Alesco:

The humans are surrounded. There's five of them outside and one in the machine. The machine that is blasting out their artificial sunlight. I feel it weaken me, seeping into my bones, even after standing only moments in its rays. We'll need to make this quick.

I lock eyes with the human at the front. It's him. The same one that let us go. I knew it was when I heard his voice. He's standing there, gripping his shining, black weapon, staring at me. There's sweat on his brow, but the bright lights make it difficult for me to see him properly.

"My lady?" Fabian asks again. "What are your wishes?"

I just told him to stop, changing the plan on a whim, making myself visible to the humans. I was supposed to stay out of sight at first while they took down the hunters. Not that I'm afraid to fight, but they insisted, all of them. For my own safety they said. I tried arguing it, but it was futile. What difference did it make? Here I am anyway.

I feel torn. We're supposed to bring them in and yet here stands a human without whom I would have been caught, trapped and who knows what else. He recognises me too, I can see it in his face.

If we take the rest of them, we can leave him out. Let him run, take the others. But what am I thinking? These are hunters, they are trained to capture and hurt my kind. All of them. That is their life. And yet he let us go. I cannot explain why he let us go. Something made him act with kindness, or some other inexplicable human emotion.

"Take them all, but let him go." I say, pointing at him.

"We can take them all, my lady. Why leave one?" Fabian says, looking at me, a doubtful look on his face.

"He is the one who let us walk free from the hunters." I say. "My brother and mother and I are walking free because of him."

"Alesco, what's going on?" Wynn says before Fabian can reply. He is coming over to me, moving around the perimeter of light.

"Brother. We take them all, but let him go." I say, pointing at the soldier. Darren they called him. I see recognition register on Wynn's features.

"You?" He calls over to Darren. "Why did you let us go back then?" I see the human shift from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable. Wynn's voice carries clearly despite the loud noises emanating from their vehicle. The sounds of the forest.

"Turn the damn sound off" A human next to Darren calls. A moment later, the vehicle is silent bar the purring of its internal mechanisms. The lights still blare.

Another of the humans speaks. "Come on Darren, tell the vamps why you let 'em go..."

Darren's eyes flick from Wynn to me. He looks around, as though checking whether they are still surrounded.

"I don't know." He says. Now that the sound is off I can hear better. His heart is beating quickly. Most of them are, pattering against their chests like running feet, exposing the weakness of their flesh. I feel a thirst and a hunger at the thought of their blood, the sweet taste, the warm flow of power it would give. Do the others feel it? Does Wynn feel it?

"You don't know." Wynn repeats the words, as though sizing them up for truth. He turns to me. "He doesn't know, Alesco. I believe it. Let him go. We'll take the others."

"Take us will you?" Says one of the humans, the one next to Darren. There's something odd about this one, I detect no fear, no increase in heart rate. Somehow he is at ease, despite their darts failing them and being surrounded by vampires. I look closely at him, his gray eyes are cold, his body relaxed. He's not reacting as he should.

"Who are you to speak so boldly?" Fabian says to the human. I hear the edge in his voice.

"Mike, they call me." He says and then falls silent.

"Well, Mike, yes. We plan to take you. That is why we're out here." Fabian says. "And you may have noticed that you are outnumbered and your shiny darts aren't working. So, I don't imagine it being too difficult."

"Move in, grab them all, leave that one." Fabian says, pointing to Darren.

"No!" Darrent shouts. "You're not taking anyone." He lifts his gun again and aims it at Fabian. "Stop moving."

Fabian and Wynn and the others continue to move forward towards the humans. I stay where I am, watching it unfold.

Darren, the foolish human, pulls the trigger on his gun and a silver, feathered dart flies for Fabian's chest. Of course it doesn't hit, the magic of the master has made sure of that. I hear more triggers pulled, hear the whoosh as the darts fly for their targets. None of them hit. They all fall harmlessly to the ground.

"Damn this!" One of the humans next to darren shouts and throws his gun to the ground, tensing his body for a fight.

"Foolish boy." Says Fabian, directing his words at Darren. "You had an escape and you threw it away."

"I'll die before I run!" Says Darren. "Ready for combat, hand to hand!" He shouts. The others drop their guns to the ground, each landing with a thud on the mulchy ground.

The circle of my vampires has closed around these people and their machine. The humans are tensed, ready for a fight. Even in our weakened state we are stronger. We outnumber them. This fight will be easy. I cannot understand why he threw away his offer of freedom. Why he would stand and die by his companions. These humans who have shown nothing but cruelty towards us.

As Fabian and Wynn reach them, Darren throws a punch at Fabian. His companion jumps towards Wynn but Wynn is too fast, he side-steps the soldier and pushes him back, further from the group and onto his stomach.

Fabian blocks Darren's punch easily and grabs him by the throat, lifting him into the air. He struggles, grabbing Fabian's arm and kicking out with his feet. It's fruitless.

"Not so brave now, human. Do you still wish to die?" Fabian says. There's a new note in his voice, a note of pleasure. I can't see his face but I imagine his red eyes glowing and his fangs bared. None of these humans have their head protection on, the top of their necks are exposed. I focus my vision on Darren's neck and, despite the glaring lights, I see the thobbing pulse, beating in his throat. I wonder if Fabian craves the bite as I do, craves the blood.

All around my vampires are taking out their human opponents easily. Draven, the largest of my soldiers has a giant of a man with a bald head on the floor under his feet, seemingly unconscious. Delano is laughing in his deep, gravelly voice as he holds another tightly in his grip. Brendan, his flame like eyes glowing in victory has an unconscious human over his shoulder.

Abel pulls the door to the vehicle open, snapping it from the body and dropping it to the ground. The human behind the wheel raises his hands and climbs out without a fight. "Sit on the ground." Abel says to him and he complies. I see his shaking form, sense his terror, smell the sweat.

Aldon is circling like a captain on patrol, watching those in his charge.

Fabian is still holding Darren by the throat, his other companion is incapacitated, held down by Wynn with his foot, but still conscious. "Darren!" He shouts. "Put him down you damn monster." Fabian pays him no attention.

I see Darren's face beginning to go blue. I hear his heartbeat slow. His eyes are drooping and his fighting kicks have almost stopped. Nothing more than feeble jerks now. Slow, laboured, tired. The life is slowly draining from him.

His friend tries to surge towards him from beneath Wynn's foot, but Wynn throws him down easily and presses down harder. He lets out a howl, filled with anger and pain. "Damn it, let him go!"

"Drop him." I say, my voice filled with authority. I move closer to Fabian. He looks round at me and, after a moment, lets go. The body crumples to the floor, legs giving way. He struggles for breath, sucking it in like he's never breathed before. Desparate gasps, quick and shallow. His face begins to colour again. He's conscious, but only just, his hands massage his throat, shaking.

"We need to bring them in alive." I say, simply. "Those are the master's orders." I look down at Darren's crumpled form and I'm transported back again to the vision, to the moment I drained his blood. It wasn't real, but it felt real. If it foretold the future then now would not be the time. I push down my feelings, my desires, and concentrate on the matter at hand.

"Yes, my lady, of course." Fabian says. I wonder if he sees the desire in my eyes. But he says nothing.

I look around. That was easy. No real fight, no problem. How have we been kept at bay by these creatures? They are weak and clumsy and noisy. Without their poisened flying feathers they stand no chance. Were they once the oppressed? Held down by vampire kind? A food source? Even now, I smell their fear and see their weakness I feel the desire for their blood.

My eyes fix on the trembling wreck that Abel pulled from the machine. He's sitting, tears streaming down his face, trembling and sweating. Abel is looking at me and our eyes lock for a moment.

"We'll let him go." I say, pointing at him. I don't think Fabian will be pleased if I let Darren go now that he attacked him again. I repaid the favor, I offered him his release and he threw it away. Not my problem anymore. At least I'm telling myself that. For some reason I feel a mix of emotions I'm not used to. Pity, guilt. Human emotions. My thoughts are boiling, guilt and pity don't fit with my thirst and desire for blood. I push it all aside again before it consumes my mind.

"He can tell them what's happened. They will know times are chaning. Let them worry, let them fear us. Let nightmares consume their nights." I say. The master told me we should draw them in to the darkness. Draw them in to strengthen his magic. Abel nods and kicks the human lightly.

"Get up." He says. The human pulls himself up, shaking all the way, slowly. He leans on his machine for support. I walk forward, towards him.

"Turn off the sunlights." I say. He looks around, as though for someone to tell him what to do. There is no one to help him. He reaches in, flicks a switch and the lights go out. I feel the darkness feeding me, strengthening me again. I see the others as well, savouring the change. I know now the humans will struggle to see.

"You." I say through the glass windscreen of the transport machine. "Go back, tell your hunters what has happened."

He nods, saying nothing.

"Go." I say.

He fumbles around for a few moments before getting the machine started. He eases it slowly backwards. I see his hands pale white, clinging tensely to the wheel in his hands as though he is worried he might fall from the machine. There is no door after all.

I look up through the trees. We don't have long until daylight.

"We have our five. Let's go." I say, looking around.

Wynn picks up the human under his feet easily, swinging him over his shoulder. He does not fight. Draven does the same. Delano's human is already hanging limply over his shoulder and Brendan adjusts his burden.

Fabian scoops Darren up and settles his limp body around his shoulders like a scarf. His breathing has eased, but he is still weak. He doesn't fight.

"My lady." Aldon says, his voice is urgent. But looking around I think I already know what he is going to say. How could it have happened? I have no idea, but I knew there was something off about him.

"Someone is missing." Aldon finishes.

The one who called himself Mike is not here.

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