would have been a peculiar thing to see if it were really what he was trying to do.

Carl glanced at Valoel, his look inquiring. Although Valoel looked uneasy at the idea, she nodded slowly. Carl nodded with her, and he let go of her grip slowly, waiting for Dracula to do whatever he did to heal wounds. Dracula nodded and bowed. Then as soon as he did, he vanished, too fast for the eye to see. Both Valoel and Carl gasped in shock as they found Dracula holding Van Helsing's daughter in his arms.

The Count was all to amused to see their wide eyed looks as he set Valoel onto the ground. He was leaning towards Valoel's injuired leg but an idea came to mind. He hid a smile as he kissed the two wounds on her leg and arm, quickly licking away the blood on his lips as the cuts and broken bones reknit itself. Valoel and Carl could only stare as they saw both her arm and leg turning back to normal before their very eyes. When at last the process was complete, Valoel wasn't wincing and she was actually able to move both her leg and arm as if nothing had ever happened to them.

"Wow.." Valoel whispered as Carl pulled her back up her feet, a protective hand around her shoulder. Dracula smiled as he secretly tasted the blood in his mouth. It tasted strange, unlike anything he touched before, and yet it was so familiar... Dracula's face contorted in utter disgust as he pulled a white handkerchief and spat the blood out of his mouth, looking down at the ordinary looking crimson with glowing eyes. "You're blood is distasteful..." Dracula hissed as Valoel gasped, her eyes flaring now with anger.

"You tasted my blood?" Valoel shouted as she escaped Carl's grasp before he could stop her. But Dracula's eyes glowed and even with Valoel's courage, she was frightened to take a step closer, stopping herself of whatever actions she was attempting next. Dracula threw his wet handkerchief onto the ground and looked at Valoel straight in the eye. "It seems I've underestimated you and Van Helsing. You are more than what you seem to be..." Dracula spoke with a suprising deep tone, his expression serious, but then as if suddenly there was nothing wrong, the Count smile widely. "But that does not mean you cannot be tainted."

Valoel stared at the Count now with a look of confusion clear on her face. What was the Count talking about? Valoel thought as Dracula bowed and left Valoel looking at Dracula's back continuously.

After Van Helsing had finished burning the corpses of the dead, and Carl had read the words from the Bible to ask God of their forgiveness to these people, they left, all of them headed towards Transylvania where Van Helsing and Carl knew very well of. All of them later stopped by a small village in the night, buying two horses, so Valoel can sit behind Van Helsing's back. Since Dracula was more accustomed to being up in the sky, rather than to ride a horse, he flew above their heads instead, like a haunting ghost trailing their steps as a batlike shadow fell down towards them, shading the sun if it ever came out.

Valoel shivered under her cloak and snuggled closer towards her father, who, like Carl, had fell silent. The sky was still dark, but the sun was coming up, brightening their surroundings with rays of orange light. Valoel looked up at the sky and saw that Dracula was gone. She sighed in relief as the cold wind blew at their faces. Finally, the silence was broken when Carl spoke.

"How can we know for sure that we can trust Dracula?" Carl spoke, turning towards Van Helsing. Van Helsing only looked at Carl for a moment before answering. "We'll have to take our chances." Although the warmth of her father was comforting, Valoel couldn't help but shudder at the answer. What Dracula had said of her still mistyfied her. A puff of smoke was released from the horse as slowly they found themselves surrounded by snow.

"Are you alright, Valoel?" Van Helsing asked worriedly as the crunch of snow was heard beneath the horse's feet. Valoel nodded slightly, but then shivered. Van Helsing frowned, and pulling his leather jacket, which had miraculous stayed unharmed from the Werewolf attack, covered it over Valoel as he saw her close her eyes. Valoel looked thankfully at Van Helsing, quickly wrapping the jacket around her as she leaned her head behind Van Helsing's back.

Silence was all they heard as they travelled through the snowy mountains, unless you count out the harsh blowings winds and the small swirling snow that later fell back to the white surface. Carl looked around uneasily and Van Helsing also stayed on guard, his other hand ready to pull his pistol if needed. The Hunter looked up at the sky, and found that Dracula was not with them anymore. His eyes narrowed suspicously, his grip on the horse's reins tightening.

"Where did Dracula disappear?" Van Helsing muttered as he tried to ignore. But unlike Dracula, he would never have guessed that he was being watched.

A/N: -shivers- Cliffie! But don't worry, I don't think any flying creatures, or flying monkeys if you prefer, will come out and attack them! Lol ... I think, lol. XD -giggle- Hope you like it, and please review! I can't promise you a faster update, but I can tell you I will try as much as I can, ok? (: Oh and as for all those who are wondering about what Dracula was saying, well, if you know the answer, let's just keep it our secret, okay? (: -hehe- I know, I'm evil!