To Love A River

Ezra's revelation hung in the air as Love tried to process the confusing term. Vampire's had been known throughout time, even before their appearance at the end of the Last War, there had been an abundance of literature and other forms of media that depicted vampires in different ways, and in some form, they still existed to this day.

Love, however, had never paid attention to these forms of popular culture whilst living in the outskirts. The outer zones were a harsh and unforgiving place, where every day was a struggle to survive. This left little time or available credits for these luxuries. She therefore assumed that 'Dhampir' was a term that she may have simply missed.

What she was unaware of, was that all mentions of Dhampir's had been quietly removed from the public sphere of information over the past few centuries.

"I - I'm a what? What is a Dhampir?" She asked, puzzled.

Ezra nodded knowingly. "Yes, it's not surprising that you don't know, so you should be glad that I'm here, because I happen to be very informed on the topic." He beamed at her again, flashing his canine's. Love shuddered slightly.

"Essentially, a Dhampir is a half breed. A mix between both a vampire and a human. Dhampir are known to be the perfect combination, they do not require blood to survive, they are not affected by sunlight, and lastly and most importantly, they grow stronger when fighting against vampire's." Ezra explained as though he were giving a school lecture.

"But I don't understand. How are Dhampirs created?" Love asked. Her head felt as though it were being crammed with new information, but that the important points pertaining to her specifically were still unclear. For the first time in a long time, she wished that she was able to remember the early years of her childhood.

"How are they made? Why by a vampire and a human conceiving a child of course. You see, when a vampire and a human like each other very much, the man will put - "

Love cut him off quickly, raising her hand. "Enough. Also…that's impossible, vampire's and humans cannot reproduce."

Ezra nodded again. "Correct! Ordinarily vampire's and humans are unable to have children. However on extremely rare occasions a Dhampir can be created. More often than not, this is a case of a vampire male and a human female."

"But that would mean…" Love's words trailed off as she took in this fact. She knew of course that her mother was human, but she had never known her father. This new information now meant that her father was likely a vampire himself, and yet her mother had been killed by one.

This led Love to two lines of thought. First, was her mother killed because she had grown too close to the vampire community or one vampire in particular? Or second, was she killed because Love had been conceived?

One thing that Ezra had said, had stood out to her, and that was that a Dhampir would grow stronger when fighting vampire's. This would make Love's existence a threat, so was it possible therefore that Love had actually been the target that day?

Ezra had stayed silent whilst Love contemplated this line of thought and watched her calm expression with curiosity. For someone who had received such news, that at least half of them were not in fact human, he felt that she was taking it quite well.

"Alright, let's say that I am this - Dhampir. I still don't understand how you would know this, when I was unaware myself."

Ezra smiled again, his lopsided and slightly cocky grin. "Ah, well that's because I am also rather special, you know?"

Love raised her eyebrows doubtfully.

"Hey now, I mean it. Do you know what the odds are of you and I meeting as we did? Not only am I old enough to be able to discern the difference between how a normal human and a young Dhampir smell, but I am also probably one of the only vampires of this era who has encountered a Dhampir before."

Love's eyes widened a little in surprise, and she cocked her head slightly.

'I wonder how old he is.' She thought.

'Don't you think it's a little rude to ask a gentleman his age?' Ezra replied to her in her mind, whilst pulling a mock offended action in front of her, with his hand across her chest.

Love sighed and rubbed her face. This vampire really was a little odd.

"Ok, when did you meet a Dhampir then?" She asked instead.

"Hmm, I suppose it would have been around 400 years ago." He paused glancing at Love to gauge her reaction. Surprisingly, or rather unsurprisingly considering her reactions thus far, the only indication of any shock at the potential age of this vampire in front of her, was the slight raising of a single delicate eyebrow.

"Yes, 400 I suppose. It was during my time in the north of England, when we met. I was unaware of what they were at the beginning, but after meeting me, I made the mistake of trying to take a bite." He chuckled as if recalling a fond memory and Love shook her head slightly in disbelief.

"I didn't get very far however, she laid me flat on my ass and if I were able to scar, my face would not be as stunning as it is today."

Love sighed a little once more, but otherwise didn't refute his remark.

"But this is the interesting part." Ezra smiled. "The Dhampir that I met back then, their name was Amara Hunter."

Love blinked slowly. "Hunter like - the Head General Hunter's ancestor?"

"Ding, ding, ding! So now do you see why you are in the perfect place? Their blood may be diluted by centuries of separation, but they are the only other Dhampir line of this era that I have found. It may be that by staying here, you can learn even more about who you are and what you are capable of."

**