The date was a disaster.
Or rather, as she thought sourly, it had been wonderful, which, of course, explained why she was sneaking away from it at that very moment.
Duty called, in the form of Madge's aura about a mile away from the Italian restaurant where she had been having a very pleasant dinner with Andrew. How she was going to explain not coming back from a trip to the restroom she had no idea. She'd never even had to do this to Chris - she'd probably just lost one of her best friends, and she was furious. And dead certain that it was going to be Madge who paid the price.
He was moving quickly now - probably finished with his kill, moving to new ground. As she passed the spot where she'd sensed him, perhaps a hundred feet from the victim, she felt reluctantly in the direction of the death - not a human, but something domestic - perhaps a dog or a cat.
"He just had to pick now, didn't he?" she ground out, hissing slightly with the effort of running.
She felt him stop then, on the edge of the district, and settle down to wait. She cursed the stupidity of the matter. Of course - she should have seen it. He wasn't hungry - he'd fed in Nocturna, most likely, or he wouldn't have stayed so long. He was drawing her out, tiring her with the chase, for the fight they both knew was coming.
"I hate you," she muttered. "And one day, I'm going to kill you."
Again.
She slowed to an easy walk. He'd wait, she knew that - he was prepared to fight tonight, and moreover, he was patient. He had something planned, she was sure of that - the last banishing had riled him severely.
As she turned into another deserted lane, she felt his presence in the darkness ahead. Reaching quickly into her sleeve, she drew out a dagger. The blade gleamed in the moonlight - glowed, in fact. Bespelled silver.
"Is that fair play, Storms? I haven’t got any iron."
She didn't answer.
"Not that I'd have to worry. Your new friend's giving you enough trouble already."
"You've been watching me."
Madge stepped out into a patch of moonlight. "Of course," he said smoothly. "We're so - close. I couldn't bear not to see you for so long."
"Funny," she retorted. "Because I can't wait to get away from you."
"I'm hurt, hunter. However, you're free to leave."
"You know what I'm here for, Madge. Let's get started."
"But I was enjoying our little chat."
"Madge."
"Rowena."
Suddenly, his smile snapped off. "Very well."
Without further warning, he lunged, but this time she was ready. She ducked sideways, scraping his arm with the tip of her dagger. He hissed in pain and turned to face her again.
Once more he lunged, and once more she dodged, nicking him again.
"Clumsy, Madge," she whispered as they circled each other. "Very clumsy. Got anything better?"
Tilting his head to one side, he regarded her seriously. And then smiled. Not his usual quirky grin, but a smile of pure malice. She felt her spine tingle.
The next wound was his - a long gash on her left arm.
"Like that?"
And then, for a time, they were silent, moving quickly, each step potentially deadly. Rowena had lost track of the time when he suddenly stopped moving.
"This grows tiresome," he commented. "I think we'll stop."
Even before she had time to panic, he had moved. In a blur of red and black, he had her by the throat, pinned against the brick wall behind her.
"You lose, Storms."
She stared into his black eyes. This wasn't just Madge - the speed and the power came from another source. He had help, had had it all along. He'd been toying with her, using up her energy. And now - now . . .
He smiled again, showing a row of fangs shining white in the darkness.
When a vampire bit a human with no hunter present to help, one of two things could happen, depending on what the vampire wanted. The victim would either die quietly, or become a vampire themselves. Hunters were slightly different. If given the bite that turned humans, the hunter would die. She'd heard it was painful. However, a hunter's blood could also be used to enhance a vampire's power, in which case the hunter would recover, after a time. She had no doubt what Madge meant to do to her.
All hunters had a time to die, she reminded herself. Sure, but I never imagined it would be this soon. I didn't get to half the things . . .
As if in a dream, she watched the dark head lower itself to her neck, and steeled her body for the pain she knew would hit.
It never did. Instead, there was a blinding flash of silver light, somehow sharp, and Madge was thrown backwards from her, through a portal that opened up suddenly behind him.
"Kith!" he rasped, and then was gone.
Another figure appeared where he had been an instant before. A tall man - no, vampire, she saw at a glance. His hair was a shade lighter than Madge's, and he had an odd look in his eyes. Cautiously, she felt for his aura. Silver, with a touch of red - brilliant red, almost vermilion, around the edges. It had been he who saved her.
"Greetings, Storms. My name is Kith."
She said nothing.
I'm alive.
But vampires were selfish creatures. They showed no loyalty - not even to their own kind. And she was a hunter, the mortal enemy of this her enigmatic saviour. She hardly dared to think of what his motives could be.
He was powerful, much more powerful than Madge. Deadlier, but somehow also softer. He was dangerous in a much more subtle way, somehow who could just appear behind you without a sound.
Without her noticing, they prepared for the fight, circling slowly around one another. She could feel him probing around her mind - yes, much more powerful than Madge. She had to devote half her energy to keep him out of her thoughts. And she was bleeding freely now, and tired. A fight was the last thing she needed. But this was a fight she would have to win.
To her surprise, he stopped suddenly, and straightened up.
"I'm impressed, hunter. You're better than you look. How could you let a weakling like Madge defeat you?"
She stared. "We didn't fight," she said.
"I can - sense these things. It's my gift. Madge's is - well, getting angry. You see, I don't fight senseless battles. Or ones that I know I'm going to win."
"Sure?"
He smiled slightly, showing a pair of gleaming fangs.
"Storms, you and I would be well-matched. But right now - you'd lose. We both know it. I enjoy fighting. So I'd rather wait until you're ready. Which brings me back - why did you let Madge defeat you?"
She wrinkled her nose at the word 'defeat.' This was crazy. The only vampire she had discussions with was Madge, and they knew each other - they knew exactly what was going on. Their conversations were preparation, verbal spars while they tested the lay of the land. After they talked, they fought. But this one - Kith - he wasn't going to fight her. Not now.
"That wasn't Madge," she said finally, guardedly. "He's got help."
From whom? she wondered. He hasn’t got a soul to sell, and if he did, who would buy it? He's already allied with any sort of Devil there is . . .
"I thought he might," Kith said, satisfied. "I couldn't fight him myself to find out. Our code, you know."
Rowena raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think that was included."
"Oh, it is. I can't fight him until he harms anything of mine. And he's very careful. He knows I want to crush him."
She blinked. Vampire feuds were not something she needed to get involved in. This was so strange. He'd let his guard down completely. She could have entered his mind, if she'd wanted to.
Not that she would. She'd entered a vampire's mind once - just once, when she was learning how to manipulate them. She'd almost lost the fight. So much death, and blood, and darkness - so many years of alliance and betrayal, centuries upon centuries of hopelessness. And beyond that, just barely, a memory of what it was like to be human.
That had been so many years ago. She hadn't gone inside a vampire's mind since. Yet she still retained a vague, guilty sense of what it meant to be a vampire. The never-ending struggle. Utter despair, masked by their craving for human blood. She'd promised herself never to enter again.
Strangely, though, she was half tempted now.
Shaking her head, she raised her blade to warn him. "What if I just knifed you?"
He shook his head in response. "You won't," he replied confidently. "I intrigue you - much the same way you intrigue me."
"I'm flattered," she said dryly. "But I'm afraid I'm very dull."
"Not so, hunter. Very intriguing, on the contrary. You're lonely. Very lonely. Won't you let me walk you home?"
She smiled at the reference to the old tale. The woman, the first hunter, at the very beginning - she'd entered Nocturna, somehow, and allowed a vampire to come with her, back to the gate. So vampires had found Earth to prey off of as Nocturna, a parasite world, left its previous host. Since then - thousands of years ago, since then, Earth had been plagued. Once let a vampire know where you lived, and you'd be fighting them off for the rest of your life. Which wouldn’t be a very long one.
"No thanks."
He shrugged, his silver eyes clouding over, expressionless. "Your choice, hunter."
A portal opened behind him, and he stepped through, backwards. "But never fear - you're in my domain now. I'll find you, Rowena Storms."
And he vanished.

What had gone wrong?
Shen warned me, Rowena thought. He's never warned me before - he trusts me. Is this wbat happened to Jerry?
It wasn't supposed to work like this. He couldn't know her full name - there were many Storms hunters - how could he know which one she was? She might not be the most experienced hunter in the area, but she knew, at the very least, that this was not how it was supposed to work.
Confusion and loss of blood were making her woozy, she decided. Perhaps he hadn't said her name. Perhaps she'd just imagined it. Things were strange enough without trying to puzzle this out, too.
And now she was nearly home. All she wanted was a warm bath, and a soft bed. Sleep. She needed sleep. She hadn't slept for three days.
But the night wasn't done with her yet.
She unlocked the door to her studio and pushed it open. Fumbling around in the dark, she found the light switch, clicked it on. And stood stock still in her doorway.
Andrew Carlson was sitting on her bed.