Dead and Horny Ch. 29

Hi, all! Annabelle Hawthorne here with yet another chapter of "We got this spinoff because the author has undiagnosed rage issues and wants to see lesbians punch things"!

(It was either this or take a painting class)

New reader? Welcome! Our story begins when a man with deep emotional trauma got a blowjob in a bathtub from a nymph. Neither of those characters feature heavily in this story, because this is a sequel to a sequel to a spinoff. So if being confused arouses you, read on. If not, then you're gonna want to hit Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 001 and read shit in order.

Returning reader? Welcome back to my rendition of Charlie's Angels! The girls are just as hot and actually fuck, so we won't be getting that TC deal for quite some time. I apologize for the long wait in chapters. Being a full-time writer allows me the opportunity to actually raise my children, and we made some great memories this summer at the cost of my word count. All magic has a cost, I'm afraid, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat (and will next summer).

A special thanks to all of you who have remembered to vote on these stories. Based on my numbers, that only 1 in 5 of you on average. You gotta learn how to click on those stars when you're done, that's how you show your love to every author on this site. I super appreciate all of you who continue to push me forward with your enthusiasm, I will absolutely keep working hard to have earned it.

As for those people who've randomly started bombing me with low ratings, well, all I can do is shrug and call you

A Real Butthole

Aurora was busy wiping down the kitchen counter when there was a loud thud from upstairs, followed by a string of curses.

"Sounds like Lily is finally awake," she said to Dana, who sat on a stool at the kitchen counter. The blonde was listening to music and busy drawing on a piece of paper.

"Good," Dana grunted. "Once Tasia wakes up, we can have a proper debriefing on what exactly happened out there."

Aurora frowned. It had been almost an entire day since the team had come back from their failed mission in the middle of the ocean. Whatever they had encountered on that floating oil rig had laid them out except for Dana. Jenny had been silent since their return, Ingrid spent almost twelve hours vomiting, and Tasia had seemed fine at first, but had gotten stuck at the bottom of the stairs because she couldn't remember how to climb them anymore.

As far as Aurora could tell, Dana seemed unaffected. There was something unnerving about the blonde, but she hadn't put a finger on it yet. Dana had been busy scribbling what that looked like an MC Escher piece. Aurora moved over to review it and realized that it was quite detailed.

"What is that?" she asked.

"A map of the oil rig," Dana replied. "It makes little sense in two or even three dimensions."

"This doesn't look like any of the maps we had during the pre-op briefing," Aurora replied.

"This is the current map. Or it was, before the place collapsed on itself." Dana tapped a pair of identical rooms that were on opposite sides of the paper. "This is what I remember from trying to get out of there with Tasia. These two rooms are the same place, but maybe not at the same time."

"I guess I still don't understand how this thing had such an effect on the entire oil rig," said Aurora.

"Here. Let me show you." Dana reached across the counter and grabbed a small basket with some fruit inside. "What do we have here?"

"A basket."

"Yes. Or, less specifically, a three-dimensional object." Dana scooted it around the table until the light wasn't directly above it and got a clean sheet of paper from the pad she had been using. She slid it under the bowl and got out a pen. "When we cast light on the bowl, we get a shadow, like this."

Aurora frowned, not entirely sure where this was going. Dana traced the shadow with her pen and then filled it in before slipping the paper free.

"Okay, so if I asked you what this was based on the shadow, can you tell that it's a bowl of fruit?" asked Dana.

"No," said Aurora. "I can tell it's curved, but that's about it."

"Good. We're on the same page." Dana pointed to the light. "When you shine a light on a three-dimensional object, you get a shadow in only two dimensions. So if we did the same with a four dimensional object, what should we see?"

Aurora scrunched up her brow. "Um... if the pattern holds, then we would see a three-dimensional object, which doesn't make a lot of sense."

"Exactly." Dana tapped on the bowl. "These... travelers. That should be a safe enough word, right?"

Aurora nodded. She felt that it was a bit paranoid to avoid talking about outsiders, but had learned long ago that many superstitions were based on rational fears. "Okay, so we know the travelers exist in more than three dimensions. Therefore, we have to assume that we would get a four-dimensional shadow at the very least. Many very smart scientists--"

"We call them fucking nerds," grumbled Lily from the stairs. "Always going on about space-time, math, logic."

"How are you feeling?" asked Aurora.

"Like I fell down the stairs and landed ass first on a barbed wire dildo."

"Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?" asked Aurora.

"Ha!" Lily paused on the stairs and slid down the railing. When she got to the bottom, she landed and did the splits. "I'm not one to kink shame, but that is not something I currently enjoy."

"She's got a point, though. You can't really use sex metaphors as a metric for measurement." Dana raised an eyebrow. "And since when do you hate nerds? Mike is a huge nerd."

"Oh, I don't hate them. They're one of the kinkier bunches, though. I have to work way harder to get them off. How does that old saying go? Jocks only think about sports, but all nerds think about is sex."

"Close enough. May I continue?" Dana gestured at the paper.

"Yeah, yeah." Lily wandered over. "Let's hear your hypothesis, Stephen Hawking."

Dana opened her mouth to speak.

"If you do a robotic voice, I will die laughing," said Lily.

"Why are we doing robotic voices?" Ingrid stood at the top of the stairs now.

"How are you feeling?" asked Aurora.

"Hungry." Ingrid came down to join them wearing just a bathrobe. "Finally feel normal again. It's like I had a full body sinus headache."

"Temporal distortions will do that. Here. Sit." Aurora pulled out a chair for Ingrid. "Coffee?"

"Yeah."

Aurora moved into the kitchen where a pot had already been made. "Please, continue," she said. "This is interesting."

"Okay, so--" Dana paused and looked at the stairs. "I half expect Tasia to appear."

"Doubt it. I can feel her dreaming from down here." Lily tapped on the counter with a knuckle. "I'll have a cup of joe myself."

"You can see her dreams?" asked Aurora.

"It's nothing that interesting. Car trips, dog parks, the usual." Lily winked. When nobody laughed, she sighed. "You all need to lighten up."

"It's not that," said Aurora. "It's a little unnerving that you can see our dreams from this far away." She poured coffee into a mug and handed it to Lily.

"Okay, Island Life, I'll level with you. Think of dreams like they're food. From here, I can smell the aroma, but I can't see them yet. For example, you've been having anxiety dreams."

Aurora nodded. Ever since seeing the succubus, she'd been having stress dreams about Paradise. She could vividly remember the smell of smoke and hear the buildings crumbling around her.

"Anyway..." Dana waited until everyone was looking back at her. "In conclusion, any being existing in five or more dimensions will cast at least a four-dimensional shadow with time being the fourth dimension. Hence why things were weird even without the traveler present. We had a big fucker with an even bigger shadow. The end." Dana glared at everyone for a moment and then stood. "Excuse me. I have some things to work on." The blonde packed up her drawings and left for a different room.

"Is she mad at us?" asked Ingrid.

"Shouldn't be. Her emotional range is fairly limited." Lily watched the door where Dana had gone. "Actually, she does seem weirder than normal. I should let Eulalie know."

"It might be because of what happened on the rig," said Ingrid. Everyone looked at her, clearly expecting more. Ingrid held up a hand for everyone to wait a moment, then sipped her coffee and sighed. "I'm referring to all the distortion shit that went down. Everyone but Dana was affected in some way."

"She's built differently than the rest of us," said Lily. Aurora felt like the succubus was being deliberately dismissive, but didn't know how to challenge it.

"Well, we don't know what happened to you," said Ingrid. "You were ready with a boat and everything. You really pulled our collective butts out of the fire."

Lily frowned and set down her cup. "Yeah. It wasn't pretty."

"What happened?" asked Aurora.

"Some timey-wimey bullshit." The succubus leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. "I fell down a hallway--"

"Don't you mean tunnel?" asked Ingrid.

"No. The hallway I was in got all weird and gravity went all spastic. I tried to fly out of it, but the damned thing kept spinning, so up wasn't really a direction I could find. After doing that for maybe a day, I finally fell out of an open doorway a few days back. Was the only thing alive on the entire oil rig, had to walk through the place and see some truly bizarre shit."

"More bizarre than people sticking out of the walls?" asked Ingrid.

"Yeah, those guys weren't there yet. I got to see what happened to the original crew. Some of them were stuck in the walls, too, but they were still flesh and bone. I saw one guy that had been folded in on himself like a fucking ouroboros." Lily shuddered. "When I went outside, it was daytime and the water wasn't rough yet. Waited until it was dark and flew out to the largest escort boat to figure out what was going on. Back then, the boats were all fully staffed and things were okay for a day or so. I was a bit grumpy because I couldn't do anything and couldn't let you all know what was coming, so I just masqueraded as an extra crew member." Lily leaned forward and stared at nothing, a frown creasing her face. "You know how they're always making movies about this shit where people slowly descend into madness?"

"Like that movie Eulalie mentioned?" asked Ingrid.

Lily snapped her fingers. "Yes! I fucking watched that. The boat I was on had good internet for about a day. It really is a classic."

"Well?" asked Aurora.

"Almost fucking spot on. If I had any notes for the people who make them, I'd say they aren't leaning into crazy nearly enough." Lily rubbed at her temples, as if nursing a headache. "It started with the oil rig making an eerie sound, kind of like those old touch-tone phones. Just one high-pitched note that wouldn't end. You could hear it from anywhere on the boat, inside or out. I fucking deleted my own ears and could still hear it."

"Weird," muttered Ingrid.

"That's not the half of it, sister. At first, a few guys complained about it, but nothing happened. Then the games began about a day before we arrived for the first time. Weird body horror shit, like a guy who picked off his own face. A few guys killed each other, one of the boats radioed that they had a guy who started cooking his own crewmates in the galley, the usual psycho stuff. There was even a guy who devoted his final hours to trying to fit his body through a hole only a few inches across. Kept shouting about how it was his hole and it was made just for him. Got almost halfway through."

"That's not physically possible," said Ingrid. "He would have died first."

"Ordinarily, yes. But shit was weird, remember? He should have died, but didn't. I don't want to go into too much detail about everything I saw, because it's batshit insane. Suffice to say that Jenny would have been impressed and inspired."

Aurora shivered. That last detail alone was enough for her.

"Then, one morning, the tone from the rig changes. Everyone, living or dead, gets up and just fucking jumps into the water and swims right toward the rig. Rats that were on the ship drowned themselves. Pieces of corpses crawled like worms. It was... fucking awful. I followed the crew out of curiosity at first, but..." Lily paused, then wiped something out of her eye. "I was worried that maybe I wasn't in control, that I was becoming just like one of them. I stayed outside and watched through the window. Hours went by, and just when I was about to go inside to see more, I heard them scream. That's when they appeared in the walls, trying to break free like they were drowning. So I hid on one of the other boats and waited for us to arrive so that I could get you all out when the time came. I wanted to scream at you all, my past self included, but got this horribly sick feeling in my stomach when I tried to do it. I don't get sick, not like a person does. Do you know how often it is that I run up against something that can do that? If I wasn't a demon, I would have died days ago, or gone completely mad. I was genuinely afraid." Lily's voice had grown quiet, and she stared at her coffee cup now.

Aurora stood there for a moment, contemplating the succubus. After exchanging a look with Ingrid, she stepped next to Lily. "Would you... like a hug?"

"Huh?" The succubus was startled enough that her tail actually appeared, whipping around briefly behind her. Aurora didn't flinch away, but did keep an eye on the tip of it.

"A hug. You've just been through something traumatic, so I figured maybe a hug would help. Human contact and all that."

Lily stared at Aurora for a long time, as if she were having some sort of inner debate. "I mean, if you're just looking for a reason to cop a feel, a hug isn't a bad attempt. Yeah, go for it, Surfboard."

Though the words were cruel, Aurora stepped through the charade and wrapped her arms around Lily's shoulder. Her tail went still, and the succubus stiffened in Aurora's arms. Out of the corner of her eye, Aurora saw Lily set down the mug, her fingers trembling as she dug them into the countertop.

Before Lily could spoil the moment in one of her characteristic outbursts, Aurora spoke. "Thanks for bringing everyone home safely," she said. "I don't care about the mission. It's the people on it who are important to me."

Ingrid raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Lily finally patted Aurora's arm awkwardly, her tail disappearing once more.

"Okay, okay," Lily said. "If you want to make out, at least buy me a drink first."

"I brought you a coffee," said Aurora with a grin, hugging the succubus even tighter. "That means you have to put out."

Ingrid laughed, breaking the tension.

"I.. uh..." Lily cleared her throat. "That only counts if you put enough cream in it."

"Ah, shit. I knew I forgot something." Aurora stepped back and shook her head. "Guess I'll make sure to put a heavy load in the next one."

"I like this side of you." Lily saluted her with the mug. "Boss bitch, indeed."

Aurora grinned.

"Out of curiosity, how much of it were you able to record on your goggles?" asked Ingrid. "Archival footage involving these things is exceedingly rare. Eulalie has to upload each one to a different computer, just in case it corrupts the hard drive past the point of no return."

"They can do that?" asked Aurora.

"Yeah." Ingrid shook her head. "It's all distorted and warped. Kind of like trying to watch porn on cable without paying for it. Or the computer catches on fire. Even with one in captivity and being closely monitored, it can't be any sort of direct line. But since none of us actually saw the thing, the footage is more likely to be okay."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Don't you worry, I documented plenty. Had to pick and choose my battles, though, those things only hold up to twelve hours."

"Eight," Ingrid corrected.

"Well, then I guess you're gonna get the Succubus Cut." A director's hat appeared on Lily's head. "I had days of footage to choose from and went with mostly shower scenes."

Aurora snorted. "I'm sure you--"

There was a thump, followed by someone ringing the doorbell. Everybody looked at each other in surprise.

"If someone ordered food, I won't be upset," said Lily.

"None of us ordered anything," said Ingrid as she slid off her stool and tightened the belt on her robe. "Opsec requires that we avoid doing foolish stuff like that." The mage stuck a hand in the pocket of her robe and pulled out a wand.

"Are you sure? I heard your werewolf really enjoys eating out." Lily smirked.

"It must be exhausting being the center of attention," muttered Ingrid as she moved toward the front of the building. She stopped when Dana walked into the room, holding a package in her hand.

"What do you have there?" asked Aurora.

"A parcel of some sort." Dana held it up to show that it was wrapped in plain brown paper and tied with a string.

"Who's it for?" asked Lily.

Dana flipped the package over to reveal that a name had been written in thick Sharpie on the bottom. "Somebody named Dia."

"Dia?" Aurora frowned. "Maybe that's a neighbor, or maybe the person who takes care of the place?"

Dana looked at the package again. "Maybe. Okay, that's weird. Her full name is Dia Bolus, which is Latin for--"

The package exploded.

☠️????????

Ingrid had just barely gotten her wand up in time, the magic summoning a barrier that bent away from the blast in a bowl shape before her. Lily had flared her wings and wrapped herself tightly around Aurora as flames roared through the kitchen, scorching the tile and wood.

The heat was intense, causing some of Ingrid's nose hairs to scorch. The air stank of sulfur, and Ingrid watched in awe as the flames reversed course to where Dana had been standing and then stacked themselves on top of each other to form an obese figure with red skin and horns.

"Demon!" Ingrid moved away from the monster, her robe billowing behind her as she sprinted for the nearest emergency kit. The demon tilted his head from one side to the other, the bones audibly cracking. Ingrid found the kit strapped underneath the counter and yanked it free, pulling out a vial of holy water, a cross, and another wand.

"Sorry about your friend," said the demon, his voice surprisingly soft. He sounded far more like a child than the monstrosity that had emerged from the package. The creature knelt down and picked up a severed arm and sniffed it. "Ugh. This won't taste very good."

"What are you doing here?" Lily pushed Aurora toward the nearest doorway, then turned to face the demon.

"Hmm?" The demon had been about to chomp down on Dana's severed digits, despite his earlier statement. "Oh. Right. I was sent here to kill everyone in exchange for my freedom. However, you're going to be a problem, 'cause I can't actually kill you." He used Dana's arm to point at Lily. "I suppose if I devour you, you'll be trapped inside my belly, so that will probably fulfill my contract."

Ingrid raised the cross with one hand, the other holding the holy water and her wand.

"Don't be rude," said the demon, and his tail whipped across the room and slapped the cross out of her hand. "That's like farting in someone's face during dinner."

"The cross doesn't work?" Ingrid backed away, looking to Lily for support.

"Consider it a bug in the system," Lily muttered. "When people say they believe and then act like shitheels the rest of the week, the symbolism loses quite a bit of impact."

Ingrid uncorked the holy water and splashed some on the demon. The creature sighed as massive blisters formed all along its skin.

"Now that's unpleasant," it said, tossing Dana's arm on the ground.

"Upper level demon," Lily replied. "Looks like this one is a fan of gluttony."

"You're one to talk, you thirsty bitch." Despite its huge size, the demon shot across the room and snatched Lily up in a massive hand. The succubus shrank to the size of a child and slipped free, then tackled Ingrid out of the way when a pointed tail speared the area she had been standing.

Ingrid tried to scramble to her feet, but the demon ripped the countertop off and threw it. Lily shoved Ingrid to the floor just as the countertop smashed into her from behind, driving her across the room. The smell of smoke filled the air, and Ingrid looked down to see that the demon was leaving fiery footsteps behind which was causing the floor to smolder.

"I hate fast food." The demon walked toward Ingrid, his hands clenching and unclenching. "You'd better be worth the trouble."

Ingrid scooted backward and pressed herself against the wall. When the demon tried to grab her again, she extended her wand forward to summon the shield once more. It fizzled as it snapped into place, slicing off the demon's hand at the wrist.

"Troublesome snack," muttered the demon as his hand turned to smoke and floated back to his wrist. Lily leapt onto his back and threw an arm around his neck, grunting as she squeezed. "That doesn't work on our kind, harlot."

"I'm... just... the distraction," she grunted.

"To distract me from--" The demon's head snapped sideways as Tasia's fist smashed into it. She had transformed completely into a werewolf, her fur singed in places. The demon stumbled across the room, leaving more flames behind as he tumbled head first into a wall.

"Ingrid!" Aurora came running into the room with a different emergency case, which she tossed to the mage. Ingrid snatched it out of the air, popping it open before it could hit the ground. Smirking, she armed herself with the contents, then held up a piece of chalk and looked around for somewhere with enough room to draw.

"They never mentioned a werewolf," the demon muttered casually as he yanked his horns free of the wall, showering the floor in broken wood and plaster. He grabbed a chunk of wall and stuck it in his mouth. "Tastes like limestone."

Tasia growled, her hand going to a dark patch of fur on her wrist. She drew her magical blade, which reflected the light of the fire around them.

"A werewolf with a sword?" The demon chuckled. "That's amusing. I wonder what you taste like?" He braced himself for her assault, only to get struck in the eyes with a vial of holy water. Blinded, he fell backward and grunted as Tasia's blade cleaved him in half from shoulder to hip. Letting out a gasp of air, he turned into smoke and vanished.

"Dana?" called Aurora, walking past where the demon had been. Lily threw herself at Aurora, tackling her out of the way as the demon reappeared, his hand snatching at the air where Aurora had been. His claws tore across Lily's back, causing her to crash into the ground.

"Darn," muttered the demon. He had a bloody gash where Tasia had bifurcated him. "I didn't expect to have to work this hard."

"Greater demon," Ingrid shouted so that the others could hear. "We need to banish him."

"If we threaten him with a treadmill, maybe he'll leave," growled Lily. She rolled over and kicked the demon in the gut. The demon responded by stomping on Lily so hard that the floor beneath her gave out and she popped through the gap. He toppled forward, his foot now stuck in the hole he had just created.

"Ah, biscuits," muttered the demon as he tried to wiggle his way free.

"This works!" Ingrid moved around the demon, drawing a circle on the floor. Tasia leapt on the demon from behind and punched him in the face. Growling, the demon slammed Tasia into the ground and attempted to gore her with his horns.

Tasia howled, her hands tightening around the horns and holding them in place. The demon punched her, causing the floor to give out and they fell through together.

"Damn!" Ingrid drew her wand and looked down on them from above. In the basement, Lily pulled Tasia free of the demon just as it tried to bite her head. She couldn't get a clear shot without hurting somebody. Behind her, she heard the rustling of fabric as Aurora came near.

"Aurora, I need your help drawing a banishment circle." She turned to look back at the native Hawaiian. "We can put--"

The air left her lungs as she realized she was staring at what was left of Dana. The blonde's arm was gone and most of her ribcage was exposed. Part of her face was missing all the flesh, making her look very much like an angry, undead Terminator. Dana tilted her head to one side to get a better look at the fight down below.

"Dana?" Ingrid whispered, taking a step back.

Dana threw herself into the hole, her blade flipping open moments before she forced it through the demon's neck. The Glutton gurgled and tried to whip around, but Dana was now actively mauling him. Tasia and Lily were taking turns stabbing at the demon's legs, causing it to stumble back and forth, which spilled more fire onto the concrete.

"What are you waiting for?" Lily looked up through the hole. "Set the trap and make sure you catch the ugly one!"

Sweating profusely, Ingrid ran to the stairs where she met up with Aurora, who had another emergency kit. Ingrid went first, leaping down the stairs and landing in a crouch. She started drawing the banishing circle, and Aurora joined in.

"This would be easier with some string to form a radius," muttered Aurora. Ingrid snatched the belt off of her robe and handed it over. "Thanks."

Flames were climbing up the pillars now, filling the building with smoke. Any minute, somebody was going to call the fire department, or whatever the equivalent was in this country.

"Ah!" The demon was now clutching at his face. Dana shoved something in her mouth and growled, the skin on her face growing back at an accelerated rate. "My eyes!"

"How will you watch what you eat now, you fat fuck?" Lily grabbed the demon's arm and pinned it back just as Tasia slashed his gut open. Smoke and liquid poured out, covering the floor in a foul-smelling mess.

"I might be sick," muttered Aurora, covering her mouth.

"Not on my circle, you won't!" Ingrid hastily scrawled the Enochian runes, each symbol lighting up briefly when it was completed. She began the incantation under her breath, infusing the drawing with divine energy. Pressure built behind her eyes as she powered the runes with the strength of her very own soul.

Lily, Tasia, and what was left of Dana continued to ravage the demon. The fire in the basement started to spread, and Aurora was coughing hard. She remained by Ingrid's side, watching the fight while Ingrid focused on the runes.

"It's ready!" she shouted, moving to the side. "Lead him over here! Make sure his entire body is inside the circle!"

Tasia leapt up and sank her talons into a wooden beam, kicking out at the demon with her feet. The creature grunted as it stumbled over, carved up by all three women. Lily dropped to the ground and wrapped her tail around its feet, causing it to trip and fall into the banishment circle. Dana continued to claw at the thing, all while gnawing on the flesh of its back. They fell into the circle together, causing the runes to light up.

"Dana, get out!" Ingrid started to reach in, but thought better about it. Tasia leapt through the circle and ripped Dana off the demon's back, carrying her away. When the demon stood, Ingrid grinned and slapped the palm of her hand on the ground.

A curtain of light appeared, encasing the demon. He snarled at them, his features twisting into an angry howl.

"No!" he screamed, then started gouging the floor with his talons. "I was finally free!"

"Yeah, well, you're free to go to Hell," said Aurora as the runes burned so brightly that Ingrid had to close her eyes. The gluttony demon raged as his body was pierced by the light, and then he was gone.

However, the air was now heavy with smoke. Aurora coughed and helped lead Ingrid up the stairs. Tasia was next, with Dana slung over one shoulder. The blonde was growling like a feral animal, slashing at the air with her free hand.

"Take her out the back door," said Lily. "I'll grab her arm and her sword. She dropped it somewhere."

"What's wrong with her?" asked Ingrid.

"Long story we can talk about later. Don't let her scratch you." Lily picked up the discarded Order blade and hissed as it burned her palm. "Now go, get out!"

"What about Jenny?" shouted Aurora from the stairs.

"I've got her, too." Lily leapt up through the hole in the ceiling. Ingrid made it to the top of the stairs where the smoke was the thickest. Closing her eyes, she and Aurora made their way to the back door of the building. When they opened it, the cool, fresh air had her inhaling deeply.

It also made her realize that her robe was open. Shifting the fabric to cover herself, she let Aurora lead her away. Tasia and Dana were right behind them, the werewolf still in her animal form.

Lily emerged less than a minute later with Dana's severed arm and Jenny tucked under one arm. She was holding a phone to her ear.

"Do you have a backup portal?" she asked, her eyes scanning the roof. Ingrid looked up, half expecting to see someone in wait. It only now occurred to her that the demon had been sent, which meant somebody had known they were there.

"Should we wait for emergency services?" asked Aurora.

Tasia, still in her werewolf form, shook her head. Ingrid sighed and watched their place burn.

"There's a good chance our continued presence here would pose a danger to the locals," said Ingrid. "Nobody should have known we were here. Whoever tried to kill us probably has a backup plan."

"Fuck." Aurora moved to take Jenny from Lily, holding the doll close against her chest. "Where are we going?"

Lily pulled the phone away from her ear. "About two blocks over," she said. "Eulalie always rents a place nearby and puts in a portal for emergencies. That's why she's the one who runs the show for us."

"She seems very capable." Aurora moved to the back of the small yard and opened a gate to the alleyway. People were looking out their windows at the burning house, but a couple were now staring down at Tasia, who was still a werewolf.

"Um..." Aurora fell in step behind Lily. "Shouldn't Tasia go back to being a human?"

"Only if you want to carry Dana for her," said Lily. "Which you can't."

"Yeah, I'd love to hear more about that," said Ingrid, throwing a suspicious look at Dana. Part of her skull was still showing, and she was actively trying to break free of Tasia's grip. The werewolf had pinned Dana's arm down, which made it harder for her to squirm free. "Exactly what is she?"

"You all are worried about people seeing Tasia in dog form, but want us to spill our secrets while on the run?" Lily chuckled and shook her head. "And honestly, I wouldn't worry about werewolf sightings. Eulalie will lock down any footage that leaks, and it's not like supernatural sightings are exactly uncommon anymore."

"Yeah, I suppose that's true." Neither Ingrid nor the Order could explain why exactly that was. Ever since the Maui Incident, cryptid sightings had been on the rise. There was clearly some connection, which she certainly wasn't smart enough to push all the pieces together.

By the time they exited the alley, emergency vehicles were already headed toward their condo. A few people on the street stopped to stare at the group as they sprinted past with Aurora bringing up the rear. They made it to a small apartment complex where Lily punched in a code that let them in. Instead of waiting for the elevator, they ran up two floors to a studio apartment that overlooked the street. After entering another entry code into the apartment door, Lily led the way to a portal inside the bedroom closet.

"That way," she said, pointing with Dana's severed arm. The group ran through the portal opening to another apartment. A pair of rats gave them a thumbs up as Lily triggered the collapse mechanism for the portal. Letting out a sigh of relief, the succubus flopped down on the nearest bed.

"What now?" asked Ingrid.

"Eulalie is already having a portal to the Library opened," said Lily. "It'll be a few minutes, so we can catch our breath."

Dana let out a screeching sound, then bit down through Tasia's fur. The werewolf growled as her fur became matted in blood.

"Is that... something we need to worry about?" asked Ingrid.

"Dana going feral? Yes. Dog girl will be fine, she's immune." Lily inspected Dana's hand. "Your cuticles are kind of gross. When was the last time you trimmed them?"

Dana growled and gnashed her teeth at the succubus.

"No, you're a stupid bitch," Lily replied. When she saw Ingrid staring, she grinned. "She's not actually talking. This is just a bit we do."

"Does this place have some snacks?" asked Aurora. One of the rats tugged on her shoelace to get her attention, then led her out of the room. Ingrid got up to follow and saw that supplies had been set out on the counter. There was a first-aid kit and high-energy granola bars. Sadly, there were no spare clothes.

"I don't suppose there's pants or something?" Ingrid looked at the nearest rat. The foot-tall creature scrunched up its face, whiskers trembling as if working hard to think.

"Nope," it squeaked. "Sah... sorry."

"Oh. Darn." Ingrid stared at the rodent, who looked quite pleased with itself.

"You speak?" asked Aurora, who set Jenny on the counter next to her. The rat held up one paw and waggled it back and forth. "Just a little bit?" The rat nodded. "You sounded great!"

The other rat rolled its eyes and elbowed its companion. The two of them headed for the bathroom. Curious, Ingrid followed. The shower curtain was pulled open and the tiles inside had a strange, translucent appearance. The two rats chittered at each other, then one pointed down by the corner. They got in the shower and started chewing on the tiles. Despite the crunching sounds, there was no mess or debris left behind.

Fascinated, Ingrid watched as the wall slowly changed color. One moment, it looked as if the light was reflecting weirdly off of the tiles. The next, there was a large hole. On the other side, Eulalie sat in her wheelchair, hastily adjusting her glasses.

"Hurry up," she said.

Ingrid called to the others. Tasia came first. She had to adjust Dana in her arms to get her through the wall, which allowed Dana to somehow snake her arm free. She grabbed at the shower curtain, yanking the rod down on the werewolf's back. This caused Tasia to grunt in annoyance as she stepped through the wall, the curtain rod temporarily getting caught on the portal before bending in half and popping out.

"There goes yet another damage deposit," said Lily, and gesturing for Ingrid and Aurora, who was holding Jenny, to go next. The team stepped through and the portal snapped shut behind them.

"Nah, no damage deposit on that one," said Eulalie. "I own that unit. Seems like it was easier that way, since some of you can't control your destructive impulses."

"Don't be a hater," muttered Lily. "This one wasn't our fault."

The room they were in almost looked like an infirmary. In the middle was a sturdy looking metal table bolted into the floor. Eulalie rolled across the room and stopped by the edge of the table.

"So what happened?" she asked, grabbing the metal straps on the table and sliding them open.

"We got attacked by a demon," said Aurora, which caused the librarian to shiver. "It pretty much burned the place down."

"Really?" Eulalie's eyes widened behind her glasses as she looked at Dana. "Oh, wow, she's gone feral again."

"No shit." Lily tossed Dana's arm to Eulalie. "Dog breath and I will help you strap her down. We need you to stitch her back together before we try to bring her back. It should also accelerate the healing process."

"I, uh... hmmm." Eulalie's face contorted. "Shouldn't we get Zel? She's way better at surgery."

"What do you mean by the healing process?" Ingrid demanded. Now that they were somewhere safe, it was time for answers. "What's wrong with her? And why do you have a room like this?"

Lily and Tasia fought Dana onto the table. The succubus looked up at Ingrid and let out an exasperated sigh. "Yeah, about that. You want answers, and honestly, probably deserve them. But I know that telling you the truth is absolutely going to complicate things, maybe in a way that prevents us from working together."

"You can't know that," countered Ingrid.

"You're right. I can't." Lily grunted as she forced one of Dana's legs into a strap that she ratcheted shut. "Shit, how is she so strong?"

"I'm guessing all that jerky she eats," said Eulalie. "Unless she ate something else."

"What jerky?" asked Ingrid. "And I saw her eat part of that demon. I thought she was dead, but then she got back up and... and..." Realization dawned on her and her hand went to her mouth. "She was already dead, wasn't she?"

Lily scowled and looked up at Ingrid. The demon's eyes burned with their own inner fire. "You need to consider your next actions very carefully, Sister Ingrid."

"Ingrid," muttered Aurora. "Your wand."

"Huh?" Ingrid looked down and realized she was pointing her wand toward Dana. Shaking her head, she stuck it in the pocket of her robe. "Did Cyrus know?"

Lily's eyebrows shot up. "Now there's an interesting question."

"He did," said Eulalie. "For quite some time, actually. If he was able to come to terms with it, I suppose you can, too." The librarian watched as Tasia got Dana's chest strapped into place. "Dana is a zombie. A necromancer tethered her soul to her body, which means she remains in control unless she becomes hungry."

"But doesn't she need to eat the flesh of the living?" asked Aurora.

"We found a workaround." Eulalie sighed. "With the right diet, she resumes normal functions and her mind is in control. When she takes damage, the unique spell on her attempts to restore her to normal condition."

"Normal is a relative term," added Lily. She and Tasia were now trying to get Dana's hand in the final strap.

"So once we feed her, she'll eventually get back to normal. But I need to stitch her arm back on, which I still think is a task for Zel."

"What does she eat?" asked Aurora. "Instead of people."

"Uh..." Eulalie made a face. "Recently, she's been eating vampyr."

"WHAT?" asked Ingrid and Aurora at the same time.

"Yeah, well..." The librarian cleared her throat and finished buckling Dana into place. "It's complicated."

Ingrid stared at Dana. In hindsight, everything made sense. The blonde's hair had partially grown back, only now it was gray. She moved next to the table to examine her more closely.

Eulalie had wheeled her chair to the other side and was staring at the stump while holding Dana's arm in her lap. She scowled and looked over at Lily. "I'm not doing this," she said. "If it was a clean cut, maybe. You need someone with a better understanding of ligaments and muscles."

The succubus rolled her eyes and her features shifted as a face mask that said "Bite me" along with a surgical loupe formed on her head. "Give me some needle and thread," she muttered. "I don't want Zel involved, she's busy taking care of Callisto."

The two argued back and forth about the best way to proceed. Dana was twitching, her features twisted into a permanent snarl.

Aurora moved next to Ingrid. "She's been dead this whole time," she muttered.

"Seems that way." Ingrid didn't know what to say, honestly. Dana represented the potential end of humanity if her condition ever spread. Yet Cyrus had knowingly protected her. She wished that he was still alive. Aside from general advice, he could probably explain to her what the hell he was thinking.

Aurora put her hands on Dana's wrist and squeezed. The zombie went still, then looked up at her, a whisper of smoke drifting free of one nostril.

"It's gonna be okay," said Aurora. "All your friends are here, and they--"

Dana gnashed her teeth, then yanked her arm so hard that the metal straps snapped. Her hand sought out Aurora's neck just as Ingrid pulled the woman back and away, the two of them tumbling to the ground together.

Lily leapt onto the table and tried to pin Dana down, but the zombie ripped off the torso straps and struck the succubus hard enough that she flew through the air. The stink of sulfur filled the air as the zombie snapped free of the other straps and slid off the table, her eyes fixed on Aurora.

She moved so fast that the only thing Ingrid could do was pull Aurora out of the way, covering the woman with her body. She fumbled for her wand, but Dana grabbed the back of Ingrid's robe and ripped it. The women stumbled forward and fell with Ingrid's bare ass now raised toward their attacker.

There was the sound of ripping metal, followed by a loud thud. Behind them, Dana hissed like an angry cat, and Ingrid watched in horror as a wheel from Eulalie's chair rolled past them. Aurora's eyes had gone so wide that Ingrid was afraid to look back. It was clear that Dana had turned on the librarian. Had Lily or Tasia been fast enough to save her?

Shuddering, Ingrid rolled off of Aurora to stare up at the ceiling in horror. Eulalie was standing on the ceiling, the lower half of her body that of an arachnid. Her humanity terminated at her waist, and several of her legs worked in conjunction with her hands to wrap and suspend Dana above them in a silken cocoon like a zombie pinata.

"You're... you're..." Ingrid's mouth opened and closed like a fish.

"Lying about her disability to get better parking." Lily let out a long sigh. "I guess that cat's out of the bag. Fuck me." Grinding her teeth, she stared hard at Ingrid. "Shit."

"Don't kill them, Lily." said Eulalie. "I know you're thinking it."

"What?" Ingrid looked up at the Arachne. "Why would she be thinking about killing us?"

"Knowing that Dana is a zombie is pretty bad. I'll grant you that. If the Order found out, they would return to Mike's home and demand he turn her over." Eulalie continued bundling up Dana. Only her head and feet were exposed now. "Obviously, he would tell them to fuck off and they'd put surveillance on the house again. But knowing an Arachne is still alive and is plugged into pretty much every military network? They would probably just nuke our home and call us all even."

"But you're... this isn't his house!"

Eulalie arched an eyebrow. This made Ingrid realize that she had even more eyes on her forehead. How had she not noticed them before?

"As somebody who has broken into their systems and read some of their classified intel, I don't give the Order full credit for being bright," she replied, then finished her business and stuck a thick rope of silk to the ceiling. Dana was now swaying back and forth, gnashing her teeth at the air. "Also, you're welcome. Keeping my identity a secret was less important than saving your lives."

"Tasia?" Ingrid looked at the werewolf. "Did you know?"

Tasia scratched her head and shrugged, a clear indicator that yes, she had.

"Guys?" Aurora pointed at Dana. "What's with all the smoke?"

Smoke was now pouring from Dana's mouth and nose, falling down to the floor where it coalesced into a small ball. Everyone was watching it with trepidation as it began to form into a humanoid shape.

Ingrid slapped her forehead. "We needed the entire demon inside of the circle!" she exclaimed. "I forgot that Dana ate part of it!"

"She ate a demon?" Eulalie looked at Lily. "What happens now?"

"It looks like we're going to find out." Lily's tail transformed into a scythe and they all watched as the smoke finished bubbling out of the zombie. It swirled back and forth, almost like it was disoriented, then condensed down into the shape of the Glutton. Flames swirled down the back of his neck, forming into a fiery mane that flowed like a cloak.

"I have returned!" he shouted, pumping both hands into the air. "Any piece of me left behind is able to--no, wait!"

Lily plopped a glass down on top of the demon and the flames went out. He was only about three inches tall, and was now frantically scratching at the floor as if to tunnel through. Dana, having purged the entity from her body, let out a sigh as intelligence returned to her eyes. She stared down at the little demon on the floor and let out a sigh.

"Food poisoning," she muttered.

The Glutton smacked the glass in an attempt to shatter it. "You can't do this to me!"

"But I can." Lily looked up at Eulalie. "This glass is made of me and won't break. We need a crystalline vessel that we can store inside of a tank of holy water. That'll keep the little shit from escaping."

"I'm a Chosen of Ba'al Zabub! He'll come for me and flay the skin from your--"

Lily slid a hand beneath the glass and shook it, causing the Glutton to bounce around inside. He shrieked a bunch of obscenities in multiple languages.

"He won't get any bigger, will he?" asked Aurora.

Ingrid shook her head. "The rest of him will slowly come back from Hell. But if Lily puts him in a jar submerged in holy water, he has to choose between remaining that size forever or being completely destroyed by a holy water bath. Then he'll have to negotiate getting out of Hell again, which is apparently a massive pain." It had never occurred to her that part of the demon had been lingering in Dana's gut. At the same time, she hadn't known that Dana was a zombie either. Now that the Glutton had returned, though, they had a potential lead. "Who sent you after us?"

"Eat shit!" The Glutton took a deep breath and spat something vile on the inside of the glass. Lily hissed as the skin on her palm bubbled.

"Where is that glass?" she asked. "If he gets out, he can escape."

Eulalie jumped down from the ceiling and scuttled out of the room. The Glutton howled and vomited acidic bile on Lily's hands for several minutes before Eulalie returned with a crystalline container that smelled of alcohol.

"He should fit," she said, handing it over to Lily. "I've got a larger one with standard glass coming that the rats are filling with holy water."

"Where... are they getting holy water from?" asked Aurora. Her gaze dropped to Eulalie's legs. "Also... you're a spider girl. Um... person."

"Does that bother you?" asked Eulalie as she opened the jar. Lily had to do some weird finagling to get the Glutton inside without breaking the seal between the glass and her hand. Once the demon was fully in the jar, Lily let go and withdrew her hand. Eulalie moved with supernatural speed, screwing on the lid so fast that it looked like a magic trick.

Aurora bit her lip in contemplation. "It doesn't, but..." She looked super nervous.

Eulalie let out a sigh. "I'd rather clear the air between us and determine whether we can trust you instead of locking both of you up for all eternity."

"I can think of a much faster solution," Lily muttered. The nails on her fingers were slowly transforming into curved talons. Ingrid had never seen the succubus more dangerous than in this very moment. Why did she seem so angry?

Tasia, who had reverted to human form, moved between Lily and the others. "You aren't killing anybody," she said.

"That depends on who thinks they can stop me." The succubus bared her teeth and growled. "Nobody even gets the chance to hurt her."

"Enough!" Ingrid joined her partner, but kept her wand put away. "Nobody... is going to tell anybody anything. We are not going to kill each other over this. But!" She pointed a finger in Lily's face. "We are fucking human beings. We're entitled to a moment to process the absolute shitstorm you just dumped on us."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Process away," she grumbled. The succubus turned her attention to Aurora. "Go ahead. Ask your questions."

"Um..." Aurora actually blushed, clearly embarrassed. She mumbled something under her breath.

"Excuse me, what?" said Eulalie.

Aurora looked at Ingrid as if to draw strength, then stood up straight and spoke up. "I asked if you had toe beans."

Everyone went quiet. Even the Glutton demon just stared at Aurora, clearly stunned by the question.

Eulalie lifted up one of her legs and held it in Aurora's direction. "Technically only mammals have toe beans," she explained. "What I have are called scopulae, but do bear a similar appearance. Would you like to see them?"

Aurora clapped her hands in excitement, then moved closer to look at the bottom of Eulalie's leg. There was a pair of claws hidden between two soft pads at the bottom of the foot.

"I know, I know, it's silly. I had a pet tarantula when I was younger. She had the cutest toes. May I?" She pointed at Eulalie's foot.

"This is officially the strangest thing I've dealt with today," said the Arachne. "This isn't a fetish thing, is it?"

Aurora shook her head. "I just always wondered what they would feel like," she said, looking Eulalie in the eyes. "You've been nothing but kind to us, and I understand why you kept this a secret. Be honest with me. Do I have anything to fear from you?"

"Perhaps." Eulalie matched Aurora's gaze. "I'm an Arachne. We're dangerous."

"Anyone can be dangerous." Aurora touched the pad of Eulalie's foot with the palm of her hand. "This is so soft! Do you have to use lotion or something?"

"No. Actually, it's a sensory organ, lotion would be disgusting. I can tell what you ate for breakfast."

"That's cool!"

"What... is happening here?" asked Ingrid.

Lily just grimaced and shook her head. "It seems like Eulalie has a new friend. I'll admit, I didn't see this coming at all."

Ingrid couldn't help but notice how Lily smiled at the Arachne as Aurora continued their conversation. Aurora was now bombarding Eulalie with questions, and the librarian was happily answering all of them.

A trio of rats pushed a trolley into the room. It had an empty aquarium on top and a pair of Styrofoam coolers on the bottom. Ingrid turned her attention to the setup.

"Is this holy water?" she asked, pointing at the coolers. The rats nodded, and one of them squeaked at Eulalie. The Arachne held up a hand to stop Aurora's next question.

"They got it from your support team," she said. "The ones prepping your next safehouse. I had them pulled from that location, just in case." Eulalie immediately went back to her conversation with Aurora.

"Thanks." Ingrid gestured at the aquarium. "Let's get this set up."

The Glutton ranted at them as they put the jar into the aquarium, setting it gently into the multicolored sand on the bottom. Tasia lifted the coolers and poured the water inside. Lily stood well away from the blessed liquid. When they were finished, Ingrid stepped back and crossed her arms.

"So if he tries to grow, jar breaks, holy water obliterates him?"

Lily nodded. "This is the last piece of him on Earth. He needs to be properly summoned again. As an added bonus, it'll hurt like hell. This will work for now. I bet we can get something even better setup soon."

The Glutton gave Lily the finger, then grabbed his crotch.

The succubus grinned. "You know what? I bet Tink would love to put something together for us."

"Right." Ingrid let out a heavy breath, then looked at the others. Now that the immediate danger had passed, she was once again the odd-woman out. The only other human in the room was now asking Eulalie if she could paint her tarsal claws. Was she the only one feeling stressed about all of this?

"Hey, you okay?" asked Tasia.

"Not really," Ingrid admitted. Knowing that Tasia had kept all of this from her was also upsetting.

"Is it because we've all seen your butthole?" Lily tapped on the aquarium with her finger, which seemed to aggravate the trapped demon.

"What? When?" Ingrid's heart skipped a beat.

"Earlier. When you saved Aurora." Tasia made a face. "It... wasn't a flattering position."

Ingrid buried her face in her hands. Maybe she should just let Lily kill her now and put her out of her misery.

"Hello?" Dana spoke softly from above them. "Can someone get me down and sew my arm back on?"

☠️????????

The table in Tasia's room was stacked high with premium meats. Between their last place burning down and the fact that Eulalie and Dana's identities had been revealed, the decision was made to hole up in the Library for the time being. Each of them had been given a bedroom just off the main lobby, and Tasia had barely arrived when the rats started bringing her food. The Library could sense her needs, and she intended to push its magic to the limit.

That, and there was nothing else to do. Eulalie and Lily were busy trying to put Dana back together like a sexy Humpty Dumpty. At least, that's how Lily had described it. By the time Tasia had left, Dana was back on the new operating table. Lily was stitching her together with thread that Eulalie was manufacturing fresh from her... wherever spider silk came from. Aurora had pulled up a chair and was watching in rapt fascination.

Of Ingrid, there was no sign. Tasia wasn't going to pretend that she hadn't seen the look of betrayal on the mage's face, and knew there would be some sort of fallout from it. The two had become close over the last year, friends even, but there was now a divide between them that Tasia wasn't certain could be surmounted.

Tasia chewed thoughtfully on a piece of raw steak, then sat back and stared at the ceiling. This was a pack issue. She and Ingrid had been a pack, but Tasia had far stronger bonds with Dana, Eulalie, and Lily. Now that they were all together, it was highly likely that resentment had already been building.

While deep in thought, she caught the faint whiff of saw dust, glue, and... was that bologna? Sitting forward in her chair, she looked over toward the bedroom door just as Tink waddled in. Tasia had left the door open for Ingrid in the hopes that she decided to walk by.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes." Tink's cheeks were red from exertion as she pushed a chair up to the table and plopped into it. "Tink smell meat, Tink get hungry."

"But... why not wait for your own food?" Tasia suppressed the possessive urge to bare her teeth. This was her food! "The Library will bring--HEY!"

Moving surprisingly fast for a goblin that looked more like a weather balloon, Tink pulled a fork from her pocket and stabbed the steak Tasia had been eating right from her hands. "Stolen meat is best meat," she declared, biting into it.

"But everything the Library brings you is stolen," Tasia protested.

"Matter of opinion." The goblin chortled gleefully. "Tink usually eat cooked meat. Forget how delicious raw meat is."

"If you weren't pregnant, I'd hit you," Tasia growled.

"No let belly scare you, dog breath." Tink mimed hitting herself in the face with a fist. "Not really two on one. You hit Tink, learn best lesson."

"Which would be what?"

"Only dumbass hit Tink. Lucky dumbass maybe survive." The goblin grinned, and blood ran onto her chin.

"Aren't you supposed to be working on a containment vessel for the demon?" Tasia scowled. "Not in here stealing my food?"

"Tink done. Kitty cat holding glued pieces. Too busy to stop Tink from wandering."

"You glued something together?" Tasia rolled her eyes. "There's no way you built a containment vessel using glue."

"Glue only for show so Tink can sneak out. Ran out of shows to watch." The goblin shoved the steak in her mouth and swallowed it. She grabbed onto a smoked ham and studied it. The ham was larger than her head.

"Don't you eat all of that, I haven't had any yet."

Tink sighed and pulled a knife from her pocket. She sliced a piece of ham and threw it across the room. "Fetch," she said.

Tasia's eyes narrowed. "You're pushing your luck."

"Tink have best luck. Meet husband, life amazing. No worried about luck. Tink keep being Tink." She bit into the ham, which had been pre-sliced. It unfolded like an accordion as she attempted to wrestle the main portion away from her head.

"You have a knife and fork. Why are you--" Tasia leapt to her feet as Tink fell over backward in her chair, her green feet briefly appearing above the table as she toppled over. When she ran around the table, she found the goblin laughing on the floor. "That's not funny, you could've been--why aren't you wearing panties?"

"Why wear panties? Make tail itchy, Tink just take them off, anyway." Tink happily gnawed on her ham and Tasia rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she muttered, then plopped back into her seat. Rubbing at her temples, she decided to just ignore the goblin and resume her meal. Down below, Tink's gobbling sounds diminished, and were soon replaced by the steady cadence of breathing. Tasia leaned over to see that Tink had fallen asleep.

Sighing, Tasia was about to pick her up and at least move her to the bed when someone knocked on the door. She turned around to see Ingrid standing there, dressed in a white blouse and dress pants.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

"Yeah, but--"

Ingrid held up a hand. "Look, I just need to say my piece. You're supposed to be my partner. A mage needs her knight, right? I need to be able to trust you to have my back, no matter what." The mage leaned against the doorframe and stared at her feet. Her eyelids looked puffy, like she'd been crying. Tasia could smell the makeup Ingrid had used to hide it. "Logically, I understand. Eulalie, Dana, all of it. I get why you kept it a secret."

"It wasn't my secret to share," added Tasia.

"Well, that's debatable. It would have been nice to know when we started working with the others. That's... not what this is about." Ingrid picked at her fingernails, one of which was already bleeding. "I don't know that there's a time in my life when I've felt so small or useless. Not since becoming an adult. Your girlfriend is a zombie ninja. You've got access to a shape-shifting killer and an apex predator with a brain that makes the collective computer science department at MIT look like they can't figure out if they're eating Play-dough or their own boogers."

"Ingrid, I--"

"Where's my place in all this?" Ingrid let out an explosive sigh. "I can use magic, but only shit that's been designed for it. Take away my wands, my rods, all of my stuff, and I'm just a normal, human woman who just realized the world is way bigger than she thought. I'm by myself, Tasia. Looking back on everything, I think I've always been all by myself." The mage shook her head. "I was feeling embarrassed about all this before I showed my asshole to everyone. That was just the icing on the cake."

"You're my partner, Ingrid, I need you."

"No. You don't." Ingrid's eyes shimmered when her gaze met Tasia's. "These people here are a family. Our relationship? That was just a job. Once we've finished this one, win or lose, I need to figure out what's next. It's something I need to do on my own."

Tasia felt a pit open in her stomach, and she tried to say something, literally anything, but she couldn't. Ingrid, sadly, was right. Now that Dana was back in the picture, Tasia refused to let her go again. "What about my father?" she asked.

"I'm sure he has plenty of work for both of us. My strengths lie... somewhere."

Beneath the table, Tink let out a loud yawn, startling Ingrid. The goblin stood up, her chin shiny from the glaze that had come off the skin of the ham. Stumbling around, she patted her belly and let out a loud burp.

"Tink used to think Tink worthless," she said. "Other people prettier than Tink. Taller than Tink. Speak nicer than Tink."

"I... uh..." Ingrid looked back and forth between Tink and Tasia.

"One day, Tink meet husband, learn that Tink is best wife. Tink has always been best wife, only Tink need to wait to find this out." The goblin waddled over toward Ingrid and looked up at her. "Pretty mage is right. No can force relationship. Pretty mage find best fit somewhere else."

"Th... thank you?" Ingrid phrased it like a question.

"Also, pretty mage should know, everyone see Tink's butthole. Nobody talk about new butthole, Tink has the best butthole." The goblin grinned up at her and slapped the side of her ass. "Glue should be dry now. Want to see demon in a box?"

"Demon in a... sure." Ingrid looked up at Tasia, and the werewolf felt the distance between them thicken. There was no animosity, only the simple truth. They were going their separate ways already, it was just a matter of when.

The werewolf felt sad, in a way, like she had done something wrong. In truth, these things happened all the time. Her life was just far more complicated. She stood up and followed Tink and Ingrid back to wherever the goblin had been working.

Tink's workshop was next to her bedroom. Inside were a bunch of small, house related projects that were mostly incomplete. In the middle of the room, Kisa was standing on a stepstool, her hands wrapped around a clear acrylic case. Inside, the Glutton was trapped in some sort of thick glass cylinder suspended in holy water. The cylinder was hooked to tubing that fed into the cylinder itself.

"There you are." Kisa scowled. "Next time you want me to hold something you glued, don't inform me that it takes half an hour to set after I'm holding it."

Tink gave the others a knowing look. "Kitty cat do good job," she said. "Fumes bad for little goblin. Stand back, let others look."

Kisa moved slowly at first. Once she realized the box wasn't going to fall apart, she bolted out of the room. Tink cackled quietly to herself, then patted the box.

"Fun box," she said.

"Your baby is gonna burn in hell," said the Glutton, his voice coming from a tiny speaker nearby.

"Directional microphone, make for good hear." Tink pointed at a funnel on the side of the box. "Come with volume control for this."

The goblin turned a dial to zero, then pushed a red button on the top of the box. Some sort of mechanism kicked in, which squirted a tablespoon of holy water onto the demon. He shrieked, the screams muffled by the water as parts of his body boiled off. The cloud tried to squeeze up the tubes, only to run into holy water throughout.

"Work by pressure," said the goblin. She turned the volume knob up a little bit. "Demon can't break peristaltic pump to escape. Whole cylinder flood first."

"This is ingenious," said Ingrid. "Good job."

Tink beamed at her.

"It kind of looks like a gaming computer." Tasia pointed to an LED strip that had been attached around the outer shell. "What does that do?"

"Nothing," said Tink. "Color is for fun."

"How did you build this so fast?" asked Ingrid.

"Tink had old gaming computer." The goblin grinned. "Spider booty have better one, Tink salvage parts. Use old pump."

Tasia just shook her head, astounded. The goblin had thrown all this together in less than an hour. That should be impossible.

Tink stepped aside so that Ingrid could take her place.

"Who sent you?" she asked. Before the demon could answer, she pressed the button a couple of times, boiling off most of the demon's head. It took a couple of minutes before reappearing, and the Glutton was furious.

"I didn't even get a chance to reply," he shrieked.

"We know," said Tasia. "But demons never answer anything on the first round, anyway." She moved next to Ingrid and pressed the button. The demon shrieked as it melted. The werewolf muted the speaker.

"So we can keep going as long as some of it remains, right?" Ingrid looked over at Tink.

"Failsafe," said the goblin. "Demon make pressure when burn, too much pressure, pump won't run. Click button three times fast, squirt constantly, but no kill asshole demon. Can boil little turd forever!"

Ingrid looked pleased, then held the button down. The demon looked like a candle that had been left in the sun for too long as it pressed its amorphous body against the glass. The two of them took turns with the button, passing each other smirks as they tortured the Glutton. Things might be different from now on, but this was still something they could enjoy together.

Tink seemed tickled at first, then Kisa returned and ordered the goblin back to bed. She grumbled the whole way out, swearing under her breath.

Ingrid and Tasia took turns asking the Glutton questions. Naturally, the demon refused to answer their questions, so they gave him a spritz every time.

After an hour, Ingrid sighed and turned the volume knob to zero. "Lily may have more luck here," she admitted. "Or at least understand why he refuses to answer our questions."

"Agreed." Tasia reached out and clicked the button three times. "Look, about what you said earlier."

"It's fine, we don't have to discuss it." Ingrid made a face. "It's not a big deal."

"I wanted to say that you were right." Tasia sighed. "The moment I saw her again, I knew that I never wanted to stay away. This thing we do, it isn't a normal job. I hate the idea of going out and simply not seeing her for another six months, a year, who knows. But you're wrong about how important you are. You led us out of the oil rig. Just because you weren't fighting monsters that time doesn't mean you don't matter."

The mage scrunched up her face. "I'll admit that feelings of inadequacy are my baggage to carry. It's nothing that you did. I don't want you to think you did something wrong."

"I'm also sorry about the whole zombie girlfriend thing." Tasia stood and walked around the room, her legs stiff from sitting. "I swear it's not that I thought you'd freak out or couldn't handle it. You're one of the strongest people I know."

"That would be Dana," said Ingrid. "I saw the tapes from Maui."

Tasia frowned and stared at the floor. "She's not, you know. When we were in the oil rig, she freaked out. Panicked. Had a full-blown emotional meltdown. Being dead seems like it would make you stronger, but she's like a pressure cooker with no safe release. All those emotions, they get pent up inside of her. I've been thinking about what Eulalie said, how Dana's been snacking on vampyr meat."

"I would love to hear that story, sometime." Ingrid raised an eyebrow. "I've noticed you aren't saying vampire."

"You're right. We fought an old school vamp. It took all three of us working together to kill it while the sun was rising." Tasia shook her head. "He was a strong fucker, maybe the strongest creature I've ever fought. Now I'm worried about what eating his flesh has done. But I'm afraid to even bring it up with her." She ran her fingers through her hair out of frustration. After the difficult moment with Ingrid earlier, she felt bad even bringing up potential frustrations with Dana.

Ingrid nodded. "Relationships are hard," she said. "I wish I could give you advice, but... the longest relationship I had was with my old partner, Wallace. There was no romantic interest, he was just the guy who was always around."

"Whatever happened with him?" asked Tasia.

"No idea. I never thought to ask about him once I left. Didn't want him to get the wrong idea." Ingrid sighed. "If you want some practical advice, you should talk with Dana about what you saw her do on the rig. She may not even remember it."

"Oh, she does." Tasia shivered. "Her condition gives her a perfect memory. She remembers everything, it's like her brain is some sort of super computer. It sounds like a super power, but it's also why emotional stuff hits her so hard when she's... you know. More human." Her breath caught in her chest. "When this job is done and you do decide to move on... you'll check in every now and then, right? Let me know how you're doing?"

Ingrid didn't respond. She turned her attention to the demon, whose muffled shrieks of pain could be heard through the water and the glass. She clicked the button, turning off the constant flow.

"You ready to talk?" she asked. The demon sputtered something about Ingrid's mother in Latin. The mage clicked the button three times and sighed.

"I'm going to take a nap," she said as she headed for the door. "Make sure someone gets me up once Lily is finished with Dana. This little asshole is our only lead for now, so... make sure he's comfortable."

"Ingrid," Tasia muttered, but the mage left without another word. Sighing, she sat down next to the demon in a box and looked at him. The creature was dissolving and reforming at the same time, his body turning into a bloody mist that moved in lazy circles. She couldn't help but think it represented how she felt on the inside. A little disgusted, she looked around the room and eventually found a towel to toss over the top of the box so that she didn't have to watch the little fucker burn anymore.

☠️????????

Thank you so much for reading! This chapter was a bunch of fun to write, even the parts where I use Ingrid as an emotional punching bag (and I'll fucking do it again).

Please remember to hit those stars on the way out, and then argue with other readers in the comments. You can double check my bio for release dates, I follow them pretty strictly. Now go do something nice for yourself, you've earned it. Maybe a little mani-pedi action (yes, men, you need this too), or that snack you've been saving for a perfect occasion.

Me? I'm gonna go pour more caffeine into my veins until I can see the fabric of space/time unraveling before it.

~Annabelle Hawthorne