Heli wakes with a stretch. The blanket slips off him as he moves, but the curtains of the cottage are drawn. He can tell the sun is setting. Deep orange light shines through the gaps, casting long shadows over the room.

Taho walks in, a steaming mug in hand. He looks at Heli and blinks twice. He turns on his heel, walks back into the kitchen and then back into the living room.

"Who are you?" he asks.

Heli blinks back. Were they not introduced yesterday?

"There was a shrivelled corpse here claiming to be a vampire last I checked."

"Uh, yeah?"

"You look alive. You even have somewhat rosy cheeks."

Heli stretches his arms in front of him. He does look a lot better. Still pale but the skin is returning to a soft and hydrated state. He cups his face.

"My cheeks are rosy?"

Taho takes a long sip from his mug.

"Nah," he shakes his head.

Heli squints at him.

The door bursts open. Taho looks over his cup.

"He's up you know."

"AUGH!" There's shouting from the doorway. "I can't go in there!"

"Come on, move it."

Heli smells blood.

Viken stumbles inside, clutching his arm. A rag wrapped around it shows growing patches of red. He sees Heli and freezes.

"What happened?" Taho asks.

Soule follows Viken, shaking his head. "Just another experimental spell blowing up. Literally." He tries to push Viken forward but he's glued to the floor.

"I'm not ready to die. He's going to eat my arm off."

"Please. Eugene said he wouldn't bite."

But Heli is fighting with his own limbs, willing them to stay still. He wants to pounce and sink his teeth into all that fresh blood. The taste of human blood is just so much-

In a blink, he's on the floor. Crushing weight presses onto his chest, which is burning from the inside. His hand goes to his chest and closes around the cold metal of the locket, his fist closing around it as he doubles over in pain.

It passes just as quickly. He gasps for air as he's lifted back onto the couch by someone wearing a pastel pink sweater.

"I said, couldn't bite. Not wouldn't."

Eugene looks down at him with a half-smile.

"That's some curse you've got."

"Curse?"

Eugene tilts his head. When the room stops spinning, Heli looks at him.

"What curse?" He says between shallow breaths.

"I can tell that you've got something, but not what it is. Maybe more than one something. You're kinda cloudy."

"That's one of Eugene's talents." Taho raises his mug.

Cloudy?

Eugene motions for Heli to follow and he heads up the stairs. Heli stumbles up the steps. His chest is still tight. Below from the kitchen Viken continues yelling.

"He'll be alright. It's not as bad as he's making it out to be." Eugene waits for him and then enters a door at the top of the stairs. It's a bedroom. The bed in the corner is unmade. Dishevelled blankets spill from the bed to the floor. Most of the space is taken up from a wardrobe which Eugene whips open. A few colourful pieces of clothing tumble out. "We gotta find something for you to wear."

Heli's not sure how keen he is on "getting with the times" as Eugene had said. Everything Eugene wears is bright, and busy. He's wearing a blue and white tartan pair of pants that flare out around his ankles. Under the pastel sweater a pastel blue collar peeks out. Even Viken, who seems to prefer a darker colour palette, wears red plaid, and baggy black shirts with large painted white designs.

"You don't have to."

Eugene looks back, eyebrows raised. "You can't just live in Avys's pyjamas."

Considering his own clothes reduced to a pile of scraps on the floor, staying in pyjamas feels just fine.

Eugene looks him up and down.

"Do you have anything plain?" Heli asks.

Eugene pouts. After digging for quite some time, he comes up with a shirt of ivory cotton. He takes a couple rounds to the other's closets until he finds a non-plaid pair of pants that actually fit Heli. Eugene leaves him to dress.

When Heli reemerges back downstairs, the five are in the living room. Viken mopes on the couch as he leans into Eugene, cradling his right arm which sports a large plaster. They stare at a box in the corner of the room casting flashing lights across their faces.

Heli walks around to see the source of the light. The box, which he hadn't noticed before, has a screen. Illuminated in it are people, moving, laughing, in perfect lifelike colour.

"What is this?"

"Huh?" Viken straightens up. "You've never seen a television?"

Heli shakes his head. "Is this a moving picture?"

"You mean a movie? You know what those are?"

He knows what they are, but he's never seen one. He'd seen it in the newspaper, little adverts for new films and kinetographs showing in the city. They'd never been allowed to go when they were alive.

He's fascinated.

Even as Taho pulls him away into the kitchen, he can't take his eyes off the flickering images. He hears Eugene laugh as he rounds the corner and loses sight of it.

"I told you, harmless."

Taho directs Heli to a large olive green cabinet of sorts and opens the bottom of its two doors. Cool air wafts out. Shelves inside are piled high with food - meat, vegetables, jars and bottles with coloured labels.

On the bottom shelf sit several jars full of dark red.

"Why do you have jars of blood?"

"Ah! It's not weird, I promise." Taho starts. "Actually, it still might be weird. Some old magic requires blood sacrifice, so we always get some from the butcher's."

"Isn't it supposed to be your own blood?"

"No, an animal's, usually birds. So there's chicken blood, and cow's blood. As long as you're not trying to summon anything too powerful, the exact species doesn't make much of a difference."

Heli gapes. As far as he had been concerned, magic existed only in faerie stories and the penny dreadfuls the teachers had hidden in the attic. Taho talks about blood magic as casually as he would the weather.

"We learned very quickly that none of us have the nerve to actually kill an animal, but we all eat meat, so." Taho shrugs. "Avys won't even do anything with this." He closes the refrigerator door.

"Do you do this often?" Heli's voice trails off.

Taho shakes his head. "No, no. Only when the quest requires it."

Quest. Eugene had used that word before. Heli doesn't know what he means, and he's in no position to criticise whatever type of magic they do. He should have figured magic was real anyway. Certainly it's no stretch of the imagination where vampires are concerned for black magic to coincide.

"Are you kids done?" Eugene pops his head in. "Get your snacks, we're going on a field trip."

After Taho shows Heli how to use the microwave he finds himself sitting in the back of the van next to Viken with a thermos full of warm blood.

Eugene drives. Soule and Avys had opted to stay behind. Taho is in the passenger seat. It feels like they're moving impossibly fast. The silhouettes and shadows Heli can make out through the windows whip by at a dizzying pace. After a while Eugene turns off the road and onto a forest path. Only the van's headlights illuminate their way. A large tree looms straight ahead of them, and Eugene parks beside it.

"We have to walk the rest of the way." He reaches behind the seat, pulls out a torch and flicks on the light. They climb out and continue even deeper into the woods. The night air is cold enough to be uncomfortable, even for Heli. In the beams of light, thin coatings of frost sparkle on the ground.

"Where are we going exactly?"

"To a soothsayer. You know what that is right?" Viken turns back.

"Like a fortune teller."

"Yeah, kind of. Ever seen one of those?"

"Yes."

Dry leaves crunch under their feet as they continue deeper into the forest. The air is still, the moon high in the sky.

The last time he saw a fortune teller, his whole life changed.

Not just changed. Ended.

He shivers. He envisions her face, her pale skin, her long lashes and silky black hair.

She's leaning over him, one hand cradling his head, the other stroking his cheek.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" Congealed blood sticks to her chin and fingers. His soaked shirt is stiffening as the bloody mess dries.

"There was a garden," he murmurs. "Full of flowers. And a door under an archway…"

"And yet, you came back." She smiles down at him.

He blinks and the memory of his dream fades away.

He's not sure how he feels. It's like everything and nothing. There's a stillness in his body he can't describe, and a deep ache.

"Breathe," she instructs him.

"I still have to breathe?"

"Not strictly speaking, but you'll feel better. And talking will be much easier."

As instructed, he forces in a deep breath. It's as if a switch turns on. Sensation floods his body, painfully at first but then subsides into something like a steady electric current. He looks up at the painted stars covering the stone ceiling.

"Should I go now?" he asks.

"Only if you want to."

"I think I want to just lie here a while," he sighs.

She leans down closer. "Stay as long as you wish."

His eyes flutter closed.

"I won't leave you."

"Hey!"

Heli's jolted out of his reverie by Taho pulling his arm.

"Watch we're you're going! Jeez."

Taho pulls him around a rather large tree and back onto the path.

"I thought you were supposed to have super-vision or some special power like that,." Viken remarks.

"I was thinking about something."

"Sure you were."

They continue until the trees clear, revealing a cottage even smaller than the one that the five live in. If it could even be called a cottage. This was more like a shack.

Eugene motions for them to be quiet, then knocks three times on the door. After a few seconds it swings open.

"Eugene!" a voice calls from inside. "I wasn't expecting you."

Eugene steps inside, followed by Viken and Taho, leaving Heli in the doorway. The entire building consists of one room, and it's crammed full. A round wooden table fills the centre. Bookshelves line the walls, and they're not just adorned with books. Jars of all sizes and colours, boxes covered in jewels that glisten with reflections from the crackling fire. Behind a half-open curtain in the far corner a patchwork quilt covers a small bed.

"Oh, Eugene," a tiny figure turns on a three-legged stool by the fire. A shawl covers its head and shoulders. "You've brought me something interesting. And dangerous," it sings. "Come in."

Heli crosses the threshold. His first impression is that it reeks. Overwhelming, conflicting scents burn his nose and eyes. The sharp sting of spice punctuates soft florals from cut flowers adorning the walls. He also catches the smell of something sharp and vile. After a few moments he's light-headed.

"I was hoping you could help us out, Oma," Eugene offers his hand and helps the old woman to her feet. "There's some magic here I can't make sense of."

She's nearly bent over as she walks to the round table, pushing aside a pile of rolled scrolls as she clears space. "You want to help this creature?"

"I'm just curious."

"Oma," Viken slides into the chair next to the old woman. "Eugene keeps saying nonsense."

Heli glances toTaho, who's standing beside him.

"What's going on?"

Taho crosses his arms. "Risk assessment. We have to decide what to do with you."

He opens his mouth to question further, but his eyes are watering and his brain is getting foggy.

Eugene pulls out another chair and guides Heli into it.

Viken pulls on Oma's shawl. "You know it's dangerous right? How do we know it's not going to just-"

"How are you feeling?" The wrinkled face in front of Heli breaks into a wide grin. She brushes Viken's hand away. "Not good huh? See, darling, there's nothing to worry about." She points overhead.

Heli follows her hand with his eyes. Over the table a bundle of dried plants hangs from the ceiling. Clusters of small white flowers on the ends of long stalks.

"Is that garlic?"

"That's right," Oma cackles. "Pretty good isn't it?"

Heli looks from the flowers back to the woman. The room is growing hazy.

"Why does it work?" His words are drawn out and slow.

"Eugenenie, why don't you take it down?"

Eugene nods and climbs onto the table. From there, he's tall enough to reach the ceiling. He takes the whole bundle down and stuffs it into one of the many cabinets.

Oma grabs one of Heli's hands, flipping it over in her own rough and weathered hand as she traces over the lines in his palm.

"Garlic is a blood purificant. A vampire's entire existence is made possible by cursed blood. Fumes in the air alone are enough. Imagine if you ate some of it," she's still laughing.

Without the flowers hanging right over his head, the room comes back into focus. He sets his eyes on one of the rings Oma wears, a large green jewel. Concentration helps his head feel grounded.

"Speaking of curses," Eugene interjects. "Can you tell us what his is?"

"Hmm," Oma closes her eyes.

"If it's a good one, we'll keep you," Taho nudges Heli from behind.

"We're not talking about a cute pet here," Viken rolls his eyes.

Heli's not sure why they care so much. What's his life to them? Admittedly though he's also curious about himself. If this Oma woman can tell him anything interesting, maybe it will jog his memory. On that thought, he's wondering why he's even sitting here at all. Surely nothing has stopped him at any point from just leaving. He could have slipped into the dark through the trees and disappeared. Right?

A voice bubbles up from deep in his memories.

'You have every opportunity…'

"Taho love, please hand me a silver knife."

Taho reaches behind him to open a drawer. He pulls out a small blade. "This one?"

"Yes, that will do."

He slides it across the table. With her right hand, she taps the blade on Heli's hand, three times and in one quick motion, makes a cut.

Heli flinches. Oma lets a bit of blood collect on the blade before she flicks it into the fireplace. The flames flare up, a deep crimson hue and then simmer down into a cool green glow. On this palm, the skin is already closing together.

"There is more than one here," Oma says, her voice low. "They're all tangled, like a wad of thread." Her finger traces circles on Heli's skin. "The first - a life debt."

"Oh, that should be mine," Eugene says.

"You did something to me?" It's halfway between a question and a statement.

"Yeah, so. When I said that you owed me."

"That was a spell?"

"Certain words are binding, even more so when a mage says them. You accepted the terms and gave him your name, did you not?" Oma says.

"I didn't know that-"

"The second," Oma cuts him off. "A blood oath."

Eugene's eyebrows disappear into his hair. "To who?"

Oma looks up at Heli. He thinks he knows, and he also knows he shouldn't say. Or rather, he can't.

"I cannot see to whom," Oma says. "Despite the fraying thread, this spell is strong."

Eugene leans back with a frown.

"The third is the longest and most tangled. It is a heart-curse."

The three around the table lean forward at that with eager expressions on their faces. Heli shifts uncomfortably.

"This is what prevents you from taking blood. You cannot even consider it."

"Who placed it?" Eugene whispers.

Oma closes her eyes and sways from side to side. Her grasp on Heli's hand tightens and her long nails are digging into his skin.

"It is too long, and too dark. Whomever it was, they really hated you." She opens her eyes.

"Can it be lifted?" Heli asks.

Oma drops his hand. "If I knew I wouldn't tell you."

Heli stands. "I don't see the point of all this."

Oma also stands. She's much shorter than Heli but her presence is huge. From behind her a shadow grows, surrounding them and overwhelming him in darkness. Her eyes burn into his and her voice booms.

"You bind yourself so easily to others in oaths and curses, because you define yourself by others. You have no sense of self. Whose fault is that?"

She sits back down and the shadow shrinks. Warm orange light fills the room as the fire in the hearth returns to a normal crackle. The eyes of the other three are staring. Heli's gaze drops to the floor. He doesn't want to look at them, and he sure wishes they'd stop looking at him. They're dragging him along for their entertainment, and he just goes along like a lost dog.

He's pathetic. Another thing Eugene was right about.

He can't even employ the one thing that should make them fear him. His jaw clenches in frustration.

But you know, a gentler voice in his head says. You are indeed lost.

He sits back down.

"Is there anything else you needed, Eugenenie?" The dark tone in Oma's voice is gone.

"Oh, yeah-" He rattles off a list of herbs and other plants. Oma points to each of her cabinets and lets Eugene and Taho plunder her stores for supplies.

"Hanging by the door is a bundle of dried chamomile. Would you get that for me?" She turns her attention back to Heli. He nods and finds the herb. She takes it and points to the fire.

"There's a kettle on the floor there. Would you get that? Yes, that there, mind the flames, thank you. Now on that shelf there are some cups."

"What are you making with this?"

"A tisane. Would you like some?"

"I want some," Viken pushes Heli aside to grab his own teacup.

Chamomile smells nice. Heli wonders what would happen if he did try some of it, but before he can ask, Eugene announces he's ready to go.

"Why don't you just leave him with me?" Oma wraps her arms around Heli's.

"No, I'm not going to leave him here so you can torture him. Come on." Eugene pulls Heli from her grasp.

The walk back to the van is taken in silence. They climb into the same seats they'd sat in before.

Eventually Viken asks, "So what are you going to do with it?"

"Can you stop referring to me as 'it'? Heli snaps.

"It's getting aggressive."

"Seriously, stop."

"What are you going to do, you can't bite me."

"I could still snap your neck," the words blurt out before Heli can stop them.

Viken's eyes open wide and he slides as far as he can down the seat. He pulls his knees into his chest.

"You wouldn't."

"You have no idea what I'm capable of."

"Both of you shut up," Eugene sighs.

Taho turns to look at Viken. "We're stuck with him until he pays his debt to Eugene."

"Great," Viken mutters. His next words are so faint only Heli can hear. "That's what I'm afraid of."

When they return, Viken marches straight up the stairs and to his room. Soule, still sitting in front of the television, jumps at the sound of the door slamming.

"Productive trip?" Avys says.

"I'm going to bed," Taho yawns, and follows Viken.

Eugene shrugs. "Learned a lot, and a lot of nothing. Long story short, we've got a vampire for the time being. So try to behave, hm?"

The last bit is directed to Heli.

"I'm not a pet."

"You might as well be."

"I didn't ask you to save me."

"No, you're right," Eugene jabs a finger in Heli's face. "And if you threaten Viken again I will un-save you, got it?"

"Woah, woah, guys," Soule jumps up and pulls Eugene's shoulder. "What happened?"

"I'm leaving," Heli says.

"No you're not," Eugene collapses into one of the living room chairs. "As long as I say so, you're not going anywhere."

"Come on, let's talk about this," Soule's hand is on Helisung's shoulder now, guiding him out of the entryway.

Heli slides down onto the couch. "You remind me of someone." He says, looking at Eugene.

"Oh yeah?"

"Someone hateful."

"Ha!"

"Care to explain?" Avys looks at Eugene.

"He's in my debt since I saved his life. So until he does enough for me to equate that, he's obligated to follow my requests."

"Ah, a life-debt. Wow, binding spells like that are hard to get right," Soule says.

"Apparently not for this one, he's got three of them."

Avys stifles a laugh. "You get in trouble often?"

Heli sinks into the seat, his arms crossed.

"Look he's mad. It's kinda funny, isn't it?" Eugene jumps up and leans over Heli. Heli turns, but Eugene follows, trying to make Heli look him in the face. "I want to know about the blood oath. You made that consciously. Who was it with?"

"Go away."

"Who, huh? Who was it? Tell me."

"Get out of my face. What's it to you anyway?"

"I need to know how useful you can be."

"I'm not your tool."

"You kinda are."

Heli lets his eyes meet Eugene's. "I can't tell you."

Eugene doesn't break his gaze as he nods. "Okay. I'll figure it out eventually."

"What was the third?" Soule asks.

Eugene goes back to his previous seat. "A heart-curse."

"Ooooh," Soule and Avys interject in unison.

Heli sits back up. "What does that mean, exactly?"

Eugene scoffs, but answers. "A heart-curse is created by strong emotions, like hatred, sorrow, or fear. Stronger than a soul can bear. So strong it manifests in the physical world and attaches to something else, like an object or a person. The exact effects of the curse are different in every case." He pauses. "Yours takes effect when you want to bite someone, correct?"

"How can you tell that?"

"I figured that was what was going through your mind when you tried to pull my arm closer to your mouth."

"Ah, well…"

Eugene stands with a stretch. "I'm sure there are plenty of possible people who fear vampires like that huh? Some victim of yours wanting revenge? Works out for us, anyway. Good night."

"That's not-"

Eugene disappears up the stairs without waiting for Heli to finish. Avys gives Heli a small smile, then follows. Soule turns his attention back to the television. Static crackles across the screen.

"It's too bad they shut off the stations when it's really late," Soule says and he switches off the TV. "What do you plan on doing the rest of the night?"

Heli shrugs. "Go recharge in the moonlight, I guess."

Soule nods before confusion crosses his face. "Recharge?"

Heli steps outside into the crisp night air and follows the sound of running water until he finds a small stream a few metres behind the cottage. Fast-moving water flows around stones large enough to step across and into the woodland on the opposite side. He settles down on the bank. A gibbous moon hangs in the sky above, and the night is cloudless. He's content enough to sit here alone until the morning comes, but someone shuffles behind him.

"Do you really gain power from the moon?" Soule sits down on the ground next to him.

"Maybe," Heli says, his eyes still on the sky. "There was a story about a vampire who could heal even mortal wounds by laying in moonlight. Shion was telling me about it."

"That's interesting."

There's a pop and Heli looks down to see Soule opening a crinkling bag. He can smell salt.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Can you eat normal food? Do you want me to get you something?"

"I'm alright. Shouldn't you go to sleep?"

Soule's mouth is already full of his snack. "I like staying up and talking with friends."

"We're not friends."

"Not yet."

Heli stares at him. "Viken is afraid of me. I haven't even done anything to him."

"Exactly, you haven't done anything to any of us. So I'm not worried."

"I'm not at 100% yet. When I'm back to full power maybe I should give him something to be afraid of."

Soule chews for a moment before answering. "Eugene does a lot of weird things, but I don't think he would have brought you here if he thought you'd hurt us. I trust his judgement. He has a sense for good people."

"Cursed people, you mean."

Soule lets out a chuckle. "Maybe it would help if we knew more about you."

"There's not much to tell."

"Sure there is. What about your life? Your family?"

"I don't have one," Heli starts, then pauses. "That is to say. I don't remember my family. I grew up in a boy's home."

"Oh, I see." Soule munches away, but Heli can tell he's listening by the little nods and pauses as he continues.

"I shared a bedroom with six other kids. I suppose you could say they are like my brothers. But I don't know where they are now."

"Was Shion one of them? You mentioned him."

Heli nods.

"They'd be pretty old now," Soule mumbles.

"No, they won't."

"I'm sorry, I was talking to myself. But, and I hate to say it, it's been a long time."

"They wouldn't have aged."

Soule freezes mid-crunch. "You mean…all seven of you are…?"

Heli stares into the stream. Moonlight glints on the water. His mind wanders back to the night he was gazing out over the lake. The night when she called him.

Shion is the first to notice.

Heli's mind is replaying the preceding events, in a loop and he walks straight into Shion who was studying a painting on the wall. He had changed clothes and was no longer covered in blood, but Shion circles around him, looking him up and down, frowning.

"There's something different about you," he says.

Heli feels like he's floating.

"You should go upstairs," his voice is distant, a dull monotone. "She'll explain everything."

"Are you feeling well?" Shion stops circling.

"I'm quite fine, how are you feeling? Aren't you tired?"

"No, I'm alright…"

Heli continues down the hall, leaving Shion with a confused face.

"I have to find them."

"Hm?" Soule has the bag tipped over to empty the last few crumbs.

"I have to find them and figure out what happened to me." He grabs Soule's arm. "Please, can you convince Eugene to let me leave?"

"I don't know," Soule says. "Eugene is well, you know. No, you don't know. Can you let go, you're kinda crushing me."

"Sorry," Heli drops Soule's arm and drops his gaze back to the stream.

"It can't hurt to ask," Soule offers.

Heli shrugs. He's just being nice, he knows that. They sit in silence a few more minutes until Soule announces he's tired and heads for bed.

Between the still night air and moonlight, Heli feels at peace. Refreshed, even. Maybe the moonlight does have some healing power. He stays by the stream, alone with his thoughts until the first rays of sun begin to filter through the trees.