It was almost like a ritual, the solemn gathering the next night. There were five of them now. Three humans and two vampires, but soon it would be the other way around. Alek knew what to expect, but he had asked David a favor.

"Look. I'm still kind of a wuss, okay? I'm trying to not be a pussy here, and last night was pretty easy. But this is gonna' be..." he trailed off. "I just think that when it comes right down to it, if I'm standing there seeing it coming, I might wuss out after all and try to dodge. Which would probably just end up making a mess, I bet. So... do it from behind, okay?"

David had agreed. So as they stood in the clearing, Alek turned away. He tilted his head up to look at the sky with human eyes one last time, and almost didn't feel it when David's snake-strike blow drove into his heart.