Clara peered into those deep green eyes and was tempted to stay behind. That desire was worsened by the fact that she knew it was mutual. They remained like that for several breaths before closing the distance between them and falling into an embrace. As their tongues danced, the fires of their desire glowed white hot.

“Miss Grey,” the flight attendant said.

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

“The full moon is tomorrow,” Evelyn said. “You’ll get there in the early morning. More than enough time to get ready and find the portal.”

Due to the concurrent operations, Clara was not comfortable taking Evelyn with her. She needed someone to stay behind to clean up the mess. Evelyn and Marc were clearly suited for that role. Keeping her out of the picture also meant  that Evelyn could deny ever being involved.

“Thank you for this,” Clara said. “I wouldn’t have been able to get ahead of the narrative without you.”

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.

This was going to be a first for Clara. For a woman with wings, manned flight was a relatively new experience for her. In the Twenties she primarily traveled by train or boat, since aircraft were still a rarity.

She did get a ride on a Bristol F.2 fighter during the Great War and then rode the pilot shortly after. However, this promised to be an entirely different experience for the fallen angel. She was pretty sure that her high flying lover would have fainted at the sight of this thing.

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’m not supposed to interfere,” Eleanor said.

“Who says?” Clara asked. “What happens at The Grand is not natural.”

A hotel dedicated to things that went bump in the night was a hotspot for death. Even with her training, Clara only managed to kill her foe through blind luck and with no hope of escape. Humans were considered the main course, and they meant a whole lot of souls looking for traces of their old life.

“Gods for one,” Eleanor responded.

“Gods should care,” Clara said. “I would argue that we have a duty to help.”

“Why?” Eleanor asked.

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Clara said.

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

“Unless you are looking for an audience,” Eleanor said flatly.

If not for the smile creeping over Eleanors lips, Clara would have missed the attempt at humour. Still, while she made light of the situation, the implications that the angel of death having been summoned while Clara was otherwise engaged with Evelyn gave her reason enough to blush.

“Well, I apologise for that,” Clara said. “Although, I’d be careful about repeating this in front of Evelyn, she might get ideas.”

“I doubt she needs ideas,” Eleanor replied as though teasing.

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.

As suspected, Eleanor did not appear to be bothered by the nudity, nor the wings. However, Eleanor did take great interest in the bubble, which nearly covered the entire room save a  few ripples nearer to the walls.

“You’ve improved,” Eleanor said. “All of this without Ambrosia?”

“You have my only source,” Clara said. “Speaking of Ambrosia, could you make a delivery?”

“You mean Grace?” Eleanor said. “That will not be a problem.”

Clara’s smile slipped from her lips, her wings drooped noticeably and her eyes went wide. Eleanor had not shown an ability to read minds, and that meant  she was privy to private conversations. To know something is one thing, to find out for sure another entirely.

“You’ve been listening in?” Clara asked.

“More like you’ve summoned me without consciously being aware of it,” Eleanor said.

“I really need to rein in my powers,” Clara said.

“Unless you are looking for an audience,” Eleanor said flatly.

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.

Clara unfurled those black feathered wings, while stretching out her arms. She had been cooped up in bed all morning, so her muscles and joints needed to be reminded of what being alive was all about.

“Seems I caught you at a bad time,” Eleanor said.

Before Eleanor could say anything more, Clara focused until a bubble of time enveloped them. It was not nearly as clean as the one Eleanor made, but she needed the practice.

“Time is relative,” Clara replied.

She turned around to look at the angel of death. Every time they met, she felt more at ease, as though they were forming a rapport. Although, she was not sure if that was a good thing.

“It is,” Eleanor said while staring at Clara right in the eyes.

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.

She leaned over to Evelyn’s side and sniffed the pillow. It still had her scent and put a smile on her face. Or did until her continued inability to address her feelings for Elizabeth got in the way. I feel like a yo-yo…

Evelyn’s message was already drafted with a delayed send. That way she would only get the message if things went wrong at The Grand. If successful, she preferred to convey the message herself.

“Fuck it,” Clara said.

She swiped off the blank conversation and hit a few social media pages. Interest appeared to be growing over her videos. They posted one every day as a false echo of herself made her way westward towards her final destination.

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.

Clara put her phone down and sighed. She was sure that being in this room was not helping, and regretted her decision to have her own quarters. Evelyn’s room always had the smell of makeup, perfumes, paint, and of late sex. Evelyn’s sexual appetites were back with a vengeance after Marc’s return, two days after they opted to conduct both operations on the same day.

Clara could not complain about the intimacy, it helped her take her mind off on keeping Julia where she was. That choice would haunt her for years, but she understood there were times that one had to look beyond the immediate. I just hate being the one to make the call.

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.

Clara stared at her mobile as though the words were going to write themselves. She had been at it for a half-an-hour thinking of something to say to Elizabeth. Tomorrow, if all went according to plan, she would be at The Grand and bring this ordeal to a head. When have plans ever gone off as planned?

This needed to get this done. Unfortunately, when it came to Elizabeth, Clara was unable to take that first step. Such as confessing her love, or moving the inch or two necessary to kiss those sweet lips. Now she was unable to write what might be her final words, as though perpetually blocked.

What was the cause? Take your pick. A part of it was taking the easy path instead of putting in the hard work. She had given up on her instead of fighting tooth and nail. Elizabeth was another thing she left, but her own guilt was not going to let her off so easily.

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.