In a way, tonight went as well as she could have hoped. Striking against Millicent was going to be near-impossible, but Alex put the old vampire in the ground and lived to walk away. She should have known she wouldn't get to walk far.

The boy's not much bigger than her, and he looks about her age, but he's obviously not just a teenager and size is no indication of ability. He's old, and old means strong, and as cocky as Alex is, she knows this could get ugly.

"I did what I came to do," she snarls, raising the gun. She doesn't aim it at him yet, just holds it in sight as a warning that she won't go down without a fight.