The runners sped up as they came upon the path through the park. They were a group of five, suits from the same office who had taken to running together once a week after work. They took the same path each time and always as they came to the long shadows of the tree lined paths something animal in them drove their legs faster. Darkness could hide such monsters of the imagination that each man felt the breath of the hunter on his back as he sped along the tarmac between the pools of electric light. Then there was the unspoken sense of relief and the vague childish embarrassment as the group hit the busy town streets again, monsters banished by the bright lights and bustle of civilisation.

The man that stood in the streetlight halfway through their route was out of the runner's normal routine. They were diligent workers, they never left the office until evening was well underway and the park was almost empty. As one the five men slowed the same uneasy feeling creeping into their subconscious. The man stood facing them and each runner had a clear view of him as they approached. He was tall and broad shouldered, dressed in hooded sweats and running shoes. His uncovered head entirely bald with a face that was lined with thin scars culminating in a light puckering of his top lip on one side as if his mouth had at some time past been slit open towards his nose. One eye was closed sloping slightly inwards while the other seemed to shine in the artificial light. Each man felt the fear rising without knowing why, each felt his legs slowing with every step they took towards the stranger. By the time they had come to the edge of the pool of light the man occupied the group had almost come to a halt. The man smiled.

"Come here." He said, he voice deep and heavily accented. "And remember nothing."

Others began to emerged from the darkness beyond the pool of light. Four women and two men came slowly into the light. One, a man with sandy blonde hair carrying a guitar case over one shoulder, laughed when he saw the runners.

"Them again?" He said jovially putting down the instrument and flicking his long hair away from his face. "I thought you were joking last month when you said we'd be having them again Fiske."

"They should have recovered by now Jordan and I said we would need to be sure of a good meal tonight. We will move on to another location before morning and I want us to be well fed when we do so."

The other man, dark haired and unsmiling stayed at the back of the group watching the darkness.

"I can smell drugs on the one with the red shorts this time. Used within the past few days." He said his voice low and unemotional.

"Well done Bow I was hoping one of you would sense him. We will not be in need of him today I think." Said Fiske smiling to reveal one missing canine. The man in the red shorts moved to one side as if responding to some unspoken command.

The women moved into the light. They came slowly waiting for the one in their centre as she walked heavily between them, her cream top swelling markedly as it passed over her abdomen. Vespera smiled as she caught Fiske's eyes skimming the outline of her swollen pregnancy.

"You are staring again." She teased her lifemate over their private link. "We will never complete tonight's lessons if you spend your all your time staring at us."

"It is hard not to look at you my heart." Said Fiske "It is hard not to look at her growing within you. I still cannot believe how much has changed and how quickly. But you are right we should start the lesson soon, our time is short and I have much to go over before we depart here."

"There is still time. We are learning so quickly." Vespera said a hand stroking her belly. "A year ago we barely knew how to feed ourselves or each other."

"You are learning." Agreed Fiske hesitantly "But there is still so much more to know."

"You are agitated?" Vespera noted concern in her thoughts.

"I will feel more comfortable when we are in my country with the protection of my people around us." Acknowledged Fiske. "We are a rich prize for our enemies at the moment and although Bow and Jordan fight with tenacity I would not want to test them against a vampire with a wealth of experience at his command."

"You shouldn't discount the power of determination in a fight or Angel." Noted Vespera

"I do not discount either my heart. I just do not wish to put our luck to the test, or Angel's self-control." Replied Fiske. Without another word he brought the remaining runners closer to them.

As the group drifted into pairs to feed Angel stood out alone among them. This was one of the first lessons Fiske had taught them, how to call and calm their prey while they fed and wipe the memory of the act from their victims mind. Normally the controlled routine of feeding relaxed her but tonight it made her feel agitated and restless. It was all she could do to keep the man under her influence and when she finally released him she could feel the unease at the back of his mind. Something was bothering her beyond the usual horrors of her nightmares. She could feel something remote at the back of her mind, a sensation quick as thought that she couldn't pin down or trace. It was like an itch she was unable to reach, always present but maddeningly indiscernible.

It was perhaps her unease that made her aware of the movements somewhere among the trees around them. Even with her night vision the shapes seemed indistinct and somehow unreal. She opened her mind to the others but they were already becoming aware of the threat. Angel felt the rage grow as the things came closer. She had wanted a fight ever since she had awoke that evening. Now she was going to get one.