Fan Fiction ❯ To be announced later ❯ Memories and Music ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1

Slowly braiding the long blue black hair, she looked upon herself wondering what was going to become of herself. How many centuries had she waited for the one? How many more did she had before she had no choice but to grow old as the humans did or greet the dawn? Carin was always under the protection of at least one male and more recently she had decided to conceal her presence from everyone she knew. She wanted to live her life out peacefully, along side her human friends. She had finally accepted the fact there was a real good chance that she would never have a lifemate. She untied her robe and stepped out onto the balcony. Her ice blue eyes looked across the ocean, the moonlight reflecting in them. Her mind kept wandering to how she could be so alone. Men had thrown themselves at her feet over the centuries all begging for her hand in marriage. She easily searched their minds, finding only a lust for wanting to see what it was like to have her in bed so they could brag to their friends or to get their hands on the money she had made from her piano concerts over the years.

Her parents had raised her in Italy and how she wished she could flee there and seek protection from Byron and his lifemate. She had gotten a chance to meet with Antoinetta, Byron's lifemate, on one of their many trips back to Romania. Carin had a gift for music much in the same way Antoinetta did. Both loved the piano and would play for endless hours should anyone let them. Many times Carin shared what she had written with Antoinetta to get some feedback on it. She had begun to live in France in hopes of getting inspiration for a new piece from something or someone. No one would touch her for as long as both Lucian, Gabriel, and their lifemates were in the country. She would never be able to hide her presence completely, Francesca would make sure of that. Carin knew many languages and could escape to any country and blend in perfectly. Mikhail would never allow her to go alone, someone would always be watching her and she always knew who.

She returned inside and sat down at her piano. Her only friend throughout the long centuries of her existence. Her fingers stroked over a few keys, almost in a caress. She started to play a slow, sad song that she had put all of her feelings and emotions into. The notes were meant to speak to her lifemate. He would know those notes were only meant for him, even if she performed it in front of a million people. The wind carried the notes out and through the city. The people in the small town knew the song well. Most had known the song since they were young children. It always soothed a crying baby in the night, calmed any fears a child might have from a nightmare, let apologies come out from a couple in a fight. Closing her eyes she began to play from her memory. She knew every note by heart and no longer needed the sheet music. She had taken it to the Carpathian mountains and locked them away, that should she choose to end her life before finding her lifemate, that he would know the songs she had written for him. She left instructions for her lifemate telling him to seek out Antoinetta, so that he may know the way the music was meant to be played.

She finished the song and let her fingers lay on the keys. Tears ran down her face. Each note was from her very soul and she could not share this with her lifemate. Over the years she tried to understand why, when so many of the males were turning, that she was not a lifemate to any of them. It pained her to learn of all of the males who had been killed because they had turned vampire and the prince and the other hunters had no choice but to end their lives. Men she knew, great men who had many gifts, given up their souls. Her goodness, she felt in her heart, was fading as more time went by.

If Carin chose to live her life as a human, she would loose the ability to protect herself from anyone. She would never know the joys of being with her other half, or having children. Living as a human would make Carin, in her own eyes, a failure to her race. She was a healthy, powerful Carpathian woman who was capable of bearing children. However she knew that the odds of her having any female children were slim to none and bringing a male child into the world. A child who would have immense odds against him finding his lifemate. She would never want to put her own child through that. Even though she was female, Carin was somewhat doomed to walk the Earth alone until her lifemate came along. Her body wanted the eternal rest. Mikhail would never allow it. None of the males would allow it.

Carin cared little for the males of her race. Her only brother, who was about a century older than she, had turned vampire and she felt him turn. She cut her mind off from him. It had been too much for her to endure. She felt his every kill he made as a vampire. Eventually Gregori read her mind and used her mind to find her brother. He had dealt justice to her brother in the ways of their people. Truth was she had never really forgiven Gregori for have taken her brother's life. It had to be done. To ensure no more mortals or immortals would get hurt it was necessary to end her brother's life. After Mikhail had told her what gregori had done, is when Carin left Romania. She didn't go back for a couple of centuries, refusing to be around the man who was responsible for the death of her brother. Carin had held onto her brother for support. Even when she had sworn to cut her mind off from him, she still from time to time reached for his mind only to shut that contact off when she realized what she was doing.

Her parents were killed around the same time most of the, now, adult Carpathians lost their parents. There was so much needless blood shed during that period of time. So many humans mistaken for a vampire. Carpathians killed in the way of "traditional vampire" killings. Her own parents had been dug up from where they had gone to ground and left in the brightest sun of the day. Carin was still a fledgling during that time, as well as her brother, so they could stand being out in the sun while their parents could not. No matter how long she lived, she ended up reliving that day over and over again. That day would always haunt her until the day she chose to end her life. She knew everything that happened that day. Going over the events, trying to figure out if there could have been a way to warn her parents, or maybe if the family had gone to ground some place higher in the mountains maybe her parents would still be alive.

1400, Romania

Her and her brother had risen after they had been sure their parents were in the deep sleep of their people. She was nearly a century old and her brother nearly two, and close to losing his emotions. She wanted to go to the nearby church and play on the piano that was in one of the smaller rooms. James never understood why his sister loved the piano as much as she did. Whenever she played, so much emotion would pour out of song, it was hard for anyone not to be moved by it.

"Why not just tell mother and father that you want to buy a piano so that you can play and not have to chance being around humans?" he asked leaning on the piano as she started another song.

She smiled at him, loving how he worried about her when they were not around their parents, "The humans of this village have never done anything to harm us. They love the music I play and I cannot deny them the music that helps them so much. I think it is partly because of my music you are able to hold onto your emotions."

James had learned to scan the area around the church while she played. A small society of people were gathering and every Carpathian knew that they suspected them to be vampires. The prince was beginning to worry over what might happen should these humans act on what they were planning. Carin knew of the threat, but kept playing her music for the people who needed its calming sound. There was a few songs that she would play in a particular order, the order told a story. A sad story, but it always had a happy ending. It gave the people hope in a time of impending wars and death.

He sense something, coming from the north, slowly making its way to the village. He scanned a bit further to see who these people were, the society of hunters who had sworn to God that they would rid the world of the evil vampires. All of the Carpathians were now in mortal danger and they were the only ones awake to know of the danger coming. When her brother grew silent, she reached into his mind and saw what he was scanning. Her instantly stopped playing and ran from the church. She was already outside by the time he realized she had gone. Carin knew where her parents had gone, as well as quite a few of her friends and their lifemates. James saw her running along the path that the humans were going to take and tackled her into the shrubs and covered her mouth to keep her quiet.

James what are you doing? I have to warn the others. They are asleep and will not realize they are in danger until it is too late.

You will not put yourself in danger needlessly. I am more capable of protecting our people than you are.

Why? Because I'm a woman I cannot protect our people, she asked coldly. She knew of the secret meeting the prince had with the strongest warriors. The angels of death had been there and they were capable of defending the entire race on their own. She hated the prince for sending them away. Both of them were fledglings and knew that if they were seen they would be forced to tell where everyone was. The human men would want their own way with Carin and would torture everything out of her. The humans came down the path and James cloaked their presence from their eyes. He had only recently mastered the skill and was grateful he had.

She broke away from him, shifting into an eagle, and took to the sky. He cursed at himself for letting her get away from him. He had no choice but to follow her. The sun was painful to their unprotected eyes, but Carin knew she had to warn the prince and his lifemate. She dove into the trees, not thinking of what injuries she could sustain doing such a dangerous task. She managed to land, with a few minor cuts, in a thicket of bushes only to look on in horror as the men were digging up where the prince and his lifemate lay. James landed shifting back into his human form and watched as the men killed Sarantha, forcing Vlad to watch in the mid-day sun.

Mikhail, her thoughts instantly went to the prince's son, James we need to find Mikhail now. He will have no choice but to lead our people and we cannot allow them to get to him.

Mikhail has no doubt sense what has gone on.

I'm not letting them get away with this, she said her voice filled with tears. She shifted into a gray-black wolf and approached the men who had taken the prince and his lifemate's lives. No Carpathian woman would kill, but after what she had witnessed that rule no longer applied to her. She showed her teeth, growling loudly at the men. Her ice blue eyes never left them.

"Look at this little wolf. This one still wants to protect the dead. Wonder if it knows where the others are......" the soldier said spear in hand. The other soldier took his spear and they tried to back Carin into a corner. She had not thought anything through before shifting. For a moment she lost the image of the wolf and James immediately held it for her. He came out from the bushes leaping in front of his sister.

Get away from here. I do not want you around when I kill these men, he said as an order. She had to do as he said. She retreated back into the bushes hearing two sharp cracks that she knew were the soldier's necks. After a few minutes he came limping back to her, still shifted.

James, they got you, she shifted back into her human form and gently moved the fur from the wound. He growled and snarled at her a few times.

"James return to your normal form. It will be easier to treat you when you do not have the animal instincts ruling over your body." she explained taking some of the soil and mixing it with her salvia. He slowly shifted back and leaned up against a tree. The wound was deep and he would need blood. She tore the long sleeve away from her dress and opened her wrist with her teeth and held it to his mouth, "Take what is offered that you may be strong."

He took her blood into his body. Her blood was not as strong or powerful as the others, but he needed to take from her to make sure he would live through the next few hours. He closed the wound on her wrist. He would not leave his sister weak when there was an army around determined to kill everything in its path. Carin blinked and turned around suddenly and stared at the shrubs. A large black wolf with silver eyes came walking out. Her ice blue eyes found the wolf's and she knew who it was. How could he be out in the middle of the day? He was nearly considered an ancient and to out in the middle of the day had to be painful.

"Gregori what are you doing here? You should go by Mikhail to ensure the humans do not get him." Carin said turning her face away from the steel cold eyes Gregori had.

"You have given all the blood you can spare to your brother and I will give him the rest. He will heal fast once we have put him to ground." Gregori answered slitting his wrist open with one nail, "Take what is freely offered to you so that you may live and be strong."

A person, human or Carpathian, could get lost in Gregori's soft voice. Carin took her knees up and rested her head against them and began to cry. She knew the village was nothing but death. She knew her parents were dead. Trying to reach for that mental path, she found nothing. Before her mother had been killed, her mother's mind had searched for her and James' minds to make sure they were okay and Carin heard an awful scream of pain. Gregori compelled James into the deep sleep of their people and put him to ground, putting up safeguards as he did so. He walked over to Carin.

"Gregori go away!" she yelled through her tears. "I should be dead. I didn't fly fast enough to warn the prince and his lifemate. In trying to warn them my own parents were killed and countless other couples. We should have warned everyone, but James didn't sense it fast enough."

"You must go to ground as well. It is the only safe place for you. This evening you can rise and help the others." He kneeled down in front of her, "Look at me. You tried to protect our prince and his lifemate, he saw you try to help, but it was too late. This army was huge and they struck when our ancients are at their weakest. You are important to us and for now I must ask you go to ground, or I will do so myself."

"I'll go myself. I do not want someone to send me. I can do so myself!" she protested going to the spot where her brother was lain and opened the earth above him so that she may sleep above him. She turned around and saw Gregori was still watching her, to make sure she went to ground, "Gregori make sure Mikhail is okay. And tell him I'm sorry I was too late to save his parents."

She lay down in the welcoming soil. Filling the dirt in around her, she lay there for a moment and cried. She then shut down her heart and lungs and allowed herself a much needed sleep. Gregori put a few more safeguards over the two siblings to make sure that Carin was not lost to their people.

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She awoke feeling the wind against her skin. Her brother had no doubt risen before her and taken her out with him. She stood up and cleaned herself in the way of their people, merely thinking themselves clean and it was done. Carin walked through the forest to the village. She looked around and tears filled her eyes. No one had been spared. She walked around being as quiet as she could. Carin made herself walk to where she knew her parents had gone to ground. She would no doubt find them dead. Every step she took, was heavier on her heart. A few of her friends had been slain and she found their bodies and it felt like she was having the life taken out from her.

The small clearing had always been used by their family for as long as either one could remember. James stood there staring at his parents. Carin covered her mouth with her hands to avoid letting out a scream. She dropped to her knees and began to cry. Her heart had been ripped out and burned when she saw her parents lying there dead. James looked back at her and went to her side.

This shouldn't have happened, she said into his mind. James never felt so much hurt, regret, and sorrow in his sister before this. She was blaming herself for the death of all of the Carpathians and villagers alike.

I'm going to go find Mikhail. Bury our parents in this spot. This was the last place our family was together and I want them to be buried here, she said no emotion. Her emotions had gone numb over the overwhelming toll the death and destruction had caused. He nodded and let her go.

There was a small house at the edge of the village that had the light on. Mikhail and Gregori were no doubt in there discussing what should be done in the wake of losing so many in a short period of time. Walking up to the house, she felt two others. She carefully opened the door and let herself in. The four men all looked at her at the same time. She looked up and found Mikhail's eyes.

"I did not mean to disturb what all of you were talking about." she apologized trying her best to keep a straight face. "I just had to come here and tell Mikhail something."

Mikhail stepped forward and went by the door to talk to her, "What is it Carin?"

A tear fell down her face, "I didn't get to your parents in time. If I had flown a tiny bit faster I probably could have distracted those soldiers and your parents would probably still be alive."

"What are you talking about?" he asked softly, a slight command issued to make sure she told him the answer.

"James and I rose after our parents had gone to ground." she began to explain, leaning on the wall for support since her legs had begun to give out. "We went to the church so that I could play some of my music. While I was playing James sense only a few humans, the same ones that had been trying to prove our kind was vampire. Then when I went into his mind to see what he was, I think I felt the army. I couldn't tell because reading and seeing through people's minds is still quite difficult for me. I ran from the church and flew to where I knew your parents were." she closed her eyes in an attempt not see what she had again, "There were already two soldiers there and they had your mother. They killed her right in front of your father."

She slid down and sat on the floor, overcome with sorrow. James knocked on the door and Gabriel opened it. James' eyes widened at the sight of one of the legendary twins. He heard his sister and went to her side, "Carin why did you come here? I buried mom and dad just as you had asked and when I turned around I found you were gone."

"She felt that she must apologize for not warning my parents." Mikhail answered. "You and your sister should not have been awake during the time the army arrived. However, I am grateful to your sister."

Both James and Carin looked up at Mikhail surprised. They had disobeyed their parents and then had not sent out a call to the sleeping Carpathians of the danger.

"When Carin first saw my parents she said my name in her mind. She didn't notice it, but she had called to me and I awoke." he explained first looking at James then Carin. "I awoke before a few of the soldiers got to me. Carin ended up saving my life and I am in debt to her."

She slowly stood up and finally took a look at the other men standing in the room. Lucian and Gabriel lightly bowed before her and all she could do was stare. Three members of the same family all in one room. The family that had always protected the Carpathian race. Carin knew of their names, but never in her dreams would she have thought of meeting them.

"There was nothing you could have done." Lucian spoke. "This army struck when all of them were weak. Gregori told you this earlier. Do not blame yourself for something you could not control."

It's hard not to, she said in her mind somewhat knowing Lucian was more than capable of reading her thoughts. She excused herself from the house and walked out into the night air. Carin had to go where her parent's bodies laid. She had to apologize to them.

James felt guilty for letting her leave on her own when he knew there was a possibility of the soldiers still wandering around. He bowed to the four men and quickly went for the door.

"Carin is a strong one." Mikhail said before James had closed the door. "Do your best to protect her until she finds her lifemate. She will feel guilt if I have myself or someone else watch over her. Please keep her safe as we have lost most of our women in this small fight. I am sorry for the lost of your parents."

James looked upon the man he knew would become prince of the Carpathian people, "And I for yours."

Carin stared at the ground where her parents were buried. She should have warned her parents rather than trying to warn the prince. She knelt down and put her hand over the soil. The earth still in protest over what had happened to its people. So much blood was mixed in with the soil. She now longed to be a healer, in anyway she could be one. Never again would she allow someone to know the pain of losing someone as she had experienced with her parents.

Mom, dad I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough to warn you. I thought only of the prince and his lifemate and not you, her eyes began to water again. The more she cried the more raw her eyes felt. That was the only thing she felt she could do though. Cry over the loss of the her friends, family, and even people she did not know.

"Carin quit blaming yourself." James said standing behind her, "Both Lucian and Gregori said you could, we could not have done anything. Mikhail does not blame you for what happened. If we had been in the ground with mom and dad we'd be dead as of right now. We can go to Italy for awhile."

She looked over her shoulder briefly, "I want to go to ground for awhile. I don't want to see anymore death. There was enough of it before this army came through. Most of the males are turning vampire because there are very few females around and I am not a lifemate to any of the men that are alive. I knew them and now they have to be brought to justice for the sake of keeping us and the humans safe."

He knelt down and hugged her. She needed time to grieve. James was lucky in the sense that he still had his emotions and could be there for her, "I will follow you and go with any decision you make."

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Around 1700, Italy

Carin sat her piano playing her usual songs that she and her brother knew by heart. The music she played kept him tied to her and to the light. Carin could feel the darkness consuming his soul and she had begun to get more and more creative with how to keep him from turning. She would not hesitate to fully merge her mind in his and show him the world as she saw and felt it. She knew of the promise Mikhail and James had made a few centuries earlier. James was to protect her until she had found her lifemate. It had been three centuries and he had kept his word. He had lost his ability to see colors and feel emotions not too long after their parents had been killed.

"James I know you must feed this night." she said playing her piano.

"Carin I do not trust myself anymore. The last time I did so I nearly killed the person, had it not been for you screaming at me to stop." He ran his hand through his hair trying to figure out how he had gotten so close to turning, "I do not think I can stop next time, even if you call to me. I took blood from Gregori and he took a small portion from me closing the wound on my leg that day. He will know if I turn and he will be the one who kills me if I turn."

She opened her eyes for a second and closed them again feeling the notes of the music run through her soul. Her lifemate would know this song. Where he was or how close he was to turning was beyond her. She remembered how much her mother had loved this particular song and Carin never grew tired of playing it.

"I will not allow you to turn. You are the only family I have left. What would happen if you turned? You'd be condemning your lifemate to a lonely existence. It is not fair for her. If staying around to protect me is not enough, than for your lifemate." She stopped playing and turned around and faced her brother, "James do not leave me alone in this world. If you turn and when you are killed I will end my life."

He walked up to her and kissed her on the forehead, "How I wish I could remember the shade of blue you had for your eyes. I wish I could still feel everything and be there for you how I used to be."

"James, you could not help it. It is just something that happens to men of our race. Please go feed. I know you are weak. I will play the song that mom loved so much and keep your mind on that."

He shifted into a black wolf and ran out of the open patio doors. She began to play the song making sure that she kept her mind firmly in his. Carin always knew where he was.

James shifted back into his human form and went looking for someone. He found a young girl and his fangs immediately lengthened. He pulled her into a doorway and sank his teeth in deep. Carin felt something was wrong. She heard a scream for help and she stopped her music. Carin thought that she had remembered her mother's scream from that day, but it wasn't in her mind. She was hearing it through her brother's. She shifted into a wolf and went running to the last place she remembered seeing in his mind. When she arrived the girl lay dead on the doorstep. The girl's face was full of terror. Carin lost the image of the wolf in her mind and changed back.

"Blood is so much sweeter when the victim knows it's coming."

She turned around and saw James. His mouth covered in the girl's blood and his teeth stained.

"James why? Why after these three centuries you turn on me? You promised me, you promised mom and dad, you promised Mikhail! You just broke every single one of those!" she yelled in disbelief.

He laughed to himself and slowly approached her backing her into a corner, "You never could shape-shift right. Never able to hold the image in your head. I'd always have to hold it for you. You said you would not want to stay in this world if I turned. Well there is a way for me to ensure our fates are the same, dear sister."

She saw it in his mind, he was going to turn her vampire or kill her in the process, "James please I beg of you do not do this to me."

He put his hand to her throat, pinning her against the wall. He bent her head to the side and sank his teeth into her neck. It was an unbearable amount of pain. She lengthened her fingernails and scratched his face until he released his teeth. She ran from him, but found herself unable to leave. He tackled her to the ground, easily pinning her beneath him. He tore open his wrist and forced it to her mouth. His blood was fully tainted now. If she took even the smallest bit from him she could be consumed by the same darkness and turn on her people as well.

A few drops of his blood fell into the wounds he had made on her neck and it burned like acid. There was only one way to get away from him now. Her shifting was not strong, but she knew how to keep the picture of mist in her mind. She dissolved into it and drifted across the night sky fleeing to a small cottage out in the country. At least there, very few humans were around and he could not hurt them.

Little sister, I will find you and I will have you join me. Just because our hunters are after me does not mean they will find me.

She picked up the small jar that had soil from their homeland in it and packed her neck wound with it. It still burned and ached no matter what she did and that was no doubt from the small amount of vampire blood that had trickled into hers. She was far from any of her people and in grave danger from her own brother. There was only one person who could make sure the wound healed.

Gregori, I am in need of healing. I received a bad wound and I cannot heal it myself.

What kind of wound? Tell me what happened. You will probably need to come back to our homeland so that the soil can heal you properly.

She clasped her hand over the wound, It was James.

James, Gregori asked surprised. He had been a witness to the promise James had made to protect his younger sister. It could mean only one thing and Gregori had already felt it, He has turned vampire has he not?

Yes. He stayed so strong for so long, but he gave into the call of power this night. That girl he killed, she paused for a moment. It was just like what happened three centuries ago. She didn't have to die like she did.

Where is James now, Gregori asked with a "push" in her mind.

Even if she needed Gregori's help to heal her wounds, no way was she going to give her brother away. He may have turned evil, but she still loved him. She wasn't a fledgling anymore and she knew when Gregori was trying to compel her to answer. Carin was not ready to give her brother up.

Carin answer me now!

I will not. I refuse to let you destroy him this night, she eased her hand from the wound. I will not let you heal me now. You will search my memories on where he is and I will not let you do so.

I exchanged blood with your brother, I can easily scan for him. It's just easier through you. Your bond with him is strong. I know both of you have exchanged blood many times since you were little and you two can share your minds since you are siblings. Tell me Carin.

She would not answer him again. Gregori was still in Romania and it would take time for him to arrive in Italy. Even if James' soul was lost to the darkness, Carin would not let go of him no matter what odds were stacked against her. In her mind she knew that it was impossible for her brother to be brought back to the light even if he had his lifemate in front of him. She felt her body burn as the vampire blood flowed through her veins. It was painful like the sun was to her eyes.

I do not care if you do not answer me. For your wound, you need to go inside of yourself and find the blood and dilute it the best you can. You are going to feel extremely sick until I can arrive and heal you properly.

She didn't need to be told what to do or how it would feel. She already knew from experience. Carin was a healer now. Self taught through the centuries. For a brief period of time she studied under Gregori's watchful eye. When her and James left Romania to go to Italy, she taught herself how rid her body of tainted vampire blood. That had not been a pleasant experience, but it was essential for her and her brother's survival while they chose to live away from their people. Carin was young compared to other healers of their race, but she was mastering skills left and right. Her music helped soothe people who needed healing and one particular song would actually help heal the wounds or aliments the person had.

She sat down in front of her piano and began to play the song she knew would help her healing.

Gregori if you destroy my brother I will greet the dawn without much thought.

You will do no such thing. Your lifemate maybe out there and you are condemning him to live a lonely life that will put his very soul in jeopardy. You would do that to your lifemate?

Yes. I have no one else in this world to hold me to the Earth. I want to end my life so that I may be with my family again.

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A bout 1725

Carin had been injured once again from a fight with her brother. Her left arm had been scratched up badly and was bleeding profusely. Some of his blood once again had mixed with hers and the wounds stung. No matter how much time passed, no matter how hard she tried to hide, James would always find her. Somehow over the past quarter century James had slipped through Gregori's fingers. She had returned to Romania to seek the healing earth after being in Italy for so long. Carin had just gone to the village to pick up some herbs that helped dull the pain she felt from her brother's tainted blood. She dropped her guard for a brief moment and that is when he struck her. The ability to shape shift had improved immensely over the past quarter of a century. It was the only way to escape from him time and again.

Carin made her way into a cave and put up her strongest safeguards. Deep within the cave was the richest of the healing soil that she could use to pack her wounds. Her body was tired and wanted rest. Eternal rest. Knowing somehow that it was only a matter of time before her brother was destroyed she had made it her duty to make sure she survived for the sake of her people. The fights with her brother were growing more violent and every time he injured her he made sure some of his blood would go into her body. The acid dark blood that ran through his veins, he was determined to make that same blood run through his sister's. After packing the wound with the rich soil, she put herself to ground to sleep.

She rose a few days later. Her wounds were just about healed. She allowed herself to go and feed, her body crying out for nourishment. After she was done feeding, she felt someone behind her. She turned around slowly and was ready to shift in case it was her brother.

"Carin it is only me." Mikhail said in his soft voice.

"What is it you want Mikhail? I still need to heal from my last fight. My blood is even more tainted now and I must rid myself of that blood." she said walking back in the direction of the cave.

"You do not need to worry about fighting James anymore."

Carin stopped in her tracks, "What do you mean?"

"Gregori destroyed him the night you two last fought. James was finally allowed eternal rest."

She felt something hot against her cheek. Reaching up slowly, she found she was crying. How long had it been? Carin had taught herself not to show any sign of pain, physical or emotional, to avoid her brother being happy. She was alone now. No one else, except for the remaining Carpathian people.

"How did Gregori find him?" Carin finally asked.

"He saw through your mind where you two were. Carin he had to destroy James. You two have fought since the night he turned. You have some of James' tainted blood in you. You are a healer and we cannot loose you."

She turned and faced him, "Mikhail, I hate Gregori. You allowed Gregori to destroy him when James was still somewhat protecting me. Vampires have tried to get me and turn me, but he wouldn't allow it. It was going to be him who turned me. I was safe! Gosh I hate both of you. I refuse to stay in the same land of the men responsible for killing my brother!"

She shifted into an eagle and took to the sky. Her anchor to the world was gone. She would not allow herself to be in the same country as Gregori. Carin knew she was left open to attacks now. Danger that she would have to learn to deal with. She fled back to Italy the last place where she had been happy. She sat down at her piano and cried.

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Carin shook her head. Every time she thought of her parents, her thoughts returned to her brother. It had been over two hundred years since that night she had fled. She missed Italy. France was nice and she needed a change in hopes of finding some happiness. Her past would always haunt her. Her lifemate would have to be an extremely understanding man, in order to accept her and her past. But who could? Not even Carin could accept it.

No matter where she went the same set of songs that she played for the village would always come to mind as she set her fingers on the piano. Her mother's favorite song had a much sadder tone over these past two hundred years than she had before. She knew how to play on other instruments, her only friends that would remain with her throughout the years, but piano was always her favorite since it was the first one she mastered when she was a fledgling.

In all times returning to Romania over the past few months, not once did she cross Mikhail's nor Gregori's paths. She had been nice to Raven and everyone else, but would instantly leave the room when either one of the men would enter the room. She had been asked on more than one occasion why she would leave the room when either Mikhail or Gregori entered and room and her answer was always simple, "They know why."

Every Carpathian knew how old Carin was and knew she was still unclaimed. A few of the males could recall very fond memories of Carin and James together when they were younger, but Carin always gave them look. She didn't like hearing of her brother from the others. She knew how James was and that was how he was always going to remain in her mind in that way. The fights that went on during the last quarter century of his life, could be erased from her memory for all she cared.