Tori Vordenburg and Erzulie Lachouette sat in the tap room of The Sheep Heid Inn. They scanned the room for someone to speak to. They finally spotted a very drunk elderly man sitting in the corner with a pint. The two monster hunters headed over to his table, hoping that the alcohol would loosen his tongue.
"Hi," said Tori. "I'm Tori, and this is my... friend Erzulie." Tori didn't feel comfortable admitting to her same-sex relationship in a small, isolated Scottish village. "As you could probably tell from my accent, we're new in town. We're here to do a write-up on your village's folk customs for a magazine. We'd like to ask you a few questions."
The old man laughed. "Weel noo, ye'd be th' foremaist fowk wha ac'ually WANTED Auld Hamish tae stairt bletherin'!"
"Believe me," said Erzulie, "we do."
"Whit dae yi'll want tae ken?" asked Hamish.
"Tell me about your religion," asked Tori. "Are you pagans?"
"Mair or less," Hamish answered. "Och, we hae a Christian kirk 'n' a minister, bit fowk ainlie gang thare fur weddings, funerals, 'n' baptisms, 'n' fewer 'n' fewer o' us ur gaun even fur that. Whit fowk care aboot aroond 'ere ur th' wee gods o' th' earth that mak' th' crops graw 'n' bairns be born strang 'n' hailsome. We worshiped thaim even afore th' Moon's Daughter cam 'ere."
"Tell me about the Moon's Daughter," said Erzulie. "She seems to be at the center of everything. When did she come?"
"In th' late Eighties, ah think," said Hamish. "Th' guidwife (rest her soul) 'n' Ah hud juist celebrated oor twenty-eighth bridle anniversary whin this odd wifie wi' pearly skin arrived in th' village. She said she cam fae th' Alps. Went oan tae say that she wis th' daughter o' Mither Nicht 'n' Leddy Moon. 'Twas juist th' sort o' thing tae cause a stir in this toun o' ours, 'n' she quickly rose tae become oor unofficial leader. Bugger her, ah say. Bit ye didnae hear that fae me!"
"I take it you don't like her much?" Tori asked.
"Na, ah dinnae," said Hamish. "Ah hud a daughter wance, Fiona. Th' spring efter th' Moon's Daughter cam tae Ronay, she held a great fertility rite in th' Muckle Men o' Ronay Peak."
"The Muckle Men of Ronay Peak?" Tori repeated.
"Aye," said Hamish. "th' standing stanes up by th' cliffs. Th' Moon's Daughter holds a' her maist important festivals thare. May Day, Yule, Samhain, th' Spring Equinox, that sort o' thing. Weel, oan th' foremaist festival o' th' Spring Equinox, th' Moon's Daughter ordered that mah Fiona shuid be brought afore her in a white gown. Th' village ruffians did as thay wur tellt 'n' brought Fiona tae her. That damned lassie then bit intae mah Fiona's neck 'n' began tae drink her blood! Whin Fiona grew tae weak tae staun, th' mingin' bitch bit her neck again, 'n'... something streenge happened tae mah daughter. She grew pale 'n' stairted tae vomit fuckin' blood! Then she git up as if nothin' hud happened 'n' follaed th' Moon's Daughter intae Breanish Castle. A've ne'er seen her since. Mah puir lassie wis ainlie eighteen whin it happened. Bugger th' vile bairn thief!"
Tori looked at Hamish with eyes full of sympathy. "I can see why you hate her. Let me tell you something. We aren't really from a magazine. We're monster hunters here to investigate the disappearances of girls like Fiona. If you tell us what we need to know, there may not be a Moon's Daughter soon. Tell me, why did the village believe her when she claimed to be a messenger of the gods?"
"'Twas oan accoont o' her magic powers," Hamish answered. "Th' bitch cuid command hordes o' bats, wolves, rats, owls, crows, ravens, moths, spiders, flies, cats, 'n' foxes. Whit's mair, she herself cuid tak' oan th' shape o' a black cat. Any black moggie ye see oan this accursed island cuid be her! She cuid also turn herself intae a clood o' silver mist 'n' float whaur ever she wishes tae gang. 'N' then thir's her eyes. Dae nae look intae her pumpin' eyes, ye'll fall under her spell 'n' dae as she wishes! She cuid heal her wounds in mere minutes 'n' climb th' smoothest o' walls wi' her fingertips."
"And what about the Equinox ritual?" asked Erzulie. "When is it?"
"Tonicht at midnicht," answered Hamish. "There'll be a 'holy' bonfire in th' middle o' th' Muckle Men, oop oan th' cliffs.. Th' Moon's Daughter herself wull be thare, alang wi' th' sacrificial maiden. Ah'd jalouse 'tis some tourist lassie. Th' pale bitch learned fae me that th' locals dinnae lik' it whin she steals thair native Ronayan daughters."
"Thank you, Hamish," said Tori, shaking the old man's hand. "You been a huge help."
Tori and Erzulie returned to their own table. "What did you make of that?" asked Erzulie.
"Hamish was obviously describing a vampire," Tori said. "What my attention was the Moon's Daughter claiming to be from the Alps. The Alps could mean Austria. Of the three main Austrian vampire clans, the von Krolocks died out in 1967, the von Karnsteins relocated to the Pacific Northwest, and the von Wisborgs... dispersed throughout Europe. Remember what Great-Grandpa said about Drusilla?"
The von Wisborgs were the clan of Count Tiberius von Wisborg, the vampire patriarch who had involved Baron Heinrich von Vordenburg, the first Vordenburg monster hunter, in his feud with Clan von Karnstein, resulting in the baron's death at the hands of Carmilla and Mircalla. Clan von Wisborg had been badly decimated for revenge in 1948 by Tori's great-grandfather Victor Vordenburg. Among the survivors were Patriarch Tiberius and Seer Drusilla. Tiberius had fled to seek the hospitality of allied clans in Transylvania, but the whereabouts of Drusilla were unknown... Could that be changing?
"I remember," Erzulie said. "I think we're one step closer to finishing what he started. Midnight's going to be very interesting..."