so of our holy father! They would never partake of your foul blood, they—”
“It’s all right, my son,” Sanguis urged, raising his hand for Ephraim to stop. He leaned across the
table to regard Frankie with a cool smile, replying to him calmly, “In our war against your kind,
we’ve all sinned. Perhaps we elders most of all. Your blood is very powerful, especially the blood of
your unholy heart.”
“What...?” Ephraim stuttered, grimacing in horror as he realized the full implications of what Sanguis
was saying.
“Calm yourself, my child,” Sanguis urged, sparing Ephraim a soft smile.
“Tell me it isn’t true,” Ephraim demanded hoarsely. He was trembling all over, and his eyes were
wild and fierce.
Several of the other hunters were murmuring amongst themselves, and the air was becoming
frighteningly tense.
“Has this council not served you all well?” Sanguis challenged with a click of his tongue, his smile
vanishing in an instant. “Have we not guided you, provided our vision and our wisdom? Have we not
taken care of you? For over two hundred years, we have been able to lead you! We made a pact with
a fiend for the good of the Order so that we could go on fighting!”
“You sold your soul to the devil,” Ephraim accused, his upper lip curling in revulsion.
“No,” Sanguis insisted. “We took on a sin, a burden, so that we could be everlasting—”
“No!” Ephraim roared in disgust. “Every word you’ve said is tainted by that unholy blood inside of
you! All of you are corrupted! Blasphemers! Hypocrites and fiends, every last one of you! None of
you are fit to lead us!”
“Stand down,” Sanguis spat furiously. “That is an order!”
“No,” Ephraim snapped, angrily pointing at the council. “I see you now, all of you. You’re all fucking
liars! I will never take another order from your foul lips ever again... never.”
Snod’s heart ached for his friend. He knew the pain of finally seeing the truth behind their faith and
being left wanting. Even though he had no affection left for the Order, he was still equally stunned that
they had been abusing vampire blood.
It had to be why they wanted Terrell, he realized; they wanted his ancient blood.
“My children,” Father Sanguis growled, rising to his feet and leaning heavily on the table. His eyes
passed over all the hunters present as he announced, “Your brother conspires against us! He openly
