Chapter 9.
Carrie was in heaven. She sat on the floor with a books on her lap, books hovering around her, and Matthew reading a book over her shoulder, literally. Carrie could feel the light touch of Matthew Golden's chin on her right shoulder. They had spent the entire day together and apparently planned on the evening as well. They had walked around several parks during the afternoon when Matthew, without having to pressure too much, asked Carrie to see the bookstore.
As her foster father, Reinhardt charged himself with balancing her schooling of knowledge in the regular world as well as the mystical. Much to Carrie's frequent stagnation, he regimented in small controlled portions what she could read and learn about the mystic arts. It was his belief as he had been trained slowly and in steps to become a vampire hunter, so should she be trained in the mystic arts. Today she threw all that out the window and drowned her nose in books about spells, incantations, and hand gestures. Her concentration was broken when Matthew pecked her on the cheek. She turned instantly at him and smiled.
"I'm sorry?" Carrie smiled and peered into his eyes. The eyes that overwhelmed her with a feeling she could not place.
"No, I am sorry. Was I too fast?"
Carrie suddenly sounded flustered, "well no…it's just." Matthew stopped her in mid-sentence and kissed her on the lips. Carrie was frozen for a moment. When their lips parted she just stared into his eyes. He broke the silence and began to speak as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"You know, you are going to be a great sorceress one day. I know you will. Your powers are greater than you think. Reinhardt is only limiting you." Carrie remained silent, as she was too busy pondering his kiss. Matthew searched through a tall pile of books before finding what he was looking for. After finding the right book he then began to flip the pages until he found the passage he wanted. After several more moments of silence, Matthew let out a loud "eureka!" he turned and knelt beside Carrie who looked towards him instead of the book. "I was wondering if you would read this aloud and tell me if you know what it means. My father found it important just before he died. Perhaps it has some relevance." Carrie looked at the passage and began to read it aloud.
"uyo mumdy uyo tusj llef ofr eth lod drea eth gape louda nad teg pnohytized toin a rancet ssagpea rickt."
Carrie went silent after speaking the last word.
In an instant the significance behind the words dawned on her far too late.