Chapter 1

Lyn

I spotted another car coming towards me. As it neared me, it started to slow down. I let out a sigh of relief; I'd been walking for about five hours and I was starting to feel a little woozy. The black Mercedes slowed down to a crawl and stopped right in front of me. The driver-side window rolled down and I saw a nice-looking lady. She looked to be in her twenties and had masses of curly, chocolate-brown coloured hair framing a soft-featured face. She had brown eyes and a warm smile.

"Now, what's a nice young lady such as yourself doing out here? Where you headed?" She asked, resting her elbow on the car door, despite the cool night air. She wore a turquoise-blue turtle neck sweater and dark blue jeans.

"Missoula." I responded. "I was driving there to see my cousin when my car ran out of gas a few hours ago." The lie came easily to my lips; I'd been doing it almost all my life. She jerked her head towards the passenger-side door, motioning for me to hop in. I walked round the front of the car and got in, happy to be out of the night. I hadn't encountered any strigoi as I walked down the road, but I guess the ones from the St Vladimir's attack would have moved on by now. "I'm Rose."

"Nice to meet you Rose," the woman said, taking her foot off the break and driving the car forward. "My name's Relyn, but you can call me Lyn." I smiled and took in the car interior. The seats were black, as was everything else. It had that new-car smell of new leather and a fresh, crisp scent. I leant my head back and allowed myself to relax slightly, glad to not be walking alone anymore.

"Nice car," I said, noticing the dark tint to the windows. Lyn laughed and sped up, smiling. She seemed like the kind of girl who loved her speed. I liked her already. We sped our way to Missoula like there was no tomorrow. Well, maybe I'm exaggerating, but it took less time to get there than I thought it would.

Thinking about the time, my thoughts led me to a question. "So, Lyn," I started, turning my head towards her. "Why are you speeding around the roads at night? I mean, it's past midnight now." I added, looking at the time displayed on the dashboard in bright green numbers. She chose her words carefully before opening her mouth.

"Well, were I came from, we never really slept at night. I guess you could call us nocturnal." She managed a small laugh. "And then when I left, the schedule kind of stayed with me." She shrugged. I looked towards the windows and thought some more. Tinted windows . . . able to handle speed . . . night-time schedule. . .

"If you don't mind me asking, where did you go to school?" I asked, turning back to her. Everything was starting to fall into place, but I needed more evidence before I started throwing accusations around. She shifted in her seat and took a deep breath.

"It was called Mt Christian's Academy." I saw her sneak a look at me before turning back to watch the road again. "The place was more like a . . . college, than a high school campus. All old fashioned and such. And we had. . . bodyguards. . . sort of. Why do you need to know?"

I was smiling by this point. "Oh, just wanted to know if these would have any impact on your thoughts about me." I brushed my hair to one side, showing off my molnija marks. Lyn's eyes widened before she remembered to watch the road. I saw her gulp heavily and I gave a small chuckle.

"H-how-" she stammered. "How did you get those? I thought you couldn't get molnijas without having a promise mark." I put my hair back over my neck and caught her looking at one of my pockets -which was bulging from the stake that was in there.

"The way any other dhampir gets them, I guess." I sighed. "And now I'm off to get another mark. One that. . . will be harder to bear than any other." I closed my eyes and turned back to the window, effectively cutting off any more talk on the subject. "So, what do you do for a living?" I asked a few minutes later.

"I'm a nurse. The Academy doctor has been training me for eight years now." She smiled slightly and I wondered what experience she was reliving. I know I'd had a few episodes in the doctor's office. Maybe she'd known a spirit user like Lissa who could heal people.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when Lyn started talking again. "Well, we're not far from Missoula. You got any idea as to where this strigoi might be? I'd guess they would be hard to track." She paused. "Why are you tracking this strigoi anyway?" Great, she'd asked the one question that, if I answered, could ruin my composure.

"I knew him." I replied, reluctant to take a trip down memory lane in the presence of a stranger. "He was turned about a week ago. I. . . He told me about. . ." I sighed, continuing my explanation in a small voice. "Where he would like to go. We made an unwritten promise to each other. If either of us were to turn strigoi, the other would be the one to track them down, and. . . and kill them." Tears were threatening to spill over, but I wouldn't let them. I sniffed and lay my head against the window. Lyn took the hint and dropped the subject.

We rode the rest of the way to Missoula in silence, the soft purr of the engine the only thing separating the air from complete silence. I took the time to think things over. What would Lissa's reaction be when I eventually showed up again? What would she think of me after I left her to save Dimitri from an immortal life? And Adrian? What would happen when I got back? Would I be able to fulfil my promise? What if I couldn't? It would break his heart. When would I come back? Would he come to my dreams? How would that affect my mission? Could I cope with that? What if-

"You know what you're going to do now?" Lyn asked suddenly. I blinked and realised that we were finally in Missoula.

"Uh. . . no." I replied, starting to think about my immediate future. I knew I'd hit the bank and set up that account Adrian started in the morning, but I had a few hours to kill first. And nothing was open at this time of night. "I was just going to the bank in the morning. That's about all I've thought of at the moment." I shrugged.

"Well, I suggest you get some sleep. There's a blanket in the back if you wanted to sleep in the car. I'm guessing that you're going to change sleeping habits. May take a while to fully get used to." She smiled.

I was about to protest, telling her that I couldn't sleep in her car, when I realised that I had no better option. "You can get a place to stay tomorrow." She added.

I nodded and let my eyes close and the dreams take me in.