BLOODBOUND II

𝟏𝟒

Erik Balthazar: You can call me Xenocrates.

Amy: Oh my god...

Adrian: That name... I've heard it before...

Kamilah steps forward, placing herself in front of Amy, as her daggers slide from hidden sheaths.

Kamilah: Because he was turned by the First Vampire, just as Gaius was. He's the First Son.

He bares his fangs at Gaius's name.

Erik Balthazar: You know nothing, whelp, nothing.

Kamilah: Call me that again, and I'll break you in half, old man.

Balthazar's men swivel to aim their crossbows at Kamilah.

Erik Balthazar: Try it.

Order Commander: Give me the word, Grand Cleric. I'll end them here and now.

Erik Balthazar: Hold steadily, soldier. I can take them myself.

Jax glances at him uneasily.

Jax: So, if he's as close to the First Vampire as Gaius, does that mean he's crazy powerful?

Erik Balthazar: More than you can imagine. Now step away from the Tree of Eternal Life, or I will strike you down.

They all glance at Adrian, and he nods, reluctantly, they step away.

Amy: I don't understand... The head of the Order, the vampire hunters, is a vampire?

Kamilah: How could you betray your own kind like this? How could you kill so many of us?

Erik Balthazar: I am not one of you! You are the spawn of Gaius! Abominations, just like him!

Jax: Hey, I'm not the spawn of that freak.

Erik Balthazar: Oh, you are. When Rheya died, there were only two vampires, Gaius and I, and I never turned anyone. Every one of your blight is his spawn.

Jax: Even if that's true--

Erik Balthazar: Enough. You come into my home, my domain, you desecrate this place, you stand before me... monsters cloaked in human skin.

Jax glowers and unsheathes his sword, but Adrian puts his arm out to stop him.

With a deep breath, Amy steps forward.

Amy: Balthazar... Balthazar... I'm a human. Someone you're trying to protect, right? So, tell me, how have you survived this long? If you're a vampire, doesn't that mean you need to drink blood to survive?

He scoffs at the question.

Erik Balthazar: Living off the blood of others, such a disgusting means of existence.

Kamilah: You still do it.

Erik Balthazar: Only the bare minimum, donated by the willing. Just a few drops every week, just enough to stay alive. Drinking so little, it has aged me. Changed my appearance, but I do not regret it.

Adrian: Doesn't the hunger drive you mad?

Erik Balthazar: Perhaps it did, once. Then I learned to ignore it. To focus instead on something sweeter; righteous vengeance.

Amy: Be that as it may, but how did you start the Order?

Balthazar is quiet for a moment, his eyes lingering on the tree.

Erik Balthazar: I was the first disciple of Rheya. The first vampire to be turned. I was her advisor, her strategist, her right hand. I served many years at her side, as faithful and foolish as a mutt. I believed she could accomplish great things, but I was wrong. All she accomplished was bloodshed and strife, cruelty and misery. So many killed, so many. She went mad with power, mad with grief. All she cared about was herself, her ascension. I came to understand what she was, what we are, and I had to end it.