Excerpt of Deep Midnight by Shannon Drake

Prologue

The moon was full. Huge in the sky, a brilliant,
iridescent orb that seemed to stare down mockingly at the
earth.

Though his night vision was excellent, it helped him to
see.

From the Campanile, he had chosen to survey the city. He
looked out at the dazzle of the evening; at the people
milling about, at the clear beauty of the dark sky far
above, and he felt his tension and awareness increase.

Carnevale. Venice.

The first true night of celebration. The first night of
the grand balls ...

Fat Tuesday.

The delirium of it all.

Tonight. They would strike tonight.

For far below, crowding the streets, alleyways, and
canals, were all manner of masqueraders. Musicians,
entertainers, stilt-walkers, rich and poor, all were out
for a night of pretense, playacting, charades. The world
here now was shadow, despite the lights that spilled forth
in the city, despite the lanterns so many of the players
carried.

Fat Tuesday...

The feast before Lent.

Yes, they would seek to feast tonight. And they would do
so. Glut themselves...

Unless ...

Silently, with the grace and skill of the natural born
predator, he left his perch.

And entered the city.