Free Reining In (The Network) by Dawn Judd Page B

was sitting, falling apart in neglect, I once again heard something that stopped me in my tracks. Whatever it was, it was very careful not to make much noise. A hunter. “No,” I thought to myself, “a vampire.”
    I knew it instantly. Many vampires can tell another vampire when looking at them. It’s just something we feel; like we’re connected in some way. But me, I could sense them from afar. It always set my teeth on edge. Mostly because there weren’t many left. It was rare to come across one. But also, because most were not like me.
    Most fed off humans, exclusively, and most did not welcome other vampires when they came across them. I suppose it’s instinct really. Not so much that we hate each other. We’re just territorial, myself included. Certainly we form clans, because it is in our best interest. But to come across each other accidentally; usually it did not end well for at least one of the vampires involved.
    I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be involved in this sort of conflict tonight, or any night for that matter. But I also didn’t like another vampire being so close to my lair. My lair. Funny, I hadn’t thought of it in that term before. But there it was. Of course I would think like a vampire in this type of situation. I felt threatened. My territory was threatened. My man was threatened. And that was it.
    Jake could be in danger, and I would do anything to prevent that. I had to do this now; tonight. I crept forward quietly; carefully. Even if this vampire wasn’t a threat, it was a bad idea for me to stumble in blindly. I had to scope out the situation before I made myself known.
    I made my way towards the plantation house. That was where he was, I was sure of it. I stopped every few steps to listen and reassess the situation. Finally, I approached the front door. He was alone; I knew that much. From what little noise I heard, he appeared to be eating. I entered the house, careful not to give myself away.
    I let my eyes adjust to the light as I stood in the entryway. I almost gasped as I took in the room. It had been, at one time, a most beautiful home. Despite the decay and disarray, I could see what a treasure it had been in its prime. I had spent much time in homes like this centuries ago, but none so beautiful.
    I shook my head, bringing myself back to the present. There would be time to take in the sites later. I looked around, noting the circular staircase, leading up to the 2nd floor. As I listened for my new friend, I thought he appeared to be upstairs, so I slowly made my way towards the staircase. I saw trail of blood leading up, indicating that he had in fact drug his victim up the stairs. I slowly made my way up, concentrating on the noises coming from above.
    When they suddenly stopped, I stopped. Had he heard me? Could he feel my presence? I waited, trying to decide the best approach. I hadn’t really thought of what I was going to do when we met face to face. And obviously I hadn’t planned on him being the one to initiate our meeting because I didn’t even know what hit me as I crashed through the banister and landed on the floor below.
    It took me a second to gather my senses and realize what had happened. As quickly as we had hit the floor, I was up on my feet again, ready to attack. My attacker was not nearly as quick to recover, apparently injuring himself on the way down. It was good to be me. Winning most every battle I had been in was due mostly to my ability to avoid injury.
    But my opponent was not without skills, and he recovered quickly, springing at me as soon as he regained his footing. I could’ve dodged his advance, but I didn’t really want to play this game all night. I wanted to end this as quickly as possible. I reached up as he came crashing down towards me, grabbing him and throwing him off to the side.
    Before he could get back up, I leaped onto him, pinning his arms behind his back. He struggled against my grasp, but I was stronger than him. I could