The rain had dwindled in to a cold mist that hung in the air like fog. Twilight had instigated the drop in temperature and left most of the cities inhabitants locked inside to find warmth. The streets were dead and silent, held in a strangle hold by the thick mist. A door to a dive bar swung open and light burst across the black concrete as a lone figure stumbled down the steps. The silent night broken by the clicking of heels on the pavement and drunk chortling to himself.

From the roof top, Phaedra watched the figure wander on the sidewalk. A voice crackled in her ear, the voice of her partner. "Phae, he is heading towards you. He'll pass the building in 30 seco... hold. Hes turned in to the alleyway." Phaedra pushed off from the ledge she had been perched on. With the grace of a feline, sprinted across the roof and ducked low behind the ledge. The vampire was moving under her, out of reach on the ground below. She could hear him now. His low baroque voice broke the silence with the tune of a pub song. With each stumbling step, he grew louder. He was making it easier for her.

She shut her violet eyes and focused on an image. Her breathing caught and deepened as her whole body tensed. Before her, out of thin air, a streak of pale blue light flickered in to existence. The light branched out traveling along a set path to create the shape of two blades. It took only seconds for it to solidify to steel. She gripped the hilts as she pulled them to her sides and leaned over the ledge to lay eyes on her prey. The alley was empty.

Two large hands reached out from the dark and grabbed her by the lapels of her coat and heaved her to her feet. Phaedra was tall and lithe, petite but the vampire was not. Her booted feet no longer rested on ground, instead dangled in the air. Her now empty hands grabbed his wrists. He laughed as he pulled her in to him. "And what do we have here? A little girl hunter?" He chortled arrogantly. Phaedra merely smiled mysteriously. It wouldn't be the first time nor the last that she had been underestimated. She was small and quick and this guy was about to lose his head. She said nothing.

In retrospect, perhaps this is where things went wrong.

The vampire shook her sharply. "I think I am going to have late snack of a predator." Twin fangs extended from his lips as he attempted to bite her. Phaedra kicked out hard, aiming for his knee. Then she was falling out of his grasp. She landed in a crouch as the blue light appeared again, to form the twin blades. He howled with rage and charged at her. They fought hand to hand for a few moments that felt like hours. He landed a few choice blows on her, leaving a trail of blood on her lip and a cut above her eye. He licked his blood from his hand. "I'm going to bleed you dry, girl, while you beg me to stop."

A vicious grin curved his lips but it didn't remain for long. As she returned blows, she heard the satisfying crush of bone under her fist as she broke his nose. As he bent down grasping his face, Phaedra faded in to the shadows.

Physically she was no match, but in a surprise attack...

He was still howling in pain as swing out in random directions trying to find her. "Come out and face me, bitch." He demanded through clenched fangs. "I'm going to fucking kill you." She remained a few feet behind him ready to strike. As soon as he came to a stop, she made her move. He never knew the blade was coming, the metal sliced through his neck with ease. His corpse dropped to the roof.

Phaedra stood there a moment, breathing heavily as she took stock of the damage. Her lip was busted and bleeding, the throb of pain was starting to break in as the adrenaline faded. The cut above her eye was bleeding and she wiped blood from off her eye. She would have on hell of a black eye in the morning. For the first time, she realized her partner was screaming in her ear for an update. She hoarsely reported "its done;" before she yanked the piece out of her ear and knelt down beside the dead vampire. She had wanted to question him. They needed information about the remaining Ashrak and the attacks on them. She let out a long frustrated sigh. She needed a drink.

She walked the length of the roof and vaulted over the edge on to the awning below then on to the ground. The jolt of sudden ground made her joints scream in pain but the protest was ignored as she wandered by the bar that the vampire had left on a few minutes before. She pulled the wool coat lapels up against the cold and the wet.

She opened the door to have her body assaulted by warmth and low light. The music was loud and ignored, it was merely there for ambiance. Wandering to the bar, she took a stool on the end away from everyone. It was a dark corner that offered some seclusion. She waved the bartender over. "Damn girl, hate to see how you left the other guy." She gave a sharp pft in agreement. "Guy lost his head, shouldn't have hit me. Beer, something dark." She offered him a knowing grin as he turned to get her drink. She turned her violet eyes out to the busy room and watched those around her in silence, retreating in thought.