Court of Vampires

Chapter 2

The house in which his uncle lived during the Court Seasons was not too far from the Empress's residence, and Rod, the eldest of the Hoff ghouls, was there to open the front door for them upon return. His great wings, formed by expanses of ashen skin, kept him aloft with gentle flaps, his gnarled feet clutched up close to his body like bird's claws.

"Home," he grumbled, lips barely moving around his enormous pointed teeth and vast under bite. "Welcome."

Rod often swapped his words. Thankfully he only ever spoke two words at a time, so it was easy to understand him. Most ghouls didn't even have the power of speech.

Uncle Juniper smiled and passed Rod his coat and sash with a pat on the head. "Thank you, Rod. I'm glad to see you're still awake." Daylight was fast approaching.

"Coat Cor's." Rod put both his arms out.

Rod had always called Coriolanus "Cor" and the nickname had, unfortunately, stuck with the rest of the family as well. Though Coriolanus supposed he should be glad of the fact that Rod hadn't chosen to shorten to the last four letters of his name. That would have been worse.

"Is that you, Father?"

Cecily appeared at the top of the stairs, let out a squeal when she saw that it was, and came soaring down them to leap into a hug. She pressed an enormous kiss on Juniper's cheek. Coriolanus passed Rod his coat and sash.

"How was it? You must tell me everything? Did Coriolanus trip when they announced him? Did he spill something on his suit?"

"Ha ha." Coriolanus rolled his eyes at his cousin.

"No, the evening went very well," Juniper replied.

"He doesn't look like the evening went well," remarked Vermillion. She descended the steps as well, coming to her father and giving him a more pertinent kiss. "What happened, Cor?"

Juniper slung one of his arms around each of his daughters' shoulders. "Oh, he just had a little run-in with Our Lady of the Blood-Red Hair."

Cecily gasped. "Lady Elade?"

"The very same."

"What happened?"

"Uncle."

"Coriolanus thought he could get her to talk to him, so she made a point of talking to every man but him."

Coriolanus went red. Cecily and Vermillion looked at him, looked at each other, then back at him, back at each other, and then they howled with laughter. Their cackles echoed through the front hall, a resounding chorus to Coriolanus's humiliation. They were their father's daughters, through and through. Standing beside him, the resemblance was visible physically. They'd both inherited Juniper's periwinkle eyes, the little jump at the end of his nose, his height and strong arms. Vermillion was gentle, a round face and complexion the color of coffee foam. Cecily was head-turning with her wide mouth and marbled blue skin. Her mother, Juniper's fifteenth wife, had been from Andora. Cecily probably would make a splash.

"I can't believe you actually thought Lady Elena Elade would talk to you!" she giggled, wiping a tear from her eye. "Don't you know anything?"

"Shut it, Long Teeth."

Cecily's hand snapped up involuntarily to cover her mouth and its extra-long incisors. Her laughter ceased the same instant and a glare replaced her smile. Her child's fangs were on their way out, new retractable ones growing in, pushing the old teeth down and making them look elongated, their roots exposed. Even when she closed her mouth, their tips could be seen poking out under her top lip. It was a sensitive subject for every vampire on the cusp of adulthood, but that didn't mean it wasn't fair game, and Coriolanus was in no mood for her teasing. Cecily whacked his arm.