She pushed the limp body of her Thorn aside as though it were nothing. Impatiently, her hand flew to strike at the arm holding her hair. Her assailant let go when she did this, then followed through with a blow to the side of her face. She staggered to the side, the impact throwing her into a spot of moonlight cast through the window. Her naked body shone in the moonlight with an etherial beauty.<br/><br/>She crouched there, a crimson fire burning to life in her eyes, and she glared at the shadowy figure. Speaking with power and confidence that she didn't quite feel, she growled in a voice much altered from the one before. Her voice now rolled like thunder with a deep, grumpling of underlying strength.<br/><br/>"There can be no betrayal where there was no obligation. You presume much from the feeble arrangement we made, mortal. You were useful to me for a time. Do not make the mistake of assuming your use is permanent. I take whom I choose, according to my whim, not yours. Your hold over me is not so tenuous as to deign upon whom and when I feed."<br/><br/>His only answer was to rise to his feet as she began talking, take two deliberate steps, then wait for her to finish. She glared up at him, rising to her feet as he stood over her, and met his gaze without reserve. He, for his part, did not allow her gaze to penetrate his eyes, keeping his focus on her body. He drew back the gun in his hand, then let fly with a blow of the handle of his gun, aiming for the side of her head.<br/><br/>She whirled, reaching out with lightning reflexes to catch his arm, but it was a mistake. The blow was planned only as a distraction. As her attention was focused on the gun-wielding hand, his other arm raise. Before she could react, his fingers opened to reveal a violent purple glow, and his hand clamped around her arm as she grabbed for the gun.<br/><br/>When the light touched her skin, she bucked, screamed, and went rigid. He kept hold of her arm, but otherwise let her fall to the floor, where she writhed in agony.<br/><br/><br/>Through the splinter of her mind still lodged within the Slayer, he would feel that her mind was being seized. With the last ounce of her control, she pulled the splinter from him just an instant before blackness took her and she knew no more.<br/><br/>Her writhing, screaming protestations ceased and she went still, her expression slack.<br/><br/>"Rise, and finish your meal, huntress... there is work to be done." spoke the figure in a quiet, deadly voice.