With the tragedy of the last two days, Van Helsing was sure there would be more killings during the night, but this never ended up happening. Night turned into day and revealed an overcast sky. He could still hear Jonathan outside, pacing by his sister's impromptu grave.
The town had tried to calm Jonathan down, but he had nearly killed the young men who had started the whole thing. The town elder had ordered Jonathan restrained, but had addressed the crowd and warned them not to give in to foolish superstitions again, as it had cost an innocent woman such a tragic fate, and hurt the town's very odds of survival. He had then ordered Jonathan released, just before speaking to the young man and saying that those responsible would rot in a dungeon for a while before facing trial. This was small comfort to Jonathan, but Van Helsing admired his sense of duty, as he had begun praying for the Lord to protect the town and all its people while spreading protection wards on multiple houses only a few hours after the tragedy. Van Helsing wondered whether it proved to be successful, or if the vampires had simply decided to forego their meal during the night.
He got out of bed and went to the back, where Mina was buried. He saw Jonathan silently praying, and couldn't imagine the anguish he must have been experiencing. He approached the grave, and saw why Jonathan had chosen this spot. "Lovely tree," Van Helsing said, looking up at a tall oak tree overlooking the grave. Jonathan's voice was barely a whisper as he answered: "our favourite. She nearly broke her leg once trying to beat me to the top." There was no emotion in his voice. Right now, Van Helsing realised, he would not even let his sister's death distract him from his duty. He was trying to keep it together. Van Helsing knew that once the immediate threat was over, his grief would come back to him in terrible waves. He would never be the same again.
Van Helsing was of an age where he knew that nothing he said would make this situation better, so he just knelt down, picked a rose from under the tree, and placed it on Mina's grave. "May the Lord take you into his arms, truest servant. No one shall ever harm you again."
He looked over to Jonathan again, and observed he was crafting several thick sticks into stakes. "Do you think it will work?" Van Helsing had not yet seen these vampires again after that first night, but the way Jonathan and Mina spoke of them, he suspected they stood very little chance of inflicting any harm on them with such crude weapons.
"Not on their leader, but on all the others, it should."
Van Helsing had heard the rumours of the ancient Count. He did not wish to enquire after the truth of them, not with Jonathan, for what he heard also involved a woman and a pyre. Jonathan seemed to sense his thought: "Ask, you idiot. It could save your life. Ain't no man ever defeated a vampire by going in blind, and this ain't no ordinary one, neither."
Van Helsing found himself admiring the young man's fortitude once again. "They say he cursed the village after they mistakenly burned his wife as a witch. He swore he would show them the true face of evil. The history books go into great detail about what happened to all those responsible. They were all brutally murdered, as if some great beast had feasted on their blood. All, that is, except for your ancestor."
Jonathan looked up, and there was not a hint of shame in his words: "Aye, 'tis true. I was named after him. After what they done to Dracula's wife, he were the only one to be saved by the Lord, and the Lord protected our family ever since. Every one of us is a born vampire hunter."
Van Helsing had heard dark rumours that history would repeat itself, that after the vampire threat had been dealt with, Jonathan would also place a curse on the people in the town. He doubted it very much, but anything was possible. Van Helsing wanted to ask a few more questions, but it would have to wait. It would soon rain, and he needed to restock his supplies before that happened. "I'm going to this new doctor in town. Apparently he stocks medicine of the highest quality."
Jonathan said nothing, so after a few seconds, Van Helsing turned to leave. "Folk say he bears a striking similarity to you, this doctor. I shall tell you if that's true."
The night phase has come to an end, and there have been no further deaths. Please, enjoy your mornings about town. Oh, and get busy lynching. 