"I can hear singing." Carrie said to no one in particular. "Is it singing? It is music at the very least."
"Yes. It is."
"Who?"
"This is a chapel of lost souls."
Carrie opened her eyes. She stood upon an icy surface but it was smooth. It was a crystal pathway floating above nothing. Around her it was pitch-black darkness. The only light came from what seemed to be beautiful stain glass windows.
"What must I do?"
"Actrise has placed you here. Your task appears simple, but it is not. You must reach the other end of this path."
Carrie began to walk forward. She did not question the voice any further. Somehow she knew that it did not know anything else. This was a place for lost souls that have been taken because of this castle. The voice was one of them. This knowledge seemed no surprise to Carrie. She felt confident. She felt like she had not felt since before she lost her power. It was her power that seemed to give her confidence. No. She had to stop thinking that. She must think that she gives herself confidence. Only through attaining more knowledge can she hope to be more confident. Carrie began to walk along the crystal path. Ahead of her something emerged. It looked like a large crystal. Something inside told her that it was something else. For a moment it was still. Then the crystal sprouted arms. Carrie immediately felt the danger. It began to race towards her with it's arms outstretched. Carrie pointed her fists at it.
"Back!" she cried. A blast launched from her fists and blew the crystal into small shards.
"Focus on what you need, and it will happen. That is the key to mastering your power," a voice said. The voice was soothing. It did not seem aggressive. Carrie did not feel out of place listening to it. In fact, it sounded, familiar.
"Run. Your friends will need you."
Upon hearing this Carrie began to run along the path with great speed. In part she regretted having to hurry herself. This place, wherever it was, was beautiful. Further along the path Carrie noticed something following her. It was another crystal entity. This time it was in the form of a bird. Carrie began to run as fast as she could but the bird was faster. A shiny substance began to sprout from its beak. When it hit Carrie it was cold as ice. It first dropped onto the neck collar tied around her neck. She felt a chill run down her spine and she ripped the collar from her neck. It fell to the ground and turned to crystal. Carrie stopped and stared at the crystal bird. The bird had already sprouted more of its crystal liquid. This time Carrie was unable to avoid it. The liquid dropped onto her wrist. Instantly the liquid began to spread and crystallize her body. Within minutes Carrie was encased in a block of crystal. The bird circled for several moments. It was then struck down by a kind blast. The blast emerged from within the block Carrie was in. Soon another blast came out. There was another and several more blast before finally Carrie was free. Carrie was on her knees for a few moments as she tried to warm herself with her own magical orbs which radiated a small amount of heat.
A laugh began to echo in the tower.
"Actrise..."
"Have you considered my offer to train you?"
Carrie remained silent.
"I see. That face of utter defiance tells me everything I need to know.
"I will destroy Dracula! Stand in my way, and I will kill you too."
"You have power, girl. But your opponent today is not me."
Carrie continued running along the path until she saw the exit ahead of her. Standing before the exit was a young woman. "Who? I sense a power in her that matches my own."
"You could surpass her. All you require is some training."
"Who is she?"
"I think it prudent know to give you a little lesson in your own origins."
"What?"
"As in all plays, there must always be exposition." Actrise suddenly appeared behind Carrie. Carrie was startled and backed away from her. She then turned and looked at the young woman that hovered in front of the exit.
"You were born Carrie Fernandez. The Spanish family you were born into has its roots in another well-known family. More specifically you are descendant of a woman named Sypha Belnandes. Sypha was a…colleague of mine. Our interest conflicted at one point and we became the best of enemies. Sypha was a powerful sorceress. We clashed many times." Actrise lowered her head feigning sorrow. "Her death was a great loss to me. Revenge denied can do that to you. So for many years I thought about how else I could take revenge on her. One day I discovered that she had descendants. Her bloodline continued. Obviously I could not allow that so I planned to murder her surviving family. Survive they did. The family succeeded in living long enough to propagate into quite a large number. Because of their great power they were outcasts though. They were forced to stay together and move like a band of gypsies traveling all over Europe. It happened one day many years ago that they moved in my direction. It had been many years since I had gone against them. The oldest of them had probably only read of me in a footnote in their old library. So I managed to possess their most powerful, their patriarch, Ana." Actrise pointed to the young woman.
Carrie looked into Ana's eyes. They were cold and empty. The name Ana echoed in her head until she remembered. That was the woman that had been taken from that man Coller. Presumably this was his wife.
"She is your cousin actually."
"My cousin…" a tear rolled Carrie's cheek.
"I used her as a weapon to murder your whole family."
Carrie closed her eyes. She remembered the flames and the caravan. She was just a baby but the memories were there.
"She has been my tool of destruction for the past eight years. Mindless, soulless, but efficient."
"Soulless?"
"Yes. Your suspicion is right. That was her voice that was helping you. She is in here. Lost with a thousand or more souls that this castle has digested of the past hundred years." Actrise clapped her hands and breathed heavily. "Well now that the expositions over. You know who you are. You know who she is. Now it is time for one of my favorite kinds of setups. When Blood relations must battle."
"Never!"
"Oh but you don't have a choice."
The pathway that Carrie was standing on suddenly broke away from the rest. It began to float upwards, as did Ana. Ana's eyes were still empty but now they seemed alive. They stared at Carrie as though she were her prey. Ana formed the same magical orbs that Carrie could. On so short a platform Carrie could barely dodge the blasts. Carrie looked at the path she had been on; it had completely broken into individual platforms like. The one she was on right now. This time Ana did not use a magical orb, she used fire. Carrie lunged for one of the other platforms. Carrie caught the tip of one and pulled herself up. Ana followed her now releasing icy blast very similar to that of the bird. Carrie remembered what Ana's soul had told her, "Focus on what you need, and it will happen." Carrie focused on what she thought she needed. She needed a shield to protect her from the ice blasts. A circle of defense surrounded her and stopped the blast from hitting her. The platform she was on began to move fast throughout the tower. Carrie passed by all the glass windows and she could hear all the souls crying out. Carrie lost track of where Ana was. She looked all over and did not see her. The Carrie thought to look down. Ana's broken reflection came rising up through the platform Carrie was on. Her platform was shattered instantly and Carrie was suddenly falling. Carrie lunged for something, anything. She grasped Ana's foot and Ana looked down. Her empty eyes showed no hint of satisfaction or regret.
"She had great spirit once. She struggled mightily against the curse... Now she is wholly mine, a hunter desperate for blood. What joy! Two cousins fighting to the death! That would make an incredible show." Actrise's laugh filled the tower. Ana's piercing stare hypnotized Carrie. She could not believe. Could this killing automaton really be her blood relation? Ana released another ice burst. The cold shiver made Carrie let go of her foot. Carrie disappeared into the darkness of the abyssal tower. Her frozen eyes locked in a stare with that of her last blood relative.