Instincts, not conscious thought, made his body move. Throwing himself to the side, Ranloo heard a quarrel clatter and tumble along the cobbles. He spun around, fear replacing his wonder. He wouldn't let her see them kill him. He didn't want her last memory of him to be that of her husband being killed by vampire hunters in a dark abandoned courtyard. He'd rather just vanish into the night, never to be seen again. Better would have been that she had never found out at all. But that was too late now. Grimly, he met the pale eyes of the hunter behind him.

  He stood beside a pillar in the right corner, just inside the opening to the street. Dressed in black riveted leather armour, his face hidden in the shadows under his hat and with a crossbow in his hands. He was already reloading.

  Ranloo grimaced and was about to charge when he caught movement in the corner of his eyes. On the left side of the opening, by another pillar, stood the other hunter. A much bigger and sturdier man, with a big brown beard, his chest and shoulders protected by the golden armour of an Eldon paladin. He held a terrible shining circle in his hand and dread descended upon Ranloo.

  Scrambling aside, Ranloo threw himself into cover behind the fountain, barely avoiding the shaft of light. It shone brightly for a few seconds and he trembled, pressed against the stone base. If it hit him, he'd get burned and was probably done for. As darkness descended again, he pulled out a dagger and carefully peered around the fountain to see where they were.

  ′Give up, vampire,` the bearded hunter called out, and he looked that way. It was a mistake. The other one had reloaded his crossbow. The quarrel whistled as it sped towards his head and he yanked back. A sharp sting burned him as the quarrel grazed his right cheek. Too close. Don't forget they're two, he reminded himself as he once again hid behind the fountain.

  ′You cannot win this fight. Do the right thing and come out. Let us finish this,` the other hunter called out to him.

  ′No!` he cried back without looking out. He was so scared that for a moment he couldn't move. His hands trembled. How was he going to hit them if he couldn't steady his hands?

  ′If you come out, we promise to end it quickly,` the first hunter said again, his voice soft, threatening.

  Ranloo shivered. He had no intention of giving up or dying quickly. His fangs extended. He wasn't hungry, but fear and the feeling of impending doom made his body ready to fight.

  ′Let Minira go!` he roared and readied a dagger for a throw. He suspected the bearded hunter would be next to attack. ′She's done nothing wrong.`

  ′We know,` the hunter with the crossbow replied. ′And I'm glad you still have some feelings for your family.`

  Ranloo seethed with anger. They even admitted she was innocent. He dared a quick look around the fountain. The man with the crossbow was reloading but had his eyes on Ranloo.

  Raising his hand, Ranloo threw the dagger at him. He dodged, but Ranloo wasn't sure it would have hit him anyway. His hands shook too much. He turned his head to make sure the other hunter wasn't aiming at him. To his horror, he couldn't see him anymore. Panicked, he twisted around, searching the courtyard.

  A bright light flared from behind and he jumped aside, throwing himself out into the open, away from the terrible light. He was rewarded with the searing pain of a crossbow bolt in his left thigh. Snarling, he stumbled for cover behind a pillar in the arcade. He glanced back towards the window. Minira looked forlorn and pale, her eyes fixed on Ranloo. Both her hands were gripping the windowsill on the inside. It looked like she said something but he couldn't hear, couldn't focus on it.

  Desperately he tried talking to them again, distracting them with conversation. ′Wait!` he shouted. ′Why are you hunting me?` He grimaced and grabbed the bolt in his leg, pulling it out.

  ′Because you're a murdering vampire,` the big, bearded man replied from the fountain.

  ′I don't murder people!` Ranloo protested, even as he knew they'd never listen to that.

  The man with the hat laughed, a dry humorless sound. ′So, all the dead people we found in your wake. They're just illusions are they?`

  ′I defend myself,` Ranloo retorted and glanced around the pillar to keep an eye on them.

  ′You defend yourself against defenseless women, against people just walking down the streets on their way home?` the hunter asked. ′You're a killer, whether you admit it or not.`

  Ranloo grimaced and shook his head, even though they couldn't see. ′I'm trying not to be!` he shouted back.

  ′Admirable. Do you want a prize?` His voice dripped of sarcasm.

  It infuriated him. They had no idea how hard it was. Peeking out from behind the pillar again, he flung another dagger towards the man with the crossbow. He tried to dodge but wasn't fast enough. To Ranloo's dismay, the dagger bounced in midair and tumbled to the ground. With a curse, he hid behind the pillar again. They had magical shields. How would he get past that, he wondered in dismay. He remembered how many times he'd had to hit that city guard's shield. But the guard hadn't tried to retaliate. These hunters weren't quite as cooperative.

  ′Come out, don't make this harder than it has to be,` the bearded man rumbled from his left.

  Their footsteps closed in. One on the left, one on the right. He couldn't escape. Breathing fast and shallow, fear froze his mind, making it hard to think. He looked down on the ground, to the flowing mist and patter of rain. He had a way out! Closing his eyes, he focused. He was very motivated.

  The surprised shouts of the hunters as they rounded the pillar and only met each other were music to Ranloo's ears. He hurried away from them, like a part of the thin fog, near-invisible in the dark and rain. A curse preceded the tall hunter with the hat as he emerged from behind the pillar, moving his crossbow back and forth. Ranloo knew they couldn't hurt him in this shape. But neither would he be able to do anything to them.

  Moving to the other side of the courtyard, Ranloo took cover behind another pillar and became solid again. He wondered if he could get to Minira without killing the hunters somehow. It would be preferable. He didn't want her to see him kill people. If it was possible. And he couldn't see how he'd manage to reach her without finishing off Beard and Hatman first. There was a door behind him and he carefully tried the handle. Locked. He threw a glance over his shoulder and pulled with all his might on the door. It didn't budge. He blinked, amazed by the sturdiness. Normally, even very thick and sturdy doors would at least creak and yield a little. Frowning, he wondered if they had done something with it. He looked out over the courtyard again, staying close to the pillar.

  The hunters had fanned out, trying to find him again. Beard presented his medallion, like a torch. Ranloo trembled as he saw it. It scared him more than anything else. The sun-symbols oppressed him, made him feel small, like a bug about to get crushed. Sneering, he pulled out another dagger. He threw it towards Hatman. It bounced off his shield again. Ranloo grimaced and ducked back into cover. He'd have to focus his attacks on one of them. Break the shield. It was the only way to win.

  ′Give up, vampire,` Hatman hissed. ′Come out and face us like a man.`

  Ranloo snorted but didn't reply. He didn't need them to know exactly where he was.

  ′You're only prolonging the inevitable,` the hunter continued as he swung around with the crossbow, listening for Ranloo's voice or movements. ′You'll die here, be it voluntarily or not. But if you somehow escape, she will –`

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  ′I didn't ask for this,` Ranloo snapped, no longer able to remain silent. ′It wasn't my fault!`

  The hunters turned towards his voice as one. Beard pointed and Hatman nodded as he slowly moved closer.

  ′It doesn't matter whose fault it was,` Hatman called back. ′The only thing that matters is that you are killing people, and you need to be stopped.`

  ′I told you,` Ranloo retorted, fury making his voice break. ′I try not to!`

  ′You still fail!` he roared, merciless.

  Ranloo grimaced, knowing it was true. But now that he had a friend willing to let him bite the incidents would happen less.

  ′It has nothing to do with my wife,` he called and looked for an escape. He wanted to wait until they were closer before running out, planning to attack Hatman in passing. ′You can't punish her for what I have done.`

  ′We can and we will unless you come out,` Hatman replied coldly.

  Ranloo spat a curse, leaned out from behind the pillar and threw another dagger at the hunter. He flinched at the sudden attack, but the shield took the hit.

  ′I won't let you!` Ranloo roared and flew out after the dagger, taking advantage of the distraction. He drew his sword and whacked the shield as hard as he could when he dashed past.

  Hatman spun around after him and fired the crossbow at his back. It grazed his right arm. Another beam of light shot out just as he threw himself back into cover behind the fountain. Panting, Ranloo glanced at his arm. The wound bled but wasn't deep. He shook it off, it'd heal soon enough. He had to break their shields.

  ′Stop fooling around,` Beard called. ′You cannot win this.`

  ′I can, and I will,` Ranloo called back defiantly. He sheathed the sword and fished out one of the small glass bottles. He studied the seemingly small and insignificant thing in his hand. ′You better work,` he whispered to it. Carefully moving to the left side of the fountain, he peeked out as soon as the light diminished. He threw the bottle at Hatman and ducked back down. A loud crack resounded, followed by a surprised shout and the acrid smell of smoke. A smile flashed across Ranloo's features. He sneaked to the right side of the fountain and peeked out. Hatman covered his face with a gloved hand, probably blinded by the flash from the explosion. Otherwise, he seemed unharmed.

  ′I see you prepared for this,` Beard said on his left.

  Ranloo twisted around. The big hunter had used the explosion as cover. An axe descended towards him and Ranloo desperately dodged aside, drawing his sword to parry. He got the sword out, but couldn't align it well enough. The axe pushed the blade down against his leg and slid off towards the ground. The tip of the axe cut into his left thigh. Ranloo screamed in fury and surprise, jumped back and retaliated.

  The magic shield deflected the blow with a loud ringing. Ranloo cursed, he had forgotten about it. He heard the crossbow click behind him. He grimaced, anticipating the pain before the bolt slammed into his back.

  ′Curse you!` he roared. ′There are worse vampires than me out there! Why don't you get them?` He threw himself towards the big hunter, trying to push past him.

  ′Because you are alone,` Hatman replied behind him.

  Ranloo struck Beard's shield with another powerful blow, the sword vibrating in his hand from the jarring hit. Beard didn't even flinch as he swung the axe towards Ranloo, narrowly missing.

  A flash of blinding light lit up the courtyard and Ranloo screamed as it hit him in the back. Though partially protected by his clothes, the light still burned. Where it hit his right hand and the back of his head it seared, instantly scorching his skin. He almost dropped the sword, but pure rage and fear kept his grip on the handle as he fled in behind a large pillar, beside one of the trees in the back of the courtyard.

  He hunched down in the dark corner, looking at his trembling hand. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of burnt skin. Gritting his teeth, he looked up, expecting the hunters to be on him any minute. How would he survive this? His back hurt from the quarrel, his left leg shook with pain, and his breeches were sticky with blood.

  ′Stop hiding, vampire,` Hatman drawled.

  Ranloo hated them with a burning passion. They were casually going to kill him, without a second thought, not regretting their actions at all. At least he wasn't happy about killing people.

  ′You're only making this harder on yourself,` the other hunter agreed.

  They cautiously approached the dark corner. He had to escape fast. Focusing, Ranloo turned into fog again, slinking away along the shadowed wall, staying low to merge with the flowing mists.

  ′Stop that!` he heard an annoyed call behind him.

  If he hadn't been in such pain, he'd have smiled. Now he simply counted himself lucky and hurried aside. He returned to the fountain since it was wider than the pillars and gave more protection. Becoming solid, he crouched down, pondering on how to continue. This was too dangerous, too time-consuming, and he took too much damage. The bolt in his back grated painfully whenever he moved. Annoying. The cuts weren't deep, but he lost blood and energy each time he was wounded. Maybe he should try to escape after all?

  Frowning deeply, he gazed up towards the window. Minira still stood there, pale and drawn, her hand covering her mouth again as she stared out over the courtyard. He squinted through the rain. Something seemed off.

  ′You can't escape vampire, so come on out,` Hatman said in a calm, soft voice.

  It annoyed Ranloo that he seemed so relaxed. Their heartbeats told him they weren't as calm as they sounded, but it still grated on his nerves. The casual and controlled way they treated this. He pulled out another dagger and readied it for a throw.

  ′You only have until morning. How will to survive, hmm?` the hunter teased.

  Seething with anger, Ranloo poked his head out to see where they were, then ducked back down as a quarrel flew towards him. A brief smile passed over his lips as the hunter cursed the miss. He stepped back out and threw the dagger. Hatman couldn't dodge it but didn't seem concerned as he reloaded the crossbow.

  ′If we don't get you,` he threatened, ′the sun will.`

  Ranloo frowned. The stupid hunter was right, he only had until sunrise. If he couldn't get to Minira before then, or kill the hunters, he'd have to flee. He boiled with impotent fury. He didn't want to lose, didn't want to run away and leave his wife with these killers. They were killers, even if they were vampire hunters, he thought. Merciless.

  ′And my wife?` he asked. ′Will you let her go if I die?`

  ′Yes.`

  Ranloo didn't believe it. Would they really? After going through the trouble of getting her all the way from Sel-Faeyth, after all that she'd seen? The Prince wouldn't be happy to hear about this. They must have kidnapped her. Surely, she hadn't come of her own free will?

  ′Kidnapping people isn't a very good deed,` Ranloo snarled.

  ′Kidnapping?` the hunter laughed. ′We didn't kidnap her. She wanted to help us.`

  Ranloo's chest constricted as true despair fell over him. ′You lie!` he shouted.

  ′No. She couldn't bear the thought of you running around in the streets, killing innocents. She wanted to be sure you died.` He laughed again, a quiet chuckle.

  Ranloo couldn't contain all his emotions. He'd been plunged into a deep bottomless pit, desperate and blinded. Unable to breathe, he clutched at his throat with his left hand. His right hand trembled, almost dropping the sword. If she wanted him dead, why was he fighting for her? It had all been pointless. The hunters came around the fountain, one on each side. He barely noticed, on the verge of giving up. He might as well die. He shouldn't be alive anyway, and they were right. He was killing people. But he had tried so hard. He'd really tried. Feeling abandoned and betrayed, he looked up at her silhouette in the window, gripping the windowsill. She seemed to be saying something, but he couldn't hear.

  ′No!` he yelled. ′Liar!` He wouldn't believe it, not until he heard her say it herself. He launched himself at Hatman, his sword up high. Both hunters raised their medallions, lights flaring brightly.