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As the carriage raced down the steep path toward the castle, I could not tear my eyes from it. I could barely breathe until the carriage passed by the crumbling entrance and turned down the pass we had ascended previously. I was afraid that every darkened window of the great castle hid the face of the horrible Vlad Dracula.

Mother leaned forward and took my hand. “We are away from that horrible place, Glynis. Do not be frightened. ”

Impulsively, I kissed her. “I will not be. ”

With a smile, Mother sat back and held May in her arms. “All will be well soon. ”

“She is right, dears. The castle will soon be far behind us,” Father said firmly.

I tried to believe my parents, but I was frightened. The dark, rolling sounds of thunder were nearly overhead and the first tiny drops of the coming rains spattered against the side of the carriage. I leaned against my father’s arm and he patted my cheek.

“There, there, Glynis. Just a few more hours and we will be in a nice village inn. ”

No matter how comforting my father’s words were, I could not fight off the overwhelming fear that I would not escape the looming presence of the castle. I could still see the decayed battlements over the tops of the trees. I could not wipe from my mind the way Prince Vlad had looked upon me with such lust and confidence. He had seemed amused as if he had knowledge of my fate that I did not posses.

The horses began to neigh and the carriage lurched back and forth abruptly, then came to a stop. We were all thrown to the floor in a heap of silk skirts.

“Damn it all!” Father wrenched the door open and leaped out.

Ovidiu’s voice called out, “Kind, sir, there is no way down!”

“Nonsense!”

I leaned out of the carriage and watched as my father marched toward the horses, his coat flaring out about him. The rain pelted down on him with increasing fierceness. His hat flew off and he barely caught it with one hand. His pale hair was instantly plastered to his noble forehead.

“No way down! No way down,” the driver called out in heavily accented words.

Terrified at their words, I jumped from the carriage and ran after my father. My traveling shoes slipped in the mud as I fought the wind, my hand clasped to my bonnet. “What do they mean? Father, what do they mean?”

As I drew near him, I saw that my father’s shoulders were rounded in a heavy droop. His hand was slowly rubbing the top of his head as he stared downward.

Then I saw what had him so overwhelmed.

A great chasm had opened up and split the road apart. A deep gorge now cut through the mountain pass and there was simply no way around it. I could not believe my eyes. We had just traveled this road two days before and for this to happen was inconceivable.

“How? How?” My father’s voice a mere whisper. A terrified whisper.

“We were at the castle of a wicked man, Lord Edric,” Ovidiu said. “A wicked, evil man! He has great powers! He promised us safety when we were his guests, but now that we have left him, he will not spare us!”

“What nonsense! Ovidiu, there has to be a way off this damned mountain. We will go back and find it. ”

Ovidiu turned and spoke swiftly to the driver in their native tongue. The dark, haggard driver kept shaking his head, clasping his hand over his crucifix.

“We think that we should perhaps try to go on foot or on the horses and leave the carriage,” Ovidiu said, his voice shaking.

“Nonsense! We have the women to consider and the storm is nearly upon us. We will go back and this time keep track of the roads. There is a way off this damned mountain and we will find it. Come, Glynis!”

I rushed after my very upset Father and stumbled a little as I did. When we reached the carriage, he lifted me up then followed me in.

“What is happening, Edric?” My mother looked pale and frightened as she tried to soothe my moaning sister.

“The way down has been cut off. A landslide perhaps. We have to try and find another way down. ” Though his face was quite stern and his eyes anxious, he forced a smile and kissed Mother gently on the forehead. “It is nonsense to think this is something other than a natural phenomenon. ”

I gazed at my father sadly. I knew he was a man who was skeptical of all things supernatural. He attended all sorts of lectures about enlightenment and the rational mind. I had not seen him enter a church since we were small children, and I had the impression he endured Mother’s fervent Catholicism. He was, by nature, a skeptical man. But I had seen his face at the gorge. Despite his words, I knew, in that moment, staring into the chasm, he had believed that somehow the Prince had reached out with his power and destroyed our way to the village.

May burst into tears and buried her face in Mother’s shoulder. My mother held her tightly, looking toward me. I reached out to her and we clasped hands for a tender moment.

“Do not be frightened, my darlings. All will be well. There, there,” Father said soothingly. He had quite recovered himself at this point and looked his normal calm self. He put his arm around my shoulders and hugged me close.