The night was brilliant with light. A full moon rode overhead, and below the nearby city gleamed in the night like a star fallen to earth.

David, however, was not really in any mood to appreciate the night's beauty. He had not killed a vampire in more than a week, and had not managed to find a human and get blood in somewhat over a month, not since Alek. The pressure of blood-hunger, of need, was starting to get nearly unbearable, and he wasn't sure what to do about it. He suspected the need was affecting him, he felt disoriented, unable to really think clearly. He found himself wanting to sleep even during darkness as well, which worried him. But he didn't really know what to do about it. Hunting humans wasn't an option, and he couldn't think of anything else to do.

He sighed and ran on. At least he was getting plenty of animal blood. Mentally he felt awful, but physically he seemed to be okay.

Up ahead the city light grew brighter as he approached, and then he sensed a vampire presence. One source, strong, almost certainly a pack of them. He ran faster. There might be a human there, and he was later than usual, they might be feeding already. And even if there were no humans, he could kill vampires. The source was of a strength he felt confident taking. Three or four average vampires, or maybe five or six particularly weak ones.

He ran faster. Soon he reached the road that led from one city to the next, and there was a cluster of figures. Four of them. And.... he added a little extra burst of speed, drawing his sword. The scent of blood was in the air. One of the figures was unquestionably human.

They had sensed him coming, of course, as he had sensed them, but he knew that his strength of mind tended to make vampires think he was another pack, and they seldom suspected the truth until it was too late. These three seemed to suspect something, for they released the human they held and all three turned to face him, their postures wary, expectant. But he wasn't going to waste any time this night, he simply attacked without warning, his mental attack slamming into them just seconds before the snake-quick strike of his sword.

And then he was the center of a storm of motion. They were all three males, and all three seemed to be fairly good fighters, though thankfully none of them bore a weapon. He was getting better and better at fighting, and now he managed to call up the same whirlwind of activity that he had summoned in the basement lair. A bit less furious, perhaps, without rage to feed on, but his blows were automatic, without the tiny assessing pauses of normal vampire combat, and as he stepped up his mental attack on the trio, he was easily able to keep them at bay.

Unfortunately keeping them at bay was all he was doing. They weren't good enough to get him, but they were still pretty good, and he was landing only minor blows. He might eventually wear them down with blood loss that way, but it would take half the night.

And then a missile came flying out of the dark to hit one of the vampires in the head. He stumbled, his guard down, and David reacted faster than thought, taking the opening instantly. It let one of the other two get in a solid kick an instant later, but though it threw him off balance, it was too late to save the first vampire. David's sword flashed out and took his head off, the full strength cross-blow familiar and easy by now. As David recovered from the off-balancing kick and turned to face the two remaining vampires, he sensed a shift. They had been countering his mental combat, but now both withdrew, and suddenly they sprinted into the night.

He swore. They must know now that he was the hunter that had been killing vampires. With another muttered curse, he raced after them. One was ever so slightly slower than the other, and David soon gained a little ground. He gave a good, hard, sudden mental push, and the fleeing vampire stumbled. In an instant David was on him. But the vampire rolled aside from his first blow and tried to scramble away again. David chased after, and after a flurry of strikes and dodges, finally managed to kill it.

Then he looked into the moonlight night. The third vampire was still within his senses, but he could no longer see it. He looked behind him, to where the human, who, he suddenly realized, had thrown a rock at the first vampire, giving him his opening, was standing on the road. If he chased the fleeing vampire, another pack might come along while he was gone. And... I really need human blood right now. I can't let a human get away from me any more than any other vampire could. The thought was distasteful, but there it was. He heaved a sigh and trotted back to the road.