“Well, I wasn’t around when it began, but I’m told that because we were so…um…so egotistical about our strength and cunning, a man named Hector began making up ridiculous stories about these supposed monsters who drank blood. He’d go to a tavern, and whilst enjoying a few pints, he’d prattle on, weaving fables that would have made Aesop proud. Before too long, villagers were pouring mustard seed on their roofs or scattering millet about, believing we’d have to stop and count every grain before we passed. It was meant only to amuse, but the rumors took on a life of their own and spread from one village to the next until they were everywhere.”

“So what about the mind wipe thing? Is that bogus, too?”

“No,” Bennett said, smiling. “We call it compelling, and it’s not something I like to do.”

“Why?”

“It’s a bit like playing God, and I’m not God. I’m not saying I’ve never used that ability, but on the night when your home was invaded, I made a mistake, and it almost cost me my life. And, since your father had already taken you upstairs and locked you away, I would have had to break down a door to get to you. Those men had traumatized you and your sister enough, and since the police were on their way, and your father had been so brave, I left hoping that you and Kenna were young enough to think it was all a dream.”

“Yeah, that didn’t happen.”

“True, but thankfully your parents and I were able to keep your questions at bay until we all believed you were old enough to handle the truth.”

“We had already figured it out by then. I mean, what with the teeth and the eyes. Kind of a dead giveaway, if you catch my drift.”

“No pun intended?”

Fallon playfully elbowed Bennett. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I know it wasn’t, sweetheart.”

“But still, trusting two twelve-year-olds with the truth seems a little crazy.”

“I agree, except by then, I’d been around you and Kenna enough to see that while you sometimes balked at doing your chores, your relationship with your parents was solid. You trust them, and you respect them, and you showed me the same. Being honest seemed the best way to stop both of you from talking about what happened that night around your friends or…or other family.”

“So, you’ll tell Liam and Aiden, too?”

“I suppose, but with Liam being only nine and Aiden, four, that won’t happen for quite some time. And, of course, it all depends on if I’m still here or not.”

“Wait. What do you mean? Where are you going?”

“Fallon, my kind can’t stay in one area for too long. If you haven’t noticed, I don’t age, and that raises a red flag after ten or twenty years.”