They walked like the men they had once been but any sense of humanity had long since vanished from their tainted forms. The zombies stumbled as nerves and muscles long dead struggled to move their legs along the ground and raise arms incomplete of hands and digits. There were about ten so far but Angle could see further movements in the darkness beyond.

"There will be a vampire nearby." Fiske's voice came calm and steady over their communal pathway. "He will want the women, these are merely a distraction."

"I'd hate to see what he does for an encore." Said Jordan passing his beloved guitar to Sophia.

Angel saw the men fan out ready to meet the threat, Sophia and Serenity came to stand calmly by Vespera, calling the prone runners to them. If worst came to the worst Serenity would take the women as far away as she could manage to a place Sophia deemed as safe, those were the sister's gifts, honed inexplicable by their change to Carpathian form. Now it was time to use her own amplified gift. She alone out of all the women would fight alongside the men, she alone could.

She recalled what Fiske had told them the first time they had encountered the undead one of which Fiske had kept for a night to teach them.

"They are not people anymore but the puppets of their master." He had begun. "Feel no pity for them, do not show them mercy, they will show you none. The human within them whether good or bad had departed, only what evil the vampire has imparted now lives in this shell. It has been created to kill you or if necessary subdue you for its master. It is very strong but very stupid and in order to work most vampires will have them attacked in groups. Do not let them surround you, do not let them overwhelm you, do not let them distract you. Break their limbs or their neck and then burn them to ashes, but remember the vampire will be looking for an opportunity to attack as well. He will have wasted a lot of effort on these creatures, he will want to reap some reward however small rather than flee empty handed."

Two of the horde seemed to have focused their attention on her as she came to the edge of the circle of light. There was no hesitation in their loping gait, they simply half changed direction what remained of their eyes focused on her, the decaying arms outstretched. Angel knew she had one advantage over the men, these two would want to subdue her not kill her. She was no use to their master as a corpse. Keep out of reach of the arms, break anything else that came within reach. She drew out a thick metal bar from a specially made sheath on her back. The bars were useful and easy enough to buy in any country from any scrap metal dealer. They could be wielded as a club or driven home like a stake depending on the circumstance.

As the closest zombie came within reach Angel moved like quicksilver. In one fluid action she stepped to one side and brought the bar down hard on the outstretched arms. There was a dry crack as the bones inside the parchment like flesh splintered, one arm tore and fell to the floor still writhing but unable to respond to the bodies commands any longer. The second creature didn't slow as it witnessed the mutilation of it's companion but kept on coming. Angel flipped silently over it's head and brought the bar smashing into the back of the things neck. It fell impotently twitching like a fish on the bank as it's decayed spinal cord was finally severed.

The first zombie turned trying to bite her it's arms now useless. Angel swung the heavy bar like a bat catching the thing in the mouth. As the force of the blow sent its head reeling backwards Angel turned and spun landing the bar into the creature's exposed neck. There was the snap of bone once more and the thing fell joining the other on the floor in a twitching heap.

As she paused Angel felt the gentle tug of fingers on the back of her jacket. She moved without even bothering to turn. The other undead were coming out of the trees now to join the fight. There were not enough to warrant the term horde, but more than enough to cause problems. She didn't bother with the arms this time instead pounded the bar into the monster's head and neck until it lay inanimate on the ground. There was another ready to grab her but one thrust up from the bar broke the creature's arms while the downswing took out its neck. There were still more.

Angel gave up counting all she had to do was keep swinging the metal bar to meet the oncoming flesh. It was a ludicrously simple game for such high stakes and Angel revealed in it. There was no guilt, no feeling of pity for the humans these things had once been just the sheer joy of the fight, of felling your enemy, watching his blood flow and hearing the animal inside you howl. This was the part of the battle Angel always despised so much afterwards, the pleasure of the kill and the knowledge that it was wrong.

It was only when she realised she was swinging at shadows that she finally stopped and half lowered the bar. There were no more zombies around her, but there was no streetlamp either. She had been fighting so hard she hadn't realised how far she had been moving away from the others. She reached out to call them and found her connection blocked somehow. The adrenaline was still pumping but shivers started on her spine the same moment the bar was plucked out of her hand.

Fingers closed on her upper arm and she smelt the unclean stench before he came into her line of sight. The vampire was slight with limp blonde hair cut to his chin, the eyes burned red in the darkness. He threw the bar into the trees.

"So." He said a smiling sneer playing about his lips. "I have caught one little fishy after…" He stopped and looked down. Angel's hand was wrist deep in his chest, the pumping back heart still beating between the gore covered fingers. The rage which had been hovering around the edge of her emotions all day was in full bloom now. It burned through her blood, boiled in her mind, clawed at her heart. She hated vampires, hated them with every particle of her body, hated them beyond rational and reason. Albursel had birthed that within her in the eternal minutes he had kept her conscious in the dark tunnel preventing even the screams that burst at her lips. Fiske's first lesson had been how to feed, his second was how to kill a vampire but Angel had learned how to kill before she had learned how to feed.

The vampire looked at her the smile gone from his face there was something akin to fear in his eyes. Blue fire was already beginning to burst from his chest. He let go of her and tried to grab at his chest with one hand, the other beating at the fire pouring out of him. Angel stepped back the heart coming free and pulsating in her hand. The vampire came after it. He was on his knees now the fire licking over his body and face obscuring his features. He crawled after her as she continued to retreat the heart held out in one hand.

"Pleeeaaase." He cried through charred lips. "Pleeeaaase."

Angel paused. Slowly she stopped and lowered the still beating heart towards the burned figure. Once flame covered hand reached out trembling towards the black organ. When the fingers had almost reached her own Angel smiled. The flames bloomed over the heart in her hand the same moment the scream came from the vampires burning throat. He fell already turning to ash charred pieces of his black heart drifting through Angels fingers to mingle with the dust on the floor. Blood still remained on her fingers not yet cleansed by the fire. Without thinking, the rage still beating within her, Angel raised her hand to her mouth to lick off the blood.

The scarred hand closed on her wrist and pulled it away from her lips the same second another caught her by the back of the neck. She tried to turn to claw at her assailant and was brought to her knees.

Fiske closed his hand over hers and brought down the fire keeping the flames going until he was sure every trace of the tainted matter had gone from her skin. He was kneeling next to her now the pressure was gone from her neck but his hand remained there. Angel was shaking, the uncontrollable rage replaced by a cold numb sickness. Had she almost drank vampire blood, had she really tried to strike Fiske?

"You disappeared from us after the second wave." He said quietly "They used your anger to draw you away into the trees." There was silence between them for what seemed like an age then Fiske withdrew his hand from her neck. "I cannot let you fight like that again Angel. Next time we are attacked, you will stay with the women." Angel seemed to stir from her malaise.

"What, but I can control…"

"You lost control tonight Angel. First with the zombies and then here." Fiske shook his head. "You have such anger, such hate in you Angel and it gives you such joy to release it on a prone target, to tease your prey. It is unacceptable, however evil he has been. There must not be another night like this one" Angel was silent. Fiske looked at her wearily.

"Our brethren are waiting. Come, we must leave now before the commotion brings others like him here."

Fiske let go of her and stood up walking off through the trees, Angel followed without another sound. He was right, tonight she had lost control, she had enjoyed her bloodlust, she had enjoyed turning to strike him. There would not be another night like tonight she would make sure of that. Tomorrow she would leave the others and face the sun.

Out in the darkness beyond the trees two eyes watched them retreating. The bodies of several zombies lay still at his feet but he ignored them, if he were to burn them now the scarred male would see him easily, he would wait. He watched the strands of her red hair dance in the slight breeze as she made her way silently through the undergrowth, watched the leaves and twigs brush against her arms and calves, watched her back disappear into the darkness. She had not needed him during the fight and the scarred male had intervened before he himself could stop her from taking the vampire's blood. He would stay close, he would track her and watch over her as he had tried to do from his first breath in this world. She would need him soon.

The two eyes, green as fresh emeralds, watched the darkness where Angel had disappeared into the night.