Sorry it took so long, my computer blew up so I had to get a new one. But I'm back now and with a new chapter for you so enjoy:

I find it kinda funny,

I find it kinda sad,

The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had.

The sound of mellow guitar music awoke Tara the next morning and she got out of bed, her whole body was aching from the training the day before. She went out into the living room to see Merrick sitting on the floor with a guitar singing softly.

"I didn't know you played,"

Merrick looked up at her and smiled.

"I've been around for 8000 years Tara, there's not much I can't do."

She sat down opposite him cross legged like a child at story time and grinned widely.

"Play something for me," she made big puppy dog eyes and Merrick chuckled softly. He plucked his string a few times to make sure it was tuned properly and began playing.

Well I heard there was a sacred chord

Thad David played and it pleased the lord

but you don't really care for music, do you?

It goes like this:

the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift

The baffled king composes hallelujah

Tara smiled with recognition, she knew this one and joined in.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Well your faith was strong but you needed proof

you saw her bathing on the roof

her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you.

She tied you to her kitchen chair

she broke your throne and she cut your hair

and from your lips she drew the hallelujah.

They sang the song the whole way through together and when they finished they were slightly breathless because they ended up singing as loudly as they could.

"You have an incredible voice," Merrick said as he put his guitar away.

"Thanks, you're not bad yourself," she smiled, but her smile fell to a frown as the thought of singing stirred up a nagging at the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite place it. Merrick saw this and decided it wuld be a good time to cut in.

"Hey you'd better get some breakfast or something, you got a long day ahead of you."

Tara snapped out of her deep stupor and looked up at Merrick, she had an unnerving feeling that he knew something more than he let on, that it was something he really didn't want her to find out.

"Yeah, sure." She went out to the kitchen and busied herself making something for breakfast. Merrick watched her leave the room and walked over to the window and drew back the curtains, the harsh southern Californian sunlight pouring into his eyes. He squinted slightly and allowed his eyes to get used to the light and looked around, it was then he saw the figure. There was a cloaked figure standing on the roof of the adjacent building looking directly at him, but Merrick blinked and in that fraction of a moment the figure was gone. Any other person would have dismissed it as a figment of their imagination, or a trick of the light but Merrick knew himself well enough to know he didn't imagine things like that and nothing played tricks on his eyes.

Merrick hurriedly scanned the surrounding area and the other rooftops and saw nothing, he opened the window and hung out scanning the floor below but saw no sign of the mysterious figure. Whoever it was was fast.

Tara came out of the kitchen with a cup of tea and saw Merrick hanging out the window.

"What the hell are you doing?" Merrick jumped and lifted himself back into the room, banging his head on the window on the way in.

"I saw-" he turned back to look out the window and turned back "Never mind. Hurry up with that, we have work to do."

When Tara finished her tea Merrick took her out to the hall and they began to climb the stairs when Merrick stopped.

"Back down." This was a direct order and not a request, Tara did as she was told and when they were at the foot of the stairs Merrick turned to her.

"You know one of the most important things in combat is to not get tired, if you get tired you lose your concentration and if you lose your concentration you die. I want you to run up these stairs all the way to the roof and back down again. On my mark, go!"

Tara looked at him stupidly but he had produced a stopwatch from somewhere and had already started it so she took off up the stairs. She had barely gone up three flights when she felt the tell tale pain in her side, she was developing what people refer to as a 'stitch', what was actually happening was that she was not taking in enough oxygen to keep her muscles going so her body was sending more oxygenated blood to the muscles in her legs and less to the organs that didn't need to much at the moment and so they sent messages of pain to her brain telling her to stop because they weren't getting enough oxygen.

She finally reached the roof and practically collapsed into the door, pushing it open, she was temporarily blinded by the light that poured through to her face and she collapsed against the door frame trying to catch her breath. She then realised she had to go down too and started on the return journey, almost falling several times. When she finally reached the bottom and collapsed to her knees Merrick clicked his stopwatch and knelt down in front of her.

"That was pathetic, do it again." She looked up at him in disbelief "I'm serious."

Tara struggled to her feet and started off up the stairs once more barely dragging herself along this time and feeling like she was about to pass out. Suddenly Merrick was at her side urging her to continue though she could barely hear him. When she finally reached the roof she went straight out the door and fell to her knees and spoke to Merrick between pants.

"I'm... going... to..." Merrick put a bucket in front of her just in time and she threw up her entire breakfast into it and collapsed on the floor.

Merrick knelt down next to her and brushed her drenched hair off her face.

"Your cardio sucks, you wouldn't last two minutes in a fight against a vampire."

Tara tried to reply but no words came out, she rolled over onto her back and looked up at the sky.

When she had finally regained her breath they went into Merrick's dojo and trained, he threw her and let her throw him. He tought her to punch and showed her how to use a stake properly, this wet on until sunset and then Merrick stopped them.

"Go clean up and get changed into something loose and sensible, we're going out."

Tara went back to the flat and had a shower and changed and came out to find Merrick dressed all in black with his hair in a pony tail.

"We're going hunting." Tara's eyes widened in surprise.

"A-a—are you s-s-sure I'm read-d-dy?"

"I have no idea, but this is one way to find out, besides I'll do most of the work, all you have to do is watch and back me up."

They left and walked around the crowded L.A. Streets for a while before Merrick turned down an alley where two men had another pinned against a wall.

"Here take this," he handed her a stake which she clutched tightly in both hands and advanced forward with him.

Merrick whistled and all three men turned to look at him, the two who were doing the pinning had distorted faces and large fangs. Merrick threw his stake at one of them and it found it's target, the vamp subsequently bursting into flames. He then turned to the guy who now looked very scared indeed.

"Get out of here kid." The man wasted no time in complying and ran like wildfire from the alley. Merrick then turned to the remaining vamp who was circling looking for an opportunity to attack.

"Do you really wanna do this? I mean I would tear you apart without a problem, but her," he pointed to Tara "easy meat." Tara looked at Merrick in shock.

The vamp smiled and ran straight past Merrick who made no attempt to stop him, Tara backed away slightly and dropped her stake on the floor. The vamp gabbed her a threw her against the wal, she tried to hold him back but he was too strong and he sank his fangs into her neck, her eyes widened and she screamed out in pain.

TBC