Vic pushed open the doors of Raven’s Hope Alternative Library. It was the middle of the night, but he knew Alyssa would be there. It wasn’t like she’d be sleeping—busy being a vampire and what not.

A familiar haze greeted him when he walked in. Pete and Maya waved the smoke away from their faces, Maya having a brief coughing fit.

“Vic,” Alyssa began. “It’s three in the morning. Shouldn’t your humans be asleep?”

“Duty calls,” Vic said. “Took care of some riff raff.”

An air of concern fell over Alyssa’s face.

Vic wanted to let her unasked question linger without an answer. “Yeah. Turns out a bartender at the Moondial Lounge was sending people to Lake Westfall to be killed.”

“Really?” Alyssa responded, still visibly worried.

“I won’t admit that I was wrong, but the bartender was a member of The Nines. Guess it is real. Billy got himself caught up in it and—”

“Tell me what became of Billy, you fool!” Alyssa jumped out of her chair, her vamp face looking extra intimidating. Pete and Maya startled from the sudden eruption.

“I’m here, my Alyssa.” Billy Bones, who Vic had waiting in the hallway, stepped in from the shadows.

Alyssa gasped and ran to Billy. They embraced and clung to each other, neither wanting to let go. One vampire and one skeleton hugging. It was truly ridiculous.

Vic took time during the touching moment to light a cigarette. Maya wasn’t amused by his choice, and Pete was … still Pete.

“It really is you hidden underneath,” Billy said. “It has been so long that I no longer remembered if you were human back then.”

“William Randelson, your mind is slipping.” Alyssa pulled back from the hug and smiled. “Of course I was human, just like you. But I was attacked by a vampire shortly after you died. I’ll never know why she chose to turn me, instead of leaving me for dead. And now this is what I am.”

Billy took both of Alyssa’s hands in his. “I’m so sorry, my love. If only I could’ve been there to save you.”

Shaking her head, Alyssa smiled and said, “We’ve both been saved. We can have a second chance at our life together.”

“So adorable,” Maya squealed.

“I wish I could have that in my life,” Pete added.

Taking a large puff, Vic realized something. “Wait a minute. You were good with us going to kill Billy even though you two are star-crossed lovers?”

Alyssa laughed. “There was never a worry. I know that a crystal ball keeps him alive. As long as the crystal exists William can never die, which is exactly why I didn’t tell you about it. I would never risk you destroying it and killing him. You obviously received the answers you desired from him.”

“You knew I was alive?” Billy asked, letting go of Alyssa’s hands. “Why didn’t you come for me?”

The vampire looked suddenly sheepish. “I was scared. I thought you’d still be mad at me. We had the fight the morning you died on the boat. I didn’t know if you let that fight die with you.”

Taking a moment to think, Billy lifted his head and nodded. “Yes, I remember we had a fight about moving to another town. But it was only a spat. My anger had subsided by the time I got on the boat, and I was planning on picking you fresh flowers when I was done for the day. I could never stay mad at you.”

“Oh, I wish I would’ve known,” Alyssa embraced the skeleton again. “We can be together now.”

Billy gently pushed Alyssa away. “I’m afraid not.” He turned to Maya and held his hand out. She unwrapped the cloth from the crystal ball—for some reason they hadn’t trusted Vic to hold it—and handed it to Billy. He studied it and turned back to Alyssa. “I brought the crystal here for a reason.”

“I can keep it safe,” Alyssa said, reaching for it. “You don’t have to worry.”

Billy pulled it close to him. “I’ve done terrible things, my dear. I wanted to see you one last time before I left.”

“Nonsense.” Alyssa shook her head and pointed to herself. “I’ve done terrible things, too. And I’m still here. You can stay. Stay with me, forever.”

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“I know I could. I could stay with you forever. But living with guilt for all eternity? That I could not bear. I would be like a plague to you, slowly darkening the light of your soul … heart … your mind. It is my choice.”

Alyssa took some time to understand the situation. “You always were soft.”

“I know.”

Billy set the crystal ball on the desk. The others watched from a distance, while Alyssa stood next to Billy, holding his hand. They shared a kiss. Or, at least one of them did. The other didn’t have lips. They talked quietly together.

“You’ve been uncharacteristically non-opinionated,” Maya said to Vic while watching the vampire and skeleton have a few last minutes together.

“I know when to keep my mouth shut,” Vic said, putting his cigarette out on the worn out wood floor. “I understand moments like this.”

“Are you ever going to tell me about this secret past life of yours? I’ve been noticing some signs that maybe you weren’t always miserable.”

Maya had touched on a subject that Vic had no intentions of diving into. Truth was, this moment in the library was reopening deep cuts that were still healing. The sooner this night was over, the better. He wanted to put a stop to her prying. “We don’t have a personal relationship. We’re here to conduct business for our business relationship.”

“Go figure,” Maya said, her face twisting in annoyance.

CRACK!

Billy had tried smashing his fist against the crystal ball, but the bones in his hand broke apart before making contact, leaving the ball unscathed. Alyssa grabbed him and held up his twisted fingers. They slowly adjusted themselves into place, making unappealing crunching sounds as they did so.

“Woah,” Pete said. “The ball protected itself against Billy. It’s like some kind of security device.”

“Sophisticated,” Billy said. He swung at the ball, and this time his wrist snapped leaving his hand dangling. “It appears the witch put a spell on it, ensuring I was unable to secure my own way out of the curse.”

“I wish I knew who it was,” Alyssa said. “I would’ve killed that bitch for you.”

“I hate to ask this of you, my love. If I can’t end this curse, I …”

“No, Billy. There’s got to be another way.”

“I’m afraid there’s not. You are the only one I trust with this responsibility. I am begging you.”

“Why doesn’t he stay?” Pete asked. “He’s not a bad guy.”

“He’s already made up his mind,” Vic answered. “It’s his choice. I’d take the same route, if I were in his shoes.”

Vic, Maya, and Pete watched in silence as Alyssa smashed the crystal ball against the floor. It shattered into a thousand pieces, ejecting a plume of purple smoke into the air that circled around Billy rapidly.

Billy gave a weak wave as the magic formed a purple wall around him. When it finally dissipated, he was gone.

Alyssa leaned over her desk and sobbed, her shoulders heaving uncontrollably.

“C’mon,” Vic said. “She needs space to mourn on her own.” He’d been in a similar situation before and recognized the importance of time to process.

After dropping Pete off at his apartment, Vic drove Maya to her house. Her girlfriend, Chelsea, pulled a window curtain aside and stared at the car, likely alerted by the sound of the “boom cannon” driving down the road.

“Thanks for your help tonight,” Vic said. Then he held out his hand to her. She grabbed it and shook. “I’m not shaking hands. I’m asking for a down payment.”

“What?” Maya said, taken aback. “Are you serious right now? After all we went through tonight—fighting a skeleton, finding out I have magic powers, encountering fish demons, watching a bartender go death by cyanide, and witnessing a lifelong romance between a vampire and a skeleton come to a bittersweet end—you’re really going to hold me to paying you?”

Vic didn’t respond, just left his hand out.

“Ugh, fine.” Maya dug in her pocket and pulled out a ten dollar bill. “Just when I thought you were Ok. Here, this is all I have right now.”

“I’ll take it as a deposit. But I’m going to need more if I’m going to be putting myself in the line of fire like this.” He reached in the backset and grabbed Maya’s notebook, then handed it to her. “Here’s your notebook. Call me later, after you’ve decided who to check out next.”

Maya slammed the car door and stormed inside the house. Chelsea still stood motionless in the window, glaring.

Vic gave her a playful wave and she continued to not move an inch. “Sheesh.”

When Vic got home, he immediately went to the backward facing picture frames on the buffet. He grabbed one and turned it so he could see the picture inside. He looked at it for a long while, really taking it in before turning it back around to face the wall.

He grabbed the ten dollar bill from his pocket and was about to put it in his rainy day money jar … but his morality showed up to wrestle with his decision. After a brief internal dialogue, he groaned and grabbed a pen, writing “M.F. Savings Account” on an envelope. He stuffed the ten dollars inside and shoved the envelope in a drawer.

***

Across town, in the early morning hours, an important conversation was taking place. The room was dimly lit and full of exquisite chairs and couches. In the middle of the room was an overly large, handcrafted desk, full of jagged angles and corners. The edges were all painted blood-red, giving it an unnerving appearance. At this desk, a shadowy figure, wearing a fine suit, leaned back in his chair.

A creature stood before the desk. It was muscular and squat, wearing nothing but a dirty tank top and an ill-fitting loin cloth. Its face was square-shaped with large teeth that protruded from the bottom corners of its mouth, rising up as high as its nose. Drool dangled from its lower lip.

The shadowy figure spoke. “I have been informed that we have a problem developing. We don’t want this tarnishing what we started. Be a good little troll and clean up the mess for me. It goes by the name of Maya Fano.”