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“Jacques, we fear that one day we will have to inform you that a child is dead,” Mother added.

“Why have you not said anything before?” Julius asked.

“We didn’t realise that murder featured in their black hearts. Harm towards us, the adults, yes, but not against the children. Otherwise, we would have sent them away ages ago.”

“Are things that bad, Father?”

“Obviously. Your mother’s poor health prevented her from joining us last time. We are not welcome anywhere except with families in a likewise situation, and that has played heavily in your mother’s illness.”

“I’m so sorry. Wish that I’d never heard of the damn experiment or Maurick. If I had only known…” Grief stricken, I knelt at Mother’s feet and took her hands in mine. Mother seemed so frail. It broke my heart to see her so.

“Jaq, this is not your fault, it never was. I have never blamed you,” she replied.

“Well, we will take the children for their own safety, but we’ll also take you,” Ami stated, drawing my gaze.

Ami’s face was inscrutable, and I wondered what she was thinking.

“Ami, we can’t just up and leave…” Father began.

“Yes, you can. What is here for you now? Jacques and Inka live in Mora, and so will Mihal. There is nothing for you to remain here for,” Raymone interrupted as he stood. “We’ll take you tonight. Tomorrow during the day, Taran can bring you back so you can level a charge of attempted murder against the harbour master. And to collect your belongings. Marcus, you can’t stay here another night with people attempting to harm you.”

“Raymone is right. You are coming with us even if we have to take you by force. Now, get some things together we are leaving,” I agreed. Taking Mother by the arm, I pulled her carefully to an upright position.

“Yes, start moving,” Inka said in agreement.

Sadly, I watched my family walk into their respective rooms. The fact they did not even raise a single argument intensified my fear. The situation must have been dire for them to agree so quickly.

I hadn’t realised just how ill my mother had been, and this made me feel awful and very selfish. Vam’pirs should have known exactly what was happening on Kaltos. But we hadn’t, and now my family was being forced to flee from their home like we had been.

I knew for a fact that they wouldn’t be the last of our acquaintances to leave. Silently, I resolved to bring up building more villas back at Mora.

A gut feeling suggested we would be needing them. Seti drew my attention as I came in at the end of a sentence he was speaking.

“…why do they still trade with us?”

“Greed exists where it didn’t before,” Julius said, blinking like an owl through his glasses.

“But where has that come from?” Antonio asked.

“No doubt we are blamed for that as well,” Ricardus answered.

“As well as what?” Antonio turned to Ricardus. “Kaltons surely can’t blame Vam’pirs for everything that has happened. Kalton greed and fear have been developed by themselves, not us. We left Kaltos, so they should be returning to normal. Remove the infection, and you heal the wound.”

“Life doesn’t unfold that way unless in a medical situation. The damage had already been done. Kaltos won’t recover from this for a while. No, listen,” Ricardus cut Antonio off before he could interrupt. “Vam’pirs may have been innocent, but that is irrelevant. Kaltons blame us for every wrong they perceive to be committed against them. Vam’pirs may be miles from them, but that doesn’t matter. The Kaltons are not thinking logically.”

Ricardo sighed and looked away.

“Like you, I thought that the Kaltons were above this pettiness, but obviously, they aren’t. These sentiments have always been present, but we concealed them instead of embracing them as part of our everyday lives. When something like this happens, it overloads the emotions. That is precisely what occurred. An overload. Kaltons just are not used to dealing with fear, greed, and horror, so no one knows how to handle them,” Suzan surmised. “The feelings overpower these simple individuals.”

“I’d hardly call them simple!” Diana laughed, waving her hand towards the electronic devices in the room.

“Diana, I don’t mean it that way. Yes, technology is there; it always has been. But Kaltons are simple. They have had a straightforward life and had nothing challenge them. Kaltons are emotionally undeveloped, maybe even backward. Maurick and Claudias did more harm than they realised they would.”

“As Vam’pirs, we’ve grown while the Kaltons regressed?” Julius inquired.

“Yes. Exactly,” Suzan agreed.

“Does anyone realise that we have ceased thinking of Kaltons as our people? We refer to them as a separate race?” Nathan asked, throwing another point into the mix.