“It’s not for me to judge, Miss Martin. Now, can we continue, unless you’d prefer to loiter in the doorstep all night.”
“Nope, after you, kind sir.”
He squinted at me, unsure whether I was being sincere or mocking him. I brushed past him to follow the other servant.
Entering Xavier’s Coven was like stepping back in time. Something about the more ancient supernatural creatures stunted them. Many of them, like Xavier, had the inability to embrace the modern era. And that was in evidence at his coven. It appeared to be frozen in Medieval times.
There were large stone slabs carved into walls and floors. Flickering torches were set into the wall every few feet. They threw distorted shadows across the floor and did little to fully light the mansion’s interior. Very cliché. I’d bug Xavier about that little detail.
Medieval swords, maces, shields and coats of arms decorated the walls. They were all dull and stained from what was probably battle gore. A runner the color of blood lined the floor.
All of these things added to the unwelcoming aura of the place. Despite the signs of occupation, the place had an empty air to it. And, even if I hadn’t known this was a vampire den, I’d be dissuaded from venturing here based on the creepy set up.
Muffin stayed attached to my side, literally brushing against my leg with every step we took deeper into the monsters’ lair.
“You’ll be meeting the servants first. They’ve been assembled in the salon. All were instructed to speak freely and candidly with you,” said the servant I’d teased earlier.
I entered the salon to find several dozen staff awaiting me. I nearly groaned aloud. It would take me hours to interview the staff, donors, and the vampire victims. I’m not sure it was possible to wrap this up in a single night. I really didn’t want to spend more time hanging around Xavier and his people.
None of the staff looked happy to see me. They were probably pissed that I was keeping them from the very important duties needed to keep their masters in pampered content. Unwilling witnesses were the worst. They tended to intentionally and unintentional omit important clues because they were in a hurry to get away from you.
So, not only were they unwilling, but they owed me nothing. Their first loyalty was to their master and vampires. Like other strong supernatural creatures, vampires dealt with disloyalty swiftly and harshly. I’d probably get very little from them other than losing time I didn’t have.
I interviewed the butler, steward, the security staff and Head of Security, as well as the Keeper of the Donors, who made sure the donor’s every need was met. Not a single one of them knew of any changes in routine, never saw anyone new around the coven or donors. And, they all claimed that none of the donors were acting any different than normal. This is so frustrating. The only juicy tidbit I got was that one of the security guards was part of the royal family and was getting hands-on security training here.
In between the questioning, the brownies were growing so anxious by their inactivity, that I set them the task of cleaning the salon, while I interviewed staff.
The butler got bored after an hour and finally left me alone to question the rest of the staff. Before I started talking with the maids, one of the brownies approached me.
“Excuse me, Miss,” said a female brownie.
She was one of the older ones and seemed nervous.
“Yes, how can I help you?” I asked.
“Would your name happen to be Marty? I know you were introduced as Miss Martin, but I thought you might be the investigator who goes by ‘Marty’ instead.”
I looked at her more closely. The Butler hadn’t introduced me as “Marty,” so she shouldn’t know my actual name.
“And who is asking?”
“I- I’m Breeda Tisley. You helped my aunt. She works at the Boldens.”
“I did meet her and I’m glad to hear that I actually helped her. I wondered how that turned out.”
“I want to help you because of what you did. Most people don’t notice us and even less people would help one of us.”
Normally, brownies were painfully shy. This one coming up to me was odd. Despite that shyness, brownies are fiercely protective of the houses they kept and the people within. They were one of the most honor-bound and dutiful out of the supernatural races. And, once they bonded with a house, they took care of it until their death.
“I don’t want you getting in trouble, so only tell me what you can safely tell me.”
“Vampires aren’t the evil monsters people think they are. I’ve been here one hundred and fifty years and they treat me good.”
“I didn’t mean to give the impression that I thought poorly of them.”
“If we couldn’t talk to you, then you wouldn’t be here alone with us. The donors are scared. We’re all scared and hoping you can find who is behind this. They didn’t tell the truth.”
“About what?”
“There is something different. A few months ago, the donors started going out more. They joined some church. That was the first and only change, but I thought you should know.”
“Thank you for trusting me with this information.”
She thrust a crumbled bit of paper at me.
“This is the address of their church.”
Xavier strolled into the salon with two brutish vampires flanking him. They stared at me like guards stare at convicts – convinced that I’d commit a crime or act out in aggression at a moment’s notice.
“I’ve gotten permission for you to speak with the victims,” said Xavier.
“Aren’t the guards a bit much? I’m not going to hurt your vampires,” I said.
“They aren’t here for the vampires. They’re here for your protection. How do you think an injured predator acts?”
I immediately saw his point. These vampires would be more dangerous than normal because of their weakness. They’d attack first and ask questions later – assuming there was enough of me left to
