If someone came to wake me for breakfast, I don’t remember. After all the chaos yesterday, I slept in late. However, someone left me a plate of bread rolls and cold bacon on the dining room table that I eagerly munch on alone. Since I’m unclear if Lore went into town without me, I head to his office to check.

Knocking on his door, I’m somewhat surprised to hear him say, “Come in.”

When I step in, he chuckles, “That bed head tells me someone had a good night's rest.”

I pathetically attempt to tame my hair, although I shouldn’t care how he sees me. It’s not like I want him to think I look good or anything.

“Did you have good dreams about slaying more vampires?” Lore teases further, setting aside his pen to watch me.

“No, I had a dream about slaying one dhampir in particular,” I reply, then get straight to business, otherwise he’ll tease me all day. “Has Draven returned with information on any of the suspects?”

“No.”

I’d ask him to elaborate, but Lore answers what he wants when he wants then diverges all questions to the shit pile otherwise. I will admit, it’s a skill. One I doubt I’ll ever possess. And, frankly, I am not in the mood to end up knee deep in shit so I’m not going to attempt asking a damn thing. Besides, he keeps staring at me in a way that makes my spine curl. Like he can’t look away or doesn’t want to.

“The candy you purchased for the children is in the kitchen. The children are likely at the schoolhouse. Tell them to come to the foyer once you’re done,” Lore announces.

I don’t like that tone.

“Why do they need to come to the foyer?” I ask, skeptically.

Lore maintains an innocent facade. “You’ll see when you come with them.”

“...you didn’t give them your gifts last night, did you?”

Lore leers.

“One of these days my specific dhampir slaying dream is going to become a reality,” I growl, pointing at him accusingly. He laughs off my threat and laughs louder when I slam the door shut.

That sly dog! I knew he got gifts for all the kids to make me look bad.

Okay, I admit, I’m somewhat flattered. Purely because I tell myself that he sees me as a little bit of a threat. Like the size of a fly, kind of threat, but flies can carry all kinds of diseases and wreak havoc so he better not underestimate me!

I can’t believe I’m comparing myself to a fly. Have I hit rock bottom already?

After retrieving the candy from the kitchen, I drag myself towards the schoolhouse. Maybe I’ll get lucky and the kids will appreciate the candy enough not to run at the sight of me.

Arline’s voice carries from one of the classrooms at the end of the hall. It isn’t until I’m a few steps away that I realize what she’s saying to the children; “1000 years ago, mages meddled with magic they didn’t understand in a greedy attempt to discover everlasting life. Do you remember what happened from their meddling?”

I ease my way closer in an attempt to peek through the open door. I don’t see anyone, but there’s basic math on the chalkboard. Likely from an earlier lesson. They must be sitting deeper in the room.

“The Gateway appeared!” Angel proclaims.

“That’s right. A tear in the sky that led to another world, Vexsis, where vampires come from. Who remembers what happened next?” Arline asks.

I rest my back against the wall outside of the room. I’m curious to hear what she has to say, even if I’m fairly certain I know. Lore would never teach proper history when it favors the church.

Nalo tentatively answers, “The Vampire Wars?”

“That did eventually happen, but originally vampires and mortals got along. Vampires had advanced technology while mortals had magic. In the beginning, the races shared their knowledge. Vampires are the reason Earth has things like airships and automobiles by offering a resource that can’t be produced on Earth; nellore. Mages worked to restore Vexsis after a terrible civil war and helped in projects that would have taken the vampires much longer to complete.”

They used us, is a far better description. We were a means to an end until they learned we could provide something they never expected.

“But what happened?” Oliver practically whispers.

“Those same mages looking for eternal life came up with a horrible plan; to experiment on vampires. Maybe something in their bodies would reveal the path to eternal life. There were more mages who refused to treat their new friends like test subjects though, so the idea was made illegal and very wrong to even speak of. However, in the end, greed won. The mortal king at the time, Graigan Ruthwell, secretly gave money to a few bad mages to kidnap vampires and perform experiments. Of course, they were eventually caught.”

“Then the Vampire Wars happened?” Ashby inquires.

“Yes, because the ruler of Vexsis, Morren Valyork, did not accept an apology. He wanted blood. A life for a life, regardless of what that meant for everyone, so Graigan Ruthwell was killed alongside his mages. That was the first time vampires ever tasted human blood and found it to be not only unusually sweet, but also made them stronger.”

“So the vampires became greedy too,” Angel says.

“That’s right. Vampires wanted mortal blood. Mortals wanted eternal life. They went to war. Mortals became upset with their royals for beginning the war and that’s how the Holy Church rose to power. They blamed everything on the nobility while promising false salvation from the Holy Mothers.”

False salvation.

My teeth grind behind my lips and fingers threaten to rip the bag of candy trembling in my grasp. Of course she’d call it false. A dhampir is still linked to the dark God of Vexsis, Elminore. His influence is engraved in her very being. She can’t resist his deceit. He created his children of darkness to spread throughout the lands. No matter how much they reach for the light, it’ll never be in their grasp.

“The Holy Church spread lie after lie, claiming that vampires were a test of mortal faith. They were sent by the made up Elminore, the God of Chaos,” Arline continues. “When mortals accepted vampires with open arms, they were punished. To earn the love of the Holy Mothers once more, mortals had to push the vampires back to their dark realm. The Holy Church was able to do that thanks to their seraphics, paladins, and champions, but most of all, the first Prophet; Ebony Hawinan. She is the strongest mage to have ever lived and could wipe out hundreds of vampire war machines entirely on her own. Since the mortal people saw the Holy Church saving them more than the noble guards, they began turning on the king, which is why the Holy Church is so strong today. They saw an opportunity and took it, successfully brainwashing an entire kingdom.”

My hands rip through the bag without meaning to. I jump in surprise and desperately try to cover the hole to prevent any run away candy.

“But they didn’t push all the vampires back. There’s lots of us on Earth,” Nalo says.

“Of course. Our existence benefits the church, we--” Arline stops when she hears the quiet thud of a candy on the floor, one that slipped through my fingers. I swiftly grab the candy and head for the door. Better to make it look like I just got here than the fact that I was listening.

“Excuse me?” I call while knocking on the door. Arline’s a few steps away, having almost made it to me first.

She scowls when I hold up the bag of candy I brought. The kids' eyes widen, although I realize that only Oliver, Ashby, Angel, and Nalo are here. The others must be studying on their own or given some type of free time since they’re old enough to watch themselves.

“I grabbed this for the kids while we were in town yesterday,” I explain while sitting the bag on a desk. Oliver and Nalo rush over first, but Ashby clings to Angel’s wrist a few steps away. I smile at them. “There’s enough for everyone to pass around. We have to save some for the others though, okay?”

Nalo eagerly nods, having already stashed a few pieces in his mouth while Oliver struggles to open the wrapper. I open it for him, then do the same for Ashby and Angel when their candy cravings get the better of them.

I sense Arline’s harsh gaze. Sure enough, when I look at her, she’s glaring.

“His Grace said to meet him in the foyer when you’re done,” I add, turning my attention back to the children. They smile brightly at the mention of him.

Arline’s jaw moves side to side, then she speaks to the children, “Alright, take the candy to the others and tell them to come here.”

The children do as instructed, giggling their way down the hall to get their siblings. Arline, however, stays behind with me.

“Don’t you have something to say?” she asks.

“About what?”

“My history lesson. You were listening, weren’t you?”

Damn. I hoped she’d buy the lie or at least pretend to.

“I was,” I admit while facing her. “You teach what I expected. Lies and disrespect.”

Arline snorts. She crosses her arms and looks me dead in the eye, which is enough to tell me that I’m about to receive a lecture or maybe she’s on the verge of clawing my eyes out.