They used the blood of children, as I recall, hoping that their youth would cure his fever. It didn’t
work of course, and he still died. A proper blood transfusion still probably wouldn’t have saved him.
It wasn’t the fault of vampires, only ignorant men.”
“No, that’s not what happened,” Snod said, shaking his head in agitation and sitting up. “It was
definitely vampires. They wanted the power and influence of the church, so they tried to turn His
Holiness into an undead fiend that they could spread their filthy blasphemy through him. They were
going to start demanding human sacrifices and blood at every service. My ancestors helped stop them,
and many of them died saving all those innocent people and purifying the church.”
“I’m sorry, Obe,” Frankie said earnestly, his cool fingers touching Snod’s back. “I’m not trying to
upset you.”
“You’re telling me that the lives my family lost are all now part of some joke you like to tell other
doctors,” Snod said bitterly. “What part of that is not upsetting?”
“If that’s what you believe happened, I’m not going to argue with you,” Frankie said, moving to sit
beside him. “I truly didn’t mean to offend you.”
Snod could feel Frankie’s sincerity oozing through the bond, and sighed quietly, “No one believed my
family or any of the others. Everyone was worried about demons corrupting innocent people into
witches. Even Grand Bishop Valiant, who had endorsed hunting witches, didn’t see the real threat of
vampires until it was too late.
“It was why my family was shunned, why they all decided to break away from the church. Ten of
thousands of innocent people were being executed as witches while vampires stalked the earth
completely unchallenged. The Order tried to intervene, but then we were labeled heretics and witch
sympathizers. We had to go into hiding and hunt in secret for our own safety.”
“I am very sorry that happened to your family,” Frankie said honestly. “I know that vampires have not
always had the best relationship with humans. Many of them, like my Maker, believe that you’re
nothing but sustenance. But not all vampires are like that, and the Order... while they may have good
intentions...”
“Think long and hard about how you intend to finish that sentence,” Snod warned.
“I admire your loyalty to them, I do, but look at what they did to you,” Frankie went on, unflinching.
“Look at how they raised you, the things they’ve forced you to do to yourself. It’s not right, Obe. Even
with the best of intentions, they’ve tortured you and turned you into a killer. As soon as you broke one
