Uriah
The doorbell to the manor rang.
“Maggie Baby, do be a dear and get the door for me?” called Fen. “It must be the band—whom, I might add, is quite tardy. It’s this grumpy punk rock guy I met at my old job at the mall and his cover band. You remember, we saw them play last weekend in Mystic Hollow. Oh, and do be mindful of the new runner I’ve added to the foyer. I’ve just got this funny feeling.”
“Oh, sorry!” said , pulling his ear away from the door as it opened in an attempt to hide the fact that he was listening in. “I thought this was, um, Moon Pie Manor, but clearly this must be the, er, fraternity for, um, tall, intimidating lumberjack types.”
The face Magnus made was enough for the vampire to realize his joke didn’t land well. Even though was an impressive two inches above six feet tall, the man at the door towered over him.
“Uh, did I say handsome in there?” let out a nervous chuckle, looking back to his bandmates as he cradled the guitar strapped to his chest. “I meant to add that part, too, um, right, guys?”
“What do you fellas call yourselves again?” Magnus asked, a suspicious look crossing his face as he folded his arms over his chest.
“Well, uh, certainly not Vampire Weekend, if that’s what you’re wondering,” said Quinn as he reached out his hand. The professor, known for his upscale business casual wear, tonight sported styled spiky hair, black nail polish, tight jeans, and a black Five Fangs band tee. Magnus's expression remained unchanged. “Well, guess we know for sure he’s not a fan of bad jokes then.”
jabbed Quinn hard in the side, cursing under his breath. “We’re Five Fangs. I’m the lead singer, Black. Me and your mate Fen go way back.”
“And I know your boy requested just us, but we’ve brought in another very talented musician to join us this evening,” said Julian Jimenez, the band’s handsome Latino vampire, as he gave Magnus a nod. “So, tonight you can call us Five Fangs and the Good Professor Windsling.”
Magnus looked over the group, the same cold look on his face. Finally, he let out a jovial laugh—one louder than the group expected—and patted on the back. “Five Fangs! We saw your guys’ show last weekend. I know the audience was throwing stuff at you, but we thought you handled it really well.”
“Wait,” Quinn whispered under his breath as he looked from to Julian and the rest of the band. “People throw things at you guys?”
“Uh, gee,” sighed, reaching out to shake Magnus’s hand but finding himself blocked by the lack of invitation into the home. “I appreciate it, pal.”
Magnus finally continued on. “Why don’t you guys come on in and I’ll show you where to get set up?”
looked from Quinn to Julian, who both sighed, then turned his attention back to Magnus. “Excellent, man,” he said as he took the man’s hand. “What’s your name, anyway?”
“I’m Magnus. Let me grab some of the guys and we’ll do introductions before sound check.” Turning back around, Magnus nearly tripped over the end of the runner as it kicked up and over his feet. “Oh, Fenrir, my watchful eye.” he said to himself before gesturing for the band to follow him.
“All right, bruvs. It’s showtime,” said with a wink, stepping inside and gesturing Quinn and his bandmates to follow.