This chapter is very dialogue heavy. I hate doing that, but I wasn't really feeling flashbacks stacked on top of each other. Hope you like it alright.

I learned of vampires from my friends around the city, kids who overran the orphanages and had so much dirt on them I could only guess what color their skin might be underneath it all. Vampires were a story, a fairytale warning against the dangers of staying out too late.

Demons were a reality. On Sundays I listened to the preacher explain away how demons would destroy us if we let them. Even the smallest slip-up left room for a demon to seduce you and drag you to Hell. Demons had no mindset or feelings of their own, only wanting to see humans suffer and turn from God.

Vampires, well, it was difficult to say with vampires. After all, they weren't real, but the other kids talked about them like they were more than mere monsters. Like werewolves, they possessed a human side. Vampires were people in some sense. Despite my arguments to the contrary, my friends insisted vampires were not any sort of possessed person or demon in human form. Vampires could read, write, teach, think – almost anything a human might do but with a taste for blood.

I still hadn't ruled out the prospect of demonic possession completely, but I could no longer deny the human side to vampires. As Harlock sat beside me, he sipped wine and looked like the weight of the world settled on his back. Across the table from us, Zero threw a fit when he saw Tadashi's state. He fretted over the half-breed like a worried mother despite Tadashi's insistence that everything was fine.

I'd stopped paying attention halfway through Zero's lecture against Harlock's style of parenting and being a sire. It appeared Harlock was never paying attention, eye glazed over as Zero beat his fist against the table between us. The golden ale of the glass in front of him wobbled against the force.

Zero was more observant than I gave him credit for. "You're not listening to a word I'm saying, are you?" he huffed.

"I'm listening," Harlock said. The film cleared from his eye as he set his glass down. "But I was wondering when you would get to the point. I need to know what happened. What did Ezra do? Where in the seven Hells is your arm?"

I decided against correcting his count of the Hell circles as Zero's shoulders drooped. "Yes," Zero sighed, holding the rim of his glass by the tips of his fingers. "I suppose I have to get to that. But allow me to stall a bit longer. I need more alcohol in my system." He knocked his glass back before turning his gaze to me. "Let's hear your explanation first," he said. "Maybe some reason to pity the priest might help, though I can't imagine how any of this is your fault."

I gnawed the inside of my lip, my eyes wandering to the flickering candle in the center of the table. It lit a sphere of yellow warmth around us, casting macabre shadows across the faces of the men sitting with me. Still, I doubted it was enough to make them look more exhausted than they already did. It seemed to infect me too, not quite a desire for sleep but a need to lie down and rest. The weight of this memory seemed too much to bear, and I'd spent many nights relinquishing myself to that exhaustion rather than facing it. I'd tried to forget everything, to wipe it from my memory. But nothing is that simple.

I closed my eyes, easing a slow breath from my chest before I opened them. Both men looked to me, waiting for me to begin. I felt no pressure in their stares, only patience.

"I'm not quite sure where to begin," I admitted. My attempt at a smile flickered across my lips. "I was trained to hunt from a young age. Brother never said what we would be hunting, but I always assumed it would be animals. Even after he told me otherwise, he said no one outside of the church should think I hunted anything but small game. It was after I turned eighteen when he first explained we would hunt demons, but only if I could pass a test. I had to prove I could kill one without being tempted by it. That was our order's way of doing things."

Zero's brow furrowed as he poured himself another glass. "He told you we were demons? He knew better than that."

"He never used the word vampire," I said with a shrug. "As far as I knew, you were a made up explanation for demonic occurrences."

Harlock snorted as his glass reached his lips. "I've been around the world a few times, and I must say, I've never met one of your demons."

"Regardless of what we are, Ezra and I had a deal," Zero said as he ran his fingers back through his hair. "A city's oldblood is traditionally the one who carries out law and punishment within the city, but I would report any information on rogue vampires to him, including any I caught or killed. I was also to accept any decisions he made when it came to killing others, whether or not I believed they had done anything wrong. He seemed reasonable in his efforts and choices, so I was fine with the bargain. I had little dispute with his choices until recent years when his hunts began to get out of hand. But in return for this, he allowed the rest of us to live in the city in peace. He knew of us as vampires, not demons. Perhaps calling us demons made killing us easier."

I traced my finger along one of the smooth grooves in the table's surface, nodding as he spoke. "I remember you," I said. "It was the middle of the night, and I was sneaking to the kitchens. I heard someone talking to Brother in the dining hall." This was a kinder memory. Closing my eyes, I recalled the deep undertone of voices from behind the door. My small heart trilled in my chest for fear of getting caught, but I could smell the day's leftover bread not far away. I tiptoed to the table, pushing myself up on it as my toes dangled over the dusty floor. I reached out sticky fingers for one of the pretty brown rolls until the door opened with a squeak.

"The dining hall?" Zero echoed as I opened my eyes. "We stopped meeting there years ago after…" His expression warmed with realization. "Ah, you were the little thief." He took in the sight of me with fresh eyes. "I thought you were someone spying on us at first, just a little nervous heartbeat in the other room. You've certainly grown since then. You hardly reached my hip at the time. I suppose Ezra being your brother does explain why he was so upset when I picked you up."

Back then, I'd expected a scolding from the tall stranger, but he held me up above his head with a brilliant grin. "You should be asleep, little one," he said, more of an observation than a suggestion. "Are you one of the church's orphans?"

"He is not," Ezra snapped, fire blazing behind cold eyes. "Put him down. He has a family and should have nothing to do with you." I'd never seen him act so harshly toward someone. I'd also never heard him lie, but I wouldn't argue if he decided I wasn't an orphan for the moment.

The man eased me back to the floor as Brother glared venom at him. Despite the hiss of a warning in my brother's words, the stranger nudged the roll I'd wanted into my hands from behind as Ezra told me to go back to bed. I'd wondered for years how the man managed to grab it without me or Brother noticing, and it appeared I had an answer now.

"You were going to steal him, weren't you?" Harlock drawled, his eye pinning Zero.

"I would have adopted him," Zero muttered. "It's not stealing. That's what you did."

Harlock's shoulders twitched with a shrug. "I'm not the one always trying to steal newbloods from sires."

Zero's eyes narrowed in on Harlock, so I cleared my throat. I didn't need Harlock getting himself punched again. "Brother said the demon had killed several people around the city, and we needed to kill it," I continued before they could irritate each other anymore. "It was hiding in the forest around the church, and the goal was to catch it with a trap and take it back to the storage house to exorcise it."

"I'm guessing exorcising involved either a stake or fire, yes?" Harlock asked. His expression was unreadable.

I swallowed the swelling in my throat, only able to nod. "I found it first, in one of the traps."

But it wasn't an "it," my mind corrected. Those wild eyes staring up at me were those of a person. She clawed at the snare around her neck, desperate for air.

"I thought she might be human at first, but she was afraid of me because of my rosary. She cowered away, and I thought this was a sure sign of a demon. Tying her up was easy." My voice faded to a whisper as my words wore on. It hurt to breathe, as though I'd gained a taste of her pain. The snare had cut into her skin as she gargled and choked through her suffering. As I dragged her back, I tried not to look or listen, even though Brother said not to turn your back on them.

"I took her to the storage house, and Brother looked so proud. He told me what good I was doing in saving people from further harm by destroying…that thing." I couldn't look anywhere but the groove on the table, my finger grinding it deeper. "We tied her to a stake. There was a chimney to deal with any smoke or fumes, and the house was closer to the gardens than the sanctuary in case the fire got out of hand."

Even though the candle in front of me smelled nothing like the roaring blaze eating through wood, stone and flesh, the scent filled my nose and lungs with each breath. Recalling the wall of smoke made it burn my throat once again. I felt as though I was swallowing needles.

"She was crying," I said. "I believe she was guilty for her crimes, but she cried when Brother told me to start the fire. She looked so scared. She couldn't talk, but I could see the pleading in her eyes. I didn't think demons could cry. It unnerved me."

I felt my nails digging into the tabletop, splinters pressing against my fingertips. I saw no reason to stop myself until Harlock pulled my hand free and held it in his own.

"I threw the torch away," I whispered, my lips trembling. "I wasn't thinking. I just wanted it away from me. I couldn't stand the idea of her burning alive. But the torch hit far beyond the safety barrier we'd made to keep the fire in check. One of our gunpowder barrels caught."

I returned Harlock's hold so tightly I may have broken a bone, but I needed something to keep me grounded. As I once again felt the explosion send me flying into a wall, the flashes of fire threatened to take over the present. Pain erupted through my legs and arm. I couldn't see through the smog of heat. "Someone pulled me out," I whispered, afraid I might sob if I spoke any louder. Warm tears soaked my cheeks.

As I tried to choke out more, Harlock's arms wrapped around me. I found myself crushed his chest. The smell of him overpowered the fire, soft ash and hues of wine surrounding me. "You can stop," he murmured into my hair. "That's enough. We understand."

But they didn't. "No, no," I choked, curling my fist into the fabric of his shirt. "That's not the end. The fire kept spreading. We couldn't stop it." A sob rattled through me as I heard that scream piercing the night air. I could never keep the sound out of my head. There was always that scream, over and over, followed by Ezra yelling her name. "It reached the garden. Nami had a house in the middle of it. It went up in flames like kindling."

"Nami," Zero sighed. "I heard she died, but I never knew how." Harlock must have thrown him a questioning glance as Zero continued. "Ezra loved her dearly. I believe he would have married her if not for his profession."

"It was my fault," I whispered into Harlock's shoulder. "It was my fault Nami died." After that, Ezra locked me in the cellar for the first time, saying it was for my own good. Being in a place like that would supposedly remove the demonic influence from me, but in the end I'd made a deal with a devil to escape.

Harlock's arms tightened around me until I could hardly breathe. "Your brother asked too much of you and then punished you for an accident," he growled. "No boy should be driven to murder in such a way. We should be the ones taking care of our own kind. I understand his grief, but he has no excuse for the harm he caused you."

I would have argued, but Zero's glass smacked against the table, startling me into looking his way. "So the loss of Nami due to a hunt against a vampire, followed by Yama being turned by a vampire, led him to the utter insanity that destroyed my city, it seems." The bottle of ale on the table was empty, but his speech showed no signs of slurring.

"What happened, Zero?" Harlock pressed.

Zero remained silent for a moment, circling a finger around the rim of his glass. Ezra did something horrific to him and many others, something perhaps not even God could forgive. Still, I wasn't certain I could hate him. I was angry with him, of course. Every inch of me pulsed with a growing rage because he would allow himself to do such cruel things. When we were young, Ezra was gentle and kind, always quick to run to my aid. But I ruined that with the fire. I burned away that part of him. What was left soaked Zero's voice in sorrow.

"In some ways, it was like what happened with Yama," he began. "It was a hunt Ezra lost control of. He was going to kill as many of us as possible, so he and the rest of the hunters set out during the day. They burned places where vampires were known to live, hoping to drown us out into the sunlight. For the most part, it was a good plan. Sick, but good. If they'd gone in the houses with us, we could have fought back, but because they stayed in the sun, we had nothing. The humans weren't sure what was happening, but most of them trusted whatever lies the church gave. Those who didn't were the ones who saved us, running through the city yelling warnings."

Zero scratched at the stubble across his chin, his eyes heavy. "Some were able to escape to the catacombs, but not all had a direct path. Many perished in the fire or Sun. Had the priests stayed with the houses, their plan would have gone fine, but the fools ignited the bar as well. Perhaps they didn't think we would have actual liquor. Either that, or they were simply getting overzealous. We stored weapons and gunpowder there too in huge quantities. Once that went up, they couldn't keep the fires under control. It swept through the city as easily as the wind. We kept going back up as many of the catacomb entrances as we could, trying to bring whoever we found to safety. The tunnels led to a cave far outside town if you knew the right path."

He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "When I burst through one entrance, I found myself face-to-face with Ezra. He'd killed the vampires who lived there, and he hardly seemed human anymore. He was spitting mad, covered in blood. And yet," he closed his eyes, "he was crying. I'm certain he never intended the fire to get out of hand. He told me this was my fault and he should have gotten rid of me a long time ago. He tried to order his men down the passage, but I told him we'd lost enough lives. Besides, they were bound to get lost down there. I said we should work together to save whoever was left, but there was no reasoning with him anymore."

Zero's hand drifted toward the curve of his shoulder where his sleeve hung empty. "I was too weak to fight. There was sun coming in through the ceiling, and the fire was getting to me. When his boys tackled me and held me down, I couldn't shake them. Ezra stormed up to me with an ax, and the most I could do was throw my weight to the side to keep the blow from taking off my head. It hit my shoulder instead, and I suppose Ezra decided that was good enough. He took off my arm with a second strike."

His deadened eyes opened, and he looked to Harlock. "I've had limbs removed before, but as long as I got the damn thing back, it would re-attach on his own. That bastard threw my arm in the fire, and I could feel it burning, Harlock. I could feel the skin frying and boiling and melting. It was Hell. Ezra knew exactly what he was doing, cauterized the wound with his torch and asked me how it felt to feel my arm burn. He knows things about us we don't."

Harlock's movements were fragmented as he reached up to brush his fingers through my hair. He seemed to be holding his anger back with each jolt of his arm, wrath building behind his eye.

"Marina showed up and saved my ass, or Ezra would have killed me then," Zero sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. "We took everyone we could and ran, and now we're here. Damn, I'm not drunk enough for all this."

Harlock growled his agreement. "I'm going to kill Ezra."

Despite all my brother had done, I still flinched at Harlock's words. I didn't want him dead. He was the last family I had left, and I could still think back to those years when he looked at me with love and pride in his eyes. My brother never wanted to be a cruel person. He wanted to protect our home. I still loved him for that, for the person he used to be. If he died, that was completely gone too.

"I don't know where he is now," Zero said. "Could be back at the church, but I have more important things to attend to than revenge. I would recommend you walk the same path for now and occupy yourself with your crew."

With a huff of breath, Harlock gave me another squeeze before pushing me away to stand. Without his scent around me, I realized how long I'd let him hold me. My spine tensed, and I sat rigid in my chair. Zero looked to me in confusion as Harlock called Tadashi from the kitchen.

The boy appeared, leaning against the doorframe. "Want more to drink?" he asked.

"No, I want you to look after Yama for the moment." He clapped a hand down on my shoulder, causing me to raise them toward my ears. "I have something I need to discuss with Zero in private." He glared down at Zero, who glared right back. I wondered if vampires could kill each other with their eyes, as that appeared to be what they were trying to do.

"Fine," Zero snapped. His chair ground back across the floor as he stood.

Harlock grabbed Zero by the collar of his coat and dragged him away, storming out the door.

Tadashi sighed. "He doesn't even ask me if I'm okay with doing this. Just dumps you on me." He pushed himself from the doorframe and strode over to take Harlock's seat next to me. "I assume by 'look after,' he means I should take up coddling you." He wrapped his arms around my middle, leaning his cheek against my shoulder. "There-there," he said. "If you're really sad, I can get Tetsuro and Meowdar to come drown you in affection."

I cleared my throat, unsure if he was joking. I felt coddled enough for one day. "I'm doing alright now. I appreciate your concern, but I'm more concerned with what Harlock and Zero are doing."

He gave a small hum of disapproval before releasing me. "Well, the captain is madder than a bull right now, and Zero probably is too. He's a little better at hiding his anger. I'd imagine they're both going to blow off some steam, which means they're either going to beat each other to a bloody mess or-"

"They'd better not!" I snapped, slamming my fists down on the table. "I told them not to fight! I can't believe them, trying to sneak this past me."

Tadashi tried to say something to stop me, but I was already out the door. Harlock's heart began to pulse wildly in my chest, but mine answered with an equal trill as I ran down the way I'd watched them turn, toward Harlock's cabin. I didn't care if they were both captains. They were going to listen to me.

When I reached the door, I slammed my weight against it, throwing it open. The scolding died in my throat as I found the men breaking their lips apart. Blood was smeared across Harlock's mouth as he looked up to find me there, his brows raised. I couldn't move or speak. I could only stare.

Zero's irritation gave way to embarrassment as he realized I was there, his eyes darting away as he wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand. His back was pressed to the desktop, one of Harlock's hands holding him down by the shoulder, the other slipping up beneath his shirt. I managed a slow step back as I noticed Harlock's leg pressed between Zero's. An apology rose in my throat, held back by my stuck tongue.

There was still a hint of anger in Harlock's eye, but it was overwhelmed by something dark and weighted. As he watched me curiously, he licked the blood from his lips. "Yama," he began, his voice a deep purr.

I ripped the door closed.

I returned to the galley on stiff legs to find Tadashi waiting with his chin in his palm. His fingers drummed on the table. "I tried to warn you," he said. "Did they at least still have their clothes on?"

I sank into my seat, unable to respond. My hands found my face. "Are they going to do…things on my bed?" I whined.

Tadashi snickered, and I peered between my fingers to find him struggling to hold back a smile. "Were they on the bed?"

"No, the desk."

"Then they'll probably do things there," he said with a laugh, "unless they fall on the floor."

I gave another whine into my hands, my face burning. Honestly, I wouldn't have minded so much if I couldn't feel Harlock's excited pulse rattling through my chest. Hopefully they would finish soon.

Angry sex is always a good cure for killing a man. Hmm, what if I wrote a bonus scene for this chapter... What if I... Sweats.