They had a plan.

Zea, Selene and Corrine bursted into the dark auditorium.

The plan was to kill whomever got in the way.

Where the podium had been was instead replaced by a small table covered with a simple red cloth. On the table was a single lit candle. The flames that flickered in the dark room gave enough light to show the different body parts that surrounded it: A heart, a hand, a vocal cord, an eye and, well, a piece of John Ackerman. 

Their main objective was to stop the summoning and Professor David Anderson at all cost.

Zea was the first to reach the table, kicking it over. She hoped that if that was the summoning, she had stopped in time.

Then the light in the auditorium turned on.

Werewolves and cloaked cultists with daggers peeled from the sides of the auditorium and converged on Selene and Corrine.

Selene and Corrine, more than capable, started to dispatch them with ease. Corrine wiped and battered them with her vines. Selene lobbed potions at them while also planting silver bolts into the heads of werewolves from the hunter’s crossbow.

Zea was alone to face Professor Anderson who, in a dark velvet clock, sat on a throne chair a few feet away behind the knocked over table. She noticed smeared blood that trailed from where the table had been to him. He adjusted his glass with a bloody hand that was badly bandaged.

She could have killed him, having already smelled the blood the moment she entered the auditorium,  but she wanted to know. She wanted to know why John Ackerman, Roberta Langley and Samuel Wicker were murdered just to summon a demon to end the world? Professor Anderson didn’t strike her as someone so filled with hate to do that. 

“Last sacrifice,” said Professor Anderson tiredly. “I couldn’t wait any longer once I realized, vampire, you would have figured it out.”

“You’re a sick bastard,” Zea said. She approached him with her sword in her hands. “Why?” she snapped. “You can’t have killed all those people just to summon a demon that will destroy the world. Did you know that?”

Professor Anderson waved his hand. “If it meant I could see my wife again, yes,” he said sadly.

Zea blinked. She couldn’t believe this asshole killed so many innocents and was going to sacrifice the world for his dead wife. “Your wife will not be happy.” She raised her sword to cut down her professor. 

“Well, I will ask her then,” said Professor Anderson. His glasses reflected the unnatural full moon. 

Zea brought her sword down on him only to realize she cleaved the throne seat in half instead. Then she felt something sharp piercing her side. From across the auditorium, she could hear Selene and Corrine shout out, “He’s beside you!”

Professor Anderson smiled wickedly. “Last sacrifice. The blood of a noble individual. I just didn’t think it would have been from a vampire.”

A bolt hit him in the head but he merely faded away. 

“Fuck!” Selene came running down to Zea. 

Corrine followed Selene, having killed the last cultist. “Shit,” she said under her breath. “This was all an illusion.”

Zea pulled the dagger out of her side. “What do you mean illusion?” She put a hand on her wound. She waved off Selene who arrived and had taken out a vial of something.

“Stop being macho about it. You’re a fodder,” said Selene. “Let me at least stop the bleeding.”

Corrine drew a rune in the air. The air crackled before an invisible force peeled away all that they saw to reveal that the auditorium had been stripped of the chairs and the walls were painted with blood pentagrams. Off to the side was the summoning table intact with Professor Anderson standing by.

Professor Anderson clapped heartedly. “That was something you should have realized, hunter,” he bellowed. “Afterall, it was what I used to steal those pages in the Vatican’s vault.”

“You have no idea what you are dealing with!” Corrine raised her hand, about to whip out her vines.

“I wouldn’t do that. Pazuzu is here. The summoning is complete,” warned Professor Anderson.

Zea looked at Corrine and mouthed, “What the fuck?” 

Corrine’s face was grim. “I hope you’re up to fighting a demon king.”

“Fucking hell,” said Selene as she popped the vial in her hand and poured it on Zea’s wound. “Not a peep. I need you,” she said to the vampire. She threw the now empty vial and loaded a bolt into the crossbow.

Zea nodded and placed herself in front of Selene, her sword ready.

“What a bunch of brave souls that have no chance of winning,” said Professor Anderson before a column of light shot through the ceiling of the auditorium and into the summoning table. “Hail, Pazuzu! Demon King of Storm!”

Zea squinted. She had seen drawings of Pazuzu. The demon had spanning wings, a canine face and talons as feet. What she saw instead come floating down was a cherub-like creature with wings too small to actually be responsible for its flight. The creature's lower body was like that of a goat. In fact, this so-called demon king had horns like a goat too. If anything, this was a satyr. A small, cutesy satyr.

Professor Anderson shook his head. “This can’t be right? I did everything correctly!”

The satyr’s hooves touched the ground. They looked around, at Anderson and then the summoning table. “You really didn’t need to do any of that. Fruits, molded clay and a good red wine would have done just the same,” the satyr pointed out.

“You are supposed to be Pazuzu, Demon King of Storm!” shouted Professor Anderson. 

The satyr grimaced. “Yeah, well things get lost in translations, but hey, here I am.” The satyr smiled. “You may call me Paz by the way.”

“So you won’t destroy the world?” asked Selene. 

Paz shrugged. “Not so sure about that. Depends on what this guy wishes.” The satyr nudged Professor Anderson. “What is your wish?”

“I wished for my dead wife back! This is why I did all of this!” Professor Anderson was getting teary.

Paz stroked their goatee. “Did you consult with, I think you mortals call them, a medium?” 

“What? Of course not,” said Professor Anderson hysterically. “Why would I need to? Just bring my wife back! That’s my goddamn wish!”

Paz sighed. “Amateur. Give me a moment. I need to check something.” The satyr made a hang loose sign with their right hand and put it up against their ear. They mumbled. “Uh, huh. Yes, I want to check in on this guy's wife. Uh, huh. Okay, thank you.”

Paz turned to Professor Anderson with a grim face. 

“Well, I can’t do that. I could’ve but, after consulting, your wife’s soul has been reborn already. Don’t worry, since she did so much good, she is going to have a really good life,” said Paz.

Professor Anderson shook his head. “Reborn? Does that mean I can meet her again?” he asked excitedly.

“Well, you’ll be sixty something  but that’s not going to happen, chap. Unfortunately, for you, you’re going to be locked away for the rest of your life,” said Paz.

Professor Anderson broke down, tears streaming.

Zea couldn’t tell if that was joy or sadness. “Is that it?” she asked Paz.

Paz nodded. “Yup. Should have wished for riches or something. Word of advice to you all, if you’re going to bring someone back from the dead you need two things. One, have their body intact and two, have consulted with a medium to check to see if the person hasn’t been reborn. No soul, no resurrection! Now, I will go away. Ta-da!”

And Paz was gone.

Zea flashed to Professor Anderson and knocked him unconscious with a quick chop with her hand to the side of his head. She looked over to a grinning Selene and very relieved Corrine.

“Not what I envisioned, but I take it,” said Corrine. She turned to Zea. “Not exactly what I expected from a vampire, but I thank you for helping me.”

Selene coughed. “And me,” she said.

Corrine chuckled. “You too, Selene. Thank you.” She looked between Zea and Selene. “We make a pretty good team.” She let out a hand for a handshake. 

“I don’t really do teams with a hunter,” Zea said before shaking Corrine’s hand. “But you’re not too bad. Just don’t try to kill me again.”

“Well, if you hire me for finding someone or pets, I don’t mind teaming up if the price is right. Though, I think, I want to keep away from world ending shenanigans for a while,” said Selene as she clasped the hunter’s hand.

“Seriously?” said Zea to Selene.

“I have thought of joining the Order a few times before,” said Selene.

Corrine’s eyes perked up. “Do you want our brochure--”

“Not right now,” said Selene. She wavered to the unconscious Professor Anderson. “I think you need to take care of him and all of this.” She winked at Zea. “Zea and I have a blooming flower event to go to.”

Zea, catching on, smiled and nodded. “Yes, we do.”

***

Zea’s lips were locked over Selene’s. She felt Selene's hands moved from underneath her tank top. Her jean jacket and shirt was thrown somewhere in her greenhouse. She pulled away just enough to see if her Queen of Andes had bloomed. 

“You sure it’s going to bloom? My gardener said in two days and, well, this is the second day,” said Zea before Selene pulled her down and their lips locked.

In between kisses, Selene spoke. “It’s. So. Ugly. Why. Does. It. Matter?”

Zea stopped her. “I’ve waited eighty years for this,” she said. “I will not miss this.” She pulled away again and sat up.

The two of them were on a flowering bed that had been covered with a tarp.

“Ugh, okay, nerd,” said Selene as she sat up. She rested her head on Zea’s shoulder.

Zea chuckled. “Promise, after it blooms, we can go somewhere much more comfortable.”

“Fine,” sighed Selene. 

They stared at the Queen of Andes.

“Can I ask you something?” said Selene as she played with Zea’s hair. 

“Yeah?” Zea wrapped an arm around Selene’s waist and pulled the witch closer to her.

“Paz didn’t tell the whole story. When people come back from the dead, something always comes back with them,” said Selene. “Should something happen to me, promise to not bring me back?”

Zea scoff. “That is creepy to know, but nothing is going to happen to you. I’ll be here unless...are you dying?” 

There was an awkwardness that hung in the air. Zea wondered if Selene wanted her to make her a vampire. Depending on what terminal illness Selene has, the witch would have to live with it for all of eternity. However, more than that, turning a witch was a big no-no and should Selene get caught by the European Vampire Council’s cabal, a fate worse than death awaits her.

Selene planted a kiss on Zea’s cheek. “Too cute,” she whispered. “No, I am not dying. Just something my mother told me.”

Just then the Queen of Andes bloomed it’s white flowers.

“Huh, that’s it,” said Zea, a bit disappointed.

“Yup, and still ugly. Now what about that place....” Selene watched a clump of Zea’s hair fall out. “Crap! I need to get you the cure now!”