After a lengthy shower, Hunter found himself staring absently into the full-length mirror over the linen closet door. His fingers ran across the middle of his stomach, where there was still the faint hint of a scar where, just about three weeks ago, an eight-inch butcher’s knife had catalyzed his transformation into The Order’s newest vampire.

“It’ll be gone completely in another day or two,” Kai said, leaning against the door connecting the bathroom to their bedroom. He walked toward Hunter, stood behind him, and gently kissed his neck. They both gazed at their reflection.

“I thought it would have been gone when you turned me,” Hunter mused.

“It was a very nasty wound,” Kai said. “Kahn even twisted the handle; it messed up your insides. Even the dose of vampire blood I gave you can only do so much, so fast.”

“And the Evermore…”

Kai nodded. “We used up all the supply we had in reserve. And we mixed in extra proteins and minerals. It acted, more or less, like adding putty to a hole in a wall. It helped keep everything… intact during the change.

“You healed up beautifully though, beautiful.” Kai kissed Hunter’s cheek and embraced him tightly. Hunter returned the kiss to Kai’s closest hand. 

“You did a lot for me. I’m not sure how I could ever repay you.”

“Just… be my partner, from here into the hereafter. That’s all I ask,” Kai said. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Hunter whispered. He continued to examine himself in the mirror. “Why don’t we… why don’t I… look better?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I don’t claim to have had the best physique when I was alive,” Hunter said, “but I would have thought I’d at least have developed a muscle or two. Maybe I'd have dropped a few pounds.”

Kai snickered a bit and released his hug. “Vampirism isn’t a weight loss plan, Hun. It’s not a fitness plan, either. Mainly because there’s no such thing as the ‘perfect body.’ I mean, look at me.” He flexed exaggeratedly before the mirror. “You don’t see a six-pack on me, either.”

“I suppose…”

“I don’t know the exact science behind it. But just like with our other senses, our vampirism allows us to take our bodies for what they are and puts them at their fullest potential. And I’m not sure, maybe our advanced brains know how to make our bodies defy what the mortal world understands to be the limits of gravity and physics.

“I can’t explain it,” Kai said, a twinkle in his eye as he spoke, “But damn it, I love what I can do. I love being able to use my abilities and help people, even if they never know they’re being helped. And I love that you get to experience it with me.”

Hunter could sense Kai had excitement growing within him as he spoke. “What do you want to do?”

“I want to go for a run,” Kai said gleefully.

“A run? At midnight?” Hunter scoffed. “You’re not trying to track down more robbers for me to feed on, are you?”

“No way,” Kai replied. “Something much more exhilarating.”

“I don’t call this exhilarating,” Hunter shouted. “I call it fucking insane!”

“What?”

Hunter rolled his eyes and transmitted his thoughts to Kai telepathically. I think this is crazy. I used to be so afraid of heights!

Hunter was standing on the top of an 80-foot-tall light pole. So was Kai, his pole directly across from Hunter. Between them were the hundreds of cars driving 70 miles an hour or more in either direction of Interstate 35 South. The highway was bathed in the light from the poles they were standing on, beacons that stretched out for miles.

The wind was swirling around Hunter. Even so, he was able to slowly shift his feet so he could turn in place and see Reunion Tower and the other Dallas skyscrapers, their lights a dazzling array of color and shape. You can’t beat this view, though.

Hey, Hun — focus, Kai chided. We’re here to continue your training. Face southward again.

Hunter did as instructed. The view wasn’t as impressive, but the taillights veering off toward the horizon was still an interesting sight.

This stretch of road goes on for about 10 or 12 miles before we get to an interchange, Kai thought. All we gotta do is run from here to there and back again. 

What if I fall?

Focus, and you won’t. But if you miss a landing, just float to the ground and hop back on the pole again. Use these things as the starting point on a track. Use them to push off of, get your height going, land, and push on the next one. Here, watch me.

Kai crouched low and sprang high into the sky, arcing perfectly towards the next light. He made three perfect landings, ending about a quarter mile from where Hunter watched. It reminded Hunter of watching a character in the old video games, jumping from platform to platform.

See? Nothing to it. You try.

Hunter steadied his nerves. He crouched in much the same way as Kai had. He put his left foot further behind than the right. He pretended he was on the track back in high school, listening to the coach count the runners down.

Three... two... one... go!

Hunter pushed with his left foot and jumped. In a split second, he watched the highway below him get smaller and smaller, as his leap sent him soaring about a hundred feet higher into the sky.

Whoops. Misjudged that jump... He remembered being on the Slingshot thrill ride on a trip to Florida, and how the wind rushed by him vertically as the ride flung him upward. This was the same feeling, but without any safety harness keeping him in a seat. This meant he needed to focus on the bit where he started to come down.

With laser focus, he saw the next light pole and aimed for it. As he came close to contacting it, he looked ahead at the next fixture ahead of him. When his right foot barely grazed the chrome on the light pole, he pushed with his toes. He began sailing, gliding almost, to the next pole, and so on until he landed on the one directly across the highway from Kai.

That was intense! Hunter communicated.

Shall we finish the course then? Kai offered.

Without responding, and with a playful grin, Hunter leaped from his pole and continued south. The two vampires took it in turns, leapfrogging from light fixture to light fixture, for miles and miles. Just as they passed the Dallas city limit, a tangle of highways and exits appeared, and the pattern of lights changed dramatically.

Stop at this next one, turn around, and we'll head back downtown, Kai transmitted.

Hunter amazed himself at the speed and ease with which he was moving. Untethered, unrestrained, the wind swirling around him, giving way to him, as he jumped and flew from pole to pole. He loved being able to look down in between each launch, seeing the cars below, none of them aware that two human bodies were hurtling themselves on an urban playground of their own making.

The pair eventually sailed past the place they started their relay, deciding to come to a comfortable rest atop the Greyhound station at the edge of the downtown district. From there, they had a decent view of the TV tower, still lit and glowing, near the building secretly home to The Order.

Kai looked at it, a mixture of fondness and sadness washing over him. "I know it's just temporary," he said absently, "but it feels like I've been banished, y'know?"

"I can get that," Hunter said. "It's just for a few more weeks, though."

Kai nodded. "True enough. It's just odd having all this free time."

"Why don't we head back home," suggested Hunter. "We can spend some of that free time building all that flat-pack furniture you said you bought a decade ago, turn that spare room into a home office, once and for all?"

As they arrived home, they saw their two guards at the gate, standing with worried faces. One had a hand clamped on one side of his neck.

"Gray, Duffy," Kai said, exiting the car. "What's going on?"

Both men were in their late 40s and were dressed like cowhands common for the rural area where the compound sat. Hunter could see the shorter one, the one with the hand on his neck, was bleeding. He exited the car as well.

The taller one responded to Kai. "We had a breach, sir."

"What kind of breach, Duffy? Is Gray gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine, boss," Gray replied. His voice was ragged.

"I went up to the front door after seeing someone run from the porch," Duffy explained. His voice was soft, yet authoritative. "While I looked into what was going on, somethin' attacked Gray here. It had to have been another vamper."

Hunter motioned for Gray to let him examine his wounds. When Gray let his hand go from his neck, Hunter and Kai could see what appeared to be six puncture marks, in what seemed like the pattern of an upper set of teeth. The holes were still oozing slow rivulets of blood. Hunter made a quick trip to the car and pulled out a first-aid kit. He unwrapped a package of gauze and handed it to Gray, who accepted it with a small, embarrassed expression.

"A six-fanger," Kai said. "There haven't been any from that faction in this area for some time. What about the house, is it secure?"

"It is," Duffy replied. "No forced entry, no sign of a break-in, but there is some vandalism to the front door."

"What kind?"

"Spray paint, I think. Some sort of tag. I wouldn't expect a gang or anything of that nature out here."

The tone in Kai's voice alerted Hunter to something very wrong. "No. Not of that nature." Kai looked at Gray, still dressing his wounds. "Hunter, could you, uh, see to that? I need to go look at the door."

Hunter nodded as Kai made his way up the gravel road to the house, jumping over the still-closed gate to do so. He approached Gray, who was still wincing over the pain of the attack and the still-open wounds. Remembering what he'd done in practice, Hunter channeled calm thoughts until he felt the green aura begin in his line of vision, then caught Gray's eyes. "It's going to be fine," Hunter said. "I'm sorry this happened. We'll try to figure out who did it. But you're alright now."

"Alright now," mimicked Gray, softly. Hunter gave his thumb a lick and wiped it across the area of the bite. He had to do it twice, due to the number of teeth marks. But in moments, the wounds healed. Hunter broke his gaze, nodded politely to each guard, then jumped the gate and followed Kai's path to the house.

Kai stopped just shy of the last step up to the porch, staring at the mark left on the door. As Hunter caught up to him, he saw the symbol for himself. It wasn't red spray paint; they could both tell from the scent, it was blood. It looked like the culprit had painted a capital M and a capital W combined, with the prongs of the W elongated and tipped with dots. There were two horizontal lines underneath that. It almost looked like a...

"The Crown," Kai muttered angrily. "I can't believe it. The Crown has resurfaced."