Bewitching Monsters

Vampire - Part 1

I glared at the invitation sitting on the table as I ate my breakfast. In all my time, I only worked with vampires once. As far as I knew, I hadn't built up any rapport with them. So it was odd that they'd send me a fancy invitation to some fancy event.

     Witch of Arvos
       We invite you to join us at the biannual Blut und Eis Gala at Castelul Corvinilor

A small RSVP card and return envelope were included with the invitation. That was it, no other information. If Castelul Corvinilor wasn't such a famous place, I wouldn't have even known that a vampire sent it. I had asked around my friends if they had heard about the event before. However, the Blood and Ice Gala was apparently so secretive and exclusive that no one knew a lick about it.

I had sent a letter in the return envelope asking for more information before making my decision. It was two days before the RSVP date and no follow up had arrived. Either they were that secretive about their activities, or they took my inquiry as a denial. I guess they might have also sent it to the wrong witch; another one lived on the opposite side of Arvos.

It was late into the evening and I was measuring out herbs. I had been so focused that the sharp knocking at the door made me jump. Perfect. Dried rose petals everywhere. I brushed the mess into one pile then went to answer the door.

"Hello?"

On my doorstep stood a stout man draped in dark silk and a fur lined cloak. There was nothing particularly odd about him until he spoke. "Good evening this, my dear unkin. Perchance you are the witch I've to enlighten."

What?

I would have thought my translation enchantment was on the fritz had it not been for his use of unkin. It was an archaic term used to denote oneself as another race or species than whom they addressed. The term mainly survived today on the lips of racists. While it made me uncomfortable to hear it, I brushed it off since there was no malicious weight to it—and I wasn't in the mood for confrontation.

"Apologies," he said in Ojaric, not a common language around this part but it was better than that first mess he spoke. "Let me start over. Good evening. My name is Antun. You are the witch who asked about the gala, yes?"

Everything made instant sense now. He must be a vampire, and an old one at that. "Ah. Yes. I didn't realize they'd send someone instead of a letter."

"We don't like to commit such answers to ink." Shadows wafted through his voice. As expected, they loved their secrets. "Besides, this way allows for more in-depth discussion. Shall we continue inside?" He gestured towards me with a toothy smile. It didn't reach his eyes.

I felt the press of a challenge I normally only sensed when working with fae. It would be rude of me to keep him outside. But I did not trust him. I stole a casual glance past him to the trees, looking for the Vérus's golden gaze. He wasn't there. Being alone with this foreign vampire was not sitting well in my gut. There were too many little things off about this encounter.

"Forgive my rudeness. I wasn't expecting guests, so my home is not in a hosting state. I'd be happy to fetch a chair if you'd like, or cast a warming spell if the chill is too pressing."

His smile slimmed into a thin press of his lips, like nothing more than an indentation on a clay figure. He adjusted his cloak. "Very well. Where shall we start?"

"What happens at this gala? When is it even happening?"

He stood unnervingly still as he thought out his answer. "The gala will start ten days prior to Brumal. There is a formal dinner, a masquerade, and a variety of leisurely activities."

Still vague, but it was something at least. "And why exactly was I invited?"

"To provide your magical services."

"What types of services exactly?" This was worse than dealing with the fae. Were all vampires like this, or was this guy especially vexing? "I'll need to know in advance so I can prep accordingly."

"Everything you need will be provided by the hosts."

"That's not what I asked."

He took in a deep breath, puffing his chest out, and raised his chin at me. "Potions and such to recover blood, mental clarity, vigor—a number of possibilities, though those will be more the focus."

"And you realize I'll need proper compensation for my magic, yes?"

"You'll be attending the Blut und Eis Gala," he scoffed. "Few unkin can claim such prestige."

My jaw clenched as I repressed a feral smile. His ingrained racism was pissing me off now. "Gloating rights don't pay for magic."

"Then what, pray tell, are your demands?" His words were clipped and I was greatly comforted by the fact he couldn't step inside.

I silently called out to the Grand Scales with the vague offer. I had to hope the Scales had the foresight to know what I should ask of him. It took less time than expected to receive an answer. There was only one option. "One thousand ducats per day I am to work, paid upfront; then another one thousand per day I work, paid within a week after the event ends."

"Six thousand ducats?" He laughed. Then he took a step forward. His foot was just over the threshold.

He should not have been able to do that.

"Don't misunderstand—that money is petty nothing to us. But what makes you think you deserve that much for such simple work?"

He encroached closer.

Crap. I needed to think. I needed to act. I needed to set better wards. Dammit—panicking was the opposite of what I needed.

Wood groaned as vines shot from the floor to ensnare the vampire, stopping him. He let out a vicious hiss and whipped his head around to glare down Vérus. The fae was unfazed and casually walked up to him. He brushed aside the vampire's cloak then grabbed at his chest making the vampire flinch and grunt in pain.

"Did you have any others questions for this creature, Witch?" asked Vérus.

I hesitated, still processing what exactly was going on. "N-no. I don't."

"Goodbye now." Vérus jerked his arm back and the vampire collapsed on the floor in a pile of fabric and wet clay. He dropped a cracked, red stone on top the pile.

Ah. A pupata. Not a vampire. That's why he was able to enter my home without my permission. That also explained the unnerving air to him I sensed.

And now I had a mess to clean up. Joy.

"Be wiser next time," he chided.

"I know." I withheld a sigh and bowed low. "Thank you for your help."

He grumbled a dismissive sound. "Something happens to you, then you can no longer help me. Just being pragmatic." Did... did he just make a joke about the last time we spoke? I looked up at him and he smirked. "You're smartly when dealing with us fae, but you need to be even more so when dealing with vampires and their puppets."

"What do you mean?" I asked. His eyes moved to the mess on the floor and lingered as if he was caught up in a memory. "Tell me all you know about vampires."

"We have more rules and honor to our trickery," Vérus began softly. "Vampires tend to just manipulate and threaten and force. Feral, you could call them. Given that half of them come from the old times when there was almost nothing but blood, chaos, and antipathy..." His vines encased the remains of the pupata. The sharp stench of rotting wood and fungus hit me as the lump melded away into the floor. "They are more prone to being rabid."

"Lot of bad experiences with them, I take it?"

"Enough to not deal with them since the Blood War."

"By the moon—that was thousands of years ago! Seriously, they got to have changed some since then. Damn..."

"Yes. I'm sure there are plenty that are far better than the ones I knew. Though given the tongue that one spoke in, some of them might still be alive." So he had been listening all along. I would have been annoyed by his nosiness in different circumstances. "Proceed with caution, Witch."