The next evening they rose, fed, and then Clarisse decided that after the events the night before they both deserved to relax. She led Rachel to the bath and they soaked for over an hour, not talking about anything seriously, just enjoying each others company.

Maria, Clarisse, and Rachel all shared bits of their lives and amusing moments. Rachel felt a little sad that she did not have as much to share as the other two. Maria picked up on this and laughed.

“Rachel I lived for almost three hundred years before I was captured, and Clarisse has lived — and been active! — for nearly as long. Of course we have seen and done more. Be patient, your time is now, dear.”

Clarisse chimed in, while caressing Rachel’s breast. “Maria is right, Rachel! We have untold years before us. We will make our own history and you shall live it with us!”

“Thank you both, I shouldn’t feel that way. You’re right, we have lots of time and we can see and do a lot, now. I guess I am a little jealous of all the history you both got to live. You know I was a history major and history was my passion, before.”

Clarisse leaned in and kissed Rachel slowly and passionately, and any further talk was not necessary.
Rachel did not know if it was Clarisse getting frisky or their words but she cheered up and soon she could say that she’d had her first sexual experience in a bathtub.

After, they went to Clarisse’s bedroom, where she tore through her massive walk-in closets to find them both khaki outfits that made both Rachel and Clarisse look like they were going on safari, rather than to the basement to question a prisoner.

Rachel raised her eyebrow at Clarisse’s wardrobe choice and got nothing but her beautiful laughter in response. Sometimes, even though Rachel was now a woman, she just didn’t understand women.

~o~O~o~

They found Lucas, still manacled and chained, in the cell Corwin had put him in. He seemed glad to see them both.

“Ah, good evening ladies. You both look beautiful and well-rested today! Now, look here, can’t we dispense with the chains and manacles? I answered your questions, and will answer as many more as you like.” He was both cheerful and pleading in his tone.

Rachel glanced at Clarisse. Maria and Rachel agreed internally that he couldn’t be trusted, but Rachel felt that since this was Clarisse’s home they should defer to her decision.

“Ah, Monsieur Lucas, we shall see about that. For now, the chains and manacles shall come off, but you will stay in this cell until we decide whether we can trust you further.”

Corwin, who had been standing in the doorway leading to the cells, overheard and came in with a key. He unshackled Lucas, bowed to Clarisse and Rachel, and went on his way.

Lucas seemed extremely grateful for his new-found freedom. “Thank you so much, Madam Dubois! Madam Rachel! It feels good to be out of those things!”

They led Lucas upstairs to Clarisse’s ‘African’ parlor, complete with real African savannah plants, stuffed animals, and paintings and photographs of various places in Africa. Rachel was very impressed and Lucas seemed to be too.

She pointed to a chair and Lucas hopped into it immediately, which brought an amused smirk to Clarisse’s face.

She sat down in a beautiful African print loveseat, and patted the seat beside her. Lucas made as if to hop over with a cheeky grin, but a glance from her made him sit back down quickly. Rachel took the offered spot with a smile.

“Let us begin. You do not wish to know the penalty for lies, do you?”

“Err, no. Nothing but the truth!” he replied.

“I have one question first, Lucas. How did Arkady and the rest of you know that I had escaped?” Maria said.

“Quite a stroke of luck on our part, love. Stepan spotted you in Sibiu. He was there seeing some woman at the time.”

“So Stepan knew me from the time I was imprisoned?”

“Oh, yes. He was a recruit back then, and impressed Arkady in some fashion. Started taking the blood not long after Arkady. I know what you’re thinking, and I’ll tell you straight off. He’s barking mad, Stepan is. He’s been getting flaky for years, which is how I ended up as Arkady’s second, you see.”

Clarisse frowned, obviously not looking forward to another one like Arkady. For that matter, Rachel didn’t exactly look thrilled, herself. “Where does this Stepan usually spend his time?”

Lucas shrugged. “He prowls around all over Eastern Europe. Romania, Slovakia, Hungary - even wanders into Serbia occasionally. He’s a Serb, you know, on his mother’s side.”

Rachel posed the question they were wondering. “When could we catch Stepan at your headquarters in Bucharest? I think we’d both rather catch him there than roam all over Europe trying to catch up to him.”

Lucas pondered for a moment. “He stops in there at least every month or so. It’s as good a place as any to wait for him. Of course, he will sense you both, probably. He’s ingested so much vamp blood he’s extremely sensitive to vamps. He even avoids sunlight, he’s so far gone.”

“So, that is how you tracked us so well?”

He nodded. “The same way that you can track other vamps, of course. If a vamp is anywhere near you can turn round and round and feel which direction they are. Of course, the more blood you’ve had, the more sensitive you are.” He lectured them as if he was a university professor, and Rachel told him so.

“Funny you should say that, because I was, once! But, yes we used that and triangulation to keep abreast of exactly where you were. It wasn’t hard. Stepan was best at it, and after him Arkady. It was a bit dodgy for me, but then again I’ve not had as much vamp blood.”

“So he will be very hard to corner, I am thinking,” Clarisse mused.

“Well, yes and no. Remember he is addicted to vamp blood much like Arkady was. But with Stepan the addiction was much stronger for some reason. He will be looking to capture one or both of you.”

“I think we have no choice, we have to take Stepan down, especially if he is as insane as Lucas said,” remarked Rachel. “Then again we could wait and let him come to us?”

“I agree completely, Rachel. But no, we will not wait and let him pick a time of his own choosing to attack. We will make preparations and go find him, soon,” Clarisse replied firmly.

Lucas cleared his throat. “Why do you call her ‘Rachel’, Clarisse? I am a bit puzzled.”

“Because that is her name, of course! Why else would I call her that?” laughed Clarisse.

“But this is Maria, I know it is. Arkady and Stepan both recognized her.”

Maria spoke. “I wish to share what happened with Lucas. Any insight into our unique situation would be welcomed.” She glared at Lucas. “But what I say is never to go beyond this room. Understood, Lucas?”

He bowed his head and replied, “I do swear that it will not, Rachel.”

She then told him the story of Richard Harrison and how he ended up in the secret room with Maria, the Duchess of Arad, and what had happened when he touched her.

“You used to be a bloke?! That is just unbelievable! Although, once you believe in vampires I suppose anything else could start looking likely.” Lucas seemed amazed but didn’t doubt her story. “So, Maria you are in there, and Rachel is too?”

Maria replied. “It is the honest truth, Lucas.”

He mused silently for a few minutes. “I don’t doubt you at all, Rachel. Oh, and err, Maria. I’ve just never heard of such a thing happening in all of my years. So, Maria’s body somehow drained this Richard, and somehow you both ended up in her body? But how did you get free from the chain?”

Rachel frowned and closed her eyes for a moment to remember. “I awoke in a strange state, where neither of us seemed to have any control or consciousness. The first actual clear memory that I have is waking up in a root cellar of some sort. I came out of it and found two bodies that I, we, had drained.”

She went on. “Later, after I discovered Maria was inside here with me, a few hazy memories came back but I still don’t remember much of anything of the castle and what happened there.”

Lucas asked Maria, “What about you, Maria? Do you have any memories or thoughts from that time?”

Maria spoke, and Lucas noted that her mannerisms and accent were subtly different from Rachel’s when she spoke.

“No, I do not remember much more than Rachel. The last clear thought that I had, which was not all that clear since I was dying, was Richard touching me and I was reaching out to attack him as prey. I was so hungry and my body was nearly gone. Nothing is really clear and had not been for many years in that room.” She shuddered and shook her head angrily.

Lucas grew quiet, apparently sensing that discussing the castle and her imprisonment further with Maria would not be good for his health.

Clarisse decided to move on to other questions. “This Wolf Pack of yours, did they operate in other places besides Europe?”

Lucas nodded. “Oh, yes, very much so. They followed vampire migrations over to the new world and cleansed all of North and South America many years ago. To the best of my knowledge, you two are the only existing vampires left.”

“Now there’s a cheerful thought, isn’t it?” Rachel gloomily asked.

Clarisse shook her head. “That is not to say that he is absolutely correct, Rachel! They may have missed some of us. We will just have to see.”

Lucas nodded in agreement. “Just because Arkady thought that you were the last two, doesn’t necessarily mean that it was true. He was getting a bit wobbly, you know.”

Maria addressed Clarisse while looking pointedly at Lucas. “I think we need to bring Lucas with us when we go after the Stepan. He could be very useful, yes?”

Clarisse looked at him thoughtfully and agreed with Maria. “Yes, Monsieur Lucas will go with us and help track down this madman.”

Lucas grimaced. “I love hanging out with such sexy ladies but I don’t look forward to tracking him down.”

Clarisse eyed him. “Do not forget, Monsieur Lucas, that while to your eyes we are both beautiful and delicate ladies, we are also very much deadly ladies who could snap your neck or drain every drop of blood from your body if you trifle with us.”

He looked very uncomfortable after that. “I wouldn’t dare mess with either of you, I swear. I will help in any way that I can, of course.” He smiled an ingratiating smile at her and she stared back into his eyes.

“Yes, Lucas, you will obey me and Rachel and Maria at all times. You will never lie to us. You will not betray us to Stepan or anyone else in your old organization. Your will is ours.”

“I will obey you. I will never lie to you. I will not betray you. I am yours,” he replied in a monotone.

“Why’d you do that, Clarisse?” Rachel asked, slightly puzzled. “He seemed to be cooperating quite well?”

Maria shook her head. “I agree with Clarisse. I did not trust him at all and I feel better with some reinforcement.”

“Lucas, have you told us any lies last night or tonight?” Clarisse asked, sweetly.

“No, Clarisse, I have been completely honest.”

“Why were you honest? Did you not feel that you were betraying the Wolf Pack?”

“I was afraid you could detect lies, as you said, and I do think you are both hotties.” He replied without a hint of cheekiness.

Rachel and Clarisse both burst out laughing at that.

Rachel tossed out an idea. “Why don’t we fly into Budapest, and drive from there. We can stop at the castle on the way and see what we might discover about Maria’s prison and our strange situation?”

Clarisse exclaimed, “Excellent idea, Rachel! I agree, let us do this!”

“I’ll book a night flight for the three of us,” Rachel said and started to get up and head for the phone.

Clarisse put her hand on Rachel and eased her back down. “No, no, Rachel. We’ll take my jet.”

Rachel rolled her eyes. “I might have known you owned a jet!” They both laughed and started talking about what to pack.

~o~O~o~

Flying over France, Maria was having the time of her life. She made Rachel sit at a window of the small jet so that she could look out constantly. This was her first time ever flying and she was making the most of it.

Clarisse sat nearby, sipping some wine and relaxing. Lucas was sitting by himself in the rear of the cabin, not sullen, just tranquil. Clarisse did not plan to ease up on her enthralling until this mission was over.

Maria stayed at the window for the entire flight, saying little, and letting Rachel and Clarisse chat while she enjoyed the sensation of flying.

They landed in Budapest and rented an SUV with no incidents or problems. Lucas was programmed to keep his eyes peeled and report if he saw the slightest glimpse of a Wolf Pack member anywhere near them. He insisted he had not seen anyone he knew, Wolf Pack member or not, so they all relaxed and planned the drive into Romania for the next evening.

Sleeping accommodations were simple: Rachel and Clarisse shared the bed, Lucas slept on the carpeted floor with a spare pillow Rachel scrounged for him. He didn’t object to the arrangement.

They decided that it would be prudent to keep Lucas close at hand and out of any possible trouble, so forgoing any nightclub expeditions was a given. Clarisse was saddened by this, as she’d wanted to prowl the clubs in Budapest very much. But, she agreed with Maria that keeping their prisoner safe and secure was their most important priority.

They watched some television and talked for a while before dawn, and went to sleep happy yet alert.

~o~O~o~

The next evening they checked out and Rachel grabbed the driver’s seat of the SUV and was eager to get underway. Clarisse and Lucas piled in and they were off. For Rachel and Maria the trip was just a repeat of their previous journey but in reverse.

They kept a close watch and even set Lucas up as their day shift guard in Arad and in Sibiu, but not one sign of the Wolf Pack was seen.

~o~O~o~

Rachel parked their rental vehicle in the exact same spot that her old car had occupied on her first visit to this remote area. Clarisse was admiring the view and remarking often about how beautiful Romania was.

This pleased Maria, as she loved hearing this elegant Frenchwoman praise her homeland.

While walking on the path to the castle, Rachel raised a question. “Shouldn’t we go in through the trap door rather than the tunnel that I fell through? I wonder if a lot of that area is unstable.”

They all agreed to use the other entrance, so when they approached the castle Lucas was ordered to lead them to the entrance Arkady used. He led them around the ruins that Rachel was familiar with and to an area with more walls standing. Amidst the walls was a wooden door in halfway decent shape, compared to the rest of the surroundings.

Lucas began searching along a wall that ran parallel to the door for a certain block, and when he found what he was looking for he inserted his fingers and pulled it out, revealing a small hollowed out slot in the wall. Inside was a key, which he removed and opened the door with.

They cautiously entered the room, Lucas holding an electric lantern much like the one Rachel had used here before. Inside the room was an ancient wooden table strewn with several flashlights, rusty chains, and a few glass vials of the type the Wolf Pack used to transport their stolen vampire blood. Against the far wall was a wooden ladder. Old well-used lanterns covered in cobwebs sat on a shelf along one wall, forgotten in this modern age of flashlights.

Clarisse voiced the question that was foremost in her thoughts. “Lucas, why did Arkady choose this ruined castle to lock Maria away? This place is a wreck; I would have thought that he would choose a more secure location. Perhaps one closer to his base in Bucharest?”

Lucas shook his head. “When he put her here it was not all ruins as you see now. From what I was told it met his criteria then. It was remote, abandoned, and it was quite easy for the Wolf Pack to gain title to the land here. The trap door and the room below already existed and so it was a perfect prison.”

He walked over to the corner of the room and pointed at the trap door. There was a rusty sliding bolt holding it shut, which he slid open with some effort. He began to lift on the door slowly and pulled it up and open.

Clarisse and Rachel picked up the ladder and lowered it down into the dark opening revealed. They stood looking down into the darkness for a moment.

“Lucas, has the Wolf Pack been here since Maria’s escape?” Clarisse asked.

“I’m pretty sure they haven’t. After she was spotted in Sibiu all of our efforts went to re-capturing her. Nobody really thought much on how she escaped; we all just wanted to get her back as soon as was possible. Though there was a bit of a row about that, actually.”

“How do mean?”

“Well, Arkady advanced the idea to let her roam a bit and possibly make some more vamps. Then we capture them all and have this huge supply of vamp blood, you see. He was all fired up about it. He wanted a new and fresh supply of blood. He had some crazy theory about ‘blood diversity’ and how it would help us in some manner.”

They did see, and from the glares it was obvious what they thought of that plan. He shrugged, still more under Clarisse’s spell than not. “If he had gotten his way, Maria would have been allowed to find some village and start making some kind of vampire haven once again. He had it all planned out until the arguing began.”

“Stepan was obsessed with getting her back. He thought that vampires should be eradicated except for his special ones locked away. They argued quite a bit, but in the end Stepan’s viewpoint prevailed so all of our resources went towards that.”

“So Arkady went along with Stepan, and abandoned his plan?” Rachel asked.

“Yes, it took a lot of arguing and back and forth, but in the end Stepan convinced Arkady that he was risking another ‘infestation’ covering Europe, destroying mankind, and all that.”

Clarisse rolled her eyes. “You know very well how stupid and wrong that statement is, Monsieur Lucas! We do not kill or bring attention to ourselves. And we certainly do not just roam around creating new vampires at random!”

Lucas nodded. “I had advanced an idea to Arkady of my own. It was more of a truce and an arrangement kind of thing, you know. We would allow Maria and some friends to settle in some remote village and donate blood to us in return for the Wolf Pack rounding up thralls for her.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow and Clarisse laughed. Maria remarked on what she thought of that plan. “After chaining me up and starving me for hundreds of years, what on earth made you think that I’d accept this fool plan of yours?”

Lucas shrugged. “It was a way to get everyone what they wanted, is how I saw it. It didn’t matter in the end; Stepan would have none of it. To him you are evil and must be contained or destroyed. He doesn’t compromise on that.”

Maria took the lead and climbed down the ladder, followed by Lucas. Clarisse simply jumped down the opening and landed casually on her feet. She looked around and immediately spotted the iron post and the chain leading to the body in the center of the room.

They all walked up to the body and looked down. The corpse was severely desiccated and reminded Clarisse of how Egyptian mummies looked once the wrappings were removed. Not much could be told on first glance but one thing was very obvious. The corpse was male.

Rachel knelt and stared with mouth open, while Maria was silent and obviously just as confused. Clarisse noticed that the man’s body had long blondish hair, and had been in good physical shape when alive.

She nodded thoughtfully as they absorbed this new development. “I’d never thought that two people would swap bodies magically as was described to me, my friends. This actually makes more sense to me, in a way. This body is Richard’s, yes Rachel?”

Rachel stared at the body and nodded slowly. To say that she felt weird would be quite the understatement. She didn’t quite know what to say.

Maria pointed to the collar. “If what you said is correct, Clarisse, how did the collar end up on his body rather than mine?”

Clarisse pulled at the collar and found that it was unlocked and had just been draped across the throat of Richard’s body.

Lucas noticed and swore softly. “That son of a bitch went and did it! Arkady told me his plan. He was going to unlock her collar and bring her some blood and then flee, knowing she’d escape on her own most likely.”

Maria frowned. “If he wanted me to escape why did he not remove me from this room and give me blood? All he did was unlock my collar?”

“He was deathly afraid of you, Maria. I can’t say I blame him for that. Wouldn’t you be afraid of a powerful vamp that you’d kept locked away for hundreds of years? I can’t say for sure what he was thinking when he did this, but it is obvious that he went through with that part anyway.”

Maria nodded. “He was insane, yes that is obvious. But if he unlocked my collar then what of the rest? He gave me no blood, so I would have still lain here dying and asleep till the end without that.”

Clarisse picked up an empty vial nearby, and held it up. “Look at this. It is clean and has hardly any dust on it.” She opened it and sniffed at the open end. “It has had blood in it, certainly. Apparently he did bring blood to you, recently, Maria.”

Maria snorted. “He obviously did not bring me enough to accomplish his insane plan. Would that he had! I would have drained him dry if I had been free and aware!”

“And that is exactly why he gave you so little, I think,” Lucas said. “He was trying to avoid that very thing.”

Rachel spoke up from where she was still kneeling beside Richard’s body. “Okay, we know why Maria was free and why the collar is open. We know she likely drained my body, yes?”

Clarisse and Lucas both nodded and Maria signified the same inside Rachel’s head.

“Then why am I here, inside Maria’s body, and not just a dead victim of a vampire? More to the point, why did I become the dominant force in her body, while she became kind of a secondary one?”

Clarisse sighed. “Rachel that is a very good question, but in all of my years I have never heard of such a thing happening. For many years after I was turned, I would track my prey, drain them, and leave their dead body behind. I never once felt any semblance of another presence trying to merge with me in any way.”

She paced the room. “The only way that I can see to find out more is if you or Maria or both of you could remember exactly what happened when you came into this room. If either of you could but remember this I think we would have our answer.”

“I wonder if a hypnotist could get us to remember the details of what happened here that day.” Rachel asked.

Clarisse shrugged. “I suppose that is possible, Rachel. Perhaps after we deal with this Stepan and his minions we can find a reputable psychologist and see if that can be done.”

Maria responded. “I would like to do this, if it is possible. Meanwhile, shall we bury Richard’s body?
Rachel has not shown it to you, but she is quite affected by this discovery.”

Rachel nodded slowly, but replied, “No. Let this be Richard’s crypt. I am Rachel now, and this is a fitting place to leave his body.”

“Would you like for me to say a few words? This is a funeral, of sorts, Rachel. We are paying our last respects to your old life.” Clarisse was extremely sympathetic and wanted her friend to have closure.

Rachel pondered her words for a few minutes. “No, but thank you for offering, Clarisse. I think we can go now. I am fine. Richard can rest here. I am Rachel Harrison, and he is a fading memory.”

They turned and left the room, each ascending the ladder with a glance back at Richard’s remains, and each in their own way wondering how this unique transference had happened. When they were all out, Clarisse closed the trap door effortlessly. This got a small chuckle from Lucas.

“You know I had a taste of your strength, in a matter of speaking. A man feels jealous around a woman who could easily beat the sauce out of him at will, you know!”

Clarisse and Rachel both laughed, and Clarisse replied. “Always keep that in mind, Lucas, if you get any funny ideas about betraying us, or running away!”

“Madam I keep that in mind constantly, I assure you.”

As they left, Rachel locked the door and replaced the key in the ancient hiding place. She felt that she was locking away the last vestige of her old male self when she turned the key. She voiced this thought to Clarisse.

Clarisse nodded and hugged her friend tightly. “Keep this in mind, my dear friend. Regardless of whether you were Richard or Rachel, the person within was the same person. Gender does not decide whether you are a good person or an evil person. And you, Rachel, are a good person and one that I am honored to call friend.”

Rachel returned the hug and wiped a tear from her eyes as they headed back to their car to begin the task of finding Stepan and ending the Wolf Pack.