Running into the leech in the halls on the way to breakfast was not my preferred way of starting my morning, but some days it was simply unavoidable. She smiled at me like she was truly happy to see me and I could not help but notice the way her eyes looked bright when she seemed happy, nor could I fail to notice the way her clothing hugged her curves, even though it was the last thing that should be catching my eye.

The observation annoyed me and I met her eyes again. "Good morning, Jamie," she said and her smile turned into a smirk.

It seemed she was looking for a challenge as always, so I decided to deny her the pleasure. "Good morning, Mistress."

Her smirk widened into a grin that showed her fangs. Was there anything I could do to make her unhappy?

"That was an excellent fight you had yesterday. Thank you for leaving Marcel intact. He would be very difficult to replace."

I shrugged. "I don't doubt it." It seemed unlikely that she would be able to find another human so enthusiastically willing to prostrate himself in front of her.

Still, Agro had put up a good fight. Dismantling him would not have been that easy. I supposed her words meant that she had been watching, although I had not noticed her in the crowd.

While I had not been searching, I could not help but be aware of her when she was present. One way or another, the leech had gotten into my head.

"Are you heading to get some breakfast?"

"Yeah."

"What a coincidence, so was I. Although, I suppose it's more like supper from my perspective. Want to share?"

I fell into step beside her since my only other option was to turn around, and that would appear to be running.

"I'm sure the kitchen makes more than enough so that you could have some, too," I said simply, intentionally ignoring what she had actually been hinting at.

She smiled. "Alas, human food doesn't really do much for me now. It's rather bland, unless the kitchen spices it up with a blood sauce. Perhaps they might be able to manage an eggs blood Benedict? Perhaps they could stir blood into the Hollandaise sauce at exactly the right temperature. My late husband Terry was quite impressive in the kitchen and sometimes he would make me my own bloody version of whatever he was eating. It was quite nice of him. He did not like my cooking though."

Not surprising. "What did you try to feed him, raw hunks of bloody meat?"

"Oh, I'd never do that. Food safety, and all that, etcetera, etcetera. Besides, animal blood really doesn't agree with my constitution."

"Why not?"

She smiled and met my eyes. "It tastes terrible. I don't know how any vampire could possibly endure it. Cooked meat tastes fine though, if bland."

We arrived at the dining room. A number of her favourites were already sitting around the tables and Mark and Travis sitting alone together, although clearly observed. They seemed to be subjected to the same forced contact with her guards treatment I had received since I was brought here.

"So, anyone ready again to lend me some blood?"

I would have liked to go and sit beside the new slaves, but it would make my interest in them too obvious, so I got my food and sat down in the most isolated place I could manage, a few seats away from Jeffry. He paid me no attention. I began to eat, passively listening to the sickening conversation while they debated whose turn it was to feed the leech.

The idea revolted me. It was settled that it would be a guy I barely knew named Ian. While he finished eating, she sat amongst them and they made pointless small talk.

"Mistress, you said you wanted to be reminded about Leif's birthday this year."

She grinned, her smile almost malicious. "Oooh, very good, Jeffry. Thank you. My sense of the passage of time is most abysmal." She glanced around the scattering of guards. "So, Jeffry, I'm putting you in charge of doing something to celebrate him. Don't tell him, because he'll just try to stop you. His aversion to appreciation is most amusing. I just talked with him in his office, so you can all start figuring out what needs to be done here and now."

She seemed terribly pleased with herself as she stood up and walked over and sat across from Travis and Mark. I could not hear their conversation over the ridiculous ideas being bandied about by the guards, but I could see both humans looked on edge as she probably tried her usual tricks to unnerve them.

I ate quickly so that I could get out of there and away from the leech's cult.

* * * * *

Over the course of the next few days, I kept working my way through the database and waiting for a chance to have contact with the newer slaves without arousing suspicion.

It was Evan who gave me my opportunity. I was rather surprised when he approached me in a deserted hall, since he still seemed as jumpy as hell. With my memories of him whimpering while chained to the wall, I would not have expected it of him.

He slipped a folded piece of brown paper into my hand.

Since no one was around, I quickly looked at the note. It was written in unsteady, unpracticed hand writing, but legible, for all that.

You in?

I met Evan's eyes and nodded. I needed to get out one way or another and escaping alone seemed damn near impossible. I was in.

* * * * *

I spent the next week finishing off the archives while keeping an eye out for an opportunity to speak with Travis, who seemed the likely ringleader. I saw him a few times around the training yard and in the dining hall, but never without the leech's faithful slaves with their pretence of casual attendance.

My frustration was growing. I was closer to my goal than I had ever been before in information, but I was further at the same time in mobility. I was frustrated and angry and I wanted to make a push for my freedom immediately. I could almost feel my patience slipping away from me.

First, I needed to find out what her newer slaves were considering, because the problem of my escape was as difficult as it was when I first arrived, or even more so, because I now knew the ins and outs of her lair more intimately, and the humans under her control had tried to fill in every defensive gap with their typical strange dedication.

Since I was no longer spending the majority of the day during my waking hours hunched over a screen, I hoped I might find an opportunity. Yet, as always, there were eyes and ears everywhere, not to mention bloodsuckers had levels of hearing I could not properly gauge. I needed a moment when we would not be observed or overheard.

Raoul increased my training regimen, but I counted it as a good thing and dedicated myself to getting myself into peak condition. I sparred with the guards and worked on perfecting defensive and offensive techniques as well as practicing with a variety of weapons.

To my surprise, Mark joined us one day. I noticed that we were kept from having any unsupervised contact, but I began to watch for an opportunity.

I was standing out in the training field with a couple of the other guards, watching Jeffry and Theo practice defensive techniques. It was obvious that the two had fought many times before because they both clearly were familiar with the other's movements.

Once their fight was finished, we were paired off. Dean was my opponent and the main trick was to keep ahead of him. If he got me in a hold it was difficult to get myself out again, but if I could stay ahead I had a decent chance of dodging his attacks. We traded off positions as attacker and defender, until we were stopped by Raoul's voice booming across the field.

"Special treat tonight, boys. The mistress has agreed to assist us with a training demo. Take thirty, fuel up and get back here asap. You don't want to miss this."

Conversation broke out amongst the guards, and even amongst the common slaves who were apparently being taught basic self-defense by one of Raoul's assistants.

From across the field, I could hear the assistant yelling, "Hey, focus! Focus, people! Lose your focus for one second when dealing with a hostile vampire and it's all over for you!"

He continued bellowing as I walked towards the lair and Mark fell into step beside me. I kept my movements casual, as if I had not been waiting for this moment for days.

The assistant's lecture continued. "Most vampires aren't going to go for the kill immediately, because at the very least they like their prey alive when they feed. What they'll be aiming for is a way to incapacitate you so that they can steal your blood at their leisure. And what do we remember when dealing with hostile vampires?"

"Diversion, eight days," Mark said in an undertone while the trainer's voice nearly drowned him out.

"Yeah. I am starving," I said, catching his eye so he would know that I got his meaning.

"This training really does work up an appetite."

The crowd of trainees intoned behind us, "No blow is too low when dealing with a hostile vampire."

"That's right! There's no blow too low. You are at a constant physical disadvantage so you must make advantages wherever and however you can. They will underestimate you, so you can use surprise to help even the playing field. They think you're helpless food. Are you helpless?" the trainer asked in his booming voice.

We stepped through the archway and the doors muffled the sound of the newbies' responses as they closed behind us.

"Getting to know each other?" Jeffry asked lightly.

I shrugged. "It is a nice change to talk with a human who isn't a leech-loving traitor."

Jeffry shook his head a bit as if he thought I was hopeless, but he continued to walk with us, presumably to monitor our conversation. I did not care, Mark had already said enough for now. I needed to discover what the diversion would be, and at what time, and the deeper plan, but at least I would know roughly when to keep an eye out now.

We quickly made our way to the dining hall, where a bunch of food was waiting for us. I piled my plate with as much as I could comfortably eat without slowing myself down and took the most isolated seat I could manage.

I shovelled food into my mouth silently, Mark's words still ringing in my ears. "Eight days."

I needed to find out more, but in the meantime I would be wise to start preparing supplies. I would need something to carry whatever I grabbed and not to be detected. It would be easy enough to amass enough food to tide me over for a while, but water could be a more difficult proposition. My best bet would be to get enough supplies to get me to one of the cranky old man's hideouts. I knew the location of a bunch of his stashes and he would just have to deal with me helping myself if he was not there.

Once I finished off that demon, Jack, I could return and repay him.

I finished eating before most of the others and I left before them. While my feelings about the leech remained mixed, whatever demonstration was planned would be interesting. I had never before had the opportunity to sit back and observe a bloodsucker fight.

The newbies had already left the field. The sun was just setting, and a couple of slaves were lighting torches around the training area. I watched them idly, my mind still working through plans and possibilities, but I did not have enough information to really decide what my next step would be. I could wing it, but I would rather not. I had to get to Travis alone. I did not want to try visiting his room, the odds of finding him alone there would be much lower than the odds of someone noticing me and thinking my behaviour suspicious.

More and more of the humans made their way outside and it was apparent that it was not only guards who had been invited to see the show. There were probably a hundred humans standing around when she finally made her appearance. I watched as she came out of her lair, hips swinging as she strode forward with a satisfied smile on her face, clearly enjoying the attention of so many eyes upon her. She spoke to a couple of the humans as she passed and then made her way over to Raoul and Leif.

They conferred quietly and I could not hear their conversation, but both men laughed at something she said.

Raoul strode out into the centre of the field. The crowd quieted as they took notice of his position. I scanned my eyes over the crowd, picking out familiar faces by what remained of the light of the sun and firelight.

"Well, I don't need to tell you all why you're here tonight. Our mistress has decided to give us all the benefit once again of observing the fighting abilities of an ancient vampire. You won't encounter a more dangerous one than she, so watch well. Although most other vampires do not have her strength or speed, there will be some similarity in the movements. Dean?"

Dean was near me and he perked up at the sound of his name. Trisha gave him a slightly nervous smile and he grinned back at her reassuringly. Her wariness receded as he walked towards the leech.

My stomach tightened. Trisha might not be a full on leech-lover yet, but she was certainly in deep with one. There was no way I would put the plans at risk by letting her in on whatever was going to go down. It was ridiculous to feel betrayed since there had been no agreement between us, and yet I somehow did. The idea to give her the choice to escape had always been silly, but the fact that she would likely choose to stay bothered me, even if I could almost understand it.

Dean walked towards the leech easily. She smiled at him in what almost looked like fondness and then swept her eyes over the crowd. "Dean here is about as strong a human as I have ever met. No one in the crowd watching has more physical strength than he."

She faced him. "Take your best shot, Dean."

He did not pause, but he went towards her and she sidestepped him easily as if he were standing still, then she turned and swept around as she drew her foot under his legs, sweeping them out from under him. Dean landed on the ground with a loud thump.

"On the ground fighting me, Dean's as good as dead." She moved away from her slave and met Raoul's eyes.

Raoul called out, "Jeffrey."

He left the crowd and joined her. "Jeffry is fast, and Jeffry has reach. He could get his hands on me while I was still out of range to grab him." She faced him. "Come at me, Jeffry."

Jeffry went for her but she evaded him as easily as she had Dean. Then she paused and let him get his hands around her neck.

"Now, even though he has me, unless he snaps my neck and renders me unconscious, he can't hold me." She twisted and broke out of his hold.

The leech continued her demonstration while Raoul called forth names, and then afterwards she had seven of her guards attack her at once.

She was fluid in motion and I hated to acknowledge what how much power she wielded.

Working together, her guards could barely lay a hand on her, although after a few minutes of coordinated failure, Ian got her with a blunt wooded dagger to the chest.

"So you see how hard it is to deal with one such as myself, humans? These men are some of the best amongst you, and you saw the difficulty they had. In a situation with a hostile vampire of my strength who was genuinely trying to debilitate them, they would not be able to hold out as long as it took for Ian to get that final blow. I could have taken them out one by one, until only I was left standing."

She swept her eyes across the assembled crowd. "Working together, these men could certainly take out a young vampire, maybe even one as old as the human suppression generation. We ancient vampires, however, are in a class of our own. Luck and skill will never be enough to get you out alive, and especially not alone."

Her eyes stopped for one moment on me before continuing on.