***
Devon was completely motionless on the tree branch as he tuned all of his senses to the night. It was the exact same thing he'd been doing every night for the past week while Cassie was occupied with studying, or at Melissa's. Probing with his mind, he sorted through the few brain waves close enough for him to pick up in the area. It was one of his talents, the ability to sift through people's minds in order to pinpoint the one he sought. He could then latch onto them and track them down.
He could pick up Cassie's mind from miles away; it was as brilliant and as welcoming as the sun to him. Whenever he came out here, he had to shut his mind off of Cassie; otherwise he would be distracted from his pursuit.
Tuning his senses to the night, he strained to feel anything out there, to find anything out there. Then, for the first time, he picked up on a small flicker of distant power in the night. A power he recognized as belonging to the one he sought.
Slipping from the tree, he moved through the woods far faster than any cheetah would have. Leaping over fallen logs, and effortlessly dodging branches, he whizzed through the trees as he hunted his adversary.
Devon broke out of the woods, and into the cemetery. He jumped stones and tombs with smooth, easy leaps. Whatever he was pursuing wasn't as fast as he was, not as fleet in its retreat. He poured on the speed, becoming nearly a blur as he reentered the woods in pursuit of his prey. Excitement and bloodlust pounded through him. It had been so long since he'd pursued any real challenge or kill. Animals didn't amount to the same thrill as a human, or another vampire.
A girl's scream pierced the night and echoed loudly through the tress. Devon realized too late that the creature hadn't been fleeing from him, but had been hunting its own prey.