This is actually kind of pitiful, when this story first came to me, it all fit together so well, but that just shows you how terrible either a: my memory or b: my note-writing ability is.


I flinch away instinctively from the Strigoi approaching me. She smirks mockingly at me "Ignorant child! Don't you know we do not sleep?"

"I know that!" I snap at her, launching up to my feet, far faster than I could have done before.

She studies me with the typical angry expression of the Strigoi race, wrinkling her nose "What is wrong with your eyes?" she demands, glaring at me with her 'normal' red-rimmed orbs.

"How should I know?!"

"They're your eyes!"

"Well, I can't see them, can I?!"

"They're not normal! They're glowing!"

"So are yours!"

"Yours aren't doing it properly!" she growls the words, "They're not red, and— Argh!" she screams in frustration "Wash off the blood imbecile! Do you want the humans to discover us?!"

I stare at her for a moment, "But… I already did." I touch my face, to find it clean and soft, not sticky.

"I can still smell it on you, it is distracting!"

"Tell me where it is and I will." This is worrying me, I can't smell anything, I had a shower, I'm certain there's no blood on me. What is happening here?

The Strigoi warily steps even closer, when standing directly in front of me, just a matter of inches away, she scents the air again with a sinister smile. "Perhaps I was wrong." she purrs "It is not your last meal I detect, it is you."

"Me? But—"

"Silence little one." she coos, leaning in to whisper in my ear "We do not want anyone to hear us, do we?"

"Well, no, I guess not, but wha—" my words cut off on a shriek of surprise as she sinks her fangs into my neck. I flail about in shock for but three seconds before more intelligent reactions kick in – literally.

The Strigoi hisses at the blow, dragging her teeth through my neck as she falls – it hurts, but it will heal soon enough. Falling into a defensive crouch she studies me as she licks her lips "What are you?" she says, almost to herself.

I wish I had my stake… I think morosely, because it's going to be hard to defend myself without it.

She laughs "No matter, you taste good, and that is all I care about." and leaps at me, reaching for my right arm, fangs bared.

I sidestep, hitting into the balcony railing, then vaulting over it. I need some way to stop her, I haven't got a stake, or an axe, or a way to set her on fire – so what do I do, I run, just as… Dimitri taught me. Stop thinking about him and run goddammit! Do you want to die?!

The storm is still raging about our heads, slicking the pavement beneath my feet in a way that would once have disturbed my ability to run, but now was no such problem – the advantage of super-dhampir reflexes. Although the wet doesn't hamper my speed, it still produces a problem, even if I find some way to set my persuer on fire, it will never finish her off now.

I need to find some other way to escape, because I absolutely refuse to die like this twice!

Two words loom above my head, in bold letters with an arrow pointing to my right. Words I never thought I'd be overjoyed to see: POLICE STATION. Hell, I know that the fatso cops won't be able to take down a Strigoi, but they should be able to distract her long enough for me to get away!

So, with a faint, fleeting sympathy for the lives I'm about to endanger, I sprint through the revolving door.

Let's just say the reaction was better than I'd hoped for.

(Sonya's POV)

"Hmm, I think Lissa has just proved she is indeed fallible." I muttered to myself upon hearing the police report.

Strigoi attacks upon humans were common, yes, but never so blatantly obvious. Either the body was never found, or it did not seem to be death by drainage, or at least, not through being bitten. Though brutish, Strigoi are not stupid, and wish for our world to remain secret just as much as the Moroi do.

"Allentown." I whispered, writing it on my notepad amidst the many other scrawls and revelationary gibberish that was typical of my spirit-addled mind. "A crown of a town, as brown as a gown made of duck down." realising what I am saying, even to myself, I mumbled a curse and resolved to remain silent lest spirit make nonsense poems again.

I looked down at the rest of my notes, only to see useless drivel. In frustration at my snail-pace, I screwed up the paper and sent it flying across the room, then had it dance its way into the open fireplace.

Spirit may send me whacko, yet I cannot help but love the warm feeling it gives me whenever I use it.

Rose needs me, and all I can come up with are stupid poems! Dr Seuss may have made a living out of them, but I can't bring her back to life with them!

I'm sorry Rose, I'm trying, I promise I am.

(Rose's POV)

I have never felt so relieved in my life as I do now. None of them died, they went straight out and shot the bitch long enough that she crawled away to heal, hissing curses at me as I faded into the shadows.

That seems to be something I have become good at now that I've practised for a total of two minutes. I might not have the strength or overwhelming speed, but I have Strigoi reflexes and stealth, hence the intriguing ability I am currently taking advantage of.

I am walking in the shadow of a wall, in quite plain sight of the police men and woman who came to help me – yet they can't see me. I dance around a little, waving, and still they don't notice. "Cool." I whisper to myself, glancing down at my semi-visible body. "Now I really am Shadowkissed." I try to joke, but even I can appreciate it wasn't funny.

One question remains, now that I've evaded my attacker: What do I do now?

I can't have the future I once dreamt of, at the moment I don't even want it. This is Lissa's fault, why should I protect her? Why should I care about her when she let this— no, made this happen? And I can't go back to Court to see anyone else, I'll end up hurting them, like that poor little girl…

Not to mention, I can still feel that desire pulsating throughout my extremities. My fingers and toes dance with want, from light ballet to pounding hip-hop in a matter of moments. The swirling sensation of emptiness fills my body with urges and one solution.

No, Rose, you can't.

But I must.

I am moving before I can stop myself. I know exactly what my legs are leading me towards, but I can't halt them. No matter how hard I try, no matter how loudly I scream the commands, my feet keep going against me.

My body is not my own, and in some ways it feels good to just let go. There's no need to worry about anything if I hand over of control. My actions won't have consequences because they won't be mine. I won't feel the guilt, because I won't have caused it.

Rose, you are your own person, don't give in.

I ignore the thought. Giving in is just so much easier. It erases the pain of what I have done, and what I have lost.

My feet carry me silently through alleys and backstreets, following my now-hyper-sensitive nose in the search for what my body screams for. The scent is overpowering, sending anticipating shudders through me that make me run all the faster with desire for the taste, the rush, the return to life.

It's all that I want, all that I long for, all that I need. I must be alive again, and if that can't happen, I'll steal the life from others so they can't have it either. It's not fair for it to only be a small few who must only exist instead of living. I am spreading justice throughout the world by emptying it of people who are lucky, they have had their time, and now I deserve mine!

My nose has brought me to a club of some sort, I could read the sign and find out what, but I don't care enough to do so. All I care about here is the smell of life wafting from just around the corner, lifeblood and alcohol, not the best of combinations, but it should add a little extra kick to the flavour.

I leap onto my victim, sinking my teeth into his neck, ignoring his startled cry as I enter his nearest artery and rip it open. Warmth spreads its way across my face, and the whole front of my body for that matter, but I don't mind the mess, it's just proof of my claim on this man's life, evidence that it now belongs to me. I am a little closer to alive now that I'm coated in it, surely?

Rose, you're going to regret this, stop before it's too late.

No! I regret nothing about this! His cries are music to my ears, melodies in time with my swallows, coming faster and faster as I race through his bloodstream. My heartbeat rushes as I take his final breath from him, revelling in the sound of the fluttering sigh of a soul departing this world and entering another.

His lifeless form falls from my hands, hitting the ground with a soft thump that I don't care about as I stand for a moment, basking in the majesty that is life. What have I been doing all these years? Protecting people, what's the point of that? Life is all that matters, and only mine and those who're half-alive like me – we are the only ones who deserve it!

Rose, what are you thinking?! When you wake up you'll hate yourself for this.

I have no idea where that thought came from, but wherever it's from, I don't agree with… with— Oh God!

I stare down at the third person I have murdered in my entire life. I stare at the empty eyes, the open mouth caught in a scream, the clawed hands.

Now that I can feel anything but need, I feel the faint pain of his attack, the rapidly healing bruises and tiny scratches. He fought for his life, yet I still stole it from him, wanting to ride on the high it gave me.

That makes me a monster. I chose to do this, I ignored my humanity – or dhampirness or whatever you wanna call it – and let myself kill someone. I lost control, and I slaughtered an innocent.

I cannot let it happen ever again, I've got to stop this before it goes any further. But now I know I can't resist the call of my hunger, I must find some way to silence it once and for all.…

(Sonya's POV)

My eyes widened as I walked through my personal plot – a gift from Queen Lissa for all my 'help' over the years – I had forgotten something important. This was nothing new, spirit often caused me to forget things, but rarely ever in such important situations. I was certain the thing I'd forgotten was critical in helping Rose, but what was it?

I remembered learning something from police reports, but that aspect didn't matter. I'd thought of something then, some way to help her, even theoretically, but what was it?!

I glared at a nearby rhododendron bush, which grew about a foot in each direction in answer to my frustration.

A buzzing sound and sensation drew my attention to my pocket, my phone was ringing. Retrieving the cold device irked me, but checking the caller's identity improved my mood somewhat.

"Hello Hail." I said cheerfully, doing my best to ignore spirit's dark attitude.

"Hey Sunny, I just wanted to check you're okay?"

Well, we both knew he wasn't asking if I was eating my vegetables – more that I wasn't a vegetable myself.

"I'm fine." I answered mostly truthfully, "But I swear I've forgotten something."

"Did you check your notebooks?"

"Yes, of course I did," I snapped, then took a breath to try and shake the clinging anger "three times, but I can't find anything remotely useful in any of them."

"Well, do you remember what you were doing when you thought of whatever it was?"

"I think I was listening to police reports."

Mikhail was silent for a moment in surprise "Police reports? Why?" his voice held more than a little concern.

"To find Rose."

"You don't need to, sunshine, my team are scouting for her as we speak."

"But there's no sign of her, is there?" I said sickly-sweetly, and immediately hating myself for it.

"Sonya, are you sure you're all right?"

"I'll live, but Rose won't. We have no idea how the Shadowkissed react to being 'Awakened', but from what I've managed to find, the result won't be good for her."

"Being Strigoi won't be good for her."

"I know that! Going Strigoi was the worst mistake I ever made! But I am in a better position to cope with such behaviour than Rose is! She fell apart over the murder of Victor Dashkov, imagine—"

"Shh, Sonya, calm down, I get the picture. Now, what were you saying about Rose not being here?"

I took four long breaths before speaking "I think she left, and I did know the name of where I thought she'd gone but…"

"I'm sure it'll come to you at some point."

"Yes, I know, but it's just so frustrating when I'm trying to research."

Mikhail continued to make soothing noises at me over the speaker whilst I looked around my garden for some sort of insight into what I'd forgotten.

"Have you checked the nearby towns?" I asked randomly.

"I have three Guardians sent in each direction."

"So, three in Allentown?" is what came out of my mouth, without the thought passing through my brain.

"They're probably arriving around now, yes, we only decided to split up today. Why?"

"Get yourself there, now!"

"Sonya, shh, what's up?"

"Rose is there, I'm next to certain, and she's in trouble."

"What do you mean, 'trouble'?"

"It was on the report, they'd just shot a young woman who was attacking people, and there'd already been one murder before that."

I heard Mikhail's shocked intake of breath "Okay, I've gotta go then."

"Be careful!" worry lined my words.

"Aren't I always?" he murmured with a laugh, then hung up.

After returning the phone to my pocket, I stood in silence, letting the peace of my garden wash over me, the floral scents and natural sounds soothing the tremors in my hands.

I need to tell everyone here, it occurred to me suddenly, I need to let them know. But a bolt of fear shocked through me as another thought entered my mind. Dimitri is really not going to like this, the human police shot his girlfriend and have her down as a murderer.

Well, it won't be the first time she's endured either of those, I supposed as I picked a random direction and started walking.

(Rose's POV)

It didn't work. I am Strigoi enough that normal methods don't work on me, but dhampir enough that most if not all of my bones are broken. It hurts, like hell, but I'm healing. I can feel it, splinters of cartilage fusing with shredded tissues. I must look a sight, blood pooling around a fractured skull, bones protruding from my leg, my shoulder and my back. But the fatal factors are rapidly repairing themselves, the bones pulling back into my body.

I don't know how long I've been lying here, and I don't know why no-one's noticed the failed attempt.

Rose, what are you doing? This isn't you. The Rose I knew would be fighting.

To be honest, I'm tired of fighting, tired of the guilt, tired of the pain.

In fact, I am simply tired – something that has been worrying me for the three or four days I've now been Strigoi(?) for. Surely since Strigoi do not sleep, they shouldn't feel fatigued.

But that might be because they thrive on the high of drinking blood.

Rose, no, stop thinking about it.

I can't, and I now know exactly what is to follow. There is going to be a fourth murder on my hands.

My exhausted and broken body pulls itself together faster at the thought, arms pushing my torso off of the ground for a total of five seconds before crying out in pain and collapsing again. Yeah, I'm just gonna lie here a little longer, heal some more.

But already my heart is pounding, and my body is screaming for reasons other than pain.

Rose… They're coming.

My abusive answers to my alien thoughts halt for a moment with sadness. That particular voice in my head sounded exactly like… well, like Mason, just before the attack on St Vladimir's.

Rose, they're coming for you.

I look up, and see that my crazy subconscious is right. I need to move, now. But I can't, my right leg is stil broken in three places, and my spine has only half healed from its shattered state.

I am defenceless as four Strigoi come towards me, hunger lighting their hellfire eyes, and genuine smiles on their faces. They catch sight of each other from their respective directions, and all shout the same word:

"MINE!"


Hopefully the next one's gonna be better, but this story might end up being very short.
Very sorry for how badly this had ended up going.
xxx GC