"I sired seventeen vampires between 1680 and 1896." Joscelin says it suddenly, angrily. "Millicent had them killed in front of me, one by one, to punish me for my insolence. Then she stripped me of my rank and of my sire's ring and banished me from the Nest for one hundred and twenty years. I do not need the pity of a moralizing infant who cannot even bring herself to drink human blood."

He's in full froth now. His hand rests on the wooden stake he carries in his pocket--a warning.

"Do not forget to whom you speak, madam. Despite my shape, I am no child. I've killed many for less than this."