But Melinda was shouting at nothing but air, for Sven was many miles away, on the surface, and falling onto his first victim in seven centuries.

It was a young buck that he had sighted. He used what little power to numb the deer's entire body, so its death would be painless.

He drove his fangs into the side of the beast's neck, feeling its fur brush against his face. He felt the warm life's blood of the buck flowing down his throat.

It felt so good, to abate the hunger that had been gnawing at him. Pure joy, it was to feed upon another's life force.

When the animal had been sucked dry, Sven let go of it, and consciously realized, for the first time, that what he had caught was a male deer.

With a thought, Sven made the carcass burst into green flame, and it was turned into ash in seconds. After the flames had dissipated, Sven leaped into the nearest tree and settled down onto a large branch. He looked to the night sky, the moon already high in the air. It was chilly out. Sven thought back to the girl, and thought she was dressed to lightly for this weather.

He lay back for a few minutes, relaxing, taking in everything that had happened.

Melinda.

That was a pretty name, one that dated back to his time.

Now that Sven had time to think, he closed his eyes, and thought back to his dreams. He wanted to know more about this world.

When vampires dream they unconsciously see what is happening in the world around them. It was how Sven had kept track of his little village, after he was converted.

He looked back on the centuries that passed, seeing everything that had gone on in a split second.

This was no longer a world of kings and knights, he realized. He could never hope to blend in here. Everything was new and electronic.

Sven let out a sigh, and opened his eyes. He supposed he should do something about the girl. It would take her hours to navigate out of his little hiding place, and he could sense wolves deeper in the woods. Better not to take any chances. And he needed to make sure word of his existence never got out.