She was born a hunter. Unlike so many of the women of his race, she was called to hunt, to destroy. The women were to stay safe and protected, having so few women they couldn't risk losing them. Dylan, however, was a different story. Trained since she could walk to fight, it was all she knew. Dylan is the unknown daughter of Rhiannon and the great mage himself, living her life in secret from the world. Now she worked as an FBI profiler, a cover career to track any possible vampire movements or fractions and hunt them down.

Gavril was lethal. His heart long turned cold to this world and its cruel ways. One day, the ancient spotted her. Her beauty had a wild nature that enthralled him, captivated him. But when she assumed him a threat, she launched a dangerous attack nearly took his life, and ever since then he has been unable to find her. Now drawn into a metropolis by rumors of a growing gang of vampires, he won't let her slip through his fingers again.


Prologue

DANGER. That's what the night was filled with. She could sense it in the air. All creatures had taken cover hours ago, fearing whatever presence was out there, whatever evil tainted the night. Dylan sensed it, the disgusting vibe strong to her. Whatever was nestled away in the center of the marshland was strong, and old. As she flew in the form of a powerful raptor she could see the taint of evil affecting the land. The marshland had once been a beautiful field, but now was a web of misery, evil, and danger. Whatever living creatures still remained would be no friend. Dylan was careful to keep her senses constantly searching for anything with mal-intent. In a place like this the deadling, as she liked to refer to vampires, no doubt had control over many of the creatures as well as the plant life. Dylan would be careful to take no chances, since she wasn't entirely sure what she was up against.

A wave of power surged through the area, and hit Dylan heard, like she had flown into a brick wall. A warning. Gathering her bearings, Dylan sent out one herself, in the form of a mental attack. The battle started from there, and consisted of the two trying to outdo each other, each warning stronger than it's previous. As the land appeared more and more rotten, Dylan realized she had found the deadling's layer. Circling above it, she searched for a weak spot, a place where she could force the evil being to face her outside by bringing it down on his head. She also searched for safeguards, immediately bringing down any that she found. Dylan had a knack for safeguards, and was fascinated by them. Safeguards were definitely her strong point, whether it was taking them down or throwing up impenetrable ones.

A strong attack from Dylan caused the den to shake, she would bring it down. Her mind worked quickly, entering the den to bring it down from the outside as she cast her shadow form into the den. Having a father who was mage gave her unique abilities, and her mother one of, if not the strongest Carpathians, only gave her an even bigger advantage. The den shook again, and this time there was a deep and gruff roar that shook out. The deadling knew he couldn't stay hidden much longer, and burst through the rough of the den in an eruption of marsh waters and swampy land.

Power. That's what Gavril felt. Strength reverberated through the air, and was matched with a threat so sinister and evil it gave him goose bumps. He traveled quickly in the form of an eagle. There was a fight about to take place, and he was going to provide back up to the presence that he sensed had Carpathian blood. "Do not engage this creature of evil, he is most strong and fighting alone would not end well." He communicated with his kin telepathically, in the way of his people. In response, fear. No words, just a simple, short burst of emotion that was followed by a powerful mental attack that stunned him for half a second before he regained himself and returned to his flight. "Please, brother, I mean you no harm, I only wish to aid your fight." Gavril increased the speed of his flight and tried to send his sight out ahead of him, a rare power that only few ancients were gifted with, but he could not see out far enough. "GO!" It was a sharp warning, but the sharpness of the warning had not been what caught him off guard. No, the fact that the voice was female was what threw Gavril off and caused him to further quicken his flight. He attempted another communication with the female, but his a strong barrier.

As Gavril approached the battle site, he saw a beautifully orchestrated attack pattern play out in front of him. The female who attacked the dark and gruesome vampire was beautifully, dangerously so. Her shape was fit, and had nearly flawless curves. She stood about 5'4 with brownish-red luscious curls pulled back into a ponytail that fell to her lower-mid back. Her skin was a creamy white, but not an unhealthy pale, it had an interesting glow. Her facial features were sharp, her eyes a stunningly vibrant green. He knew her. She was his light, his color, his savoir, his avio p?l?fertiil. She was the only one who could tie him to this world, keep him from becoming the vampire or from having to greet the dawn. She was the one who brought color and emotion back into the world. He had finally found her, after all these years, and her greeting to him had been one of fear. This hurt Gavril deeply, a feeling he was not used to. He was overwhelmed suddenly, not sure how to cope with his new-found emotions. Fear hit him next, fear for her. She was fighting against the undead, something unheard of for his kind. She was risking her life, and that was something he had to stop. With new found courage, his eyes studied her attack form, as well as the vampire's.

As he assessed her, he was unaware of the malicious attack that struck him, an animal began to dig into him with its claws. Whatever the animal was seemed to be a creation of the vampire, a crossbreed between what seemed to be wolf and panther. Gavril tried to communicate with the creature to tell him he was not an enemy, but he was hit with a mental block; the same one from when he tried to communicate with the female. So she gained control over this retched beast. She is powerful, but why does she attack me? Before Gavril could investigate on his curiosity, he was hit with another attack, one to break his mental barriers. Gavril retaliated, fighting for the freedom of the creature's mind in a power struggle.

The stranger who approached the battle was no friend that Dylan was certain of. She needed to defeat the deadling, and fast. Dylan was strong, but not nearly strong enough to take on a full blood, ancient Carpathian as well as the rotting, old vampire that now stood in front of her. Hovering above the marshlands now in a human form, she assessed the monster that now stood before her. He was in rough shape, she could tell. He was old and his skin appeared as if it was starting to rot. His face was thin and Dylan could tell the creature hadn't eaten in days, if not weeks. He would be weak but she was careful not to under estimate the situation. "Do not engage this creature of evil, he is most strong and fighting alone would not end well." The words had a deep and gruffy tone to them. So the Carpathian male had attempted to communicate with her. This was not a good sign. Fear struck her deep, and as soon as she realized that she had accidently sent that fear back in reply, she hit him with a strong mental attack, then began her attack on the deadling. Despite his weakened state, he moved fast, dodging her attack. A growl sounded behind her and before she knew it a creature of mixed species was upon her back, digging deep into her muscles with its longer than normal talons. Dylan threw her mental-self into the wild animal's mind and found chaos and evil taint. Hastily eradicating all the poison from the creatures mind, she gained control over it. "Please, brother, I mean you no harm. I only wish to aid your fight." So he did not know she was a woman, this she could use to her advantage, distract him perhaps. The male was upon the two in a matter of a few more seconds, he traveled at great speed. Dylan could feel his eyes upon her, and didn't need to look at him to see the shock on his face. Sending the beast to attack the new intruder, Dylan plunged at the deadling, landing on top of him as she fired a shot deep into his head. She pulled out a knife as the deadling launched a counter attack, biting her shoulder and ripping away, causing heavy damage. Dylan plunged her knee into the monster's ribcage, knocking the wind out of him and freeing her. The damage to her shoulder was major, and she could feel the vampire's poison burning away at the wound; she would need to heal it, and soon. The vampire moved to attack again, throwing himself at her, Dylan reacted by launching the knife at the deadling, she hit it in the chest, right in the heart, her precision perfect. This didn't slow the evil thing, and there was yet another attack. He was on top of her now, clawing at her chest and arms. Pain shot through her, but before she could react he vampire was flying off her, the male Carpathian, free of the half breed's attacks, now advanced on was a howl from the deadling, and Dylan stood, beginning a chant as she focused on the blade of the knife that protruded from the deadling's chest. "Heal yourself, now! Your wounds are most severe!" The voice broke through a small barrier she had lazily thrown up earlier.

"Damn it!" She cursed out loud, losing concentration on the knife. The vampire launched himself at her again, but hit a barrier erected by the male Carpathian. Dylan scowled at him, furious as the male tried to approach her. "I don't want your help! I had him and you distracted me." She was angry, hostile even. He opened his mouth to say something to her, but was interrupted by the vampire's attack. Dylan saw a way out, and slammed down a huge mental barrier while casting a spell to hide her presence as she fled the fight now raging between the Carpathian and the vampire, hoping never to see the crusade man again.


So little author's note/explanation. In this story Dylan is the daughter of Rhiannon and Xavier, though no one knows about her. The reason for this will be explained in later chapters. Dylan is half mage half Carpathian with the best of both worlds, sort of.

Also, disclaimer here, I do not own the Carpathians or the Dark series characters or story in anyway.

Finally, feedback much appreciated. Reviews would be so wonderful! Thanks loves:)