I nodded, agreeing with the guy. If he was telling the truth, then the matter smacked of a fair amount of pessimism, because something out of the ordinary was happening in the world every day.

But on the other hand, I briefly imagined what the Earth would look like now if vampires had never existed. Probably, we would all simply die out and everything would go from scratch: bacteria, fish, monkeys, dinosaurs, cavemen. Maybe nature learned from its mistakes and therefore created vampires in the next round?

Actually, I asked the third-year student exactly this question.

“Maybe,” he answered slyly. – In any case, we are the protectors and balance of this world. And not only us. All Midnighters.

– Is there anyone else? Spiders? – I guessed.

But it turned out to be wrong. I'm not feeling good today. It’s understandable, there are so many new discoveries in less than a day, so much contradictory and at the same time incredible information that it’s time to go to bed as soon as possible with dreams that tomorrow will be different – normal.

– Not spiders. Transformation is Percy's special gift. Each vampire has his own special gift, but not all of them reveal it right away. For example, it hasn’t shown up for me yet.

Smiling with slight sadness, the guy quickly returned to our main topic:

– In addition to vampires, Midnighters also include werewolves, witches and hunters.

Having caught on to the most important word, I fidgeted on the bench with impatience.

– Hunters? Everything about the rest is more or less clear. Witches can cast spells, werewolves turn into animals, and hunters? Who is this anyway?

Nirel sighed heavily.

– Those for whom our existence does not allow us to live in peace. They consider us monsters and are trying in every possible way to rid the world of our presence. But don't get scared ahead of time. Let's just say that no one has seen them on this side of the border for a long time – since they crossed into the human world, so there is nothing interesting about them. Maybe they degenerated a long time ago.

Hearing the last phrase, with which the guy probably wanted to cheer me up, I smiled wryly. Because now I knew for sure that one annoying hunter still existed in the human world. Mom herself told me about this today, and I just didn’t know what to do with this information now.

How dangerous were they? Have they really degenerated or are they still hiding to hunt down vampires one by one? And my mother? Is she a vampire, a witch or a werewolf?

– Nirel, if I’m still a Midnighter, then who am I? Vampire or witch?

“Vampire,” he answered without a shadow of doubt.

– Why did you decide that? – I became stubborn.

It's not that I want to be a witch. In principle, I would prefer to remain a purebred person, but if I have to choose…

– Because Madame Pelisay named you Salaman Dragon. Your family is the oldest and largest among all vampire families.

– So I have many relatives? – I was puzzled.

Accustomed to the fact that my only family member was my mother, I did not expect such a catch. On the one hand, this news made me immensely happy, because I always wanted to have grandparents, brothers and sisters, and all these noisy, cheerful holidays when large families gather and give many, many gifts. But on the other hand…

Relatives could end up with foulbrood.

The third-year student brought me down to earth again:

– Not sure. Dragon is the common name of the genus, but from the first Dragon, according to history, many branches came. If I'm not mistaken, he had fourteen sons. There were also daughters, but each got married and received a new clan name. It’s better to ask your mother about your relatives when the opportunity arises.