The act of triggering a lockdown would end up sealing all major entrances and exits. The oak doors were actually wood panelled, behind them a plate of steel. Once closed, steel crossbars would drop from below at several points to effectively seal them shut.

Steel plates would drop over the windows facing away from the cliff. The gates below and above would become electrified, and guests would be directed to secure areas deep within the hotel. However, the system had never been triggered, so this was all purely theoretical.

“Cecil,” Max said. “Muster the staff into the armoury. I want them booted, suited, kitted and ready for war.”

“Atta boy,” Cecil said.

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pexels.

“The first activated when the moon rose over the horizon,” Cecil said. “Since then another five… now six have been activated.”

“False alarm?” Max asked, finding this whole situation hard to believe.

“Wall breach,” Cecil said. “Near the ruins of the town.”

“Fuck it,” Max said. “Mister Andrews, we are locking down.”

“But—” Nathan said.

“Now!” Max yelled. “Sound the alarm.”

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pexels.

“Six ‘Goyles came online,” Cecil said.

“What?” Max spat out.

Cecil had used the short name for gargoyles, mechanical automatons that guarded the outer perimeter of the hotel. These beasts were massive, and well over three times the height of a man. In his experience, only one was required to contain most threats, and that included the biggest and baddest of werewolves.

The last time more than one had been deployed occured for well over fifty years ago. While werewolves were more plentiful, for the most part their packs had migrated closer to the cities. There was a lot of money to be made working as muscle in the slums, or bringing in street drugs.

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth.

The beauty here was unmarred, save for the four-lane highway that cut a swath through the forest outside their grounds. At this time of the day the lights from the constant stream of cards twinkled, reminding him of a tapestry of stars that flowed like a river.

Other than that it was their land, including one of the world’s largest hedge mazes, manicured upper gardens, and the fenced in forest that served as rich hunting grounds for their customers. A lot of blood had been spilt to make this a reality, but for the past hundred years they reigned supreme over this cursed valley.

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pexels.

“I can enjoy the sights,” Clara said “To think they used to say that only books would allow you to explore the world without leaving the room.”

The doorway shifted as planned, and revealed a rocky and crater filled landscape. They were really not kidding when they placed the symbol for the goddess Selene on the cycle list. She was faced with the moon, with the Earth appearing like a blue marble in the distance.

“What?” Clara asked herself. “Are those bodies at the edge of the crater?”

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pixabay.

“I’m looking for a copy of Travellers with a Discerning Palate,” Clara said calmly.

“We don’t carry that one,” Fred said.

“That’s not what my employer said,” Clara said.

“I said we don’t—” Fred said.

“Do you want her to come down and ask for it herself?” Clara said. “I’ve seen people skinned alive for less.”

“Scram lady,” Fred said. “You can’t touch me.”

“Who says I need to touch you?” Clara said flatly.

“Wait,” Fred said. “I thought you were—”

“Human?” Clara confirmed.

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pexels.

Evelyn’s instructions were cryptic. Which stemmed from the vampire not using the portal or a tendency to grow roots in a specific city. Either way, she had been told to find a newspaper stand. One located in a place where any sane man would wonder how it was still in business.

Those on the top two levels were clearly not going to have a problem. There was tons of traffic, filled with commuters and travellers looking to kill the time until they reached their destination. Right, so let’s go down to the platforms.

Clara followed the mass of people going deeper into the terminal. When there was a fork, she took the one there the fewest diverged and repeated this choice until she was walking with a handful of people. The newsstand on this route certainly merited a visit.

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pexels.

“Get staff on it,” Max said.

“Can’t,” Cecil countered.

“Why—” Max asked.

“One is dead,” Cecil said flatly. “The other was possessed, and had to lock her up in the dungeon.”

The Grand featured more than spas, pools, and restaurants. There were dark altars for every matter of faith, cells to keep people on ice, and dungeons that would make torturers from the Dark Ages feel right at home. For Cecil to send a witch there meant that she was beyond saving.

“Got it,” Max said. “I’ll get the staff mobilised.”

“Thanks,” Cecil replied in that dead voice. “Watch your back.”

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pixabay.

“We have a problem,” Cecil said.

“Hi, Max,” he said. “How are things?”

Cecil was the man who cleaned up messes at The Grand. He lurked in the shadows, and rarely showed his face unless there was a serious concern. This was the Boss’ fix it man that made everyone uneasy including Max.

“Very funny,” Cecil said. “The dead are rising.”

That kind of statement was not as helpful as it sounded. Vampires were essentially undead, hence most of their guests had a tomb or headstone with their names on it. This hotel catered to plenty of things they classified as dead, some of which no one had a name for.

“Can you be more specific?” Max asked.

“Walls are bleeding in three bedrooms, power flickering in and out all over, cold spots, shrieks and lamenting,” Cecil said. “It’s all over the hotel, so it can’t just be one powerful spirit.”

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pexels.

This one had no visible marks of trauma. However, those glassy eyes were still open, and the head moved freely. He had been doing this job long enough to know what happened.

“He was a registered guest,” Max said.

“Sir?” the head chef asked.

“She’s at it again,” Max said.

He was referring to a child-like vampire that often vacationed at The Grand during the summer months. This centuries old vampire had a hair trigger when it came to being called child or adorable. Every year these extra bodies would crop up, courtesy of her tantrums.

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth.