Capper's senses blazed as he drank in the human blood, letting the invigorating liquid rush through his fangs and down his throat, driving fresh wells of energy through his veins. The young woman twitched feebly in his grip, unable to draw in the breath for a scream as he drained her life away drop by drop.

Jerking his head away, he sent the human spinning with a careless flick of his wrist straight into Gliss's waiting arms. Her eyes locked with his for a moment, alight with the single oil-black daub of a pupil, boring straight down into his bones. Then her attention shifted back to her next meal and she slid her long, gleaming fangs into the wounds he'd left behind. Her eyes closed excess blood trickled down from the corners of her mouth as she took her fill.

At first he hadn't been sure about bringing Gliss with them, but eventually his desire to gain the Elders' acceptance of his new companion forced his hand. Together with Beel and a detachment of guards they'd been sent on a hunt - but not just any hunt.

The Elders of Clan Glaive needed to feed, and with the pressures of the uncertain times upon them they didn't have the time, or inclination to venture into the city themselves. Accordingly, once Capper and his companions had had their fill, they needed to bring back the finest human specimen possible to sate the Elders' hunger.

No small task.

But Breen was right. If Gliss was part of a successful expedition of this kind, it would definitely gain her favour among the Elders, not to mention garnering respect up and down the clan hierarchy.

So far, however, they were only in the preliminary stages of the hunt. The guards and the Elder-Bloods needed to feed too, so before bringing home their prize, their hunting party set out to drink its fill.

Despite her origins, Gliss clearly knew how to hunt. Their targets were alone, their paths shrouded in shadows. The pair had picked up this unfortunate human in one of the crowded dockyard markets that clogged up the shoreline in their hundreds. A simple matter of separating her from her group in the throng with a few well-placed bodies was all it had taken, and her fate was sealed.

Sometimes Capper marvelled at how easily the humans accepted the disappearances of their own. Perhaps not on a small scale, but the governing bodies (if you could call them that) never stirred into life to investigate those that vanished into the night. He supposed that plenty of people went missing without the help of the vampire clans.

Gliss finished off their prey and the woman's body was quickly disposed of into the waters of the shoreline, leaving no sign that any altercation had occurred. He watched as she dragged her sleeve across her mouth, wiping away the last of the blood. The slightest hint of enticing crimson remained on her lips, however, and he couldn't help but stare.

With the feeding finished for the time being, the other members of the hunting party materialised from the shadows. Beel emerged first, bolt-thrower concealed beneath the long coat he wore, closely followed by Finbarr's huge frame - it struck Capper that despite the other guard's size he was quite adept at going unseen. Three more guards soon joined them at the dockside.

"Good hunting tonight," Beel commented with a lopsided grin.

"The taste here," Gliss said. "It's rich."

Capper smiled dangerously. "Fat living will do that. You get used to it." Then he motioned to the guards with a flick of his hand. "Let's keep moving; don't want to keep the Elders waiting."

Needing no further bidding, the group set off through the teeming dockside district, effortlessly sliding back into the ebb and flow of the citizens of Veridian Shores. With Gliss striding confidently by his side Capper led the hunting party on, his senses blazing with heightened awareness as he searched for the perfect specimen to bring back to the Elders. He could smell the blood of every individual that washed by them, each slightly different, enticing or repulsing in their own way. Young, vital men and women pulsed with life; older individuals mellowed like fine wines. A single breath was enough to tell him whether a human was ill, dying, or in the peak of their health. Every physical and internal imperfection was laid bare by a single scent.

Twisting through the throng, they turned from the docks, plunging further into the city proper as they searched for a suitable offering for the Elders. As they drew closer to one of their regular hunting patches, however, another sensation slithered into his mind. Capper's brow furrowed as they came into sight of the broad entertainment boulevard and he shoved the human presences from his mind. Something didn't quite feel right.

"You feel that?" Gliss said, leaning close and speaking into his ear.

"I feel...something."

"I think you've got more company."

He looked at her. "You can sense-?"

"Another clan. Not Baelock." Gliss's eyes darted back and forth. "Can't quite pinpoint it, but someone else is definitely on your patch."

"You're sure?"

"You're not?"

His mouth twisted into a thoughtful grimace and he stopped, looking back at the others. "Heads on a swivel - I think we've got some guests out here with us."

"Here? If someone's trespassing they got some balls," Beel chuckled and Capper saw the shifting movement beneath his coat as the guard readied his bolt-thrower. Beel nodded to Finbarr and the others and similar motions rippled among them as they readied themselves for any unwanted guests.

"Keep those weapons out of sight until we know who we're dealing with," Capper told them. "If it's Baelock or Pyre we need to avoid a shooting match."

"This close to the Synod?" another guard said, shaking her head. "They wouldn't dare."

"Well someone has," Gliss retorted.

Capper couldn't keep the smile off his face when he looked at her, seeing the breezy confidence in her manner. Although she would probably deny it, she carried herself more like an Elder-Blood than she realised. He gestured to the seething masses of flesh before them.

"Alright, why don't you lead the way?"

A sly smile slipped across her face and she nodded. "Maybe I will." And then she was off, sashaying through the human population without a backward glance. Capper watched her, her eyes lingering on her hips for a moment before he forced his limbs into motion and followed her. Beel drew level with him as they walked and he caught his friend's knowing look.

"Shut up," he muttered.

Beel just grinned.

Following Gliss's lead, before long Capper could definitely sense the presence of other vampires - though how his companion was able to pinpoint it so precisely was a source of amazement. He'd always been able to feel when other vampire's were close, but Gliss seemed to have a veritable radar.

Soon they turned off the main thoroughfare, leaving the voice-saturated air and bustle behind them. The side-street was surprisingly quiet; they passed a half dozen humans, all of whom gave them a wide berth. Then, after following Gliss maybe a hundred yards, he heard a high pitched squeal ring out across the night air.

Even with the background thrum of the city Capper's amplified hearing instantly pinpointed the sound and he set off at a run, leaving the others to catch up. He slid his hand into his jacket pocket and locked his fingers into the grip of the knuckle-duster as he readied himself for the worst. Taking a sharp right turn he burst into a small, dimly lit concrete clearing in the jungle of buildings to find half a dozen figures gathered around a pitiful crumpled form.

His eyes adjusted to the gloom in an instant. The female human on the ground was already dead, her life blood totally drained and her body dumped unceremoniously by her attackers. The closest of them turned and Capper saw the flash of fangs. His whole body tensed as his companions thundered around the corner.

Before he could formulate any kind of threat or declaration the other vampires burst into motion and in an instant they were bristling with weapons, charging towards the Glaive clan members. A bolt hissed through the air toward him and Capper had to react, ripping his hand free from his pocket and smashing it out of mid-air, leaving the splinters to shower over him.

All around him the melee broke loose as Beel and the guards instantly hurled themselves into the fray, protecting their Elder-Blood charge. He knew that all of them would happily give their lives in the performance of their duty.

But he didn't want to see it happen, so he dove into the brawl after them. With battle-lust swelling in his veins he reached out and grabbed the first enemy he could get his hands on, dragging them into his reach. Giving vent to a frustrated snarl he broke the unfortunate male vampire's jaw with a crushing blow from the knuckle-duster and then tore the sleeve from his right arm.

Staring back at him was a tattoo of a roaring flame. Hearth. A small clan, not given to displays of rashness. Anger roiled through him and he grabbed the vampire by his jacket and hurled him as hard as he could into one of the other Hearth fighters. Straightening up he tried to locate the others in the chaos.

Finbarr's bulk went bulldozing through the crush, a duelling rod in each hand, lashing out like the limbs of a great tree. Each time a blow landed a sickening crack echoed through the clearing. A jolt of panic shot through him, however, when he saw two of the Hearth vampires pile onto Beel, driving the guard back against the wall. Before he could move to help another enemy barred his path and he had to stop and defend himself.

Bringing both hands together, Capper swayed around the wild swipe of a hatchet and clubbed his adversary across the side of her head, knocking her flat. When he caught sight of Beel again his friend had managed to dislodge one of his attackers. The other, however, had him jammed against the wall with a long, crudely fashioned stake raised in one hand. Capper's eyes widened helplessly.

Then out of the corner of his eye he caught a flash of movement that dragged his gaze away. Turning, he saw Gliss holding Beel's fallen bolt-thrower, her face crumpled with concentration. She hesitated for a moment then took aim and fired. A heavy thunk sounded as the weapon discharged and hurled its payload straight at the two struggling vampires.

Her aim was off slightly; the six inch bolt smacked into the Hearth clan member right at the base of his neck. Unleashing an animal howl, he released his hold on Beel and writhed wildly, pawing for the bolt that protruded from his back.

And that was all the window the Glaive guard needed. With eye-blurring speed Beel reached around, ripped the bolt free and then rammed it into the other vampire, straight through the heart. A banshee screech split the air as he struck the death blow, and the other Hearth vampires immediately stopped in their tracks, faces twisting with horror as they watched their clan-mate die.

The doomed vampire's scream lasted a full five seconds as he crumpled to his knees. Then his whole body convulsed, spasming uncontrollably and Capper could feel the wild thrashing of his Aspect as he tried to cling onto life. His struggles were in vain, however. With his immortal heart pierced by the bolt, life seeped away. He seemed to shrink, skin drawing tight against his bones and his body folding unwillingly into the foetal position. Then, with the suddenness of a dropping curtain what remained of the Hearth vampire crumbled into a fine grey-blue dust. When it was over all that remained was a pile of clothes and the bolt that had killed him.

With wrath shining in his eyes, Capper turned on the remaining attackers, his fingers clenching tightly through the grip of his heavy knuckle-duster. For a moment time seemed frozen as the Hearth vampires hesitated. Then he caught Gliss looking at him out of the corner of her eye, bolt-thrower in hand. She mouthed two words.

Finish it.

There would have been a time that he never considered that course of action, but now, with a small upstart clan like Hearth taking liberties so soon after Baelock's incursion, he knew examples had to be made. Clan Glaive would not suffer fools.

"To the ashes with them!" he snarled, leaping into the fray.

The side street exploded with movement as the battle reignited, but the Hearth clan members soon found they were outmatched by the fury of their intended prey. Capper got hold of one male and shattered the individual's nose with a blow of his knuckle-duster, before flinging the vampire as hard as he could into the nearest wall. Bones shattered under the impact and screams rent the air.

Bolts from the guards hissed through the air - some maiming, others killing, and like a vengeful whirlwind Beel was back among them, the slain vampire's rough-carved stake in hand. The smash and crack of duelling rods echoed through the night air, coupled with snarled challenges and anguished cries. Three more Hearth vampires suffered through the terrible transformation of death before the group finally broke and ran, heading back towards the relative safety of the human crowds with their Glaive opponents in hot pursuit.

But not all of them made it to safety. Capper watched in amazement as Gliss, running out in front of the rest, hurled herself in a headlong dive and wrapped her arms around the ankles of the straggler in the Hearth group. They crashed to the ground and after a brief struggle Gliss got a grip of the other vampire's hair, slamming her head against the concrete.

As the surviving Hearth members disappeared into the night, Gliss dragged her struggling prize carelessly back through the street, shoving the female vampire to her knees in front of Capper and the others.

Thick maroon blood had already started congealing down the right side of her face where she'd been driven into the ground, but the Hearth vampire still had enough of her senses intact to look terrified. She stared up wide-eyed from behind the fringe of her dishevelled dark hair as two of the guards grabbed her arms, holding her firmly on her knees. Capper folded his arms, the knuckle-duster still wrapped tightly in his right fist.

Gliss walked over to him, stopping just inches away, looking into his eyes.

"Another clan pushing their elbows out?" she said softly.

Capper nodded grimly, his gaze turned to fix on their captive. "They just signed their own death warrants."

"So what do you want to do with her?"

Indecision clawed at him. Something about murdering a prisoner in cold blood felt all wrong to him, but he couldn't simply overlook the fact that this vampire had been stupid enough to encroach on a well-known Glaive hunting ground.

"We need to make an example," he said finally, his voice low and hoarse. To his surprise, she laid a hand on his chest, dragging his gaze back to hers.

"I can do that," she whispered, pushing up onto her toes to speak into his ear. "But no-one else needs to die tonight. Just trust me."

Then Gliss's expression hardened and she turned away, facing their captive.

"Beel?" she asked quietly, holding out a hand.

"Mmm?"

"Give me that stake."

The guard hesitated, but Capper motioned for him to hand it over. He wasn't sure what Gliss was planning, but he knew it wouldn't be forgotten in a hurry. His friend handed Gliss the carved stake and she couched down until she was at eye level with the petrified Hearth vampire.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Dae," the prisoner replied, fighting to keep her voice from trembling. Her eyes darted to the stake and back again. "If you're going to...kill me...just do it." She swallowed hard, doing her best to appear defiant, but Capper could feel the fearful tremor in her Aspect.

"I'm not going to kill you, Dae," Gliss said coldly. "But I have a message for your Elders."

Then with the suddenness of a lightning bolt she rammed the stake its full length into the other vampire's stomach. Capper winced as the prisoner let out a shriek of agony but the two taciturn guards held her in place as she tried to wrench free. To his amazement Gliss didn't even flinch. She just stayed there, inches away from the thrashing form of her enemy, watching impassively.

When their captive's struggles subsided Gliss reached forward, grabbing her by the jaw.

"Go home, little girl," she hissed. "And tell your Elders that if you cross us again your Clan won't be around long enough to regret its stupidity." Then she stood, making a dismissive gesture to the two guards. The pair released their grip and Dae staggered upright with a whimper.

Capper watched as she stumbled off into the darkness and felt a wave of satisfaction wash over him. Tonight the city would know that Clan Glaive was still a force to be feared and respected. The guards exchanged knowing looks; Beel had a wry smile stamped on his mischievous features.

"Alright," Gliss said breezily, glancing around. "Now that's dealt with, what say we get back to this hunt?"

Capper looked at her, her slim frame outlined in the crimson glow of the city, emerald eyes shining like gemstones in the night.

Perfection.