I awoke several hours later, almost like someone had poked me, then realized that someone had. I opened my eyes and Jillian was hovering above me.

“Someone just parked in the driveway.” Jillian said.

There was really only one person that would park in the driveway now, so I nodded and got out of bed. I slipped on a pair of jogging pants and tossed Jillian the same thing, then did the same with t-shirts. I grabbed my cell phone and we left the bedroom. We walked over to the living room just as the front door opened.

Mikki stopped walking when she saw us, then she put on an angry face. “What the hell, David?!?”

“What the hell what?” I asked and Jillian sighed. I turned to her and took her hand. “I told you that you wouldn't regret it, so please. Believe me.”

Jillian saw the sincerity in my eyes and nodded.

I turned back to Mikki. “Jillian was kind enough to accompany me when Steve and I raided one of the kidnapper's warehouses.” I said and Mikki caught her breath. “Yes, we found one of them. Mina.”

“We also found two dozen vampires.” Jillian added.

“What happened?” Mikki asked.

“I killed her, of course.” I said and saw a flash of satisfaction in Mikki's eyes.

“He moved as fast as us.” Jillian said with a bit of admiration in her voice. “He hasn't changed yet and I had a hard time following his movements.”

Mikki's eyes widened at that and looked at me.

“I was motivated.” I said. “Thankfully, Steve took the opportunity to save us and roasted the rest.”

“It felt like we were inside a fire storm.” Jillian said and shook slightly. “It took an hour for me to heal the burns.”

I looked down at my hands and they were no longer red. It was the same with the wound I had suffered after the car crash. After several hours, it was like I hadn't been hurt at all. Apparently, the closer to the full moon I was, the faster I would heal.

I guess that means I still don't have the full were-cat suite of skills yet. I thought, then pushed that aside. “When I came home after failing to find anyone else, I found your note.” I said in an accusing tone.

“I knew you would go to the kitchen eventually.” Mikki said.

“You didn't even put a time on it!” I spat and my anger flared, as did my necromancy.

Both Mikki and Jillian shivered at the feeling.

“I didn't know if the note was from yesterday or if it was meant for today.” I said and tried to calm down. “I had no idea when you left or when you would be coming back.” I gave her a sad look. “What was I supposed to do with 'I might see you tonight or tomorrow', when I had just lost Natalie?”

Mikki's face drained of color.

“Yeah, you're getting it now, right? Where the hell were you? Were you kidnapped, too? Would I lose another woman I loved? What the hell was I supposed to do?” I asked and my power faded. “I'm trying to avenge one woman already. Losing you on top of that... I...”

“David, I... I'm sorry.” Mikki said. “I didn't think about... I just... I wanted to be alone to try and deal with this, and...”

“You didn't answer your phone when you knew it was me.” I said and she sighed. “Right.” I looked at Jillian. “She knows I'm at fault, and unlike you, she stayed here by my side and didn't leave me to deal with her own feelings.”

“David.” Jillian whispered and I took her hand for a moment.

“You're trying to replace her already?” Mikki asked and we both looked at her to see tears in her eyes.

“No one could replace her.” I said. “I wouldn't even think of that. I don't think that.”

Both women gave me skeptical looks.

“Honestly, after I made love to Jillian, do you know what my first thought was?”

“Why are my nipples pointed so far off to the sides?” Jillian asked to break some of the tension.

The statement threw me off a little. “Why are they like that?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“When I was younger, I had the distinct impression that boys liked bigger boobs.” Jillian said. “Me being the naive girl that I was, started using push-up bras and padding. Of course, my breasts were small, so I had to tuck my nipples as far away from popping out as I could. For years.”

I blinked my eyes. “You... trained your nipples... to grow out that way?”

Jillian smiled and nodded. “Not on purpose, though. I didn't notice it right away. One day when I was looking in the mirror and there they were, like lazy eyes, pointing off in the wrong directions.”

Mikki let out a quick bark of laughter and covered her mouth.

“I thought it was endearing.” I said and both women looked at me. “What? I think they look nice.”

“David, there's no need to lie.” Jillian said.

“I like that I can't just go for your nipples as soon as I see your breasts. I have to work at it to get them in my mouth.” I said and she looked surprised. “It's a bit more satisfying.”

Jillian opened her mouth to respond, then she blushed instead.

“Okay. Back on track.” I said and let Jillian's hand go as I looked at Mikki. “My first thought as we laid in bed together, was that Natalie would have been okay with it.”

Both of them took in sharp breaths.

“In fact, I had the distinct feeling that she would have been happy about it.” I said and they gave me looks of disbelief. “It doesn't matter to me if you believe that, because I believe it, and that is what's important right now.”

“David, you... you can't... are you serious?” Jillian asked.

I nodded. “You all know what Natalie was like. Do you really think she would object to having Jillian be even closer to our family? You both have known her longer than I have, so think about it.”

Mikki opened her mouth and saw that Jillian was going to say something. They both paused and thought about it.

_______________

You have a minor choice to make. It's impact is minimal at best. You can do it or not.

A) Keep belabouring the point. B) Ask both to go to bed. C) Ignore them. D) Do something else.

I sighed mentally. Well, there's not much point in repeating myself. I can't in good conscience ask Mikki to go to bed with us, not after just saying I wasn't replacing Natalie. I definitely don't want to ignore them, so I guess I'm going with D. I choose D.

Stolen novel; please report.

_______________

“That's right. Natalie would be fine with it.” I said and took out my cell phone. “Natalie would accept Jillian with open arms, just like Jillian accepted me this morning. It shouldn't matter what you did or what happened to you before that point.”

“What are you doing?” Mikki asked.

“I need to make an appointment with a witch.” I said and dialed the number.

“Right now?” Mikki asked, angrily.

“Sure.” I said. “We're done talking, aren't we?” I asked as the phone rang. “I mean, we all know I'm not replacing Natalie and if you aren't convinced of it after me telling the truth and not hiding anything, there's not much point in repeating myself.”

Mikki's face lost the anger and my phone clicked.

“Ah, David. I have been waiting for your call.” A happy woman's voice said over the phone. “Angelica says she would have called; but, you were a bit too busy for her to distract you.”

I took a deep breath and let it out. Great, is she another psychic? I asked myself.

“Not in the way you think.” The witch said and I sighed. “Oh, relax. I'm just teasing.” She said. “I've had a little friend keeping an eye on you since Angelica called me yesterday.”

“I don't want to know how closely I'm being watched, do I?” I asked.

“Well, you can rest assured that my little friend took care of the other one.”

I immediately thought about my dreamless sleep and not getting another vision, especially since I knew they were trying to contact me this whole time.

“Should I thank you for that?” I asked, since just outright thanking her might be a bit too much of putting myself into her debt.

The witch laughed happily. “She said you were smarter than the average shlub.”

“Wow, that's a great compli... wait, was that a compliment?” I asked and she laughed harder.

“You better get changed and come see me.” The happy woman said. “I don't mind the handguns or the knives, so go ahead and bring them, too.”

“Will I need them?” I asked.

“Not against me, no. I'm not stupid enough to play a game against you.” The witch's happiness faded slightly. “I would be interested in seeing your sacred blade as payment for my services.”

I thought about that. “Can you take anything from it, since I've used it so many times and performed countless rituals with it?”

The witch laughed softly. “You are definitely not a shlub.” She said. “Yes, I can take some of its magic power in exchange for giving it some of mine.”

I thought about that for a minute. “Why are you telling me that?”

The witch was quiet for several moments. “I don't want you to think I'm trying to steal from you.”

“Good point.” I said. “What time should I...” I stopped talking when an address popped up on my phone.

“Whenever you kiss those hell-cats goodbye.” The witch said. The implication was not lost on me.

“I'll be there as soon as I can.” I said and she hung up on me. “It was nice hearing from you. Goodbye!”

Jillian laughed at my irritated face, because she was guilty of the same thing. “We don't do it on purpose, you know.”

“I know.” I said and looked at the both of them. “I assume you heard?” I asked and they both nodded.

“You have to go alone.” Jillian said.

Mikki looked like she wanted to protest.

“You can't.” Jillian said. “She has a little friend that's watching him and it's also stopping the bad guys from watching him. If we try to go with him now, we're only hurting his chances of finding Natalie's killers.”

Mikki clamped her mouth shut and stared at her, then she opened her mouth with a sigh.

I stepped close and quickly kissed her. That spark passed between us and she shivered. I broke the kiss and stepped back. “I'll be back as soon as I can; but, if she has something she needs to tell me, I could be anywhere from ten minutes to several hours.”

Mikki reluctantly nodded. “We both missed going to get Natalie last night.”

I nodded. “I'm definitely going to get her tonight.” I said. “I assume the guards are still...”

“The last time I checked.” Mikki said. “Nothing's been reported. No movement, no visitors, and no vampires.”

“All right.” I said and walked over to Jillian. “Thank you for what you did.” I said and gave her a kiss. It was not the quick goodbye one I had just given Mikki, who was angry at me and I knew I couldn't kiss her like I wanted to. So, Jillian got it instead and she appreciated it. A lot. She purred before she could stop herself and then she put her hands on my chest and pushed me away just enough to break the kiss.

“That wasn't just for me.” Jillian whispered.

“I gave you double, because Mikki would tear me up if I did it to her.”

Jillian walked over to Mikki and leaned in close. She sniffed at Mikki's neck and then she let out a little growl. Mikki just stared at me and wouldn't admit it was true, then Jillian bit her.

Mikki shook and tears came to her eyes. “All right! Yes! I admit it!”

Jillian let her neck go and there was no blood. “Don't let Natalie's loss make you lose him, too.”

“It's his fault!” Mikki said loudly. “He even said so!”

“Do you think he feels any better about that being true than you do?” Jillian asked. “Do you want to know what he said to me to convince me to be with him?”

Mikki opened her mouth and then shook her head.

“Then don't judge him for something you don't know all the facts about.” Jillian said and stepped away from her. “Sometimes you just need to love someone enough to forgive them.”

“I... I don't know... if I can.” Mikki said, her face sad.

I walked away from them and went to the bedroom to get changed. I dressed and added my two handguns and the knives in my boots, since they were in a very convenient pile. Surprisingly, I missed the large blade that I had strapped to my thigh during the raid with Steve and Jillian. The speed and efficiency of Mina's death had surprised me and I really wanted a knife like that for myself.

The bad part was that it was highly illegal, mainly because of what I actually did with it. Taking someone's life was ridiculously easy with such a deadly weapon. I rubbed my thigh and then left the bedroom. I didn't see Mikki or Jillian in the living room, so I went to the kitchen.

“I'm leaving now.” I said, in an odd mirror to when Mikki had left two days previously to go to work. I didn't try to kiss her again.

“Call if you find anything interesting.” Jillian said and showed her cell phone.

I nodded and went to the closet, picked up the top of the casket that Mikki and I had retrieved from Apollo's and Hephastus' house. I went out to the jeep and carefully put it in the back. I stood there and stared at the open space and I didn't regret that it would never hold my wheelchair again.

Maybe I should donate it. I thought and sat in the front driver's seat for the first time in months. My hands gripped the steering wheel and I closed my eyes. I sat there for several minutes and didn't do anything. I took a deep breath and let it out, turned the key in the ignition, and the jeep roared to life.

Without further contemplation, I backed out of the driveway and onto the road, put the jeep into gear, and drove away from home.

I arrived at the address and parked in the driveway. It looked like a normal suburban home, which was exactly what any witch would want everyone to see. Once I started to accept that it was an illusion, the perfect home visage shimmered slightly.

No way. I thought and suddenly the siding looked old and was cracked in places. The windows were covered in dirt and grime, and the rain gutters on the roof were a shambles. What the hell was that?

I stepped out of the driver's side door and stared at the house that looked almost completely different than it had when I pulled up. I shook my head at the difference, retrieved the coffin top and my sacred blade from the wooden chest, and walked over to the front door. I had the distinct feeling that I should go to the back instead, so I changed directions and went around the house to the back step.

The door was unlocked and I was very tempted to not go inside. I felt the urge to enter and looked around. I thought I saw a little shimmer nearby that was kind of like what was around the house. It didn't change or reveal what it hid, though. I shrugged when I had the urge to ignore it and entered the house. I didn't pause as I opened the door to the basement that was just inside and went down the stairs.

“Hello, David!” A very happy woman said from across the room. She was sitting demurely in a chair. “I'm so glad that you came so promptly.”

_______________

You have a minor choice to make. What you do will decide if the witch will see you in a positive light or not, which will determine how much she reveals to you. Since she is a witch and a black magic practitioner, is it really safe to be seen in a positive light? It's up to you.

A) Tell her to get on with it. B) Flirt. C) Make a joke. D) Leave. E) Kill her. F) Make her yours.

Okay, this is getting ridiculous. I thought. What's with the awful choices? Are you trying to make me choose mostly bad things or something? I paused and waited for a response, then a ten second timer appeared.

Warning: She won't like the default option. At all. It's E by the way.

Yeah, I get it. I should have kept my mouth shut. I thought with a sigh. Fine. I'll try and share some of the ridiculousness. I chose C.

_______________

I opened my mouth to make a joke about sleeping with Jillian and coming promptly, and the witch laughed.

“You're so funny!” The witch said and stood up.

I got the full view of her and my eyes widened a little. By full view, I meant completely full. She was naked as the day she was born and I saw that she was a natural brunette, because the hair on her head matched the hair down below. My eyes darted back to her face and she gave me a huge knowing smile.

“You and I are going to have quite a lot of fun together, David.” The witch said.

For some reason, I was pretty sure she didn't mean sex, then a thought that wasn't mine popped into my head. Not only sex. The thought said as it floated through my mind.

What have I gotten myself into? I asked myself.

“Not me.” The witch said happily and grinned at me. “Not yet, anyway.”