Page 7 of Coven

It’s not like I got to see him last time, Mika argued back. I had to stay inside the bag the whole time.

It’s my turn, Sora repeated, and as if that ended the argument, he climbed into Kana’s lap and tapped the bag with a paw in a demand to be let inside.

Kana obeyed, but he reached down to give Mika’s ears a scritch in consolation.

They reached the compound a little after seven. Two wolves wearing identical green polo shirts and black pants—possibly their official guard uniform, though no one had been wearing the outfit last time—were standing outside the gate, waiting for them.

“You’ll walk from here,” one of the wolves said. He waved toward the open door leading into the guard house and Kana winced. He remembered the long walk from before, as he was taken in circles, and didn’t envy the camera crew’s job lugging all the equipment inside.

Luckily Stephen didn’t try to argue that the driveway continued past the ornate black iron gates, and it would be easier to drive the vans to the front door. He didn’t look pleased, though.

Kana carefully put on his backpack, and then went to help the camera crew with some of their extra bags. Mika used the confusion of unloading to conceal himself as he snuck out of the van and went to find somewhere to hide so he could be close in case Kana needed him.

The walk through the hallways was just as long, and Kana’s arms and back were already aching by the time they reached the staircase. Going down the flight of steps while carrying heavy bags was tiring, as was the last, long hallway. The werewolf guides waved the group into the sitting room at the end, and Kana and the others let out a relieved sigh at finally reaching their destination.

Ember waited for them alone. He had a curly earbud in one ear and wore the same green polo shirt, except he had an extra patch on the sleeve that Kana assumed denoted his rank. The green against his brown eyes had Kana reflexively swallowing, so he looked away before Ember noticed.

“Get set up,” Ember told them once everyone was inside. “When you’re ready, the master and mistress will come speak with you.” Ember stepped back until he stood directly in front of the door Kana assumed led into the rest of the house.

Kana gave his bags to the camera crew and then went to help Beth organize the cue cards and scripts Stephen and his co-star Marilyn would need during the interview.

Every once in a while, Kana caught a scent of chamomile, or of campfire smoke, but he didn’t smell garlic. He could only hope the vampires wouldn’t notice and be offended, but the oil appeared to be unobtrusive enough.

What if I just poke my nose out? It’s so busy; there’s no way anyone would notice. Sora’s voice was hopeful and plaintive, but Kana knew better than to give in. Sora would ask for the world if he could, whereas Mika was much more practical.

Don’t even think about it, Kana replied through their bond. There’s no telling what those werewolves are capable of noticing.

Ugh. That’s not fun. Sora thankfully subsided and Kana was able to focus on his work.

Everything was set up by eight. Marilyn walked over to Ember, tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder—Kana didn’t want to know how much hairspray she had used, because it moved as one solid mass—and smiled her best reporter-on-camera smile.

“We’re ready,” she said.

Ember nodded. He reached behind himself and knocked three times on the door.

Nothing happened for a few long minutes. Marilyn shifted her weight in her spike heels and Stephen huffed from where he was waiting by the long couch where the lights and microphones had been set up, but Ember’s stern face didn’t even twitch in response.

Suddenly, Ember took two steps forward and shifted to the side so he could turn the doorknob and hold the door open. Master Octavius and Mistress Penelope swept into the room. Octavius’s cravat and Penelope’s dress were both two sizes larger than when Kana had last seen them. The cravat spilled lace and puff down his neck and chest, emphasizing the straight lines of the tooled and embroidered jacket. He was carrying a black cane with an engraved silver head, and she was carrying a lacy fan with some sort of red-and-black pattern on it. Penelope’s skirts were so wide they brushed either side of the doorway as she walked, and Stephen had to stumble out of her way to keep from getting hit. Kana wouldn’t have thought it possible, but her skirts had more embroidery than Octavius’s jacket.

Ember closed the door and resumed his post in front of it. The vampires sat on one couch and Stephen and Marilyn took the other, and Kana had to pull his focus from Ember and back to his job.

“Thank you so much for speaking with us today,” Stephen began, his smile and his voice his perfect reporter level of smarmy.

“We are most intrigued as to whether we are visible on the new technology,” Master Octavius said. He looked straight at the camera, his face a perfect mask of gentle curiosity.

Kana suddenly hoped they were completely and perfectly visible. Something about the dark depth in Octavius’s eyes said this was more than idle curiosity, and Kana had a sinking suspicion as to why. If they didn’t show up in modern cameras, then if they attacked someone in public, no human could record them in the act. If confronted afterward, they would say it was another vampire, and no one could disprove them.

Kana let out a relieved breath when Joe, the guy behind the camera, grinned. He turned the view screen around to show the vampires. From Kana’s vantage off to the side where he wouldn’t get in the way of the shot, he was able to see both Octavius and Penelope in the frame. Their outlines were blurred, but the basic features were easy to make out.

“How intriguing. It is amazing how technology had changed so significantly in so short a time. Please, ask your questions.”

Beth passed Kana the first cue card to hold up. Stephen glanced his way, then turned back to the vampires.

“We have never had vampires living in our city,” Stephen began. “Tell us a bit about yourself and your kind?”

Octavius smiled with his lips closed, but Kana couldn’t help noticing the corners of his eyes didn’t move. Despite hiding his teeth, somehow that smile still sent a cold, apprehensive shiver down Kana’s spine.

“We are very similar to humans because we were once human ourselves. Humans have far less to fear from us than from creatures who have never known humanity. Yes, we drink blood, but we have grown practiced at surrounding ourselves with willing donors, so the general populace need not fear our presence here.”

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