She opened her eyes and waited for the guilt to wash over her, but it never came. Just a cold wind sliding over, ripping through the top floor of the abandoned warehouse she’d finally collapsed in, no longer able to run. She’d killed a man.

Not a man, a hunter. Less man than animal. Vampire. Anonymously evil. He would have taken her in a second if he had the chance.

But she hadn’t given him the chance. She’d seen him coming and sprung, taken him out like a professional, no second thoughts. It was instinct alone, no need to try and intellectualise it. She no longer needed to think.

Cass looked down at the curved blade, warm in her hands. Moonlight glinted across its surface, reflecting up into her eyes, keeping her company. Don’t they say it’s the first step that’s always the hardest? Once you’ve taken it, the rest just comes naturally.

The floor felt like it was tilting her towards the horizon, angling her to face downhill. There was no way back now, she’d taken out one of the Brotherhood. They didn’t just let that go.

She closed her eyes and ran over everything she knew about them, what she could expect and when. It was difficult to separate myth from reality, which was just the way they liked it. It was also the way of most things off Grid. Information didn’t have to be true to be useful.

Feeders, like the first boy she’d almost been captured by long ago, when Quarters had first saved her. All she knew about them was through him. Feeders, but organised. Older, too, more powerful, more twisted. And connected.

Cass opened her eyes and sat up. The wind had completely died. Unnatural silence sank around the building. There was something coming.

She jumped to her feet, took two steps and leapt against the wall, then sprang again, higher, to grab the roof beam and flip up on top of it. Then grab the edge of the hole above her, and curl up into the gap, legs first, to leave her lying on her stomach facing back down the hole at where she’d lain moments before.

Not even out of breath, no strain at all. In fact, she was enjoying it. An electricity surged through her spine and out to the muscles. Her body knew exactly what to do, she didn’t need to be conscious of it. Just enjoy the ride.

Back down the hole something moved. The floor seemed to shiver, the dust on it vibrate up on itself before laying still. Cass could feel it, knew before her eyes did what was about to occur.

The floor where she’d lain suddenly gave way completely, a whole section collapsed downwards, then crashed again through the floor of the room below, then again, on down through the storeys, lost under a cloud of dust before it hit bottom. As it fell through, Cass caught a glimpse of an enormous arm, biceps the size of her waist, grasping and wrenching out a support beam. Something, someone, had simply ripped the floor out from beneath her.

Cass had no doubt it was after her. She felt the whole building shudder again and pushed herself up into a run. That way, across the gap to the next building.

She hit top speed and leapt the twenty feet just as the roof below her gave way. The next roof was too far, but a single beam stuck out the bricks of an adjacent building, beckoning to her. She flipped midair and wrapped her arms around it, pulling her legs in and flinging her body around full circle, gaining speed before opening up again and letting go, sling-shotting her body towards and through an upper window. She rolled as she hit the floor, then straight back up into a run. Keep moving.

Cass could feel the assassin behind her, on her trail. That’s what it was, of course. A specialist, hired and sent out to eradicate her. The brotherhood had powerful contacts. Contacts with a lot of money. Such beings didn’t come cheap.

She flipped over the railing of a staircase and landed on the floor below. Another crashing sound to her left told her the assassin had entered the building as well, not bothering with the door.

Enormous strength, but what other traits? What else was she fighting against? You needed more than just that to live the life he did. You needed other specialities to be worth hiring. To survive.

Cass didn’t want to have to find out. The crashing sound had come from the floor below her. She’d have to jump again. To the right was a large window, and across the street its twin in another building. Perfect.

She accelerated and flung herself through the glass, twisting in midair to scatter the shards away from her. At least the window opposite was already blown out.

Cass felt the vibration in the air, an alarm ringing through her spine. There was nothing she could do. Why was this window blown out? Because someone had taken it out for her.

She slammed into the thin, sticky web, which sunk in with her momentum and wrapped itself around her, pinning her legs together. It hummed with energy. She’d twisted as she hit, ending up on her side with only her right arm free, the rest of her bound tight. Trapped.

A laugh ripped up at her from the street below as the assassin saw his success. He’d run her directly into his trap. Now he could do as he wished, no need for a quick ending.

Now he could take his time.