“Well, that was a good rest,” Radu was feeling better than he had in years as he pushed free of the dirt. His body was starting to feel young and strong again. He was moving without groaning, and his joints weren’t creaking with every step. “Thank you, Carrie, for watching over me…” He stopped, watching her with amusement.

Carrie was balled up, snoring, ten feet away. She was leaning up against a pine tree, and the book was open in her lap. She was bent over at a funny angle. It looked horribly uncomfortable, but even when Radu straightened her, she didn’t wake up.

“Oh, Carrie, your back is going to be hurting you today,” he mumbled, shaking his head. “Carrie! Carrie, wake up!”

He could tell that this was no ordinary sleep. He knew that Carrie needed plenty of rest but this was more like a coma than just sleeping. He grabbed her by the shoulders and gently shook her. Her head rolled from one side to the other. “What did you do?” He pulled his eyebrows together, his concern written on his face.

“She needs this.” Radu looked over his shoulder at an old woman who had appeared in the tall grass. He didn’t know her.

“Who…”

The woman’s eyes were focused on the book in Carrie’s hands. He looked from her to the book and back again. He didn’t know the old woman standing behind him. He assumed that she was the creator of the book. He could see that she was only an apparition. She moved over to Carrie, and without touching her directly, guided the sleeping woman to the ground.

“She needs you to watch over her until she can move again,” Greta explained as she swiped her hand through the air. As her hand moved, a map of the area appeared in its wake. “They are closing in on the two of you. You have to stay out of sight.”

“Is it Solomon?” Radu raged. “Is he here?” Radu felt his anger being suffocated and his chest tightening. Greta was holding her hand out and pressing her thumb against her other fingers. She opened her hand and let Radu breathe, but she warned him to be silent.

“You cannot fight him tonight. You’re not strong enough. You must be quiet,” Greta reminded the vampire. Radu felt like the old witch could see into his soul. This was only a remnant of her soul, left to guard the book, but this small chunk of magical element knew what was in Radu’s heart. “I need you to focus on Carrie. If you try to take on Solomon tonight, she will be killed and the book will be in the hands of the second most evil creation the world has ever seen.”

The apparition disappeared and Radu was left staring at a red, translucent map hanging in midair. It was showing red dots that were closing in on what he could only assume was his position. There was no scale on the map. He turned to his right and stared. He could hear sounds coming from that direction. Radu was going to have to move and move now. He waved his hand in the air and the map dissipated.

“Come on now, dear,” Radu said as he scooped Carrie up into his arms. He held her as tight as he could as he moved further up into the mountains. Most of Solomon’s men were coming from the village, and the other low-lying areas that surrounded the mountains. There had been a few red dots moving down the mountain when he looked at the map but they were few and far between. “I used to know the caves around here quite well,” he mumbled. “I’m sure it will all come back to me.”

Radu headed up the mountain with Carrie cradled in his arms, her head dropping down and beating against his arm as he ran. Moving as fast as he could over the harsh terrain made him concerned for her. The way her head was bouncing around, she could easily have a neck or brain injury. He tried to be more careful.

“If you could just hold your head up a bit,” he said in a low voice, “I would be so grateful.” Radu ducked behind some bushes to see if the coast was clear. He had to be careful about where he ran. If he drew any attention, Solomon’s goons could alert the others, and then Radu would be finished.

“We need to find the old guy and get the heck out of here.” Radu could hear the words coming from 30 feet away, his keen sense of hearing returning. He skidded to a stop, his heart pounding. He could only hope they didn’t hear him. They were whispering to each other but that didn’t mean they didn’t hear him. Their keen vampire hearing was probably working just fine.

Well, you aren’t going to find the old guy that way. Radu turned and ran in the opposite direction of the two mumbling vampires. He ran until he spotted two more vampires, walking together through the woods. One was holding a stick, poking the ground with it as he walked. His hair was bright red and when he looked up, Radu could see his green eyes were glowing. He leaned forward slightly, causing a stick to crack under his feet. He ducked behind a large tree, seeing the redhead’s eyes snap over in his direction. He said something to his friend, who gave him a sarcastic look. Radu couldn’t hear the snarky remark he must have made but it angered the redhead.

“I know what I heard!” He was snarling at his impatient Tatar friend. Radu scanned both of them, his eyes narrowing when he recognized a belt that the friend wore. He was wearing modern clothes, but there was no mistaking the belt of a Cossack warrior. This vampire was older and, by the look of it, very powerful. Radu stayed still in the underbrush as the vampires looked for the source of the cracking sound.

“You’re a fool,” the older vampire laughed. “I turn you into a powerful hunter, the most feared monster on the face of the earth and you’re still a coward.” They headed further down the mountain. Radu stayed crouched down, his head lowered. He breathed silently, waiting just a few minutes before poking his head out from behind the brush. He didn’t see anyone and slowly stood up, trying to make as little noise as possible.

“That was a rookie mistake, old man,” the Cossack said as he kicked Radu in the back and took him to the ground. “I thought you would be a bit smarter. After spending so much time on earth, you must’ve picked up a few tricks by now.”

“I’m a bit rusty,” Radu snarled as he pushed himself to his feet with both hands. He could see that the redhead had turned to run. Radu grabbed a stick up off the ground. As soon as his hands touched it, it smoothed and sharpened into a long spear. He shot it through the air in the young vampire’s direction. The boy cried out when the spear pierced through his heart from behind.

“I am no coward,” Radu said with a snarl. “That is a coward.”

The Cossack looked at the dead body of the young man with disinterest.

“I didn’t like him,” he admitted. “But yet I am duty bound to avenge him.” The warrior drew a short, broad sword, the traditional weapon of the Cossack. Radu had faced these raiders on several occasions as a young man. It was an unfortunate reality of trying to trade with the Russians, you would eventually have to deal with Cossacks. They were the pirates of the Ukrainian Steppe.

“You do not know who you are facing,” Radu said, crouching over Carrie’s body protectively. She was still unconscious, her steady breath the only indication that she was alive. “I have recovered from hibernation. I am ready to fight.”

“I was there the night you went into hiding.” The man holding the sword was smirking as he moved in closer. “You let us cut that girl’s head off. Are you going to let it happen again?”

Radu launched himself at the warrior, curling his hands around the man’s head in such a way that he could twist it quickly. In the next moment, he had ripped the vampire’s head off completely. It was faster than he had ever moved in his life. The Cossack hadn’t even reacted. His sword was still at the ready when his body hit the ground. Radu crushed the head between his hands, tossing the bloody mess to the side. He leaned down and used the lower portion of the Cossack’s tunic to clean his hands. He pulled his sword from his side and stabbed the body through the heart.

He wasn’t taking any chances.

“I have to find Solomon,” Radu snarled. He lifted his head and smelled the air around him. Solomon was somewhere on the mountain. Radu could see Nevasta’s face front and center in his mind. She was just a head moving through his mind, dangling by the hair in Solomon’s hand. The Cossack had taken Radu’s mind back to a very dark place.

He had wrestled with his actions for a long time after the original attack. Nevasta was dead and there was no way to save her. Solomon had killed her. He had taken her head and stabbed her body through the heart. It was all over and could not be changed.

Radu had a sacred duty. He had to protect the sword, and that’s just what he did. He hid the sword away and then he went into hiding himself. Radu was sure at the time that he was doing the right thing. It was hard, but knowing that he was right made it easier. Now, he didn’t feel so sure.

Two hundred years of laying around had given Radu plenty of time to think, and to feel. He had thought and felt some very harsh things over the years, and they had called into question the decision that he had made two centuries ago. It was a mistake to leave Solomon alive. It had cost Nevasta her life, and now it put Carrie at risk.

“You heard what the old woman said,” Radu groaned as he picked up Carrie and started heading toward an area that was more likely to have a cave somewhere in its midst. He had to find shelter and get away from the vampires patrolling the mountainside. “I just have to get out of sight.”

“And I have to kill him,” Radu was in a full-fledged argument with himself. He could feel both sides of the argument pulling his body in different directions. He knew that he needed to protect Carrie, but there was a part of him that knew Carrie wouldn’t be safe until Helga and Solomon had been killed. “I can’t let them leave this forest.”

Radu was losing his grip on the situation. He was walking around the mountain without a thought toward staying hidden. He carried Carrie in his arms as he walked, but he was no longer worried about getting her under cover when vampires got close. He hoped that he was being seen. He wanted to take on Solomon’s little army.

“You need to come and find me,” Radu was talking in a frustrated, but subdued tone. He wasn’t going out of his way to gather attention, but he wasn’t trying to hide himself away either. Radu found the mouth of a cave and he ducked to go inside. Despite his anger and his need to find and kill his enemies, he was relieved to put Carrie down. He maneuvered her in his arms, carrying her at an awkward angle to get over the stalactites that guarded the cave entrance.

“You will be fine here,” Radu said as he kissed Carrie on the head. He gazed at her for a moment, admiring her beautiful, but dirty, face. He tried to brush a bit of dirt from her forehead and ended up smearing it. He chuckled. “I’m only going to make that worse. Sorry, Carrie. I’ll be back. I promise.” He found a smooth section of ground and propped her head up on her backpack. “Sleep tight, dear. You need it.”

Now he was set to take on Solomon.

As he stepped out of the cave, Radu turned back to cover the entrance to the cave with fronds and branches from the ground. He was about to step even further away, but he felt a tugging at his chest. It was a pain that he couldn’t identify. His senses told him he was doing something wrong.

Radu scaled a tree almost to the very top. He looked out as far as he could see and took in a deep breath through his nose. He could smell many different vampires, but there was one that smelled a lot like Helga. Radu had first smelled the traitorous witch on his last day in the monastery. He remembered her smell. It was strong and bitter, like the smell that might come from a backed-up sewage system. It was still fresh in his nose, one that he would likely remember forever. The scent was now mixed with the stench of Solomon, who reeked of the smell of death and destruction.

Radu wasn’t sure if he recognized it correctly at first, but the presence of Helga just proved that he was right. Solomon was only about a mile away. Radu could run there and fight him, and then be back in no time at all. With the rage that he felt inside, and the quick defeat of the Cossack vampire still fresh in his mind, Radu was sure that it would only take a few minutes.

It would solve everything. Radu could feel his revenge in his hands, and the saliva dropping off of his fangs. He drew in more of the air. There were a lot of vampires moving through the area, but he was moving fast, and gaining strength from the anger he felt inside. Radu was ready to head down the tree and chase after Solomon.

He went to move, and then froze. He opened his ears and heard a slight rustling below him. With so many vampires in the area he hadn’t sensed the vampire who had found the cave. The old, fat, white-haired male vampire was pushing aside the branches Radu had used to cover up the entrance. He was sniffing heavily. Radu could tell the old man could smell Carrie in the cave. He wasn’t going to stop until he had the young woman. Radu couldn’t…wouldn’t let that happen.

He jumped down, at the same time breaking off a long limb from the tree he had climbed. It formed into a spear, much like the one he’d used earlier. He plunged the stick down through the old vampire’s back, sure that his calculations were correct.

The old vampire dropped like a rock.

Radu stood over the lifeless body. He lifted his head, scanning the trees around him. He could sense the vampires moving through the woods. There were many of them, crawling around the mountainside like ants on a mission. There was no way for Radu to leave Carrie and be sure of her safety.

“I need to have my revenge.” He fought back tears. Emotions would do him no good. He needed to be strong. But he felt like he was letting Nevasta down again. Her death, holding her in his arms, kissing her lips, those were the things he wanted to remember about her. He closed his eyes and tried to think about anything else. He didn’t want to see Helga’s face anymore. He had to stay with Carrie. “I am so sorry,” he whispered into the air. He was letting Nevasta down. And there was nothing he could do to prevent it.

A cool breeze rifled through the trees. It shook the leaves at the tops of the trees, but on the ground there was nothing. The thick tree cover of the forest was keeping the scent of Solomon out of Radu’s nose. He was grateful that he didn’t have to smell his arch-rival at a time like this. He certainly had enough to deal with.

Radu grunted, picking up the fat vampire’s body. He tossed it into a clearing nearby and returned to the cave. He opened the makeshift door and crawled in through the rock sentries that guarded the entrance to the cave. He sat down on the floor beside Carrie and tried to look at her face. He was trying to replace the horrible images in his mind. He wanted to see her face instead.

Radu needed to find a place to put his rage. He wasn’t going to be able to use it tonight. He was going to spend another night in hiding stewing with his own emotions. It wasn’t a good feeling; Radu hated to think about his behavior as cowardice. It was the best thing that he could do given the circumstances. However, it still felt like cowardice as he hid in a cave from Solomon and his thugs. He had to protect Carrie, though.

Radu closed his eyes and leaned back against the cave wall. He had to stay calm. He could feel his body vibrating with rage. He could smell his enemies running through the forest all around him. He sat, every part of his body wanting to run and kill, and yet, he sat.