Three weeks later, after a month of practice, Alek declared he was good enough. David was a little dubious; though the wiry vampire was stunningly fast, he still wasn't particularly good with the sword. But he admitted he was itching to get out and hunt again. Mack had made a few sweeps on his own, mostly just scouting, but hadn't encountered any groups small enough to want to take them on alone.

Alek had other plans though. "Look. You don't know jack about vampires. That's bad. The more they band together, the more knowing how they really tick is going to help. And it's not like we have to go to any great lengths to find out. We are vampires, after all. We could probably just walk right into a lair and make ourselves at home."

David sighed. He would rather kill them than try to talk to them, but Alek was right. "All right. Somebody needs to stay here, of course, so two of us should go."

"I want to," said Alek. "You're not really the social type, you might miss some things, so I need to be along."

David nodded. "All right. And you should probably take Mack. As much as I don't really want to stay behind, I'm a little too... recognizable. The vampires all know that the Hunter is a single vampire with a really strong mental signature. There aren't that many vampires like that out there, so even if I leave the hat and cape at home, I'm going to look suspicious. You and Mack though... Uh, no offense, you're just a little more able to blend in than I am."

"None taken," said Alek. He grinned. "Being average does have that going for it. Nobody's going to think they need to be scared of me, and then they're going to get the shock of their lives."