After that first successful solo hunt he hunted more frequently. Sometimes Aidan joined him, sometimes he hunted alone. Often he rescued humans, exiles or fools who had strayed too close to the edges of the light, and took what he needed from them, though he felt remorse every time he did. Sometimes though there were no victims in the night, and he merely hunted hopeful vampires, waiting in vain for prey that didn't come. As the weeks passed he killed at least a dozen of them, but he recalled what Aidan had said. Just around his own home city there were three or four dozen, and among the half dozen cities where he hunted, there would be hundreds. And haunting the fringes of the other cities to the north and south there would be hundreds more.

And eventually they're going to notice they're being hunted, he thought to himself one evening as he sat in front of Aidan's cabin and stared at the stars. They're going to start hunting back, and I'm awfully outnumbered, even if I can take any one or two of them.

Aidan walked out the front door, still off its hinges after the months-past battle, and sat down next to David. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Just fretting about the future. Eventually the vampires are going to notice somebody's killing them, or one that's seen me will manage to get away. Hunting is going to become a lot harder after that."

Aidan nodded. "There's not much you can do about it, though."

"No, I suppose not. Though..." he trailed off, a sudden snippet of dream memory floating through his mind. "Though maybe there is a way to add a little to my advantage."

"Oh?"

David grinned, unable to resist the urge to be cryptic to Aidan for once. "Yes. I think I'm going to need a hat."