were all pale, to the point where their skin was almost translucent. Dust covered the room in a thick layer. The one in the far left corner was covered in it, while the other three were not.
Their hair was long, and I could see their nails had been growing for years, easily, unattended to.
"Vampires," I whispered, looking around the room again just to make sure. "I didn't think fae ever liked being in the same area as your kind."
"They don't," the one covered in dust answered, and I still couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman—or something else entirely. "But they also had no choice. Fae traveling through Europe would have been prime targets for raids and murders back in the day. We offered protection, and they offered payment. They always... offer payment, witch. You have no payment, which means you need us to do something for you before you pay us. What... did you need?"
I took a deep breath, looking around the room. "I was tricked into a marriage contract with the blood demon, Rog. I... need that contract broken. Bram told me that you could break it. How would you do it?"
"Rog needs our protection as much as the others," the man in the near right corner muttered. "All we would have to do is... ask."
"Keep your dick in your pants, Av," the woman in the near left corner answered. Of the four, she looked to be the most active, although still sagging lethargically against a comfortable chair. "Just because she has a nice ass doesn't mean she's a good fuck. The young ones never are."
"They don't always need to be," Av answered, a sly smile slowly crawling across his face. "Besides, witches always know the best tricks."
"Silence," the androgynous one hissed, immediately bringing the two bickering ones into line. "This fire is starting to hurt my eyes, so yes, child, we can break the contract, but we will have a price for such a thing. The price will be named at a later date. For now, you may leave knowing that we are considering your proposal."
I looked over to the fourth, the one that hadn't said a word since I'd lit the fires. She looked like her eyes were shut, but there were cobwebs over them, making it difficult to determine. Either way, it was clear that my welcome here had worn out.
"Thanks for your time," I said, snapping my fingers to turn the fires back out. They all appeared to relax when the light was no longer on them, and I moved out of the room, out of the house, half expecting them to snatch me before I could reach it.
Out in the sunlight, I finally allowed myself to breathe, closing my eyes as the door closed again behind me, like it was on some sort of string, seeing Bram and Dracul out there waiting.
"Did they tell you what you wanted to hear?" Bram asked as we started back down the road.
"They said that they would contact me with their price," I answered. "Why didn't you tell me that there were vampires here?"
"A few legends about this place are true," Bram whispered, looking like he was rushing to leave the house behind, stroking his beard nervously. "I assumed you knew that. We had no other choice, and the peace has lasted."
"I can see that. How long have they been in there?"
"One leaves to bring them blood. The others never do. They are lazy."
"Not lazy," I corrected him. "Vampires get bored after a while. Three or four centuries in, it's rather common for them to develop a very powerful depression that leaves them with no motivation to do anything. Those that have a coven generally assign the duty to collect blood to the youngest member. Those that are alone desiccate and turn into mummies that are usually never found again."
"You know about vampires?"
"I lived in a house with one once. My mother gave him blood every once in a while, in exchange for us living with him."
"Your mother lived with a vampire?" the faun asked, looking incredulous. "Of her own accord?"
"Crazy, I know. The craziest part was that a vampire wasn't even the craziest creature that we spent time with."
Bram chuckled.
I found myself heading straight back to the farm, thanking the faun for everything that he'd done to help me. Still, I couldn't help but feel that I was charging head-first into another agreement that would have me bound to this place.
But at this