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"Nicholas?" Carrie calls out. 'Please, let him be here.'
She runs up the stairs to the bedroom and lets out a sigh of relief when she spots him on the bed, snuggled underneath the blanket. She approaches the bed and smiles, thinking of how peacefully he is sleeping. When he rolls over, she lets out a scream.
"What's the matter baby? You don't like what you see?" Matthew asks, grabbing her around the waist and putting his hand over her mouth. "Thought you'd leave me again, huh? Well this time you are definitely not going to get away with it, just as your darling Nicholas couldn't either."
Carrie stops struggling, letting a plan fill her brain. 'He's done something to Nicholas. I need to get that out of him before I can do anything else first. Come on Carrie, chill out. You know how to work Matthew.'
Realizing that Caroline has stopped fighting him, Matthew loosens his grip on her. "Did you really think you could hide Nicholas from me here in this cabin?"
Carrie stares at him. "Of course not but I had to try. I know that your powers are strong but I wanted some private time with him before you took him away. I knew once you found out I found him that I wouldn't be able to keep him. You are too powerful for me to try that with."
"It's about time you realize that. No more running away?"
"I wasn't planning on it. You just caught me by surprise how fast you moved this time. You didn't give me any time at all!" she pouts.
"Well I did warn you last time that I would kill him if I ever caught you with him."
"But I figured that since I was only associating with him on that play toy level that you would be okay with it. I don't honestly care for him anymore."
Matthew can only stare at her. "Are you serious?"
"Yes! I don't know what happened to him but between last time and this time, he's definitely lost his better qualities."
"I'm amazed. Here I was going to kill him to punish you but maybe I won't."
"Why waste your time on killing him? Just let him go. Trust me, I won't be chasing after him if you don't want me to."
"Who said anything about letting him go? I'm still going to kill him."
"But why? He has not harmed you."
"He hasn't harmed me? I think taking away the female that I care so much about is enough harm. The human does not need to stab me with a wooden stake for me to be harmed. Come, I will take you with me so you can watch him die."
"I don't know."
"So you do care for him?" he asks, looking closer at Carrie. "Caroline, I can read your thoughts, you know that."
"I don't care for him. I just don't have a stomach for that stuff, you know that."
"I don't believe you. You are coming with me and I will determine by the look on your face whether or not you care for him when you see him die at my hand."
'Come on Carrie, this is your chance to find him. Please, let my mental wall still work!' Carrie looks Matthew in the eyes. "Fine, let's go and get this over with. I have better things than to watch gore."
Matthew smirks and takes her hand. 'Don't cringe Carrie, don't cringe!' she thinks as she grasps his and feels her body materialize into another form and fly into the night with Matthew by her side. 'Where are we going?' she wonders as he continues to fly deeper into the woods. Finally, they head towards a cave and begin to materialize into human form once they land. Carrie follows him deeper into the cave, noticing there are many different paths to take as they continue to go further down into the earth. Finally, they stop and Matthew causes the torches along the wall to light up, blinding Carrie temporarily. After her eyes adjust, she spots a human figured slumped over a log.
"Nicholas?" she asks, stepping closer to him.
Matthew eyes Caroline warily. "He can't hear you. I knocked him out pretty good back at your cabin. It'll make it that much easier to kill him."
'Coward!' she wanted to scream at him. 'Only a coward kills when the opponent is unprotected and unaware.'
"Honestly Caroline. If you care for him, let me know."
Carrie turns her head from looking at Nicholas to looking at Matthew. "Honestly, I don't. I found him by pure accident and got caught up in all of the memories. This new Nicholas is nothing to me."
"You seem pretty convincing but I guess I'll know for sure when I put this through his body and kill him," he says, pulling out a sword and brandishing it in the light.
"A sword? You are going to kill him with a sword?" Carrie asks, praying he couldn't hear her fear and pain in her voice.
"Why of course. You think that I am going to use a gun or some other method? Come now. You know I'm with the times but a sword is the most respectable weapon to use when battling."
"Battling?"
"Well in this case killing but it is my weapon of choice. Enough of this blabber. On to Nicholas' death!"
Carrie watches in horror as Matthew advances on Nicholas, not knowing what to do. 'Nicholas, please wake up!' she pleads as she sees Nicholas is not moving. 'Think fast Carrie!!!' Instantly, her heart gives her the answer as to what to do.
As Matthew raises his sword above his head, ready to plunge it into the human before him, Carrie runs towards Nicholas and manages to dive in front of him just as Matthew is driving the sword down towards Nicholas. At the last minute, Nick opens his eyes and rolls over out of the way, only to see Carrie be skewered by the sword.
"NO!!!!" he screams as he watches helplessly as the sword pierces all the way through Carrie's stomach area and lodges to the log behind her.
"Caroline!" Matthew roars, letting go of the sword immediately.
Carrie feels a hot flash of pain and realizes that she is now pinned to the log. 'Thank God I'm immortal,' she thinks to herself as she turns to look at the two mortified males. "Thanks a lot Matthew."
Matthew could only stare at her. "I didn't mean to skewer you! You got in the way!" he says, moving to grab a hold of the sword and pulling it out, forgetting that Nicholas is even there. "I'm so sorry Caroline."
Carrie feels an even hotter flash of pain as she feels the sword slide out of her flesh. 'Why does this feel so painful?' she wonders as she closes her eyes, trying to block out the pain.
"What did you do to her?" roars a male voice from the entrance of the cave.
All three look immediately at Leonard who is standing there, looking angry.
"Leonard. So we finally meet," Matthew says, forgetting all about the other two beings behind his turned back. This gives Nick the chance to crawl over to Carrie and cradle her in his arms, trying to give her some comfort while trying to stop the blood from her wound with his shirt that he took off.
Carrie could only stare at her mentor and attacker as they sized one another up and down. 'Leonard, please be careful,' she mentally says to her friend.
'I will. You heal that wound. I'm so sorry that I did not come sooner,' he returns, never letting Matthew out of his direct line of vision.
'I think I'm in trouble,' Carrie says realizing that her wound is not closing.
'What? It should be!' he responds, deciding on a course of action. "Matthew, we don't have to do this."
Matthew laughs. "Of course we do. You were the one that took her away from me! You are almost as bad as Nicholas!"
Leo glances Carrie's way and realizes that Nicholas' shirt has now turned a complete deep red color and that the wound is not healing as it should. "Matthew, I don't care what you think at this point. You've hurt Caroline and she is not recovering. I may hate you just as much as you hate me but I'm more concerned with her."
"Nice try. I'm not about to not fight you to fall into a trap."
"He's telling the truth!" yells Nick. "I can't stop her wound from bleeding. What am I supposed to do?"
Carrie feels darkness pull at her and she tries to keep her eyes open, knowing that if they close, she may never open them again.
Nick feels Carrie start to relax and realizes that she is close to losing consciousness. "No! Carrie, please, don't leave me like this. You're not supposed to leave me here!" he pleads with her, hoping she'll listen.
Hearing Nicholas's pleas, Matthew realizes that Leo is telling the truth. "The fight is off for now but I swear I will kill you before this night is over."
Leo doesn't say anything but rushes over to the couple on the ground. "Caroline, hunny, you need to keep your eyes open. How much pain is there?"
"A lot," she manages to get out.
Leonard removes the shirt and cringes at the sight of the open wound. "How could you do this to her?" he demands of Matthew.
"I didn't mean to," he responds, looking at the three from a distance, not knowing what to do. Part of him wants to kill the two men now but a part of him is too frightened for Caroline's life to even move. 'What if I did kill her?' he wonders.
"I know this is going to hurt more but I have to probe the wound Caroline. Take a deep breath ok?"
Carrie nods her head and grabs Nick's hand tightly. He kisses her forehead as he watches Leonard look at the wound and examine it. Leo can't believe what he is seeing. He puts his finger at the wound and pulls away a sliver of wood. 'That's why her wound isn't closing!' he realizes, seeing that there must be other pieces of wood in her wound. "Matthew! You just sentenced her to death!" Leo roars, turning on the vampire.
"What are you talking about? She's going to heal. Vampires can recover from flesh wounds!" he shouts back, not knowing what the lunatic is raging about.
"This isn't just a flesh wound! Look at your sword. Do you see those pieces mixed in with Caroline's drying blood? Look closely."
Matthew does as he says and swears. "Wood pieces."
"Yes! Wood pieces from the log you skewered her to! She's going to die because you foolishly only cared about killing her soul mate without a second thought of what she would do."
"She claimed she didn't love him! How was I supposed to know she'd jump in front to save the fool?"
"Because they are soul mates! You know that! You, Matthew, could have possibly just sentenced her to death in the worst way. Those slivers of wood will kill her but slowly. Why didn't you just put a stake in her?" Leonard asks, enraged.
Matthew feels the full guilt of hurting the one female he ever truly cared for and sits on the ground, putting his head between his hands.
Seeing that Matthew is no threat at the moment, Leo turns his attention back to Caroline. 'Hang in there sweetheart,' he mentally tells her, feeling her send back her agreement, although faintly. Leo looks at Nicholas and sees the worry and fear he has for his soul mate. 'At least they found each other this time,' he thinks as he turns his attention to her wound. 'Maybe I can try to heal this.' Leonard places his hand over her wound and concentrates on healing her wound.
Nick watches in amazement as this vampire closes his eyes and places his hand over Carrie's stomach. Slowly, light begins to appear and Nick sees the tiny splinters of wood float out of the wound, collecting towards the outstretched hand. After a few more seconds, the light fades and the splinters drop to the ground. "Did it work?" he asks.
Leonard slowly opens his eyes and looks at Nicholas. "Yes, I think I've removed all of the wood in her system but I don't know if she will be ok. Wood contaminates a vampire's blood on contact."
Nick could see the love in the vampire's eyes for Carrie. "Thank you," he says, hugging Carries body closer to him.
"You're welcome," Leonard says with a smile. "I know you care a lot for her as I do. Take good care of her."
Nick is about to respond when he hears Carrie scream, "Leonard, behind you!"
Leonard whips around and sees Matthew has gotten up and is about to storm at him with the same sword he used on Caroline. He jumps up to his feet and rushes at Matthew, tackling him to the ground.
Carrie slowly starts to cry, feeling completely useless. She tries to get up but finds she is completely weak. 'Leonard, please be okay,' she mentally pleads, feeling his struggle and pain.
Nick watches the pair fight on the ground and is about to help Leonard when he feels Carrie squeeze his hand. He looks down and realizes that she is crying. 'Stay with her you fool!' he hears Leonard's voice say inside his head. 'She needs your protection more than I need your help. Protect her with your life!' Nick tightens his hold on Carrie and slowly strokes her hair as the fight continues and the two watch helplessly.
After a few more minutes of struggle, the fighting stops and Leonard slowly stands up, feeling exhausted. He looks down and sees that Matthew hasn't moved. Leonard turns around and heads back to Caroline.
"Take this and don't let go of it," he says, depositing the ring he retrieved from Matthew's hand. "He'll be weaker this way."
Carrie looks at the ring and instantly understands, nodding her head.
Leonard smiles and gives her a big hug, being careful to avoid her healing wound. He whispers, "If anything should happen to me, ever, go to Li. He will know what to do. He will take care of you in my place."
When he pulls back he sees tears in her eyes. "Nothing is going to happen to you," she responds. Leonard smiles bitterly and pulls open his jacket. There, Carrie spots a piece of wood sticking out of her mentor's chest, and feels sobs fill her entire body. "No!" she screams. "How?"
"He grabbed it during our struggle. Before I could protect myself, he stabbed me. I'm sorry sweetheart. I have to leave you now."
"Leonard no! You can't leave me! I won't know what do without you."
"Yes, you do. Listen to your heart Caroline."
"I can't!"
"Yes you can. I've seen you do it before. And you Nicholas better love her like she should be loved and cared for. You were meant to be together."
Nick just stares at the man as Carrie embraces her long time mentor and friend one last time before he pulls back and kisses her on the forehead. "You are like the daughter I never had Caroline. Be happy," he says as he stands up and instantly turns to dust before their eyes.
"Leonard!" she screams, beginning to sob. Nick hugs her even tighter to him, trying to soothe her, knowing very well that he wouldn't be able to, not at that moment. As Carrie sobs into Nick's chest, Nick looks over to an unmoving vampire. 'What am I supposed to do now?' he wonders. He looks down at Carrie and realizes that she has closed her eyes. "Carrie?" She doesn't stir. "Come on! You need to keep your eyes open! I know the wood is gone but you still aren't fully recovered."
Carrie struggles and opens up her eyes. "I should be recovered but I still feel so weak."
Nick looks at her wounded area and realizes that she is, in fact, right. Her open wound is now smooth skin. 'It's as if she never was harmed with that sword.'
Carrie looks at Nick and sees his amazement. "It's the only advantage of being a vampire. Wounds that don't involve wood heal quickly. I don't know why I am still feeling so weak though."
"Have you eaten?"
"Yes, earlier tonight but it was not a lot. I don't feel like I can go hunt either. I haven't done it in so long and I don't want to leave Matthew here by himself. What if he wakes up?"
"You're right." Nick is silent for a moment and looks at Carrie, who is still snuggled in his arms. "Feed on me."
"WHAT?" she asks, not believing her ears.
"You heard me. Take my blood. I trust you."
"Nicholas, you don't know what you are saying."
"I do. If you don't feed on me, you could perish. I don't want to lose you. Just take what you need from me. I trust you."
"No, I would rather die then feed on you."
"Well I won't let you! Carrie, please. You won't survive without the nourishment that my blood can provide you."
Deep down, Carrie knows he is right, but she is so terrified of taking too much and killing him. "What if I kill you?"
"You won't. Please?"
Carrie sighs. "Okay. Thank you," she says, kissing him lightly on the lips. She looks into his eyes and sees all the love he has for her. 'Okay Carrie, you can do this. Just take a little,' she thinks to herself as she places her mouth above a major vein in his neck. She licks the spot to desensitize it and allows her fangs to grow, praying that Nick is not watching her transformation. Slowly, she begins to feed, tapping into his mind to make sure he is okay. She feels a little bit of pain registering in his mind and tries to send warmth to soothe it.
Nick feels a small piercing pain but is more aware of Carrie's presence in his mind. 'Carrie?' he asks.
'Yes?'
'How can I talk to you mentally?'
'Now that I have your blood in my system, I can tap into your mind and communicate with you this way. Are you okay?'
'Yes. I just feel weird.'
Nick continues to stroke her back as she continues to feed. Carrie feels his blood course through her body and feels herself feeling much more energized. However, before she could sense it, Nick blacks out. Carrie pulls out immediately, licking his wound so it would heal. "Nick?" she asks, getting no response from him. "What did I do to you love?" she asks, checking to make sure he was still breathing, which he is. "I'm so sorry! I told you I shouldn't have done it!"
"He'll be fine," a voice says. Carrie cautiously looks up, afraid to see Matthew standing over them.
"Li?" she asks.
Li nods his head. "Nicholas will be fine. I can sense he has just passed out. What happened here?"
Carrie looks at him slowly and tries not to cry. "Leonard came to save me and Nicholas but ended up fighting to the death with Matthew."
"So where is Leonard? I'm assuming this unconscious body is Matthew."
Carrie looks at Li sadly. She reluctantly lays Nicholas down on the ground and stands up, slowly walking over to her new friend. "Li, Leo, he's… Gone."
"Gone? He can't be!" Li exclaims, not believing her. "He's too great to have died at the hands of this vampire!"
Carrie starts crying again. "I wish it wasn't true but it is! He was stabbed with a piece of wood during the fight and turned to dust. He saved my life and then died because of it. You don't know how terrible I feel about being the cause of his death!" she exclaims.
Li gathers her into his arms. "Shh, it's okay Caroline. Leonard always said he would happily die for the ones he loved. You have to be strong. You didn't kill him. This bastard who is lying on the floor did. Alexander! Come and take Matthew away. He has to answer to the Council now."
Carrie pulls away to realize that there are soldiers in the opening of the cave. They move forward, bind Matthew's limbs together, and escort him out. Li looks at Caroline. "Things will be okay from now on Caroline. Leonard asked me to do something for him and I succeeded. I have the solution to your problem."
"You know how to bring Leonard back?" she asks hopefully.
Li smiles sadly. "No, but I know how to restore you to your rightful form."
"What are you talking about?"
"I can turn you back into a human being again so you can live the life you were meant to before Matthew interfered. There are a few conditions though."
"Wait! I thought vampires could not be returned to human beings."
"They can when they are changed against their will and are slowly starting the process on their own."
"What process?"
Li sighs. "Leonard was going to tell you eventually but I guess I have to now. The reasons why you've started to cry and show human signs again is because you are slowly starting to turn into a human. Matthew didn't transfuse enough blood into your system to keep you a vampire. If I didn't have the spell, you would eventually die of not being to eat and advanced aging."
"What does it matter now? Leonard is dead! He was like a father to me!" she screams, not able to hear how he had yet saved her life again.
"Shh… Caroline, he loved you as his own daughter. He wouldn't want you to throw away this gift he has given you now. You have your soul mate to live the rest of your life with. Don't forget that Nicholas is also your destiny. This time you have a chance to live the life you were always meant to have with him. Don't throw it away. That is something Leonard would be upset about."
Carrie calms down. "I guess you are right. I just miss him so much."
"Trust me, so do I. I'm just as sad as you are but I promised him I'd come through for him and you. Can you talk about this now or is it too much?"
"No, I can handle it."
Li nods his head. "First, I have to tell you something."
"What?"
"I'm on the Council."
Carrie could only stare at him. "I should have figured that out. I sensed something was different about you."
"Well I sensed that there is something very special about you. In exchange for restoring you, the Council requests that you pledge yourself to continually serve us in the battle against Evil. Are you willing to do that?"
"Of course! Although, if I do turn back into a human, I won't have any powers."
"I think you will. That's beside the point. Now, I need to tell you that there is a risk involved in this transformation. You may die in the process."
Carrie is silent for a few minutes. "You mean, I could die either way I go now?"
"Basically, yes," Li responds, hating to admit this to his new friend. "I think it is well worth the risk though. Think of all the happiness you could have if it works."
She nods her head. "You're right, I know it would be worth the risk. How do we do this?"
"I have to go take care of Matthew but I will leave you with it. I sense that Nicholas will be waking up soon and I don't want him to see me. Good luck," Li says, giving Caroline a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. He walks out of the cave and leaves Carrie staring into space.
"Carrie?" Nick asks, making her turn around and smile at him. "What happened?"
"Don't worry Nicholas. Things are going to be okay. Are you feeling okay?"
Nick nods his head. "Just a little light headed but I feel okay. Where's Matthew?"
"Don't worry about him. If you are up to it, I'd like to get out of here."
"I agree. Let's go," he says, taking her offered hand and gets up. "I love you Carrie."
She smiles even wider. "I love you too Nicholas. With all of my heart, I love you too."