“I was thinking about our home,” I answered.“My father must be relieved that we’re no longer there to embarrass him in front of the queen.Though I’ll give him this.He’s no fonder of her than I am.”
Iris paused for a moment.“You have quite a chip on your shoulder.Is your father really so bad?”
I cleared my throat.“He never beat us.That’s about the best I can say for him.I’ve told you a little, but let’s just say that when we came over Earthside, he wished Delilah good luck, told me not to fuck up, and said nothing to Menolly.She no longer exists in his eyes, given she was turned into a vampire.”Twisting my lip, I gave her a slight shrug.“Whatever.What should we do about dinner?You know Delilah and Menolly are useless in the kitchen.”
“We can stop for takeout,” Iris said.“Unless you want to wait for me to cook.”
“Why not open some soup and make sandwiches?I need to dive right into researching this talisman that Chase gave me.It worries me, and I don’t know why.”It felt heavy in my pocket, and I wanted to figure out what it was and where it came from before anything happened.Because something was looming, and I felt it in my bones.
We pulled into the driveway and headed down the long gravel path that led through a thicket of trees until we came to the clearing where the house stood.The driveway circled around, with room for a number of cars, and the house was huge.I still debated whether we needed so much space, but the first time we’d walked in through the door, it had felt like home.With three stories plus a basement, the old Victorian was in fairly good shape, though it had been around a long time.My sister Delilah took the third floor for her suite; I took the second; we all shared the first floor, and Menolly had the basement.
We’d protected her door against potential vampire slayers by building a secret door in place of the regular one.It looked like a bookcase, but it opened like a door to access the light-proof suite of rooms protecting Menolly against the dangerous rays of light that could destroy her forever.
As I opened the door, I heard Menolly yelling in the living room.What the hell?
I turned right, into the living room.Menolly was on a stepstool, stretching on her tiptoes as she tried to grab Delilah who was perched atop one of the tall bookshelves.Delilah, a golden fluffy tabby cat, had puffed up her tail.She hissed at Menolly as she knocked several knickknacks off the top of the bookcase.
“What is going on?Kitten, what are you doing up there?”I frowned, motioning for Menolly to get down.“She’s not going to let you grab her if she’s hissing.What happened?”
Menolly rolled her frosty-blue eyes.They were fading a little more each year—paling towards that vampire silver that they would eventually become.They shifted, a crimson ring flaring around them when she was startled or hungry, but right now they were as blue as Iris’s—like a chill mountain lake.
“I just got up,” Menolly said.“I came up to the kitchen too quietly, I guess, and as I opened the door, she jumped, shrieked and shifted.At that moment, a mouse appeared, raced across the floor, and she took off after it.I made the mistake of chasing her, and she got overstimulated and…well…here we are.”She stood back, folding her arms as she stared up at our sister.
“Kitten?Come down here.”I was usually better at coaxing Delilah down.
The floof stared down at me, whipping her tail.“Mrow!”
I knew that tone.She wanted to be coaxed.Which meant one thing.I turned to Iris.“Treats?”
Iris nodded and headed into the kitchen.She returned a moment later with a meat stick—it was beef with barbecue flavor, one of Delilah’s favorites.I broke off a piece and held it up, waving it under her nose.
“You’re bribing her?”Menolly snorted.“No wonder she won’t listen to me.”
“Why didn’t you just levitate up to grab her?”I asked, as Delilah gave me a suspicious glare, then leaped down to the back of the sofa.
“Because she would have jumped off and, with my luck, she would have hurt herself and I’d be stuck taking care of her,” Menolly said.But beneath that grumpy exterior, she was just as concerned about Kitten as I was.
I held the meat out, letting Delilah eat it before I snatched her up and sat down, plopping her down on my lap.I knew how to calm her down so she could turn back into her normal form.We were all broken, in some ways, from the wiring our mixed heritage created.Humans and Fae didn’t exactly mesh, and we’d all been born with distinct disadvantages.My magic backfired more often than not; Delilah couldn’t always control her shifting, and Menolly’s natural ability as a jian-tu had failed her at the worst moment possible.
Iris let out a snicker.“If you three are done, I’ll start dinner.Menolly, do you want your blood warmed?”
Menolly nodded.“Thanks.It’s…better that way.”
We bought bottled blood for Menolly so she wouldn’t have to hunt.Guests got rather squicked out about it, but that was their problem.Menolly had to eat, and better she drink bottled blood than go out on the prowl.
I continued to stroke Delilah’s fur and, after a minute, I could feel the trembling start that signaled she was about to shift.I quickly set her down on the sofa, far enough away so I wouldn’t get clocked by her when she shifted.
A mist rose around her, sparkling, and the next moment, Delilah was sitting there—fully clothed.Her clothes turned into her collar when she changed.She blinked, then slumped back against the sofa.
“I didn’t catch the mouse, I hope?”Delilah grimaced.
“You know full well you didn’t,” Menolly said.“Or you’d have a stomachache.”
On rare occasions our sister ate the bugs and mice she chased, and she always ended up with a stomachache when she did.We tried to convince her to use some restraint, but Delilah insisted she didn’t have that much control over her actions when she turned into her Tabby self.I thought it was a convenient excuse to get out of taking responsibility, but so far, it hadn’t been a big problem.
“Right,” I said.“Okay, Iris is making dinner.I’ve got some homework to do tonight.”
“What about?”Menolly asked.“I’ve got to leave for the Wayfarer in a few minutes.”