I didn't dare move closer, much as I wanted to. We couldn't risk the rustle of a bush giving us away now. As it turned out, I didn't need to get closer. The figure moved towards the house and a well-placed shaft of moonlight threw his face into sharp relief.

Recognition burned through me, followed by the fiery spark of anger. Leon. I'd wanted so badly to think he was salvageable. I'd believed that he wasn't sick enough to do something like this. More than anything else, I'd wanted him to not be Caleb. And it looked like all that hoping was in vain. Whatever evil had driven Caleb, it now drove his son.

My body tensed, readying to spring to my feet and attack Leon, but Luke put his hand on the small of my back, silently telling me to stay where I was. I did, but I couldn't keep little tremors of anger from running through me.

Leon paused a couple of metres away from the front door, looking hesitantly up at the house. His movements were twitchy, furtive - if I'd been a normal passerby, I'd have thought him a Peeping Tom. He edged closer to the door, then quickly backtracked, shaking his head.

I frowned. This wasn't what I expected. A sideways look at Luke told me he was thinking the same thing.

Leon suddenly whipped around, scanning the street behind him. Panic tugged at his face. What was going on? I burned with the need to jump up, but Luke's hand on my back was a constant reminder to stay put. There was something going on here that neither of us quite understood, and we weren't going to solve the riddle by charging blindly in.

As we watched, Leon darted across the front lawn and hid behind a tree that grew alongside our nearest neighbour's house.

Questions crowded on my tongue; I had to bite them back. Tension needled my skin, the awful feeling that something was about to happen.

A second figure approached the house, shrouded in a long black coat and hood. A small box was clasped in both hands. It moved with none of Leon's hesitancy, striding up the path that led to the front door like it owned the place, the coat billowing about its ankles.

Something tightened inside me, fighting instincts responding to the threat. This figure was the snake in the grass, rearing its head to strike.

It stopped in front of the door and opened the box, lifting out a squealing rat.

That was all the proof I needed. I had no idea what Leon was doing here tonight, but he wasn't responsible for the rats. The mysterious figure was, and this all ended now.

Launching myself to my feet, I charged from the bushes. No more waiting, no more guessing, no more playing games. It took about two seconds to reach the figure, and in the space of those two seconds, it spun on its heel and kicked me in the stomach.

I was on my back, blinking up at the stars, before I could comprehend what had happened. Waves of pain fanned through my stomach, blazing out from the point of impact. The figure stood over me and I caught a glimpse of a fist, almost hidden in the coat's long sleeves, pulling back for a punch. Instinctively I threw up my arms to protect my face.

A roar of fury split the night as Luke charged at my attacker. At the same time, the front door burst open and the clan, including Riley, spilled out onto the front lawn.

Still looking down at me, the figure brought its hand to its forehead in a sharp salute, then it turned on its heel and fled. The rat it had been intending to slaughter and leave on the doorstep ran, squealing, into the night.

I scrambled to my feet even as Luke held out a hand to help me up. "Come on," I cried. I still didn't know what the hell was going on, and my answers were rapidly disappearing into the night. I took off after the figure, Luke hot on my heels. Samuel shouted something, but neither of us looked back.

Whoever the figure was, it was fast. It pounded ahead of me, that long coat flapping like giant wings. Every now and then I caught a glimpse of long legs and flat black boots beneath the coat, but we were moving too fast for me to determine if the legs belonged to a man or woman.

Fast as they were, the figure hadn't reckoned on my own speed. I loved to run and, thanks to all the practise I put in, I was very good at it. But there was no joy in this run, only the steady determination to catch my quarry. Luke kept pace beside me, the same determination etched into his face.

On some level I was aware that every step jolted pain through my bruised stomach, but I could barely feel it. Adrenaline had taken over.

We chased the figure through the streets of Dalwick until residential areas gave way to the woods that ringed the town. The black shapes of trees loomed ahead, thick trunks beckoning us away from the concrete roads and yellow streetlights of the town. The figure reached the trees and was lost to shadow.

"Kiara, wait," Luke cried, but I ignored him.

There would always be a part of me that blamed myself for Sophie's death. If I'd dealt with Caleb sooner, she wouldn't have died. I wasn't making that mistake again. I still wanted to save Leon from his own hatred, but I would kill this figure if it posed a danger to my family. This figure was the real threat, I was sure of it.

I plunged into the trees and almost immediately tripped over a dip in the ground. I slapped a hand against the nearest tree-trunk, steadying myself. My eyes narrowed into slits as I scanned the woods, but nothing stirred. The black-coated figure had melted into the shadows.

Luke caught up with me. "You okay?"

I nodded. "I lost them."

He scanned the immediate vicinity, using his superior vampire vision to cut through the swathes of darkness that filled the gap between every tree. He shook his head. "Nothing."

I pushed away from the tree I was leaning on. "We have to keep going."

Luke hesitated. "You sure that's such a good idea?"

"Are you kidding me?" My voice echoed around the woods. "We didn't come this far to give up now."

"I'm not giving up, but we have no idea what we're dealing with here."

I started to stalk away, but Luke caught my arm and pulled me back. "Just listen to me for a second."

"They're getting away," I cried. I couldn't shake the image of that impaled rat from my head, or Brian Rathdon's dead face staring blankly at me. The black-coated figure had to be stopped.

"Kiara!" It wasn't a shout, but there was a desperate edge to Luke's voice that cut through the pounding in my head. "Whoever this person is, they took you out like you were nothing."

As if I needed reminding. My stomach still throbbed from that kick.

"I can't remember the last time I saw anyone move that fast," Luke went on.

Slowly, logic reasserted itself. The part of my brain that would always be wired to hunt receded, and I took several deep breaths, trying to control the adrenaline pumping in my veins. Whoever the figure was, it was strong - stronger than me, even with all the anger fuelling me.

"There's no point us charging off into the woods like this. We should get the rest of the clan, start a proper search," Luke said. He still held my arm, but his touch was gentle now, reassuring me rather than stopping me from rushing off.

I had the horrible feeling that if we left the woods, even to bring back reinforcements, it would be too late. The black-clad figure would disappear into the night and that would be the last we saw of it. But getting answers wasn't worth our lives. If the figure was stronger and faster than either of us, then chasing after it without back-up was a quick ticket to something nasty.

I nodded. "You're right."

"Vampires are always right."

I barely had time to register the unfamiliar female voice when something blurred behind Luke - a hand smashing a heavy branch across the back of his head. Luke staggered, collapsed to his knees, and hit the ground face-first.

He didn't get back up.