Midnight. Hours before the dawn would come, but Reidai wanted to end this conflict now. He wasn't sure as to how this rusted iron sword would help against the vampire hunter, but it was best not to question his master's wisdom. The trouble now was waiting for the right moment and opportunity to call the hunter out.

Perhaps the town could help in that regard. Reidai smiled and looked out the window toward the city hall. He had overheard quite a bit a resentment toward the vampire hunter and the Rans for protecting a girl marked by the vampire. If he played his cards right, he could get them to do most of the work for him.

With the broadsword sheathed on his back, Reidai leapt out the window, vampiric powers granted him allowing the thrall to land deftly on the ground as if he'd only fallen a few feet. He could hear voices from in the city capitol, which meant that the mayor and his advisors were still up, discussing the situation. Excellent.

Now leaping up from the ground to the roof of city hall, Reidai carefully opened one of the rooftop windows, slipped inside, then made his way down toward the mayor's office. He could hear the argument that was still going on. Words said about that damn hunter, how they wanted to run him out of the area and dispose of the Rans. Well, while he agreed with them on the first point, Reidai could hardly allow them to terminate his master's chosen bride, and the older sister who Grigori had taken an interest in.

Calmly opening the door, Reidai entered just as the men inside the office went silent. Judging form their expression, they'd thought he was that half-breed freak. "Don't mind me," he stated while smiling. "I'm just someone who feels we can all help each other." He leaned against the wall, acting as if he was trying not to be noticed. It wasn't working. "Please, continue your discussion. I'm interested in how you plan to get rid of the dhampir."

Mayor Rodham's eyes went narrow as he glared at the thrall. "What dhampir?" he hissed. Realization suddenly dawned then when Reidai didn't reply. "Wait, you mean that hunter the Rans have hired!"

Humans. So slow in understanding, yet so amusing when they did realize the truth. "Oh, you mean you didn't know?" Reidai grinned while pushing away from the wall and standing upright. "That hunter is a dhampir, half-vampire himself. I don't know what your views toward them are, but..." He didn't continue, nor did he need to in order to play on the fears of these simple, greedy men. Reidai had seen over a hundred years of humanity thanks to his master's favor, and nothing ever changed about those in power; they always desired more power in addition to that they already had. "I'm sure that we could help each other in this matter." Reidai moved to leave now. "Though it seems you don't require my help."

Some of the men in the room moved to stop him from leaving. Good, just like he wanted. Reidai turned back toward Rodham, that grin on his face very blatent now. "Or am I wrong in my view of your actions?"

The mayor was silent for a long moment. He knew that this man was a servant of Tremere, a thrall who was granted vampire powers through the gift of Tremere's blood, yet not quite touched by the curse of the vampire in full. If he was offering his service, then it meant that either Tremere was willing to make a deal with the city, or this thrall was in rebellion against his master. No, this man was definitely no rebel. "You would handle the hunter?" Rodham asked cautiously. Reidai nodded, which prompted the mayor to continue. "What's the catch?"

Once more, Reidai laughed. "No talk of 'eliminating' the Rans," he stated. "They are to be handed over to my master Tremere. In return, his quarrel with your insignificant little hamlet will be lifted, and I will kill the dhampir hunter."

It was a deal with the devil, no denying it. If they agreed to this bargain, then the city would be indebted to the vampire. He already ruled over this place, however, no matter what illusions Rodham might present to the people. This was their only way of resolving the issue, and getting rid of that damn hunter. "Get rid of the dhampir," Rodham stated through clenched teeth. "Their kind aren't wanted around here."

Oh, indeed. "Not without the leash of their vampire sires on their neck, I agree." Reidai chuckled and motioned for the men to get out of his way. Fortunately for them, they were smart enough to do so. "Go now to the Rans' farm and take them into custody. I will challenge the dhampir and kill him, mayor. After that, you are to deliver the Rans to the castle before dawn."

With that, he left, leaving the mayor and his men to resume the discussion, However, now it was on how they would rally the town to storm the farm, bring out the hunter, and capture the Rans to hand them over to the vampire. Reidai allowed himself a prideful laugh as he left city hall. Humans like these politicians were concerned only with saving their own hides, and if someone else took the fall for them, all the better. So easy to predict and to manipulate. It was no wonder the vampires had ruled before. Mortals were at large such stupid creatures that they could not survive without the nobility to guide and control them.

The gauntlet shifted minutely while D slept. The barriers were on, set to full, yet Varda could feel that something was wrong. He could hear something approach the farm. Who would be coming here at this hour from the town, though?

"D," he whispered. The hunter was still asleep. Damnation, that boy could be a heavy sleeper at the worst possible times. "D!" the gauntlet demon now screamed. "Get your ass up!"

A groan as the dunpeal blindly swat about and finally grabbed a boot which was summarily tossed at Varda. "Shut the hell up," he growled. "I'm trying to get some sleep."

Oh yeah, this was definitely the smart-mouthed punk he knew. Now was not the time for it though. "D, someone is coming to the farm from the town, and they do not sound friendly!"

That got the hunter out of bed. He shook his head, trying to wake up more before he pulled his boots on, locked his armor onto his body, then grabbed Varda and slipped the gauntlet onto his left arm. "Daniel!" he cried, now heading down the hallway and stopping at the stairs. No time for his coat, but his force gun was quickly slipped into the harness just under his arm. "Daniel, Iria, we've got trouble!"

He could hear the yells of anger now. D turned and saw a series of torchlights approaching. Eyes shifting to feline form, he could see that a mob was coming up from the town, and at the head of the mob was Rodham. "What the hell does that idiot think he's doing?" the dunpeal hissed. He looked back up the stairs to see Daniel and Iria coming down, armed and ready. His own eyes shifted back to normal while he looked to the oldest of the Ran siblings. "Iria, you wake up Catherine and keep her safe." That crimson gaze shifted to Daniel now. "Daniel, stay at the front door. I don't know what that fatass bureaucrat is up to, but I don't like this."

The young man nodded as he followed D to the door. The hunter threw the door open and drew his firearm in time to see Rodham and several armed men standing just on the other side of the barrier. "What the hell do you want, Rodham!"

"Lower the barrier!" the mayor ordered. One of the men cocked his shotgun while another aimed the rifle in his hands. "The Rans are to turn themselves over to us, and you are to get the hell out of our town, dhampir!"

A low growl rumbled from in his chest. Being called a dhampir was bad enough, but how the hell had Rodham found out he was a half-breed? "Don't you dare insult me like that," D hissed angrily. His own force gun came up, now set to full charge. "The Rans and I are going nowhere, not until I've killed Tremere!"

A nod from the mayor sent a pair of men out to the barrier fence. In their hands were explosives, and if those were set off near the generators, it wouldn't matter if the barrier was active or not. "Either shut down the barrier and allow this to proceed easily," Rodham stated, "Or we will shut it down."

There was no way to win. Somehow, Rodham had found out about his own half-blood nature. But how? He'd never given any signs of his heritage as a half-vampire, and there were so many supernaturals who had the power to shift their eyes like he had in front of the mayor. Someone had told Rodham, only instead of the truth, they told him that he was a dhampir. Certainly Catherine hadn't, she didn't dare go into town since she'd been bitten, nor would she betray his trust. Hell, she hadn't even told her own family yet.

Tremere. The vampire warlord had sent someone to tell Rodham of his half-breed nature and work the village into a frenzy. No doubt that in exchange for that vital information, Tremere had demanded the Rans as payment for safety from his wrath. Well, like hell D was going to concede defeat. "Blow those generators," he stated, aiming his weapon directly at Rodham, "and the first round from this will blow your head open like a tomato, you self-righteous coward."

That was enough to stop the men holding the explosives. D breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn't have to look back to know that Daniel was very afraid of this whole situation. Now the whole town was out to get rid of them. Hell be damned if this job didn't keep getting more and more annoyingly difficult.

The barrier suddenly went out. No one had blown the fence generators, so why had the barriers failed so suddenly? That question wasn't what mattered now; the town was coming toward them again. D backed away to protect Daniel, ready to fire at the first person who tried to attack. "All of you, back the fuck off!" he screamed. When one of the riflemen aimed his gun and fired, D was a split-second faster in pulling the trigger. That same rippling blast shot out of the gun, disrupted the energy burst from the rifle, and slammed into the man, causing him to explode into a spray of blood and internal organs. "I mean it!" The gun quickly readied for another shot, aimed once more at Rodham. "All of you get the fuck away from here, because I will not hesitate to protect these three!"

Yes. Sometimes lethal force was the only way to get people to listen, because the advancing mob came to a halt the moment that D had blown apart that first assailant. They couldn't back away immediately, but given the time, they'd withdraw. So he hoped, at least.

There was a laugh now, from deep in the crowd. A flash and a tall man with red-streaked grey hair flew over the crowd, landing just in front of Rodham. He chuckled while rising up and looking right at D. "Bravo," he said, clapping his hands for a few moments before flashing a grin. "Very well played, dhampir."

Once more did a furious growl come up from D's chest. His force gun was aimed right at Reidai now. Without a doubt, this was how Rodham had learned of his half-vampire heritage; Reidai had told him. There was some bargain that had been made between the thrall and the mayor and it didn't take took much to guess was it was; Reidai got rid of the hunter, the town handed the Rans over to Tremere. "I should have known you were behind this," D hissed to his enemy. He slowly holstered the force gun, since splattering the thrall all over the mob wouldn't do much good. It would be better to kill him the old fashioned way. "Your master the one who set all this up?"

A grin to flash his canines. "Very clever." Reidai's right hand came up to grip the handle of the sword that was strapped to his back. "By Tremere's authority," he called out so that everyone could hear him. "I have made a bargain with the leaders of Runsalva! I kill the dhampir, they shall deliver the Rans, alive, to my master!"

D clenched his left fist. "And what if I kill you?"

A shrug. "Then they leave you all be." Now there was an arrogant gleam in Reidai's eyes as he pulled the sword out and slammed the blade to the ground. "But I seriously doubt you can beat me, dhampir."

With the farm lights now on, D could see the blade of the broadsword; as rusted as it was old, but not all the red spots on that weapon was rust. There was centuries old dry blood on there, blood he knew, just as well as he knew this sword. His eyes went wide as he recognized it, and all the anger he'd tried to hold back, all the pain he'd tried to forget from four hundred years ago came back. This wasn't just some duel between a thrall and a vampire hunter; it was a challenge, and whether Tremere knew it or not, sending this blade to his servant was an insult rivaled only by D's ingrained hatred of being called a dhampir.

His eyes shifted into slits as the two-and-a-half foot long blade erupted out from his gauntlet. Even Reidai took a step back upon seeing the rage that was burning in D's eyes. "Did your master tell you who I am?" he spat while taking a step toward Reidai. "Did he tell you why that sword is important!"

The thrall frowned and raised the sword. "It's wrought iron," he replied. Yes, D was hesitating now. Maybe there was some kind of dhampir weakness to iron that he hadn't learned about before. What a perfect time to test it out. "You fear iron, don't you?" The hunter was cautiously backing away. Confirmation of his theory. "You're afraid of iron, aren't you, dhampir!"

"D!" Varda hissed. The demon could feel Reidai's eyes staring at it in shock, but now was not the time to try and hide secrets like this. "D, he's trying to goade you into this, stop losing your cool every time some asshat calls you a dhampir!"

The dunpeal tightening his fist. "This isn't about that," he growled to his companion. "That sword...Arkhm used that sword to kill everyone I cared about, pinned my brother to a wall through the neck with that god damn piece of shit!"

The demonic face blinked. He had never known about this part of his owner's past. "Oh shit," Varda whispered as he realized nothing was going to calm D down now. Crowd out for blood to back him up or not, Reidai was going to learn why it was a very bad idea to piss this particular half-breed off. "You know how I normally tell you to keep a level head about things?" The demon suddenly narrowed his eyes and grinned while the blade extended out another six inches. "For this one, forget I ever said that, and rip this clotsucker a new one."

The gauntlet clad left hand came up, shining a reflection of light off the wide blade. D narrowed his eyes at Reidai, then finally flashed a vicious grin and let his fangs extend out. "I hope you are ready to burn in Hell," the hunter stated coldly. A flash of light in his eyes, and he raced toward the thrall, golden blade coming down to defend just as Reidai attempted an upward swing. Right arm coming around, D brought his fist crashing into the thrall's face, causing the man to stumble back. The gauntlet blade was narrowly parried by the iron sword, sparks crackling as Reidai brought his weapon up and scraped the golden edge of Varda.

With a roar, the thrall swung, blade cutting only air while D retracted the gauntlet blade and dipped back to flip away. Feet on the ground, he raised the gauntlet in time to catch a slash, blade extending out to a full three feet again. A wicked grin was on his lips as D leapt up and brought his right foot slamming into Reidai's head, landing and spinning to bright his left crashing into the man's ribs. There was a meaty smack as the solid blow connected, causing Reidai to stumble aside. This hunter didn't seem at all one bit tired, but how?

Another swing with the broadsword was deflected away by D's own gauntlet blade. The hunter brought his right fist around to backhand Reidai, then stuck the man square in the chest with a kick that sent him flying back into the ground. Sadly, that didn't even seem to slow the thrall down, because he got back to his feet, sword in hand while a wooden stake was now drawn from in his boot. "I'm going to cut your throat, dhampir," the thrall hissed angrily. "And then I'm going to drive this stake right through your heart to make sure you're dead!"

D didn't even dignify that with an answer. He simply brought up his now open left hand to unleash a volley of lightning that caught Reidai's own left hand and forced him to drop the stake. A second volley was blocked by the iron sword, channeled aside by the blade. The gauntlet blade was brought up to parry a thrust, now catching Reidai in the leg with a quick slice. The thrall yelled out, turning sharply to see D standing there, face completely neutral while he raised the gauntlet to reveal the blood now on its blade edge. This wasn't arrogance the hunter was displaying; it was confidence, pure and undeniable confidence. He knew that he could tear his enemy to pieces, and he was holding back. Why?

"You're not taking this seriously," the hunter calmly stated while Reidai raised his sword up to ready posture. "You're acting like this is a game, like you believe you could kill me any time you want." D reached up to pull back the hair covering his ears, revealing their pointed ends. "And you seem to be under the delusion that I'm a dhampir."

"You are a dhampir!" Reidai screamed. There was nothing else this freak of nature could be, regardless of all his claims to the contrary. "None of this 'dunpeal' bullshit, boy! You're the son of a vampire, born to some human whore, and the blood in your veins is filthy from your human mother!"

Those crimson eyes brightened into a maddening red color. His fangs extended as full as they could, no more hiding his vampire blood. D let out a roar as he charged at Reidai, slamming the blade of that iron sword away even as it was coming up to strike. Driving the blade of his gauntlet right through the thrall's chest, D only growled while Reidai coughed blood out onto his face. The dunpeal didn't care though. He could feel the burning sting that was the wound inflicted from the iron blade. He'd parried it, but so sloppily that it had cut his face, and the smoke coming from the wound was very visible. It didn't matter though. Reidai lost his grip on the weapon, dropping it to the ground while his own blood poured down the length of Varda's blade, dripping off onto the soil.

Another cough spattered more blood on D's face. "What are you?" the thrall asked weakly. "You're no dhampir...who are you?"

It was then that D shoved Reidai off the blade of his gauntlet and brought his blazing eyes up to stare down the townspeople. Foremost in his attention was Rodham himself, the man who had organized this damn mob. "Tremere's puppet is dead," he hissed angrily. Kneeling down, D picked up the sword by the handle and returned his gaze to the mayor. "You doubt me after seeing that, then send in the next idiot who wants to fuck with me!"

No one moved or spoke. For several long minutes, the crowd was silent. Those that had seen what happened couldn't believe the furious raw power that this hunter possessed, yet instead of assuring them that he would kill the vampire, it only served to frighten them even more. Such power could only be that of a monster. Yet no one wanted to risk sharing the thrall's fate. What else could they do but let this hunter do his job and pray that he left the area afterwards?

The tip of the gauntlet blade came up and pointed to Rodham. "If you ever even think of making a deal like this with the vampire again," D hissed angrily, eyes shining the color of blood, "I will personally hunt you down and rip your throat out, do you understand me, you son of a bitch!"

The mayor stumbled back, frightened to death of this young man. "Perfectly," he whispered before pushing his way through the crowd, wanting desperately to get away from the hunter. Seconds later, the townspeople themselves withdrew back to the city. This single hunter had frightened them almost as much as the vampire lord did.

With a sigh, D's eyes returned to normal. The blood staining Varda was quickly absorbed into the gauntlet, leaving not even a trac. With his eyes turning to Reidai's corpse, D considered allowing Varda to consume the body, then opted to decided later. Right now, he needed to restore the barrier and find out what shorted it out. He walked around to the generator after checking the barrier fencing for damage only to find none. As he's suspected, there was a small device lodged in the power generator that had caused the short. The thralls must have put it there last time just in case of such an event like this. D pried the device out and used Varda's lightning powers to once more jumpstart the generator, then walked around to the front yard. Daniel was still standing there, mouth agape in shock and horror at what he'd just seen happen, and no doubt what he'd heard.

There was no use in trying to make excuses. D walked over, picked up the thrall's corpse, then headed around to the stable where his motorcycle waited for him. He tied the body to the vehicle with some rope, then got into the driver seat and slipped his helmet on. Engine powered and ready, D pushed the right pedal to engage the drives and drove out of the stable to head off down the road toward the castle. Dawn was still hours away, so Tremere would still be awake to see the delivery of his deceased servant and of this damn sword.

An hour later, he finally arrived. D got out, eyes adjusted for the dark early morning sky, and untied Reidai's corpse from his motorcycle. He carried it over to the edge of the chasm and threw the body to the ground, now looking up at the towers of the castle. "Tremere!" No answer. Not unexpected. If he was right, the vampire didn't at all recognize who his enemy was, who he had been.

"Arkhm!" D screamed. The single word echoed over the valley, no one in the castle could have not heard it. For a minute, there was still no reply. But then D saw a light appear in the watch tower. His eyes shifted, vision increasing to see the face of the man who had destroyed his life. No doubt Tremere was doing the same to see him. There was surprise on that face, surprise to hear that name spoken, that someone knew him by that name. "I brought back your trash, Arkhm!" D threw the sword to the ground. Indignation was now appearing on the vampire's face, he could see it. Good, all the better to really get his attention. "I've had enough of your games, you son of a bitch! You destroyed my life four hundred years ago, and now it's time for me to return the favor!"

His message now delivered, D returned to his motorcycle and departed. As soon as the hunter was gone, the bridge lowered and Grigori ran out to where Reidai's body lay. It only took a moment for the dhampir to see that his underling was indeed dead. He hadn't believed it possible, but even the aid of their master had not been enough to help Reidai defeat the half-breed hunter. Who was this dunpeal, how was he so skilled and powerful that a thrall with over a century of training and experience could be so brutally defeated?

As Grigori stood, he turned to see his father standing behind him. The dhampir was quiet, then bent down to pick up the iron sword from the ground. "I will kill him for this insult," he spat angrily. "No one mocks us like this, father."

The vampire only nodded. He glanced to his minions and gave them a glare which signaled for them to take Reidai's body into the castle. He was still silent when his attention turned to the road that the hunter had departed on. "He's no ordinary dunpeal," Tremere said at last, eyes narrowing. "He knows me somehow, knows me by a name I haven't gone by in centuries."

Those ice blue eyes turned to Grigori. "When the night returns," he hissed to his son, "go to the farm and kill him with my sword. Avenge Nore and Reidai, make this half-breed scum pay for defying our authority, and bring me my bride. Once you have done this, you shall become a full vampire, and the human blood within your veins shall be purged from you."

The dhampir nodded and turned to look out into the forest. Soon enough he would challenge the dunpeal, prove himself better, and kill the half-breed who defied the vampire lords of the world. Once that was done, he'd take the girl and her sister, bring them back to the castle, and once he had been granted immortality, he would in turn claim the older sister as his own. Perhaps as a victory prize, he would take that gauntlet the hunter wore, or better yet, his head.

Tomorrow night would indeed be a night to forever remember.