Disclaimer: I do not own anything written by Christine Feehan. This is purely a work of fiction (fan fiction) and I take no credit for anything produced by Christine Feehan. I do however own the "vampire sister clan" in this story, since I created them for the book I'm writing called "Immortal Blankout". So I suppose this is a crossover of sorts.

Heart in her throat, Gwen stared with terror filled eyes, at the fledgling vampire.

How had she been separated so easily from Viscera?

They had both sensed the dark presence of the rotting undead and had made the easy decision to fight them head on, together. There was no use trying to escape them. They were stuck in the Carpathian mountain side. Their scent was strong and there wasn't a village for miles. Their combined scent would be hard to mask when they barely had the energy to shift into mist.

Gwen and Vris had been traveling for days. After Kat went missing for several weeks, all of the sisters were worried and had en masse decided to separate in pairs in search for her.

Gwen wasn't a fighter. She was a fashion designer. So she had been paired with Viscera, the fighter, the expert on melee weapons.

Neither Gwen nor Vris had expected such a full on attack. They expected a sort of hurried cunning, but nothing of such short patience.

Vris had seen the first one sprint towards Gwen and had leapt in front, hissing. However, a second fledgling had appeared and slammed into Viscera from the side.

And in her terror, severed from her only protection, Gwen had made a run for it. She wasn't thinking very clearly, and in a panic, had put distance between herself and her sister.

What was keeping her? Surely she would have taken care of the corrupted Carpathian by now. Was she wounded? Dead?

Gwen shook her head. It was time to focus. For someone acclaimed to be immortal, her thoughts were akin to the humans the vampires used as cattle.

She wasn't very subtle about her fear either. It had to be wafting from her in spades. The vampire in front of her, eyes glowing red, licked his lips after sniffing the air. His chuckle was dark and spine chilling.

"What's wrong little girl? Too far from home?" His voice was deep and thick, as if his own rotted blood was clogging his throat.

What was Kat's rule?

Never respond to their baiting.

That was pretty easy. Gwen couldn't find her voice to save her life. Little strands of her bright green hair tickled her nose as her eyes shifted from side to side frantically.

"No use trying to run. Roderick has your sister in his claws already. You have no protector now. And it is obvious that you have no knowledge of battle. You're easy, so frail, so weak." His nasty voice sounded so eager, excited, like a pervert sniffing a pair of panties.

Gwen did have one single advantage. She was a dragonseeker. She was mage blood.

But she had never been in a battle before! Her sisters had constantly coddled and protected her. And she had let them! She was far too nervous now to conjure any shield or spell.

She didn't want to die this way!

"You are so very weak you might as well be human." It spat in disgust. "Not worthy of all the potential power that runs through your veins." It glared at her in something akin to envy.

Thick roots shot from the ground and slid around her ankles and wrapped around her legs. Two more shot from the earth and circled and shackled her arms and wrists. They were covered in sharp thorns and pierced her pale skin.

Gwen screamed as her life blood dripped down from the slices and cuts on her body.

"Viscera!" She screamed in fear. She threaded a spell into her scream. It would send out urgency to her sister via their strong mental connection.

Tears clouded her vision. She began to sob as she tugged at the roots to no avail. Tears dribbled off her mud streaked face and off her chin.

The demonic male who stood on the solid ground below her as she raised up by the earthy tentacles, laughed at her struggles, her tears, her panic. They all only served to make his meal tastier.

You must act now or die Gwen. There is no try. There is no time for panic and indecision. Viscera reached out to her on their telepathic link. Gwen was relieved for a moment. It meant her sister wasn't dead. Yet.

I'm so scared. I can't think straight.

You and Star are always debating with those social justice warriors on that blog site of yours; you should be good at reacting fast under pressure. The fact that Vris was trying to be funny told Gwen far more than it would an outsider. Vris never made jokes.

Vris what's going o-

Pay attention you little fool!

Gwen snapped back to reality as the thick ropes of plant life wrapped themselves tighter around her and punctured her deeper.

The sinister figure below had begun to lose patience and had begun to lap at the blood she was spilling.

Viscera was right. She had to act now or die. No one was here to save her. And Gwen didn't want to die. There was so much she wanted to do. Gwen concentrated hard and her eyes flung open fast and wide, glowing green light emanating from her eye sockets. Her mouth open and her fangs shown threw as she unleashed as much energy as she could, in every direction. It was a distraction, not a counter attack, but it would buy her time.

The roots snugly wrapped around her were incinerated in her green, mage, light. She could breathe again. She sent a little of her remaining energy into healing some of the deeper wounds. But she didn't have very much energy left.

The vampire hissed as the light enshrouded him. "You can't escape me with such a puny magic trick, you little bitch."

"Watch me" she vehemently whispered.

With what diminutive power she had left she gave a small boost to her speed and called out to her sister through their mental link.

Get as far as you can from him Gwen. I will come for you. I will find you. I swear.

Gwen trusted her sister inherently. But she didn't think she'd make it far with what little energy she had left. But she had to keep pushing. Go as fast as she can. Even if that meant pushing until she passed out.

She felt a shadow move behind her and cried out down the mental link, this time to all of her sisters.

I'm not going to make it! He's right behind me!

A shadowed tentacle shot through her upper chest, intended for her heart, but missing by only a scant few inches.

Gwendolyn! A feminine cry echoed in Gwen's ears from 5 of her sisters. Kat was still silent.

Blood shot from her lips and sprayed the foliage around her.

This is the end. Gwen's vision began to darken and her eyelid's began to sag. There appeared to be so much overwhelming pain, that she couldn't feel a thing.

At least, she would die without being in pure agony as several fledglings feasted upon her precious blood, sucking her dry.

Tears dripped down her cheeks as she sent out one mental whisper.

I am so sorry. For being so very weak.