Carrie could feel Helga moving around above her. As the day grew longer, she felt the presence of others, the vampires waking from their slumber. Soon Solomon would awaken and the time would come to drive them out of the castle. It could not be his fortress of solitude anymore. His sanctuary there had come to an end. She and Radu would see to that.

As the light dimmed in the already darkened staircase, Carrie lifted the water spell from Radu and removed the levitation spell. She watched his head and shoulders droop as gravity took him over once again. His chin met his chest for only a second before his head snapped up, his eyes wide open. He looked around with confused eyes before turning them to Carrie.

“What have you done? Where are we?”

“We’re in the castle.” For a moment, she was afraid he would be angry with her for bringing him here. “I assumed it would be safer for us if we are already in the castle than trying to make a run for Solomon like last night. You said there were a lot of vampires. I’m sure there are many more than I saw or can detect. Since we are already inside, we’ll have less trouble getting through them.”

Radu was quiet for a moment. It looked like he was mulling it over. He gave her a look that confused her. She frowned. “What is it? Did I do wrong?”

Radu shook his head slowly. “No, Carrie. You are a very smart witch. But how did you get me here during the daylight?” He looked down at himself. He was feeling and looking better than he had since he’d come out of hibernation. Soon, he would be his old self again.

“I am a witch, you know, and there’s practically a spell for everything under the sun.”

He grinned at her. “Teleportation?”

She chuckled. “No. Do you feel the vampires? Or Helga? I do.”

“You will feel them now, especially the vampires. You have absorbed some of my blood and my power. It will give you an advantage over the other witches, I promise you that.”

“Oh, I’m quite sure.”

“To answer your question, yes, I do feel them. I know both Helga and Solomon are in the tower. We must hide the book.” He looked directly at her. “How have you been doing with memorizing the spells? Do you have them down?”

“I have them down,” she nodded, smiling in satisfaction. “I was up late when we were in the church while you were resting. I memorized them. After you… gave me your blood. I read through more of the book. I’ve been reading it every chance I get.”

“And now you know them all?”

“I do.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Every one of them?”

“Every one.”

“I’m proud of you, my dear,” he said, pulling her into a hug. “Now, let’s find the hiding spot for this book.”

“What are we going to do with it?” Carrie asked. “We are heading toward the tower. Surely we aren’t going to bury it in the ground here.”

He shook his head. “No. We will find a spot in the wall along these stairs. If you notice, every rock is square and the same size. There can be no way of knowing which stone keeps the book hidden. The most important thing is for you to put a binding spell on it and on the wall, once it is hidden, so that even Helga cannot get in.”

“Helga can find her way into almost anything,” Carrie said, solemnly.

“She won’t find it. I know you can do it.”

His words of encouragement lifted her spirits some. She pushed herself to her feet and offered him her hand. He laughed softly and took it, standing up. “Thank you for the help. I know I’m old but I think I can handle standing up.”

She just shook her head. “I don’t know. Seven hundred years is a pretty long time.”

“You see any gray hairs here?” he asked.

“No but when I first saw you, you barely had any skin on your face.”

He grunted. “Thanks for reminding me. Come on, I know exactly where we need to put the book. No one will ever detect it there,” he gazed at her. “As long as we both do our jobs.”

“We will do our jobs just fine, Radu. No worries.”

“I am so glad you are confident,” Radu said in a sincere voice. He reached to touch her cheek, rubbing two fingers down over her soft skin. She gazed into his eyes, her heart speeding up. She kept herself from closing her eyes and moving into his arms for a tight hug. Now wasn’t the time.

He gave her a soft, loving gaze. “Come along, my dear. Let’s go hide this book and get rid of Solomon and Helga.”

“Wait.” Before they moved up the steps, she reached into her pack and pulled the sword from its depths. It was encased in a leather sheath she had concocted from a piece of scrap leather she found in the church. “You need to have this. You might need it.”

“I’m not using that as a weapon, Carrie. I already told you that.” Despite his words, he took the sword and admired the sheath she’d made. “This is a key. A portal to help us defeat…” he was going to say “witches” but stopped himself. “Our enemies.”

She knew what he was about to say. She nodded. “A portal? To where?”

“It’s not that kind of portal,” he grunted.

“What kinds of portals are there?”

He groaned and shook his head. “Just follow me, Carrie. We only have the dark hours to get this done together.”

“I know, Radu.” She went behind him, trying to stay as close to him as she could. She wanted to feel him near her. He made her feel protected like no man, mortal or otherwise, had ever done.

The stairs wore her down quickly. There were so many of them. She couldn’t imagine it was a good idea to hide the book so close to the tower, where it might be detected easier. She didn’t question him, though. He knew what he was doing, she was sure of it.

Finally, he stopped, after several hundred stairs. He was staring at a square rock in the wall. It looked the same as every other rock in the wall. She looked at him. “Is this it?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yes. This is it.”

She stared at the rock. “How do you know?”

He raised one eyebrow. “How do you think? I know everything about this castle. This is the best place to hide the book.”

She looked doubtfully at the rock but could not dispute his claim. He was the one who knew all about this. She couldn’t and shouldn’t question him.

She could feel Helga, though. The woman was very near. She might even be coming down the stairs toward them. She sensed her presence coming closer. Worried, she pulled out her wand and tapped it on the rock he indicated. It separated into two pieces, revealing an opening inside like a small vault. She looked down at the book before she placed it in the hole. It had provided so much knowledge for her. Radu had encouraged her to learn as much as she could and when he gave her his blood, she had no trouble memorizing most of the book. He wanted her to know it all. She was almost certain she wouldn’t forget any of them. And if she did, she was one of the two people who knew where it was.

“You can’t return here whenever you forget a spell, Carrie.” She hated it when the prince read her mind. She frowned at him and then stuck out her tongue.

“I know, I know.”

“I hope you are able to remember them all.”

“I will.”

He looked at her closely. “You will,” he said firmly. She nodded, never letting her eyes leave his. He finally nodded and took her hand. “Let’s go.”

Her pack felt empty without the heavy book in it. All she had now was her wand, a notebook, several pens and a few replacement articles of clothing.

A chill ran through her and she shuddered. “Helga is so close, Radu,” she murmured. “Do you feel Solomon? Is he here? He must be here. And the other vampires. We are surrounded. How do we get out of here?”

“We don’t get out until we take care of Solomon. And Helga. They are endangering too many people with their evil. We have to bring it to a stop.”

“What if we can’t?”

“If we can’t tonight, we must live to fight another day.”

He tugged on her hand. She didn’t want to go any further. She knew what was coming.

“You must gather your courage, young witch,” the old vampire leaned close to her and whispered in her ear, sending a thrill down her back and thighs. “Helga may be older but that does not make her wiser. Her power is limited, just like yours, just like mine. Even Solomon has his limits, though I’m sure he doesn’t know of them.”

“We’ll make him understand his limits,” Carrie replied, gathering her courage. “We’ll stop him. And Helga, too.”

He smiled at her. “That’s my girl. Come along. Let’s meet them in the tower, where we will have room to fight them.”

She moved up the stairs quickly behind him. She felt regret having to leave the book behind. Her spells of protection would keep others from finding it. She’d found a particular spell that rendered the book blank to anyone who found it who did not have a pure heart. After casting the spell, she was proud that she could still see the words. She didn’t feel like a woman of pure heart. But she did strive to be a good witch and not cause harm, just as her mentor had taught her so many years ago.

The “room to move” remark stuck in Carrie’s mind. That meant there would be more room for the enemies to surround them. She would almost rather fight them on the stairs.

“It’s not good to fight on stairs,” Radu said. “Good chance of falling and breaking one’s neck.”

“Would you cut that out?” she asked in a teasing voice. “I will have to guard my thoughts from you as well as Helga.”

“Sorry about that,” he responded with a grin.

The stairs wound up another thousand feet, making Carrie weak in the knees. Her legs were shaking by the time she got to the door that would lead to the tower. Radu didn’t stop to wait for anything. He turned the knob and pushed the door open.

Carrie felt anxious adrenaline rush through her. She gripped her wand hard, holding it in position to immediately cast a spell.

The door opened into another corridor. It was lit by candles that ran along the sides every few feet. The walls were red and when Carrie reached out to touch them, she realized they were lined with felt. She had a feeling the castle tower was going to look much different than the damp, cold environment that filled the rest of the big fortress.

She could feel Helga’s presence strongly now. The old witch might as well have been standing in front of her. She held the wand so tight, her knuckles were white. He looked over his shoulder at her.

“Don’t be nervous, Carrie. Today is not a good day to die.”

“That doesn’t mean it isn’t the day to die.”

He shook his head. “You will not die today, my love. Trust me.”

She did trust him. She trusted him with everything she had in her. But even as a witch, she was still human and could be killed. She was not a vampire. She wasn’t going to live 700 years.

The corridor was long and made a circle around the entire building, ascending as it went around. A landing opened up at the top, where two double doors awaited them. Carrie could sense the danger on the other side. It wasn’t just Helga and Solomon. They were surrounded by vampires waiting to destroy them.

She took Radu’s hand before they went in. “Please, Radu, you must use the sword. It’s the only weapon that will work against him. You know this.”

“I know that the sword should be a last resort,” Radu replied in a low voice. “And that’s just what it will be.”

Carrie pulled in a shaky breath. She pressed her lips together, biting down on them.

He looked at her intently. “Are you ready, Carrie?”

She nodded. “I am ready, Radu.”