Blood Order concealed while they build their empire in the shadows."
"You mean to say the President is... a fanghead?"
Vincent shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. It matters not, as he's compromised. As is the whole political system. It serves to keep the masses in the dark while the real power trundles on towards the Great Unveiling. Once that happens, the whole false political paradigm will be swept aside and humans will be subservient to their vampire masters."
"So, if this is all true," Dom began, "why aren't we storming places like Club Venom and tearing these Order vamps a new one?"
Vincent exchanged glances with Trixie.
"I mean we are vamp hunters, right?" Dom added. "If that's the case, why aren't we killing this Levi or whatever and ending this now?"
"You wanna stick your tongue into a beehive just to get the honey, be my guest," Trixie retorted. "If you hadn't noticed, it's just us here and a crap-tonne of them ."
Dom shrugged at them both. "Then, what function do we serve if we're so powerless?"
Vincent glanced at Trixie before answering. "We have a longstanding pact with the Order."
Dom frowned. "Pact? You mean like a deal?"
"Precisely. It's a peace deal. Our remit is merely to stop the spread of vampires. Order vamps are off limits as they are 'chosen' by Leviah. Any vamps outside of the Order are to be... cleansed. This is the best we can do in terms of slowing the Great Unveiling. For every vamp we deal with, we save human lives from succumbing to the same fate."
"The same fate?" Dom echoed.
"Manna. Or venom as you know it. Vampires refer to it as manna. It's the essence that transforms humans into vampires."
Dom looked at them both. "Hey, wait a minute, I was dosed up on that stuff for Christ knows how long, and I ain't no vamp." He looked at his hands. "At least I think..."
"No, but you're left with remnants aren't you?" asked Vincent.
Dom shook his head. "I... I..."
Trixie huffed. "If you take the DNA of two humans and mix them, you get a third type of human, right?"
Dom looked up at her. "You're talking about making babies?"
Trixie gave him a slow nod. "Right, Dom."
"So, if you take a human and mix in manna--essentially vamp DNA--then you get a human-vampire hybrid," Vincent continued.
"Mix in enough vamp DNA and eventually you'll become vamp," Trixie said with an ironic grin.
"Total transmutation doesn't always happen," Vincent informed them, "and the time it takes can vary from human to human."
Dom frowned. "How come?"
"It depends on how much he dosed you," Trixie said, "and on how holy you are."
"Holy?" Dom echoed.
Trixie gave him a brisk nod of her head. "Holy."
Vincent shook his head. "It's all metaphor. For 'holy' read DNA type. In the old societies 'holy' people were of a certain blood stock. If you were of their lineage, you were more resistant to the effects of manna, hence why they were revered as the greatest vampire slayers."
"So it all comes down to our blood," Dom reflected.
"Vampires are obsessed with it. Not only as it keeps them alive, but as it is the historical framework of human civilization. As time has gone on, with all the mixing of our DNA with conquest and social movement, the blood of the holy lineages have altered and thus become lost. Having said this, we are virtually all holy to one degree or another, some very holy, others not very holy at all. The unholy amongst us are extremely susceptible to complete transmutation at a very fast rate. This latter scenario is undesirable for vampires; they prefer their food to stay close by and not turn inedible and leave. They're funny like that."
"Which is why we're the ones who clean up the mess, and keep things in 'order'." Trixie grinned. "Hey, did you see what I did there?"
Vincent groaned. "Yes, Trixie. Very good."
Dom grabbed his forehead. "So, let me get this straight. The venom has altered my DNA?"
"Yep, you're part vamp," Trixie told him. "Feels great, huh?"
"You're much more human than vampire, young
"You mean to say the President is... a fanghead?"
Vincent shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. It matters not, as he's compromised. As is the whole political system. It serves to keep the masses in the dark while the real power trundles on towards the Great Unveiling. Once that happens, the whole false political paradigm will be swept aside and humans will be subservient to their vampire masters."
"So, if this is all true," Dom began, "why aren't we storming places like Club Venom and tearing these Order vamps a new one?"
Vincent exchanged glances with Trixie.
"I mean we are vamp hunters, right?" Dom added. "If that's the case, why aren't we killing this Levi or whatever and ending this now?"
"You wanna stick your tongue into a beehive just to get the honey, be my guest," Trixie retorted. "If you hadn't noticed, it's just us here and a crap-tonne of them ."
Dom shrugged at them both. "Then, what function do we serve if we're so powerless?"
Vincent glanced at Trixie before answering. "We have a longstanding pact with the Order."
Dom frowned. "Pact? You mean like a deal?"
"Precisely. It's a peace deal. Our remit is merely to stop the spread of vampires. Order vamps are off limits as they are 'chosen' by Leviah. Any vamps outside of the Order are to be... cleansed. This is the best we can do in terms of slowing the Great Unveiling. For every vamp we deal with, we save human lives from succumbing to the same fate."
"The same fate?" Dom echoed.
"Manna. Or venom as you know it. Vampires refer to it as manna. It's the essence that transforms humans into vampires."
Dom looked at them both. "Hey, wait a minute, I was dosed up on that stuff for Christ knows how long, and I ain't no vamp." He looked at his hands. "At least I think..."
"No, but you're left with remnants aren't you?" asked Vincent.
Dom shook his head. "I... I..."
Trixie huffed. "If you take the DNA of two humans and mix them, you get a third type of human, right?"
Dom looked up at her. "You're talking about making babies?"
Trixie gave him a slow nod. "Right, Dom."
"So, if you take a human and mix in manna--essentially vamp DNA--then you get a human-vampire hybrid," Vincent continued.
"Mix in enough vamp DNA and eventually you'll become vamp," Trixie said with an ironic grin.
"Total transmutation doesn't always happen," Vincent informed them, "and the time it takes can vary from human to human."
Dom frowned. "How come?"
"It depends on how much he dosed you," Trixie said, "and on how holy you are."
"Holy?" Dom echoed.
Trixie gave him a brisk nod of her head. "Holy."
Vincent shook his head. "It's all metaphor. For 'holy' read DNA type. In the old societies 'holy' people were of a certain blood stock. If you were of their lineage, you were more resistant to the effects of manna, hence why they were revered as the greatest vampire slayers."
"So it all comes down to our blood," Dom reflected.
"Vampires are obsessed with it. Not only as it keeps them alive, but as it is the historical framework of human civilization. As time has gone on, with all the mixing of our DNA with conquest and social movement, the blood of the holy lineages have altered and thus become lost. Having said this, we are virtually all holy to one degree or another, some very holy, others not very holy at all. The unholy amongst us are extremely susceptible to complete transmutation at a very fast rate. This latter scenario is undesirable for vampires; they prefer their food to stay close by and not turn inedible and leave. They're funny like that."
"Which is why we're the ones who clean up the mess, and keep things in 'order'." Trixie grinned. "Hey, did you see what I did there?"
Vincent groaned. "Yes, Trixie. Very good."
Dom grabbed his forehead. "So, let me get this straight. The venom has altered my DNA?"
"Yep, you're part vamp," Trixie told him. "Feels great, huh?"
"You're much more human than vampire, young
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