He stood before a door. The door was made of steel, or perhaps some more mysterious metal. It gleamed in the steady artificial light. A panel beside the door glowed faintly with red and green lights. He commanded, and the colors changed. The door slid aside soundlessly. Light poured out into the night from within. He stepped through the door into the cool night. He had worked long and hard to dig this entrance out, but it was clear now. It was ready.

Everything was ready. He had made all possible preparations. Everything awaited his triumph. It is time to begin, he told himself as he stepped into the night. The door slid shut behind him, cutting off the light, but his sensitive eyes could see better by starlight than by the bright glow of the artificial lights, and he knew where he needed to go.

It is time to begin.

Part Four, The King of Night.

"How's it going?" asked David as he seated himself next to Mack in the grass in front of the cabin.

"Pretty good," said Mack. "I watched the sun set tonight. I've never really been the type, you know, to get all mushy about sunsets and sunrises and that kind of thing. But it's sort of a funny feeling, that I'll only see one more of them, ever."

David nodded. "I know the feeling. But you're ready?"

Mack nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Do you want the others here, or would you rather be alone?"

"Man, you're going to be biting me on the neck. It'll be the gayest thing I've ever done. I think I'd just as soon be alone."

David laughed. "At least I haven't been hitting on you, which the vampire who turned me was doing at every opportunity." He sobered then. "Now?"

Mack nodded again. "Yeah."

"All right. Just stay there then, and I'll do all the work."

Mack nodded once more, and sat up straight. He closed his eyes. David could hear his heart racing and knew he was more nervous than he looked. David got up and knelt behind the larger man. He placed his hands on Mack's shoulders and, seeing no reason to delay, he bit into Mack's neck, hard and quick. Mack didn't flinch or make a sound, he just stayed still, and David heard his heart rate slowing, knew that he was dropping into the peculiar floating trance of blood giving.

David drank deeply, taking more than he had ever allowed himself before, the feeling heady, exhilarating. Still he remembered his own change, how close Aidan had come to killing him outright, and he still measured and counted out his swallows. He stopped well short of the danger point and sat back. He felt curiously alive, a tingly, energized feeling that ran from his center to the very tips of his fingers. He nearly expected to look down and see electricity crackle on his hands, but they looked the same as ever.

Mack opened his eyes as David pulled back. "Well, that part was easy, at least."

David shook himself. "Yeah. This next bit shouldn't be too hard either." He pulled out the little folding knife he'd pocketed before coming out. He flipped open the blade and in one quick motion he drew it across his wrist. Aidan had used his own fangs, but David doubted his ability to do that without looking like an idiot. The knife was an easier alternative.

The blood that welled up in the cut was slightly darker and thicker than human blood, but only slightly. David held out his wrist to Mack. The big man took it a little hesitantly, but then he bent his head and drank. Just one swallow, and he straightened up again. "That's it?"

David nodded. "That's it. Aidan told me it was possible for somebody to die in the instant after drinking and still come back. But he also said it's better to take no chances, and I agree. So... tomorrow."

Mack nodded, looking as serious as David had ever seen him look. "Tomorrow."

There was still a splash of sunset color in the sky when David stepped out of the cabin. The other three were already waiting for him in the grass outside. They all looked solemn, and Megan looked a little nervous. David rested his hand on her shoulder reassuringly, and she put her hand over his and smiled.

Mack got up from where he'd been sitting in the grass. "Well, I've seen my last sunset. I'm glad it was a pretty nice one. So now it's time." He looked at the others, his fellow humans for now, but not for much longer. "You two sure you want to watch this? I doubt it'll be pretty."

"We're sure," said Jeff steadily, and Megan nodded.

"All right." He took a deep breath, and for the first time David saw something that might be a flicker of fear on the big man's face. His heart was going fast, but with another breath he steadied himself. "Go ahead then."

Though David wasn't wearing his cloak or hat, he had belted his sword on. He drew it now and stood in front of his friend. He took a deep breath of his own, feeling nearly as nervous as Mack. He'd killed dozens of vampires, but this would be the first time he'd struck at a human. He took a moment to chose his target carefully. He didn't want to break bone, it would be that much harder to heal when his friend returned. He had considered another location, but the heart was the one blow he knew would kill instantly, without causing his friend any pain. He nodded to himself then and stepped forward. With one smooth, precise blow he sank his sword into Mack's chest, just to the left of the breastbone, between two ribs.

Mack dropped to the ground and lay there, as David had seen so many bodies lie before. But his head's still attached, he thought to himself, with a funny sort of detached feeling, as if he wasn't quite the same person as the one thinking the thought. Shock, I think. Which figures. It feels like I've killed a friend.

Megan and Jeff stared at the still form in the center of the clearing, and they were all thinking the same thoughts. What if it didn't work? What if Mack was just dead?

David wiped his sword off on the grass, sheathed it, and then walked over to kneel beside Mack. He used a bit of Mack's ruined shirt to carefully wipe blood away from the puncture in his chest. And then he relaxed, relief flooding through him. "It's starting to heal already. He's alive."

He could hear Megan and Jeff both let out a breath of relief. He smiled up at them, feeling a little shaky. "I think that was the scariest thing I've ever done. Scarier even than dying like this myself." He stood then, and bent to pick up the prone form of his friend. Inside Megan helped him remove the bloodied shirt and clean the blood from his already-healing chest. They laid him on his cot, which had been set up in the storage room, with a heavy tarp shielding the room from the sun.

"When will he wake up?" asked Jeff.

"If my experience is anything to go by, it will be at sundown tomorrow."

The time seemed to crawl by as they waited. They could all see Mack's now unmarked chest, they knew he had to be alive, but it wasn't quite certain, wasn't quite real until he could sit up, speak to them, reassure them.

They occupied themselves with everyday activities as best they could. David was relieved when sunrise neared and he could sleep. He didn't even mind Megan wanting to go to bed early. He held her close and took as much comfort in her presence as she did in his.

David woke precisely at sundown. He sat up. Megan had already gotten up earlier, she usually did. There was no sound from the storage room.

He got to his feet and went through the door to find Megan and Jeff standing there, looking at Mack, who was still lying on his cot, unmoving.

Then Mack's eyes opened. He blinked and slowly sat up. He surveyed himself for a moment. "It worked, I guess."

Megan suddenly ran to the side of the cot and hugged Mack. "We were all worried!" she said. "It was really creepy seeing you lying there, just looking dead."

Mack smiled. "I guess I had the easy bit then." He blinked again, several times,as if trying to clear his eyes. "Why is it so bright in here?"

David smiled. "It's not. Your eyes are just a lot more sensitive now."

"Heh. I can live with that, I guess." He ran his tongue over his teeth. "Man, this is weird."

David chuckled. "Tell me about it."

Mack slid his legs over the side of the cot and stood up.

"How do you feel?" asked David.

"Pretty good, actually."

"Why don't we go outside then?" said David.

"Okay." Mack took a couple of steps and almost immediately tripped. "What the hell?"

David chuckled. "You're moving faster now. It takes a little getting used to. You'll want to go slow, and," he looked more serious, "Be very careful with Megan and Jeff. I had a worried moment there when she hugged you. If you'd hugged back you could have hurt her without meaning to. Don't be punching Jeff on the shoulder or any of that until you're completely used to your strength."

Mack nodded and picked himself up. He started walking again, taking every step with careful deliberation. He still nearly tripped several more times before he got outside. "This is nuts. How long will it be before I stop falling over my own feet?"

"Not long. It only took me a few days to get completely used to it."

"Oh good."

"Now that we're out here, take a look around." David grinned to himself.

Mack looked around the starlit clearing.

Then he looked up. "Wow."

David smiled. "Almost makes up for missing sunsets, doesn't it?"

"Yeah..." Mack trailed off, staring at the incredible brilliance of the stars which now crowded the night sky thickly with millions of points of light. He could see vivid colors in them that he'd never seen before, and there were so many of them! And he could see other things, swirls and spirals and clouds of light, faint and tiny, but there. The Milky Way was a glory of incredible incandescence, and for the first time he could see not only the stars, but the dark clouds that blocked the rest of it from view. "Wow," he repeated.

"Let's go take a walk," said David. "The more moving around you do, the faster you'll adjust. We can go find some rocks to throw or something, to get used to your strength."

"Right."

They set off into the cool summer night. Mack was awkward at first, but it wasn't long before he could at least manage to walk without tripping over his own feet.

"Here, try lifting this," said David, indicating a large boulder.

Mack eyed it dubiously, but he knew how easily the much smaller David had been able to lift rocks that were larger yet, so he went over and heaved at it. He almost fell backwards when it came up like it weighed nothing. He dropped it back to the ground.

"Careful," said David. "You're tougher than you used to be, but if you drop a big enough rock on your foot, you're still going to have broken bones like anybody else. And they're a real pain to heal."

"Right," nodded Mack. Then he laughed. "Man! This is great! I want to... I don't know, throw a rock to the moon, or... something! Want to arm wrestle?"

David grinned. He has already felt the strength of Mack's mind, and given his past experiences he suspected how this was going to go. "Sure."

They knelt on opposite sides of the boulder Mack had lifted and locked hands. "All right, go!" said David, and then they began to strain against each other. For a long moment nothing happened, then Mack started losing ground. He gritted his teeth and put everything he had into it, but still David pressed his arm down until his hand touched the rock.

"What the hell! You're still stronger?" Mack eyed the much slighter vampire with incredulity.

"Yep. Strength isn't just physical when you're a vampire. It depends on your age, and on other things too. I'm not really sure what sort of other things, but..." he shrugged. "So far I'm the second strongest vampire I've ever met. The strongest was half my size and could put my hand flat in about half a second. You're a fair bit stronger than average, far as I can tell, and your size does at least give you the advantage of having more mass to throw around in a fight, but you're not guaranteed to be stronger than somebody smaller than you." David grinned. "So don't underestimate skinny guys."

After a few hours of rambling through the forest, occasionally tipping over boulders or throwing smaller rocks, David and Mack circled back around to the cabin. "That's probably enough of this for tonight," said David.

"Yeah." Mack nodded. "This is really hella weird. I think I could stand to just sit around and get used to it for a while."

David had a sudden thought. "How about we watch a movie?"

"A what?"

"A movie! I'll show you." He lead the way back into the cabin, where Megan and Jeff greeted the returning pair. "Hey, we're going to go back to my room and watch a movie," said David. "You two want to come?"

"Sure!" Megan had watched a few already, she had greeted Aidan's television with recognition and delight when she'd first seen it.

Jeff nodded. "I've never seen one before."

"What the hell is a movie?" asked Mack again, feeling left out.

"It's something from the old days," said Megan. One of the lost technologies. It's like... well, the way you can record sounds and play them, like on the radio? Movies are like that but with pictures. They're usually stories, acted out like a play, and recorded so you can watch them again later."

"Oh."

"It's okay, not many people know about them. I just happen to have read a lot about the old days." She smiled, and glanced at Jeff. "And Jeff is a walking collection of totally odd and random facts. Anyhow, I'd love to watch a movie."

They went back to David's room and arranged themselves on the bed. "What would you like to watch?" asked David, looking at the other three.

Jeff shrugged. Mack said, "Well, as I didn't even know what one is, I don't know which one I'd want."

"What about the one with the Hunter?" said Megan. "You mentioned it once, and I meant to watch it, but I never got around to it."

"The Hunter?" asked Jeff.

"Yeah..." David felt a little embarrassed. "I got the idea for hunting vampires from the movie. It's kind of an odd one, but..." he shrugged. "It's a good story. Not real," he added, remembering what Aidan had said. "Aidan told me they had made this before vampires even existed, somebody just made it up, thought about what it might have been like and invented a bunch of crazy stuff."

He picked up the plastic case. He hadn't watched it again since that first time. He shrugged and removed the disk.

He started the movie, and then settled himself next to Megan. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

The sense of destiny, of something magical, wasn't there this time. It was just a story. A strange and interesting story, but that was all. Still, seeing the imagery again, seeing the Hunter... He knew that he'd done the right thing. It felt right, to be the Hunter himself.

When it was done, David placed the disk back in its case.

"That was weird," said Megan.

David nodded. "Yeah, it's kind of strange. Good though." He looked at her and smiled. "You remind me of the girl in it."

Megan looked back at him, and she suddenly looked pensive, serious. "The Hunter loved her though... do you?"

David hesitated, not quite knowing how to answer the question.

Then Mack snorted. "Does he love you? Anybody with eyes would know the answer to that. He might as well be hollering it from the rooftops! He only watches you every second you're near him. He only follows after you like a puppy. He only lights up like the barrier lights when you smile at him."

"Uh..." If David could have blushed, he would have been beet red.

"Oh." Megan did blush. "I... I think I love you too."

They looked at each other for a long moment.

Jeff coughed. "Mack, your tact astounds us all. Come on, these two obviously need some time without us hanging around."

Mack grinned broadly. "I'm sure." The two men got up and left, leaving David and Megan alone with a suddenly awkward silence.

"You... really do love me?" said Megan, hesitant.

David sighed softly. "Yes. I guess I didn't want to admit it because... I mean... a human and a vampire..." he trailed off.

"Just because the Hunter in the movie didn't think it would work, doesn't mean he was right. Like you said, it's not real. What reason is there that a vampire and a human couldn't love?"

"Uh..." David thought about it. "I can't think of any, actually." He smiled at her. "Other than 'it's never been done before' but I guess that's not much of a reason, is it?"

"No, it's not much of a reason at all." She moved a little closer to him. He reached up and caressed her cheek softly. They came together in a hesitant kiss. Both of them had been with others before, but this was different. It was strange and new to them both, and not just because David was no longer quite human. They shared gentle kisses and soft caresses, each a little shy, a little awkward after how long they had been together without expressing their feelings. David took incredible care to be gentle, wanting very much not to hurt her. She was a little more bold, putting her arms around him and holding him tightly.

After quite a while Megan pulled back a little. She slid her hands down David's chest, and started undoing the buttons on his shirt. He smiled up at her and reached up to run his fingers through her hair. She ran her hands across the cool skin of his chest, then down lower, and she started undoing the button on his pants as well.

He let out a little yelp of surprise and scooted away from her. "You can't possibly want to... uh..."

"Why can't I?" Her tone was amused. "And 'because I'm a vampire' isn't a reason. You are capable, aren't you?"

He had that would-be-blushing feeling again. "Uh... I... as far as I know, yes. But... uhm... I'm, uh, cold down there too. I mean... you... uh..."

Megan giggled, a delighted little sound, and grinned at him. "Oh my. I guess there are some things you don't know. A woman can pleasure herself with ice, David. I haven't tried it myself, but I've been told it's quite enjoyable. Cold isn't a problem at all."

"Oh." He felt as though he ought to be red all the way to his toes, he was so embarrassed.

Megan giggled and snuggled up to him again, letting her hands wander. "It's okay. I just... I love you so much, and now that I've admitted it, I want to be close to you in every way possible."

He relaxed and slid his arms around her. "Yes. I want to make you happy, to do everything I can for you." He kissed her again, with tender passion.

They explored each other slowly, removing clothing to touch and caress. Her hands were warm as they ran across his skin, and in the warmth of the desert summer night his cool touch was pleasant. She pressed close to him, holding him against her, and he ran his hand through her hair. His face rested against her neck as she held him and he was suddenly vividly aware of her pulse, of her sweet blood scent, of his own hunger. The blood smell flooded his senses, overwhelming everything else. The urge to just do it, to just bite into her neck right then and take her blood was nearly irresistible. It would be so easy, so good...

He gasped and pulled back. With a sob he turned away from her and curled up on his side.

"David... what's wrong?"

"I hate this! I just want to be with you, to take care of you, and all I can think of is blood. Every night! Every night I can smell it, every night I think of it, want it, even when I've just fed. The hunger hardly goes away for an hour, and then it's back. I can't be close to you, I can't hold you and just think normal thoughts, I have to fight the hunger, fight wanting to just take your blood. That's why vampires can't love humans, because all they can think about, all I can think about, is blood. I hate it! I hate needing it. I hate myself." He started sobbing, tears streaming down his face.

"Oh David." She sat next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, really it is. If you want my blood every day, you can take it every day, I'll give it happily."

"But I'd hurt you. I don't want to hurt you. To lose that much blood..." He sniffed, still crying.

She smiled down at him. "I'm a woman, David. I know a little bit about blood loss. I lose far, far more during my monthly cycle than you have ever taken. Losing blood every day is something I'm used to. It won't hurt me. And there are pills, supplements to help me build it back faster. I promise it won't hurt me."

He shook his head, still not looking at her. "But I could still hurt you. It's not just wanting it every day, it's wanting it all, to just take until there's nothing left. I could kill you."

"But you won't." Her voice was steady, her tone calmly factual. "I know you. I trust you. You are strong, far stronger than anybody else I've ever known. You've never once lost control yet, no matter how badly you needed it. And surely if you're taking a little bit every day it will be that much easier, the need that much less." She touched his cheek gently, wiping away the tears, and he looked up at her, saw her warm, loving smile. "It's okay." She took his arm, pulled him up. He gave in and sat up, wiping the tears off of his face. She leaned in, kissed his cheek softly. "You said the hunger does go away for an hour or so after. So come, take what you need, and we'll have that hour to just be us, David and Megan, and not vampire and human." She shook her hair back, and tilted her head to the side, baring her neck.

He hesitated. Her heartbeat was slow, she was utterly unafraid, but he still was, he was terrified he would hurt her. But he couldn't say no, couldn't reject her trust in him. So he slid his arms around her and kissed her neck gently, her scent flooding over him.

She put her hand to the back of his head in gentle encouragement.

He hesitated a moment more. But he knew that she was giving this willingly, and he felt his hunger demand it and those together were enough to overcome his reluctance. He closed his eyes and bit down.

The taste was wonderful, electrifying, as he had known it would be. And taking at her neck like this gave him more than he could get from her wrist, a flood of intense sensation. He drank deeply, and was lost in it, in the wonderful taste and feeling of it. But only for a moment, just an instant, and then his control returned. He fought down the urge to take it all, as he had so many times before, and it was easier than he had feared it would be.

Eventually the flow of blood slowed, and he didn't, as he knew he could, renew the fang marks and take more. Instead he pulled back, and looked at Megan, worried still that he had taken too much, that he had somehow hurt her. Her arms were still around him, and she smiled at him with a dreamy sort of smile.

"Mmm. That was even nicer, I think, than before."

"You're okay?"

"Yes. More than okay. I don't think I'd mind doing that every night at all." She straightened a bit and smiled again. She reached out and touched his cheek. Then she giggled, and wiped a little droplet of blood from the corner of his mouth. "You weren't quite so tidy this time though." She licked her finger clean.

He stared at her.

"Oh what? It's just blood! You're making this into something bigger than it needs to be. Didn't you ever cut your finger and then suck on it, when you were still human? Blood is just circulatory fluid. It carries oxygen from your lungs around your body. Or around my body, at least. Heaven knows what it does for vampires, since you don't breathe. But it's not something scary, and it's not something magical either."

He laughed, a little shakily. "I don't know how you can be so matter of fact about it."

She shrugged. "Probably because books have exposed me to other points of view besides the typical city-dweller paranoia about vampires. Maybe you're something supernatural, or maybe you're not, but either way there's no reason to make such a fuss about it. Now come on. We only have an hour or so without such distractions, you said. I want to enjoy that time to the fullest." And she pulled him in close for a long, deep kiss.

And if she tasted a lingering hint of her own blood on his lips, she certainly didn't mind.

"Hey Jeff, where's Mack?"

It was early evening, not too long after sunset a few days later when David emerged from his bedroom, with Megan close behind, and found Jeff in the front room, reading yet another book.

"He went outside for a while. Said something about too sensitive hearing."

Megan blushed. David was rather glad that he couldn't. They'd been doing a bit more than just holding each other of late, and though they did try to be as quiet as possible, a certain amount of noise was inevitable. "I guess I'll go find him then." David gave Megan another smile and then walked out into the woods.

He found Mack not far off, amusing himself by throwing fist-sized rocks at a large outcropping and watching them shatter.

"Hi Mack."

"Hey."

"It seems like you're past tripping over your own feet," said David. "It's probably time for the next step."

"Hunting?" asked Mack.

David shook his head. "Not quite. You need to learn a few things about how to fight."

"I know how to fight," said the big man, looking a bit offended.

"I'm sure you do." David smiled. "You probably know a lot more about hand to hand fighting than I ever did, or ever will. But you've never fought a vampire. It's not quite the same."

"What's so different? You said yourself, they have bones to break like anybody else."

David chuckled. "So they do. But they don't move like a human moves. I do, most of the time, because I'm not trying to move fast. You picked it up yourself, adjusting these last few days, learning how to slow yourself down. But you don't know yet how to actually move when you're moving fast."

"It can't be that hard," said Mack dubiously.

"Try it then," said David. "I don't even have my sword on me. If you're really ready to fight vampires, you ought to be able to deal with me well enough, since I don't know jack about unarmed fighting."

Mack eyed David dubiously. But then he shrugged. "Okay." He shifted his feet, balancing himself, ready for movement.

David just stood there, flat-footed. Mack moved forward, keeping an eye on David, waiting for him to do something. But David just kept standing there. Mack shrugged mentally, and aimed a punch at his friend.

And though he swung fast, while his fist was still in the air, David had moved just far enough that it missed him. Mack followed it up with a second punch, but once again David was able to move out of the way in the instant between the start of Mack's motion and the end. David smiled. He could practically see Mack thinking that he just had to move faster. He'd learned this lesson himself, early on, though he'd held a sword. Mack kept circling and attacking, but his blows were always just a little bit behind where David was.

"All right, I give up," he finally said. "How the hell were you moving like that?"

"Well, I cheated a little, because I really am faster than you are. I probably wouldn't have been able to do that flat-footed otherwise." He grinned. "The real trick, though, is to anticipate. You're used to fighting slow, where you have time while you're still moving to adjust things. But with vampires, your eyes can't keep up with your fists. You've got to guess in advance when they're going to swing and which way they're going to go, and aim for where they will be, not where they are. No matter how fast you move, a vampire can be fast enough to dodge if they can anticipate your movement at all, and you can't correct in mid-swing, there's too much momentum behind it. And that's the other thing. You telegraph what you're going to do. Most vampires will, so you can take advantage of that, but if you give a hint of when you're going to swing it just gives them that much more time to get out of the way. I'll admit it's easier with a sword. I have a bigger range that I'm covering with my motions, where you're limited to the reach of your arms. But you still should be able to catch me, if you try. You're fast now too. Don't prepare for movement, just move."

"Right. Move." Mack nodded to himself. "I guess you're right that I'm going to need more practice."

David smiled. "Probably not that much more though. I had to learn everything from scratch. Once you get used to the speed, and the need to anticipate, you'll be fine. And honestly... most of the vampires you're going to run into really can't fight at all. They're terrible at it. You could probably beat up a good number of them right now. But I'd prefer that you don't chance running into one who can actually fight without any experience. There are a few, and if you're not going to learn sword fighting, you're going to lack one of the biggest advantages I've got."

"Nah, I'm not changing my mind there. Maybe I won't be able to kill as many as you do, but fist-fighting's my skill, always has been."

"All right. Well, come at me again, see if you can get me. I'll bet you still can't."

"I'll take that bet."

It was not quite two weeks later when Mack finally managed to not only hit David, which feat he'd accomplished by the end of the first day, but to actually take him down. "And right here's where I'd break your neck if you were one of those bastards," he said with a triumphant grin. He let go of David's head and just sat on the smaller vampire. David levered himself up, dumping Mack off. Mack laughed and sprawled back in the grass.

"I'm going to be sore after this," said David. "You did great. I think you're ready to fight, at least physically. Mentally..." He shook his head.

"Look, you're really good at this mental stuff," said Mack. "I'm not, that's just all there is to it. You say that most vampires are at least no better than I am, and that's as good as it's going to get."

David sighed. "I guess so. I just can't help but worry. But you should be fine. You're certainly stubborn enough to fend off most of them."

"It's time to hunt then," said Mack with an eager grin.

David grinned back, the excitement contagious. "Yes. It's time to hunt."

Megan and Jeff had wanted to get a few things that they could only find in the cities, including Megan's supplements, so David and Mack wouldn't be leaving them alone this time. Instead they would escort them to Georgetown, to stay for a week while the vampire pair hunted.

"Say hello to Mom for me," said David to Megan as he left her outside the city lights.

"I will," she said.

The human pair waved, and the two vampires vanished into the darkness.

"What first?" asked Mack as they ran.

"I think we should make a sweep along the road to Wind City first, that's the easiest. If we don't find anything there, we can start south, go to Sagebrush, see what's about. If that doesn't net us anything, I might see about trying to turn up a lair, I know there have to be some on the eastern side of the road. I've crossed and recrossed the western side too much, there's nothing there, at least not unless it's a good bit further south. The country to the east is a little more rugged, so that makes sense. And there are caves, lava tubes all over there. At least that's what Megan told me. She knows the most surprising things! But for now, Wind City."

The wind blew into their faces as they ran, and David more or less turned his mind off, just running, letting his eyes and feet connect directly without any intervention from his brain.

"Whoa." Mack skidded to a halt, and David stopped just a bit past him.

"What?"

"You kind of... faded out there for a minute. I mean, I could only just barely sense you."

David blinked. "Interesting. I was just kind of... dunno. Zoning out and not thinking about anything. I do it a lot when I'm running. I've always liked to run. I liked it even before I became a vampire and could run like this. I just sort of stop thinking, and let my feet go."

"And you've mostly been alone, so there was nobody to notice you fading out."

"When Aidan was with me, I was still too new to moving like this to be able to do it automatically. So yeah." He nodded. "I'll have to remember that, it might come in handy some day. But we should get going again."

The road to Wind City proved to be empty, but as they swung around to the south they both sensed something to the east.

"Hmm. No cities out there," said Mack.

"No. And I've never quite gone this way before. I wonder..."

"It's not moving."

"No."

"Lair?"

"Probably."

"Pretty strong, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I'd guess eight."

"Think we can take them?"

David grinned, his fangs sharp and bright in the moonlight. "Oh yes. I can take five myself, so you only have to keep three of them busy long enough for me to kill a few."

"Let's go then."

They sprinted towards the sense of vampire presence. And as they did, and the vampires in the distance sensed them, the source started to move.

"Looks like they might be coming out to play," said Mack.

David laughed. "Good. It means some of them might scatter and survive, but it also means that we won't have to go down into unknown territory to get at them. I bet they're thinking of Cottonwood. That's good. Nervous vampires are much easier to fight."

The distant group moved a bit more, then stopped. Soon David and Mack were drawing close. They slowed their pace, not wanting to run straight into the waiting pack. They topped a rise, and saw the other vampires standing on a low hill, with a shallow gully in between. David had been off by one, there were nine. As David and Mack paused at the top of the rise they could begin to sense individuals. Most of them were weak, but one was much stronger. A male, standing in the center of the group. He carried a sword. It was a straight, very long, two-edged blade; quite unlike the single-edged sword that David used.

"Is that trouble?" asked Mack in the softest possible whisper.

David answered, just as quietly. "Maybe a bit, but he's holding it like it's a shovel, or a stick or something. I'm not too worried. Just... keep as many of them as busy as you can."

"What do you want?" asked the obvious leader.

David said nothing. Mack just grinned.

There was a murmur of confusion among the group. They had expected the Hunter, in broad-brimmed hat and cape, and here he was. They had not expected his companion. Either this wasn't the Hunter, and they were safe, or it was the Hunter with an ally, and was that much more dangerous. And yet... there were nine of them. The two figures opposite them were so small compared to the crowd on the other side.

There was a long moment of tension. David waited, knowing that the more nervous the group was, the more likely they were to do stupid things and give him openings. Mack followed his lead. Finally David stepped forward. With a steady, almost casual pace, he walked down the slope. As he went, he drew his sword. The hiss of steel on steel as it left the scabbard was very loud in the near-silence. A couple of the pack fell back a step. Their leader glared at them and they stepped forward again. He hefted his long sword. And then he started forward, his pack behind him, his sword held high.

David didn't even bother to block that first hacking blow, he just ducked under it nimbly, getting completely behind the other vampire. His own sword licked out with skilled precision as he ducked low, and one of the weaker vampires let out a squeal of pain and fell, his leg cut nearly off at the ankle.

As if that cry was a signal, the night erupted in noise and chaos. Mack was the center of a ring of four and was kept very busy dodging and blocking, not really able to get in a countering blow. David, though, wasn't letting himself get surrounded. If he were pinned in one place the longer reach of the other vampire's weapon would be an advantage. But if he could keep moving the heavier weight would be a bigger disadvantage. The vampire could, of course, swing it around like it weighed nothing, but it still had mass, and momentum, and every stroke required a much longer recovery time than David's rapid blows. He darted in and out of the confusion, the other vampires getting in each other's way as they all tried to follow him at once. He got in dozens of hits, but he had to keep ducking under the sweeps of the huge sword, and so he was mostly cutting up their legs. All of the vampires facing him were limping, and David even managed to hamstring one of the ones fighting Mack as he darted past.

Finally David managed a killing blow, on the vampire whose ankle he'd first cut. It had managed to get up again almost immediately, but it actually fell down again when having to dodge one of the leader's wilder swings.

After that it was only a matter of time, and not very much of that. The unarmed vampires were quickly finished off, and David faced the leader alone. He'd wanted his full attention when he tried to actually get inside the reach of the sword.

There was, at last, a ching of steel on steel as he blocked one of those overhand blows. With a twist he forced the other's sword out wide and on the return stroke his blade cut across at neck height. He hadn't quite managed to get close enough to decapitate, but the other dropped his sword, making choked noises of pain that only lasted for an instant as David swept his blade back across once more.

Then he spun and launched an attack at the vampires still fighting Mack. Mack was holding his own admirably, but hadn't yet managed to take any of them down. They were distracted enough that David killed the first easily. The other three, realizing that they now faced the Hunter and his ally alone, scattered into the night. Mack went after one, and David chased down another. He caught up with the first and killed it quickly from behind, then dashed at a tangent after the second. It turned at bay as he came closer, a female with very long, dark hair who suddenly reminded him of Raven. She snarled at him, and for nearly a minute they danced around. She was quick, but not very strong. He was just about to take her with his mind when Mack tackled her from the side. He pinned her, and there was a sharp crunch of breaking bones.

He stood then from her limp body, and looked down at it.

"Regrets?" asked David.

"No," said Mack. "She's cute, but she's probably killed lots, and tortured people the way they tortured Jeff. If she didn't do that stuff, she wouldn't be here with them."

David nodded. "I assume you got the other one?"

"Yup."

David grinned. "Well, how was your first hunt?"

"Intense!" said Mack. "And painful. Man do I have bruises. But it's worth it. It's like..." He shrugged. "I'm a thug, and I know it. I've never done anything too bad, but I've never done anything too good either. Some good stuff, maybe. I helped Jeff out some. I guess I helped you, there at the first. This though... Hell! I'm fighting a damned battle to save humanity! That's something!"

David chuckled. "Yes it is."

Over the next week they fought, and killed, three more packs. A few escaped, but with two of them together most were unable to get away, and they met no groups so large they had to back down.

Finally, though, their time was up and they had to return to Georgetown.

They took the last bit of the journey slowly, having plenty of time before daylight. As they strolled along they chatted, mostly discussing their successful hunt.

"I wish we could do this all the time," said Mack. "But you're probably going to go out alone again after this, aren't you?"

"That's the plan," said David. "Somebody needs to guard Megan and Jeff, and we can't constantly ferry them back and forth from the cabin to the city, but if they're in the city, feeding is going to be a pain, and... I'd miss Megan. And it's honestly pretty risky, having them out in the open so near where vampires are prone to hunt, so they need to stay at the cabin as much as possible."

Mack nodded. "I figured. I dunno though... maybe we need three of us?"

David shrugged. "Do you know anybody who wouldn't be afraid to become a vampire?"

Mack shook his head. "No."

"Me neither."

Mack asked Megan and Jeff that, once they'd met outside the city lights. "I want to hunt, and there's no way I can go after a whole pack on my own. Hell, these big packs they're starting to run in are a bit much even for David to take alone. It'd be great if we could get just one more."

But they both couldn't come up with any names.

Then David got a thoughtful look in his eyes. "The problem is that none of us are the kind of people who have connections. We need somebody who knows people. And while I may not know somebody who could be a vampire, I do know somebody who's always been good at knowing the right people." He looked at the little group. "I guess we need to change direction. We need to go to Wind City."

The trip was a short one, with two vampires to carry the two humans. The return trip might, perhaps, take a little longer.

David sent Megan and Jeff together into the city. "And you might as well just bring him back with you this time," he told Megan with a smile. "It'll be easier if I can talk to him in person, and you have this habit of doing so anyway. Though if he doesn't want to come, I wouldn't be surprised. You know enough about what we need, and about our cause, to explain it to him."

Megan nodded.

At the very next sundown Megan and Jeff were waiting when David and Mack came out of the bolt hole. And beside Megan stood Alek, looking a little nervous in the darkness. As David had said, he was the kind of person who made connections, got to know people, and people got to know him. So it hadn't taken long at all for Megan and Jeff to find him.

"Alek," said David.

"David," Alek nodded. "Good to see you again."

David chuckled. "Do you really mean that, or are you just being polite?"

Alek snorted. "Yeah, I mean it. Mostly. But enough jabbering. Your friends here tell me you're looking for somebody to join you."

David nodded. "It turns out that we really need three. Two is much better for hunting the vampires, but somebody has to stay behind, and guard our donors. I don't want to have to go back to taking from everybody I save. As the vampires get more scarce, or at least more shy, the victims are kind of drying up too, anyhow."

Alek nodded. "Yeah, I can see that. Are there any special requirements you're looking for?"

David shook his head. "Just the one, they have to be willing to become a vampire, to die once, and then to risk dying again fighting other vampires. I figure that's a tall enough order for you to find, without being picky about it."

Alek blew out a long breath. David noticed that he seemed even more nervous, his heart rate was way up. "All right then. I've found you somebody already. I'll do it."

David blinked. "What, you?"

"Hey, don't look so surprised!" Alek glowered at him.

"But... why?"

A range of expressions crossed Alek's face in rapid succession, then he sighed. "Look. I was a wuss. I know it. I liked to swagger around, and was so proud of beating up people in alleys, but I always knew, under it, that I was a pussy about everything. That's why I always ran with gangs, because I didn't have the guts to beat up somebody on my own. And I'm sure you knew that too. Man, I hated you! You never wussed out, you always just stood us down, even when there was three of us to your one. I hated that so much! And I thought, when I got you exiled, that getting one over on you at last would just be the best thing ever. I'd be able to feel all brave, because I'd finally beat you, the one person who'd never backed down to me.

"But it wasn't like that. At first, a little, yeah. But then I just felt guilty. And more like a wuss than ever, because I hadn't really beaten you myself. It was just chance, you know? I didn't do anything. Hell, like you said, you saved my life, probably. I'd have been vampire bait. And I kept seeing your family around, it was like they were following me! And man did I ever feel guilty about that! They were all so sad-looking after you went.

"Then I got exiled, and it seemed kind of like I was getting what was coming to me. When you turned up on the road, I really thought that I was getting what was coming to me! And I was scared. I'd never been scared like that. And then what do you do but save my life again! So then I was guilty, and I owed you my life. I felt like crap. I was the biggest pussy ever, and I knew it. But..." he heaved a deep sigh. "You asked me, you know, for blood. And man! It scared me half to death. But I owed you. I owed you big time, and I couldn't think of any way to back down. So I did it. And you know, it was the first time ever that I'd been really scared, and hadn't wussed out.

"It felt good, to have done it, finally. To have done something like that, something that really needed doing, and to have ballsed up and not backed down. It felt like I wasn't a wuss, that I really was the tough guy I had just pretended to be before. I guess I decided then that I wanted to clean up my act some. I never even beat up anybody in an alley the whole time I've been here in Wind City." He grinned. "Imagine that! I've nearly gone legit.

"But that's not the end of it. I think I was still guilty. Giving you a little blood, when it didn't even hurt me, that wasn't anything, really, compared to what you'd done. And it got even worse, because in Wind City you're a hero. The radio broadcasts it whenever somebody turns up with a new story of something you did, somebody you saved. And there's always rumors, and talking. And yeah, some people think that no vampire could ever be good, but most of 'em... most of 'em practically idolize you, I think. That made me feel even lower. I was just a pussy, who'd only manned up the once. You were a hero, and you'd manned up dozens of times, fighting all these vampires. I wanted to hate you, but you really had saved all those people, and me too. I couldn't.

"And then your friends here turn up and say that you want somebody to join you. I'll tell you, for a while there I was just going to try and pass along the word, but... no. This is my chance. I've envied you. I envied you even back home. I wanted to have the kind of guts you've got, and I want to even more now. I don't know if I ever will, and I'm nearly shaking in my shoes this scares me so much, but I don't care. I got up the guts to do something that scared me nearly as much once, and it was the best feeling. I figure if I do this, even if I just distract 'em while you kill 'em, or whatever, I'll finally have... I dunno, I'll have made it. I won't be a wuss any more. I'm sick of always being scared."

David had stood silent while Alek poured out his story. Now he said, softly, "Alek... if you're sure, we'll take you. But you have to be sure. You can't go back, once you've changed."

Alek shrugged. "I can't go back anyhow. My home is in Georgetown, and that's gone. I thought I was gonna' die when I got exiled. Every day since then has been a bonus, I figure. So I'm in."

David grinned. "Well, welcome to the Hunters then."

Mack slapped Alek on the back, staggering the much smaller man. "I think you'll get on with us just fine."

Alek took a week to settle all his business in Wind City, while the other four returned to the cabin. David met him at the edge of the city lights when the week was up.

"Ready?"

Alek nodded. "Ready as I'm gonna' get."

The trip back to the cabin was fast, and Alek was welcomed into the group warmly when he arrived. Though Mack's version of "warm" was to nearly bowl him over at every opportunity. But Megan gave him a hug, and Jeff shook his hand when he arrived at the cabin.

"Man, I don't know when anybody was last this glad to see me!"

"Just be glad we all like you, it's getting kind of crowded here," said Mack.

"I wish I knew somewhere better to go," said David. "Particularly if we ever do expand this into Megan's vampire police. We're going to need a lot more space than this. But I don't know where to find it."

"Maybe you should keep your eyes out," said Alek. "There are a ton of old ruins out in the desert. This is practically a ruin. There might be something better than this out there."

"Good idea," said David.

"So... when are you going to... change me?" said Alek, looking a little nervous again.

David looked at him. "If you want more time, you can take it. But I know you've probably done everything you wanted to do, before, while still in the city. So if you're ready, we can start tonight."

Alek gulped. "Man." His heart rate spiked, and David and Mack exchanged glances, wondering if Alek was going to "wuss out" after all. But then Alek shook himself. "Let's get it over with. Right now."

David nodded. "Let's go outside then, where we can have a little privacy." He grabbed the little folding knife out of a kitchen drawer as he walked out of the kitchen. With Alek trailing behind him he went through the front room and out into the clearing in front of the cabin. The others tactfully withdrew, Jeff getting out a book, Mack sitting with Megan at the kitchen table, pulling out a battered card deck. He'd been trying to teach her to play various card games for the last several weeks.

Alek stood in the middle of the clearing. "Okay. What do we do?"

David explained it, as straightforwardly as he could. Remembering Megan's words about it not being magical or scary he left out anything other than just the plain facts.

"I can do that," said Alek. "I guess you have the hard part, really."

David chuckled. "It's possible."

"Do it then."

David nodded and stepped forward. It only took a few minutes for him to take Alek's blood and return it to him, changed.

"Now you get to wait," said David, "For which I apologize, but I don't want to take any chances." Then he smiled. "Come on. We'll kill time by watching a movie."

"What's a movie?"

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.

"They're pretty slow, but don't get behind them," whispered David in an almost sub-vocal voice. "They have a kick like you wouldn't believe."

He was teaching Alek how to hunt his dinner. It was the second night since Alek had woken as a vampire, and the new-born undead needed to feed.

"And back away quick when you let it go. Most of them just run off, but I've had one try and attack me. They're kind of crazy things, but they're easier to catch than deer. Deer are fast, for something fully alive."

Alek nodded, and crept silently closer. He was downwind of the dozing cow, and he was moving relatively quietly, though his city-bred instincts meant he didn't always manage to avoid sticks, leaves, and other things that could make noise under his feet as he walked. Still, he got close enough to make the last lunge, and got ahold of the big animal before it even knew he was there. It was easily five times his weight, and so he gave it a good thump on the head. Not enough to really hurt it, but enough to stun it for a moment, which was just long enough for him to bite into it. It went still as Alek drank, and David wondered for a moment if animals felt the same sort of dreamy feeling as humans did. Jeff had confirmed that Mack's feeding had the same effect, so it seemed to be fairly universal. He shrugged mentally. No way to know, really. You can't ask a cow how it's feeling.

When Alek was done, he released the animal and jumped back. This one just ran off into the darkness without a fight.

Alek trotted back over to where David stood. "Well, that wasn't too bad. Kinda hairy, but it tasted great. Better than protein goo, that's for sure. I'm not going to miss that stuff."

"I don't think anybody possibly could," said David.

"How come you don't hunt something smaller? That thing just about got away from me for a moment there."

"Because the only smaller game around here is small enough that to take what we need, we'd have to kill them. And I don't like killing things when it's not necessary."

"That sounds pretty funny coming from you," said Alek with a quick grin.

David chuckled. "Killing vampires is very necessary."

"Do other vampires usually take blood without killing, when they're taking from animals?"

David shrugged. "I have no idea. I don't actually know that much about vampires, other than what I need to know to hunt them."

Alek shook his head. "I think maybe we should try to learn then. You never know what could give you an advantage. You're pretty good, but I'm going to need every trick I can get. And if the trend to larger packs keeps up, you might too."

"It's a thought. But one for later. How's it coming with the balance?" he added. "You're looking pretty good."

"It's coming just fine. I've always been quick. This isn't all that different, really."

"Terrific. Maybe tonight we can start working on the sword then."

Alek nodded. He'd agreed to learn how to use the extra sword Aidan had left behind.

"Let's go!"

David jogged off towards the cabin, and Alek caught up with him easily. "Beat you there," he said, and took off like a shot. David blinked, then ran after. But although he put on his full speed, Alek still reached the cabin clearing ahead of him.

"That was freaking fast!"

Alek laughed. "I told you I'd always been quick. Though I really didn't think I'd beat you. You weren't letting me win?"

David shook his head. "No way. I was running flat out, I couldn't go any faster."

"Nice! For once I'm better than you at something!"

"Yeah, well, go get the swords so I can kick your butt."

Alek laughed. "Right."

He vanished into the cabin, and came out carrying the two blades. There wasn't much difference between them, but David made sure to take his own. He was used to it, after all this time. "Right. This is 'live steel' which means, of course, that we're using real swords and we could kill each other. So we're going to go slow at first. If we slip up, well... we heal fast, no problem. But do not aim anywhere above chest level. It's probably not possible, but I don't want anything to happen. You'll learn the killing stroke later."

Alek nodded. He took the blade, and David showed him a few basics, which for now he merely mimicked. After a half hour or so of basic practice, they tried an actual spar. David disarmed Alek almost instantly. Alek scowled. "Let's do that again."

David did it again, and again, and again. Finally Alek stopped, muttering under his breath in frustration.

"You can't expect to match me right away," said David.

"It's not that," said Alek. It's just... it's not quite right. I learned knife, is part of the problem, I think. I'm used to a short blade, which is different. But the other thing is, I'm plenty quick, but it's like..." he considered. "I have time to do two strokes, really, but I can't get the blade around fast enough. I could see what you were doing, and where I could have blocked it, but I was still turning it around for the back swing. Maybe I should go back to the knife. At least there I know what I'm doing."

"But you can't behead a vampire with a knife," said David. Then he grinned. "At least not if you're in a hurry."

Alek chuckled. "No, I guess not." He shook his head. "Eh, never mind. I'll get the hang of it."

The night was bright, with a full moon high overhead. David was already in the clearing, doing a sort of warm-up exercise, with Megan sitting in the grass well out of the way, watching. Aidan had taught him a few of what he called "forms," patterns of regular sword movements, almost dance-like, that were meant to cement a particular combination of motions, in various permutations, into the brain and muscles. Aidan had known only a few, but David had made up more of his own, and was working through one of the more complex ones at full speed when Alek stepped out of the cabin.

Alek stopped and watched, a little wide-eyed. He realized exactly how much David had been holding back in their few practice bouts.

"Wow," he breathed as David came to a halt, poised perfectly in the center of the clearing.

David sheathed the sword in an easy, familiar motion, and walked over to Alek. "Ready to practice then?"

"Yeah," said Alek. "But I'm never going to be that good, even if I work at it my whole life. Did you know sword fighting before, in the city?"

David shook his head. "No."

"You learned all that in just..." he paused to try to count up the time. "Not much more than a year?"

"Seventeen months since the day I died," said David softly. "Aidan said I was a natural. This is what I was meant to do, what I was born to do. Call it a coincidence, or call it fate, but sword fighting is the one thing where all my talents, all the abilities I ever had, come together just right." He paused. "I think that's why I never made anything of myself in the city. Sure, I have great coordination. What am I going to do with that? And okay, I can think ahead a few moves on just about anything. You can't make a living being a chess player. And really my mind's not set up for chess. The thinking ahead... I played a pretty mean game of speed chess, but I'd get beat at the regular slow sort. None of those things really amounted to much, until now, until this."

Alek nodded. "I dunno if I'm fated to do this too, but..." he smiled then, "I think I have come up with something to help me fight."

"Oh?"

"Yup." He patted his belt, where his sword was sheathed on one hip. On the opposite hip was his knife. "I was just thinking. I'm ambidextrous, don't know if I ever told you that. It's like you said about your skills, what are you going to do with it? It's not much use in most things. But I'm used to working with both hands. So... I'm going to fight with both. Sword and dagger."

"I don't know..." David was kind of dubious. "I'd think that would make it just that much harder to get your sword in place quickly enough."

Alek shook his head. "We'll see, but I don't think so."

Megan broke in from where she was still sitting on the edge of the clearing. "It's a valid historical style. There were fighters who used a sword and a dagger together. Usually a light straight sword with a double-edged blade, but still, they weren't even ambidextrous. From what I've read the main emphasis was on the sword, and the dagger was mostly to block with, but instead of a shield that was heavy and no use in attack, it was lighter, allowing for more speed, and could also be used offensively."

"There, see?" Alek grinned.

David chuckled and shook his head. "Once again you amaze me with the things you know," he said to Megan. "All right, we'll try it."

They faced off, David holding his single blade lightly, easily, Alek with his sword still a bit awkward in his right hand, but his knife, a long single-edged hunting knife with a fairly broad guard, comfortable in his left.

Alek immediately took the offensive. He figured he wouldn't last long, but he might as well get in what blows he could. He led with the sword, using the moves David had already drilled him in over the last week. His first blow was easily blocked, and David came back with a fast counter. Just as before, Alek's sword was still frustratingly out of position, with no way to get it back in ahead of David's blade. But the knife wasn't, and there was a ching! of steel on steel as he deflected the stroke. After only a few more exchanges David managed to twist the sword out of his hand, but Alek was still grinning. "Told you!"

David smiled. "All right, you win. But I'll get my revenge. Time to work on mental combat."

Alek groaned. "Oh man. Have mercy! I'm never going to be any good at it!"

David sighed. "You'll never be able to beat me, maybe, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't still practice. There are vampires weaker than you, and you ought to at least know as much as you can about standing off a stronger one."

Alek was lightning fast, and strong enough, though David and Mack could both win an arm wrestling match with him. But his mental skills were weak. Weaker even than Mack's merely average abilities. "I never thought I was a genius, so I guess I'm not surprised," he'd said when he'd discovered his relative lack of ability. "I have brains enough to keep you from seeing between my ears, and that's it, as my buddies used to say. Don't worry about it."

"It's not intelligence," David had said. "You've come up with a lot of good ideas already, I think you're smarter than you give yourself credit for. It's more... determination? Willpower? I don't know."

"So it's not that I'm dumb, it's that I'm a wuss? Well, that doesn't surprise me either."

Now with another groan and a great deal more protest, he readied himself to defend against David. David held back, and they strove against each other for some time, balanced in combat. Then David was unable to resist the urge, and he stepped forward and kicked Alek's ankle. With a yelp Alek toppled over. David grinned. "And there's one reason to use mental combat. While they're being kept busy trying to pry your mind open, you can get one up on them physically."

Alek gave David a glare, but it was a half-hearted one. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'm going to have such a headache. I should hit you over the head a few times, just to make up for it."

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."

David fretted the entire time they were gone. Megan distracted him some, and it was, he had to admit, very good to be able to spend more uninterrupted time with her. He was taking just a little bit from her every night, as she had suggested. It was amazing how much easier that made it. The pressure of need had vanished almost entirely, and he felt energized, with that tingly, electric feeling, all the time. He suspected that it was giving him a little extra edge of speed and strength.

With a certain amount of embarrassment he'd explained this to the others, and Alek and Mack were both taking several times a week, rather than once a month. Jeff insisted that since Megan had proved it was safe, he didn't mind doing it. Megan had smiled and offered to share her iron supplements.

Alek and Mack had been well rested and freshly fed when they departed, so they were both in peak condition to deal with whatever might happen. David still couldn't help but picture all sorts of doomsday scenarios.

But only a week later they returned, unharmed and successful.

"It was hella scary," said Mack. "We went way out the east, like you suggested, and found a den of the things, and there were eight of them there. I don't think we could have taken them, though we'd have given them one hell of a fight, but they didn't suspect a thing. Told us we were crazy for traveling with just the two of us, and the Hunter was going to get us." Mack grinned.

"Are you going to get us, Dave?" said Alek.

David snorted. "I might, if you keep that up."

Megan giggled.

"Anyhow," said Alek, "We picked up a lot of useful stuff. Nothing too wildly exciting about the way they act, most of it was pretty much like we'd expected, but... they're all worked up. And not about the Hunter, for once. Though some of 'em have said they suspect it's him, having found a better way to kill them."

"What do you mean?" said David.

"The south city vampires have all vanished. All of them. There's nobody at all around Delta or Canyon City. And when the vampires from the north sent people down to look, the ones that just went as far as the cities came back, but anybody who went much further south than that didn't."

"That's really odd," said David.

"Yeah," said Alek. "And we know it can't be the Hunter, 'cause you didn't do it!"

"Hmm." Megan looked thoughtful. "This may be bigger than the vampires. Last time we were in Georgetown there was a lot of talk about the salvage expeditions. They'd lost one a couple of months ago, just vanished, never came back. Everybody figured it was vampires, though the salvage groups are pretty big, and prepared for trouble. They lose crew, of course, but I can't think of any cases before this of one being lost completely. So it's possible that whatever it is to the south that's making vampires vanish, it takes humans too."

"Maybe we should go take a look ourselves," said Mack.

David considered. "Whatever it is, it's probably something we need to worry about, but 'we' aren't going. I am."

"And I'll come with," said Mack. "We can leave Alek here to guard." Alek made a rude gesture at Mack's back.

"No," said David. "This isn't just scouting. Everything that's gone south of Delta has vanished. It's very possible that whoever we send will vanish too. If two of us get taken, the Hunters are pretty much over with. But if we only lose one, the other two can probably carry on."

"Well, let me go alone then," said Mack.

David shook his head. "No. Look, we have no idea what this is. It could be anything at all. I'm better equipped to deal with whatever may come up."

"And you're better equipped to be a Hunter too. Alek and I, we can't really carry on without you, we can't hunt alone."

"You can learn. It will take time, but if vampires stop getting killed, eventually they'll stop running in packs and you can start picking them off again. And you could recruit somebody else, too."

"You're just being a martyr," said Mack, heatedly. "All self-sacrificing and noble. There's no reason why I couldn't go instead! I'm plenty able to take care of myself."

"I'm going, and that's that," said David flatly, and he gave Mack a mental shove.

Mack stepped back, startled. David had never before used his mental abilities on either of the others except in practice. "All right," he conceded finally. He knew if he started a fight with David, he'd lose. "But I still think you're just being a goddamn martyr."

As the night waned towards morning, David held Megan in his arms, taking comfort in her warm presence, and trying to put any thoughts that this might be the last time he held her out of his mind.

"Do you really need to go?" said Megan.

David stroked her hair softly. "Yes. Somebody has to, and of all of us I have the best chance of facing down whatever it is down there and coming back. I can't send somebody else, knowing that I might be sending them to die where I could survive, Megan. I can't do that."

"Then maybe we shouldn't send anybody at all," she said.

David kissed the top of her head softly. "I know you're worried about me, but you know better than that. This is something we need to know about. Somebody has to go, and that somebody is me. And," he added, "Whatever Mack might say, I'm not being a martyr. I fully intend to come back safely. I won't take any risks I don't have to, I promise. You know I keep my promises."

Megan put her head against his chest, tucked under his chin, and pressed closer, clinging to him. "I know."

The wind was cool on his face as he ran steadily along the road south. Autumn was advancing towards the short, mild desert winter, but David didn't mind the chill. He'd holed up some distance south of Delta that day, and now he was about to pass the vague boundary beyond which nothing was coming back. He was "present" as he ran, not zoning out. He didn't want to be taken by surprise by anything. But some hours passed and he saw and sensed nothing at all.

Then up ahead a shape loomed out of the darkness. It took him a few minutes to figure out that it was a road train, a big one. He'd never seen one without its lights before. But this one was dark, and silent, and empty. He stood in front of the massive engine, that towered more than twice his height. Then he walked back along the string of cars. But there was no sign of life at all. Just the enormous vehicle, still and dark in the road.

He felt a little more nervous as he continued south. Something had stopped the road train, and taken every single human from it. The smaller caravan trains were sometimes lost to vampires, but the salvage trains... Megan had said she'd never heard of one being lost entirely, and he hadn't either. Whatever had taken out the road train was something different. Something more powerful than vampires, he thought, and shivered.

Then off to the side of the road he sensed another vampire. He stopped. The source wasn't particularly strong, it nearly had to be a singleton, or at most a pair. He hadn't seen a vampire alone on a long time, and he was suspicious. So he waited on the road, while the other undead approached. Soon he heard footsteps in the dark, and then a vampire emerged from the gloom.

It was male, short and young-looking, with an unruly shock of carrot orange hair. It stopped and regarded him for a long moment.

David had left the hat and cape behind, and was dressed in ordinary jeans and a flannel shirt. He was not hunting, and he didn't want to be recognized as the Hunter, should he meet any other vampires. After all, the southern vampires might not have been killed, there were no bodies. They'd vanished, and it was entirely possible that they'd gone somewhere, and he might find them. He had his sword still belted on, though. He knew he was increasing his chances of getting recognized as the Hunter, but he figured he was also vastly increasing his chances of surviving whatever he might find.

"I was expecting a whole pack," said the vampire, with an easy nonchalance. "But it's just you. You're pretty strong, aren't you?"

David shrugged. "Strong enough. Who are you?"

"Name's Rob," said the vampire. "I'm a scout for Himself."

"Huh?"

The vampire grinned. "Ah, you've come down from the north then, and you aren't part of the cause yet! Well, you'll want to come along with me then."

David was baffled. He had expected that any single vampire he encountered would be afraid, but this one seemed completely at ease. The vampire had to know about the Hunter. What was going on?

"Uh... cause? And isn't it dangerous to scout alone?"

"Because of that Hunter guy, you mean? Nah. If he turns up down here, Himself will take care of him, easy. And you're alone," he added.

"I can generally take care of myself," said David, feeling very much off balance.

"I'm sure you can. Still, you'd best come along. If you try to go back north, you won't be allowed to."

David almost asked about that. Won't be allowed to? How was anybody going to stop him? But he didn't say anything. He'd come to find out what was going on. He would probably learn that faster by following the redheaded vampire than by pelting him with questions.

They set off at a good pace, and after a few miles David sensed something ahead. He stopped in his tracks and gasped.

Rob grinned at him. "Impressive, isn't it?"

"How many are there?"

"There are forty-seven of us. Forty-eight once you get there."

"How...?" David didn't quite know how to ask the question, or even what question to ask. Ahead was a source of vampire presence stronger than he would have believed possible. He could felt a kind of pressure from all those minds, even at this distance. But vampires were asocial. How had that many been convinced to come here? And how could that many in one place possibly find enough to keep them all fed?

Rob grinned more. "You'll see. Come on."

Bemused, David followed the other vampire towards the source. As they drew nearer, and David began to be able to make out little clusters of individuals, he realized that the sense was coming from underground. Soon he was walking directly over some of them. Rob led the way to a low rise, no different than hundreds of other scrub-covered hills in this part of the desert. They circled around it. On the far side the hill had been dug out and at the bottom of the sloping passageway there was a pair of gleaming silvery doors. They descended the slope and stood in front of them.

Rob went over to a panel beside the doors. He pushed a series of buttons on the panel, and the doors slid open with an eerie silence. David squinted. Light poured out of the doors. But like the lights of his cabin, it wasn't UV light, just ordinary visible light that fanned out across the nighttime desert. As his eyes adjusted to the glare, he saw that behind the doors was a corridor. It was made of the same silvery stuff, mostly featureless. It stretched a few yards, sloping gently downhill, then ended in another set of doors.

Feeling more than a little nervous, David followed Rob into the brightly lit corridor. The doors at the other end slid open as they approached. There was nobody near them, so they had somehow done that on their own. David's eyes were wide. Beyond this set of doors lay another corridor, this one at right angles to the last. It was not featureless, but had a series of colored bands painted along the walls, and was studded with doors and openings, each of which had a sign next to it. Rob turned to the left, and David followed, readings signs labeled things like "Research Department", "Synthesis Facilities.", and "Hydroponics." At least there's something familiar here, he thought at that one. They turned at a sign in front of an open corridor that read "Central, Quarters, Supply."

"I'll give you the grand tour eventually," said Rob, "And show you everything, but right now I've got to report in. Those are the rules, you find somebody new, you bring them straight in. And breaking the rules is a very bad idea." He looked at David. "You remember that. Doesn't matter how powerful you are, you don't break the rules."

As they went down this new corridor, David caught a faint scent in the air. He looked over at a pair of closed doors to his right. The signs on them read "Personal Quarters" and they smelled faintly of human blood.

"Ah, you noticed those, did you?" said Rob. He grinned. "I've been here since almost the beginning. When we had about twenty of us we brought down a big road train. Actually managed to get somebody in close enough to go under the engine, cut the power to the lights on the cars. With just the engine lights, there were enough shadows for the rest of us to take the whole crew. Keeps us all fed quite nicely. You can have a taste later, if you like. Though no torturing them, and no taking more than you need. Those are rules too. We need them, can't use them up. He's very strict about that one.

"Ah, here we are," he said, and stopped in front of a door that read "Central." David could sense a single vampire on the other side. It was a weak vampire, quite possibly the weakest he had ever sensed before. And yet it had to be the "Him" that Rob spoke of with respect and fear in his voice. David was even more bewildered than before.

There was another panel beside this door, and Rob pressed one of the buttons on it and spoke. "Sir? I found somebody new. I brought him to see you."

A voice, sounding oddly distorted, emerged from the panel. "Very good. Bring him in then."

The door slid aside as soundlessly as the first had. Inside was a circular chamber. The walls were covered in screens rather like Aidan's television screen. Most of them were blank and dark, but several were lit, showing lines of colored text and diagrams that were completely unfamiliar to David. One had a map on it, which David did recognize. He saw the road north, the cities, the mountains where the cabin lay, the badlands where the vampires laired. The map was marked with text, but David wasn't close enough to make it out.

At the center of the room there was a ring of panels at waist height, set an an angle rather than upright as the ones by the doors had been. There was a break in the ring directly in front of the door, and at the center of the ring a vampire sat in a chair, tilted back, looking confident and at ease.

The vampire looked young, younger even than Rob. Perhaps fifteen or sixteen, no more. He was moderately tall, several inches taller than David, but thinner, almost scrawny. Though something about the way he sat in his chair made David change the mental adjective. Not scrawny, spidery. His hands on the chair's arms were long-fingered and delicate, his face narrow and set in a hard, sour expression. Around his forehead was a thin band of something silvery, very much like whatever made up the walls. A pair of ridged braces, or cables, or something, ran from the band behind his ears, along the sides of his neck, and to a kind of heavy v-shaped collar at the base of this neck. Other than that very peculiar adornment, he was dressed in ordinary clothes; black jeans and a black t-shirt, just what David might have expected a teenager to wear. "Very good," he said, and without the distortion his voice was high, youthful. He regarded David for a long moment, then said "Welcome to the vampire city, and welcome to the cause."

David finally spoke. "City? Cause? What's going on?"

"You will address me as 'Sir' when you speak to me," the youthful-looking vampire said, with a tone that was not so much commanding as gloating, and suddenly David's mind was seized in an iron grip. He was held completely, utterly, far more so than when Aidan had overwhelmed him. He would have gasped in shock, but the incredible power around him wouldn't allow any motion that it didn't command. And then it did command, and David dropped to his knees. He fought against it with instinctive resistance for a moment, but then he remembered. He was here to learn. This bizarre vampire would have to release him eventually. For now, best to just go along with whatever happened. He relaxed mentally, allowing himself to be held.

"Call me Sir," said the vampire, and allowed David the ability to speak, while still keeping him utterly pinned in place.

"Yes Sir," David said, keeping his tone level.

"Very good. You have sense enough not to fight when it's hopeless. I approve of that. And you're strong, that's also good. You'll be a good addition to the cause." David found himself unable to speak again when he tried to ask what the cause was, but the vampire answered the question anyhow. "The cause is our crusade, our goal, our quest to take our proper place. Humans are cattle. They are food. And yet they live in comfort in the cities, while we huddle in caves. Well, not for much longer. We nearly have enough now. When we have gathered a few more we will attack and the first city will fall. With that strength our numbers can grow until all the cities have fallen, all the humans left are our cattle, and the vampires rule the world. And I rule the vampires." His smile was hard. "You can join our cause, and benefit from it. A strong vampire like you could easily rise quickly in power. Or you can resist, and I will kill you." He released David, with a painful mental twist that left him bent over and gasping.

"Well?" he said.

David straightened, though he stayed on his knees. "Yes Sir, I'll join your cause." This vampire might be able to command, but he still couldn't read minds, David knew. If he could, he would know better than to even offer the choice, for everything in David was appalled, horrified, at the thought of the vampire's "cause." But he managed to keep it off of his face as he knelt there.

"Excellent. Rob, show him around. Get him some synthetic and see if you can get him quarters and put him on a duty roster."

"Yes Sir," said Rob.

The apparently teenage vampire swiveled his hair around, obviously dismissing them. Rob turned and left, with David, feeling a little shaky, following after.

"Bit of a shock, isn't it?" said Rob.

"Yeah..."

"Well, I should go take you down to Synthesis and get you fed."

"Synthesis?"

"Yeah. Synthetic blood. It's what we live on, as far as just regular everyday goes. It's supposed to be synthetic human blood, and it's better than animal, but whatever that extra something is that humans have, it hasn't got it, which is why the humans there." Rob nodded towards the pair of closed doors as they passed them.

Back out in the main hallway, they turned back the way they'd come. As they strolled along, a pair of vampires came out of another door and turned towards them.

One of them paid David and Rob no attention, but they other went wide-eyed in shock, and David felt an unpleasant shock go through him as well. He has a sudden flash to the night he'd rescued Megan, the three vampires. He had fought them for several minutes, long enough that they knew very well what he looked like. Two of them had died that night, but the third had escaped, and he stood in the hall now.

The vampire male stared incredulously for a moment, then yelled "That's the Hunter!" He and his companion both turned to run, but Rob jumped at David, apparently not afraid.

"Ah crap," muttered David, and drew his sword. It took only seconds to kill Rob, though he had a tiny pang of regret. As much as his obvious pleasure at having captive humans has angered David, the other vampire had been so genial, so human-seeming... But David had no time for such thoughts. The fleeing pair would soon have the entire city's worth of vampires alerted, and that was very, very bad.

He dashed down the corridor, and turned at the doors he'd come in by. They sensed him, however it was they did that, and apparently didn't know that he was no longer in the good graces of the inhabitants, because they slid aside. The doors at the end of the short corridor, however, did not. David looked at the panel next to them. The one on the outside had had a lot of little buttons, illuminated very dimly with a blue glow. This one had just three, one green, one red, and one amber. The green one read "Open" and so David pressed it. To his relief, the doors slid aside.

He dashed out into the night, but before he'd even gone fifty yards, he was suddenly seized in that impossible grip. Somebody had alerted "Him" and apparently he could reach over distance as well. It seemed perhaps a little bit weaker than it had been at close quarters, but it was still plenty strong enough to hold him still. But though David hadn't expected the mental attack so soon, he was ready for it all the same. He blanked his mind for just a moment. And grinned to himself as he felt the other's power snap back. It was snapping over a longer distance, and apparently that made a difference, because he could feel, behind him, a kind of mental squeal of pain.

He wasn't safe yet though. He couldn't stop and keep his mind blank; with the numbers they had to search with they still might find him by ordinary means. So that meant he had to get away, and fast.

He ran then, at full speed, as fast as he could go. For the first minutes he was concentrating on setting his course to the north, on moving as fast as possible to try and gain a lead. But he knew that behind him the vampires' leader was almost certainly readying another mental attack. And so, once he knew he was going the right direction, he began to disengage his brain from his feet. It was harder when he was tense like this, but he breathed deeply, steadily, as he ran and let that sensation, and the sensation of the wind in his face, be the centers of his attention. Soon he was relaxed mentally if not physically, his eyes connected directly to his feet, his mind elsewhere and he ran in a state of pure being. Unlike the white room trance, in which he didn't exist at all, he existed now as wind, as motion, as the desert floor under his feet.

There were vampires behind him, lots of them, and they fanned out in a search pattern, most of them heading north, where they knew he was most likely to go. But they were unimportant, they didn't really exist. Only motion mattered, only motion was real. And as the vampires behind wasted time looking for him, he drew steadily ahead of them, until the sense of them vanished, left behind, and there was nothing else in all the world but running.

Dawn was nearly there when he came back to himself. He had never gotten quite so thoroughly lost in running before. He had a moment of panic, but his feet had apparently known to carry him towards a familiar bolt hole, for he recognized the twisted outcropping of rock that marked the path to one only a little ways off.

He wished he could keep on during the day. There were almost certainly still vampires behind him, particularly if they'd been able to find his physical trail. But at least they would be forced to stop during daylight, the same as he.

It was a long run back to the cabin. But David felt no sense of pursuit after that first night, and he made certain he'd broken his trail well enough and often enough that they wouldn't be able to follow him all the way home.

Megan actually met him in the woods, well out from the cabin, and practically flung herself at him. "Mack said you were almost here," she said when she finally stopped clinging to him and pulled back a bit. He smiled at her. She smiled back. "I'm so glad you're safe."

He grinned. "So am I! But come on. I have a lot to tell you guys, and I don't want to have to say it all twice."

They were shortly all seated around the kitchen table, with Alek leaning against the stove for lack of a fifth chair.

"So," said Megan, "What did you find?"

"I found something that scares me half to death," said David. "There's a kind of... underground city out there. I got inside it by pretending to be just another vampire. The first vampire I met said he'd been there a long time, apparently long enough that he barely knew about the Hunter, I think, so he didn't figure out who I was. I don't actually know now big the place was, I didn't get the chance to see much of it, but it's big enough to hold around fifty vampires, at least. And that's what's there. I was told there were forty-seven of them." He chuckled. "Forty-six now." He had banished any lingering guilt over Rob's death. Young and innocent as he had looked, David knew that he was anything but. His eagerness for the vampire cause proved that.

There were looks of shock and consternation around the table, and David nodded. "Yeah. They have something or other that makes synthetic blood for them, for daily feeding. And for the other... that salvage expedition. I passed the road train on my way down, and it was dead in the road. They took the whole crew alive, and are keeping them there. I was told that they're not allowed to torture them, but still..." He shook his head. "There's more though. They're not just content to keep that up, they're planning on taking down the cities. All of them. The ones here, and the ones everywhere, eventually. They want to destroy human civilization, keep humans as cattle, and rule the world. And while I don't know about the world, I do know they have a very good chance of at least taking the cities here."

They all exchanged glances, and then Alek said what they were all thinking. "So what are we going to do about it?"

"I don't know." David looked worried, and frustrated. "I've been turning it over and over and I can't think of anything. We have to at the very least get those humans out of there, and that alone would screw up their plans a lot, but I can't think of a way to do it. There are only five of us, they have us outnumbered nearly ten to one." And he tactfully didn't mention that two of the five would be of no use in a fight.

"What about getting city people to help?" asked Alek.

"We'll never get anybody official to do anything," said Megan. "They do not want to face the vampire problem at all. And trying to do it underground... I don't know. But what good are city humans going to be? They can't fight."

"Okay, lousy idea," said Alek ruefully. "I dunno. We could get me and Mack in there, probably. We might be able to let the humans out. I dunno what we'd do about the vampires though. Maybe we could somehow sneak them out?"

Megan shook her head. "What you need to do is to break them out during daylight. I know vampires can stay awake when the sun is up, even if it's really hard. But nearly all of them have to be asleep then, so you wouldn't have as many to worry about, and the humans would have a whole day to get away, before the vampires could chase them."

"A day isn't enough though," put in David. "I've run the distance to Delta, it's a full night's run for me. They'd cover maybe a third of that, which means that the vampires could catch up by midnight, kill them all, and still be back by dawn. Not going to work."

"And there's nowhere else that they could go?" asked Megan.

David shook his head.

"The road train," said Alek. "How far is that? And do you know how damaged it is?"

"The road train isn't far. I think it might still be a little more than a day's walk, particularly if any of them are injured, but... they could probably make it. The lights are out though. They cut the cable that powers them."

"That's all?" said Jeff, suddenly intent.

"Yes. The vampire I talked to said they'd cut the cable, and the lights on the engine stayed running, but weren't enough."

"The batteries will be dead then. But a cut cable, I can fix that. And it's bound to have fuel in it, they still had a ways to go."

"You can fix it?" asked Megan

Jeff smiled. "Yep. I said I was on the crew of a road train. I was a mechanic. Very junior, but the lights are the first thing they teach you. I know exactly where the cable will be, and how to repair it."

They looked at each other. There was a long silence. Then Alek said, "This is totally insane, isn't it?"

Mack laughed. "Hell yes! But we're going to do it anyway."

David nodded, caught between excitement and fear. "We need to work out some details, and really go over this, make sure we're not forgetting anything. I'll tell you everything I know about the city, and about their leader. But yes, we're going to do it."

"How's it look?" Alek kept his voice low. Sounds could carry very far in the still desert night, and though they sensed no other vampires nearby, it was best to not take chances.

"Just like David said," Jeff said quietly from where he lay on his back underneath the massive road train engine. "Cut cable. There's a repair kit for this, probably in the driver's compartment, and I'll have it fixed in an hour."

"No rush," said David. "Take your time. It has to be right."

Jeff nodded. He'd explained the way the power system on the road train worked. The lights were hooked up to both the battery and the main engine. When the engine ran, the lights were powered that way, but when the road train stopped, they ran off the batteries. Since the engine's lights had been left on, they had simply run until the battery was dead, so in order to start up the lights they would have to start up the engine.

"I know. We can't test it, and that worries me. It's the first rule of mechanics, test it before you say it's fixed." He shrugged. "But we can't do that, so we'll just have to hope. And yes, I will take utmost care."

He crawled out from under the engine and climbed up its side, vanishing into the compartment where the driver sat.

When he emerged he carried a tool box. "Here it is," he said. "Spare cable length and couplers and all."

The others waited in the night while Jeff carefully, meticulously, patched the cable.

"It's done," he finally said.

"Right." David nodded. "I wish I knew how far out their scouts sweep, but I don't sense anything yet. I didn't meet one until a few miles further on." He shrugged. "Let's go."

He led them on a path that should be, as far as he could judge, a direct line from the road train to the vampire city. After just a few short miles he stopped. Then he sighed. "Here is where I leave you." He gave Megan a tight hug, looking worried.

"This is bigger than us," she reminded him softly.

They had thought to just have Mack and Alek go into the over-sized lair, but Megan had pointed something out. The humans, on being let out, might not be willing to follow the instructions of a pair of vampires. The would need to be prepared, reassured. They would need a human plant in among them. Two, even, since David has said there were two separate rooms where the humans were kept.

David had objected, but Meg had been firm. "It has to be done. You said that torture isn't allowed, so I'll be all right. I'm not going to stay behind when I'm needed. I know you want to keep me safe, to take care of me, but this is bigger than us."

And David had been forced to agree. She was right. It wasn't just the lives of the road train crew, it was the future of the cities, maybe even of humankind. It was bigger than all of them.

He gave her a kiss. "I'll be here every night at sundown. Don't rush though. Make sure you know everything you can, so we don't have any surprises. I'll wait as long as it takes." He was telling them things they already knew, but they all nodded agreement anyhow. Unspoken was the fact that if he had to wait much more than a month, he would be forced to leave by his need for blood.

The four walked off into the night, and David set about his own task, digging a bolt hole so that he could be there, sheltered, until he was needed.

Now came what was quite possibly the riskiest part of all. The four had to be accepted by the vampires of the city. They'd discussed ways to do that, but in the end there hadn't been too many options. So Megan and Jeff would have to play the part of unwilling prisoners, and Mack and Alek would be their captors. They had prepared their story and gone over it dozens of times. It still had weak spots, but they were ones that they had reason to believe the vampires wouldn't notice.

They had not gone far beyond the spot where they left David when they sensed a vampire presence ahead. Mack and Alek softly told the humans, and they stepped into their prepared roles. Alek carried Megan, and Mack carried Jeff, who was, of all of them, the most nervous. He had good reason to be, but he had insisted that he would be all right. They moved forward to meet the scouting vampire.

It was another male, middle-aged this time and stoutly built. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" he asked suspiciously. No easy nonchalance here.

Alek spoke. "We heard there was something going on down here, something big. The rumors are all over, and some people up north are scared, but we thought we figured out what was happening." He grinned. "Meeting you, I think we might be right."

"What's happening is that you're coming with me, and the humans too."

"Of course, of course," said Alek placatingly.

The doors and the brightly lit halls were just as David had described them, though to the two humans the lights were merely ordinary, not particularly bright at all. As they passed down the hall leading to the "Control" room, the still-wary scout leading them halted in front of a pair of doors. "Here. The humans don't need to go any farther." He pressed a button in one of the ubiquitous panels set by one of the two doors, and it slid aside. Inside was another corridor, with doors leading off of it on the left, a half dozen or so of them, close in together. They all suppressed expressions of dismay. They had thought there would be two large rooms, but it seemed not. And worse, in the corridor stood what was obviously a guard. The scout took Megan, who started struggling and tried to kick at him, from Alek's arms. He put her down inside and shoved her at the guard, who caught her with easy speed. Another press of the button and that door slid shut. Then the scout opened the second door, and gestured at Mack. "Put him in here." There was another corridor there, a mirror of the first. Mack was a bit reluctant, but he handed Jeff over to the second guard. Jeff didn't fight at all, he was trembling, his heart rate way up, and Mack knew he had to be absolutely terrified. But there was nothing for it now. The plan could still work, it had just gotten a little bit harder, that was all.

The next doorway was the Control room, with its screens and circle of panels. And the vampires' leader was there too, just as David had described him.

"Sir, these two were headed to the city from the road when I found them," said the scout. He looked nervous. "They had two humans with them. They said something about hearing rumors, and figuring something out."

The spidery vampire regarded Mack and Alek for a moment, then without a word his mental power, impossibly at odds with the weak feel of his mind, overwhelmed them both, forced them to their knees. "Tell me why you're here," he commanded.

Alek took the lead, the pair having decided that he was more suited to trying to charm vampires than his less verbose friend. As he spoke, he didn't have to fake a shiver of nervousness in his voice. "Yes Sir. We heard a lot of stories about vampires down south vanishing. Our pack leader was scared, he said it was the Hunter, killing everybody. But we knew it couldn't be. The Hunter is pretty strong, and he's killed a few weak vampires, even gotten a few packs by sheer dumb luck, but there's no way he could kill all of them. He's a human-lover, a pussy. So we talked some about what it could be, and I figured that it had to be that the vampires weren't killed, they were leaving, going somewhere else. Vampires are strong, there isn't anything that could just kill all of them like that! And, well, we figured that if they all were going there, it had to be somewhere worth going. We wanted to go see. But our pack leader was a wuss." Alek's voice turned scornful. "He was scared. He threw us out, said we could go on our own and get killed. We kinda hadn't wanted to go on our own, but our pack wasn't exactly friendly with the others around there, they wouldn't take us, so we figured that if there was really something good down here, we'd go find it. And I guess we did, because you're way more impressive than this Hunter ever could be. Sir."

The story was thin in places, but it played to the leader's ego. Mentioning the Hunter, who had escaped the "all powerful" vampire, was risky, but to not mention him would seem strange, given how much the vampires in the north were afraid of him.

"And the humans with you?"

"They were on the road from Delta north," said Alek. "And we couldn't pass up the chance."

"I see." He nodded. "Very well then. You have indeed found something good. Something very good. You've found the future rulers of the world. Would you like to see humans reduced to cattle, see vampires rule?"

Alek tried to respond, but found he couldn't speak.

"That is our cause. We are gathering vampires here, until we have an army that can bring down the cities. And once we have brought down one city we can increase our numbers until we bring them all under our rule. Will you join that cause?"

"Yes Sir," said Alek.

"Yes Sir," echoed Mack.

The vampire's grip released them, with a sadistic twist of pain that seemed even worse than what David had led them to expect, leaving them both twitching and panting. "Good. Know that if you betray me, you will sorely regret it."

"Yes Sir," said Alek, with a shiver.

Outside the room then both exchanged relieved glances.

"This way," said the scout, and led them back out the way they'd come. "He's not usually quite that bad," the scout said, apparently having shed some of his earlier wariness. "But... something kind of upsetting happened a few weeks ago, and he's still stewing over it. Anyway, I'll take you over to quarters, get you some rooms. We can go get you some food too."

"Food?" asked Alek. "What kind of food is there down here, other than those humans?" He knew the answer, but he didn't want to let on that he did.

"Synthetics. It's blood made somehow by a machine. That's how so many of us can live here, there's an endless supply of it. And Himself is pretty careful about the humans. We don't have an endless supply of those, but we've only lost a couple since we caught them, and that was months ago. I can't say I don't miss the fun of playing with them, but there is something to be said for making them last."

They walked down the front hall, past the doors they'd entered by. They slid open as the trio walked by, and Alek jumped. He was very wound up still, and he hadn't expected the motion.

"Don't mind them. They only know when something is in front of them, they can't tell if it's going out or just going past."

"How do they work?" asked Alek.

The scout shrugged. "No idea."

The continued on, taking a left down a corridor marked "Quarters, Elevators." A door on the right proved to lead into a hallway with more doors off of it, very like the one the human prisoners were being kept in. The pair could sense several other vampires in the rooms.

"Some of 'em are empty in this hall," said their guide, "So pick what you want. When you're ready for food you can follow the signs to Synthesis, they'll feed you there."

And with that he vanished back down the corridor, leaving them alone.

Alek picked a door more or less at random and went in, Mack following. The room inside was small, with two sets of double bunk beds, so it had been meant for four. But they could tell that most of the vampires in the hall were alone in their rooms. They seemed to be sound-proofed, as their keen ears couldn't hear anything from their immediate neighbors, though they could sense one of them moving around.

"Whew!" said Alek softly.

"No kidding," said Mack. "But we're in. And Jeff and Megan are in too. Though I hope being in separate rooms doesn't throw things off too badly."

"I don't think it will," said Alek, "Though we might want to allow just a few minutes for them to explain things to the humans in the other rooms, when we let them out. But they're a road train crew. There's going to be a leader, and they'll be used to taking orders. It should be fine"

"Yeah. The guards are a pain, too."

Alek nodded. David hadn't seen any guards, and he had been too overwhelmed by the dozens of vampires around him to pay close attention to their exact locations, so he hadn't know if there would be any or not. They'd made plans both ways though.

"Now what?" asked Mack.

Alek shrugged. "Now I guess we go get fed, and then see what else we can learn."

Megan couldn't help but fall over when the vampire guard flung her into the room and shut the door. She picked herself up and shot a dirty look at the closed door and the vampire behind it. When she turned around she found she was the focus of two pairs of human eyes.

"Who are you?" asked one of the two women in the room. She was tall, and a little stout, with graying hair and a severe face. Her companion was shorter, though still taller than the diminutive Megan, and younger.

"I'm Megan," she said as she brushed herself off.

"Pardon me for asking, but you seem awfully calm for somebody who was just taken prisoner by vampires," said the first woman, a little suspiciously.

Megan grinned at her. "That's because I know something the vampires don't know."

Jeff was also tossed unceremoniously into a room, but he didn't pick himself up immediately. He was curled tightly in the fetal position, and he was twitching and shuddering. This was his worst nightmare. But no, it wasn't. Mack and Alek are here, he told himself, and David is counting on you. David who saved you. You can't let the fear beat you.

He opened his eyes and uncurled himself, to find three men watching him.

"You okay?" asked one

A second one snorted. "Of course he's not okay, none of us are okay."

Jeff sat up and took a deep breath, keeping the memory of Mack and Alek, and of the debt he owed David, in his mind, trying to drive away the fear. "I'm okay. I know they're not going to torture me, or at least my mind knows, but my body hasn't figure it out yet." His hand went to the scars on his neck. "I was caught by vampires once before, and it wasn't much fun."

There was a moment of rather startled silence, then two of the men spoke almost at once.

"How the hell do you know that they don't torture people?"

"Caught by vampires? How did you get away?"

Jeff smiled. He was still afraid, but he had faith in his friends, and he was going to get these men out of this place. "The answer to both of those questions is the same. I know because we have somebody on the inside, so to speak. And I got away because that same somebody is a vampire. There are three of them on our side, and they're going to be breaking us out."

Days and nights passed as Alek and Mack explored the underground city. City wasn't, perhaps, the right word. It was much smaller than the human cities. But it was much bigger than any single building either of them had ever seen or imagined. The forty-eight vampires living there hardly began to fill up the available space, and the "Elevators" proved to be ways to access additional levels below! Those levels were empty as yet, the lights not even turned on. But the sheer scale of the place was staggering. Even on the occupied uppermost level there were dark, unused places. The door to "Research Department" proved to go to a huge room crammed with objects neither of them could identify, but it was dark and a little bit dusty. Synthesis was, of course, well lit and busy, as was Hydroponics, to a lesser degree. They grew the food there that they fed their human prisoners. "Storage" was a series of rooms stacked high with boxes. They were labeled with numbers though, not names, so the pair had no idea what was in them. "Recreation" turned out to be a gymnasium full of dusty, unused sports equipment. In "Library" they expected books, but instead found a room with a number of the panels and screens like the ones in the Central room, with dusty chairs in front of them.

They didn't only explore the city, they also explored the habits of its inhabitants. Their leader was almost never seen. He spent all his time in the Control room, emerging only to feed and to administer punishment to anybody who broke his rules.

The other vampires didn't spend much time out and about either. They were inclined to be lazy when not required to hunt their own food, and most of them did no more than they had to. There were assigned duty rosters of guarding and scouting, of running synthesis and hydroponics, but that took up very little time, with so many and so little to do. They mostly amused themselves with the endless pack games of vampire dominance, ranking themselves in hierarchies, after which the more powerful pushed around the weaker. During the day they all slept but the two guards on the humans. That was the duty that tended to be rewarded to the lowest ranked. Guarding during the night was easy, but needing to stay awake all day was incredibly difficult. And yet falling asleep would result in their leader administering painful punishment to the offenders. There were two shifts covering the daylight hours.

And once Mack and Alek had discovered this, everything slotted neatly into place.

It didn't take long for the other vampires to try and put the pair of newcomers into their places. Mack ended up, as he had figured he would, below some and above others. But Alek was not only weaker, he was deliberately throwing his mental battles. He wanted that day shift, and it wasn't long before he got it.

"I think we're ready," he said softly to Mack as they sat in their room one night. "Today, just after sunrise."

Mack nodded. "Man. This is nervous work. I'm used to just charging in swinging, this pussy-footing around is hard on a guy."

"Well, you may get some charging and swinging soon, but I hope not. I've taken the day shift three times now, I've buddied up to both of the guys on the early shift. We've looked over every inch of this place, they don't have any surprises to pull on us. It's time to get our friends, and everybody else, out."

They waited for sunrise in tense silence. Around them the activity of the city stilled. The scouts were all coming in. The guards changed, and the sun at last slipped above the horizon. The two stood, moving around to keep from falling asleep. They waited just long enough to be sure that nobody else would be awake, and then they left their room.

The corridors were eerily silent, lit up just the same during the day as at night. No sunlight ever reached here. The pair didn't sneak down them, they had every right to be where they were, so they just strolled, but there was nobody out, all the vampires were asleep.

At the prison doors they paused. They could sense the leader, nerve-wrackingly close, but he was almost certainly asleep. They exchanged glances.

This was it.

Alek pushed the button on the first door. It slid silently open. The guard on the other side was surprised. "Alek? What are you doing up?"

Alek strolled into the hall with Mack behind him, and the door slid shut after them. "I found something I thought you'd be interested in," said Alek, moving closer. "Here, have a look." He held out his empty hand, and when the vampire looked down, Alek moved. In a blur of lightning speed he tackled the guard. He couldn't use his knife, though he had it on him as always. There had to be no blood. The guard struggled, nearly got free, but then Mack stepped up and snapped his neck.

"Whew. That's one," said Alek. Then he went and opened a door at random. Inside four startled women looked up at him. None of them were Megan. "Damn," he muttered. "You gals know Megan?" he asked. They just stared. "Never mind." He left the door open and tried another. That room was empty. He tried a third. "Bingo! Hi Megan. Want to leave?"

Megan practically flew across the room and hugged him. "Alek! I was starting to worry a bit."

Alek grinned toothily. "We wanted to make sure we hadn't overlooked anything. You want to let everybody else out, and tell them the score? We've still got to get the guard on the other side, so keep it quiet."

The other humans with Megan looked more than a little stunned, particularly when she had hugged a vampire. They hadn't quite been able to believe her story. But the gray-haired woman recovered quickly. She started opening doors, calling names, getting everybody out into the corridor.

Alek and Mack stepped outside. Alek took a deep breath, and then he opened the next door. Thankfully his trick worked a second time, and Mack killed the second guard as easily as the first. "Thank you God," breathed Mack. "That's the really sticky bit right there." Then he and Alek started opening doors. It took them three tries, with two rooms full of startled and bewildered humans, before they found Jeff.

Jeff stood as the door opened, and then nearly collapsed back to the floor as a huge wave of relief went through him to see Mack's familiar face. "Hi buddy," said Mack.

"Good to see you," said Jeff simply. Then he waved the other men forward. "This is it," he said intensely. "Get everybody else out and tell them the story."

Soon both men and women had been told about the three Hunters and the planned escape. They were a road train crew, used to working together. The iron-haired woman was their captain. She issued orders in a soft, but firm voice and her two dozen or so crew members obeyed them without question. With Mack and Alek leading the way, the group moved quietly down the corridor. Mack carried the two vampires' bodies slung over his shoulder. When they were just short of the automatic door, he halted.

"This is a far as we go. It's full daylight out there. You take these with you. Our end of things will be much easier if they just vanish. Sunlight will burn them up, so you won't have to carry them far. Megan and Jeff both know the way to where you're going. Just go through those doors, they'll open up for you when you get close. The doors past that lead outside. You push the green button and they open right up."

The captain nodded. Megan gave Alek and Mack one more hug, and then the humans moved forward. They moved in a quiet file through the automatic doors, and there was a burst of light as the first of them opened the outer door before the last of them had quite gone through the inner. Mack and Alek both squinted against the glare of indirect sunlight, but the door shut only seconds later.

Alek blinked himself awake at sundown. Then he grinned. He'd wondered if he'd even be able to sleep, he was so nervous, but the pull of daylight had dragged him under the instant he lay down on the bed. And the fact that he was waking now, at sundown, meant all had gone as planned.

Mack was grinning at him from the opposite bunk. "Ha! Nobody sounded the alarm. But now you'd better, or it'll look all wrong."

Alek nodded, and stepped out of the room. He jogged down the hall and out into the corridor. He considered for a moment going straight to the leader himself, but he seemed the type to kill the messenger, perhaps literally, so instead Alek went down the other hall and knocked on the door of Tantra, the vampire who kept track of the various duty rosters.

Tantra answered the door with obvious irritation on her face. "What?"

"Nobody woke me for my shift," said Alek. "I think they fell asleep."

"Lovely," she muttered. "I'll go take care of it."

Alek went back to his room, trying to keep his tension from showing. The empty rooms would be found, the alarms would be sounded, the vampires gathered, and then they would chase after the fleeing humans. If all went as planed they wouldn't catch them until after they'd reached the road train and gotten it started up again. With time and surprise the vampires had been able to take out the train, but coming unprepared on it with the night already half gone, they would almost certainly be turned back. They hoped. If the vampires tried to fight, well...

"It's all up to you now D," he murmured softly.

David waited, as he had waited every night, as close as he dared get to the underground city. Tonight though, at last, he heard the faint sound of footsteps in the distance not long after sundown. A lot of footsteps. He ran ahead to meet them, and soon saw the group of humans moving through the night, Megan at their head.

He grinned in relief and ran to them. "Megan!"

"Oh David!" He caught her up in a fierce, if careful, hug, and swung her around.

"Thank God you're all right," said David. "It worked then! Jeff!" He greeted his friend warmly. "Alek and Mack were okay?"

"Yeah. They said they should be able to slip away in the confusion when the vampires reach the road train."

"Wonderful." He looked at the other humans then. And realized that everything was not wonderful. They were tired. Some of them were stumbling. They had walked all day without food or water, after months of being confined in tiny rooms. They were near the end of their strength, and it showed. He looked at them in dismay.

One of them, a tall, gray-haired woman, stepped forward. "I'm sorry we can't go any faster. Megan says you've fixed the lights on the road train. But I don't know how quickly we can make it. We're not in very good condition, I'm afraid."

David nodded. "You do what you can. We're only a couple of miles off."

He stayed with the group, fretting, as they moved slowly across the hills and gullies. He helped them along as much as he could, lifting the weaker members up out of the gullies, carrying the worst off of them in turn to let them rest, if only for a minute, but there wasn't much just one vampire could do.

And then he sensed the first of them; some vampire who had run a little faster than his fellows, no doubt. "They're coming," he said to Megan.

"We're not going to make it," she said, "are we?"

David looked at her. He looked at the staggering humans. Then he looked back to the unseen spot where the sense of vampire presence was growing slowly stronger as more of them came into range of his senses. Then he nodded. "Yes, you are. You're almost there. I just have to slow them down a little, and give you time."

Megan's eyes went wide. "No! You can't face down fifty vampires alone!"

David shook his head. "I can't beat them, but I can delay them, give you all time to get to the train. We're close! It won't take long."

"But... they'll kill you," she nearly whispered. He looked at her. He wanted, more than anything, to just run off with her to safety and leave the others behind. But he couldn't.

"This is bigger than us," he said softly.

Tears started streaming down her face. David hugged her, and gave her one last kiss, then stepped back. "I promise I will do my best to survive this," he said. "I may be able to slow them down a bit and still get away. I have a lot of tricks, after all this time. I promise. And you know I keep my promises."

"I know," she said. And then he was gone into the darkness.

Megan turned and caught up with the others. She was tired too, but she'd been in better shape to start with. The road train's captain paused a moment and gave her a look. "I heard what you two said. He's going back there alone?"

Megan glanced behind her, into the dark. "Yes," she said softly, tears still gathering in her eyes. "He's the Hunter. He can't do anything else."

David waited. There was no wind to send his cape fluttering, and no moonlight to gleam off of his drawn sword, only the diamond brilliance of the stars above and perfect silence in the desert below.

Then the silence was broken by the sound of footsteps. Slow, cautious footsteps, and David smiled grimly to know that just by being here he had already bought the fleeing humans that much more time.

He had positioned himself on top of a slope, and so he could see them all as they emerged from the darkness. Forty-eight vampires. Forty-six of them that he would have to fight, if it came down to it. They paused as they saw him framed against the stars. There was a murmur of voices, a feeling of tension. They knew who he was. And although he stood alone to their veritable army, he stood with such confidence that they could almost believe he could take them all.

David spoke softly. Their hearing was as keen as his own, he had no need to bluster or shout. "There are many of you, and only one of me. I can see you thinking it. And perhaps there are enough of you to kill me, but I promise you, the first to move within reach of my blade dies." He grinned then, a feral, wild grin. A not quite sane grin that caused a few of the vampires below to fall back a step. "And I keep my promises."

There was a tense silence. Then their leader shoved his way to the front of the crowd. "What are you waiting for, get him!" he said, radiating fury. The crowd stirred, but nobody stepped forward. Nobody wanted to be that first person, who was guaranteed death.

The leader snarled. He caught at the minds of his followers, and six of them stepped, clumsily, reluctantly, forward. David's grin widened. If six was the most he could force at once, well... six was easy. The attackers climbed the slope and attempted to surround David, but they had no chance. They were slow and clumsy and he didn't even need to call up the whirling muscle-memory speed attack, he simply killed them as they came, with easy, almost leisurely motions. They fell at his feet, six bodies, six heads. One of the heads rolled down the hill and came to a halt in front of the watching vampires. Several of them stepped back from it.

"There are six less of you now," said David. "I can keep killing you like that until you're all dead."

The leader reached out and grabbed David with his mind, with a force made that much stronger by his rage, but David merely ceased to exist for a moment, and slipped from his grip. The leader looked like he might explode in fury. He kicked the severed head in frustration, sending it spinning out into the darkness. "How are you doing that?!"

David only smiled.

The leader turned to his followers, screeched, "Kill him, or you'll all be punished severely!"

Safely anonymous in the crowd, a voice said "Why don't you kill him yourself?" David suppressed a laugh. He recognized that voice.

"Fine! You will all regret this greatly," he hissed at them. "I will kill him myself! You!" He pushed his way through the crowd, who all gave way before him, not wanting to be the object of his attentions any more than they wanted to face the Hunter. He stopped directly in front of Alek. "You have a sword, give it to me!"

Alek hesitated. But he reluctantly handed the sword over. If he refused he'd just be controlled and forced to do it anyhow. Dave can take him, he told himself.

The leader drew it, swung it through the air a few times, and nodded. He climbed the hill, angling to the side so that he wouldn't be directly downhill of David when he met him. David could have moved to block him, but he was content enough to let this play out. Every minute was that much more time for the humans to reach the safety of the road train.

The leader brandished the sword. He was obviously not an expert at it, but he was not as clumsy as some David had seen. He moved forward, swinging the sword at David, and as he moved he grabbed at David's mind. David slipped free as easily as ever, but in order to do so he had to pause in place for just an instant. So his blocking sword was only barely there in time to deflect the blow. The leader grabbed at him again, apparently able to effortlessly attack him mentally while still moving physically. Once again David had to pause for a moment, and this time he didn't get his sword up quite in time. The tip still deflected the attacker's blade slightly, but it gouged a deep cut into his arm. He fell back a step, and the leader advanced on him.

They circled around the hilltop that way for some time. The leader couldn't manage to deliver any crippling blows, but for once it was David who was having to pause to deal with a mental battle, and the pauses were long, in terms of the snake-strike movements of vampire combat. David retreated again and again, but though he was cut and bleeding in dozens of places, he was serene as he fought. The trance state seemed to linger with him, though he dropped out of it to see and block every time he used it to escape. He was calm, in a way he'd never been calm before. He might die, he might live, and it didn't matter, all that mattered was the fight.

And then something shifted.

One of the leader's blows came at him, with the same mental hold, and David once again had to pause to slip free of it, but this time he did not block the blow. He took it, the deep gash across his shoulder a light price to pay for the change in pace, for instead of blocking, he attacked.

The pace of the fight was the same, but now it was David who drove it, and the half-second pauses were barely enough to give the leader time to block or dodge his strikes. Again and again David's sword sliced in at him, and again and again he only just managed to escape injury. As David fought he was more and more calm, more and more detached from all the usual baggage of life. He did not need to survive, he did not need to win, he only needed to fight. This was his purpose. Thousands of hours of practice, of forms and drills and sparring. Dozens and dozens of battles with other vampires. All his skills, all his training, all his work, everything that he had ever done or been was leading up to this moment. He felt it, the sense of destiny rising up around him in a flood, stronger than it had ever been. And as it rose around him he was no longer David, he was only the Hunter. He stepped up the pace of his attacks, moving now on muscle-memory, driven by millions of repetitions of the motions of combat. There was no thought, only action.

And the leader, trying to reach out and force him to pause once more, found nothing there to grab. He stumbled backwards, suddenly afraid, wanting to run, but he didn't get the chance, for the Hunter's sword swung around at neck height, in the motion he'd performed so many times before... and rebounded with a clang and a shower of sparks from the ridged cables that ran up the sides of the leader's neck.

"Ha! You can't kill me, you..."

But he had no chance to say any more, for while he wasted precious seconds gloating, the Hunter drew his arm back, and in one fluid motion drove his sword, point first, through the precise center of the leader's throat. The blade went in almost to the hilt, and the point sliced through tissue and bone and nerves, severing the spinal cord as readily as beheading would have.

His body dropped limply to the ground. The Hunter twisted the blade, making certain that the cut was complete, that there could be no healing. He withdrew it and turned to the watching crowd. He took his stance again, his sword, dripping red, held ready.

Once again there was silence.

The watching vampires had not expected their leader's defeat. He had been their tyrant. He had been their king. They had all feared him, and if they thought of themselves as immortal, they thought of him as even more immortal than they. Their egos wouldn't allow them to think anything else. But now the Hunter had killed their king.

They still knew they could take him. There were still forty-one of them, and just one of him. They hated him and wanted to kill the Hunter, the killer of vampires. They knew if they didn't that he would kill many more of them. But they were all hearing again the words, "The first to move, dies." They all wanted him dead, but none of them wanted to be that first, especially not after what they had just seen.

Perhaps they might have nerved themselves up eventually. Perhaps one of them might have moved, and then hung back once they crowd surged forward. Perhaps. But a voice rose from the back of the crowd. "You can all commit suicide if you like. I'm leaving. I don't want to die." And one vampire broke free of the group and ran into the night.

"Hell yes," said a second, and followed.

And suddenly they were all streaming away into the darkness, scattering out into the night, going in every direction except towards where the Hunter still stood on the hilltop. The Hunter stood and watched until the last of them was out of sight.

Then he sank to his knees, exhausted and bleeding, and was David again.

Approaching footsteps made him look up tiredly, to see Alek and Mack, having circled around, come up the hill. He smiled.

"Ha! You did it! I can't believe you did it!" Alek was bright-eyed and wound up.

David chuckled. "Yeah, I can't believe it either. And thanks. I think they might have nerved themselves up to take me if you hadn't spoken up." He leaned on his sword and slowly levered himself to his feet.

"Here, lean on me a bit," said Mack, coming up beside him to support him. "You all right?"

"Yeah. I'll live." He turned and looked behind him, to where the humans must still be walking through the desert... and suddenly he stepped back, raising a hand to shield his eyes as light flooded out. He blinked a few times. The light wasn't really that intense at this distance, but he'd been looking right at it when it had sprung up.

"They did it." He smiled. "We all did it. Come on. I'd better let Megan know that I didn't manage to get myself killed." He started limping forward, but Mack suddenly scooped him up.

"You're in no shape to walk. You've carried me often enough, I can carry you a few miles."

They made their way to the edge of the light, where Megan was waiting. A look of fear crossed her face when she saw that Mack was carrying David, but Mack set him down to walk the last few feet on his own. She ran out to meet him, and hugged him hard, not caring that she was getting blood all over her clothes. There were tears running down her face as she clung to him. "You're alive."

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her. "I always keep my promises."

Epilogue