But what IS Eternity?

 It didn’t seem possible. Yes, Francisco was a broken child both physically and mentally, but it was no fault of Esteban’s. Besides, as far as Esteban could see, Francisco had been improving. The boy at least appeared to be in better spirits. (Although that was only when Esteban was around, he hadn’t a clue what the boy acted like otherwise.)

“And how exactly am I doing that?” Esteban demanded, masking the anger in his voice. The last thing he needed was an enraged vampire chomping on his neck.

“You spend too much time with the boy. He’s not learning to behave like a proper pureblood. At this rate, I’d suggest shaving down his fangs because he’ll practically be human within five years,” The vampire spat.

Esteban drew his eyes away from the vampire, fighting back the urge to say something he might regret, the vampire, Reyes was the leader of the biggest coven in the country. On top of that, he supposedly possessed the power to compel anyone he wanted. Esteban didn’t know if he believed the claims, but he didn’t want to find out tonight.

“Is it so bad that he’d prefer a human companion? He’s no less vampire than he’s ever been!” Esteban argued.

Reyes’s nose crinkled, and his mouth turned upwards into a soundless sneer. Esteban could see the sharp rising and falling of the vampire’s chest. Throughout his life, Esteban had been trained not to falter to anything, but being amid an angry vampire he’d almost been tempted to back down. As daunted as the man was, he bit the inside of his lip and kept himself stoic.

The vampire closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Our kind is aggressive and domineering. If you keep him close to you into his adult years, he may very well attempt to control your life and the lives of your loved ones.

The vampire paused, “You seem to care about Francisco a lot, so why not turn for him?

The man’s eyes went round with alarm. “Turn? I can’t turn, I have a family of my own!”

“Exactly,” The vampire sneered. “You have a family of your own, and it doesn’t include Francisco. You are making it abundantly clear that your human family means more to you than the fledgling that keeps following you around,”

Reyes drew closer to Esteban’s face to the point Esteban could feel the vampire’s cold breaths creep down his neck and shoulders. Remembering warnings about this vampire, Esteban squeezed his eyes shut. No bloodsucker was brainwashing him. Not a chance in Hell.

A wry smile crept across the vampire’s face. “I’ll ask you one more time. Stay away from the boy. It’s for his own good,”

The former hunter’s eyes opened into slits. For the sake of his continued autonomy, he looked away from the vampire. As much as he hated to admit it, Reyes was right. Francisco was a little injured vampire, not a human. He’d grow into an unscrupulous predator. If not that, he’d still be too aggressive to keep in Esteban’s life. Like it or not, vampires were not meant to be friends with humans. “...Are you sure he’d be better off this way?” Esteban asked, doubt still flittering in his mind.

“I’m sure. You’re doing the right thing in leaving him to his own kind,” Reyes replied.

A long, cold silence fell over the two. Esteban was sure only he felt it. He wanted nothing more than to keep visiting the young fledgling. Francisco had just started learning to walk again after all. Surely the little vampire trusted Esteban more now than he ever had.

“I’ll tell him the news myself. I want him to know that even if we can’t meet anymore, I still care about him,” Esteban told the vampire. This parasite might have taken his ability to talk with Francisco, but he’d be damned if Reyes got the last laugh.

“Do you?” Reyes asked condescendingly.

“Yes, Reyes, I do,” Esteban bit.

“You could have fooled me!” Reyes snapped back.

The hunter glared at the vampire “Why are you always so antagonistic towards me? I had no hand in all this mess! I didn’t do anything!”

Reyes returned the glare, his bronze eyes blistering even more. “That’s the problem,”

Esteban turned from the vampire bitterly, understanding the implications of his words. He hated thinking his inaction led to the ruin of a young boy, vampire or otherwise. As much as he wanted to deny it, his part in the attack on the boy haunted him. Everything about those horrid nights listening to his comrades beating and whipping the boy haunted him. Esteban never thought in a million years they would go as far as they did. But he let them, didn’t he? God, had he fucked up.

“Let me talk to him one more time,” Esteban said hollowly.

“Fine, but I better never have to deal with this again,” The vampire returned.

Esteban climbed onto his horse before he turned to the vampire one last time. “For what it’s worth, go to Hell,” He snapped.

“Your Hell means absolutely nothing to me,” Reyes replied calmly, leaving the former hunter even more exasperated.

Not wanting to spend another moment with the leach, Esteban rode into the inky darkness and out of the forest clearing where he met the vampire. The night was still and quiet, the former hunter enjoyed the silence of night normally, but tonight the quiet roared in his ears. What would happen to Francisco once Esteban left?

Once he saw the flickering lights of the city on the black horizon, he pulled his horse sharply to the left and onto an overgrown yet faintly visible footpath. At the very end was a large, fortified building in front of a black, churning ocean. The structure was built by humans most definitely, vampires never built their own homes but overtook the remains of human settlements. Esteban hadn’t a clue what the massive looming building used to be, but it had long since become a den for vampires.

On his way to the door, he was stopped by two vampires clad in glistening armor which reflected the white light from the moon. “Weapons please,” one said, extending her hand. 

Esteban rolled his eyes in annoyance “Aw, c’mon. We go through this every single night. I’m not smuggling weapons to kill you! If I were, don’t you think I would have done it already?” He argued.

“Weapons. Now.” The vampire urged.

 “Before we have a problem,” Her partner added.

It seemed he wasn’t going to get away with simply going in yet. If there was ever a day where that would happen. The man withdrew his pistol and rapier, handing them both to the vampire. “There,” he said. “Have a nice night,” He continued, hurrying into the nest.

He swore, one day he wouldn’t get his weapons back.

By the way the inside of the nest was bathed in a warm yellow glow, he assumed all the residents must be awake by now. He pushed open the door and quietly stepped in. No one was around that he could see. Not too uncommon, and a slight relief. Technically he was welcome here because he arranged with the coven to take Francisco in, but their untrusting eyes dug into him, and the way their lips parted just enough to reveal their fangs when he passed unnerved him. If not for Francisco, he wouldn’t step foot in this vampire nest.

On his way to Francisco’s room, he passed a vampire woman

``He's in his room as always,” she told Esteban, knowing well why he was here. Esteban nodded. He typically didn’t give the residence here more than a nod or an `okay” they didn’t trust him, and he didn’t trust them. Keeping interactions mercifully short seemed the best solution.

Francisco was indeed in his room, in bed, absently moving around some toy soldiers on his blanket. Esteban felt sorry for the boy. Older vampires didn’t seem to care about him much and there were no children his age to play with. On top of that, the boy struggled to walk, relegating him to the bed most of the time, all alone with his few toys.

 “Hello there Francisco!” Esteban greeted cheerily. 

Instantly Francisco drew his head up and his face illuminated. “Esteban!” He cried happily, hugging the man the moment the former hunter got close enough. 

“It’s pretty boring in here, isn’t it?” Esteban asked with a smile. 

Francisco gave an exaggerated frown. “Very. Everyone here is so stuffy and dull. You’re the only fun one!”

Francisco’s green eye widened, and his frown faded into an expression of excitement as he hatched a plan for the night. “Can we go outside? I want to try walking again! And we can sail my boat!”

Esteban smiled weakly and nodded to the boy. He was always so happy to see Esteban. The other vampires told Esteban that no one else here brought a modicum of joy to the young vampire. The moment Esteban left; the boy returned to a veritable lifeless husk. Did he want to ruin the only good thing Francisco had left in his life?

It was for his own good. Right…

“Yeah, but when we get to the beach, I have something I need to tell you,” Esteban said. 

The emotion drained from the boy’s face. Immediately Esteban knew that the boy already had an idea of what they were going to discuss. Something told the older man that Reyes already talked to the boy about Esteban no longer visiting. That bastard.

“But we don’t have to worry about it just yet, right? How about we get going now?” Esteban asked, trying to lift the mood in the room.

The visible side of Francisco’s face never quite recovered its glee, yet the boy attempted a happier facade. Francisco learned to the side of his bed and grabbed a wooden sailboat with a long string attached and an angry-looking tin soldier brandishing a tiny saber off the nightstand.

“Are you going to walk any tonight?” Esteban asked.

“Yeah, but you’re going to carry me to the beach,” Francisco said dryly, extending his arms to the man.

Esteban lowered himself for the young vampire to climb onto his back as usual. The weight the young boy put onto his back grew seemingly every time they did this. Either he was getting old, or the boy was growing. Both were true for better or worse. “Urg, you’d think a kid who only drinks blood wouldn’t grow so big so fast!” the former hunter remarked. Getting a giggle from the boy climbing onto his back.

______

The beach by the nest was empty as usual. Humans typically stayed away because of the vampires and for once, Esteban liked hearing that. As lovely as the sand was all shimmering silver and the ocean glittering in the moonlight, no one aside from him and Francisco came here. That was more than fine with him. The man loved the ocean and the quiet he got from walking the beach alone. What could he say? He’d never leave his Navy days in the past. 

Francisco loved the surroundings too. Esteban knew nothing about the coven the boy came from before they were all wiped out, but according to Reyes, they were a coven that dwelled by the water and primarily hunted fish for their blood. The ocean must feel just as natural to the boy as it did to him.

The former hunter watched the boy float his boat into the dark waters, less animated than normal. Something was wrong tonight and they both knew what it was. 

Perhaps it would be best to get it over with now…

“Francisco, can we talk?” Esteban asked carefully.

“No,’ Francisco replied, reeling his sailboat in, putting his toy soldier in, and sailing the tiny boat through the sand. Esteban was worried the boy wouldn’t listen to him.

Francisco stopped running his boat through the sand and looked up at the man. “Señor Rodríguez wants you to play with us.” The boy said, holding the tin soldier up to the man. Esteban took the tiny soldier from the boy’s hand and manipulated it in his own hand.

“I have a better idea,” Esteban said. “We should go to the docks. Have you ever been to the docks? He asked.

Francisco shook his head vigorously. “Mama said it was unsafe because humans go there at night sometimes. I’ve never been. But you’re a human so humans probably like you more than me,”

The former hunter looked down at the boy “You think so? I can be quite controversial,” He remarked, brief memories of his angry comrades as he pleaded his case to release the boy several months ago running through his head. 

“Me too. I’m controversial!” The boy declared.

Esteban wondered to himself if the young vampire fully understood what he was saying about himself because, yes, he was quite controversial. What a horrible fate for such a young child. “So you are,” Esteban returned, patting the boy on the head. Speaking of which, they should get moving. Discussing their separation would be easier in a place with fewer opportunities to play and avoid talking.

He knelt to Francisco’s eye level and smiled mischievously. “How about we go there now? I’m sure we’ll be alone this late at night,”

“Besides, it’s a good place for you to practice walking,”

Francisco’s expression lifted slightly at the prospect of walking. It was sad that the boy found joy in simply walking, but for someone who walked with such a bad limp and hadn’t walked at all in eight months, walking again must be more than satisfying. “Really? Let’s go then!” Francisco struggled to get to his feet, clenching his teeth in pain as he wobbled to a stand. 

Esteban lowered himself to the boy’s level and Francisco wrapped his arms around Esteban’s neck. The hunter then picked himself up and carried the two into the inky night.

The pair briefly passed the town as they headed to the docks. It was quite late, and lights were disappearing in houses as they rode on. Esteban swore he saw a faint flicker of light trailing far behind them after they’d passed the town, but upon looking again, it was gone. Esteban’s eyes must have been playing tricks on him in the dark. He was no vampire for sure.

______

Much like Esteban said, the dock was empty tonight, all except for them. He knew this dock well. The vessels he sailed on would launch from this dock. Oh, how he missed those days. Sadly, his Navy days were behind him, at least for now. He had more pressing matters than his employment currently.

“Whoa!” Francisco exclaimed, peering over the side of the dock at the glittering, moonlit ocean below them. “It’s like the ocean is a sky full of stars!”

Esteban managed a smile and sat down, his legs dangling over the ocean. “It is, isn’t it? I love coming out here. I could stay out here forever,” 

“Me too,” Francisco said, imitating the man and sitting next to him.

“No, you absolutely cannot. Reyes would skin me alive if I let you stay here forever,” Esteban replied jokingly. Trying not to let his thoughts linger on Reyes for longer than needed.

The boy snorted at the mention of the pureblooded king of his new coven. “Reyes, he’s a crusty old bag of wind. So are the rest of the purebloods. They’re sooo boring. They don’t do anything aside from plan for politics stuff. I don’t think they care about me much either. They mostly have a turned vampire come in and change my bandages but that’s it,”

The hunter raised an eyebrow at the boy “Are there no other kids in the coven?  Esteban asked, going through every instance of him being in their nest. Come to think of it, Francisco was the only child he remembered seeing in the coven.

 “No, I’m the only true fledgling. There aren’t any others. It was the same in my old coven, but the adults were more fun than in this one. Even the name of this coven is less fun, Muerte del Sol? So serious.” Francisco said with a small huff.

“Yeah, they’re all pretty dried up, aren’t they?” Esteban replied.

Francisco narrowed his eyes “I’m surprised parts of them aren’t breaking off as they move,”

Dark, but true. The other vampires weren’t a friendly bunch, and they probably didn’t care much for either him or Francisco. Esteban hadn’t a clue why they even bothered with the boy knowing how little they cared for him and how little use he was likely to be to the coven. Esteban didn’t understand vampires and would never claim to. 

Just then, the ex-hunter spotted a glint of light falling over the hills. He stiffened, not knowing if what he saw was a human or vampire. Either would be trouble for the two of them.

The boy nudged the man in the side, breaking him from his fixation on the approaching glimmer of light. “C’mon Señor Serrano, you said you were going to help me walk,” he said.

Esteban froze and suddenly Francisco had fallen quiet too, picking up on the faint sound of Esteban’s name being called over and over in the darkness as the light from a lantern grew ever closer. Hastily, Esteban blocked Francisco’s body with his own, hoping that would be enough to obscure the vampire.

“Señor Serrano, what’s going on?” The boy whimpered out. “This wasn’t a trap for me, was it?” He added. 

It stung to know Francisco’s trust not only had limits, but the boy’s first thought was an ambush on him. Esteban couldn’t blame him for that, but he was under the impression the two were close enough that Francisco wouldn’t instantly become suspicious of him.

‘Shhhh, if we both play our cards right, no one has to get hurt and no one has to die. Just stay as still and quiet as you can,” Esteban whispered.

“Esteban? Esteban?” A voice called, as a man on horseback stepped onto the docks, a lantern hanging from his steed’s side. 

The former hunter instantly identified the man as one of his old comrades- the vampire hunter, Dimas Dima was an angry, vengeful man who took great pleasure in hurting Francisco. Dimas was especially brutal with vampires, feeling the death of much of his village by their hand justified torturing them. Esteban looked at the nervous child wringing his hands. Francisco knew this man all too well. Esteban was just as apprehensive as the young vampire. There was no way the boy could flee; he could hardly walk. As much as Esteban hated to admit it, this would be the end for both if he couldn’t find a place for Francisco to hide- or a miracle. Both seemed highly unlikely.

“Esteban, what’s going on out here? I saw your horse and wondered why you here alone so late at night,” Dimas said.

“Reminiscing on my Navy days. Now if you don’t mind. I’d like to get back to that. Leave me be,” Esteban said dismissively. 

“Not so fast. Where have you been these last two weeks? When our headquarters burnt down it was like you became a ghost!” Dimas told him. 

Esteban sighed to himself “After all that. I’m done with vampire hunting. I quit. Come this summer, I’ll be rejoining the Navy and leaving Spain for a while,” Esteban said.

“Sad, but I don’t quite buy that you’re just out here thinking about the good old days. You want to know why?” Dimas asked rhetorically.

“I have a feeling you’re doing to tell me no matter what I say,” Esteban replied, his muscles tensing as he thought though plans to protect Francisco. The time to act was approaching rapidly.

“You were at that huge vampire nest. I saw you leave, and I know you weren’t alone. There was someone else on the back of your horse. A small someone. I suspect you have something to do with the vampire child disappearing. Because he vanished at the same time you do. He’s with you now, isn’t he?” Dimas interrogated.

Esteban said nothing.

Now suspicious, the hunter held off the lantern, illuminating the area around them- and one brightly glowing, green eye. The hunter knew that black-rimmed eye was everywhere. “Traitor!” He cried, dropping the lantern, and backing off the docks slowly.

“All this time we all thought you were both dead. But you’ve been harboring that parasite!” Dimas snarled, drawing a pistol off his belt, and aiming it at the boy. Francisco’s eyes met the barrel of the gun and he, terrified, pulled himself backward and out of the direct path of the gun. Esteban scrambled to his feet, charging the hunter, and throwing him to the side. Dimas rushed Esteban, swinging his fists at Esteban with fervor and conviction. Esteban traded blows with the hunter, trying to buy time for Francisco to leave, but while the boy was on his feet, he was still, watching the brawl terrified. 

Esteban charged the man once more, delivering a punch to the man’s head. Dimas staggered backward. Once he had stabilized, he turned the gun on Esteban. The hunter’s arms trembled as he held his firearms. He wasn’t shooting. Esteban found it in himself to reach for his own gun- which wasn’t on his belt.

Shit, that’s right. The vampire disallowed weapons when he went to visit Francisco. 

“Don’t do this,” Esteban warned. 

Dimas went rigid. “I don’t want to. But for the sake of the citizens, I will!” The hunter growled, still unwilling to pull the trigger.

“You think you’re defending the citizens? This is sadism! Francisco hasn’t done anything to you or any human!” Esteban snapped.

The hunter snarled at Esteban “He’s a vampire, he’ll grow up to be exactly like the others, kidnapping people and feeling off innocent victims!”

Esteban had nothing to say to the hunter’s argument. It was true, Francisco would grow up into an adult vampire and there was always the chance he would hurt humans. But that wasn’t Francisco now and as far as Esteban was concerned that was enough. Francisco was innocent now and Esteban wouldn’t allow him to die.

“There’s no way in hell that I’ll let you hurt him!” Esteban roared.

“It’s a shame, but I don’t care,” Dimas said, dashing for the lantern on the ground. 

Esteban didn’t know exactly what the hunter would do with it but found himself rushing after the hunter as if he were being compelled by an unseen force. The hunter aimed for the dock and drew his arm back. Esteban’s eyes bulged as he realized what the hunter was attempting. With all his strength, he wrapped his arms around the hunter to pull him away, but it was too late, but the lantern had the hunter’s hands and shattered on the wooden dock. 

“Francisco!” Esteban screamed to an alarmed Francisco who backed away from the flames and looked to Esteban with wet eyes.

Esteban tried to run to Francisco on the docks only to be pulled back by the hunter who gave him several swift punches.

“You’re not getting to that little shit!” Dimas roared, once again brandishing his pistol.

Esteban knew the hunter didn’t have the guts to kill him. But he couldn’t guess what Dimas was going to do. Esteban took several slow steps away before hearing the crack of the gun. Pain rocketed up his leg and the man collapsed on the ground, instinctively grabbing his bloodied leg. The hunter ran to him and began kicking him repeatedly in the face before Esteban latched into Dimas’s leg and twisted his body, causing Dimas to go careening down on top of Esteban. 

The two wrestled each other trading blows over and over. The pain was blinding for Esteban but it hardly mattered. He needed to get to Francisco before the dock went up in flames. 

The hunter quickly broke from Esteban’s grasp and Esteban, still on the ground, turned to the flaming docks. The fire had spread much faster than Esteban anticipated, leaving the young vampire cowering at the very edge. Francisco looked at him, then the flames, then the water. Then he jumped into the black water below. 

The former hunter’s throat dried. He was sure the drop wouldn’t have killed Francisco, but he wasn’t sure how well the boy could swim. Francisco was from the Océano Oscuro coven, they were known for their incredible swimming feats, but Esteban hadn’t a clue if the saltwater would leave him in too much pain to swim.

The hunter was even more enraged by this. He too knew that Francisco’s dive into the ocean wasn’t a death sentence. “You let him escape!” Dimas screeched, bashing Esteban over the head with his pistol and then aiming it point-blank at him.

Esteban had thought about his death perhaps a million times in the past. Was he a good enough person? Would anyone remember him when he was gone? What would his family do without him? Did this asshole actually have the guts to pull the trigger or was going to stand there paralyzed like before?

Esteban had no more time for existential thinking before a screech both humans and inhuman sounded through the air. He knew that cry well; it was an angry vampire. The hunter took his attention off Esteban and contorted himself to see his attacker. 

It all happened so fast. One moment Dimas was on his feet, then next he was on the ground struggling for his life. There were three gunshots, and more screaming as the darkness shrouded the vampire bit into Dimas’s neck, constricting his grip and pulling outward. Blood poured out of the massive wound where the man’s throat once was. In mere moments, the hunter fell to the ground and had stopped breathing.

“You were just supposed to talk to him,” Reyes said dryly, licking the blood off his lips and nudging the dead hunter’s body with his foot.

“I was getting to that part. We were interrupted,” Esteban replied, touching his hand to his head and nose to gauge the damage. 

“What part of talking to him required you to come so close to town?” Reyes asked skeptically.

“He didn’t want to talk at the beach, so I brought him here. There are fewer distractions.” Esteban explained. 

Reyes crossed his arms. “And where exactly is he?

Esteban looked down at his feet. “He jumped off the dock. I don’t know what happened to him after that.” 

“So, you lost him,” Reyes said, unwilling to tolerate much more of this human’s actions. 

“I think lost is a little inaccurate,” Esteban said in his defense. “How did you even know we were here?” He added.

Reyes glowered at the man. “I watch you two every time you leave my den. Tonight, the two of you left our territory altogether. Of course, I followed you. You’re welcome,”

Just then, a small, black figure washed on the beach. Esteban knew right away what it was. He tried to get up, but the stinging pain made it incredibly difficult. 

Reyes passed the former hunter, pushing him over to get to the form by the water. It was Francisco thankfully. Reyes wasn’t exactly shocked to know that he made it back to shore on his own. Francisco’s birth coven was known for ambushing their prey by hiding in dark waters. The boy wasn’t in the best condition though. He shivered from both the cold and pain, his bandages had partially unraveled, revealing the marred and blackened flesh below. His wig had been lost in the sea and he was once again nearly bald save for a few strands of hair still tenuously holding on to his head.

Reyes picked the boy up roughly and brought him to Esteban and the dead hunter. Francisco instantly perked up the moment Reyes put him down. His expression was unreadable. For a short time, Esteban thought the boy was happy to see him, but the former hunter soon realized the young vampire was looking directly past him and at the dead hunter that was still bleeding on the ground.

“Well, go on. I know you’re hungry and you haven’t fed all night,” Reyes urged the boy. 

Francisco scrambled across the ground faster than Esteban had ever seen him move. Suddenly the boy latched to the gaping wound in the dead hunter’s neck and siphoned blood at an alarming rate. The boy’s green eyes locked into the corpse almost as he was transfixed by the blood. At that moment there was nothing remotely human about the child. And then Esteban remembered- the boy wasn’t human. He forgot Francisco wasn’t human often. Moments like this where Francisco was gorging himself on the blood of a former comrade were jarring. Esteban didn’t know what that said about himself if anything. He wasn’t all too fond of the blood-drinking no matter how fond he was of the boy. He didn’t want to keep watching. Although Esteban couldn’t help but wonder if the boy thought anything of the person he was feeding off. It surely didn’t seem like it.

“Do you mind if I don’t watch?” Esteban asked. Not sure if the faintness he felt was from Francisco or his bullet wound. 

“I don’t care what you do. But I’m not escorting you away,” Reyes replied flatly.

Francisco was right, Reyes was a crusty man.

Thankfully, Francisco drew his head back up, wiping a stray dribble of blood from his mouth, and almost instantly bolted into Esteban’s arms, taking one looking at the man’s gunshot wound and burying himself into the man’s clothing. “I’m sorry I got you hurt. If I hadn’t jumped off the dock, the hunter wouldn’t have gotten mad,”

Despite everything in his body aching, the man hugged the little boy, surprised he hadn’t yet dug his fangs into his bleeding leg

“No, it’s not your fault. You had every right to escape. Besides, I’ll be fine. I’ve been through worse than this before,” Esteban reassured Francisco. 

It was odd to him that he hadn’t yet been bitten. Then again, the little vampire had already had more than enough. Had Reyes not insisted Francisco feed on Dimas, would Francisco be trying to feed on him now? Was Reyes that courteous? It hardly mattered. The man was consistently vile and the assuring he wouldn’t get nipped by Francisco did nothing to heal Reyes’s dismal reputation. 

Reyes put a hand on Francisco’s back. ‘It’s time you say goodbye to Esteban. We need to go.” 

Francisco looked up at Reyes, glowering darkly at the older vampire. “No, because I know if I go with you. I’m never going to see Esteban again. You’ll make sure of it!” Francisco protested

The boy had likely been told numerous times how a pureblooded vampire such as himself didn’t need to associate with human trash. One thing was abundantly clear the moment Francisco became so confrontational, he was having none of it. 

“He’s the only good thing in my life and you’re not taking him away!” Francisco snapped.

Reyes got down to the level of the child, his brown eyes alight with fervor “Did I give you a request? No, I’m telling you to come with me. It’s for your own good. You’re a pureblooded vampire, not a human. You don’t belong with him. You belong with your own kind,”

“Then I don’t have a kind,” Francisco bit back, his lips peeling back to reveal his dagger-like teeth. Esteban never noticed how wickedly sharp Francisco’s teeth were. Combined with his taste for human blood and Reyes didn’t sound as nuts. Still callous and otherwise a sour man, but not one coming at this with no reasoning

The older vampire’s gaze only grew more intense. “Please come with me. You won’t be happy playing around with a has-been buccaneer for the rest of his life,”

Esteban was not happy with the name-calling but held his tongue. He wasn’t about to make things worse for himself. 

The boy suddenly became calm- unnaturally calm. He nodded to Reyes and picked himself up with some effort. “If you think I’m going to be happier with other vampires, then I’ll go with you,” Francisco said softly. Not before returning to Esteban’s on the ground and hugging him once again.

“Bye, thanks for staying with me, Francisco muttered, his voice trembling. 

Esteban hugged the boy once more. “It was my pleasure,” His own voice breaking once or twice. He didn’t want to give up seeing the boy and he was sure the feeling was mutual. Francisco seemed happy in a way he hadn’t been with the other vampires. It was hard to see a child who has gone through so much be so sad. 

“I love you,” Francisco said softly.

Esteban wished he could say something, anything at all, but he was too shocked, tired, and in pain to muster anything more meaningful than “Bye,”

Francisco once again clambered to his feet, meeting Reyes who picked up the dead body, not willing to leave any evidence of what happened tonight. Francisco climbed onto Reyes’s back much to his annoyance and disappeared into the darkness. 

Esteban sat alone in the night with no companion aside from the roaring ocean. He was still bleeding, but not as bad now. He wasn’t too concerned; sure, he could recover fully once he got to a doctor. Right now, his thoughts were on the little vampire he’d looked after for months now. Esteban thought about the last few moments of the argument that Francisco and Reyes had had. Something was off about it. Francisco initially seemed completely ready to pitch a much bigger fit about the two being separated. Why did he fold so quickly? Then it dawned on him- Francisco hadn’t gone willingly. Reyes compelled him to leave. At least that was Esteban’s best guess. If that was it, he understood why Reyes was feared. The compelling was so smooth, so unnoticeable that he didn’t even notice until he thought about it.