“Huh,” Owen said, and did his best to swallow down his disgust. “This is what you do for fun.”

“No better entertainment,” Josef said with a deep belly laugh. He towered over Owen, and Owen was not a small man to begin with. “Watching the leeches tear apart the weakest of the pack. You should see it when we toss a Shifter down there. Man they make some fur fly.”

Owen was glad Josef’s attention was on the deep pit, and not on him, because fury was painted across his face. 

The pit itself was a work of art, if the artist was a sadist. Ten feet deep, with smooth concrete sides and plates of steel fencing across the top, weighted to keep the inhabitants confined. There was an open hole in the very middle, perfect for pushing something, or someone, in.

Fledgling vampires. 

Owen couldn’t get a good look, but he thought there were at least four, and probably closer to six. Their movements blurred as they darted from side to side, hissing and growling at each other. Fledgling vampires could speak as well as any other human, but ones were completely mindless with frenzy. 

Death would be kinder. Once a vampire lost themselves to the Frenzy, it was nearly impossible to come back.

“How did you catch the fledglings?” he asked to buy himself time. Josef had a quick temper, and Owen didn’t want to fight him if he didn’t have to.

But he also needed more information. Word on the streets was that Josef was planning a purge of the whole city. Busses of grim-faced men and women were pouring in from all over, heavily armed, and ready for action.

But no one was talking about what that action was going to be. That, more than anything else, had Owen worried. 

He liked having a plan as much as anyone, but when someone had a plan, and wasn’t sharing it, there was a problem.

“Tracked down a leech club and picked up everyone too slow to run,” Josef laughed, and dug in a bucket until he came up with a dead rat. “Watch this.”

He tossed the rat through the fencing.

It didn’t hit the ground.

In a blur, one of the fledglings was on the sad little corpse, feeding with a desperation that spoke of starvation. Moments later, one of the others jumped on him, fangs bared and bloody as she sank her teeth into his shoulder.

The fight quickly turned into a brawl as the other fledglings noticed the presence of food, and blood, and dove in. 

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Blood sprayed everywhere as they bit and clawed mindlessly, the rat forgotten on the floor. 

Owen felt sick as inhuman screaming filled the air. 

By the time the fight scattered apart, one of the fledglings was dead, torn to gruesome pieces by his fellow captives. 

“So this is the plan?” he asked, and forced himself not to look away as Josef threw another rat into the pit, sparking the fight once more. “Just catch a vamp here or there and chuck them into a pit for fun?”

“Nah,” Josef wiped his bloody hands on a rag and stood. Owen stood his ground, and tried to stay casual while resting his hand on his shotgun. “The plan is to wipe out every non-human in the city.”

“You’re insane,” Owen said flatly. Josef’s gaze went from cheerful to mean in a heartbeat. “Not every Other in the city is a problem.”

“You’re on their side?” Josef demanded, and took a step forward into Owen’s space. His muscles bulged as he tensed for a fight, and Own braced himself. He didn’t want to kill the big Hunter, but he was starting to think that there wasn’t going to be a choice. ”What kind of a hunter are you?”

“The kind that doesn’t hurt innocent people,” Owen snapped. He was too close to the pit. The fencing shifted and wobbled under his feet, unstable and ready to drop him if he wasn’t careful.. The fledglings below him were silent, and he could feel them watching his every move.

Bootsteps on the fencing meant food. They knew that by now.

“It’s a shame,” Josef said with real disappointment. “You’re one of our heavy hitters. I was hoping you would help me clean this city up. But you’re just another sympathizer.”

Before Owen could reply, Josef reared back and punched him. The big hunter punched like a freight train, and Owen felt his boots leave the ground.

He had to give it to Josef, his aim was great.

The floor of the pit was soaked in blood, old and new. 

The fledglings watched him, hissing softly to themselves. Above him, Josef was laughing. A dead rat flew down into the pit, and landed between Owen and the vampires. 

Owen scrambled to his feet and brought his gun to bear. 

In a blur, they were on him, and it was all he could do to keep them away from his throat. Claws slashed through his shirt and into his side, and he buried the muzzle of his gun onto the nearest body and pulled the trigger. Both barrels emptied their payload of blessed salt and wood shards straight into the vampire’s chest, and it flew off with a screech of agony. Two of the other fledglings pounced on it, and blood flew in every direction. 

If anything, the frenzy got worse. Own threw himself backwards until his back his the concrete wall, and he emptied shot after shot into anything that moved towards him. Every time he drew blood, the fledglings would turn on each other, but the respite never lasted long.

The first one he shot was down, ripped apart and drained. 

The rest just kept coming.

Bleeding and just about down for the count, Owen took aim not at the vampires who eagerly dove on him, but for the steel plates above him and the chains that tied them together.

The first blast barely made a dent, and he struggled to keep his head as the fledglings tore into him with clash and teeth.

The second shot was better, and Owen’s enchanted shotgun packed a punch. The chain gave with a crash of metal that collapsed directly on top of one of the fledglings. It screamed as its fellows immediately leapt on it, hungry and eager for easy prey. 

Owen scrambled out of the pit and towards the door beyond.

He needed help to stop Josef, and he needed somewhere safe to lick his wounds.

Fortunately, he might just be able to find both in the same place.