The Earth Mother's church remained quiet and solemn. Or rather, the churches of all orthodox gods in this world possessed a soul-stirring sanctity and peace.
Father Utravsky sat before the church's Holy Emblem, praying quietly. What drew rather more attention was a young man in ill-fitting clothes standing by the statue-
The young man had black hair and red eyes. Those red eyes had already betrayed his race:
A Sanguine.
The Sanguine were humanoid Beyonder creatures born with the Vampire Sequence, followers of the ancient goddess Lilith, the Progenitor of the Sanguine.
And Lilith was also the present Earth Mother.
When he saw this unfamiliar visitor enter the church, a flicker of hopeful delight rose in Emlyn White's heart. Perhaps he could finally be rescued. Yet that hope vanished the instant he saw Nimrod strike up a conversation with Father Utravsky.
When am I ever going to get out of here? This old man has no intention of letting me go! Just as an agitated Emlyn struck the floor with his broom for the eleventh time, Nimrod's voice drifted over from some distance away. "What's the story with this Sanguine?"
Finally, someone called me a Sanguine! A little joy suddenly welled up in Emlyn's heart. The people he had previously encountered who knew nothing of Sanguine affairs generally called him a "vampire," a derogatory term for him.
For a moment, Emlyn's back straightened a little as he swept.
"He was a vampire who wandered in here by mistake."
Father Utravsky spoke evenly. "When his craving for blood took hold, I placed a suggestion on him preventing him from leaving, so that he wouldn't hurt innocent people."
"But I've already recovered!" Hearing Father Utravsky's words, Emlyn White immediately cried out indignantly, "You're the one who hasn't removed the Psychological Hint, old