I found Delphine, as usual, with her nose stuck in a book.
At least there’s one thing we have in common: both of us believe that knowledge
is power. If you know what you’re fighting and know its weaknesses, the odds of
your success are in your favour.

That is why I decided to come and see her today: I had to
find out more about Cara. Surely, Delphine of all people should’ve expected my
questions.

The moment she saw me, she closed her book and offered me a
seat.

“No need for explanations, Aralynne. I know why you’ve come”

“Good, I just hate that I had to wait to so long before you
were willing to tell me what’s going on.”

Delphine pursed her lips, but then calmly tried to continue.

“Well, I knew from the start that Cara was special. I mean,
that must have been obvious, why else would a Moloch want her? It just took a
bit of time to figure out exactly how special she is.”

“I assume that a few months were enough? Because I’d like to
know what you’ve figured out while I was stuck on babysitting duty.” My tone
was harsh and bitter, yet a part of me didn’t mind protecting Cara. I have
grown quite attached to her. I just wish I knew what I was up against.”

“Well, Cara is an orphan, that much you already know.” I
gave her a ‘no shit, sherlock’ glare. I’ve been living in that house for quite
some time, it is pretty obvious that there are no parents around.

Delphine took a deep breath before continuing.

“Well, their deaths weren’t exactly natural. After giving birth to her, doctors
found that Cara’s mother was quite sick, diagnosed with a rare blood disease
that was also transferred to the child. Cara’s father, a scientist who had a
thing for fooling around with genetics and DNA, tried to produce a cure which
might save his wife and child.”

I listened with interest. I always figured that her parents
died in a car accident or something similar, she never spoke of them.

“Well, he discovered that crocodile DNA is capable of
fighting off certain diseases like AIDS. Unfortunately, the serum wasn’t
developed in time to save Cara’s mother. Yet, it did save Cara. Her blood is
special, now. Her immunity is much higher than that of any normal human.”

“That’s all...fascinating and oddly disturbing, but I still
don’t see how the Moloch plays any role in all of this.”

Delphine let out a deep sigh.

“Patience, Aralynne, I’m getting to that. After all, this
isn’t the first time the Moloch tried to get his hands on that serum. He tried
taking it from Cara’s father years ago, but her father rather committed suicide
than hand over the one thing responsible for saving his daughter’s life. In the
wrong hands, something as powerful as that could only lead to disaster.”

“I still don’t understand why the Moloch now wants Cara’s
blood. I mean, I’ve tasted crocodile blood, it isn’t exactly appetising, i’m
sure mixing it with human blood wont truly dilute the taste, either.”

I couldn’t help but feel a small amount of satisfaction when
Delphine’s lips curled in disgust when she heard about my choice of cuisine.

“The Moloch,  only
known as Dimitri, drank the blood of a plague victim back in the day. It slowly
started affecting his body too, weakening him. Though of course, vampires are
immortal, there was no way he could die from it, but it did weaken him up to
the point where he is even weaker now than the average human. That bruised his
ego. I can only imagine what a blow it must be for someone who used to be so
strong to suddenly start relying on others. He probably believes that, if he
drinks Cara’s blood, he will be cured.”

Something about the last statement didn’t seem right. Merely
drinking the blood won’t cure him- it won’t stay in his system long enough for
the serum to have any effect on his own blood.

“No, he doesn’t want to drink her blood.” I said. Delphine’s
look of disgust became more obvious. She probably felt offended that I even
dared to correct her.

“Oh really? Then what else could he possibly want with her,
little miss know it all?” The human side of our little protector started to
show. She was jealous.

“Delphine, I’ve been a vampire for over 500 years. Trust my
judgment. The only way Cara could possibly help Dimitri is by becoming his
progeny. He wants to turn her into a vampire...”

“A vampire? How on earth could that possibly cure him?”

“He doesn’t want to be cured. He wants to make sure his
legend lives on. He probably ordered someone else to kill him after he created
a new vampire.  He is suffering. He can’t
stand being weak. Not that I blame the poor guy, I can only imagine how hard it
must be to adapt after being used to all this power.”

“How will turning Cara possibly help his legend live on?”
there was a hint of sarcasm in her voice. I did not appreciate the attitude.
She was pushing her luck. I rolled my eyes at her.

“Oh come now, as Protector you should know that a new
vampire can only be created by completely draining the chosen of blood and replacing
it with the blood of the master? Since his blood is riddled with disease
though, he will probably attempt something that has been forbidden for
centuries.”

Now, even Delphine wsa quiet, waiting for me to carry on.

“He wants to create a half-vampire. The serum in her blood
will cancel out the disease in his. At least, in theory. Creating half vampires
is dangerous though, there are reasons why it’s forbidden. They aren’t
controllable. Their human drive mixed with the powers of vampires makes them
unstable and unpredictable. “

Delphine nodded.

“Of course, the Moloch wouldn’t mind. They are, after all,
keen on starting chaos and wars, and Death loves them even more for it. No
wonder Seth was assigned to make sure everything goes smoothly, Death can’t
wait to claim all the lives that Cara might destroy in that state. Gosh, this
is even more serious than I expected, Aralynne. I just wonder why it is taking
them so long to make a move... ”

“I know exactly why. The timing isn’t right. The ritual of
making can only take place on the ‘Night of White Fire’ as it was dubbed in the
past.”

“When exactly is that?”

“Dear Delphine, it is the time most horror stories begin: a
stormy night....”