To Love A River

Love contemplated Ezra's words carefully. If it was true that the ancient family who first created the Helsing Unit were the same being that Love herself now was, then this would indeed be the ideal place for her at this moment.

However, Love was unsure if she could even trust his words. Although she was never the type to seek revenge for revenge's sake, and would not discriminate against an entire species based on the actions of a few, she still harboured deep feelings of resentment and underlying trauma from the events of her past. And those resentments were firmly directed towards the vampires. 

In addition to this, Ezra specifically had not only used his Influence on her and her friend, he had also been the catalyst for her becoming this supposed half breed form of vampire and human. Something for which she had little information. 

Was being a Dhampir a blessing or a curse? 

There was also a small part of her that hated the idea of half of herself being vampiric in nature, and held the feeling that the vampire who was supposedly her father, may have had a hand in her mother's death. If that were true then it would be no coincidence that she was here now in the same city as the only other progenitor's of the Dhampir line. 

But then again, where else would she find the answers but here? 

"I can sense that you're a little mistrustful of me." Ezra interjected. "I won't lie, it stings a little, but hey, I suppose you have every right to be after recent events." He grinned sheepishly. 

Love simply stared back with cool indifference, waiting for him to continue and offer some form of explanation.

The vampire coughed a little in an uncharacteristically nervous gesture. It was strange that this young woman was causing such a response in him, but he still vividly remembered the last painful encounter with a first generation Dhampir, and absentmindedly rubbed his neck where the ghost of an old wound remained. 

"Ahem, but to explain myself a little more, there is something else interesting you should know about the nature of a Dhampir." Ezra continued, switching back to his mode of a slightly superior sounding teacher who was giving a lecture to a student with failing grades. "You see, when a Dhampir is born, if their main environment primarily consists of interactions with humans, then they will adapt to that environment. They grow as a human would, with nothing too spectacular in regards to speed and strength, so as to camouflage if you will." He winked at Love, who showed no reaction except to nod slightly in acknowledgment to his words.

"Now, if you then place that Dhampir into an environment where they are surrounded by vampires, there is a chance, depending on the level of interaction, that over time the vampire half of them will start to emerge and may even dominate their human side." He explained. 

"I am not justifying my actions here, but I felt it a little dangerous for this to happen to you at a random time without the knowledge of what was happening, and in the middle of the outer zone where nobody around you would understand what you were, or be able to reasonably explain any new feats of strength. So, I instead felt that it would be better for you to receive a little helping hand in activating your Dhampir powers, and that once you had, the Helsing Unit would be the best place for you." After he had finished, Ezra sat back smiling cockily and nodding his head in approval at his own decision making. 

Love was unsure how to take this. His strange self-serving demeanour aside, why should he care what happens to her? They were complete strangers. 

She suspected that it may have been in part, a simple passing whim. An impulsive reaction for an obviously curious and easily excitable vampire who had come across a curiosity that peaked his interest. This did not, however, redeem his actions towards Elora, particularly his malicious habit of using her life to keep Love in line and dangling from his strings. 

But Love had to admit that she was curious herself. Not only in regards to her own powers, but also in the Helsing compound itself, the inner workings of the organisation, the strange Hunter family behind it, even the face of the handsome Captain came to mind. For Love the thought of the latter was a little surprising. 

Living in an outskirt city, many found solace with each other without the need for romantic attachment, and Love was no different. She had spent more than a few lonely nights with other men and women within both the other military units and ordinary citizens the she would meet casually.

There was only one occasion where the person she had met on a number of occasions, had confessed to her and asked if they could pursue a committed relationship, but Love had been highly indifferent to the idea and simply replied that they should give up and find someone else. 

So it was indeed surprising to her that a particular person came to mind when she contemplated her interests in this place.

She regarded the vampire waiting patiently in front of her once more. Although she did not trust him even a tiny amount, for now it seemed, he was right that she was where she needed to be, and this place appeared to hold mutual interests for them both. 

"Alright. If I pass the test today, I will stay here and join the Helsing Unit." She answered coolly. 

Ezra beamed and opened his mouth as if to exclaim excitedly, but Love held up her hand to stop him and he snapped his mouth shut. "However. I believe we should agree on how this…partnership works moving forward. I can't have you dangling my friend's life over my head every time I do something you don't like, or disagree with a course of action you suggest." 

Ezra frowned and rubbed his chin with his long slender fingers. "Well I did say it wasn't my style to make such threats, and that is certainly true. Alright, how about this?" He snapped his fingers and leaned forward a little towards Love. 

"Continue to take in a little of my blood from time to time in order to keep our link open. This will mean that as you keep an eye on the goings on inside of the compound, you can report back to me, and I in turn can keep an eye on you and will leave your delightful friends out of the equation." Ezra suggested, grinning a little mischievously. 

"What are the other effects?" Love probed. She felt that he was attempting to make this offer sound a little too enticing, painting it as though there were little to no downsides for her.

"Ah, well, nothing much really, as I don't sleep much, you likely won't dream very often…" He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly before continuing. "And, err...Influence is a little easier to use. You basically won't be able to refuse a direct command, no matter how strong your mental faculties are." He peeked at her under his long dark eyelashes, but found her sitting surprisingly unperturbed and wearing a thoughtful expression. 

Love was intrigued by the first part of this declaration, 'No more dreams, huh'.

No wonder she had slept so well earlier before the vampire had startled her awake. Would this mean she would finally be able to sleep through the whole night without fear of being plagued by the awful dream of her mother's last moments and the days she spent hiding in a cupboard, surrounded by drying blood…

But was this enough for a deal? 

"Ok, and?" Love replied coolly.

Ezra blinked, "And?...And what?"

"Do you think this is enough for me to do what you're asking? What else is in it for me?" 

"Ah! I see, well there's…hmmm." Ezra racked his brain to think of an incentive. Suddenly, he remembered the frown that Love bore when she had been staring at the prices of After Dark's cocktail menu with a hint of disgust. 

"How about I pay you?" Ezra suggested, already wearing a triumphant grin. 

Love did indeed perk up at the mention of money, her eyes glinting with thinly veiled excitement. If this vampire was old he must have a lot of money stashed away, 

"How much?" She asked.

"How much do you want?"

"How much is too much? Is there a limit?" 

"Just give me a number, Love." 

"10,000 credits."

"Done."

"I wasn't done, 10,000 credits per month."

"Only per month? Alright then we definitely have a deal."

"...Wait, what?"

Ezra beamed, once more flashing his pointed canines. He stuck out his hand enthusiastically. "We have a deal, Love."

**