As Ronan and Sorley walked through the early morning darkness, their invisibility guaranteed no one would see them. Not even the ancient one could see them when they chose to go invisible. Becoming unseen and teleporting used more energy than necessary at this point, so they'd chosen to walk from Erin's home to wherever bad vibrations took them. They also used telepathy, well aware inanimate voices could be heard by animals and other people. Soon light would come, and their cloaks would provide them with protection.

Why are we doin' this now?Sorley's voice asked in Ronan's head.

To get the lay of the land.

Speakin' of lay,Sorley said,how was it?

Ronan would have glared at his friend if he could see him. He could well imagine Sorley's smirk, though.I'm going to pretend you didn't ask me that.

The smaller vampire allowed an audible laugh to fill the air as they walked the long road and closed in on Main Street.You weren't exactly quiet, mate. She wasn't either.

For the first time in a century Ronan felt heat crawl into his face. With previous encounters with women he would have felt smug male satisfaction.

Feck off, Sorley.

Ronan could almost hear Sorley shrug.Well, the mortals might not have heard you.

Who was Sorley kidding? Ronan understood he could shut up Sorley by ignoring the topic.

His skinny friend, though, seemed obsessed.So, if anything miraculous happened because you had sex, you'd be screamin' it from the rooftops, eh?

Confession came whether Ronan wanted it or not.Nothing miraculous happened. At least, not that I could tell.

Didn't sound like it to me.

Bloody hell, that's not what I meant.

They passed the last row of Victorian-era houses close to the business district.

Then mean what you say. Or is that say what you mean?Sorley was clearly amused.

Ronan's patience with his irascible friend grew thin.If you don't want a silver stake through your flea-bitten heart-

Aye, I hear you.

They continued in silence, even their footsteps too quiet for any but dogs and cats to detect.

What about the fire near Erin's home? Why didn't we investigate that?Sorley asked.

Because we aren't doing this to investigate, only to help if we can. We can't help the people who've already been burned out.

So we're almost like superheroes. You know, Superman, Spiderman, you name it.

Ronan couldn't help smiling.Those blighters have nothing on us.

Oh, don't let the mortals hear you say that. You'll be dead meat, Danny Boy.

To Ronan's chagrin, his friend started singingDanny Boy in his head. He cringed as Sorley sang an off-key note.

A woman's scream burst out of the darkness, high-pitched and desperate. Ronan sensed Sorley's startled jump.

Where's that comin' from?Sorley asked.

Honing in, Ronan realized it came from the house they'd just passed. He turned around.

Another terrified scream rent the night.Here!

What are you goin' to do?

I'm popping into the house.

What?Sorley sounded shocked.

I won't allow a woman to be hurt if I can do anything about it.

The painted lady Victorian, a combination of blues and grays, looked dismal and a perfect setting for a haunted house movie. Lights blazed from a second floor window.

Without waiting for Sorley to speak again, Ronan gathered his energy and directed his body toward the second floor.

Ronan materialized in the bedroom where he sensed mortals, but kept his form invisible.

He knew the popping noise would be audible to mortals no matter what, but by the sounds of the struggle going on, they wouldn't notice.

A tall man stood over a woman lying on the floor, his brutish features marred by three long, thin bloody slashes over his right cheek. The man wore a plain white T-shirt and red plaid pajama bottoms, his barrel chest heaving with angry breaths. Waves of malice rolled off the man as he looked at the crumpled form on the floor. The crude-looking bastard's powerful arms and body had assured the woman didn't stand much chance against him. Raking his hands through his short blond hair, the man licked his lips and looked down on his handiwork.

A fast glance at the woman, her bloodied head lying near a bedside table, told Ronan she was in serious shape, if not dead. Vampire rage built in Ronan and he knew justice would be served far quicker by him than by the police.

He returned to corporeal form right in front of the man.

The man's cold blue eyes about burst from his head. Taking two steps back, the asshole cringed. Ronan drew back his fist and hammered the man across the face. The creep went down and out.

Sorley popped into the room a second later, his expression verging on fear. "Sure, and what's goin' on in here?"

Ronan's battle rage rolled off him in waves, and he could feel it filling the room and adding to the already thick atmosphere. He pointed to the man on the floor. "This asshole was beating the woman."

Stepping around the man, Ronan crouched down beside the female and checked her vitals. When he found a fairly strong pulse and heartbeat, he sighed in relief. "Call the cops and find some rope."

After Sorley put in an anonymous 9-1-1 call and they'd tied up the man and gagged him, they considered taking him to the crypt where Clarissa had fallen through to the tunnels.

"Sure, and the bastard would think twice about hurtin' a woman," Sorley said.

Ronan nodded. "He'd be dead. The ancient one would find him and kill him. We can't."

Sorley looked disappointed for a moment. "Ah, bugger. You're right."

Ronan put his hand over the woman's wound, testing for how much damage had been done to her skull. "She's going to be all right, I think. It's not a fracture."

At that moment the man woke up and stared at his assailants. His eyes widened and he thrashed in his bonds as he lay on the floor. Ronan smiled down at the man with satisfaction as the bastard tried to speak. Sorley waved at the guy and as they disappeared, the man screamed against his gag. Sirens wailed in the distance.