Erin had asked many questions, but Andrew had brushed him off. He had packed for a couple of days’ worth of a trip and had gotten out of town. There was a lush pine forest outside it, and he went hiking there.

Andrew was sure that Mark and Mary knew full well where Andrew lived. So, Andrew had taken his things and left. What he had no idea of, was where the two prisoners had been kept, and how long would it take them to reach him?

But, he could feel them coming to him. Mary was brushing off his attempts at magic, but Mark was not as immune. He had managed to take control of the angel for seconds at a time twice already. What he needed was a minute.

His plan was to pit them against each other. He needed to know what made Mark so powerful. It must have something to do with the man’s eyes. Mark was practically obsessed with eyes.

In his human form, Mark’s eyes were a baby blue. In his real form, they were black, even the part that should be white was black. Andrew had tried everything to damage them. Severing nerves, bursting blood vessels. Forcing them to rot.

It just served to make Mark angry and more determined to find Andrew. Andrew had a campfire going, and it did little to stave off the chill of the winter days and nights. He used his magic to keep himself from getting a frostbite, but, he had been there for a week.

His clothes were dirty and he looked homeless. He even had a beard now, too. A shady, unkept thing that looked like a bird’s nest. It itched, and he feared that he might have fleas. He had no idea whether the parasites hibernated during winter or not.

Just as he was settling to sleep, he heard it. A twig snapping. He turned around wildly, fearing that it was Mark and Mary. Suddenly, coming in the middle of nowhere without backup sounded like a stupid idea.

A man came forward, but he was not Mark. He looked starved and walked with a limp.

“Hello,” he said, staring at Andrew with hunger.

“Hello,” Andrew stood up and extended his hand. The man smiled.

“Are you lost in the forest? There is a town nearby. It is not further than twenty kilometers going south,” said the man. Andrew felt sorry for him. He looked worse than Andrew, and his clothes were in tatters.

“Here,” Andrew handed the man his blanket. He took it gratefully and wrapped himself with it.

“So soft,” marveled the stranger. Andrew smiled. The blanket was dirty by now, but he supposed that it was indeed still soft.

“My name is Andrew Jackson. And yours?” Andrew extended his hand again.

“Jason, just Jason,” Andrew shook the offered hand. If the man didn’t want to tell him his full name, then, there was nothing to be done.

“What are you doing here, Jason?” Asked Andrew. Jason looked around and then got a determined look on his face.

“I can’t go in the town. People will capture me. I will tell you a secret, to thank you for the blanket,” said the man, and he came closer to Andrew. The ginger leaned in and could feel Jason’s foul breath hitting his nose.

“I am a wraith,” Andrew backed away. Wraiths were man eaters. But, Jason didn’t look ghostly. “And I am so hungry.”

Andrew summoned a ball of fire in his arm, and Jason was the one to back away now.

“I am not food,” said Andrew. He felt pity for the creature, but knew that he didn’t feel enough to let it eat him.

“You are a wixen? A powerful one, if you are not deformed. My creator was a wixen too, but he was an abomination,” Andrew exhaled when Jason told him that he was created by a man. That meant, he was not sent by Mary. So, Mary and Mark must still be far away.

Then, Andrew got an idea. Wraiths had poison bites, like a Komodo dragon. It didn’t matter how immortal one was. If your flesh was eaten by a wraith, it never grew back.

“Jason, how would you like to get a full belly and help me with something?” Andrew didn’t dispel the fireball. Jason tilted his head to the side. In the light of the campfire, Andrew could see his eyes were like a dead man’s.

“You will let me eat from you? Can I get an arm? I like arms. You don’t need two, do you? I can take the left one,” Jason made a step towards Andrew and Andrew raised the fireball higher, so he could aim at Jason’s head.

“Not from me. I am being hunted by a Nosferatu angel and a hag. I will make sure they can’t fight back, and you will eat them. Then, we will go our separate ways,” Jason regarded him with suspicion, but nodded. He sat by the campfire and extended his arms.

“So warm,” whispered the wraith. Andrew went and sat opposite him, letting the campfire act as a barrier. Jason smiled and Andrew saw his needle shaped black teeth. Andrew shivered. He stayed up all night, looking at Jason warily.

When morning came, Jason laid down and closed his eyes. Andrew did now. He had checked the wraith’s mind. Jason wanted to just wait for him to go to sleep and then clubber him with a rock over the head.

If Andrew wanted the thing to keep to its end of the bargain, then, he needed to watch it closely. So, he stayed awake and did so. He could feel annoyance coming from Jason. But, the man was undead. It could only feel hunger and nothing else.

Jason wouldn’t give up and leave. So, the only thing Andrew could do was wait and pray that Mark and Mary would come sooner. On the fourth day, his prayers were answered. He had laid traps, barriers, and pitfalls. Now, he only needed to overcome his exhaustion.