Orientation
Rachel felt calmer as she returned to the house the vampire called Snob owned. He had allowed her and Jaeris room there last night and had treated them courteously. She wasn’t sure she would ever get used to living with so many vampires, but she knew she was safe. Jaeris would protect her until Linkara had finished training her to protect herself.
Snob took them inside and they all sat down at the kitchen table. “All right,” Snob began. “Spoony has entrusted me to teach you the ways of this city, so it would probably be best if we began with a brief who’s who. Provided it doesn’t make Miss Rachel fall asleep, of course. It’s quite a long story.”
“They all are,” Jaeris said. “How many people could we possibly have to know about?”
Snob laughed. “You poor innocent boy,” he said softly. “How long has it been since you were turned?”
Jaeris scowled at him. “Why do you want to know?”
“It’s always good to know,” Snob said. “And Spoony will be asking soon, so you’d better get used to answering.”
Jaeris glared for a moment before answering. “I was turned in 1863,” he said. “During the War Between the States.”
“Ah, yes,” Snob said. “There was quite a bit of activity at that time, wasn’t there? And you went off to fight, didn’t you?”
“We’re not discussing me,” Jaeris snapped. “I’ll tell my story when I’m good and ready. You were going to tell us about the city.”
Snob kept smiling. “All right, that’s your choice.” He got up and went to a drawer and pulled out a file. “This has everyone you’ll need to know,” he said. “Linkara’s been compiling it for a while and he gave me a copy. It’s rather useful, especially when new people come in.” He sat back down and opened the folder. Rachel could see a lot of pages in it, many of them with photographs attached. Snob first takes out a large bundle. “The first people I’m going to show you are a group of nomads who pop up every now and then. They rarely stay long-Spoony doesn’t like them hanging around-but they probably won’t hurt you if they see you, especially if you’re with a member of this court.”
Rachel looked through the papers, making note of all the faces she saw. They were a ragtag band, all different in every way except one-every single vampire in the bunch smirked with a sort of dangerous arrogance that made Rachel’s heart clench with fear again, even if they were just photographs.
Snob must have noticed her distress because he smiled at her. “Don’t worry. They’re not bad-most of the time. They know our rules and obey them while here. And while there have been a few… incidents… they are on our side, mostly. At any rate, they don’t actively seek to antagonize us.”
Rachel nodded. “And you say they’re nomads?”
“Yes,” Snob confirmed. “Not part of our court, so you don’t have to worry about them. If they’re in town, you just stick close to Linkara or Jaeris. Don’t approach them and don’t fight them unless there’s a need, and certainly not without Linkara until you’re done training.”
“I won’t,” Rachel promised, looking over the pictures. The most frightening by far is that of the leader-the name on the page says “SadPanda.” She skims the information on him, noting his list of victims. “And he Sired all of them?”
“No,” Snob said. “Most, though. The ones he didn’t were Sired by his Children. Except the bear…” He pulled out a page. “He joined up for the fun of it.”
Rachel nodded and passed the pages to Jaeris, who skimmed them quickly as well. “As long as they stay away from you…” he muttered as he read.
“They will,” Snob assured him. “And they’re not the most dangerous people you’ll come across.” He pulled two more pages out of the file and passed them across the table. Rachel took them and examined the faces, a man and a woman. The man looked normal, calm, but she could tell there was something wrong-something behind his eyes spoke of great weariness and cruelty. The woman was easier to pin. Her smile was too big, her eyes too wide, and in the photo, her hands dripped with blood. “Two Hunters,” Snob said. “CR and JO, I believe they’re called.”
“Hunters?” Jaeris repeated, his fangs bared. “Here?”
“No,” Snob said. “Not anymore. They showed up some months ago. They have a vendetta against vampires and are determined to wipe all of us off the face of the earth. There was an incident with the Nomads not too long ago. Several people got hurt. Not that it would affect us except Linkara got caught up in it and… well, Spoony just about blew a gasket. If he ever sees those two around… unlikely because of the protection, but anything could happen… they’ll be killed on sight. Those are standing orders for everyone in the court, actually, so keep an eye out if you’re ever near the borders.”
“Will do,” Jaeris said vehemently. Rachel glanced at him.
“What’s so bad about Hunters?” she asked. “I mean, I know their methods are unorthodox, but they do the same thing as Slayers…”
“Hunters don’t have rules,” Jaeris said. “They don’t care about what vampire’s done what. They just destroy everything… innocent creatures, and even humans, are killed by Hunters.” He nodded to Snob. “I’ll watch for them.”
Snob nodded back. “Good boy.”
Jaeris studied the pictures for a long moment before returning them to Snob, who placed them back in the file. He then took out the next bundle.
“This is our court,” he said, passing it over. “You’ll probably meet most of them in due time, but you’d better start familiarizing yourselves with them now.”
Rachel and Jaeris each took a number of papers, scanning them as Snob kept talking.
“You’ve met Spoony and Linkara,” he said. “They run everything. Or rather, Spoony runs everything and Linkara occasionally talks him into being nice.”
“Who’s this, then?” Rachel asked, holding up a picture very similar to Spoony except for the maniacal grin and spiral goggles.
“Spoony’s brother and Childe,” Snob answered. “Insano. You probably won’t see him very often-keeps to himself, or to Spoony and Linkara. If you do happen to meet him, don’t be… don’t be alarmed. He has… visions… and he’s a little bit crazy. Lives on the outskirts of town, except when Spoony feels he needs to keep an eye on him.” He smirked. “Or when Linkara’s not doing his consort duties properly…”
Rachel turned bright red. “You mean…?”
“Everyone knows about it. And not just when Linkara’s not around. Some pretty kinky stuff goes on in that mansion.”
Rachel turned even redder, though Jaeris was laughing next to her. “Incest, homosexuality, threesomes and vampires all in one,” he commented. “That sounds like a lot of fun for them.”
“Indeed,” Snob said with a grin. “If you do see Insano, expect there to be a lot of touching between all three of them. Provided I don’t get my hands on him first, of course. Anyway, what you need to know is that he’s off limits. If you need to speak with him, you go through Spoony.”
Rachel looked down at the file to find something to distract herself. She picked up a random page and started scanning it. The picture was of a beautiful red-haired woman who she remembered seeing in court the last two nights. The name at the top said “Lady Scarlett.”
“Ah, Scarlett,” Snob said, spotting what Rachel was looking at. “Our capable lady. Used to run half the operation before Linkara arrived. Now she mostly just takes care of everyday business that Linkara and Spoony can’t be bothered with.”
“She dangerous at all?” Jaeris asked.
“Not if you stay on her good side,” Snob answered. “In fact, that can be said for most of the court. Keep your head down, do as you’re told, debate nicely and you’ll be fine.”
Rachel and Jaeris nodded. They skim through the rest of the pages, noting the vampires of Spoony’s Court.
“Who’s this?” Rachel asked, holding up a page. “He doesn’t look like a vampire.”
“That’s Smarty,” Snob answered. “He’s a dhampir… half-vampire. That’s why Spoony’s so concerned about your relationship.”
“I see,” Rachel said, examining the picture and reading the notes underneath, written in an old-fashioned, spidery hand, detailing exactly what a dhampir was. Her breath caught as she read and realized what this might mean for her. This could be her future… her legacy. Jaeris took her hand, squeezing gently.
“We don’t have to worry about that,” he said quietly. “You know what he said. We… we won’t have that problem.”
“I know,” she said. “I just… it’s a lot to process… they don’t talk about it at the Academy.”
“Wonder why not,” Snob muttered. “After all, dhampirs are apparently their business…”
“They’re not really vampires,” Rachel said. “So… they don’t think we need to know, I guess…”
Snob snorted. “The Order has an odd sense of what you need to know.”
Rachel nodded and finished looking over the members of the court. She realized that these vampires were now her allies, ones she wasn’t to harm in spite of all the stories the Order told about them. And yet, looking through them, she realized that they weren’t dangerous at all. At the very least, she understood that they had rules. And after last night, when she had lain with Jaeris and received her first bite, she knew that it wasn’t always bad.
Once they were finished, Snob pulled the last bundle of papers out of the file. “These aren’t vampires,” he said. “They’re other beings in the community who you may see. Most of them will stay away from you, but don’t piss them off or you’ll be brought before Spoony and that will be unpleasant for everyone.”
Rachel took the papers and started to look at them, finding more than she ever thought about when under the wing of the Order. Werewolves, Fae, demons… what sort of city was this? She had always thought that vampires guarded their territories jealously, never allowing anything to interfere. Clearly, Spoony had a different set of standards.
“You are allowed to go to The Shadows,” Snob was saying. “But I recommend keeping a bite mark or two. And you can go into the Palace if you want something classier, but Rachel should be careful since their headliner-Finevoice, there he is-is half Siren. Fifty Shades of Green and Lattes is run by our people, so you can drop in there any time. There are a few places in the city where vampires aren’t welcome at all… here…” Snob produced a map from the file and starts showing them. “The church is here… Jaeris, you should keep a clear distance since the whole place is reeking of holiness… and this area near The Shadows belongs to the werewolves, so stay away from there on the full moon. The cemetery is open, but a lot of demons and rogues hang out there, so you’ll want to stick by Linkara if you’re going to be over there. The Denny’s is our place most of the time, but any of the all-night chains are okay to go into. Just be careful, a lot of other things hang around there…”
“Is there any place where we don’t have to be careful?” Jaeris asked in annoyance.
“Here,” Snob answered. “And the mansion. And if you’re with Linkara or Spoony or anyone else from the court, you’ll be perfectly safe.” He handed the map to Jaeris. “Stay away from the areas in red. Otherwise, just follow the basic rules. You do not kill except in self-defense. You do not attack one human in a group. You stay away from Insano. And you follow any of the rules Spoony gives you. Understood?”
Rachel and Jaeris both nodded.
“Good,” Snob said. “I’ll have my vassals look for a more permanent place for you two. Meanwhile, I think it’s almost time for bed. The sun will be up in two hours.”
Rachel and Jaeris nodded again and rose to go. Snob smiled at them. “Welcome to the court,” he said softly as they retreated upstairs.