“Not that far in the past,” Gold Blade grabbed her arms and slipped from her embrace.
“He meant nothing to me,” Anastasia eyes swelled with tears.
“Nothing?” Gold Blade scoffed.
“Do not get upset, Eric,” Anastasia finally said his name. “Please remove your weapons and place them on the table.” Anastasia gestured towards the table not far from the bed. Eric went over and removed his belt. He laid it on the table. Next, he took off the scabbards that held his swords. He laid them also on the table. Then he took off his long leather coat and gently draped it across his things. Eric walked back over to Anastasia.
“Listen Ana.” Eric took hold of her hands.
“You haven’t called me that name in years.” Ana started to cry again. Eric took her in his arms. It was a rhapsody for Ana to final feel Eric’s embrace. “Why now?” Eric lifted the hood just a little. Ana exhaled deeply and her bossom quivered as Eric brushed his lips against the flesh of her neck.
“I’m not the same man as I was before,” Eric whispered. Ana felt a chill from the warmth of his breath.
“What do you mean?” Ana broke free to face him.
Gold Blade finally removed his hood for Ana.
“You!” shrieked Ana. She gave Andrew a shove and ran for the door.
Andrew took off after Ana and reached her as she was about to unlock the door. Andrew grabbed Ana and tossed her aside. Ana rebounded and slammed Andrew with a kick to the chest, but it had no affect because of the body armor he wore. Andrew countered with a spin kick that struck Ana in the midriff. She doubled over and Andrew finished her off with another blow to the head. Ana crumpled to the floor and was out cold. Andrew walked over to the door to make sure it was still locked; it was. Andrew walked over and scooped Ana up into his arms and he carried her over to the bed. He gently laid her down.
Andrew sat next to her and reflected on recent events. Andrew knew that Hannah was not alone on the train. She had to have a backup. So when Andrew left the baggage car he searched for her partner. It was either by luck or whatever, but Andrew located him in the first sleeping cabin he tried. Andrew chuckled as he remembered the shocked look on Eric’s face when he opened the door of the compartment to see Andrew standing there and not Hannah. Even before Eric could react, Andrew knocked him out and pushed him back inside. The idea to switch identities just came to Andrew as he was searching the compartment. Andrew had taken both their passports and with his pocket knife carefully slit open the lamination. Once he had switched their photos, Andrew used a bit of superglue he had found in a drawer in the compartment. When the police arrived, Andrew waited for the right moment to step out of the compartment and put on his act. He knew at first that Captain Brewster was suspicious of him, but when he saw the passports all of that disappeared. In order to convince those at Gothica, Andrew sent the text message. He knew it would be the only way to convince them that he, Andrew, was out of the picture even if only for a little while. Hopefully, and it was, long enough to get inside the castle. Also, Andrew had to conceal his identity, and betting on the fact that none of the other knight’s had seen each others faces, Andrew dressed in the knight’s garb. Andrew felt bad that he had to shoot Captain Brewster, but it was necessary to convince the ones in the helicopter that he was in fact Gold Blade.
Andrew bounded off the bed and over to the dresser. He opened the drawers and searched for something to tie Ana up with. Andrew found a bunch of silk scarves. He tied several together to make them a bit longer. Andrew returned to the bed and secured Ana’s hands and feet together. He further secured Ana to the bed posts. And as a finishing touch Andrew tied a scarf in Ana’s mouth to keep her from calling for help. Once he was satisfied that Ana would be unable to escape, Andrew retrieved the coat and weapons. He strapped the belt back on, put on the leather coat and finished securing both sword scabbards on his back. Andrew slid the hood back on and took one last look at Ana. She was still out. Andrew walked to the door and unlocked it. He opened the door and peered out to see if the coast was clear. Andrew stepped into the hallway, relocked the door and closed it behind him. The sound of the heavy door, closing signaled the beginning of his search for Kara, Talia, and Wyatt.
Andrew crept along the dimly lit hallway of the third floor. Not a soul was in sight and he hoped that was a good thing. Andrew had tried several doors and found them to be unlocked. There were only four doors left to try. Andrew grasped hold of the door knob of the first one and gave it a twist. It was not locked. He tried the next one and it was also unlocked. Andrew quietly crossed over to the other side of the hallway. A sense of disappointed and doubt set in for a second as Andrew reached for the door handle. He gripped it firmly for fear of letting go and gave it a turn. It was locked! Andrew knelt down and reached inside the long coat. Andrew retrieved his lucky lock pick set that he had remembered to take from his duffle bag on the train. Andrew inspected the lock and removed the necessary picks.
Talia was lying in the bed when she heard some sounds coming from the door. She quietly slipped off the bed and over to the door. Someone was about to come inside, so Talia readied herself for an attack. Whoever it was; was going to get the surprise of their life. Talia heard the click in the lock and she poised for her attack.
Andrew slowly opened the door and stepped inside. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught some movement. Andrew immediately dropped to the floor as a fist swung to hit him. Andrew kicked out his foot and knocked the person to the floor. He jumped on them and pinned the person down.
Talia saw the door open. With all her might she swung her fist at the person, but instead, struck only air. The next thing Talia knew she was on the ground and the person had managed to pin her down.
Andrew took off his hood when he saw it was Talia.
“Andrew!” Talia squealed with joy.
Andrew offered Talia his hand. She took it.
Talia threw her arms around Andrew and squeezed him tightly.
“Okay,” Andrew announced that it was enough.
“What? Talia babbled. “How did you get here?”
“I will fill you in later,” Andrew said putting the hood back on. “We need to get Kara.”
They left the room.
Ana woke to find herself bound to her bed. She was pissed. How could a private investigator from Bayport, Wisconsin manage to out wit, out smart and out fight her knights? Apparently she had underestimated Andrew Knight as an adversary. Years ago during a training session Ana had dislocated her right wrist. Now any time she wanted to, Ana could dislocate it. Though it was painful, it was the only way to get out of her bonds. Ana closed her eyes and gave her wrist a sharp twist. She grimaced at the sound of her bones slipping out of place. With her wrist limp, Ana slipped out of her bonds easily and sat up. Now came the part she dreaded, putting her wrist back in place. Ana howled when she snapped her wrist back.
Ana quickly untied her feet and jumped off the bed and over to her walk-in closet. She undressed and immediately put on her knight’s garb. Ana slipped on her long coat and strapped on the scabbards that held her custom made, pearl handled, swords. They were a gift from her father when she took over as leader of the Knights of VanHelsing. Ana strapped on the belt with crossbow and arrows around her waist. Andrew Knight and the others were not going to get away. Ana walked out of the closet and closed the door behind her. She immediately unlocked the door and left her room.
Ana took off in the direction of the third floor to stop Andrew from setting Talia and Kara free.
Kara was lying on the bed when she heard the door open. She didn’t even bother to get up at first.
Finally, Kara sat up. She saw Talia being escorted in the room by one of the Knights.