Dance in the Dark.

[[Alice's POV]]

As the voices grew louder, my fever grew hotter, and the pain more intense. Did this always happen? If not, why now? Was it because I lost my memory so I was an easy target? Who or what were these voices? There's so many...some yelling, some whispering, some...just...

"Alice!" One called out for me. "Alice, dear, open your eyes. I will not harm you."

My onyx eyes strained to open and saw nothing of my room, but some strange, open feild or medow of some kind.

"Alice, you look so much like your mother." A woman's voice said, sounding not too distant from me.

"Who-who are you? And wh-where are you? What do you want from me?!" I yelled, spinning to see if anyone was near me.

"Alice, you must remember."

"I don't know who I am anymore! How can I go on?" I sobbed and yelled.

"In the hearts of the blind something you'll soon find is a vision of light. With the Voice of the Dead you'll find what you need. I've been walking dead, watching you, long enough to know I couldn't go on."

"What are you talking about? Who are you? And why can't I see you? Why can I hear those voices? And who are they? What's going on?!"

"With the Voice of the Dead, Alice. The Voice of the Dead. You have the gift. Use it."

"What are you talking about?" I sobbed, falling to my knees.

Without warning, a white light appeared before my eyes, causing me to squint at the sight until it dimmed down into a woman in her twenties or thirties.

"My name is Annalissa. For the last eighteen years I've been your mother's protector or guardian angel, whatever you want to call it. I was another one of Ashton's family's kills and I refused to let them get away with any more after Cassie and almost Kat. That's why instead of dying or fully turning, I gave her the impowerment of the Dhampirs. I was one of the few remaining, that's why they decided to kill me off. We were too strong for them."

"Dhampirs...stronger than...wait, what? What are dhampirs? What are you talking about? And who's Ashton?"

"That's right, you lost all that, too. Vampires and Dhampirs, little Alice. Dhampirs are half human and half vampire so to speak. You are a vampire hybrid."

"So I'm a dhampir thing?"

The woman shook her head. "You are a vampire Hybrid. One of the other strongest. Surprisingly, hybrids and dhampirs are actually stronger than normal vampires."

"But..how am I a hybrid? And I don't feel like a vampire.."

The woman sat next to me, crosslegged. "Your sweet mom, Kathralyn--excuse me, Kat, is a dhampir. Turned by your father, Damon, and gifted by myself. You are a hybrid because of your mom's human genes passed to you since you were conceived while your mom was in her human state and vampire because of Damon."

"Wait, human state?"

"Yes, dhampirs can change from human to vampire on circumstances. Your mom's was her temper--of course--and the full moon. Vervain doesn't affect dhampirs, but it slightly does hybrids. It makes hybrids such as yourself dizzy and weak. It doesn't completely knock you out or stun you like it would any normal vampire."

"Vervain?"

"Deadly plant which is sulitified into a liquid for vampires. And your earlier question, you don't feel like a vampire because you're typically human. Your vampire instincts will kick in when needed and from there you'll feel the vampire half of you always being a pain in the ass."

"How do you know all of this? I mean, about vampires and hybrids if you're a dhampir?"

"Because my husband who was killed in a masacre to protect his family was a vampire and my daughter was a hybrid. Just like the Sterling-Salvatore family. Other than the death parts..."

"What happened to your daughter?"

"Her name is Roza. She lives with her aunt in Maine. But she's very ill, always has been..."

"I'm so sorry.."

"No worries, little Alice. But you will regain your memory. It'll just take a few steps to uncover it and just in time too. But for now, we must depart. Farewell, little Alice Renee Sterling-Salvatore."

And just like that, I was snapped back into my body and focused on everything around me.

"Alice? Alice are you okay?" Daddy's voice said, full of worry and concern.

I nodded and tried sitting up. "The Voice of the Dead comes with a side-effect for first timers, sorry about the fever, Alice." Annalissa's voice said in my head.

"Daddy, have you heard of the Voice of the Dead?"

Daddy's face was very, very shocked and taken back.