Izzy hesitated when she neared the man still standing where she had last seen him from the rooftop. Why had he not moved? It would have been better if he had tried to hide, to catch her by surprise, not stand out in the open like that, would it not? The answer came in the form of a masculine voice behind her. She shouted and swung around, holding her fallen branch in front of her like the world’s most pathetic makeshift club, the wannabe-weapon made even more pitiful in comparison to the iron cross the golden-eyed man carried so effortlessly.
	[i]How could I be so [u]stupid?[/u][/i] she scolded herself.
	She swirled back around as a muttering language met her ears. When the third hunter seemed to emerge from the shadows themselves, Izzy all but forgot about the other two. She stared at the beast of a man and the broadsword he wielded, the blade glinting menacingly in the streetlight. She felt suddenly nauseous and week in the knees.
	She was going to need a bigger stick.
	Better yet, a miracle.
	Izzy staggered back, trying to keep all three of them within her line of sight at once. Her branch dragged against the road as the trio spoke amongst themselves, a sickening dread settling deep in her stomach. She wanted to run, but they formed an almost triangle around her, making an easy escape difficult at best, and she had no desire to find out why the guy who apparently could not decide if he wanted to be a Punk rocker or a priest when he grew up held no weapons.
	She looked to Psychotic Episode, her eyes wide at the prospect of them “beating” Cerasus’ hiding spot out of her. She tilted her head slightly toward each man as they spoke.
	Bounty. So, there was a price on the head of a vampire. That was a fact to file away. As they continued, basically ignoring her, terror only increased with each passing comment.
	[i]Think, Izzy![/i] she begged herself. She needed to separate them, to get them away from each other so she could deal with them individually. She glanced to Thrudge, doubting she could stand against him even if she wanted to. But still, it was her only chance. She tried to think of somewhere she knew best, somewhere that could provide a hiding place for a vampire while still being large and winding enough for her to lose the bounty hunters, and for them to get lost.
	[i]The forest![/i] Vanderwell Forest. It was a fair sized expanse of dense woods a couple miles outside town. She had spent many a day there blazing her own trails, and could walk it backwards while blindfolded. And if she needed an actual place to lead them to, there was a cabin out there, old and abandoned, but still mostly intact. At least, enough so to provide protection from sunlight. It was hard to find if you did not know where to look. Now, she just had to get them there without them killing her. She could worry about separating them on the way. If she even got that far.
	It was time to test her acting skills.
	“I didn’t ask for this!” she breathed, her voice strained and high-pitched. She took a couple deep breaths, grasping at the fury she had felt when she first realized she had been turned. She needed that now. “I want Damocles dead as much as you for what he did to me!” She glanced fearfully between them, hoping they would not see the lie in the statement, or in what she hoped was anger that twisted her face. No matter why he had changed her--to spare her life in return for his, or simply because he needed a servant, a [i]“thrall”[/i] (she let the word fuel the acrimony that her fear threatened to drown out) and she was just so conveniently there--he was still her only chance at undoing it. “If you want to know where that... that arrogant little snob is, just ask. I’ll [i]gladly[/i] take you to him.”
	Her breaths came in quick spurts as she waited for their answer.