She heard them talking in low voices. The new one who had come in was obviously older than the two who had brought her here. The older one had told her she was a vampire but this couldn't be true. She had felt the fangs in her mouth and she was unmistakably thirsty. But surely she would know if she was?

The whispered conversation ended and the two vampires returned without the elder. The one called Koria sat on a chair to watch her while the other one lay on the couch to rest. She knew they would watch her at all times. But she had no idea what she would do if they didn't watch her. She didn't dare escape. Where would she go? Her memory was gone and for all she knew, she would never get it back.

Weakness was beginning to overcome her again and she gradually lay down eyes closing as sleep overcame her.

She awakened hours later to feel the chalice of blood being held to her lips. Natural reaction made her take a few gulps of the precious fluid before her mind kicked in and once again she knocked the cup from Koria's hand.

Fully awake again she looked round the room to see Palmar watching with the older vampire from earlier.

The older one motioned for Koria to move and he came and sat on the bed. She shied away from him as far as she could.

"What is your name child?"

"She frowned trying to remember. A memory formed in her mind of her childhood and her mother calling her 'Anissina'.

"My name is Anissina sir." She looked at him fearfully.

"Very well Anissina tell me of yourself."

Anissina stared. How could she tell this vampire who she was if she couldn't remember herself?

"I..i'm sorry sir but I cannot remember past yesterday when I was found and brought here."

"Very well you must remain here until we discover more about you. Koria and Palmar will look after you. You must drink or you will become weak and not survive."

"I do not wish for an existence that relies on the blood of others." She turned her face away and stared at the wall.

Kain got up and spoke in a low voice to palmar.

"Make sure she feeds."

"Yes my Lord."

Kain left the room and Koria picked up the discarded chalice. She sat on the bed and looked at Anissina.

"Please drink you will die if you don't."

Bloody tears were beginning to fall from Anissina's eyes and she wept openly. Hating her situation and powerless to do anything about it. Her thirst was building again and the chalice was there in Koria's hand waiting for her. She needed to drink from it to stop this thirst but at the same time the thought of it made her feel sick. She wept louder, spilling precious blood which only served to intensify her hunger more. It grew so strong that rational thoughts began to diminish and dissipate with the intense thirst she was feeling.

Her last vestige of will was broken and she grabbed the chalice from Koria's hand and drank and drank.

As the blood flowed and her hunger was sated, rational thoughts returned and she realised what she was doing but now she couldn't stop. Not until her body was completely fulfilled, did she cease drinking. Instead of throwing the chalice at the wall she handed it back to Koria who set it aside on the table by the bed.

She smiled at Anissina who was looking miserable but better than she had a short while ago. Koria had seen the look in Anissina's eyes that told her that her thirst was reaching fever pitch and she was just waiting for her to snatch the chalice and drink. It had been no surprise when she had but her handing the chalice back like that instead of throwing it at the wall did surprised her.

After setting it aside, she studied Anissina again.

"Feel better?"

"No, my hunger is gone but I feel terrible. I don't want to live like this."

"But it is our life child, it cannot be avoided. Lord Kain believes you to be one or two hundred years old. You must have been drinking blood for that long."

"I'm how old? But that's impossible! Surely I would have some recollection of two hundred years?"

But she didn't have anything. Her memory was just a blank void and no matter how much she concentrated, there was nothing there.

Koria felt pity for this vampire. She would help her as much as she could but it was going to be tough for a vampire with no memory. She would have to learn everything from scratch again. Hunting and everything else. Koria knew that it would be a struggle for Anissina but she had to try.

Koria wondered what would happen when or indeed if she got her memory back. What was buried inside it? She would be interested to see.

In his quarters Kain was seated in his chair looking out over the land bathed in the full moon. Who was this vampire who Palmar and Koria had found? He had never known one like her. To be as old as she and be repulsed by the thought of blood, it didn't make sense. Something must have happened to her but she would not be able to tell any of them what it was unless it returned.

Suddenly there was a frantic knock at the door.

"Lord Kain, come quickly! Anissina has attacked Koria and kidnapped her!"

Kain jumped out of his seat and seized the Soul Reaver.

It was Palmar and when Kain joined him they raced for his quarters. They entered to find the bed empty and both Anissina and Koria were gone. The window was open and Kain knew that that was their exit point however this room was very high up, how could she have got Koria to the ground?

Kain looked out the window but there was no sign of either of them. He was starting to realise there was more to this than a simple case of a vampire with bad amnesia.

"Palmar you are close to Koria. Can you sense her at all?"

Palmar concentrated hard for a minute or two.

"I cannot sense her my lord."

"Then we must act quickly." He stopped and reverted to using the whisper

"Mizariah."

A surprised voice came in reply. "Yes my lord?"

"Koria has been abducted by a strange vampire who claimed to have amnesia and she has been taken far from here. I need you to find her and report to me as soon as you have."

"Yes my lord."

Mizariah lay on her bed and using her dark gift she rose out of her body in spirit form and headed through the window. She looked around for some sign of where they might have gone. She pondered for a moment before heading north. She had to hurry. Koria might be in danger and her lord needed her to find her quick.

She flew over trees and valleys looking for signs of Koria and her abducter but there were none. Mizariah was getting concerned. This could take forever! She concentrated to see if she could sense another vampire anywhere.

Then she felt it. A brief trace of a vampire close by, whether or not it was Koria she couldn't tell.

The trace had come from a nearby hill and Mizariah flew over to it and began to circle round looking for a way in. Finding none she braced herself and sank through the top of the hill and through the earth.

She sank down and suddenly came out into a large room and hovered at the top observing the room below.

There was a vampire chained with a collar round her neck to a stake in the floor. By the looks of her, she had been severely beaten and was unconscious bleeding but the wounds were slowly closing. Mizariah was filled with concern for this vampire and floated down to her. She then saw that her eyes were open and staring with a blank expression written in them.

She was not dead but she wasn't coherent either. Mizariah saw defeat and submissiveness in those eyes and she wondered if this one knew anything of what was going on. From the state of her she should have been writhing in agony or crying at least but there was nothing.

The rest of the room was empty bar some shackles attatched to wooden stakes driven into the earth.

There was a archway leading out of this room and going down into the earth. Mizariah followed it and went deeper and deeper till she came to another room. This one was occupied by various instruments used for creating magic, as well as two vampires. One was Koria who wasn't looking damaged or she had been and her wounds were already healed. The other vampire had his back to her but something about him was very familiar. Then he turned round and she recognised him.

200 years before, this vampire had been banished by Kain for drunkenly bragging one day that he would one day be stronger than Nosgoth's emperor. Kain had been furious and banished him to roam the north of Nosgoth. In Mizariah's opinion he should have been cast into the abyss but she was not one to question Kain's motives.

He looked healthy, strong and powerful and Mizariah wondered how he had managed to be like this.

"My lord." She whispered to Kain. "I found Koria, she is inside a hill with no entrance which is situated in the north."

"Thank you child."

"There is no entrance to this hill, ask my father to bring you."

"Project an image of where you are for him to see."

"Yes my lord."

The whisper ended and Mizariah whispered her father.

"Father."

"Yes daughter what is it?"

"I am going to project a mental image for you, you are to bring our lord to this location."

Galen did not question he merely waited for the image which Mizariah sent him.

"I have it daughter, as soon as Kain arrives here I will bring him."

"Father please bring my body."

"I will, and your sword."

The whisper ended and Mizariah left the room and flew back up to the first room where the beaten vampire was. She was still staring blankly into the distance but most of her wounds had healed.

Mizariah settled to wait for Kain and Galen to arrive.