The vampires suddenly plunged Nathan into a struggle between clans. One night a member of Jenny's clans had followed Nathan home after one of their dinners. Apparently, the individual in question had also detected the aura of magic that Nathan possessed and therefore reported this to their superiors.

It turned out that Wiltshire Manor fell into the territory controlled by a rival clan. Not only that, but it was in Arkham's DMZ or demilitarized zone since it was located just outside of the city proper. This meant that small nonhuman clans were constantly vying with one another for control of relatively small areas of land.

This was in contrast to the cities of Arkham and Boston proper. While they also broke those cities down into territories, they were much larger sections with more or less permanent borders.

The boundaries of the territories in the DMZ shifted on a weekly, if not nightly basis. That meant that the nonhuman society in this area was in a state of perpetual war. That was why the head of Jenny's clan wanted to meet with Nathan. Having a magic-user of any type on his side would be a major boon for his clan. He would be their ace in the hole if things went sour.

Nathan reluctantly agreed to meet with Jenny's clan leader, a man who went by the name of Victor. To be honest, he had little choice. Victor had threatened to 'punish' Jenny if Nathan didn't come to the meeting. She had, after all, revealed the existence of vampires to a human. After learning that this punishment would involve rape and medieval-style torture, Nathan had no choice but to comply.

At the meeting, Victor tested Nathan's magical ability. Apparently, the vampire had been impressed since he ordered Nathan to learn alchemy that could be used in battle. Victor had also warned Nathan that Jenny would suffer greatly if Nathan ever failed to fight on the side of the clan when he was called.

From that moment on Nathan went out most nights, not to spend time with his beloved Jenny, but to fight for her clan.

---

'Great, leave it to Nathan to get involved with a bunch of bottom feeders,' Howard thought as he took a break from reading. He knew quite well that Wiltshire Manor was in the DMZ. It was just that he had never considered that his old friend might become involved in the squabbles of the small vampire clans located there. Howard simply ignored those weaklings and their constant in-fighting. Instead, he concerned himself with the cities proper and their slowly shifting territories.

"I need to consult with Catherine on this one," he murmured before returning to his reading. She had a much better grasp of the clans of the DMZ from that period. Perhaps she knew of a clan leader named Victor.

---

The next few portions of the notebook gave a recounting of Nathan's battles. He was involved in over a hundred minor skirmishes over the course of the fall. During that time, the clan's territory tripled in size and the main reason for this was Nathan's magic. The fact that the clan had a magic-user on their side had greatly tipped the balance in their favor. In fact, the main reason that they didn't claim more territory had less to do with their new combat ability than for a lack of manpower. The clan was small, and the larger area spread their sentries thin.

Nathan was being extremely careful at night. He did not want to endanger his father by leading rival gangs to his home, so he used magic and stealth when traveling to and from the manor. He was also extremely careful at night when he was simply going around town. However, this proved to be his undoing.

Nathan was so careful at night when the vampires were active that he let his guard down during the day. Just like Nathan himself was the exception there were others involved in the nightly skirmishes who could walk in daylight.

A rival clan hired a mercenary to "take care of" Nathan and help restore the balance of power between the rival clans. That wolf had lured Nathan into an isolated alley and beat him over the head with a length of pipe before taking all of his belongings to make it look like a robbery.

---

"Damn!" Howard exclaimed. "That Victor got Nathan killed with his meddling."

Howard was understandably upset. They had slain his good friend due to this Victor's blackmail. Plus, it wasn't like he had died working for a major power in Arkham. Instead, it was for one of the minor powers in the DMZ.

"Damn those bottom feeders!" Howard exclaimed yet again. "They killed a good man. And for what, a few square blocks of territory that they probably lost as soon as Nathan died?"

Howard was incensed. Rarely did he get this angry. When he did, heads tended to roll.

'I have to talk to Catherine as soon as possible,' he thought. However, it was in the middle of the day and he had been reading during his lunch break. His schedule was slammed with patients and it would be hours until he had the chance to call her. 'Ah well, I guess it will have to wait. Meanwhile, I have to calm down. My patients don't deserve my ire.'

Then he did the best he could to clear his mind before going about the rest of his day.