“What—” Clara asked.

“What just happened?” Evelyn asked.

The angel was standing exactly where she imagined herself being.

“I love this water feature,” Clara said.

“…” Static came through the earpiece.

“Wait! Crossroads and entry-ways…” Clara said.

“Clara?” Evelyn asked.

“Sorry,” Clara said. “It seems I picked up a new trick…”

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.

Two broke through the reinforced glass sending glass shrapnel flying outwards. As the shards transitioned into the sunlight, they glistened like a shower of diamonds.

In the centre of the sparkling light there were two masses. Clara opened her wings and flapped to slow her descent, but Cecil would not let go. Despite her enhanced strength, she could not pry his hands apart from her legs in time. A bit more and he might break something.

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.

While Cecil was capable of superhuman speed, Clara was faster. By the time he realised she had moved, it was too late. In that time, Clara had gotten enough distance and altitude to execute a dive.

With her wings tucked in, she gained speed. The angel covered the distance between them in a fraction of a second. When she made contact, she grappled him with both arms. Their combined mass and velocity sent them hurtling towards the windows.

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.

“We meet again,” Clara said in a corrected voice.

It took all she had to yawn from boredom. However, she needed him to think she got lucky.

This man did not reply, however the sneer on that face grew. One look at those eyes revealed how much this one enjoyed his line of work.

“Not one for talking?” Clara asked. “Or are you just one of those guys who soils their pants at the sight of cleavage?”

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.

To showcase her human frailty, Clara threw a knife. The blade sailed effortlessly through the air, exactly where he had been a second ago.

It was the same with her second blade, which left her appearing disarmed. However, she had picked up another two blades in the time it took for her last blade to bury itself into the balcony’s moulding.

He smiled from only one side of his face, something she found sadists favoured. Clara responded by throwing two knives in rapid succession. The third one glanced at his thigh, cutting through fabric. The fact she landed a blow surprised him, more so than how she got more blades.

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.

She took a knee and grabbed a couple of throwing knives and slowed time further. Added to the simultaneous requirement to act normal, proved to be a challenge.

Angels that were formerly human, often had to practise such motions, since those who were created were always in an accelerated state. Clara often wondered how angels like Micheal managed, existing for aeons, in a state that turned seconds into hours. Just having a conversation in that state would bore me to tears.

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 was hard pressed to figure out what powers she channelled from Silver in particular. It was said that dogs were often portrayed in the company of Hecate, but they showed her no more interest now than they did in life.

Of course there was Julia, a werewolf. There was an intimate connection between werewolves and the moon, but what happened at that dam confirmed she had no control over them. —It would have been a snap had I been able to order them to sit, roll over, and beg.

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

To make sure, she opened her purse and found the contents were mostly dry. That was great news, without her phone there was no communication with Evelyn or—

“Are you still picking up video?” Clara confirmed.

“All clear here,” Evelyn replied. “We made sure that it was designed for short-term immersion.”

“Pretty smart for a baby vamp,” Clara 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 turrets came back to life firing at a high rate. Clara assumed they were manually targeting her position to tear apart her cover. However, the sounds did not line up with that scenario. The turrets were moving away from her, on two separate vectors. Someone is drawing their fire!

Clara peeked over the counter once more. This time she caught sight of the ethereal apparition of a man and a woman. They were familiar, but she could not immediately place their faces. Wait!

“Tyler,” Clara said.

“Lauren!” Evelyn yelled.

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.

“You are a literal force of nature, ma chère,” Evelyn said.

“Well, it was a career in hunting or demolitions,” Clara said. “I may have missed my calling.”

“They pay better in demolitions,” Evelyn replied in agreement.

Tired of hiding behind the desk, Clara peeked over the top. The turrets came to life, their barrels trained to her position. She ducked back behind the counter and two rounds ricocheted where her head had been a second ago.

“Horsefeathers,” Clara 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 Pixabay.