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“Wait a minute.” I sighed as Eduardo spoke. “We can’t just let people die even if they have treated us badly.”

“Why not?” I interrupted.

“Yeah, why not?” Mera asked, her face bitter and twisted.

“Because that is not human kindness,” Eduardo reprimanded.

“And we are not human,” Li’zel none too gently reminded him.

“But the majority of individuals in Mora are human. We have to include them in this discussion,” Julius backed Eduardo up.

Bloody typical.

“Let Kaltons die. Isn’t that exactly what they told us? They didn’t give a damn, and now we are meant to save their sorry lives. Has everyone forgotten how we were driven out of Kaltos? Nah, fuck them all. I think this is the reckoning that they deserve,” Ami added spitefully—and that was how the Reckoning got its name.

“We can’t just leave them to die. That makes us no better than them, and we must consider the human population of Mora. Sorry, but Julius and Eduardo are right. This has to be done in an open discussion,” Seti interrupted.

“Damn you!” I exploded. “Nathan and Ami are correct. Let Kaltos fucking rot. Have you forgotten how they set me alight and would have burned all of us? Kaltons tried to kill our families for Creator’s sake, and now you want to welcome them. If they come, I leave and take my family with me. I’ll not live with murderers and bullies.”

Silence greeted that statement as everyone turned their heads to face me. I was right. If they came, then all our old fears would resurface. None of us had forgotten and we didn’t want to live like it again.

Angrily, I spat on the floor at Marel’s feet.

“How could you ask this? Have we not been exiled from our birth land? Now, you want us to take those bastards who drove us away? Worse, you want Vam’pirs to house them on our land.If it happens, Mora will be overwhelmed, and we will be a minority.”

“Jacques, when news about the comet is revealed, this place will be swarming with people. This’ll be the safest place on Earth. This continent will experience the least amount of damage. Although Mora is not totally safe, it is a hell of a lot safer than Kaltos will be over the next few months. Whether you like it or not, people will come here,” Marel explained, avoiding eye contact.

“Let them. We’ll defend the Morans and ourselves. If blood is to be spilled, I can guarantee it won’t be ours,” Li’zel added in heat. “Why should we inform our community? Morans think they are safe from those bastards they left behind. Let’s make this decision now. Protect what is ours.”

“Li’zel, you sound just like them,” Ana said in disagreement.

“How do I?” Li’zel demanded.

“Protect what is ours? Is that not what the Kaltons shouted as they drove us out? We have to help them. Perhaps we can move them to another side of the continent. Put them somewhere else.”

“Once the gratitude fades, they will attack Mora to rid themselves of us. I’m not going through that again. Let them rot,” Ami argued back.

“Wecan’tdo that. We must tell the Moran’s and allow them to decide with us. If we make it ourselves, no matter how we might have acted out of goodwill, the community just might resent us.”

“Julius is right. Why should we destroy the goodwill of our friends and family just for the sake of those bastards?” Seti nodded in agreement.

Nathan and I stared at Seti with smouldering anger in our gaze, and Li’zel and Ami were no better.

The vote was taken, and we were forced to tell the Morans.

I hated myself as I saw fear resurface in Mihal and Cleo’s eyes. They may have only been babies when we fled from Kaltos, but they remembered minor details. Mihal hated fire to this day.

A vote was taken, and we lost.

People, in general, wanted to aid the Kaltons, hoping that the bad feelings might have died down and we were no longer feared.

Marel spoke his thanks in a generous way, praising us for our forgiving ways and willingness to help.

Bullshit.

I didn’t want the Kaltons here, but there was nothing I could do about it. What I did do, though, was put forward a motion that the Morans leave Mora and move elsewhere. When asked why, I explained my belief that the Kaltons remained the same.

Once more, I lost the vote, prompting me to start searching for a new place to live. I wasn’t alone in my quest, Li’zel, Ami, and Nathan all felt the same way, and so they helped. D’vid, Kait and Tobais joined me, too, as they, too, felt we would be in danger.