Edwin stared at the grinning red-haired vampire before him. Sebastian Black had the gall to come back here again. And with a gift basket with blood bags in it as well as candy.

“Nothing is poisoned,” the elf barged in like he owned the place and set the basket down on the kitchen table. Edwin followed, too struck to react properly. Why was Sebastian Black here?

Sebastian sat in the same chair he had picked back when he wore Daniel like a pair of pants, and scanned his surroundings. The silence was getting stale between them and then, with a war cry, Rael came running with his wooden sword, and he pointed it at Sebastian.

“We don’t want you here!” Screamed the boy. Which was so unlike him. He was such a well-spoken boy, for a three-year-old. Edwin quickly tugged him behind himself and brought forth both of his shadows to circle the vampire. Who looked calm as one could be? What was happening here?

“So, I liked your preposition and came here to ask what is it exactly you want from me for the opportunity to claim Polites death as my own doing,” Sebastian paused, as if he wanted to say something else, but then he shook his head. “I’ll leave the immature comments to the warrior.”

He more whispered that to himself, but Edwin heard it. The healer didn’t know what he would have done if Black made a dig at him. Probably lose his mind completely.

“I want you to leave, Black,” snapped Edwin, mindful to keep Rael behind him.

“But what about your wonderful plan to change the world? We, the vampire community as a whole, could help you. No one will blame you for Polites after I spin my tale. You will find that people will curse me for getting a mortal involved, if anything.”

“I doubt that,” said Edwin. They heard a loud crash and saw Daniel in the doorway of his room. His sword was suddenly in his hands and he was walking slowly towards Sebastian. The vampire could practically smell the fear that was rolling off the warrior in waves.

“And you, the one that got away. Tell, were you awake for the entire time? It is just that I have never gotten such a result as you. It is all quite interesting, is it not?” Sebastian’s tone was respectful, but his lips were upturned in a smirk.

“I am not a guinea pig!” Screamed Daniel, spittle flying everywhere. Rael flinched at that and Edwin placed a hand around his shoulder.

“I don’t want to be excluded from your lives. If anything, I want to be a part of the family!” Chirped Sebastian, and everyone looked at him as if he had lost his mind. And perhaps he had. But this was the first time he had failed.

He was invested now. He wanted to see to what highs the family that bested him could go. Furthermore, he wanted a revolution. A cloak and dagger one, not a full-blown one. The kind that Edwin intended to bring about.

“You are mad, aren’t you, red eyes?” Daniel was moving, so he could hide Edwin and Rael behind his bulk now. Sebastian had come here to get a danger high.

No wraiths, just his power as a vampire and the little magic he could still do after his mother plunged his career as a mage into the gutter. That, and not the fact that he was a vampire now, was the reason he killed her.

“You can utilize me and I won’t mind. A free healer movement will benefit vampires everywhere,” said Sebastian with a shrug. Edwin tilted his head, confused.

“But your kind has citizenship with Alanqian upon turning,” began Edwin and Sebastian chuckled.

“Our kind, Eddy,” corrected him Sebastian. That made Edwin stop speaking and begin to think. He now had a dual citizenship, he supposed. For he was still a Durian citizen even with the change.

But now, he could travel in the Alanqian Empire and take Hadrian and Daniel with him. There were at least two known dungeons there. Nasty ones with a high kill count.

The demons of the Empire let human, elf and what have you, adventurers earn visas to enter the country so that they could close the dungeons. And wasn’t there something about a bandit hideout? One that regrew every time it was cleared? The goblins there…

“Earth to Eddy, did you even hear my question?” Asked Sebastian with a teasing lilt to his voice. He already knew the answer.

“I’m sorry, what?” Edwin had been too lost in his plans to pay attention to the big, dangerous vampire that was sitting on the kitchen chair reserved for Daniel. And looking at home on it.

“I asked if you would like a traveling companion to get rid of the Asylum of Blood. I won’t create a wraith. And there is something you could do for me. Did you know that vampires have sporadic mana?” Sebastian laid the snare for Edwin carefully, trying to play it smooth. But the healer’s eyes still narrowed.

“What you want can’t be done because of a pile of laws that forbid such experiments,” Edwin was sure that the vampire knew that. Yet, he was choosing to ignore all the regulations either way.

“Well, you want freedom for all healers, don’t you? Why not start with yourself? No one needs to know that you are healing my mana pathways from the damage to them being, well, dead. I am certain your beautiful brain can figure out how,” Sebastian winked and Daniel gagged.

Thoughts raced in Edwin’s brain. For proper mana flow, one had to be alive or lifelike enough to have a proper blood circulation. He had taken Hadrian’s ability to circulate his mana as well as he could for granted, but if he could replicate it.

Maybe he should make sure that Sebastian was well-fed at all times? How had Hadrian survived a month without feeding? Blood was liquid and that was worked by the digestive system almost instantly. So, how…

“And he is in healer land, great. We are stuck with the maniac,” Sebastian send Daniel a winning grin for his words and took out a chocolate bar and waved it at Rael.

“I don’t bite,” assured Rael.

“Liar!” The boy raised his sword and approached on tip toes. Taking the candy bar, he placed it in Edwin’s hand. Who was snapped out of his thoughts and proceeded to check it out.

When the candy was deemed safe, three other children came to take their pick from the basket. Sebastian felt like he had won them over already and couldn’t help but smirk at Daniel, who was frowning at a dreamy Edwin.