“When it comes to vampires, especially, expect the unexpected. That’s the only way we’ll ever rid our lands of these parasites. And so our first fight of the evening is the rarest of the rare. There’s a code that vampires live by, to never harm another one of their kind. And yet, here tonight, we have two vampires who have forsaken this code. Ladies and gentlemen – place your bets!”

The doors to Valkyrie’s left opened, and a man was led through, shackled hand and foot. He wore blood-splattered tracksuit bottoms, cut off just below the knee. His body was a map of pain, criss-crossed with scars both old and new. His head was badly shaved, like he’d done it himself, in the dark, with a blunt razor. His eyes were black, his sharp teeth splitting his gums.

“Victor,” the Promoter said, drawing down a chorus of booing. “Eight fights in, he’s proving himself to be a capable little monster, aren’t you, Victor?”

Victor didn’t respond. He was trapped halfway through his transformation into full vampire. Valkyrie could see it by the pain on his face, by the way his body twitched. She’d seen it before with Dusk, when he’d been jabbed with vampire serum in the middle of a change. That time, Valkyrie herself had been responsible.

The doors to her right opened, and the Promoter swung round, pointing to the newcomer as he was led out into the light.

“And tonight, for your sporting pleasure, for your entertainment and your education, Victor will be facing… Caelan!”

The crowd roared their cheers. Caelan stumbled, and the man behind him poked him in the side with the barrel of a shotgun. Valkyrie glimpsed the claws that tipped his fingers. He, too, was caught halfway between his two natures.

The fighters were brought to opposite sides of the pit, where their shackles were taken off as the Promoter left the pit. The men, half a dozen for each fighter, backed off warily to the doors, sealing Caelan and Victor in.

The Promoter appeared in the stands, sitting down in a chair that could only be described as a throne.

“Vampires,” he shouted, “begin the slaughter!”

Caelan and Victor started circling each other, knees slightly bent, shoulders hunched. Victor bared his fangs and attacked and Caelan spun him away, keeping the space between them.

Victor moved in again, forcing Caelan to retreat and cutting off his avenues of escape. Victor was bristling with energy – every movement was sharp. Caelan’s movements were tempered with a controlled wariness, and he looked positively sedate compared to the other vampire.

Valkyrie hoped this was a deception. She hoped he wasn’t really as weak as he’d said. If he was, she had a feeling that this would be a very short fight.