Full darkness had finally descended, driving all but the night dwellers and the unwary back to their homes. A light breeze whispered through the moon-silvered trees, gently cooling the stillness of the park. Shadows pooled in inky blackness beneath the trees, shielding the deeper woods from prying eyes. A late-night hush blanketed the surrounding city, washing the park with an eerie calm. Adrienne wandered aimlessly along the pathways of crushed red stone, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings. An ethereally slender figure in faded blue jeans and worn leather jacket, she was a tempting target for the predatory eyes that watched her hungrily from beneath the trees.

It wasn't long before her wandering took her through a particularly dense copse of trees. The shadows fell across the path, completely obscuring the bright gravel from sight. Adrienne stepped into the darkness without the slightest hesitation. A slight rustling in the darkness caught her attention, and her heart began to pound in anticipation. At last, the game began. The barest hint of a smile touched her lips as she sensed the lurkers poised to spring. She was going to enjoy the moment to its fullest, drawing the encounter out as long as possible before she turned the tables. Anything to alleviate the all-pervading boredom that had gripped her of late.

They jumped at her in practiced unison, one from either side of the darkened pathway. As they drove her to the ground, she screamed and struggled. She felt their satisfaction at her apparent terror and had to close her eyes to hide the feral lust that shone in them. The more off guard they were when she attacked, the better. She couldn't let them see the truth yet. It would ruin the game. Her hunger was rising steadily, but it was still manageable. Perhaps she could play it out completely this time.

She continued to struggle against them, scratching and kicking. The smell of lust and blood rolled off them in waves, fueling her inner conflict. Hunger raged through her like a prairie fire by the time they finally tired of the game. Pinning her arms to the ground with his knees, the smaller of the two used both hands to strangle her. At once, Adrienne allowed her struggles to become more and more feeble until she lay limply on the ground.

The moment she stopped struggling, the second man began tearing at her clothes, ripping them from her body. She heard his sharp intake of breath at the sight of her lying naked and helpless beneath him and she knew the game was almost up. If she waited much longer, she would be forced to endure his filth inside her. It was not a fate she was prepared to accept. Even so, she held back, waiting until she heard him fumbling with his zipper before she let the hunger take her.

She rose from the ground like an avenging fury. The man holding her flew backwards with the full force of her inhuman strength. The clod who had thought to rape her stood gaping open mouthed, his pants around his ankles. A single, well-placed kick snapped his femur like a matchstick, he dropped to the ground howling in agony. Without giving him another thought, she whirled and leapt at the first man. She caught him squarely just as he was rising to his feet. Her eyes gleamed greenly in the dim light, and he caught the barest glimpse of ivory fangs before they sank deep in his throat.

Wrapping her arms around him in a dark mockery of a lover's embrace, she drained him slowly; leisurely savoring the sharp coppery taste of blood on her tongue. There was no need to hurry; his friend wasn't going anywhere. She relished each drop, each morsel of his wasted life. His dying thoughts swirled around her, murky and just beyond her grasp. All the strength and fire went out of him then, washed away in a flood of fear and pain. Reluctantly she released him, letting his withered body fall to the ground.

The other man had stopped howling and was desperately trying to drag himself away. He whimpered softly as each movement jarred his shattered leg. It took Adrienne only an instant to reach him. She turned him to face her, looked deep into his shadowed eyes. Holding his gaze, she drove her fangs into the major veins in his wrist. As his eyes glazed over, she gloried in both his fear and the warmth of his blood. She broke the contact only at the sound of sirens converging on the little park. Discarding the man's sere husk, Adrienne fled into the trees.

The sound of running feet and the stark whiteness of searchlights cut through the quiet night. The park was alive with the static of radios and barked orders. The police swarmed over the area around the desiccated corpses, to no avail. There was no trace of the unknown assailant. The newsmongers jockeyed for position just outside of the police barricade. They were having a field day. Lurid headlines in the morning papers were a certainty.

Justine flicked off the television in disgust. The media was making a real sideshow out of last night's murders. Werewolves and Jack the Ripper's ghost were among the least ridiculous of the theories they espoused. Of course, the truth was likely just as bizarre. There was no doubt in her mind that Adrienne was somehow responsible for the debacle. Her twin had been growing more and more careless lately, almost daring somebody to catch her. This time, Justine hadn't been there to clean up after her.

She began puttering around the condo, distractedly moving things from one room to another. Adrienne hadn't come home the night before, but they hadn't captured her either. Hopefully that meant she was okay. Justine couldn't bear to lose her sister. She was the only family she'd ever had. Oh, she had no sense that Adrienne was hurt in anyway, but the uncanny link between them was seldom dependable to any great extent. All she could do was hope for the best, just as she always had.

…The orphanage floor was cold and dirty. Three year old Justine crouched in the corner, careful to stay out of the Monsignor's way. His temper was swift and brutal, and he was already enraged. He'd caught Adrienne bleeding a cat, and he had been going on at great length about what motherless demon-spawn they were. Suddenly his thick leather belt was in his hand, slashing down at Adrienne, cutting her, hurting her…Justine was on his back and had her teeth deep in his veins before he knew what hit him. It was her first human kill; it would not be her last…

The slamming of the apartment door jolted Justine back into the present. Adrienne stormed in, her face like a thundercloud.

"Where were you last night? Those damn cops nearly got me this time. Why weren't you there?" Stomping into the bedroom, she discarded the tattered remnants of her clothing. The diatribe continued all the while. "Off being Miss Sweetness and Light somewhere again? God, you make me sick." Finally, the litany of complaint wound down to a dull whine.

"At least I'm not out there risking exposure. What were you thinking, Adrienne?" The slightest trace of a French accent still underscored her speech. "I've had it with you. I'm not your damn keeper. You're nearly 300 years old, its about time you started looking out for yourself. You're going to get us both killed at this rate." Justine's sea green eyes glittered with suppressed rage, daring her twin to argue further.

"Oh, like you're so much better than me, you self-righteous bitch. Justine the perfect, angel of mercy to the sick and forgotten. Angel of death more likely." Tossing her waist-length auburn braid back over her shoulder, Adrienne stomped over to her sister. "The two I killed tonight were sick and twisted, social predators. They deserved to die."

Their gazes locked for a long moment, each fighting for supremacy over the other. Standing toe to toe, they looked like distorted reflections of one another. Adrienne wore her hair tightly braided, pulled severely away from her face. Her manner of dress was harsh; resonant of the treacherous streets she hunted. Justine looked softer, vaguer somehow. Her auburn hair was down, cascading past her hips in shining waves. Her dress was a loose fitting confection of gauzy white cotton, her only ornament a heavy silver pendant. The same beautiful heart-shaped face and brilliant emerald eyes that looked diamond hard on Adrienne managed to look delicate on Justine. Neither showed any trace of weakness.

Finally Justine whirled and strode purposefully toward the door. "Do what you damn well please. I don't care anymore." She could hear Adrienne yelling after her, but she didn't hesitate. Closing the door firmly behind her, she left without looking back. It wasn't until she was out of sight of the condo that she broke down crying. She and Adrienne had fought before, but never like this. Somehow, there was a feeling of finality to it, the closing of door. Tears streaming down her face, Justine walked on.

…Two months after landing on the shores of New France she and Adrienne were on their own again, driven out into the wilds. They had managed fine before they left the seaport. There had been no shortage of pirates and privateers that would never wake from their final binge, but things weren't so easy in the Trader Towns. Adrienne had taken to hunting the criminal element, the murderers and thieves. She had started taking unaccountable risks, nearly getting both of them burned as witches. When Justine confronted her about it she merely laughed, saying almost was not enough to worry about. They had argued bitterly just the night before. Adrienne had stalked off in anger, leaving Justine to fend for herself.

It was then that Justine had noticed the beggar. He was lying by the roadside in a pile of putrid rags. The stench of bile enveloped him like a cloak, keeping the rats at bay. His eyes were crusted with filth, his hands covered with scabrous sores. She could feel the death pulsing in his veins, and she knew the pain he felt. Surely no one would miss such as he. He had looked up as she moved towards him, taking on a beatific expression. Sweet angel, he had called her. An angel of mercy come to carry him away. Instead of pain and terror when she fed, there had been only peace and joy. A feeling of perfect tranquility. It had been a new beginning for her…

Justine wandered through the streets, a ghostlike figure in gauzy white. Soon enough she came to the camps on the edge of the city, the box towns. There the homeless dwelled in squalor and hopelessness. There she would assuage her growing hunger, a merciful bringer of death. She was weak after her quarrel with Adrienne. She needed to find sustenance, relief from her pain and sorrow. The joyous release of the dying would give her that. Tomorrow would be soon enough to worry about the future. Tonight, she had but to ease the suffering of the damned and the forgotten.

Three days passed and there was still no sign of Justine. Adrienne was beginning to worry, more than she was willing to admit even to herself. It just wasn't like her to stay angry for so long. Adrienne was the one who held grudges, not Justine. Never Justine, it was not in her nature. She worried too much about others for her own good.

Wrapping her arms around herself, Adrienne stared blindly out the living room window. Ignoring the hunger that gnawed at her, she wished for about the thousandth time that she hadn't resorted to calling Justine names, belittling her. She didn't deserve it.

…They had been about ten at the time. Cold and hungry, they had run wild on the streets of Paris. Justine still insisted that they weren't vampires or monsters. After all, they had never died. Nor did sunlight appear to do them any damage. They were quite simply Justine and Adrienne Karre, orphans looking for a home.

Adrienne failed to see what difference it made. She couldn't understand her sister's attitude at all. They were what they were. Even their name wasn't real. It had been taken from their dying mother's final words 'Ana Karre'. Nobody knew what it meant, but it was the only clue they had. It was all anyone knew about her, not that anyone had cared. The twins had only each other. It was all they needed.

Adrienne knew, if Justine did not, that there could never be anything else for them. They would be too soon damned as devils, burned and dismembered. That would be their fate, were they vampires or not. Their only safety lay in watching over one another…

Justine moved restlessly from one slum area to another. She could not stay still. Being too long in one place was to be discovered. Unwilling yet to go home, she struggled constantly to keep her thoughts away from Adrienne. Her sister had chosen her own path. Justine was no longer her keeper. Loneliness tainted her every waking moment, even leeching away the joy she normally found in feeding. Even so, she refused to give in.

She was on the move once again when she sensed them, an enclave of the doomed and dying. All of them terminal, just begging for release. Turning slowly, she tried to locate them. It was odd. She was in an upscale area. Affluent residences hid behind high stone fences, sweeping driveways and manicured lawns were the order of the day. This was no place for the lingering death she sensed. Curiosity battled caution and won. It couldn't hurt just to take a look.

There. Behind a high iron gate, set back from the road in a heavy stand of trees. That was where they were, she could feel them strongly. Cautiously she made her way through the concealing trees, flitting ghostlike from one shadow to the next. She scaled the high stone wall in seconds, perched atop it like a pale wraith. There appeared to be no sentries, just a couple of sleepy dogs. Nothing at all that she need worry about.

Kicking off her sandals, she dropped soundlessly to the ground. The ten-foot drop was a piece of cake for her unnatural agility; the jolt when she hit the grass was at most minimal. The long curved drive was flanked by trees on both sides, offering plenty of cover. The dogs never even stirred until she reached the open area in front of the house. Suddenly they were just there in front of her. Two Dobermans and a Rottweiller, snarling and bristling fiercely.

She stood her ground firmly, staring them down. Her green eyes glowed brightly in the moonlight until their hackles smoothed and they wandered disinterestedly away. Dogs had never been a problem for her. Cats were another story, for some reason they terrified her. It bordered on pathological, the fear was so strong. Other than betrayal and death, they were the only thing she had ever feared.

Hunger finally drove Adrienne out into the night. She couldn't wait for her sister any longer. She had to feed. Despite the greatness of her need, the fight with her twin had made her cautious. Smiling grimly, she took a page from Justine's book. She chose her victim with care, selecting him from among the derelict and forgotten. As she felt his joyful release, the sense of peace, she understood the allure for the first time. There was no fear and pain, no dark emotion. Nothing but cool and soothing light.

Getting in had been no challenge, all within the walls appeared to sleep. All except for one of the dying. Justine could feel his torment in the darkness, the twisting of his soul. Each thought was vaguely tinged with agony and madness. He would be perfect for her purposes. The hunger stirred and swelled within her, nurtured by the pain she felt. As she moved silently through the darkened hallways, she realized in surprise that the place was some sort of medical facility. Pausing in the doorway of what was obviously a lab, she noted several vials bearing cautionary labels clearly marked as "HIV".

Ah, perhaps that explained it. The latest societal plague. She had seen many over the years, they made no difference to her. She had always been immune. No doubt this one would soon be cured, just as all the others had been. The thought gave her pause for a moment. This was likely a research station. Perhaps she should leave well enough alone. Taking one of the patients could set things back.

Hunger won out over reason hands down. Shrugging off any lingering doubts, she continued toward her goal. She could feel him so strongly now. He was close, so very close. She could literally smell the death on him. Her craving raged, blinding her to caution.

Heedless of the odd screen that concealed one corner of the room, she moved on tip toe toward the bed. He was awake and staring at her. There was no fear in his eyes. In fact, there seemed to be no expression at all. Regardless, he raised one hand to her as if in supplication. In the dim light, she knew that she appeared to glide as she went to his bedside. He made no move to protest as she bent and kissed him gently on the forehead.

Swiftly, she sank her needle sharp fangs into his throat. His blood coursed wildly into her mouth, burning its way down her throat. Almost immediately, she knew something was horribly wrong. His blood was tainted somehow. Her head began to swim dizzily and her stomach churned in violent rejection. She became so disoriented and weak that it was all she could do to break away from him.

She felt herself begin to fade, to fall, then his hands grasped her arms with vise-like strength hauling her up on top of him. One iron hand forced her head back and he bit down on her pulse, slurping noisily. As she lost consciousness, she realized that he was completely insane. She never saw the shadowy figure that moved out from behind the screen.

Dr. Steve Ralston was dozing fitfully behind the screen when a slight noise drew him sharply to attention. He watched in disbelief, half convinced he was still dreaming, as the vision in diaphanous white floated into the Shiv's room. Her auburn hair drifted around her in a cloud, and she moved like smoke. He had been momentarily awestruck by her unearthly beauty. Then he had been too stunned to move when her eyes had taken on an eerie green luminescence and she bent to feed. He felt no horror, though he knew he should. Her actions seemed quite attune somehow with nature, there was no repugnance in him.

The spell had only broken when she slumped away from the man on the bed. Dangerously psychotic, the Shiv was kept drugged into a near lethal stupor as well as being under 24 hour observation. He had, after all, been responsible for the brutal slaying of more than thirty women. HIV positive, he had knowingly infected several more before he was caught. Between the drugs and the advanced stage of his illness, he should have been unable to move, much less pull the woman back onto the bed.

The good doctor's stomach turned in protest when he realized that the homicidal maniac was feeding off of her. He stepped swiftly from behind the screen. Two strides took him to the bedside. It took him only seconds to inject the Shiv with another powerful tranquilizer. It seemed to take an abnormally long time to take effect. Eventually though, his grip loosened and the woman slipped lifelessly to the floor.

Dr. Ralston knew a moment's panic then. Surely she could not be dead. It would complicate things immensely. The lab was an illegal operation, experimenting on AIDS victims that nobody would miss. None of them were willing participants. The clinic could not risk exposure. Checking for a pulse with a practiced hand, he was relieved to find she still lived. Her pulse was weak, but it seemed to be quite regular. He paused only to check briefly on the Shiv before carrying her into a neighboring room.

Laying her gently on the bed, he took a long look at her before locking the heavy steel door. She seemed so small and helpless lying there, it was hard to believe that he had seen her drink another's blood. There was no doubt about what he had seen however. It was a good thing that they monitored the Shiv on video as well as in person. He'd have a hard time convincing the others of what he had seen otherwise.

Quietly, he returned to his position behind the screen. He would check on her occasionally through the night, but other than that she was no longer his problem. The Director could deal with her in the morning.

He felt the needle sink into his arm, felt the tranq speed through him like cold fire. Something else burned in him too. He could feel the changes in his blood, the changes in his mind. New strength and clarity coursed through his being. Unholy joy sang through him like a hymn. Revenge was the beat of it. Soon, they would pay for what they had done. Sticking him full of holes, pumping him full of drugs. Soon. He knew with an unfounded surety that they would not be able to hold him much longer. It was only a matter of time.

Vague fear had long since given way to a driving panic. Adrienne was terrified for the first time in her long life. She couldn't find Justine anywhere. There was no sense of her presence, no trace of her feeding. Adrienne had been searching for her without thought for her own survival, feeding only when she could no longer avoid it. There was no way she could have missed finding Justine if she were there. Adrienne was becoming more certain with each passing day that something was wrong. Somehow, something had happened to Justine.

The world was a blur of misery and pain. Justine felt as if there were an iron band around her chest. A band that squeezed ever tighter, leaving her gasping for breath. Her heart thundered erratically, trying to beat its way out of her chest. Her eyes were so swollen and itchy that they had become gummed shut. Her tongue felt twice its normal size, cleaving to the roof of her mouth, choking her. She barely felt the sting of the needle as it slid into her vein. The band about her chest loosened, and she fell away into black oblivion.

It had only taken about fifteen minutes for the need to see her to build to irresistible levels. It was a good thing. She was in the throes of a massive convulsion of some sort when he walked in. With the unthinking efficiency of the medical profession Steve Ralston grabbed the emergency kit they kept outside each room.

It was apparent that she was having a massive allergic reaction, her face was swollen almost beyond recognition. Giving her an injection to stave off the anaphylactic shock, he swiftly monitored her vitals. Hopefully she was sufficiently close to human for the epinephrine to work. If not, she was dead where she lay. Without more information, there was nothing else he could do. She appeared to be responding normally however, the drug seemed to have done its job well enough. Thoughtfully, he drew a vial of blood from her left arm. No doubt the lab would want to look at it.

The Director was an enormous man, not just in height but in girth. He barely fit through a normal doorway, his looming bulk neatly filled the opening. Dr. Ralston looked up from his desk as he sensed the huge man's entrance.

"Did the Shiv's tests come out okay?"

The Director was uncharacteristically silent for several seconds, as if considering his response. "No. No they didn't. There is absolutely no trace of the HIV virus in his system. They've run the tests three times. It's no mistake. They did find something else interesting though."

"What was that?"

"His blood is full of some bizarre looking antibodies, the same as your little vampire. She seems to have cured him somehow."

Steve thought for a moment before speaking cautiously. "Has she regained consciousness yet?"

"Not yet, but she has begun to stir. Her vitals are getting steadily stronger."

"Any indication what she had a reaction to?"

"Apparently, the Shiv's blood didn't agree with her. We'll have to do some testing to know for certain."

A chill passed swiftly down Dr. Ralston's spine. Despite what they had been doing there, this seemed wrong somehow. "We're keeping her then?"

"She holds the secret of the cure. We can't let her leave."

It was dark in his room. The steady hum of the monitors made a soothing counterpoint in the unnatural quiet. Too bad he wasn't interested in being soothed. He knew without being told that his disease was gone. He could feel the new strength pulsing through him, making him over into something new. The change was slowing, nearing completion. A growing hunger lived within him, influencing his every thought. He would wait only for nightfall when things were quietest, then he would take his revenge. The day of judgment was at hand.

Steve had just settled into his office for the evening, when the screaming began. It was coming from the Shiv's room. He took off at a dead run, the Director was in there. He had chosen to sit observation in person, freeing Dr. Ralston to deal with a pile of paperwork that badly needed his attention.

He slid through the doorway into the room and came to a dead halt. The sight that met his eyes defied comprehension. The Director and two of the nurses lay dead on the floor, their throats torn out. There was blood everywhere, not just spattered but smeared on every surface. How could this have happened so quickly. A movement to the left of him caught his eye. He turned barely in time to see the Shiv come at him with his hands outstretched like claws. A vice like grip closed on around his throat, and he felt himself losing consciousness. His last memory was the sound of running feet and shouted orders.

All their work had been undone. The Director was dead, the two nurses both had families that were asking uncomfortable questions. The Syndicate that funded the Centre was all over them. They were holding some sort of a vampire hostage, and that wasn't the worst of it. Thanks to them there was a brutal murderer loose in the City. The Syndicate had a security force out looking for the Shiv, but they weren't much nicer people than their quarry. It didn't bear thinking about.

Not that he had any choice, Dr. Ralston told himself bitterly. Somehow it had fallen to him to clean up the mess. Wearily rubbing his aching temples, he decided he'd best deal with the families first. He had to convince them that the two women had left work as usual, that they had disappeared somewhere off of the premises. It had been a major stroke of luck that they had been riding together. There had been only one car to dispose of, one trail to obscure. It was still going to be difficult, but he had to get it over with. Only then could he deal with their guest.

Justine had woken with a startled gasp, drawing breath as if she were starved for air. She had realized almost immediately that she was a prisoner. She had thrown herself at the door in a frenzied rage, to no avail. Weakened by her ordeal, she couldn't budge the heavy steel. Nonetheless she had persisted doggedly, stopping only when exhaustion overtook her. She had slept then, despite her growing anger.

When she woke again, she found herself strapped to the bed with bands of unyielding steel. Her struggles were in vain. Rage and hunger flared to life in unison. There was no doubt that they would hold her until she starved. If they kept her bound she would die, deprived of comfort and dignity. It was not a pleasant thought, the only comfort she could draw from it was that they held her instead of Adrienne. At least her sister remained free and safe.

The media was on the rampage again. As the death toll mounted, their hysteria grew. Something stalked the city streets, something evil. Death lurked unbidden in the shadows, waiting to tear apart the unwary. The police had been unable to catch whatever was responsible for the trail of broken bodies. Raped and dismembered, tossed aside like so much refuse, it seemed that only the women were at risk. All the victims had their throats torn out, their blood drained. The carnage was appalling.

Adrienne was stalking the killer. She had abandoned her customary leather and denim for a soft black cat suit, sliding through the shadowy underbelly of the city like mist. She could feel his madness in the darkness, she sensed the fury in his soul. The stench of death assaulted her senses, he tainted the very air around him. Underneath it all, under the smell of blood was something else; the barest scent of Justine. Somehow this vile creature was involved in her twin's disappearance. She had to reach him before anyone else. She had to have answers. Her sister was at risk; nothing else seemed important.

Oh, no doubt she would kill him if she could. He was so twisted that he deserved to die. There was not an ounce of compassion in him. He felt an unholy joy, an almost orgasmic release as he feasted on the suffering he caused. He was far beyond redemption, killing as the whim took him. Still, there was the tie to Justine. She had to figure out what it was.

Adrienne slowed her pace, keeping to the deepest shadows. He was there, just ahead of her… feeding. Cautiously, she closed the gap between them. As she crept up behind him, she sensed the watchers on the rooftops. She had to get to him before they did, he had to lead her to Justine. She was nearly upon him when he felt her presence. He turned slowly to face her, dropping the gore-splattered bundle in his arms.

Her heart nearly stopped in her chest. His face was bestial, twisted in a feral smile. His eyes glowed a familiar emerald, but his fangs were huge. Far more elongated than her own, they accentuated the animal lust that emanated from his every pore. He could tell her nothing, there was no humanity left within him. Besides, she knew now how he was linked to Justine. She had seen his kind once before.

…They had been in what was then called Upper Canada. Justine had been bitten by one of her victims. He had taken a large chunk out of her arm. They had drained him, leaving his withered carcass for dead. It was a huge mistake. Within a week, they had found themselves face to face with him again.

He had become a ravening beast, filled with savage rage. No longer bound by human frailty, he had been nearly impossible to kill. Having been a formidable fighter before his death, he was wily and strong. It had taken everything the twins had to take him down. They had taken care after that to see that they were never bitten again…

He moved like lightening, striking without warning. Adrienne was barely able to dodge him in time. The fight was brief and brutal, two animals locked in a life and death battle. The two of them leapt and snarled at one another with demonic fervor. She was only half his size, but she was much more agile than he. In the end, it was what saved her.

He was too used to human women, too new to his powers to make full use of them. Soon enough, she managed to out-maneuver him landing squarely on his back. Sinking her fangs viciously into his neck she clung to him like a burr. He lumbered about smashing into walls, struggling desperately to dislodge her. His efforts grew slowly weaker until he dropped waveringly to his knees. Digging diamond hard nails into his skull, she twisted sharply, snapping his neck. For good measure, she drove those same spiked claws deeply into his medulla, raking sharply downwards, shredding the pliant flesh. Death was instantaneous and irrevocable.

She had no time to glory in her victory. The watchers from the rooftop were on the move. She disappeared into the shadows before they reached the ground. She didn't go far, just circled around to land above them. She was out of their immediate reach, but she was still within earshot. They were her only possible link to Justine, she had to find out who they were. She hunkered down on a fire escape and listened. Their voices were deliberately low, but they were clearly audible to Adrienne's inhuman ears.

"…boss man says the Doc'll want the body."

"Damn. What a pain. Did you see her?"

"Mmmhmm. How do you suppose she got loose?"

"Don't see how she could have, Doc had her wrapped up tight. You sure it was the same one?"

"You think maybe…"

It had taken them only moments to gather up the corpse. They moved down the alleyway too quickly for her to hear anymore. Scrambling to her feet, Adrienne began tracking them relentlessly. She couldn't afford to let them get away. She had to free her sister somehow.

Adrienne had followed them only as far as the forbidding iron gate. That was where she first felt it, the overwhelming sense of hunger not her own. The knowledge that Justine was close at hand flooded over her. Alive, but just barely. Her twin was in deep trouble. She had her night's work cut out for her by the look of things. She would have to use every ounce of stealth and caution she owned in order to succeed.

The sky was cloudless, the moon high and bright. She would have to depend heavily on the illusory cover of the trees. Unconsciously echoing the earlier movements of her sister, she paused for a long moment on top of the wall. Had anyone been looking, they would have noticed only an extremely dense patch of shadow. Extending her senses to their fullest, she surveyed the situation.

It looked far too easy. Three tired dogs appeared to be all that stood between her and the house. Cautiously, she tossed a pebble to the ground. She saw the slight flash of redness as it tripped a laser sensor. The response was almost immediate. Piercing searchlights flooded the area, panning over the ground, the wall and the base of the trees. With typical human blindness they ignored the treetops. As long as she was careful, Adrienne had a clear shot at the back of the house. The trees appeared to go right around the building, closing in at the back. At the very worst, there were likely less alarms to trigger once she got that far in.

Nearly an hour passed while she made her way quietly through the trees. Twice she was forced to freeze, waiting breathlessly while a sentry passed below her perch. There was no sign of the guards when she rounded the back of the house.

The tree nearest the house was a towering elm. One large branch extended almost to the roof. If she could get right out to the end, she could probably make the jump easily. The question really was whether or not she could do it quietly. Slowly, she inched her way along the branch. One false step and she would be on the ground. She tested her footing carefully with each step, once the branch began to sag and sway she stopped. The distance to the roof was only about fifteen feet. It was definitely worth a try.

She launched herself at the house with everything she had. She nearly missed, grabbing the edge of the eaves she narrowly kept herself from plummeting to the ground. She hung a moment from both hands before struggling to haul herself onto the roof. Once she was there, she lay perfectly still for a couple of minutes. There appeared to be no response to any noise she had made.

Satisfied that she was safe for the moment, she began inching along the roof. As far as she could tell, Justine was being held on the ground floor near the back of the house. When her sister seemed to be right below her, she gently eased herself over the eaves hanging loosely from both hands. A quick downward glance told her that there was a barred window right below her. Light flooded from the window, illuminating the grass below her. Carefully she released one hand, hanging heavily from the other one. Swinging herself slowly toward the wall, she dug the claws on her free hand deep into the siding. She had to get down to that window.

Justine alternately rested and threw herself fruitlessly against her bonds. The sound of a key scraping in the lock stilled her. A weary looking man entered, pushing a heavily laden tea cart. She didn't feel a bit sorry for him, hunger had finally eaten away any compassion she had left. If he came close enough he would be dead, not merely tired. Silently she willed him closer, green eyes glowing dimly.

Without speaking, he brought the cart within three feet of where she lay. An assortment of smells teased her nostrils, among them the scent of fresh blood. It wasn't human blood, but it was blood. Did he mean to feed her? It would be his downfall if he did, once she had some nourishment to work with it would take no time for her strength to come back. Once it did, she promised herself she would eat as many of her captors as she could reach. There had to be more than just this guy. To hell with mercy, that was what had gotten her into this mess in the first place.

"Do you have a name?" His voice was soft and pleasant, professionally non-threatening. He moved around behind her bed, raising it into a sitting position, then came to stand just out of her reach.

Justine glared at him for a moment before answering. An answer would do her no harm, he was already a dead man. "Justine."

"Hello Justine. I'm Dr. Ralston. I need to know a little bit about you."

"Spare me the pretty bedside manner Doctor. What to you think you'll gain?" He looked momentarily nonplussed. Obviously, she was not sticking to his preconceived script. Good. The stupid prick. Impatiently, she waited for him to answer her. "Well?"

"I thought we could do this pleasantly, but have it your way. You will tell me what I want to know, one way or another. For every bit of information you give me, I'll let you have small drink. You must be thirsty by now." As he spoke, he lifted the lid off of a large tureen that sat on the tea cart. It was filled almost to the brim with blood.

It was all Justine could do not to scream in frustration and terror as the smell of it hit her nostrils. It was definitely fresh, but it was cat blood. There was no way she would be able to swallow it. "Take it away. Just get it out of here." Her voice was harsh, choked with emotion.

He stared at her in surprise and confusion, no doubt wondering what he had done wrong. She had to growl at him, letting her fangs show before he realized that she was serious. Slowly, he trundled the cart back out the door.

The moment the door closed, Justine let herself slump limply against the steel bands that held her. She was close to giving in to total despair when she heard a sound above and behind her. It sounded like somebody was driving nails into the wall and pulling them out again. Twisting her head into an unnatural position, she was barely able to make out the shape of the window. A shadowy form peered in, and she felt a shock of recognition.

It was Adrienne! Somehow her sister had found her. It was all she could do not to shout out her triumph. Her level of confidence soared. Together, there was nothing they could not do.

Steve pushed the cart into the hall and closed the door behind him. As soon as he was out of her line of sight, he leaned against the wall shaking. He had underestimated her, he knew that now. She seemed so small and innocuous that he had been thinking of her as helpless, in need of protection. The feral cast of her features as she bared her fangs just now had reminded him at last that she was not human. Whatever she was, she was downright dangerous. There would be no more bargaining, anything they got from her would be taken by force.

The sound of the door caused Justine to turn away from the window. Somehow she had to keep his attention away from Adrienne. The doctor was getting a little sloppy she noted, he had left the door slightly ajar behind him. If Adrienne could somehow get behind him, they would have it made. It was time he learned one of less obvious dangers of dealing with one such as she. As he moved toward her with a syringe in hand, she began to sing quietly. The words were mere nonsense, it was the tune that mattered.

He slowed as he neared her, moving sluggishly as if through something thick and hindering. He came to a halt just beside her, poised on the point of giving her some kind of injection. Justine cursed herself mentally, if she had let him get just a little closer she would have been able to reach him. As it stood now, all she could do was hold him steady in hope that Adrienne could find a way inside.

Her faith in her sister was well founded. Mere seconds after she immobilized the doctor, Adrienne appeared in the doorway behind him. There was a lingering trace of blood on her lips, she had obviously met some opposition along the way. She fairly glowed with the unearthly vitality that came from feeding.

"Can you hold him while I get you loose?" Adrienne's concern was evident in her voice as she tore at the straps binding Justine's ankles.

"I can hold him as long as I need to. Just hurry."

"There, that should do it."

Adrienne let the last strap fall to the floor with a clatter as Justine surged up off of the bed. As soon as she was free, she loosed her hold on his mind. She wanted to be sure he saw her coming, for once she wanted to wring every ounce of terror she could out of her victim. She was not seeking to give him peace.

Adrienne watched in disbelief as Justine slowly stalked the doctor. She had seen her sister hunt before, but never like this. This was more her style than her twin's. Justine was toying with him, prolonging the agony. Her face was a study in raw savagery. Laughing harshly, she played him like a cat plays a mouse. She'd let him see some hope of escape, then she'd spring at him and block it. Adrienne at last began to comprehend why Justine had always called her cruel.

This was just the way she herself usually played the game. Despite the new understanding she made no move to stop Justine. She needed this, needed the terror and the pain. Even as that thought crossed her mind, her sister tired of the chase. Without warning she ended it, tearing out his throat and draining him dry.

Color suffused Justine's pale cheeks, put there by the exhilaration of her kill. Turning to face Adrienne she used their old greeting. "Well met, my sister." Seeing the other's stunned expression she smiled, her eyes gleaming brilliantly. "Is there anyone else left?"

"Only about ten or twenty thugs acting as guards, nothing we need worry about." Adrienne's voice was dry and mildly sarcastic. "No problem."

"Good enough. Let's not worry about them then. We haven't got the time."

"They'll know we were here."

Justine's voice was cold and hard. "They can't prove it if we torch the place."

"What about the patients?"

"What about them? They're as good as dead anyway."

Between the burners in the lab and numerous gas fireplaces, it was simplicity itself to set a gratifyingly ferocious blaze. They watched it burn from the tenuous safety of the trees. The sentries were too busy vanishing before the authorities arrived to worry about them. The fire was well established before the first engine made it through the locked iron gates. The first rays of dawn were just breaking over the horizon. It was much too late. There would be no saving the place.

There was nothing left of the Centre but a pile of charred and smoking rubble. Justine looked over at Adrienne and smiled, showing just a hint of ivory fang. "The son of a bitch tried to feed me cat's blood." There was really no need for her to say it, but she felt obliged to make the effort. It was as close as she could come to an explanation at that moment. The last few days had changed them both in some ways. Without a doubt, there would be more changes to follow. It didn't matter, they would see them through together. Arm in arm they walked away from the smoldering ruin, facing into the dawn.

(c) 1999, M.C. Sak