There was a nest of Cold Walkers waiting for our visit before they could come to wreak havoc in our front yard. And it was coming, after all, they favored family among other things the most, and I had killed one of them in the place they would come looking first.

For the span of the rest of the ride back to the city, I kept glancing back, checking on the two boys sitting at the backseats of the car. Vince was still cozily sitting in Wann’s lap, resting his head on the other’s shoulder, still enveloped in the oversized winter coat.

Wann was not sleeping, but it seemed so for a moment, since he had his eyes downcast, looking at the boy in his arms all the time. It was strange seeing Wann so gentle. He always looked ready to hurt, to be rough even with the ones he was supposed to treat nicely. But right then I saw how kind he could look while gazing at my own soulmate.

I felt a pang of emotions so strange, I couldn’t put a name on them. I wanted to take Vince away, to keep him all to myself. My hands itched to just fight Wann off and cuddle the boy on my own. But I shoved those emotions away promptly, knowing it was for the best for the both of us, if the boy stayed with the other.

At first I was sure the Nature was playing a trick on me by sending me a male homosexual soulmate, but seeing them together, after realizing Vince’s wolf form smelled like sandalwood, I knew it was supposed to be that way – he was supposed to live beside me, as a wolf, as a supernatural being with a longer lifespan and more strength than a regular human being. And I was completely content with that situation.

The others were soundly asleep when we finally reached the borders of Huntig city. The contrast with Jeagerstadt was obvious – no campsites for guards, no tents, no actual border, just a small sign informing of entering the city grounds. The city looked like any other human habitat despite not belonging to an actual country. I supposed, not every resident knew about the purpose of Huntig’s academy, and not every resident had an idea about supernatural beings living in this world.

Soon we reached the academy. I roused the others, while Wann took to waking Vince up. I really wanted to go do it myself, but I figured, I should give them some time to get used to one another. I was quite worried about Wann reverting to his old ways when he stepped off the bus, where every other instructor and student could see him and judge him. I lingered by the door of the mini-bus, waiting for them to climb out.

“Can you walk on your own?” asked Wann.

“I think so,” Vince’s voice was rough, scratching.

“You sure?”

There was a sound of rushed movement, which was probably Vince stumbling and scrambling to catch on to something.

“No,” came a weak, defeated voice of the boy.

“Thought so,” Wann supported the other by his side, having one of Vince’s arms hugging his neck. He was slightly limping himself, but he did not need the crutch anymore.

“Need help?” I asked.

“No,” Wann deadpanned and went ahead to the main building.

“I’ll go get him some clothes. Don’t let him meet any instructors by then,” I reprimanded and bolted off.

I had forgotten we had lost the bags back in Germany, and my keys to the dorm were in the bag, so I lingered by the outside door for a couple of minutes in hopes someone would let me in, but it did not happen.

After waiting a bit more, I did the only rational thing in that situation at the time - I tore the door off its hinges and left it there, on the ground. I did the same with the door to the apartment, and then the same with the one to his room.

The academy had to change the damned doors eventually, why not do it now. Maybe after that, they would make the locks with a keypad so it would be easier to access the dorms for the students, but harder for the outsiders.

After grabbing some pants and a sweater I ran back to the main, administrative, building by the connecting hall. Wann was waiting for me at the first floor, by the entrance to the med bay, Vince was sitting on the bench by the wall. I passed him the clothes and gave him some privacy while he changed. The rest of our team were sitting on the floor. It was an early evening, so most likely, most of the students were in the training grounds.

“Come to think of it, what about Michail?” I asked.

“They will send him back, once he is healthy and strong enough to travel far,” answered Vince, already clothed, and standing, still weak on his legs.

“You alright?” I worried more than I should have, probably.

“Yeah, just tired and hungry.”

“Oh, also, I told you so,” I pointed a finger at him, as Vince tried to swat it away.

We were finally about to go up to the directors office, when the door to med bay opened and doctor Merylin came out. At first she froze, then she gained her wits back and looked at us with fascination. She smiled, but said nothing, except that ‘Mister Franklin awaits us’.

We followed her up to the second floor, I had no actual plan for this, and I doubted anyone else had. Though, the best plan was to tell this Franklin guy about the situation brewing by the side of the city and ask to organize the scouting and attack squads.

There was strange silence etched inside the building, as if there were no one there. Like the whole academy was actually abandoned.

Which made me think of the trip through the city. I wasn’t really paying attention to the outside of the car, but I remember noticing the streets being empty, even though it was the prime time for people to be getting home from work.

“Don’t you think, it’s kind of too empty?” asked Miller. “Or is it just me?”

“It’s not just you,” supplied Dark.

We reached the office and the doctor opened the door for us, still awkwardly smiling. The man sitting behind the director’s table was middle aged, had a receding hairline, lots of wrinkles and a strange smell around him. His dark hair was already graying, dark brown eyes, however, were as clear as a newborn’s. He had this solemn expression on his face and he measured Wann up the moment he stepped through the door.

“I was waiting for you an hour ago,” he started with a heavy baritone. “What was the hold up?”

“A deer crashed through one of our windows,” I replied.

He looked at me as if I was the ugliest thing in the world, or the rudest, I couldn’t really tell.

“And who might you be?” I felt disgust in his tone.

“Fang Knights.”

“Ah, the Immortal. Yes, Vertig mentioned you to me briefly. Why are you still here?”

“I can leave, if you want me to,” I replied and started backing out the room.

“Sir, she can’t leave per Director Vertig’s orders,” supplied the doctor.

“Is that so,” he sounded so bored, I thought I’d start yawning too.

“Uncle-”

“It’s Sir to you, Hellsing,” he said it in such a way, it made my skin crawl. He had so much contempt in that one word, it seemed like he wanted to kill the guy.

“Sir,” Wann corrected himself, “you were informed about the si-situation back in Germany, were you not?”

“I was. Someone named Bloomer called and told me about an attack by the Cold Walkers, and a Noble being there. He also told me Vertig had died, and Michail was heavily wounded. So I sent a car to pick you up. What else is there?”

“Sir, it was I who called you,” uttered Vince, still weak in all of his being.

“And that should matter because?” his passive voice was making me feel cranky.

“I’m the assistant instructor of the academy, and I thought it would be proper to at least introduce myself,” he finished weakly.

“Well, I don’t really care. Since I am in charge now, we will change a lot of things here.” After a pause he continued, “I suppose, I should inform you, we announced an evacuation of the city for the time being, since we were informed by unfortunate events we have a nest right by our noses. I have mobilized every student and every instructor in the academy. We will start tonight.”

“Tonight?” I asked, surprised. “As in at night?”

“Yes.”

“Are you going to go yourself?”

“Why would I?”

Not managing to hold it in, I started laughing. He was so utterly impossible, I had no actual will to stop myself from laughing in his face. He obviously did not look amused about my behavior, but I was insulted by his.

He was ready to send the students to their deaths. How could he even think of sending the attack at night, when the Cold Walkers had the most advantage. They would just be slaughtered.

“You either underestimate the Cold Walkers,” I squeezed out in between giggles, “or you overestimate these hunters. Do you even know what will happen if you send them out there now?”

“Yes. We will show them who is superior.”

“You would condemn them to certain death.”

“Oh, is that so?”

I literally growled at him and stepped forward. The doctor took out a similar device as the control remote of the thing that was still in Vince’s chest and was about to press it.

In a matter of seconds I kicked it out of her hand and slid it over to Vince for safekeeping – I couldn’t risk something happening if I just crushed it. After that I kicked her, and pressed her to the ground.

“Not anymore, doc,” I said, holding her down. “Miller, Rodd, hold her.”

The two listened without question and held her down in place. I took out the other controller and passed it to Vince, asking him not to lose it again.

“I’m not sure, if you understand, but these Cold Walkers have at least three Nobles, maybe two Pure-bloods, and possibly an army of five hundred Creations. The last time I counted, there were only two hundred and sixty two students in the academy, and not even half of them are battle ready. So what you are planning to do, is send them to their deaths, and I don’t think they would like it very much.”

“What do you know, what they would and wouldn’t like?” he scoffed. “They are hunters, and it’s their job to hunt.”

“Not on these kind of conditions,” I raised my voice.

“Fey, don’t,” asked Vince and I removed my hands from the director’s desk.

“Vertig at least would have known what to do. You’re just trying to play some part you have no idea how to play.”

“Lass, I know more than you,” he was mocking me with his tone.

“Oh yeah? Was it those textbooks you wrote? They’re worth shit compared to what I know, and what is reality. Compared to me, you are still a fetus, so back off, you fucktruck.”

It did not look like he was intimidated by me, or if he was reconsidering his decision. He had a firm poker face set, and it didn’t change safe for those moments he mocked us all.

“Vertig told me about your quest in here. You are looking for a way to die, aren’t you? Then why not go to war and die there?”

“It doesn’t work that way.”

“I don’t really care. I already gave them an order to mobilize in,” he checked his wrist watch, “fifteen minutes. There is nothing you can do to stop them from leaving.”

“Have you at least called for our parents?” asked Dark.

“Why would I? I think we’re capable enough to not need their help. And anyway, if one or two dies, it would only prove they were weak to begin with.”

“Then, was professor Vertig weak?” Vince lost it, too. “Was professor Michail weak? Were the other instructors weak? Even the one who was considered the strongest, sir Albrecht, lost his head to them.”

“What did you say?” the man’s face changed. It seemed he was shocked by the news. His eyes widened and he sat up straighter.

“There were around hundred hunters and around fifty Creations, and we lost fifteen skilled of ours, while other twenty were heavily injured. The rest managed with only light injuries, but no one came out unscathed. Vertig was torn apart, while Albrecht lost his head,” reported Vince. “Now do you understand, they are stronger than we think.”

The man seemed to get confounded, he started muttering under his nose, most of it was gibberish, and I used the opportunity, “Do you know his full name?” I whispered to Wann.

“Marcus Friedrich Franklin,” he answered.

“Marcus,” I used my commanding voice, “call off the mobilization. Tell them to wait for the morning.”

He looked at me, still confused, but grabbed the small microphone by his phone and pressed a button. He told everyone to disperse and wait for further instructions in the morning. His voice booming through the speaker systems all over the school buildings.

I finally heard footsteps coming up from the underground training room. Soon enough, a couple of the instructors barged into the room to inquire about the change of plans and the situation.

I’ve never met two of them, but there was Tanaka with them, and he recognized us. He seemed appalled by our appearance. As if surprised to see us there, standing as if nothing happened.

“You’re back already, yes?” he stuttered out.

“Yes. Were you not informed about what happened?” asked Vince.

“What happened? Yes, we heard nothing of the sort, of your arrival two days early. How was the convention? Did you win, yes?”

“Professor, the convention was attacked,” said Dark.

“Cold Walkers attacked the location. Professor Vertig was killed. Michail was injured, he’s stable now, but it will take a while before he can be transported back to Huntig,” explained Vince, once again.

The other instructors looked shocked, as if they were hearing it for the first time, which, apparently, was the case. Franklin did not share the news with others in favor of dislocating everyone for the suicide mission.

“This was more important than some measly attack,” said the new director, regaining his own will. “And we will proceed tonight. I was compromised by this creature. Why is she still not leashed?”

“Oh, so it’s a leash you want?”

I had noticed before how Vertig was proud of his collar collection when I first visited the office. Even now, the collars were hung lined on the wall like some sort of trophies. It didn’t take much time to grab one from the wall and sling it on the newly admitted director’s neck. Before anyone could react, the device was already fastened and activated, since it was a rather simple technology, activated by connecting the two ends together.

“Now,” I spoke, “I don’t really want to shit on your parade. No, actually, I do. From now on, I make the calls around here. You are a worthless human being, and you are not sensible enough to have the lives of others in your grubby hands.” I pointed to Franklin, while still stooping on his desk. I grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the seat. “I know, you will not agree to my methods, but we can’t let this lunatic dictate the rules. Vince will take over for now. As I see it now, he’s the most qualified one to pose as a director.”

“Fey,” he hissed, “I’m not in a position-”

“She’s right,” Wann cut him off. “When it comes to strategy, you are the best.”

“What are you talking about?” Tanaka was scandalized. “You cannot just take over like this, yes.”

While Franklin was somehow shocked into a state of complete and utter confusion, the doctor was shouting something about how we were not allowed to do this, that it was a crime, that we will all be sentenced to death and so on and so forth.

The thing was, these people had no idea what they were doing anymore. None of them actually imagined what was happening, what kind of threat was coming their way. They were horribly oblivious to the danger a full nest of Cold Walkers could cause.

First thing first, we needed to inform everyone else about what happened in Germany, and we needed to let them know about the management changes. Vince still looked reluctant to go forward with my idea of taking care of the situation, but Wann – surprises seemed to happen a lot lately – was completely on board. He began giving out small orders to the others, told the instructors to go back down and wait for us to come down too, so we could explain the whole thing to the whole student body and the rest of the instructors.

“Should we collar her, too?” asked Rodd.

“Yeah, why not,” I said and passed one to him.

“You can’t,” she screamed. “Only Vertig could take those off.”

“Well, too bad for you, then,” I said and she was collared right away.

“Bring those two downstairs, we’ll be there soon,” I said to Dark. “Wann, stay here a moment.”

He was about to leave with the others, but backtracked after I asked him to stay. He did show some reluctance, but came up close enough and sat his butt on the desk.

“What is it?”

“It- Just, let’s not tell everyone about me, or Vince, okay? They might not want to work with another supernatural, I’m not even talking about two. Also, call your family. Vince, contact yours. Tell them about this damned shitfest.”

“What about you?” Vince looked worried, more than usual.

“I’ll go talk to them until you’re done. Then you will take over.”

I walked out the office, while the both of them picked up the phone and dialed the numbers they needed to call.

I heard a commotion down in the underground, it was probably caused by the appearance of the new director and the doctor, both clad in matching collars.

When I entered the main space, the one where I had the physical test by fighting a rabid wolf, the atmosphere turned strange.

The cage was still there, but right now it was empty. Not for long. I called out to Miller and told him to put them inside the cage for the time being, I didn’t need them running around, ruining the mood even more.

The crowd around us looked on with suspicion, some of them raised voices to demand answers, but we just went on with our things. My hands were clammy due to high stress and reluctance levels in the air.

“Hey,” I started, after the two were in the cage. There were a lot of unsatisfied murmurs and complaints, and some booing. “I think I should start by explaining the situation. We, I and five others from this academy, just came back from Germany, where we participated in an annual hunter convention.” There were some shouts of celebration, but others were just confused about why I was even talking to them.

“I will get to the point soon, just let me talk,” I stalled for time to manage the speech inside my head. “So, we came back early, because there was an attack.”

At this point the ruckus became louder, so I had to raise my voice, “The convention was invaded by a Cold Walker Noble leading around fifty of his Creations. Now, the reason why they attacked was rather simple – the competition organizers thought it would be a great idea to catch some of those minions for a live prey. The thing with Nobles is that they hate when someone takes their stuff without asking. What the Germans did was exactly that.

“Now, I come to the relevant part, the Noble who attacked us in Germany, came back to the Mooring Woods, to his nest.” Right there started the murmurs about the order this morning, about the utter confusion of what was happening, and similar reactions. “The thing is, I heard that your new director, this Franklin guy, wanted you to march there right now, at night, when they have the full advantage of the darkness. I should also mention professor Vertig was killed by the Creations, and Michail was badly wounded, though, he will live.”

“Vertig? Dead?” was all that Tanaka could utter out while listening, despite the fact, Vince had already provided this information beforehand.

“Yes. Very unfortunate. However, we are not going to go and wage war with the Cold Walkers right this minute. We will wait for the daybreak. Also for the reinforcements, because as of now, we are lacking in numbers, compared to the force of the enemy.

“Also, those who think they are not ready to risk their lives fighting a real fight, should evacuate from the city immediately. Don’t even think about it being dishonorable or low to leave, not everyone of you is a skilled hunter, most of you are just learning the basics.”

“Why are you telling us this? You’re an outsider,” someone called out, and the avalanche of complaints followed a similar song.

“I’m the beast slayer, remember,” I joked. “Raise a had those who had killed a wolf with their bare hands,” silence. “Raise a hand who took less than three minutes to kill an animal in this cage,” silence, no hands. “Raise a hand who had to actually fight a real fight without being sure the instructors would intervene was it to go south,” there were maybe ten hands raised from the entirety of the crowd. “Ten. If a group of four Creations managed to kill off one of the best hunters known in this century, then you all don’t stand a snowball’s chance of surviving this fight.”

“But, we cannot go without an army either,” Wann said from the back of the room. He walked toward me. “We called for backup, but it doesn’t mean there will be enough hunters to go.”

“First years and second years go home,” ordered Vince, right behind Wann. “As an operating director of the school, I give you the order, so no talking back. For the rest of you, it is not mandatory, but you should already have the skill of regular combat, those who think they are still incapable of combat, can leave.”

There was a disturbance in the crowd, a lot of people were displeased with Vince taking control, but none of them actually made any comment about it aloud. It took a bit of convincing to quiet the crowd down, but we somehow managed, as Wann roared on giving the word back to Vince.

“The reason why I took over was ineptitude of Sir Franklin. He was not planning on going into the battle himself. I think, this sort of behavior is against proper conduct of a hunter.”

“Let them kids come too, if we go at light, they will be sleeping,” someone shouted out.

“The Mooring Wood is a dark place,” supplied Rodd. “There are not much light in the day time, and taking into consideration, it’s winter, there won’t be much light to go on to.”

“However, they will be slower, less focused, disoriented,” I continued. “Day time messes with their reflexes, but it doesn’t mean they can’t kill you, if you’re not careful enough.”

“I have a question,” called Sylvester, one of the guys who lived in our apartment. “Why now? I heard they were there long enough, so why now, exactly?”

I glanced at Vince, he looked straight ahead, meeting the stare of the other man. No one really wanted to answer the question. It seemed, like the rest didn’t really have an answer for that. I thought for a moment, then looked around again, confirming no one was answering, I spoke up.

“Because the Pure-blood who attacked Huntig a couple of months ago was the father of the Noble who attacked the convention.”

“Yea, but why now?”

Guilt blocked my voice from coming out. I couldn’t just come out and say it was because of me, they would want to lynch me on the spot.

“Why don’t you tell them, yes?” Tanaka looked so innocent, as if the statement wouldn’t cause a huge commotion.

“As if I could,” I hissed back.

“It would give them a boost of confidence, yes, to know they are fighting alongside a legend,” he smiled with those innocent dark eyes.

There came more shouts demanding an answer, telling us to spill it, or no one would listen, and then there would be another overthrowing.

“Because she’s a monster,” screamed the doctor. “She’s a monster, and she was the one who killed the other beast. It was her fault!”

While Rodd and Dark were trying to silence the woman, the whole crowd, instructors included, went completely still. They were waiting, and so was I, for them to explode into battle cries and brandishing their swords or daggers. Tanaka looked at me, a knowing expression plastered all over his face.

I stared at the man for a short while, my fists clenched on their own, I felt sweat running down my back. I could hear my heart beats rapidly thudding inside my ribcage. I took a deep breath.

“Have- Have you… heard a legend about The Immortal?” I began. Someone bellowed it was in the lore textbooks of the first year, so they have heard of it, and they all know it. “Great. Because that … is me.”

I felt a sharp pain pass my chest, just below the heart. I looked down in shock. There was an arrow sticking out my chest. There was no sound, no movement, just that one arrow released from the back of the wide room.

“Well, that’s rude,” I muttered, while trying to remove the object out of my body. “You know this hurts, yeah?”

After a moment of deafening silence, came a boom of laughter and shouts. The bunch of hunters were laughing their asses off after I told them what I was. Vince, Wann, and the others were stunned into silence, while Tanaka stood there, grinning at me.

I myself was rather stunned since I faltered a bit, but Vince was right there, by my side, holding me up. The laughter died down, as if the room itself was holding its breath in.

“I’m hungry,” I managed out.

“I knew ya were somethin’ else,” called Sylvester and started to clap.

One by one, eventually every last one of them were clapping and cheering, like after a circus performance when the lion did not bite its tamer’s head off. I was tad astounded, and a bit confused by the reception I received after being shot nearly to death, in front of a crowd of fierce hunters. It was strange, to be honest, to be cheered by the ones I thought hated me just because I existed.

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“Tonight we rest,” Vince finally sounded like someone in charge, “Those who sign out, please leave as soon as you possibly can. There will be need of a guard posts around the academy since it is possible they are planning an attack on us now, too. Those who are willing to stand guard at all, come to the front, Argent will assign the positions. The rest go back to your rooms. Get some rest, we move out before noon.”

There were about seventy of first and second years combined, so we lost those. The rest stayed, with couple of exceptions of some fifth year boys, who decided it wasn’t their business. No one stopped them.

There were around twenty students, both girls and boys, who came up to the front to be assigned their posts. Wann gladly took up the role of assistant commander. His change was unbelievably rapid, but understandable.

Miller, Rodd and Dark were discussing the situation more in depth with the instructors, at the point there were about fifteen of them left. They had more questions, some of them about me, which was a given, after all, many people thought I was only and just a legend. And there I was, in the flesh, and bleeding, but not dead.

“You need blood?” asked Vince.

“No, I’m good. Though, food, I do need,” it was getting hard to talk, I was getting tired.

“Would you like to rest a bit first?”

“No. Eat first, sleep later.”

He smiled and lead me out of the training grounds, to the upper level, through the hall and right to the dinning hall. It was mostly empty.

I rarely visited the place since I preferred to make my own food, when I was able to call the shots. The dining hall looked like any other of the kind - lots of long tables and benches or chairs. Large windows illuminating the entire space, and fluorescent lights above to brighten up the room in the darker hours.

Surprisingly, the food ladies were still there, making food. Vince asked why they were there, the answer made me laugh.

“We heard the battle was canceled, so they will need to eat in the morning, no?”

“Of course. Thank you. Could we get something to eat?”

“For the two of you, always,” she smiled, I never heard her name, but she used to give me a bigger serving of mashed potatoes when I would come in. “Just a moment, and it’ll be ready.”

“Thanks,” I muttered.

Before we left the counter, Vince asked them to make some more food, because we were expecting the others to join us, too. The auntie agreed and we walked off, I was still being supported by the boy.

We sat down at the usual table at the back of the large hall. He sat me down at the corner chair, so I could see the door clearly. I was still feeling lightheaded, but at least the bleeding had stopped, so it was much better. Vince lifted my clothes to check up on the wound. I had to swat his hands away.

“’S fine. Leave it. It already healed.”

He said nothing, but smiled, the smile was reaching his eyes. I haven’t seen that in a long while. He had this bright deep light burning in his eyes now, they were not cold anymore. So his smile was warmer than before too. He was looking at me lovingly, similar to a mother looking at her first born baby, and before you ask, I saw that by accident once, it was not my own mother looking at me.

“To be honest,” he began, “I never expected the reaction to revealing who you were to be like this. I honestly thought we would need to fight them off of you, to try to explain you mean no harm. But they understood. Like the others back in Germany. After the initial shock, everyone was on your side. Do you think...” he trailed off.

“When they learn to listen to the voice of reason, you won’t have to be afraid to be who you truly are.”

“But I am- I was a human. It happened by accident-”

“It did not. It was supposed to happen.”

He looked pained listening, but I had to tell him. Right before I opened my mouth, the lady called out to pick up our food, and the rest showed up right on cue. Vince went to pick up our trays, and the others joined him coming back to the table.

Vince set the food, a pork cutlet with salad and mashed potatoes for garnish, in front of me, but it could’ve waited at the moment. I had to tell him. And if others heard, it was fine by me. They already knew our relationship wasn’t light.

“The you in your wolf form,” I said, everyone lifted their heads to stare at me. Vince dropped his fork, “smelled like sandalwood. The reason why I knew Vilbert and Victoria were the same soul as Vianey was because they both smelled like sandalwood. The exact same smell.

“There are no two persons with the same smell. It can be similar, lighter or stronger, but it will never be the same. But every time I met them, they had the same smell as the first time. I knew they were the same soul. My other half.”

I paused, to collect my thoughts. I chanced a glance at Vince, and he was crying. There were small droplets forming at the corners of his eyes. I reached out to wipe them away, he did not draw back, on the contrary, he held my hand as I wiped his cheeks dry. He tried to smile at me again, as I touched our foreheads together, lingering there for a long moment.

“But,” Dark said reluctantly, “Sorry, if I might sound rude, isn’t he, you know, not into girls?”

“Yes. And that’s the funny part,” I smiled looking at the boy. “Fate always loved to play tricks, I suppose. What I think of it, it is a way for us to stay together longer? The others, they died relatively soon, and horribly, I should add. But they were all human. Not a drop of supernatural blood in them.”

“And the part of him being gay?” grumbled Wann.

“That’s to give me the companionship I lack, but not a lover. A friend, a bond, tying us together through all, but not sexual love. It is love, but of a different kind.”

“And thus, the beast fell in love with the beauty,” said Rodd and bit into his steak.

“I’m not a beauty,” Vince protested.

We all looked at him, skepticism in our faces, daring him to go on and add to the statement. He was wrong about it, he was the most beautiful person I have ever seen, and the rest of them would have agreed with me. Wann actually chuckled at the words.

“She just said, it’s not that kind of love, though,” added Miller. “If anything, this should be about Hellsing.”

Wann choked on his bite, while Vince spat out the juice he was drinking. He had the reflexes to turn away from the table so to not spit on us all and our food, but the ladies wouldn’t be pleased about the state of the floor.

After Wann got some air properly into his lungs, he started cursing Miller out, seeming angry, but we all knew he was just embarrassed.

I was halfway through my meal when Vince grabbed at his chest suddenly, pain spiking up evident in his face. He said it was fine, it was nothing, but during the whole time we were eating, the expression of discomfort did not go away.

“The thing in your chest,” I mumbled. “When you turned, it could have shifted somehow, moved to a place where it can harm you,” I said louder. “Wann, Rodd, get the doctor. You, come with me,” I took Vince by the arm and dragged him out of his seat. I asked Dark to clean up and rushed out to the med bay. Miller stayed to help her.

Vince was protesting, refusing to go, telling me I needed to rest. He struggled like a child, but the pain was interfering with his own strength, so I had the upper hand easily. He wasn’t as strong as me, but in full health, we could stand on equal ground.

I dragged him into the medical office where he got the operation done in the first place. Nothing had changed, it was still as sterile as the last time. Only now she was not there to tell me how she did not really like me much. After a few moments, Wann and Rodd presented the doctor before us. She was trashing around, screaming. Wann had to smack her to silence her.

Vince was trying to hold in the screams of pain, folding into himself on the operating bench. His veins were popping from the tension is his muscles as he held onto the bench.

“Take the thing out of him,” I demanded.

She just stared at me in silence. I could have ordered her to do it, but I had no idea what her name was. No one else knew either. When Dark showed up with Miller, they also said the same thing.

I grabbed her by the collar of her lab coat, dragging her to meet my eyes at my level, “Listen here, and listen well, I have no qualms on killing you, if I have to. But what I would like to do to you, is torture you until you ask for death yourself. I will start with your toes, tearing them off one by one. Then I’ll go to your feet, then legs, then I’ll rip of your ears, I will rip out your tongue. If you still refuse, I will go lower, yet again-”

“Enough. Stop,” she cried. “I can’t operate him. He nearly died before. If I try to take it out, he will definitely die.”

“He’s in pain, and if you don’t remove it, he will die either way. And believe me, you don’t want that,” my voice was sharp, cold, threateningly final.

She stood up, Dark gave her some water to calm her nerves. Preparing for the operation, she told us to leave the room, it was unsanitary. I refused. So she showed me some sterile clothes and I stayed, the others left to wait outside. Though Wann was stubborn to the very last moment before he, too, caved and left the room.

The doctor gave him light sedatives, in fear he would die in the middle of the operation. Vince removed his clothes, and laid there bare chested. Right then I saw a slight scar right beside the center of his left pectoral. She had messed with his heart. She used a needle to make the area where she will cut him open numb, so he wouldn’t feel pain. Vince smiled, knowing it wouldn’t really work, not right now.

When she began to cut open him again, I grabbed his hand, to give him something to hold on to. He squeezed my hand cracking the bones, shattering them so it would need at least a day to heal properly.

The doctor moved swiftly, concentrated on the task before her. I was still in doubt about her eagerness to operate, I feared she would actually do more harm than good. But I was wrong, she admitted her unwillingness to operate in the first place when Vertig had requested it, she liked the guy, or so she said.

“But orders were orders, so I had no choice but to do it.”

She cut open his chest, reaching to the heart, but without a need to break the bones, there was blood gushing out, but she ignored that. Somehow, I think she knew Vince would be fine either way, at least until she cut him completely open.

She paused. Then slowly looked at me, as if the thing was not there. I could see his heart beating through the bones and the muscle, but I couldn’t really see anything that did not belong there.

“It moved below the heart,” she said. “I can’t grab it without cutting the bone...”

Vince was still conscious, but he barely held on. He was losing too much blood, too, and I couldn’t understand why she did nothing to stop it. I was screaming at her, she was screaming back at me. And Vince was slowly fading away.

“Do something,” I shouted.

“I can’t reach it. If I want to get it, I need to cut the bone. But that will kill him.” She pointed at one of the larger veins where a metallic device could be seen under the slowly pulsing organ. ”The first time I just had to stick it in there, not cut through the bone!”

So I did the only thing I thought was best at the moment. Gritting my teeth, I plunged my hand in there, through the bones, the muscle and tissue, and untangled the small wiry ball off his heart’s main vessel. The boy growled in pain, but other than that there was nothing. His heart was still beating lightly, but it was getting slower.

“Close him up, you imbecile,” I screamed at the doctor, holding a bloody device tight in my hand.

She shook herself out of the daze and hastily, but with incredible precision, closed the bleeding wound. The beeping sound of the machine he was connected to became stronger, faster, after a while, more stable.

The doctor was standing there, staring at the machine as if it was trying to lie to her. She couldn’t believe the rate the boy was getting better at. The biggest surprise, however, was when the stitched area healed without leaving a scar. Right in front of her eyes.

I was smiling like a fool. I knew he could do it, if he tried. All he needed to do was to embrace the beast inside him.

To be honest, when we were still in the forest, when he just turned, I thought I would have to fight him, to knock him out, so I could stop him from going after innocent people.

The wolves who turn for the first time are usually thirsty for blood, though their first instinct is to find the others of the pack. The pull of the hunger, of the insatiable thirst is so much stronger. But he repressed it, he stopped in favor of staying with his pack. He considered Wann someone precious, thus making the man part of the wolf’s pack. He might have even chosen Wann as his mate right then and there.

I had no time to be surprised then, but this was a feat I had never heard before. Usually, the Moon Walkers make sure the newborn turns in the middle of their den. So they could stop it from running wild and killing needlessly. They usually bring the first prey to the newly turned.

After a couple of minutes, when Miller and Rodd brought the doctor back to the cage, Vince woke up. The first thing he did was frantically touch his chest, checking if everything was in place. He was bewildered by the fact there was no wound, it was healed and when I told him why, he started to panic.

“If she talks, my family will know, they will kill me, like they did Alfred.”

“Vince, hey, calm down. I won’t let them touch you,” I assured, holding him close.

“I will stand by you, too,” muttered Wann.

Despite our words, Vince was still crying with worry, with fear. His family already had held him accountable for the shame he had brought to them by not being able to make the kill. They didn’t need another son becoming a monster. He already had not been welcomed to the family. He had thought this fight would have been a good opportunity to prove to them he was capable, but if they learned about his nature, they wouldn’t even question it.

Still, I chose to ignore his worry, and just made him go to sleep. I told him I would take care of it, I had my means, after all, and he calmed down a bit.

Since I had broken down his door, we opened my room for him to rest in my bed. Wann suggested we just break off the handle, but Vince told us to use some pins and a screwdriver. By the boy’s instructions we managed to unlock the door.

I, however, had no time to rest. Wann had stationed the first shift of ten men to guard the perimeter of the academy. I ran around the building, looking over the positions and angles they were in.

Wann really did know what he was doing, he had stationed them at the crucial points of the buildings, to cover the whole area with no holes to poke through in. I asked the status of couple of the men and then returned to the training grounds. I went straight for the cage and the doctor who was still screaming her throat hoarse.

“Calm down, dammit. I brought you some blankets, and you’ll get food in the morning.”

“Let us out of here, right now,” ordered Franklin.

“Nope, I don’t think so. I don’t need you running around, causing more problems than we already have. But I promise, we will let you out, if we come back alive from the battle,” I joked. “Doc, a word?”

She answered with a screech and spit in my face. She wasn’t playing nice, so I had no intention of playing nice either.

“Marcus, tell me her name,” I commanded.

“Annabeth Merylin.”

“Annabeth, first of all, shut the hell up,” I raised my voice to a threatening tone, “Second, forget what you saw tonight. And, please don’t speak of anything else until you finish counting to a…” I had to think which number would be more ridiculous to be counting to, “billion.”

Once I was over with the order, she began counting aloud. She took to a normal speed, without a rush in her tone. Well, if she had not done by the time we were done with the fight, I would remove the order.

“What did you do?!”

“What had to be done. See you later,” and then I left them.

After the cage, I went to the armory. It had a safety code, but I had already looked that one up before coming down. I checked the arsenal. We had the regular swords, some dual daggers, couple of katanas still in their cases. Wann was probably the only one using them, even though it was most likely the sharpest blade of all the types of swords we had. There also were staffs with a blade at one or both ends, regular staffs, crossbows with an arsenal of small silver-tipped arrows. One of those was shot at me, so I knew they were legit and should have been enough to kill a Creation.

By the wall there stood a tall rack full of various throwing knives. There were no rifles. I thought it strange, for Huntig to have forbidden firearms. They had a policy against such weapons, but no one shared the reason why with me. Back in Jeagerstatd, the armory we were put for the night had only cold weapons, but it was only one of their armories, the other ones contained all the heavy guns, even some actual grenades.

When I finished my inspection, I concluded we had more weapons than we had fighters. I only hoped for Wann’s and Vince’s families to bring more people with them. After all, Huntig was their hometown, the place where they originated, so maybe they would want to protect it as much as I did for the sake of Vince.

To be completely honest, I did not want a war. Thus I chose to go in daylight, when they would be less perceptive, wouldn’t react as fast, and we would still have a chance to talk to them with words rather than weapons. I was hoping to just solve it with some lighthearted threats to begin a war, if they want it.

I admit, I did hate the Creations with everything I had, but the Pure-bloods and Nobles, I had nothing against them, as long as they left my humans alone, and did not pursue me to try and kill me.

I still hoped, I would be able to talk the youngest of Viscardi out of the war. Maybe I could bargain for a fight between us. Maybe I could stall for enough time to make him change his mind about avenging his father.

Well, true, it was a naive way of thinking, but I still hoped for the best, for an outcome without an actual war.

The backup, and the talks about the fight was to have a plan B at the ready. Once we were at the outskirts of the Mooring Wood, I would go in alone, to talk, to negotiate. And if, only if, the talking part did not go as well as I wanted it to go, I would call the rest of them into the battle.

When I came back to the room, the window was open to the maximum, and Vince was not in my bed, but in Wann’s. Wann was not asleep yet, so I asked him what happened.

“He got hot, then he had a bad dream...”

I closed the window, picked up my blanket from the floor and stared at the two men, lying side to side, Wann’s arm was under Vince’s head. Long pale hands grasping at the bulkier man.

“Jealous?” asked Wann.

“No. More like, trying to choose the best way to dismember you, if you hurt him,” I threw out, and got into my bed. I was disheartened to finally have a name for the emotions I’ve felt at the bus.

“And what if he hurts me?”

“I really don’t care. Probably because that’s not a possibility. But if it so happened, you fell for him and he figured you were not the one, I wouldn’t stop him. But only, if he was sure of it.”

“You know my family will not ap-approve. They-”

“I know. They’re a bunch of homophobic bastards, I know. Also, did you know Dark was one from your side too?”

There was a pause, “She is?”

“Ah, so you didn’t… Well, whatever. Goodnight.”

He said nothing, and I turned to the wall to try and sleep. The room was chilly from the opened window, even if I closed it. I curled into a ball and tried to sleep. But it did not come easy. I kept seeing these strange faces, popping up and telling me not to go, not to do something.

I remember one face in particular; it was a young woman, with light caramel skin, dark brown incredibly curly hair. Her eyes were as dark as mine, she had freckles peppering her face, and her smile was blinding. She looked so kind, so loving. She asked me not to go, begged me to stay. She told me it was not the time, yet, I should wait. But when I was about to ask “wait for what?”, I woke up.

The sun was brightly filtering in through the window with no blinds. When I sat up in my bed, Vince was sitting up, too, and he had his head in his palms, as if trying to contain the events of the last evening from spilling out. Wann was deeply asleep by the boy’s side, one arm thrown on top of Vince’s legs. It looked warm, homely almost. And the boy, despite the evident worry in his face, looked almost happy.

“Sleep good?” I asked, yawning.

He nodded and looked at Wann. Doubt ran past his face and he shook his head, trying to get rid of the negative thoughts plaguing his mind.

“He seems serious,” I pointed.

“He was so warm...” was all Vince said.

After sparing one more glance to the sleeping man, Vince stood up and pulled his pants on. He got dressed fully, and left the room, probably for the bathroom.

I sat in silence for a while more and got out of the bed, too. I put on some new jeans out of the closet, pulled the warmest sweater I had and put it on. I had to be dressed lightly, so I opted out another layer of clothes. I grabbed the lighter coat and left the room.

I ran around the perimeter, the shift of guards had changed, but they reported to me without any difficulty. They saw no change in the situation, no one passed, nothing happened. The night was more quiet that it had ever been. It was a given with no regulars wandering the streets, and every other live being had felt the impending danger in the atmosphere and had fled in the night.

I still had lots of questions regarding the way they were informed about the possible onslaught from the Mooring Woods. Franklin was adamant about keeping a lid on it, and even with the power of my order he did not say anything clearly, which meant there was something else involved. The fact that it was unclear on how Franklin knew there was a nest made me nervous. It was as if someone told him about it, but who did, that was the actual question.

At nine in the morning every student who stayed, every surviving instructor and staff member were at the dining hall, having breakfast, which was a rare sight, since most of us prefered to make our own meals in our own kitchens.

As promised, Franklin and the doctor got their share, too. We were all eating in a quiet chatter, without breaching the bigger problems at hand, concentrating only on mundane conversation at the time. Before we were done, someone came to announce the arrival of the backup.

Wann’s parents with their party, and Vince’s father with his ten plus men arrived in a bundle, one at a time. The rest of the meal was either finished in haste, or discarded as it was. I stayed to finish, keeping Vince company, since he was getting more and more anxious to meet his own dad.

“I’m here and I won’t let him do anything to you.”

“It’s not about what he would do, it’s more of a what he will say...”

“Whatever happens, I am always on your side.”

“Me too,” said Wann and stood up. He sighed. “I need to tell my dad. About us.”

To say the least, my eyes popped. I wasn’t sure on how he would tread this path, now that it was clear why he kept on harping on and on about Vince being gay.

I still found the strategy of bullying the boy you like questioning, but I supposed, it was the only way he could have fought against the desire to have the said boy. Hearing him say these words made me see him in a different light, same seemed to be for Vince, too – he smiled under his breath.

“Then, I guess, the Wann bloodline will end with the two of us,” said Dark, glancing at me.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” I smiled looking at Vince. Though, it was not the time and not the place to discuss the many features of Moon Walker bodies.

“Let’s go,” Vince let out a deep breath and pushed off his chair.

We went to the underground, where all the students who had already eaten lingered around, warming up, standing fidgety, sitting on the ground – seemingly meditating.

The aura was heavy and tense. At the front of the crowd, where we stood the night before, now stood around twenty to thirty people with a different air around them. I noticed Wann’s dad right away. I had met the man before, when he was still a young and inexperienced hunter.

Our paths had crossed momentarily, but he felt the same anger and rage as Wann did when he first met me. The elder Wann had a stature of a mountain, tall and heavy, yet nimble on his feet and swift with his movements.

The man was talking to another man well in his fifties. The other man was taller than elder Wann, had a long pale face, his head had clean cut hair, silvery with black streaks in it. The man was slender, but muscly. By his side I could see a sword with a red gleam to it – silver wrought in red oak ashes.

From the aura around him, and the way Vince tensed beside me, I could tell who the person was. It was the one who slayed the last of Lupin’s clan remnants, getting the world rid of the strongest clan of Moon Walkers.

Wann went first to greet his father, Tanaka and the other instructors were lingering beside them, answering the majority of the questions the two men were asking.

When Wann stepped to the front, his father saw him immediately, and demanded with a rough tone to explain the situation, complaining about the delay. Before Wann could say anything, his father was onto him, demanding answers, and the full report on the situation.

“Seeing as you took Franklin off the leading role, I would assume you’re the one to take up the role, no?” his father inquired.

“Actually,” Vince intercepted, “I took over the leadership, at least for the moment.”

Both elders looked to each other and then at their sons in turn. They were both about to laugh, or complain, or deny it, when the elder Wann noticed me.

The sword was in his hands in a second, he raced the space between us in less than that, and his blade was right to my throat, when he growled at me.

“Why are you here, beast?”

To my surprise, there were spears, swords, and even crossbows and other weapons surrounding us in an instant, but instead of pointing all the sharp ends at me, they were pointing them at the man, who was utterly and definitely shocked. One of the pointy ends belonged to Vince.

“Sir, please, step aside, and we can talk like civilized people,” Vince said, firmly holding his dagger to the man’s throat.

Wann’s father looked around, seeing how hopeless the situation was, he yielded. Sheathing his sword, he stepped back from me, and the others removed their weapons then.

I felt a droplet of blood run down my neck, and seeing the man’s surprise, I realized his thoughts. He thought I was a Cold Walker. Many had made the mistake, so I did not say anything on that.

“So you say, you took over the position of leadership?” finally asked Vince’s father, ignoring the situation that had just occurred.

“Yes. Although, it was Fey who actually did it.”

“Right,” I said. “It doesn’t really matter now. We can talk about this later. Now we need to talk about the action plan.” Then I turned to the rest of the crowd. “I, but I think, you will agree with me, do not want a war with them. I want to avoid the fight, as much as possible.”

There were murmurs and shouts. Wann’s father was the loudest, the Bloomer family’s head was right behind him. The backup were protesting the idea of peace, since it was such a great opportunity to rid the world of a nest full of monsters.

“I understand, why you would react that way, but I need you to understand some crucial points of this war you seek. There will be at least three Nobles, not to mention the Pure-bloods. I would be all up for the all out war if we were up against the Creations only, but in this case, I would love to avoid more deaths than are necessary. Because there will be deaths if we go against Nobles. Even with me, many of you might die.”

“So what are you suggesting? And why are you the one speaking?” asked Vince’s father.

“I’m the one suggesting the bargain, because I’m pretty sure that any other intruder wandering into their nest would be killed on sight. And I am suggesting we make a deal with them. We don’t engage, they leave. Deal done.”

“Are you out of your mind?” roared elder Wann. “This is the closest we could get to annihilating them beasts, and you tell us to let them go?”

“Yes.”

The company and the two elders started laughing. Most of them glared at me, and at the two boys, who seemed to shrink in size in front of their parents.

“Do you think, if they wanted a war, they would have not attacked us last night, when we were completely unprepared? You humans only think about yourselves. You never think of anything else. Every time something bad happens, it’s always you, humans.

“The witch hunts when there were no actual witches, the persecution of others, slightly different than you, always with the ‘it’s unnatural, it’s inhuman, so we need to kill it’. Had you ever thought, you were not the only creature on this earth? Humans, Cold Walkers, Moon Walkers are but another species of animal roaming the same earth.

“For once, think of the balance you are trying to destroy. Once more, you will make them go after humans for no reason other than revenge, like you,” I pointed to Vince’s father, “did by slaughtering Lupin and his clan. They had no desire to hunt for sport, until you came along and fucked up a perfectly good balance. Even a frightened fox would attack, what do you think happens, when you piss off a being much more powerful than yourself?”

“Easy for you to spout this nonsense,” Bloomer scoffed, “when you yourself are not human, unnatural. You may defend them, but in the end, humans are the ones who should be.”

“While it is true I am not entirely human, I do not belong to the other side either. I don’t belong to any of the sides. I am a singularity. Thus, it’s not a matter of choice for me, it’s a matter of balance of this world. I have seen it shift before, and believe me, you would not like it, if you survived it.”

Vince’s father was about to say something else, but there was a loud strong ‘ENOUGH’ reverberating through the whole underground space, and Vince stood tall and proud, chest puffed out and hands clenched into fists. He stood with his full height, almost kingly and authoritative. The determination in his face was evident and I could finally see all the fears had left his mind, and now it was clear and set on a goal.

“It does not matter what you, or anyone else here think about the Cold Walkers, and how they should all be hunted down. What matters now, is the fact that we are under a possible siege, if we do not hurry. You will do what I say, and I say we follow Fey. She is the only one capable of diffusing the conflict, and this is what we will do.

“I will not call for a war for no reason. Forget killing out of spite, look for a reason to hunt down and slaughter the innocent. How many had died just because they were different. How many of you had to kill your own brothers or sisters, just because they were unfortunate enough to get wounded and turned? How many carry the weight of your sins of killing the ones who had no blood on their hands? How long are we going to continue this meaningless crusade? I am tired of it. Are you not?” he asked the entirety of the crowd, he seemed almost on the brink of tears, when Wann took his hand and pressed it slightly, in a calming and reassuring manner.

“What say you?” I asked. “War or no war?”

The crowd of students all chanted in tandem ‘No war. No war’. The rest, the ones who were in favor of the old ways of hunting, stood reluctant, looking around, but losing the battle of nerve.

Ultimately, both fathers gave in with a grumble in their voices. The reluctance was evident in their body language and their faces, but they were defeated by the younger generation, and they were, quite literally, outnumbered to say otherwise.

Despite all, we were preparing to go to war with a hope in our hearts for peaceful resolution of the problem looming over us. The two family heads were complaining and voicing their doubts at every step of the preparation, and I had had enough at the time we had to actually leave for the Mooring Woods.

There was also the issue of the acceptance of their sons and the affair they got themselves into just mere couple of days ago. Wann’s father kept on harping about the way his son would be too close to the other boy, or how he occasionally would be touching the other gently, lingeringly.

Bloomer had caught on basically right away when Wann took Vince’s hand. Ever since then he kept throwing out derogatory comments towards his own son, ignoring the other man’s existence completely.

“I thought in time for your graduation you would have grown a pair, but as I see it you lost your manhood completely. Now you’re just a bitch in heat. Despicable,” I heard Vince’s father berating him some time later during inventory.

“How about we stop discriminating women before we go on discriminating men?” I shot out while holding a curved knife.

This repeated more than it should have and to divert the attention from their sons, I would throw out some ideas toward them and get immediately shut down, but it would shift their attention for a moment and give the two boys some space to breathe.

Right before boarding the buses to get to the edge of the Mooring Woods, I noticed Vince and his father arguing.

“Just get in, and we can talk on the way,” the elder said.

“I’d like to ride with my team, if that’s okay with you,” Vince insisted.

“I said, get in. I do not want you near that man, or that beast, for that matter.”

“Why? What’s wrong with either of them? Why can’t you just accept me? I have been atoning for my mistakes so why can’t you just let me be? Is it so hard to accept me and the one I love?” Vince had his voice hushed, but I could hear the exasperation rising.

“Because it’s disgusting and twisted and unnatural,” his father boomed and grabbed him by the collar to pull him to the bus.

I couldn’t let it continue so I stepped in and took his hand off his son. The elder Bloomer seemed uncomfortable, and he was about to rise his voice.

“Your son is an adult and you should let him do what he wishes to do, it’s not like he is hurting anyone by just being who he is. Get over it already. It’s unnatural to be so old fashioned and prejudiced.”

“Do not tell me how-”

“I will, because I am older. And if you follow the code of the olden days, then I am the superior and you are not supposed to oppose me,” I stared the man down, waiting for him to lash back.

“Everything good here?” came Wann’s careful voice. “Everything’s ready.”

“No, everything is not good,” Bloomer deadpanned. “I do not want my son in your company.”

“Neither do I,” elder Wann came out of nowhere. “I gave you enough freedom to play around, and if you are still playing, chose someone else.”

Both boys were on the point of breaking, so I just grabbed them both by the hands, “There is no time to solve this matter now,” I said whilst dragging the two away from their fathers. “We can talk about this after we take care of the pressing matter. Get on the bus and let’s go. Stop wasting the time,” my tone indicated the end of discussion to both the elders.

After boarding, I gave the okay to Sylvester, who was driving the bus we were on, and the envoy of three over-packed buses moved out towards the Cold Walker nest.

“I’ll need you to be in charge of them all, while I go and try to diffuse the blow. I have the communicators, be sure they work. Also, please, do not start arguing with your family. If it doesn’t go the way I want it, I don’t want you to be distracted,” I listed while on the way.

“I know,” Vince murmured. “I just did not expect to get more attention that the whole nest situation...”

“I think, my dad wants to dis-disown me,” Wann scoffed. “But, after all this, I don’t really care anymore. They run on hatred for the di-different, and I don’t see anything wrong with it, not anymore.” He glanced at Vince.

“Well, you alone are a proof enough that people can change. I mean from the moment you saw me, you wanted to gut me alive,” I laughed. “But now, you even stand on my side. And by his side, too.”

“So, if we could defuse the war before it started, maybe our parents would see it too,” Vince was always a hopeful optimist, and this situation was not an exception. “I just hope, we can avoid it. I really don’t want the fight, just like Fey.”

“I’m banking on the fact Viscardi might not want to lose any more of his Creations, but if the guy I do not want to meet at all is there, then we might need to fight it out, or at least, I would need to.”

“You mean your father?” asked Dark.

“Don’t call him my father,” my face scrunched up from the word alone. “He might have as well made me in a lab, or something. Given that he wanted to kill me right after he realized his mistake.”

“What about your mother, then?” Vince tried to lighten the mood. Not the best choice of topic, but I forgive him.

“After I was old enough to understand the things Frederic, my creator, told me before bringing me to his lair, I managed to come back to the original village my mother was from. I had found some ancient records at the temple I killed her. Apparently she was at the time considered to be an oracle of some sorts. Blessed by the Gods, or so they said. So maybe that was why I was born the way I am. But, honestly, who knows.”

The discussion did not get a chance to delve much further into my past, as Sylvester called our arrival to the edge of the Mooring Woods.

When we left, the air was clear and the sun had a clear view of the earth since there were no clouds. I had a hard time dealing with the brightness, but it wasn’t so bad with the hood on and the curtains of the bus drawn. However, after seeing the looming woods I understood why they made it their nest. It looked dense and dark, the ground was littered with fallen rotten branches, shrubbery and brambles. The visible part of the edge was covered in thorny vines signifying the path to the nest to be complicated and draining.