Sometimes, you make a mistake, and big deal. Other times, it's a whopper. And when yer a vamp, whopper mistakes can last multiple lifetimes.

So I agreed to help Jackie with her little problem. Okay, not so little. More like 180+lbs of mostly usless, mostly humanoid, excess baggage. I went with her to meet up with The Bitch.

A little background here: Morels aren't just any kind of trans-dimensional demon. Some demons switch dimensions with a hellova lot of blood sacrifice and doing the unmentionable with a virgin or two. But not morels. Morels can trip to another dimension as easily as you and I step into another room.

So it begs the question - how did T.B.'s father not only trap a morel female in this dimension, but manage to impregnant her AND keep her in this dimension long enough for the offspring to be born. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been pretty, and certainly should have pissed off the morel and her family. Makes ya wonder why they haven't come back for revenge yet.

Anyway, Jackie took me to an abandoned house in Jamaica Plain, tucked behind the Aboretum. She'd already taken a good many precations against unwanted visitors, I'll give her that. T.B. was already there, slouched across a dirty sofa and looking decidedly unpleased with life. Her first reaction was to bitch out Jackie for being away at night. Her second reaction - flirting with me.

"And you want to protect this?" I asked Jackie. She ignored me. I walked up to T.B, grabbed her arm, and took a quick drink.

"What the Hell?" Jackie whipped out her useless pistols and stuck them in my ribs.

I swallowed T.B.'s blood. "Just checking your story." I ignored the pistols and sat on the arm of the sofa. T.B. looked up at me with the unmistakable edges of Thrall in her eyes.

I wasn't trying to enthrall her. Trust me.

"So?" asked Jackie.

"She's morel alright." I eyed up T.B. "Who knew they'd produce something so human on the outside and so morel on the inside."

Side note - morels have unique blood. It's half way between an aphrodesiac and a hallucinogenic stimulant. Hellovah hit on the illegal drug market.

"So, what's daddy dearest want with you?" It was the first time I'd addressed T.B. I figured it might snap her out of her daze. She sat clutching her wrist where I'd taken a bite. Not that it mattered. It would have healed by now. Do it right, and ya don't leave marks. She didn't answer. I turned to Jackie, who'd finally put away her guns. "Does he plan on bleeding her and selling it on the market? He'd make a pretty penny."

"Not quite. He did that until she hit puberty," said Jackie.

I didn't think I wanted to here what would come next.

"Now he's trying to..." Jackie faltered.

"Trying to get me pregnant," T.B. finally answered.

Nope. I didn't want to hear that. Daddy dearest just made my shit list. It's a short list. I tidy it up frequently.

"Has it worked?" I asked. Obviously the bastard wasn't satisfied with one mini-morel to call his own. He wanted to ensure he had a continuous supply. T.B., okay, Mona, shook her head. The look in her eyes told me all I needed to know about how often D.O.D (Dear Old Dad) had tried. Sick bastard.

"So why not just kill the bastard?" I asked. Take out the source. Now I'd be up for that.

"Not that easy," said Mona. "Dad's been at this for awhile now. He's made alot of money off me already."

"And that means a mini army at his disposal," said Jackie. "Human and otherwise."

Everybody loves a little morel-juice now and then. So I had the details, and the back story. What I didn't have, was Jackie's plan. I knew she had one.

But I never got to hear it.

I jumped from the sofa, sensing others. Shit-loads of others. We'd been followed. "You got a back door to this place?"

Jackie gave me a blank, incomprehending stare. Human senses have to be the slowest.

"Unless you hired your own private army, we've got alot of visitors, and I don't think they're coming for tea."

Jackie flew to the window. Mona slumped on the sofa. I ran up to the roof and back. "I count ten, fully armed. And at least four demons."

Jackie pulled Mona up. "We'll head into the Arboretum."

Nothing like a run through the damp woods. Okay, not like the Arboretum is New Forest or anything. Still, it stank of old leaves. If we didn't hurry, it would stink of death soon too.

And so it would. Whoever was in charge had anticipated our little detour. I smelled wolf. At least three distinct werewolves were waiting for us ahead.

"You have silver in those guns of yours?" I asked Jackie as we ran through the trees. She nodded. Good. Her guns and my ...um...talents, and we might just get out of this mess.

Might.

But didn't.

The first two wolves Jackie took care of. Then her freakin gun jammed. Remind me to rip someone a new asshole over that someday. Shoddy manufacturing. I've mentioned that I hate werewolves, yes? Uncontrollable bastards. More uncontrollable than Mona's father realized or he would never have employed them.

Two were down, when the third and fourth attacked. I held them at bay, but not without my fair share of claw marks. Unfortunately, there was a fifth. I recognized his smell, but with one wolf in each hand, I wasn't in much condition to do anything about it. I was thinking I'd end up with alot more than a few scratches by the end of the night.

But it didn't come after me.

"Shoot it!" I shouted as I snapped the neck of the first wolf.

"I can't!" said Jackie. Fucking shoddy gun manufacturers.

With one wolf still digging its claws into me, I went after the fifth wolf. It evaded me. It evaded Jackie.

Mona? Not so lucky.

Jackie? Lucky. Very lucky, considering she threw herself at the wolf. It swatted her off like a fly. I killed the other wolf, but by then, half the private army had joined our little party.

Have I mentioned how pissed off I get after a few bullet holes go through me? Very doesn't seem to express it well enough. And unlike wolves, human necks snap like dry twigs.

I confess. I got into it. Four dead bodies, no waiting. There were more, but a pissed off vampire is enough to scare off most hired guns, human or otherwise. They scattered as I sank my teeth into my fifth victim. I didn't get to enjoy him as much as I'd have liked.

"Jade! Jade!" I turned to Jackie. She was covered in blood, most of it not her own.

The last wolf. How could I forget? I tore him off what was left of Mona and ripped his muzzle off his face before and plunged a fist through his ribs. Gawd, I hate werewolves.

Jackie dragged herself back to Mona. I followed. Even for a vamp, the sight was unpleasant. Why the hell would her father hire uncontrollable werewolves if he wanted his daughter as a brood mare?

"This wasn't her father's work, was it?" I asked.

Jackie didn't answer.

"Was it?" I shouted.

"No!"

"D.O.D has enemies." It was obvious. Some other drug lord didn't want him to corner the market, so destroy his source. I looked at the unconscious, bloody form of Mona. They succeeded too. Looked like I wouldn't be needed anymore. I felt sorry for Jackie. I don't know how much of her life she spent protecting Mona, but it didn't help in the end.

"Help her," Jackie whispered. That took me by surprise, I must say. I thought Mona was dead.
I looked at the body again. There was a hellovah lot of blood loss. And who even knew if a hospital could give transfusions to a morel-human half-breed?

"She won't make it," I said. "Even if I could get her to a hospital before she died. I'm sorry." And I was.

"Please," Jackie begged.

I squatted beside her, checking Mona's marks. "It won't matter. She's been bit by a werewolf, Jackie. If by some miracle she survives, she'll be a wolf."

"Change her then."

I sank back into the slick mud. Change her? Was she mad? "I can't."

Jackie grabbed my hand. I felt it's cold claminess in my hand. She was worse off than I'd thought. She needed a hospital. But would she let me take her to one?

"Please."

I stared into eyes that looked black in the dark.

And then I made my mistake.

I did what she asked for. I turned Mona.

 

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