“Again, I’m sorry about Barbie,” Forest apologized. They were still sitting on the roof. Verona had sunk even deeper into herself, but Forest was ready to dig her out.

“It’s fine,” Verona shrugged. “She’s right, though.”

Forest looked at her.

“Some people say Elizabeth is really my daughter. She’s not, but I do have a daughter.”

“You’re a mother?”

“My daughter was sent to live with Dracula’s brides. I haven’t seen her since.”

“I have.”
Verona looked up into Forest’s hazel eyes.

“I saw her while I was visiting Dracula. I can say that she’s absolutely beautiful. She’s almost two years old and she looks just like you.”

“Did they…did they name her Carabell?”

Forest nodded. “They did.”

“You were only fifteen?”

Jordan nodded. “Fifteen and alone.” He was sitting at the kitchen table while the vampire, whose name was Clover, cleaned the wound on his leg. She was fourteen and lived in a cave in the Baden Mountains, a mountain range not to far from the forest.

“You must have been so lonely. How did you ever survive?”

“I don’t know. My cousin, Jasmine, comes to visit me sometimes.”

“Jasmine? You mean Queen Jasmine?”

Jordan nodded. “The vampire.”

“She married my cousin, Harry.”

The two stared at each other in shock. Only one thought was going through Jordan’s head: Fuck.

“So we’re cousins-in-law,” Clover smiled wearily.

“Yeah, I guess.” So much for liking her, he thought.

“All done.” She stood up. “I probably should go.”

Jordan said nothing. His mouth was dry, his throat sore, his heart torn.

“Um…see you later.” Then she opened her wings and took off into the sky.

“Bye.”

Being the only Half-Dead in a castle of vampires could get weird. October should know. Since she was two she’d lived with King Harold, the king of the vampires at the time. He and his bride, Queen Kathleena, allowed little October to live with them as their adopted daughter. She slept in a small room next to Harry’s.

October never thought it was strange that she lived with vampires; it was just normal. But now that she was older, she knew it was like a mortal and the Frankenstein monster getting married.

Only a few things had changed since she first arrived at the castle. Harry was now king; King Harold and Queen Kathleena moved to Transylvania to live with Dracula. Harry had a sister, Verona, who had been born a year after October’s arrival. Harry was married to Jasmine and had a daughter named Elizabeth.

But sometimes, October could have fun. Whenever Harry annoyed her, she just reminded him that she knew all of his secrets from when he was a baby. Sometimes she challenged Verona to a flying match, which October won because of her bigger, stronger wings. When Elizabeth’s nanny was gone, she’d play with the baby to keep her company.

But this particular morning was boring. Both Verona and Harry were gone, and Elizabeth was sleeping.

The lonely Half-Dead walked to the castle library and pulled out the royal copy of last year’s Creature Count. As always, vampires were number one and werewolves number two. And Half-Dead were just above the Cyclops.

October read over the section of information on her kind. “The Half-Dead are a rare species that mostly life in a secluded area of Russia. By just looking at a Half-Dead, you’d think it was a strange species of vampire. Half-Dead were created when a vampire and a dragon girl got married and created offspring. The result? Half-Dead. They have large dragon wings, tiny fangs, and murderous eyes. They wear bandanas over their eyes so no creature can look into them and die.

“The Half-Dead also are known for their pride. The women are very proud of their bosoms, the men of their chests and muscles. If you wander into a Half-Dead community, you’ll find the creatures living a daily life without shirts on. The children are the only ones who are allowed to wear full clothing.

“The Half-Dead are also very much like human beings. They eat, live, and act like humans. They also look a lot like humans. Their internal organs are designed quite alike.”

October sighed. She couldn’t remember anything from her childhood, except for her life at the castle. She would give anything to discover her village. That’s when she decided she would. She would find her home.

“We’re waiting, your highness,” laughed Dracula’s brides, Cheryl, Jessica, and Amber.

Queen Jasmine was unsure what to do. The three brides had arrived at the castle demanding a trade. The tiny princess Elizabeth for her whole family being turned into vampires. Jasmine missed her family greatly, but she also loved her daughter, Elizabeth.

What would Harry do? she wondered. Harry? Harry would keep his daughter. He would turn away the brides rudely and keep his precious daughter. There was nothing he loved more than his bride and his daughter.

And he wanted his bride to be happy. Seeing her family would make her happy. Happier than anything else in the world.

“Well?” Jessica asked, now starting to get antsy.

Jasmine inhaled deeply. “It’s a deal.”

The Creature Count was almost finished. Only twenty more creatures were left to place.

“Attention, please!” called the Minister of the Creature Count, a gray centaur named Mr. Jonathon Taffyberg. “Thank you. It’s now time to finish the list. I want Harry, Coiner, Vanna, and Hemily to work on the first ten. Cloudy, Abe, Wick, and Zeus, work on the last ten. When you’ve finished, please give your lists to Igor Jr. and you are free to go. Thank you again for your help; I look forward to seeing you next year!”

Harry sat at a round black table with Coiner, a fungus green miniature troll, Vanna, a beautiful dusty rose unicorn, and Hemily, a giant spider.

“What have we got, Coiner,” Harry asked the troll, who had the list of creatures.

Coiner cleared his throat before reading the list. “Boggarts, Half-Dead, mummies, zombies, vampires, werewolves, centaurs, hippogriffs, dragons, and unicorns.”

“I say the vampires go first,” Hemily stated.

“I agree,” Vanna nodded. “Just as long as the unicorns are third.”

“You don’t want to be second?” Harry confirmed, pen in his hand.

“Goodness, no. We unicorns are humble.”

“Yeah, third is real humble,” Hemily teased, putting a hairy arm on the unicorn’s back.

“Oh hush, you,” Vanna snarled, jerking away from her. “Who wouldn’t put a charming unicorn before a hideous zombie or a dreadful boggart?”

“Hey!” shouted Wick, a rich zombie, from across the room. “I heard that!”

“All except you, of course,” Vanna replied, giving him a wink. The room broke into laughter.

Harry shook his head, smiling. Life couldn’t get better than this.