Silvanus laid out the rules to the Dorvo vampire hunt. We had an hour to catch our prey and bring them back alive. Whoever did so would be rewarded with money and the chance to kill them.

  After the female vampire fled from the front porch, we waited for a few seconds before Silvanus signaled all the Deamhan to go after them. They ran from the sanctuary into the night, howling like werewolves. Finley stood at my side on the porch as we watched Branda and Brandy run off with them. Some lowered their bodies close to the ground, taking in the scents before disappearing in a blur across the vast open plain.

  Silvanus approached me and he placed his hands on the railing. “Are you both not going to join them?”

  “I don’t understand the reason behind this,” I asked him. “Why not just kill them? Why did you feed her blood then bite her?”

  “Well, it’s not fun if they’re too weak to run,” Silvanus replied. “We must have some competition, right? Do you like prey that won’t fight back?”

  “And what if they escape?” Finley asked.

  “They won’t.” He tittered quietly. “I will make sure of that.”

  Finley also leaned against the railing, taking in the cool breeze. “How often do you host these vampire hunts?”

  “Just when we have Dorvo vampires,” Silvanus replied. “These vampires claim a direct ancestral link to a vampire by the name of Dorvo. He was just one of the many vampires we owe our existence to. If it wasn’t for him, your ancestors would have never created us Deamhan in the first place. We’re bred to hate them.”

  I stood quiet at his revelation.

  “Your ancestor was a smart human,” he said. “He believed that, to deal with vampires, the humans needed their own supernatural force and he used magic to create it. You know, Deamhan weren’t always bad. The very first four were loyal and protected the humans.”

  Puzzled, I asked, “What happened?”

  He shrugged. “Nothing good can ever come from dark magic, Maris.”

  “Dark magic?” I became drawn to his explanation and I started to search my mind to remember anything my human mother may have said about our family. The only thing I knew was that her parents were migrants and of course, the amulet was handed down in our family. She never went any further back than that.

  “The first four Deamhan turned on the humans so another four were created,” Silvanus said. “And when they also turned on the ones who created them, the humans then created a magical space to trap them in; Limbo. They succeeded but not before the eight Deamhan had sired humans to spread their seed.”

  I looked straight ahead, watching Deamhan in the distance scouring the land for the two vampires.

  “So how does Maris fit into this?” Finley asked. “Why is she so important?”

  I started to think. “I don’t practice magic. I know nothing about that.”

  “It’s in your blood.” Silvanus smiled at me. “Literally. It has the power to release them from Limbo.”

  “So you want to free them?”

  “Oh God, no,” Silvanus immediately replied. “They can never be freed.” He ended our conversation. “Both of you go and join in the hunt.” He clasped his hands behind his back and descended the stairs. “You don’t want to risk having another Deamhan win the prize.” He ran in a slow pace then he picked up speed. Soon he quickly moved in a blur, disappearing before our eyes.

  By now all the Deamhan had left the sanctuary, scattering to search for the two vampires. I didn’t want to leave the comfort of our home but Finley encouraged me and instead of following them, we walked to the horse stables near the back. Cautious, he told me to wait as he searched. The cool wind picked up and the sounds of birds and animals around us began to drown my hearing.

  “No vampires here.” Finley returned.

  “We’re not participating in this hunt, are we?” I said to him as we continued to walk.

  “Do you want to?” he asked. “I don’t want to admit it but what Silvanus said makes sense. They hunt us. We hunt them.”

  I declined the offer. He didn’t say anything about the history lesson we learned from Silvanus. That troubled me. I wanted his opinion.

  “If you’re afraid that that the scary vampires will get you, don’t worry,” he joked. “I’m here to protect you.” He rubbed his fingers through my hair. I pushed him away and laughed. When I tried to reach for his hair, he took off in Deamhan speed across the landscape and I ran after him. I caught up to him and he turned around quickly, grabbed my right arm, and tossed me into the air. I landed, unhurt on my feet, and when I tried to throw him, he maneuvered around me. He managed to always be one step ahead.

  “I’m older than you, Maris, so I’ll always be stronger.”

  I smiled back at him and noticed that he pulled out a small book that had been tucked in the waist of his pants. “What’s that?”

  He sat on the grass. “I took it from Silvanus’ library.” He began to flip through it. “I think it’s called a ‘dime novel’.”

  “A dime novel?” I questioned.

  “Humans in America write all their exploits in these books and they sell them.” He patted his hand on the ground next to him. “Sit. I want to show you something.”

  I sat next to him, looking over his shoulder as we began to read up on cowboys and Indians. This book had stories of Billy the Kid; a person no older than my human self, who was a desperado and wanted for murder. I didn’t know much about America besides the Civil War and slavery. Still this mysterious land excited me however I didn’t want to leave Finley here and all alone. I mentioned the city of San Francisco and he cringed.

  “I know nothing about that place.”

  The more I thought about America, the more I wondered why it was taking Silvanus so long to send me there. I knew he followed the orders of an Ancient female that I had yet to meet, but it still didn’t make any sense. My smile faded away from my face as I dwelled deeply in my thoughts.

  “What’s wrong?” He eyed me.

  “Nothing. I’m fine.”

  “Are you certain?” His right eye twitched. “Don’t make me read your thoughts, Maris.”

  I nodded and told him a lie. “I just don’t like this vampire hunt, that’s all.”

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  “Well, let’s not talk about it. Let’s talk about America.” He closed the book and lay back on the grass, staring at the clear night sky. “I can’t wait to go there.” He laughed under his breath. “What other places in America would you like to visit?” He placed the book aside. “What about the Black Hills?”

  “You told me we have eternity, remember? There’s no need to rush.” I wanted to comb through his thoughts. “Finley, I’ve been wondering about something you told me a few days ago.”

  He looked at me. “What is it?”

  “What you said the other night …You said that you loved me. Do you really believe that?”

  “I do. I guess I think I do.” He continued to stare at me. “I can’t explain it. I want to love you but...”

  “But what?”

  “It’s ...it’s not normal. It doesn’t feel right.”

  “Would you feel the same if I were a human?”

  “Maris!” His voice pitched high and his mouth remained opened.

  “I don’t mean to surprise you, but I was curious.”

  “No. No, there has to be something behind these questions,” he replied. “Did Silvanus put you up to this?”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Because your question doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Neither does the fact that you’re confused about love.”

  He closed his mouth.

  “Would you miss me while in America? Would you remember me?”

  “I don’t like these questions.”

  The nighttime breeze picked up and it carried a scent that we hadn’t smelled before. With his attention now aimed at figuring out the intrusive scent, he sat up and eyed the area around us.

  “You smell that?” He sniffed the air. “I think we just found the female vampire.” He hastily walked away to the back near the edge of a line of trees and I joined him quickly. The farther we walked, the stronger the smell became, turning into an overbearing stench that stung my nostrils.

  “Stay here.” Finley continued walking forward,

  I heard rustling to my left and the smell returned with it. Making my way through the bushes, I came upon the female vampire lying on her side on a bed of twigs and brush. I stood motionless and her eyes opened, staring back at me.

  My fangs extended. I should’ve yelled out to Finley, telling him I had found her, but part of me wanted to question her first. She looked weaker, due to the bite wound from Silvanus on her wrist and her different colored eyes still mesmerized me.

  “Don’t come any closer,” she whispered as she sat up.

  There wasn’t any force in her threat. I personally didn’t want to harm her. My human mother used to say I was a curious child who had to know everything. As a Deamhan, that didn’t change.

  “Why do you vampires smell bad?” I knelt next to her.

  She moved away from me. “Deamhan don’t smell any better.”

  I sniffed my arms, smelling nothing. “No, that’s you. I’m sure of it. You all smell like dirt and rotten flesh.” My mouth opened slightly. I had so many questions for her and I didn’t know what to ask first.

  She looked to her left in the direction that Finley walked. “You’ve come to claim me? Well, what are you waiting for?”

  “I don’t know what you mean by that,” I replied. “But if you answer my questions, I promise that I will let you go.”

  “And why should I believe you?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe because I’m your only option of escape?”

  Again, she looked to Finley. “Fine. Make your questions quick.” She nodded.

  “Silvanus said that Dorvo vampires hunt us. Is that true?”

  “You know nothing about them.”

  “So you are a Dorvo vampire,” I said. “And you kill Deamhan?”

  “We all kill, Ramanga.”

  “Would you kill me if you had the chance?”

  “If I had to, yes.” Her eyes moved back and forth from me to Finley. “But I wouldn’t because you’re the descendent.” Her reply sounded like a question and a statement.

  “So, you don’t want to kill me?”

  The air carried the voices of other Ramanga near the front of the house. I looked back quickly. “I think they found your vampire friend.”

  She stared at me for what felt like a lifetime before saying, “Every part of me wants to kill you still.”

  My eyes wandered over her body, examining it. “I know why Deamhan want me, but I don’t understand why vampires want me as well.”

  She turned her attention to Finley who remained far from our location. “Because you can decipher it.”

  “Decipher what?”

  “The spell. You can decipher the spell your ancestor used to create the vermin.” I sensed her fear starting to mount.

  “Like I told my kind, I don’t know anything, especially magic that would release the first eight Deamhan from Limbo.”

  She laughed suspiciously and tilted her head to the side. “It’s part of you.” She swiped her hair from her face. “It’s inside you.”

  “This isn’t a laughing matter.”

  “I’m sure you heard that together, Deamhan can be an unstoppable force, but do you know what’s stronger than that?”

  I didn’t know.

  “An unstoppable supernatural force,” she answered. “Deamhan and vampire are not that different. We both fear nothing, we are both taught to live as we please and we do what we want. The problem with that elementary philosophy is that we supernatural creatures, in fact, should fear everything. We should fear being known, we should fear attention, ourselves, and what we’re capable of. The difference between our species is how we handle that fear.”

  I didn’t quite understand where she was going with her speech.

  “Out of fear, Deamhan were created to balance the vampires and vampires balance ourselves.”

  I thought. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “It wouldn’t make sense to you because you are a Deamhan,” she answered. “We vampires can control our nature because we are a natural creation. We have balances. Deamhan are not balanced. You are abominations. You aren’t supposed to exist.”

  “But we do. We’re here. You can’t just annihilate us.”

  “We can and we will and you, Maris, are the key to that,” she replied. “You have the ability to end or continue the madness that your kind creates by just being.”

  I looked at Finley who continued his search in the distance, trying to locate the origin of her scent.

  “I can prove it with just one question,” the vampire continued.

  “And what question is that?” I faced her.

  “Are you happy?”

  I shot her a confused stare. “What does my happiness have to do with this?”

  “Are you happy?” she asked again.

  My happiness didn’t matter to me as a Deamhan or as a human. Before being sired, I didn’t think about happiness as being something I’d take a special notice to. Sure, Samantha knew how to cheer me up on my down days, and we had joyous times together, but never did I make a mental note of it. Now as a Deamhan, I thought that Finley brought me that happiness. He filled my void and he did a great job in doing so. But being happy with him wasn’t the same as being happy with Samantha. Suddenly, the taste of warm blood came to mind; not Finley, Samantha, and certainly not anyone else.

  “Tell me, Maris. You must know your answer by now.”

  “Blood makes me happy.”

  “No, blood makes you content and satisfies your hunger,” she interjected. “What is the key to your true happiness?”

  I thought again and this time I said Finley’s name.

  “Another Deamhan? No, that’s a bond.”

  “But he makes me happy.”

  “He can only provide artificial happiness.”

  “You’re wrong.” I stared at her. “I am happy.” The words sounded archaic as they exited my mouth.

  “Deamhan don’t know happiness,” she said to me. “They can learn it but never achieve it. Anything created out of pure evil and wickedness can never know happiness. Deamhan only know darkness and hunger.”

  “He loves me.”

  “Love?” Her tone suddenly changed and she began giggling. “He loves you as much as he loves his next meal.”

  “Enough of your trick questions.” I couldn’t decide whether or not to continue along with her philosophical talk.

  “Thus I’ve proven my point,” she replied. “You lost your ability to feel love, happiness, the moment they sired you. Look around you!” Quickly, she reached out and grabbed my hand. I tried to move but even in her weakened state, she was much faster than me. “You aren’t normal. You and your kind are a plague in this world. You don’t fit.” Her skin felt so soft and yet so cold.

  I pulled back. “You’re only saying this because you’re my enemy.” I rubbed my hand as if it had been injured.

  “I only offered you the truth.” She placed her hand on her chest.

  I had enough and I began to decide her fate. She angered me and I wanted to slaughter her that very moment. However, I didn’t want to fit into the stereotype. I didn’t want to follow through in my nature and she had to see that I was different.

  “You can go now.” I quickly glanced behind me.

  She stood up but kept her body low enough to the ground to blend in with the bushes. “You know I will come back here with others.”

  “Stop talking and just go.” I stared ahead, seeing Finley in the distance.

  She took off and faded from my sight.

  I waited a few seconds before I stood to my feet and walked out from the brush. I called Finley’s name and he ran back over to me.

  “Did you find the vampire?”

  I hesitated then nodded.

  “Where is she?” He looked around. “Did you kill her?”

  “I let her go.”

  “You what?!”

  “She’s gone.” I saw disappointment in his eyes.

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Because I had to show her,” I replied, not knowing if what I believed was the actual truth. “I had to make her see that we aren’t the evil creatures that they’ve made us to be.”

  “She’s a Dorvo!” He raised his voice at me. “She will come back with more of them!” He looked to our left. “Did she go this way?” He prepared to go after her but I gripped his arm, stopping him.

  He looked back at me. “What’s wrong with you, Maris?” He rudely ripped his arm from my grasp.

  “I’m Deamhan.” I turned around and began to walk away. “That is what’s wrong with me.”

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