Kayra never imagined that a routine stakeout could turn into such a situation. Two nights ago, she had almost been forced to intervene and come to Ryan''s aid in an alley, but the child and his Blood Knight partner had handled the situation and taken out members of the Apostles. This was one of the reasons why their task had expanded: for one thing, Ryan had a passable protector at his side, and after the presence of the Apostles had become known in the city, the child and the private detective now had another vampire and a group of Blood Knights at their side. Because of this, and because Patriarch Stein felt it was more important, Kayra was now primarily to follow the trail of the Apostles.


    For this reason, as darkness fell, she stood opposite Fitzgerald''s Immortal Motor''s, one of the best and most sought-after garages in Great Kingston. Kayra had had her eye on Ryan''s attackers earlier that evening and had seen where they had parked their car. She thought the licence plate number would give her the best chance of following up the Apostles'' trail, since Gordon had killed all three attackers and Kayra had no other clues.


    The special thing about Fitzgerald''s workshop was that it opened late in the evening and closed towards morning. He always advertised this as a way for customers to get away from the stress of the day, because you could bring your car in the evening or pick it up in the morning, or vice versa, before the hustle and bustle of everyday life got going. In addition, a lot of work was still done here and although there were helping robots and similar apparatuses, master mechanics did a lot of the work themselves.


    It was quite a large site, on the edge of the city centre in an industrial estate, where you could get everything your heart desired. There were no less than ten garages, built row upon row as buildings and two of them were made for trucks, while a wide, fully-filled parking area offered space for parked vehicles.


    "Can you be helped?" one of the mechanics addressed the approaching woman.


    Unlike watching Ryan, Kayra couldn''t go unseen here and had less reason to. "Yes, I''d like to speak to Mr Fitzgerald, please."


    "You''re asking for something," the mechanic said, cleaning his oily hands with a cloth. "Do you have an appointment?"


    "I''m afraid not, as my trip here was short notice."


    "Phew, I can call through once, but the boss is often busy and has been tinkering with a new gimmick for weeks. Don''t expect anything," the mechanic said, putting his finger to the mouthpiece in his ear. "Marcus calling Rupert." Kayra, even with vampire hearing, could not understand what was being said by the counterpart of this conversation and merely heard the mechanic''s sentences. "I have a woman here, her name is ...?"


    "Kayra."


    "Kayra and she would like to speak to you ... why? Well it′s about ...?"


    Kayra underlined the following. "An urgent, private matter. He knows about it. We are in the same club."


    The statement about the club made Marcus'' eyebrows ripple like waves. "This is for your ears only, but it sounds pretty damn important and apparently you''re both in the same club. ''What? Yeah, I''ll send them over."


    "He''s free, I take it?"


    "I wonder, but yes," Marcus nodded and gestured across the car park, towards the obvious administration building on the site. "He''s in his own workshop. Once around the house and knock on the garage door at the back."


    "Thank you," Kayra smiled kindly and followed the directions. There was only one massive garage door at the back of the house, which could probably have withstood a rocket launcher, and Kayra knocked on the steel. The mass of metal started to move, but it went up just high enough for Kayra to slip under it, bending slightly.


    Inside, a lanky man, not even five foot seven, sat and flicked a switch that locked the gate again. "Same club, eh?" he asked. His shaggy grey hair and thick moustache gave him an Alber Einstein attitude, except the late theorist had not been bristling with oil and grease on his hands and face. Only when the man pulled up his goggles could clean, fair skin be seen.


    "Forgive me, it has been some years since we last met," Kayra said. Circumstances had been far more relaxed then, when she had retrieved an experimental machine from Rupert for her father that had been a combination of mechanics and blood magic. "I wasn''t sure if you remembered me."


    "Indeed! ... I forgot," Rupert teased, moving at a relatively leisurely pace and depositing a screwdriver on a well-stocked workbench. In general, he seemed in no hurry. "How have you been? How is old Stein?"


    "Patriarch Stein is enjoying good health," Kayra noted. She could see that the mechanic meant no harm. "Considering the circumstances of late."


    "Circumstances, what circumstances?"


    "You know. The death of his daughter Julia, executed by the Tenebrae for her crime."


    Rupert''s cluelessness did not seem feigned. "Oh really? What a loss!" he sighed regretfully, scratching his forehead during his long-winded recollections. "Stein loves his children, I always liked that about him. I remember the first time I met him in Frankfurt in 1867, when he had come to town for some of his children. Nasty times those were. Hunters were on the rise all over Europe and Frankfurt was one of their strongholds, ha! That''s right, that''s it!"


    "... Which is what?"


    "1867! It was old Stein who torched the Imperial Cathedral!" laughed Rupert heartily, patting his knee, but the laughter didn''t last long and the mechanic cleared his throat cautiously before recalling the patriarch''s power. "Two of his children unfortunately did not make it and were executed by the hunters. He became so enraged that he stormed St. Bartholomew''s Imperial Cathedral! He wiped out the entire mob and in the process set fire to what was then the city''s landmark."


    Yes, Kayra now remembered that incident again, and likewise the nature of the mechanic, for he could talk a lot: About trivial things, past things or about his work. He loved to rattle on, or as he called it, to pay attention to the details and to sound everything out in as much detail as possible, and as urgent as her request was, she knew it was best not to barge in on Rupert. "I was in Africa at the time and only heard about it later. Just hearing rumours of how Patriarch Stein unleashed his power in anger should admonish anyone to never challenge him without further ado."


    "Devastation, war, misery," Rupert sighed, walking carefully through the workshop, towards a large object covered by a tarpaulin. "Whenever someone tells me that technology makes it worse, I remember events like the cathedral fire. This world doesn''t need help to eradicate everything and everyone. It just needs raw, unbridled power born of everyone''s thoughts and hands and no machines warped to perversion of those intentions."


    Another such quality Kayra was aware of beforehand, however, and at which she allowed herself a fleeting moment of satisfaction. Rupert was as close to humans in terms of humanity and concern as almost any vampire or the humans themselves. A true idealist who wanted to make the world a better place. "I too prefer peace and tranquillity. Nevertheless, violence is sometimes a means of necessity and we must not shy away from exercising it. Sometimes words are just not enough anymore."


    Rupert stroked the tarp, but there was no hint of what lay hidden beneath. "I have no orders from the old Stein and you and I haven''t seen each other for years," the inventor stated, looking over his shoulder. "That''s what brings you here, isn''t it? An act of violence?"


    "Probably," Kayra admitted. There was nothing to sugarcoat about that for her, but perhaps worse could be prevented. if she could track down the Apostles. "The Apostles have been spotted in Great Kingston. Even the church or Ultima Bellator or both and none of these factors, will be stopped by words - we must act!"


    "And what is my role in this?"


    "That of knowledge," Kayra pointed out, pulling her Black Pitch out from under the cloak she handed the man. "I have the number plates of a numbered car. If you tell me who owned the car, I might be able to find the Apostles before the destruction in Great Kingston can unfold in earnest."


    "Let me see," Rupert replied willingly. He looked at the number and sat down at the only terminal in the workshop. "Let''s see if I can find something in my contacts in town ... ... a 2020 Ford Eco. Yes, yes, the good stuff was sold by one of our partner used car dealers." As the mechanic continued to probe, he arched his lush eyebrows sceptically and the bright purple of his vampiric eyes, broke through the camouflaged facade of human brown. "You said this car belonged to the Apostles?"


    "At least Two used it for a pursuit," Kayra replied, moving closer. She was sure the man wouldn''t suspect her if she looked over his shoulder. "Why? What do you have?"


    "Something I don''t like," Rupert said significantly, tapping an address. "It''s registered to a small logistics company that works mainly at the big freight yard in the industrial part of the city. This company comes to us often with its trucks and is one of the businesses owned by Patriarch Forkner."


    "Forkner?", Kayra listened up and looked at the address suspiciously. Forkner and the Apostles? The man became a patriarch first, after all. Why would he do such a thing? "Are you telling me he''s working with the apostles?"


    "Not at all, my dear," Rupert denied methodically, folding his arms. "It''s a lead for you, but that doesn''t necessarily mean Forkner has anything to do with it. Maybe the car was stolen, although I can''t find any reports of that."


    "Of course it doesn''t have to mean anything, but it would be a very big coincidence if the Apostles were driving a car belonging to a company owned by Patriarch Forkner, of all people."


    "It does cast an uneasy light, no question," Rupert admitted, switching off the screen before pacing thoughtfully around the workshop, tidying up parts and tools. "But always remember that something doesn''t make sense until you have every part in the right place and to achieve that all theory is useless - you have to test it."


    The man spoke true words. Although Kayra''s mind was rattling right now, reasoning did her no good and she had to act. "I thank you for your help, Mr Fitzgerald," Kayra said hopefully. "If there is any chance of avoiding misery with your knowledge, I promise to do my utmost to do so."


    Rupert didn''t look back this time and seemed distracted with his work. Still, one could hear a slight hint of warmth in his words. "Oskar''s reason speaks from you. Please give my regards to the old Stein."


    "I will," Kayra squirmed, swinging her cloak around her. "I''m sure he''ll be glad to hear it. You have a good night, too."


    "To you, I hope, a good and peaceful night as well."


    Peace would certainly be hard to come by for Kayra tonight, though she welcomed it. Forkner, involved with the Apostles?, she pondered as they made their way to said freight yard. She felt it made more sense to visit the bustling workplace rather than the company itself. He is considered progressive, ambitious and a womaniser, but the apostles? No, Rupert is probably right. I need all the pieces.


    Not that Kayra knew much about such things, but the fact that all hell was breaking loose at the goods station at this time of night didn''t surprise her. Just now, when the traffic on the roads was manageable, the trucks and wagons rolled along like an assembly line, only with waiting time for unloading and loading. Light poles and spotlights shone at many points in the area, which could pass for its own district because of its size. Automation was the predominant working method, with self-contained cranes, robots and forklifts, but humans were still present. Not just supervisors and technicians, but the ordinary workers who, first and foremost, checked loads or controlled machines that did not operate autonomously.


    Metals, oil, cedar wood, chemicals, exhaust fumes, even sweat Kayra sorted out with her sensitive nose, but there was another scent she knew like no other and which alerted her - vampires and blood knights, and not in short supply. Yes, Rupert''s tip seemed spot on. Of course, it could have been Forkner''s people going about important business, but the crowd argued against it for Kayra.


    The smell was too present and led to a private area fenced in by wire mesh, with the glaring lights of the station making infiltration difficult and with vampires around, Kayra had to be all the more wary. The admittance cottage at the entrance then confirmed what her nose had spied. The human inside was a Blood Knight, but he was alone and not visibly armed, and the mounted cameras of the outside area did not cover every angle.


    To enter the compound, Kayra focused and let her purer instincts take over.


    It was part of the art of the Animus Helix, the ability to transform into a creature that required each user to be on a par with simple animals. Anyone who spent too long in this form or lost control of it, whether human or vampire, could lose themselves and be condemned to walk around forever as an animal.


    Kayra wasn''t afraid of that, though, as she shrank, her clothes fused with her skin, she grew shiny smooth black fur and took on the form of a graceful cat. She was familiar with this and had roamed around many a night as a cat for no particular reason. She found it gave a completely different perspective to look at the world through those yellow, appraising eyes.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Now, however, it was a means to an end for Kayra as she naturally leapt from rooftop to rooftop, down to the road and slipped through an otherwise far too small gap in the mesh at an unguarded part of the wire fence without any trouble. Heavy vibrations from a truck engine rumbled around the next corner as she froze with a cat hump and let the tractor go by before darting across the path and continuing to follow her nose. She hid between two bins and saw another group of blood knights, outfitted in orange high-visibility waistcoats, waiting at a loading dock, talking to each other or smoking cigarettes in the cool night air.


    From the door of the building, a vampire joined them. "The second truck has engine trouble," said the African-inspired man. "That means at least two hours of doing nothing is the order of the day."


    A smoker blew a thick cloud in the air in frustration. "Any word on Jack and Meryl yet?"


    "We sent someone to that private eye," the vampire grumbled, kicking away an empty can that flew into the sky. "He''s alive, the child''s alive, and a couple of Tenebrae agents are hanging out with them now. Jack and Meryl are probably ashes, and with the posse, the Tenebrae got alarmed."


    "And our spy?"


    "Expendable bunch," the vampire raised his shoulders impassively. "He probably got it the same way, but I''m not worried. He didn''t know where we were operating from, and if there was a trail to us, the Tenebrae would have moved in immediately with the cavalry to defend their pageantry jewel of a city."


    "But at least I guess they know we''re here now," the woman pointed out, flicking her cigarette butt off the ramp. "And there are too few of us here to start a fight."


    "We''re just the vanguard, too," the vampire noted, tapping significantly on the ramp''s garage door. "So don''t worry about that. Our job is just to send the canisters on their way."


    "For whatever ..."


    Convinced and stern, the vampire dismissed this statement. "You need not be interested in that either! You will see then how important our work was and you may enjoy the reward!"


    Reward was a more pleasant word to use as Kayra tried to make sense of the conversation. Important work? Sending canisters? I wonder if it''s about blood reserves? Yes, if the Apostles were going to invade Great Kingston and wage war, blood reserves were the most likely thing for Kayra. Not being tied to hunting fresh victims would be a major advantage in war.


    "They''ll probably wet their trousers," one of the blood knights laughed, walking towards the rubbish bins. "After thinning out the ninth circle a bit lately, the Tenebrae realises they′re not as powerful as they think they are."


    On silent paws, Kayra scurried away from the waste bins and climbed over a steel girder to the side of a hall where she could peer further down the loading dock while the Blood Knight blatantly pissed by the bins.


    The vampire in the cluster agreed. "So believe me when I tell you that the canisters are crucial to our plans in Great Kingston. Once they''re filled, we''re off."


    Relieved, the pisser pulled his fly back up. "And you say we will all be vampires?"


    "Do your work and reap eternity as your reward."


    Kayra heard nothing new, at least as far as wages were concerned. Many Blood Knights, whether Tenebrae, Apostle or otherwise, ultimately aspired to existence as a vampire. It was a tried and tested means of making loyal human followers compliant. Suddenly her ears rang and her fur stood up as she jumped backwards at the last moment!


    Spears of blood increasingly struck the roof and exploded, much like a grenade!


    This startled the troops at the loading bay. "What''s going on?!" shouted the dark-skinned vampire.


    Kayra dashed across the faintly raised sloping roof, towards the other side and got out of sight. "You''ve been watched! Get them!" she heard a new, high-pitched male voice shout. Steadfastly, she leapt from beam to beam and saw another Blood Knight coming down the street. Kayra leapt at her from above and transformed back into her original form in flight, grabbing the woman by the neck while she was still in the air and dragging her with her! Landing on her feet, the vampire dragged her victim across the ground so hard that the asphalt cracked open and a subsequent slingshot into the rock drove all life from the knightess!


    Quickly two more of the same sort were on the scene, firing machine guns at the intruder, but even with her enhanced senses and reflexes, she could not reef the agile vampire.


    When a third knight suddenly joined them from the side and ceased firing, he at least hit the vampire with his fists.


    The moment of surprise forced Kayra to be defensive, although she effortlessly blocked the blows with her arms.


    "And you''re a vampire?!" he asked, deceived by his offensive. "I''ll make ashes of you!"


    Abruptly, Kayra stopped in her tracks and let the next fist fly into her hand. Not moving an inch or a muscle before she broke the clutched fist along with her wrist, she purposefully shattered her opponent''s ribcage with a single blow of her flat hand, sending him flying across the street.


    Immediately the remaining blood knights opened fire again, but by then the intruder was throwing off his cloak cape and it wrapped tightly around one of the gunmen thanks to telekinesis to crush him!


    At the same time Kayra sprang forth with clawed hand formed and slit the throat of the free enemy. She then extended her left arm and called her cape back to her.


    "Peasants!" echoed from above. The high-pitched voice from before was in the form of a skinny man on the roof, cocking his hand to summon! "I''ve got more of those!"


    Cracking and bubbling told Kayra what was probably coming now as the dead blood knights welled up and two blood golems each sprouted from within them. They were not the strongest opponents for her, but as long as the summoner lived, these golems were indestructible and a distraction for Kayra.


    That on top of that the Apostle Vampire appeared with his ramp group in the back of the road made the situation extremely dangerous!


    Kayra tried to break out in front, past the blood golems and momentarily smashed the red dolls. However, a blood spear from above cut off her escape route and so she was confronted by the four apostles behind her. She easily dodged the knights'' punches and kicks and focused entirely on the vampire of the troupe, as he posed the greatest, immediate threat.


    Always the bloodsucker let his servants make a few attacks before he struck with sharp claws in a flash!


    The first few times Kayra was able to fend off these attempts, but it quickly became harder and she had to use the melee to her advantage. Before the vampire''s next swing, she let one of her chain loops slip from her sleeve in a backward step and caught the single knight''s hand with it. A slight tug from Kayra was enough and the woman flew past her, against the vampire!


    Cockily, the remaining knights attacked the target, but a second loop came out of the other sleeve and each received a chain to the face.


    Following this, Kayra continued to swing the chains and once again smashed some blood golems, but this was only a fleeting respite for her.


    The vampire on the roof now created spike traps under the lone fighter''s feet, a form of bomb that after a few seconds sent hard bone spikes shooting out of a pool of blood.


    On her arms and legs Kayra was grazed by the spikes and she was shot by the knight with a pistol, in the stomach and chest. They were injuries she was able to heal quickly, but she now found herself surrounded in a semicircle and with her back against a shadowy wall and all the enemies launching an attack attempt on her! Only a concentrated shockwave of Kayra''s telekinetic energy, could knock the ground group back once more.


    "Unruly," the skinny vampire on the roof admitted, seeing it more as a game. "That the Tenebrae should call such tough lapdogs their own surprises me! Still, this will not end in your favour!"


    "The empty promises of an apostle. Less surprising," Kayra opined, but she could hardly follow her preferred motto of restraint any longer to keep her true strength a secret. Besides, it was a sign that she had not carried out her mission well and that disappointed her. I must muster far more, she thought as her opponents scrambled for the next attempt. In the midst of this heated battle, however, she suddenly clearly felt a familiar warmth in the shadows and she braced herself!


    This time the golems charged forward first and the knights now used all their firearms so they could cover the vampire of their group.


    Kayra fell back as far as she could and fought off the golems, but several bullets hit her in the process. She also felt the vampire''s claws this time as his talons ran across her chest, tearing fabric and flesh. However, that had been her intention! She grabbed the vampire in the momentum of his attack and threw him against the shadowy wall behind her.


    The apostle bared his fangs and was bristling with raw muscle when he suddenly froze with a gasp!


    A shadowy arm had pierced him from behind, at the point of the heart that said hand now held still beating in its grip before crushing it and retreating again.


    The badly wounded vampire slumped to his knees and at his previous head level, a pair of poison green glowing eyes now came into view in the darkness. "Iron Maiden of Palestine," greeted the Juda''Aerith of a few nights ago, finally sweeping the heartless apostle away as a cloud of ash.


    Kayra nodded curtly. She did not know the scout''s name, nor was there time for conversation. Instead, she stretched her head towards the roof and jumped up!


    Unsure of the turn the situation had taken, and despite newly arrived reinforcements of more blood knights, the apostles fired their weapons in panic at the shadows around the pair of eyes.


    It was a completely fruitless endeavour, which the Juda''Aerith smiled at. "Ah, your first encounter with a Maledictus," the stranger gloated macabrely. "And your last."


    From this threat, the shadow from the house spread out into the street like spilled water, but it was far more than that!


    The blood knights'' feet seeped into the darkness as if it were deep mud and black tentacles swung out of the ground. They lashed their victims and snaked around their bodies, dragging them agonisingly slowly into the ground.


    It was far more hasty over everyone''s heads!


    Kayra didn''t quite make it to the roof as the blood mage blocked her blow with a blood shield and threw her back into the air!


    Power filled, the vampire now let himself go and extended his right palm, on which a stabbing flame formed! This was infernal magic, in the form of unholy fire.


    Quickly, Kayra transformed into a white owl and soared higher with hasty wing beats to avoid the deadly flamethrower that followed her. She quickly gained distance and made a wide turn, transforming back. Now she brought out her right chain loop enough to untie the knotted, pointed and barbed end piece on the loop and hurled it powerfully towards the apostle!


    The flamethrower still jerked his attack in that direction, but the metal of the chain penetrated unchallenged through the fire and pierced his hand! The impact broke his concentration and the flames and with a firm jerk the linnet was pulled into the air by his adversary. In this pose he was defenceless and about to crash against the claws at the end of the chain. "Nice try!" he shouted, and simply yanked out his own forearm of the impaled hand.


    Kayra was now met only by the severed limb, and by the opponent''s magic, it suddenly became a small bomb. The arm was far too close when it exploded and its force thundered Kayra into the street.


    Half rising from his shadow, the Juda''Aerith drew a considerable revolver and each shot was like the piston stroke of a steam engine.


    Still in the air, the blood mage was an easy target and was hit four times by the brutal calibre, but that only angered him. His blood knights had almost sunk into the shadows, but he could still reach out to them and stole every drop of blood from their bodies with his powers. As a lush orb, the red gathered in front of the apostle''s remaining hand before he absorbed that power and he not only healed himself completely, but gained physical mass. Thanks to a magical whip, he also heaved himself back up to the higher roof.


    "Oh, one of this kind," the Juda''Aerith noted, lowering his revolver. "Your help would be welcome."


    Kayra pushed herself up from the ground and wiped at her arms. "He''s definitely not a layman and he''s ruthless," she said approvingly, though she didn''t quite approve of such an approach and she was now lifting all the debris with her telekinesis that had been created in the fight so far. "That''s why we need to take him out."


    "Agreed," the Juda''Aerith agreed, diving back into his shadows to move over the wall to the next roof.


    Meanwhile, between Kayra and the Blood Mage, a hail arose as she sent up all the debris and the Apostle generated pure energy and sent it down in the form of red light with his hands as a barrage.


    Like an arrow, the Juda''Aerith shot up right under the Apostle''s feet and wrapped itself around him at his waist, halfway dragging him into the shadows with it. However, the magic expert mixed a pool of blood into the darkness that spread over the Juda''?rith''s body. Affected, as it were, by their opponents, the men parted again and while the shadowwalker sank into the roof, the apostle made another decision. "This is but a foretaste of things to come!" he announced with conviction, and amidst the air, he created a flowing portal of blood that swallowed him and then himself.


    The battle was over and there was no sign of any more apostles. "Him I had not scouted before," the Juda''Aerith confessed. He had a relaxed, stooped posture and let his arms hang a little as he went down on one knee. "That means this must be really important if someone this strong is in it."


    Before Kayra even thought to discuss it, she jumped up onto the roof and bowed with one arm over her stomach. "Your help was most appreciated."


    "Nah, nah," the cursed vampire formed a grin through crooked teeth. "You''re not going to tell me that was all you? I''m sure you could have done it without me."


    "Probably, and yet I''m very much obliged for your intervention," Kayra replied. She had, after all, confidently threatened the man a few nights ago and, as an experienced spy, he was surely clever enough to sense her hidden strength. Still, of course, she didn''t admit it. "Which makes me all the more curious: why did you leave your shadows?"


    "The opportunity was too convenient," the Juda''Aerith casually raised his arms. "And passive interaction may be my doing, but I need some exercise now and then. If I can weaken the apostles in the process, I call that double profit."


    "The only question that remains is what exactly were they doing here? They were talking about some canisters."


    "Oh yes," the stranger pointed out with a pointing finger. Unlike last time, he seemed far more open today. "I was here some time before you. Fortunately, I didn''t have to hold a tea party with the chatterbox."


    "Because all you had to do was follow me?"


    "Not at all, how would I have got here before you?" the vampire asked in amusement, his legs kicking up into the shadows as he walked, as if there were a staircase there. "I had already taken down the numbers from the car plate when you followed the kid into the alley. The next night I broke into Fitzgerald''s garage and went to this place today."


    The scout hadn''t exaggerated anything and had been careful the last few nights. He had Kayra ahead of him on that. "Are those canisters in the warehouse on the other side?" she asked, climbing to the highest point of the roof to look down.


    After that brutal fight, it had become surprisingly quiet. The lights of approaching security vehicles flashed in the distance, but the private compound now seemed to have been cleared.


    "One part," the Juda''Aerith said, while still merely standing with his upper body sticking out of the shadows. "The other left with the truck from earlier. Actually, I wanted to pursue him, but I had hoped for more from spying further on the compound and eavesdropping on the apostles. I guess that was a mistake."


    "Why?"


    "Well you were eavesdropping on the conversation at the camp," the vampire mentioned and sank back into the darkness altogether. "At most, the vampires knew what exactly was going on here. I couldn''t get a hold of any of them, nor did I find any other clues. All that''s left are the canisters."


    "Then I''d better hurry up and take a look at those canisters," Kayra said, as the security forces announced themselves more clearly with each passing moment. "But apparently we''re following the same trail - how do you feel about working together?"


    "That could lead to complications," the spy regretted, moving noticeably down the facade. "That''s not a no, but for now things must be as they are."


    Kayra had made this suggestion more out of tactics than trust, but there was one thing she would not miss. "Then please at least give me a name so I know who helped me. Besides, I don''t like not being able to address you properly."


    "With many others I would take that as a feint," the stranger laughed unconcernedly before thinking aloud. "Mhhh, mhh. I''m Billy."


    "No you''re not," Kayra surmised and she saw the streets once again become covered with more shadows and those knights she had killed earlier were swallowed by the flowing ground as if it were quicksand.


    Apparently Billy was removing the traces of the conflict, in keeping with the vampire laws, and he was having his fun. "But I always wanted to be a Billy. The little Billy next door, the little rapscallion with mischief on his mind."


    "If you want to be Billy, then you''re Billy to me."


    "Yes, but little Billy has to go now. Quiet nights, Daughter of Stein," Billy''s voice faded and the shadows rested again.


    Kayra was sure of it. "Until our next meeting."