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2 years later the villagers have adjusted to having a Bride who cares about the village below the castle to the point where they ignore her mutant guards as if they weren’t there.

She and Jared got their heads together and allowed it to leak that she is a certain kind of psi talent, a powerful healer. As such, her innate abilities are holding back the effects of the Counts bite… and he has to bite her regularly to keep her even though she is a Bride now and his latest wife. Long and short, they have nothing to fear from her.

Not all of this is true. The Count doesn’t need to bite her continuously to hold her now, though he does like too. The wedding ceremony saw to that. However, it IS true that her innate abilities are keeping the vampire infection of the Counts bite in check. Jared did some tests and the villagers trust him.

Nor are the Doc and the Healer ever alone together even when speaking privately. There is always at least one other person in sight of them, so no one can claim she is influencing him in anyway… not unless she’s managed to hypnotize the entire village. These safe guards are kept up for the first year or two before the villagers come to trust her a little more.

However, half way through the second year she is the one with the problem.

She is pregnant and in bad condition. She hasn’t told the Count… not because she doesn’t want to but because to be in his presence stirs her child… which drains her of energy and vitality from her until she passes out.

All the Count knows is that she is deathly ill and she can’t stay awake long enough to tell him what is wrong. Nor will the Count allow Doctor Jared up to the castle to care for her.

Instead, to her sorrow, the Count turns Doc Reiche and has him attend her. The Count is perfectly willing to have her sad, as long as she survives.

Ellie can tell her former mentor a little of what is happening within her when she is awake but the pregnancy is exhausting for her.

For some reason it’s only the Count himself that causes the child to stir.

Doc Reiche liaises with Doc Jarad and borrows some of his equipment, explaining the situation to him. Jared is only too happy to help. One of those Ellie has restored to health was his mother.

Doc Reiche looks at the test results and is afraid, for himself and for Ellie.