“Whaaa…!” Carrie shouted as she came to. She struggled to sit up, looked around completely disoriented, and shrieked again as a hand came down over her mouth. Carrie threw an elbow in the direction of the hand. It contacted the body of a man who was hard as stone. She turned to see that Radu was holding her mouth.

“Shh,” the vampire hushed the frantic young woman. “I need you to stay calm. Solomon’s men haven’t left the woods yet. They will have to find shelter in a few hours, but for now, I need silence.” He winked at the witch and then moved his hand from her mouth.

She nodded, asking quietly, “What’s going on?” as she sat up and straightened out her clothing. Her jeans had shifted a bit and the fabric was starting to ride up. Her ribs and neck were very stiff. “What happened to me?” She tilted her head to the side, stretching her neck muscles to relieve them.

“You needed to rest. I think the book made it happen,” Radu seemed unsure of exactly what had transpired. “Solomon and his men have been hunting us all night. I have been carrying you through the mountains like a sack of potatoes.” He grinned.

“Thanks for that imagery,” Carrie teased as she rubbed her neck. She was having trouble holding her head up. The muscles in her neck were stretched and achy. The throbbing made it difficult for her to think straight. She shook her head to clear it.

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Radu said in an amused voice. He was watching her closely. She noticed that his eyes were trained on her neck as she rubbed it. His eyes lifted to hers and he sighed. “I’m hungry. I apologize.”

“I get it,” Carrie sighed, pressing in her own empty stomach. There was a quaking in her guts. She couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten. “I have to get some food today. I can’t remember the last time I had something good to eat. Or anything to eat, for that matter.”

He nodded, knowing the human need for food was as strong as his need to feed. “Well, head down the mountain and wait for me by the cathedral. Don’t come back here because if Helga finds you and follows you back here, I will be vulnerable to her attacks. It is not sunset yet.”

“I don’t want to abandon you, Radu.”

He shook his head. “I appreciate the nobility but you must go. It is necessary in this instance.”

“I don’t like leaving anyone behind.”

He smiled. “I know, dear. But it is safer this way, you must understand.”

Carrie sighed. She knew he was right. Helga wasn’t going to be fooled by any trick in the book now. They would have to proceed with great caution.

“I will head down as soon as the sun comes up,” Carrie said as she looked at the branches that covered the mouth of the cave. “Is this cave dark enough for you?”

“I will bury myself in the dirt here.” Radu smacked at the floor of the cave. He leaned back against the cave wall and smiled. Carrie felt bad for him. The smile seemed very forced. “I did the right thing, but tonight was very tough.” Carrie wanted to ask what Radu was talking about, but she decided that she didn’t have the energy for a long, in-depth conversation.

“Do you need to feed?” Carrie asked as she continued to roll and massage her neck. She had her head turned far to the side, but she could still see that Radu was nodding. “I can’t give a lot right now.”

“I understand,” Radu sighed as he moved closer to where Carrie was seated. “I don’t need a lot, but I need something if we’re going to keep my body going. The hibernation process did a lot of damage. I’m still trying to get past a lot of the effects.”

“You’re already looking better,” Carrie said as she looked at Radu’s face and skin. There was no more flakey skin, and the loose jawline had tightened up. Radu looked a million times more human than the first time the two of them had met. His skin looked like skin.

“I promise to leave you with plenty of blood,” Radu said as he edged closer. “You will be strong enough to walk down to the village and get some food to eat. I promise.”

Carrie sighed as she lowered her neck and let the vampire sink his teeth in. She reached behind her head and pulled the hair away from her neck.

Radu pulled back quickly. Carrie could tell he had only taken a tiny bit of her blood. She watched as he turned away from her, licking his teeth clean. It looked like his skin was glowing. Radu’s skin was changing colors as he leaned back against the cave wall. He looked radiant and vibrant. His eyes seemed brighter.

“You look ten years younger,” Carrie said as she reached out to touch Radu’s skin. “I can’t believe how smooth this feels.”

“I was a young man when I was turned,” Radu said as he rubbed his hands over his face as well. There was no mirror in the cave, so he had to settle for feeling his face. “This is what I used to look like. A young man, strong, and capable.”

“That’s what you look like,” Carrie admitted. She was still touching his cheek, and then their eyes met. Carrie smiled meekly. They held their gaze for a moment before Radu leaned up and put his lips on hers. She felt a chill of excitement run through her body. He put his hand around the back of her head and pulled her closer before rolling her down onto the floor of the cave.

When he released her from the intense kiss, she gazed at him in wonder. “What are we doing?”

“What do you want to do?” Radu asked, brushing the hair from her forehead, feeling the energy and urgency running through his veins. He wanted her more than he’d wanted a woman in quite some time.

“In a cave?” Carrie asked, lifting her eyes to look around them at the damp walls.

“Can you think of a better place?” Radu said as he reached down with his mouth and pressed his lips hard against Carrie’s waiting lips. She lifted up to meet his kiss, pushing her tongue into his mouth. A thrill ran through her when their tongues touched.

Their hands explored each other as they kissed. Carrie couldn’t believe how nice Radu’s new skin felt. It was still firm, and hard, but it still felt smooth, and soft. He was like a rock covered in living skin. They kissed as she moved her hand under his shirt. She loved the feeling of his washboard abs, his thick chest muscles, the way his shoulders rolled as he moved his hands over her.

Carrie pushed one hand down into the front of Radu’s pants, as their tongues continued to dance across each other. She moved her hand lower so that she could scratch her nails along Radu’s thighs, loving the feeling of his skin against her fingers.

The skin was still soft, but she could feel bubbles popping under the surface of the skin, and she looked up to see that Radu’s eyes had gone wide. Carrie started to feel her heart race, and she looked over to see that sunlight was coming through the branches.

“What’s happening?”

“I lost track of time,” Radu pushed himself off her. She was disappointed that she had to pull her hand out of his pants, where his manhood was waiting for her. The moment lost, she tried to stand up as he tried to shuffle to the end of the chamber. His legs were already starting to harden. Carrie couldn’t stand all the way up in the cave, but she tried to help him move. The cave didn’t end, but the rock formations around the back of the chamber made it impossible to get any deeper into the cave.

“I’m going to make you a coffin,” Carrie said as she pulled out her wand. Radu’s head was shaking as he tried to get the words out. “What’s wrong? It will take two seconds.”

“Helga, she-be-here-track-magic!” Radu stuttered as he laid flat on the ground, his body no longer able to move. “Cover! Cover me!” His voice was grunting as he fought to get the words out.

Carrie started to cover Radu with the clothes from her backpack, and then the backpack itself, but she didn’t have anything else, and there was a lot of territory to cover. Carrie took off her t-shirt and her jeans and she covered Radu’s body with them. She could still hear his groans become cries for help. Radu was being burned.

Carrie ran to the front of the cave and grabbed the branches he’d used to cover the mouth. She ran back as fast as she could, covering him with them. She returned to the entrance for the leaves and other brush he’d used. She repeated the process until she could no longer see him and the cries for help had stopped.

The only thing that she had brought out of the cave was her wand. Carrie didn’t have much choice about how she handled the situation, she was trying to move fast, but she wished that she had thought of the leaves before giving up her clothes.

Carrie started to head down the hill. She wasn’t wearing any clothes, but that was a problem that she could easily solve with magic. Helga would be able to track the magic, so Carrie had to walk in her bra and underwear. When she got far enough away from the cave, she would create an outfit for herself. She already knew what she wanted to wear, a simple outfit that she could move easily in.

As Carrie went down the hill, she hoped that the sunlight hadn’t done any damage to Radu’s skin. The healing process had already moved so far, and she didn’t want him to have to waste time healing a burn on his newly revitalized skin.

“I think I need a dress,” Carrie said as she used magic to create a flowery sun dress. It was yellow and pink and it fit her body perfectly, accentuating the roundness of her hips and her behind. If the spell wasn’t so hard to maintain, Carrie would wear magical clothes all the time. If she got distracted, the clothes disappeared. Carrie was one to let her mind wander, but she wasn’t going to do it today. She was determined today.

Carrie headed into the town and stopped at a nice café to eat. She had a sandwich, hoping that would be enough. She was still hungry when she finished the sandwich and walked out of the café. She didn’t want to risk staying in one place for too long. She could see vendors down the street. Carrie could smell some amazing foods at what looked like a little farmers’ market just a block or two from the café.

“Are these freshly made?” Carrie asked as she looked over the treats on the table. The old woman pretended not to speak English, until it was time to ask for money. Carrie had used her wand to give herself a fat wad of money. The money was real, and technically it was stolen from a nearby bank, but she was hungry. All her own money was now buried in leaves.

Carrie enjoyed herself as she walked around the small town. She had almost forgotten about the trouble that she was in, and the mission that she had been charged with. In that moment she was just a young woman taking in the scenery, enjoying the admiring looks of the young men she passed in the street.

The cathedral was hard to miss. Carrie had noticed the majestic building as she came into town. The spiral towers and the intricate details that covered the stone revealed what an ancient building it was. The church was 500 years old, and it still stood out as a marvel of architecture. Carrie made her way through the streets to the church.

She was moving slowly, stopping every block to take in the sights and buy more food. She couldn’t believe how hungry she was now that she was eating for two. She found herself craving things that she felt would add nutrients to her blood. She wanted to be healthy for Radu.

Carrie was eating spinach and broccoli, lots of fruits and meat for protein. Other than the occasional baked good, and the sandwich, she was sticking to whole foods. Carrie had never worried about eating healthy. She had never had to worry about eating, she was still young, and her metabolism was winning out over her love of sugar.

Carrie was still three or four blocks from the church when she caught a glimpse of something in a shop window. It was Helga’s image, faded but definitely there. Carrie walked quickly past the window. She kept moving and tried to keep her eyes forward. Turning her head would bring attention to herself. Her heart fluttered in her chest. “Is she tracking me?” Carrie wondered.

There was no way to really know if she was being followed without turning around and she didn’t want to do that. “I’m using magic,” she reasoned quietly. “She should know where I am.” Carrie walked quickly down the sidewalk, heading away from the image. Maybe it was in her mind. Maybe she was so afraid Helga was tracking her, she was seeing the ghostly image where she shouldn’t. Was she losing her mind? She tried to use the shop window next to her to try and see if Helga was behind her.

Shock nearly made her fall over when she realized she was no longer wearing her clothes. She looked around at the street. It was empty, except for a collie giving her an odd look from an apartment window on the other side of the street. “Nobody saw,” she whispered in relief, clutching her wand tightly in her hand and fixing the problem. She would need to find a clothes shop and soon. She was much too easily distracted for a spell this shaky.

Carrie put her clothes back on and walked through the front door of the next shop she saw. It was a fabric shop with a pretty light red dress in the window. A small bell rang pleasantly when she came through. She eyed the dress for a moment, touching the fabric to see if it was soft and pliable. She didn’t want to wear anything restricting. She bought the dress and, with the shop owner’s permission, changed in the restroom before heading back down the street. She kept her eyes out for any indication Helga was around her. She didn’t sense the evil woman, nor did she see a sign of her presence.

“I need to get to the church and keep my head down,” she murmured, looking to the left and the right as she headed for the building.

Just as she turned onto the street that would take her to the cathedral two blocks down, she spotted the witch. She was standing in the cross section of the side street, leaning against the stop sign. She smiled at Carrie. They were too far away to speak but Carrie knew Helga would say something sarcastic as soon as they were in hearing distance of each other. She loved to use wit and sarcasm to make her victims feel worse than they already did.

There was no mistaking this, the possessed woman was walking right at Carrie. They made eye contact. Carrie knew what Helga wanted. She wanted to take her former student to Solomon. Carrie gripped her wand at the ready, knowing there was no opportunity to run this time. She would have to stay and fight, even if she didn’t want to. As Helga got closer, her hand tightened around her wand.

“Well, hello, Carrie. I do believe we’ve been looking for you, haven’t we?” The smile that stretched across Helga’s face could not be taken as genuine. Carrie sneered without responding. “I was just hoping I would run into you.” Helga pointed to an alley, turned her finger over and beckoned with it. Carrie’s eyes darted to the alleyway, where a large single-handled trash can lid lifted up in the air. Her first thought was that it would make a fine shield and probably had for some youngster sometime over the years.

“Do you think you can get away now?” Helga chuckled lightly, her dark eyes flashing. “You really must relax. Do you think that I’m some sort of monster? I’m sure we can settle this like adults, my dear, can’t we?”

“Stop!” Carrie lifted one hand, pointing her wand in the direction of the hovering trash can lid. “I only have one thing to say to you!”

Helga lifted her eyebrows. “Oh? And what would that be? I’m sure it is nothing of relevance. I must take you to him.” She grinned, making Carrie’s skin crawl with anger. “I truly did lose my way for a while. I had stopped seeing the world for what it was. I need to be with Solomon, so say your piece, and let’s be on our way.” She snatched the lid out of the air and swung in Carrie’s direction.

“Luați sabia!” Carrie shouted, waving her wand in Helga’s direction. A powerful bolt came out of the end of the wand, shaping into a short sword, while at the same time slamming into Helga’s chest, knocking her off her feet. Carrie snatched the sword out of the air. The older witch hit the ground seconds after the tin lid clattered down next to her, rolling like a spinning top for a few moments before settling down flat.