Jonno twitched at the sound of a rat scuttling along the floor. His hands trembled above his signature stakes and a sleek pistol. All he could hear was the drip of moisture on the walls and the rustle of rodents. But somewhere beneath his skin, and in the hairs on the back of his neck… He could sense a vampire.

With careful and slow steps, he patrolled the tunnel system.

Since the supposed "death" of the Chosen One the Guild had been restored to it's former glory. Meaning that the recruits were back to fighting for their lives every night. Jonno was once more respected and the Guild was feared again. Vampires hid in their fortresses like ostriches with their heads in the sand.

But ghosts were chasing Jonno. One in particular. Vladimir Dracula.

The vampire was as impossible to destroy as his everlasting faith in peace. But if he was truly alive, and without those morals that had so defined him... Jonno had reason to fear.

The voice on the phone had been so cold. There was the same intonation and inflections but a grisly roughness and the icy hiss of a predator. The roughness was an unmistakable side-effect from the argentalium treatment. Vlad had screamed himself hoarse.

It made Jonno worry if the Guild was any better than the vampires anymore.

A crash further down the tunnel jolted the slayer out of his pondering. He took a deep breath, switched on the torch on his weapon and readied himself for a fight. Now was not the time to let Vlad haunt him; he didn't need any more vampires in this tunnel.

The silence became ominous. Shadows started to move and Jonno's grip tightened as he neared the end.

Then.

A figure.

And sound. Rhythmic crunching of gravel and ragged breathing. Followed by a lanky shadow hurtling down the tunnel. Pursued by a blurred faster shape.

Jonno sprinted to meet them, arming the UV pistol as he went.

The vampire snatched the teenager by the throat so they were a shield between them. "What are you going to do, Slayer?"

Her victim was trembling, his eyes wide, pleading without words. He looked like Vlad the last time Jonno had seen him – a pale adolescent begging with his eyes for a chance. The slayer shook his compassion off and levelled his weapon at the vampire's head.

"Let him go, he's just a kid." As if a vampire would ever do that. Except Vlad. But it was long known that there had to be something deeply wrong with a vampire capable of compassion.

His opponent sneered over the shoulder of her captive. "Your little peashooter doesn't scare me. And this one looks so delicious..." White teeth shimmered close to the boy's neck, urging his finger onto the trigger.

Jonno tightened his grip on the pistol. He'd just have to finish it with the kid around. "Close your eyes." He said to the teenager.

Obediently a pair of eyes were squeezed shut. The teenager thought Jonno was going to shoot him. He pulled the trigger.

A supernova of light burst from barrel of Jonno's weapon. Concentrated UV directed at the vampire reduced her to ash before she had time to scream. Once the dust hit the floor the slayer shut off the pure sunlight.

The now-unrestrained teenager cracked an eye open. His face and neck now had a considerable tan. He took a step away from Jonno. "Thanks… I think." And another, and another until he was running away from the slayer.

With a sigh Jonno dropped the weapon to his side. It was so much worse when they had a victim. Either they failed to save them or the victim was left with the knowledge they weren't alone in the world. And the knowledge often led to them becoming slayers. He relaxed against the wall, allowing his chest to rise and fall with the beat of his heart.

"Fantastic save." The sharp sarcastic drawl came from the left.

Jonno jumped out of his skin. "Ohfu-" Ingrid smirked at him as he swung his weapon back up sharply.

"I thought slayers weren't supposed to be scared of anything. Oh put it down." She snatched the barrel of the UV gun and yanked it from Jonno's hands. "I'm not here to fight." Her eyes glittered eerily in the darkness. "And it would be in your best interest to listen."

"I was gonna come back!"

The Dracula house awoke to shouting, to be exact – Mir's shouting.

"Did it say that in the note you didn't leave me?"

The vampire in question winced. "It was important, Cheyenne." This was his memories! It held the answers to everything, even if it wasn't what he'd wanted, or expected.

That didn't cut it for his girlfriend. "I asked you to stay! I was kidnapped Mir! Imprisoned because of my connection to you and when I begged you to stay you said you would!" Cheyenne gave a deep sigh. "I thought I meant something to you."

"Shit, Chey, you know you do!"

Again she sighed. "You're just so impulsive. I bet you didn't even think about it. And Erin's probably there with you."

Mir's silence was all the affirmative she needed.

"Tell me where you are."

"It's fine Chey – I'll be back in a-"

"No. Tell me the address."

"Chey..."

"Mir!"

"Fine, Garside Grange Lancashire."

"I'll see you soon." Cheyenne said coldly and hung up.

Erin yawned causing Mir to glance sharply in her direction. "What a handful. That's the problem with dating humans. Always want something." He raised an eyebrow at her venomous tone. "They want you to be devoted to them, want to survive the relationship and..." The female vampire shrugged. "They don't want you to eat them."

Mir smirked. "You were human once."

"So were you."

Her comment startled Mir. He'd considered the fact that he might have been human first. What jarred him was that he didn't feel like there was anything human in him. All he was was a dark dark hole with an insatiable hunger and the feeling of emptiness.

He gazed at Erin and she shifted under the weight of his stare. "What was I like?"

"As a human? I don't know. Never knew you then."

"But I knew you when you were human. Ingrid called you a slayer."

The vampiress laughed softly. "You know that telepathy-on-drugs thing you have going is so annoying." She carefully studied his reaction. "Yeah, I was a slayer. All the title really did was guarantee I wouldn't leave this house alive."

"Is that why you hate me? I turned you into a traitor?" Suddenly the vampiress became aware of how intently Mir was watching her.

"I don't-" Erin stopped herself with a sigh. "I was already a traitor. And it turns out a bad slayer can be a pretty good vampire." She suddenly realised what she was saying. And how much Mir's big blue eyes resembled Vlad's. Leaping to her feet she scowled. "To be honest I don't really want to do the touchy feely thing with anyone, especially you."

Then Erin proceeded run away, before she told him anything else compromising.