Ophelia lay asleep on her couch, she had come home at dawn and promptly passed out fully dressed on the couch. Jinx was laying on her back on the floor under the couch lazily playing with the shoelace on Ophelia's boot. Outside the normally hazy LA sky had turned black as rain clouds moved in from the sea to pour relief on the parched city.
Ophelia heard someone knocking on her door but rolled over and went back to sleep. Finally Ophelia couldn't ignore the knocks and slowly got to her feet. Ophelia stumbled to the door and opened it. " Took you long enough" said Christie, " remember lunch?"
" Fuck I totally forgot" said Ophelia, " it was a long night."
" What happened to your eye?" asked Christie.
" Natural grace" said Ophelia, " bounced my thick head off the cocktail table last night."
" You really should put some ice on that" said Christie, " you look awful."
" It is nice to see you too" said Ophelia, " let me take a quick shower and we can go to lunch."
" At least it is good to see that you haven't changed much from college" said Christie.
Ophelia took a quick shower and changed into clean clothes. The pair left and went to a nice Mexican restaurant for lunch. " What was the name of our other roommate first year?" asked Ophelia.
" I don't remember" said Christie, " she was a real snot."
" No kidding, but what was her name?" asked Ophelia.
" It was something common" said Christie, " it wasn't like she stayed long enough for us to remember, she was only there until Halloween."
The two girls giggled together, " That is a Halloween I will never forget" said Ophelia.
" The wild California girl corrupting the quiet girl from Illinois" giggled Christie.
" That is what college is for" said Ophelia, " opening your eyes to new ideas, I must say I really liked your ideas."
" Did we have anything on when she walked in?" asked Christie.
" I might have had my socks on" said Ophelia, " those knee high black and white stripped ones you kept borrowing from me."
" Yah" said Christie, " why did she come back anyways, I thought her church retreat was supposed to last all weekend."
" Got me" said Ophelia, " I just remember enjoying your worldly skills and she walking in on us. Monday when I came back from class her stuff was gone and that was the last I ever heard from her."
" I liked that semester" said Christie, " I learned a lot."
" You never went to class" giggled Ophelia.
" I know, one of the things I learned was that I was never meant to go to college" said Christie, " so you seeing anybody?"
" No" said Ophelia, " you?"
" No, I was seeing this rugged manly guy that wrote for an outdoor living magazine" said Christie.
" How was he?" asked Ophelia.
" Big" giggled Christie, " he was great in bed, I mean stamina that never ended, hung like a black rhino but he knew nothing about anything else other than rock climbing and sex. He had this creepy green octopus on his shoulder, said he got the idea from a dream."
" A green octopus?" asked Ophelia.
" I don't know, it was big, green, had arms like an octopus, and had big sharp teeth" said Christie, " I mean I'm use to big manly guys have barbed wire and chicks tattooed on them, but this was really different, probably why I liked him. I think my mom's bizarre taste in men."
" Did you once tell me she had a thing going with some cult leader?" asked Ophelia.
" It was the seventies after all" said Christie, " she never told me much about him, but Aunt Sharon told me that my mom meant him at some party out in Malibu, he really was the master of smooth lines apparently and my mom was really taken with him, apparently went to live with him up at his ranch in Malibu for a few years until the Marsh Family curse kicked in and she left him."
" You know it really is possible for you to find a good guy" said Ophelia, " find a boring guy, you know somebody that doesn't immediately interest you."
" Easier said than done I'm afraid" said Christie, " so how bout you, anybody your interested in?"
" A guy I work with" said Ophelia, " he is very cute."
" Tall dark and brooding?" asked Christie.
" Possibly" said Ophelia.
" I knew it, I knew it" Christie crowed, " you haven't changed either, I remember that poet guy we had anthropology with. You were so hot for him."
" Until I found out he was gay" said Ophelia, " you always tell that story."
" It is because I like it" said Christie.
" It is good that your back" said Ophelia, " it is good to have friends."

Beth and Jack walked downstairs into Beth's shop, " So how was business while I was out?" asked Beth, musing the hair of her little sister Clover.
" I made a sale" said Clover beaming with pride.
" Really what?" asked Beth.
" Some guy came in and bought a book about Renard LaSalle" said Clover.
" That's it?" asked Beth, " jeeze Clove, I thought you sold something big."
" I did" said Clover, " I sold the guy the Dela Delmonicon."
" That book was 2 thousand dollars" said Beth, " how did you sell it to him."
" I made up a little white lie and said that LaSalle owned one of these" said Clover.
" What did he look like?" asked Beth, " was it the tall guy with the real stringy black hair and the big black coat, or the guy with the world's thickest glasses probably wearing a Dungeon and Dragon's t-shirt that hasn't been washes in a decade?"
" No some real cutie" said Clover, " I tried to get his number but he was more interested in the book than me, shame I bet I could have convinced him that I am a succubus."
" You did good" said Beth, " so good in fact I think you can watch the shop the rest of the day."
" Hey" said Clover.
" You should to be a worse seller" said Beth.
The pair went upstairs and sat on the couch, " Wonder who would put down that kind of money for a moldy old book written by a fraud?" asked Jack, " I assume we leave out the part that the Dela Delmonicon was written a heretic who probably never actually saw a real demon in his life."
" Hey it is all part of the pitch" said Beth, " besides 99 percent of customers are either rare book collectors that like the book because it is 600 years old, tattoo artists that want the books simply for pictures for freaky tattoos, or goth that think the entire world of demons and vampires is totally made up."
" Two thousand bucks for that book" said Jack, " what do you think my Roman Recipe Book would go for?"
" Enough to take me to Hawaii forever" said Beth, " think your boss would approve of you doing that?"
" Some how I really doubt he would get a kick out of me selling an actually alchemist book" said Jack, " guess we can't retire to Hawaii now."
" Poo" said Beth, " I want to go surfing without the danger of evaporating if I accidentally find a sludge pool in the water."
" Could always move to Kansas" said Jack, " there is no water there, the temptation to surf is much less."
Beth grabbed Jack by the collar of his Hawaiian shirt and pulled him close, " I'll show you temptation" she said with a big smile.

" I've received word that Dante has sent a hit squad to find you four" said Ebenezer, looking out the window at his rose garden.
" That's to be expected" said Malcolm, " killing twelve of his men, plus the giant, plus destroying a year's worth of blood, but why was he hording so much blood? Not like there is a shortage of fresh sources in this city."
" Maybe Dante knows more than we do" said Maresa Chillton, Ebenezer's daughter and like her father a skilled mage, " possibly there is another Blood War on the horizon."
" Dante is becoming more unstable" said Malcolm, " we have known vampires to have mental illness, maybe it is just a manifestation of that."
" What if it is both" said Azuza, " Dante's mental instability could be a sign for SF or Vegas to make a move."
" It is possible" said Maresa, " could the mysterious figure in black you spotted last night be part of that?"
" I don't know" said Malcolm, " Ophelia said the mask he was wearing was totally blank, and a black cloak? Last time I checked we are living in California in the 21st century."
" Azuza" said Ebenezer, " I am going to need you and your team to start searching for this mysterious visitor, and when you find him, I want to speak to him myself."
" Certainly" said Azuza, " well find this guy."
" Keep it low" said Ebenezer, " I don't want anybody knowing that we are looking for them."
" No problem" said Azuza.
" Speaking of Ophelia, how is your newest member faring?" asked Maresa.
" Very good" said Malcolm, " she has done a great job, I'm glad we have her instead of some of the others we have been sent."

Ophelia and Christie stumbled up the steps of Ophelia's apartment, they had spent the entire evening out partying, " That was fun" said Ophelia.
" Tell me about it" said Christie, " god just like old times."
" Well I'll give you a call later in the week" said Ophelia, " I'm going to need to recover from this."
" I know" said Christie.
Christie planted a big kiss on Ophelia's lips, " Good night" said Christie.
Ophelia waved goodbye from her doorstep before stumbling inside. Jinx was sitting on the back of the couch looking at her. " Hi kitty" said Ophelia, " I'm super trashed."
Ophelia wandered into her bedroom and laid down with a long sigh. Ophelia took her clothes off and tossed them across the room because they smelled like she had been an ash tray all night. Jinx hoped up on the end and Ophelia took her cat in her arms, " I think I am going to like being a vampire slayer Jinxie" said Ophelia, " nothing better."
Ophelia yawned and Jinx followed, " You're right" said Ophelia, " lets go to bed."
Ophelia pulled the comforter over both of them and they both fell fast asleep.

Christie parked her car in the alley behind her store and apartment. She loved being back with Ophelia, it felt like the good day of college all over again. Christie unlocked her backdoor and pushed the door open. She walked into the dark backroom and kicked the door closed. Christie fumbled with her keys and slowly locked the door. She staggered up the stairs pulling her clothes off as she went up the stairs. Christie walked through her apartment totally naked until she walked into the bathroom. Christie turned the shower on hot and waited for the steam to start to fill the tiny bathroom. Christine hoped it and let the heat invigorate her. Christie poured shampoo in her hair and was in the process or working it into her flowing blonde locks when she heard a loud thud from downstairs. " Not again" said Christie, quickly washing the shampoo from her hair, rob me once okay, try and rob me twice and I will shoot your ass."
Christie got out of the shower and grabbed her white terry cloth robe off the hook on the back of the bathroom door. She quickly snuck across the bedroom floor and over to her dresser. She opened the top drawer and pulled her 38 revolver out. Two weeks after she opened the store she was robbed and her insurance almost tripled. Christie bought a Smith and Wesson 38 from the gun store down the block and took lesson so she wouldn't have to let them loot her store a second time. Christie checked the cylinder and tied her robe close.
Christie slipped down the stairs, gun firmly in her grasp. Christie heard the loud thump again in her backroom as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She pulled the hammer back on the gun and slowly let the safety off. Christie spun into her backroom the gun leveled and readied to ventilate her would-be robber. But she saw nothing, Christie took a step inside the backroom when a cat leapt down off a box. " SHIT!" Christie shriek.
The cat landed on the floor and looked up her with its yellow eyes and meowed. " Oh shit" said Christie, " just a damned cat."
The cat meowed again, " Oh all right" said Christie picking the cat up, " but this is the last time I start feeding strays on the step, soon enough I get every cat in the neighbor looking for a free meal."
Christie started to leave the backroom when the cat suddenly rose up and hissed. He leapt from her arms and ran out through the open door. Christie turned and looked at the open door, she had locked it not ten minutes earlier. Then Christie heard movement behind her and her blood froze. Christie gripped her gun, it was now or never she told herself. Christie spun around and saw a figure standing in the doorway, she couldn't see anything about him other that he was big. Christie saw a bright flash of a knife glitter in light that was pouring from the streetlight outside. Christie leveled her gun but he rushed her.
The back door to Mystic Springs slammed closed and a loud painful scream echoed down the hall for several minutes then finally one last cry and then silence. Across the alley way he watched the store, his blank white mask hiding an expression he may have had. He listened to the sounds from inside, the girl had fought well but he knew that there was no other outcome that this one. He picked the cat up and gently stroked its fur as he waited. It took almost an hour for the man to reemerge. A car pulled into the alley and he climbed in. He watched it turn out of the alley and slowly drive away. He gently rapped his finger on the cat's nose before putting it down. The wheel was in motion now, time to see the next move.