She remembered with a jolt.

Attacked. She and Erin...they'd been attacked on the porch by two of the last people she would have expected would hurt them.Sorley, how could you? And Jim. She never expected Jim to hurt her.

She glanced around her prison once again.I can see in the dark. Horror returned.

"Oh,God. I can see in the dark and-"

Her heart started to thud, pounding in her chest. Sweat broke out over her skin despite the wintry interior. Fear swelled and threatened to overtake her good sense.

Sounds seemed to be louder. Dread crawled over her skin like spiders and she was grateful that at least she wore a thick sweater. Though she could see in the dark, the visuals didn't come as clear as day, but more like the time between sunset and complete oblivion of light. Her breath puffed out in the frosted air.

Even if the stinging pain in her neck didn't tell the truth, she would have known by other evidence. She'd probably been bitten.

No. Oh no.Tears welled up. Someone had bitten her. No, not someone. Either Sorley or Jim or the ancient one had taken her blood but they hadn't drained her to death. That meant one thing. Like her friends, she stayed trapped between the mortal world and the immortal. Her mind whirled around the idea, uncertain whether to accept the truth and move on or scream into the night. She wanted to deny the facts, imagine a nightmare took hold of her and wouldn't let go. This couldn't be real.

Evidence showed her otherwise.

As the sounds of night again intruded on her ears, a sense of wonder overcame her. This must be a little of what Ronan felt and saw as a vampire. Excitement threatened to edge out the horror that erupted like a geyser inside her. She took a deep breath. Taking action rather then reacting to what happened would be her best course.Down the path of reaction lies death.

Erin. How could I forget Erin?

Another chaotic thought intruded.

Since her surroundings told Clarissa she hadn't been dumped in the crypt over the tunnels, then where had they taken her? Nearby the wooden coffin lid was cracked open enough she could see inside. No one, thankGod, living or dead was there. A stone stand held another coffin, this one also wood, but dark and far more expensive. Dusty and cracked, the mahogany wood looked antique.

She looked around as bewilderment wrestled with fright. She must put a noose on her emotions and concentrate on what to do. Wherever Jim and Sorley had gone, she would leave before they came back.

Ronan. She closed her eyes.Ronan can you hear me? I need you. I'm in a crypt. Not the one I fell through, but another crypt. I'm going to try and escape.

When she received no confirmation, when his beloved voice didn't form in her mind, she tried again.Ronan, I love you.

And she did love him. Thinking about how much he meant to her warmed the cold, dark place inside that feared for her life and what would come.

Ronan, please hear me.

The nagging ache in her head increased.

A soft moan caught her sensitive ears. "Erin?"

"Clarissa?"

Thank the heavens.

"We're being pinned down by something, aren't we?" Erin's testy voice assured Clarissa her friend was alive and kicking mad.

"Yes. Can you break loose?"

"I've tried. It isn't working. But if we concentrate mentally maybe we can get free."

Clarissa would try anything at this point. "How?"

"Close your eyes and try visualizing the barrier around you dissolving."

Clarissa had her doubts.

"Come on, Clarissa, I know you can do it."

"Are you reading my mind?"

"No, but I can feel your hesitation."

"All right. I'll try it."

She closed her eyes and concentrated, allowing her body to relax despite the tremendous cold. Easier than she anticipated, the barrier started to fade in her mind. As the barrier became weaker she could see through it more clearly. With a soft whoosh, the murky white stuff around Clarissa dissolved within less than four minutes.

Clarissa let out a whoop.

Erin's chuckle sounded half sincere. "Mine's gone, too. Maybe the big bad ancient one isn't so bad after all."

"Or maybe he let one of his minions help him." Clarissa remembered Sorley and Jim with disappointment.

Clarissa staggered to her feet. Her fingers gripped the rotting wood coffin on the pedestal, and she yanked her hand away in disgust. Her sense of touch seemed hyper and almost painful she could feel so much. Another deep breath stilled the frantic pace of her heart. She would regain control or fail escaping. The crypt door had a significant crack in the side of the stonework wide enough for a big man to slip through, but the door was obscured with trailing vines. Could this be the crypt the ancient one had slept in since his last encounter with Ronan and his friends?

Shoving aside those thoughts, she moved around the pedestal and coffin and found Erin lying on the ground.

Erin sat upright. "Ouch. I feel like someone has been stomping on me with a big shoe."

"I feel the same way." Clarissa gave her theory on their location and explained her attempt to connect with Ronan failed. "We're not in the crypt I fell through. But we need to get out of here before Sorley and Jim come back."

Erin's gaze, already glowing in the dark like a cat's, turned hot. She wondered if her own eyes reflected the new, more animal side she possessed. "How could they do this to us?"

"Ronan told us about the mind invasion with the ancient one. Sorley's psyche was too weak and that's how the ancient one got through."

Erin's eyes widened a little as she gazed at Clarissa. "Your throat." She reached up and touched her own puncture wounds. "They bit us."

"I'm not going to dwell on it right now or the consequences." Clarissa smiled weakly.

"I'm hoping some of those supernatural powers come to me very quickly. Right now I'm just feeling weak."

Erin touched her shoulder and pressed. "You've lost blood and who knows how much."

Shivering with renewed cold and fear, Clarissa said, "Why didn't they just kill us?"

"I don't know. Maybe Sorley and Jim still have some humanity and resisted the temptation to kill or bring us across."

"Bring us across? As in turn us into full-fledged vampires?"

"Yes. Come on, let's try to connect with Lachlan and Ronan again and if we can't, we'll get out of here."

They tried and failed to connect with their men.

"The ancient one wants to use us for bait," Erin said. "He'd like nothing more than to kill Lachlan and Ronan. You know they'll come for us."