If there was one thing Vlad disliked, it was being toyed with.

The creature – female, pretty in a way one might almost consider angelic but for the madness that edged her laughter, red eyes gleaming in the gloom – seemed determined to lead him a merry chase. And, most frustrating of all, she appeared to be holding her own, though he was gaining on her gradually.

He caught her finally, in one of the bedrooms, arm hooking around her waist and slamming her bodily into the nearest wall. She screeched, indignant at having been caught, lashing out with clawlike nails that managed to catch him across the cheek. He snarled, momentarily caught off-guard, and then she was gone again.

This time there was no laughter to follow.