A/N: Thanks again for the reviews! Sorry it took me so long to update this… Got a little busy. But chapter four is coming soon! Please continue to R+R.

Chapter Three: Venatus (The Chase)

The room was completely silent for a moment. Her breathing echoed in her ears, and she could swear she heard the pounding of her own heart. "Excuse me?" she demanded, her voice louder than she'd intended.

Nero didn't flinch. "A vampire. I need you to find me one."

Rubellia looked to Marcus, whose eyes were focused on her. "Rubellia-"

"He knows? He knows and you knew…" She shook her head. "How? I thought-"

"It's not important. What is important is that you find me what I need," Nero said.

"I don't understand."

"I am the emperor of Rome. You think there are things in this city, in this world, that escape my knowledge?"

She breathed in deeply; her eyes squeezed shut, and stayed that way for just a moment. Then she opened them and nodded decisively. "Are you looking for a specific vampire, or will just any one do?"

"That's the spirit." Nero leaned back and popped a grape into his mouth. "A specific one. He is calling himself Lucius. It may have been his name in mortal life, or perhaps just one he has adopted. It doesn't really matter. I need you to bring him to me."

"Why do you want him?"

"In the service of your emperor, you should not question."

"Forgive my insolence, Caesar," she murmured.

He stared at her for a moment, unblinking and hard, then smiled, voice warming as he clasped his hands together. "We both want the same thing: to destroy these creatures that prey on our people. You are their chosen protector, Rubellia, but so am I."

She nodded. As Nero's smile grew, so did the uneasy feeling in her stomach. It could come to no good. She knew it already.

"So we're decided then. Brilliant."

"And how am I supposed to find this Lucius? The city's full of vampires."

"This one isn't the most subtle of creatures. He isn't hard to find." Nero removed a small scroll from the folds of his toga. "This is where he will be tomorrow night. I just need you to fetch him."

Again, Rubellia bit down on her tongue. She wasn't an errand girl, even if that errand was to collect vampires. But more than that, this plan of his left her with a bad taste in her mouth. There was something off, and the taste wouldn't quite go away, like bile rising in her throat. The sweet strawberries and cream served for dessert didn't help. But she held her tongue until they were home. Until they had both stripped off the formal evening clothes and were dressed in the attire that was the norm for their evenings, and had met back in Marcus' study.

He didn't give her a chance to explode; as soon as she entered the room, he said quickly, "I swear, Rubellia, I didn't know."

"Well, you didn't look at all surprised, Marcus. You must have had some hint."

"I suspected that he would ask for your help-"

"Ask? Nero doesn't ask," she snapped. "We don't even know what he wants with this vampire."

Marcus shook his head, ran a hand through his hair. "He wasn't terribly forthcoming, was he?"

"I suppose the emperor of Rome is above explanations." She seemed to have ran out of steam; her body just felt tired, and she dropped into the chair nearest to her. "How long has he known?"

"He has always known, as the powerful men of Rome before him."

"So my dark secret isn't so secret then?" she asked, a breathy chuckle slipping out. "No less dark though."

"I recommend you go after this Lucius as soon as possible. I doubt your esteemed cousin likes to wait."

"He never did." She stood and nodded to him. "Good night, Marcus."

The Subura was a rank place, the fetid stench of decay and filth hanging off of the men and women who bustled along the streets. This part of Rome was never silent, not even at the darkest hours of night. This night was no exception and Rubellia was ready for a fight, be it with the mysterious Lucius or any other hapless demon that wandered too near her. It had been too long since she had had a really good fight, fists flying, blood spurting- out of the demon, of course. The different colors always made for interesting stains.

Thoughts like that would never go over well at Nero's dinner parties, no matter how well versed in demon lore he thought himself.

The Subura was rife with tiny alleys and niches, and it was almost hard to find the right one. But she heard the commotion from the main street, even if the noise was slight. A small, stifled cry, the growl of an animal more feral than any lion in the games. She ran into the alley, pulling a stake from the satchel slung across her shoulder.

Lucius was exactly where Nero had said he would be, which unnerved her more than the vampire's blood stained mouth did.

He must have been young when he was turned, because his body was slim, compact, and he was barely her height. Obviously never in the army. Or perhaps he wasn't Roman at all and have traveled to Italy after his turning, and adopted the Roman name once inside the city. It wasn't as if any of it mattered.

She was too late to save the woman he had killed. The vampire dropped the body as she entered the alley. She watched the woman fall. Thick dark hair and a filmy blue stola pooled around her. Not a whore. A wife, maybe a mother. She felt the rage start to build.

She raised her stake automatically. He smiled, bloody fangs and lips leering at her. "Slayer. I didn't expect you."

"I expected you."

"Did you now?" he asked. Not taking his eyes off of her, he kneeled down at next to the body and ripped the necklace from around the woman's neck.

"A souvenir?" She slowly slipped the stake back in her bag, and stepped forward.

He lost his grin, and slipped into a fighting stance. The change was subtle, a shift of his left foot as he tucked the necklace into the pouch at his side. "If I had known the Slayer was so vigilant, I may have waited to come to the city until after you were dead."

"But you didn't. Your mistake."

"You're just a girl."

"And you're just a vampire."

He hit her before the word had left her mouth.

TBC