QUERIES IV

Lefa nodded in agreement. "I knew something was wrong, but the hatred toward your kind festered. The vampire must have planted the seeds among us. Your males stealing our women. I don't remember ever encountering a vampire, or one who said such a thing, but I have known for some time that I was not thinking correctly."

"He underestimated your strength. He must have chosen you because you're a leader." Kane said.

"At one time I was. Not so much anymore. The men are scattered, running in packs now, looking for women of our blood." Lefa frowned, rubbed at his temples as he tried to recall what they'd been told. "I believe the vampire wants a specific woman, one of pure blood who can shift every bit as quickly as a man, fight as hard, as tirelessly. He was insistent that if we find her, that she be brought to him." He sighed. "At the time he made it all seem sensible, but now it makes none at all."

The leaves rustled and both men spun toward the sound. The jaguar-man slipped, toward Kan