A/N sorry its been a while I had writers block, you know when you have an idea but you cant quite figure out how to get there? Or maybe its just me, anyway heres the next chapter, hope you like it and I don't disappoint. And no I don't own the Carpathian series all dibs go to Christine Feehan I just like playing with her characters.

Chapter 10

There was the sound of crackling and a low murmur, I spun around just as I saw sparks fly in front of Mary and Tim they were wrestling by my side, Zacarias was standing awkwardly unsure what to do with the scraping kids. The crackle got louder and I could see a small streamline in the air as it halted a few centimetres from the children's heads, red and blue sparks originated from a dangling necklace on the kid's neck and formed a glittering shield in front of them. It started to dissolve to tiny instrument, but not before I got a good look at it. A bullet.

Tim and Mary stopped playing to stare in fear at the falling dust, all that was left of the bullet, and slowly the shield began to dim as it died down. My eyes snapped in a straight line directly up the path the bullet had come from, across woods, fields, directly to what I could make out as a small cluster of rocky boulders. I saw a flash of light, a reflection of light really, the give away of a scope on a sniper.

This all took mere seconds to happen, yet for me it was like an eternity as the fear still beat fresh in my heart and veins. Mary started screaming then, Tim had tears glittering in his eyes. The Carpathian's in the Inn and Sienna came running out. That was bad.

"Mary! Tim! What's wrong?" Sienna shouted as she dashed across the grass to us.

I saw another flash as the scope moved again. "Sienna look out!" I heard a faint zing, now that I was paying close attention I could make out the sound of a bullet. Then Sienna stood frozen as the same phenomenon happened to her as it did with her children. A red and blue glittering shield came to life and disintegrated the bullet, all originating from a necklace around her neck.

"All of you keep up a shield, someone's targeting us, I'll stop them." I said hurriedly.

Zacarias moved from his protective stance in front of the children and reached for me. I flashed my violet eyes at him. Don't interfere this is my business. I warned.

Before he could stop me I ran and jumped into the air, making my bones crack and remould into the shape of a raptor. A golden brown feathers decorated my form, and black feathers edged my wings and tail. I was flying as fast as I could in the form of a Spanish Imperial Eagle. The favourite bird from a place that I used to consider home, like so many places.

The scope moved again this time targeting me, I moved sharply using evasive manoeuvres to dodge the bullets, the miles were seconds whilst flying in the form of an eagle, and I was pouring everything into my speed to get to my target before it made another attack against my friends.

Ciara stop it, come back and I'll deal with this. Zacarias was practically shouting at my mind. Everyone could hear him, I had slowly started rebuilding my walls around my mind again, the only way he would be able to talk to me soon, would be if I gave him my blood. And like hell was that happening.

I heard heavy flaps, as broad wings gained closer on me. I rolled my eyes and ignored Zacarias as I caught up. The flash in the gap of the boulders moved and I saw a shadow dart from between the rocks, it headed for the back of the boulders where they formed a type of arch against the cliff face. I shifted and was running the instant my feet touched down.

I leapt over the rocks without hesitating, tailing the shadow of the person and keeping my knees slightly bent at all times to give me better balance and help me move quicker. Zacarias was close behind me. I threw myself into the black gap of the arch after the figure, throwing three daggers at where the person would be cornered.

So I was pretty darn confused when I rounded the corner to see my daggers embedded deep into the rock itself, a crack joining them in a vertical line. I spun around the area, my eyes taking in every detail in the dark. But…. There was absolutely no one here.

Zacarias loomed over me, taking up nearly the entire space as he gripped my wrist and pulled me to his side.

"When I tell you to do something for you're protection, you do it. You do not place yourself in harm and confront an enemy." He growled in a dark sinister voice. I may have been scared if I wasn't so befuddled. May have though, may have.

"Whatever, I just don't understand this though, how can someone just vanish, without even a trace of smell, or a hint of magic or energy which they used. My enemies don't just disappear, they cant, no one can. There's always something, no matter how good or tricky they are, they leave something behind."I was annoyed at myself for failing in catching my new enemy. I knew there had to be something but I just couldn't see anything, even when I tried looking without looking at the obvious, a trick I used to see things that were hidden. Zacarias started looking closely at a pile of rocks, seemingly fascinated. Maybe he had a pet rock as a kid and he was reminiscing. Oh I love sarcasm.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I turned back and reached for my daggers in the rock.

"These rocks are not normal, they don't match the mineral of the other rocks here and they seem to be in a pattern. Perhaps this is a safeguard." He answered offhandedly as he moved at a different angle to the rocks. I pulled the top and bottom dagger out of the wall with a chink, placing them in there holders at my waist. I reached for the middle one and grasped it tugging lightly. It seemed to be lodged deeper than the others. Nothing a bit of extra strength wouldn't fix. As I slid it out I turned to make a snide remark at Zacarias and about his pet rocks. When I felt something cold slither across my hand, sharp pins dug into my flesh and immediately my blood began to boil. Not from anger, but from poison.

I turned just as a wordless gasp of pain escaped me, Zacarias was at my side the same instant I saw it. A snake and plant hybrid, a bulbous head with rows of hideous teeth which were clamped around my hand and two longer pin like teeth halfway through my flesh injecting poison into my system. I tugged frantically, memories and nightmares nearly consuming me as the stench of death permeated the air. The teeth dug deeper and ripped groves into my flesh. Zacarias took the blade from my numb hand severing the head and pulling me out of the rocky arch, just as the poison numbed one side of my body and my leg gave out.

The pain was intense, but I couldn't scream. My pride and dignity, still, restrained me to merely painful gasps and panting. I felt cold and yet overheated, numb yet tormented by pain. Zacarias was saying something, something comforting as he flew us back to his people. They would help me right? Of course they would.

But as the pain and smell brought up fear, my senses dulled and the whispering memories became voices that taunted me.

"Help you? Who would ever want to help you? Your duty is to serve without question, complete obedience. Even if what we want kills you, you mustn't even hesitate. But seeing as you're so stubborn, maybe we should show you what we do to those who don't obey us, before you get too stubborn hmm?"

I could hear the faint scream that had been ripped from my throat as a child, inside I wept and no one knew, no one could see or hear the tormented child and soul I tried to smoother with a cold heart. I couldn't stop the aching emptiness as the poison brought back the hopeless feeling of being in pain constantly and having to live with it.

Ciara, my love, meu amour, I am here and I can see and feel and hear you.

His soft voice was too clear and that was when I became aware that someone's teeth were buried in my neck, my blood was being sucked from my veins. And it didn't hurt. In fact it felt a bit, euphoric.