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.

Ninety seconds…

“Come the fuck—” Clara swore just as a low frequency rumble interrupted her bitching.

As a ball of flame enveloped the kitchen and surrounding areas, the hotel’s fire suppression system kicked in. Within seconds, the deluge from the sprinkles left her soaked to the bone.

“It’s a good thing I wore black today…” 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.

Three openings appeared from out of the ceiling. The void was quickly filled as a turret dropped into place.

Eighty seconds…

“Horsefeathers!” Clara swore.

The turrets locked into place and trained on her. She transitioned into a run, flapped her wings to gain altitude. Once she was three metres above the marble floors, she dove towards the desk.

Eighty-five seconds…

The turrets engaged, leaving craters in the marble. Only once she was entirely behind the counter, did the turrets cease.

Ninety seconds…

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.

Throughout the kitchen there were several wheeled stainless-steel tables. She rolled six of them into the middle, to form a square. I’m the creamy centre. Before her thoughts coalesced, she was back at normal time.

“Come and get it boys!” Clara yelled.

“What are you doing?” Evelyn asked.

Evelyn could not follow what was going on, not without a high-speed camera. All that Marc and Evelyn saw was a constant blur of light and colour that culminated with her ringing the proverbial dinner bell.

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 distortion was almost enough to lose the message. Clara looked below and spotted a recessed cabinet with a fire extinguisher, hose reel, and an axe. She shattered the glass with her elbow and bought some time by kneecapping the two nearest zombies.

In the ensuing confusion, she reached inside for the axe and tossed her pistol. This was a two-handed weapon, and she could not afford to fumble an attack. —Thank god I have another pistol.

This time she had to be smart with her attacks. She used her speed to build momentum and buried the axe into the shoulder; the weight carried it forward until it came out nearer to the pelvis.

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.