Alessa wandered through the hive despite her body being drained and feeling sick all over. The visions which plagued her thoughts were reduced to residual images and invisible stabs of emotion which felt like searing knives against her temple.

The backs of her legs ached from digging her heels into the soft ground of the hive. Her wrist had already healed where she had pulled to break free from the psychic bond that had melded her mind with the ghosts within the hive's walls. At least her nose had ceased bleeding. A few splotches of crimson dotted her shirt; another reminder of what had transpired. Her back ached a bit but it too was on the mend.

They were trying to tell her something. But what?

Her internal musings were interrupted by a sound. Alessa froze, listening for it again. She was being followed. They were about 100 feet behind her, treading softly but sinking in the sand. The tread was light and hesitant then stopped.

She sighed and turned around, letting her follower know they were detected.

"Whoever's there, I can hear you."

In the thickness of the dark a small figure emerged. A young vampire had been tailing her. Alessa smiled and knelt down in a non-threatening stance. The youngling came closer but with an err of caution in its stride. It continued until it and Alessa were face to face.

"So, you're the one who's been following me."

Yep!

"What are you doing wandering through the tunnels all alone?"

Mother doesn't know I go this far. Please don't tell her. She worries I'll hurt myself. But, I saw you and I followed you.

The youngling dropped its head like a child would when its been caught doing something wrong.

"Your mother is the Queen." Alessa deduced correctly.

Uh huh...You didn't look so good. Are you sick? Are you hurt?

"I'm okay now. But, I wasn't well earlier. Alexander doesn't know about it."

You mean Big Brother?

"Yeah, that's him," Alessa nodded. "I'm sure the Queen has told you about us."

She said you both were used by the humans in the wars.

"That we were," she shifted and sat on a flat dry stone. "We were used to slaughter and murder. And for what? To be disregarded like garbage. But the Queen, she saved us."

The youngling perched itself alongside her, resting its head on her side. Alessa rested her head on top of its.

So can I call you Big Sister?

"And I will call you Little Brother."

Little Brother made a sound which Alessa deduced was one of approval. She didn't have any brothers or sisters before she was taken but wondered if her human mother had found someone after. Perhaps married and had children. The idea felt like a sucker punch to her heart. It wasn't that she would be pained if her mother had moved on but it was because Alessa had been ripped away from her arms, their home.

You're sad. Why are you sad?

Alessa wiped a tears that pricked the corners of her eyes. "I miss my mother. My human mother that is. I didn't have any siblings and she was all I had. I never knew my father as he died before I was born."

You have us now.

"I know," Alessa relaxed against the side of the rock with Little Brother for a few moments more. "You and Alexander are all I need."

Black Hat stirred and groaned. It was cold where he lay and it dawned on him why.

"Lessa?"

Where had she gone? She had been laying along side him when he fell asleep. But how long ago had that been? Time was different in the hive. There were no clocks, no constraints like in the human world. No schedules to dictate their lives like drones; scurrying to their meager job to eek out a pathetic living behind the walls of a dirty dark polluted city. The sun no longer shined on the steel islands of humanity though once they had. Humans could look forward to their short sad existences by being slaves to a small theocratic group that indoctrinated them with three simple words: Faith, Work, Security.

Out here they had freedom. They had fun, living the very life which the Church deemed sinful and immoral. The Church taught them vampires were soulless as they had no eyes yet they had the most purest souls. He and Alessa had seen them, felt them; touched them. For him, being turned had been the same as being freed from the chains and lock of lies and deceit.

He perked his head up, hearing a familiar voice growing louder in the corridor.

"Lessa," he beamed at her return. But she wasn't alone. "I see you found someone."

"Little Brother followed me when I was walking through some of the older parts of the hive. Why didn't you tell me about him?"

"I am sorry for that. With everything that happened to you, I was focused on your healing."

"I'm not mad," she wrapped her arms around her mate. "I didn't think there were any younger ones. I was pleasantly surprised to think wrong."

"Little Brother is part of the next generation. But the Queen is very protective of him. He is the last of her offspring."

Alessa frowned and looked at Little Brother who looked away and began to shake.

It's true. I lost my brothers and sisters to the humans. I was the youngest so Mother wouldn't let me go fight or feed outside of the hive. I know she gets sad sometimes. I miss them too.

"Hey," Black Hat scooped him up, "We won't let anything happen to you. Soon, you will be big enough to join us on hunts. You will be able to enjoy the fruits of what humanity has to offer us."

Can you show me how to hunt?

"Only if the Queen approves and when you're older," Alessa scratched the side of his head. "For now, you're safer here."

I hear the train all the time. I watch the older ones return and they always bring back something for me and Mother.

"That is because unlike humans, who only think of themselves, we make sure no one goes hungry."

It was at that moment Alessa and Black Looked up to see the Queen. She had been listening to their conversation with interest.

My children...I see my youngest has found his way here.

I wanted to meet Big Sister, Mother. Big Brother told me all about her.

Alessa felt a tinge creeping up her neck and face.

"What did you tell him?" She raised an eyebrow in Black Hat's direction. He merely grinned when he spoke.

"Nothing that is not true."

My son, it is time for you to come with me.

But, Mother...

No. Come, you must feed.

Black Hat knelt down, gently taking Little Brother's face in his hand.

"Go with you mother. Lessa and I will be here when you return."

You promise?

"We promise," Alessa crossed her heart. "The familiars are working on the train and need a few days. Where else are we going to go?"

Alright...

They watched as Little Brother scurried off behind the Queen. The young vampire casting a final glance before catching up with his mother.

"He will be a great hunter and leader."

Alessa glanced up at her mate, nodding in agreement.

"He will." She paused. What she wanted to say next sat on her tongue.

"What is it?"

"Are there Kings? Of all the years we spent on the crusade of slaughter, never once was there a King in any of the hives. The Queen has been silent on the matter. Were they slaughtered in preemptive strikes? Do they leave after mating? Or do they not exist? We breed the army which means there are females and males."

"The Queen has been silent to me as well. Perhaps it is a subject which pains her to speak of."

Alessa merely nodded. She thought it peculiar the Queen did not have a mate. After she and Black Hat had been turned, it was realized they were one another's mates. So why not the vampires? There were questions but no answers to satisfy the heaviness in her heart. She still sought answers about the vandalized hieroglyphs. What were the humans attempting to erase? She had noted the etchings, what survived rather, had been well illustrated, right down to the fangs of the remaining vampire vestiges. Those were done with human hands. Those were futile attempts to erase the past.

"What was it the humans were trying to erase? It had to be something earth shattering; something that would turn their precious world on its head. The spirits, those who came before us, were trying to tell me something."

Alessa paced back and forth as Black Hat watched. Whatever she had been witness to, rattled her to the core. He wish he had been awake to be there when it happened.

"Whatever it is, it will reveal itself," he attempted to reassure her. She flopped down beside her mate, resting her head on his shoulder. Alessa could only hope all would be revealed in due time.

"I'll try again before we go. The train is still being repaired and worked on as Thomas has updated me."

Thomas was the name she gave the familiar who had been there the night she had the night terror. He had sworn his allegiance to her for keeping Black Hat from ripping him apart. While he wasn't bestowed any extra benefits or privileges, Thomas didn't care. He was her faithful servant to the death. He would die protecting her. And for that, Black Hat had his unwavering respect. The familiar was humbled and did not flaunt in front of the others. No, he saw himself the same as his fellow brothers and sisters.

"You are fond of him?" The question was one of curiosity.

"Yes," she nodded, "Thomas was there for me that night. He is grateful for me sparing him. After I settled down, he came to me and swore his life to protect me. He goes above and beyond what I ask of him. Thomas is loyal yet humble. He works alongside the others with humility. He has the respect of the others as well."

"He does well watching you when I have to leave. He has my gratitude."

"I know."

Monsignor Chamberlain remained in shock. After discovering Alessandra's ashes were never placed in the urn, rather an empty urn was placed in the chamber, he had to get out of there. So, he found himself perched at the counter at the Salem Bar. Where had this particular scene played out before? The drink was cold and welcoming as the holy man attempted to devise his next steps. Orleas would simply say there had been a mistake and dismiss his well placed concerns with the rest of the Council falling into line, never questioning his words. There had to be another way in discovering the truth. Were there others whose ashes were never consecrated as well? What had happened to her?

Having been a man of the cloth for so long, he believed everything he was told; consumed and digested every morsel of gospel and sermon like a good boy. Attended and oversaw Mass with dutiful cadence; leading the people in hope. Had those very bites been poisoned all along? Chamberlain did not want to believe there could be deception within the ranks of the Church. The Church was the protector of the Cities. The Church was what saved the remaining shards of humanity from the vampires.

A tiny voice, one that was buried deep within him, echoed the grain of doubt.

He had to learn the truth.

Chamberlain would have to be discreet in his search.

He got an idea.

The clergy had access to all archives and records. Those records were housed in the lower sanctum of each Church in each City. While the public could not be privy to the documents, Chamberlain was. He took the stairs as the elevator would be too obvious. There was a secret set only few knew of but required no access. Orleas, in his pompousness, didn't feel any code or access point was necessary. That would work to his advantage.

Chamberlain hurriedly descended the cold damp staircase, hoping no one would be down there. Even if he encountered anyone, they would not dare to question his presence in the sanctum. Part of their duty was to be keepers of the records. Those who came long before him had kept meticulous documents of the generations long war and it was now tasked to him and his peers to preserve and maintain those sacred texts.

He reached the base of the stairs, scanning for any signs of others.

Once he was satisfied he was alone, Chamberlain tread softly across the stones, still weary of any potential surprises. The nagging sensation continued to increase as he reached the archives, refusing to the be satisfied until he had answers. If Alessa's ashes were missing, how many others had been thrust to the same fate? What if...

No, he didn't want to go to that dark place. No, the Church wouldn't dare to stage deaths. Would they? Chamberlain hoped that feeling eating at his soul was wrong; that his mind was simply overreacting. There had to some plausible explanation behind this; some logical reason for the vacant urn nestled in the tiny tomb. There was no record of her mother having received anything, but, perhaps that was an oversight? They had been in a war and proper Church burial protocol had been difficult to adhere to on account of many Priests and Priestesses falling in combat with their bodies being lost to the enemy.

Reaching the vault door, he slipped in, quiet as a church mouse. The main database was perched in the center, humming in a soothing manner. Chamberlain hurried towards the console and hastily entered her name. The mainframe took several moments before the sharp bing announced its job complete. He peered down, hurriedly scanning the entry.

Post war – Priestess known as Alessandra requested for additional duties per Father Markus. To be dispatched to Wastelands, Salem.

Hadn't Father Markus not been heard from recently? Did it have something to do with Alessandra?

Well, if he wanted answers, Chamberlain was going to have to seek them in Salem.