Church bells tolled 11 pm: a warning. "Time!" Tyler ''Digs" Digby said, his voice carrying through the small bar. Lock up in 15!" The customers still drinking at this time of night swallowed the last of their beers and cheap drinks before straggling out. They all lived near enough to get safe inside their houses before midnight—the witching hour, when the most dangerous Monsters roamed till dawn.

Ty flipped the sign to 'Closed'. The building was warded against the Monsters who invaded the world nine years ago. He placed a wreath of garlic blooms on the door handle. The garland was a gift from a sometimes lover, a mediocre witch who earned a little money selling charms that often worked.

He'd almost finishing cleaning the bar when someone tapped on the door. A vampire hunter waved at him and his werewolf partner barked, tail wagging.

"It's not locked. Hi, Bert, Rex." Rex shook raindrops from his fur before following Bert inside. Bert had been bitten by a vampire, learned its name, and killed it with charmed silver, in his case a knife, thereby becoming immune to vampire glamour and bites. These survivors could get any number of highly paid guardian jobs, especially if one could find a partner such as Rex, the werewolf. Charleston could only afford three hunters, and a second-string witch for spell-casting.

If I could become a hunter, I could make enough to leave this dead end. Move someplace with more life, more opportunities, more girls. Digs forgot his second favorite fantasy. "There's coffee. Want to refill your thermos?"

"Sure," said Bert. "There's a new vampire witch, totally dangerous, somewhere in town. We think she can move around before midnight, but not prey."

Digs handed the full thermos to Bert. "Vamp witches are the rarest there are. I've never heard of one outside eastern Europe."

"We think she slipped in with a migration spell. Moira, our witch, will have to ward against that." Bert grimaced. "Hopefully. We could use more werewolves, but most won't join the fight."

"Isn't a vamp witch really dangerous, even for you?"

"She is, but I've got defenses." He lifted a small six-sided amulet hanging around his neck. "Rex is better than an amulet."

"Good thing I live upstairs and can get home without leaving the building."

"Yeah, man. You're open late and one night something decides you're dinner. Take my old charm." He handed Digs a ring, a silver teardrop, bulbous at one end and sharply pointed at the other. The teardrop could be swung upright so the wearer could stab and slash with it. It would warm in the presence of monsters, and throw sparks that would help deter them. Minor protection, but better than nothing. Digs put it in his pocket and forgot about it.

"Take care," said Digs. He watched Bert walk to the corner, look in all directions, and very important, check the night sky above him. Rex lifted his muzzle and sniffed the night. They crossed the street and were out of sight.

Digs was ready to leave when someone knocked again and again on the door. A woman beyond beautiful was shaking in the cold rain that drenched her. She hung her head, crying.

Forgetting all caution, Digs opened the door. "What happened, Miss." She looked at him with sparkling grey eyes. A wisp of blond hair clung to her cheek.

"I was walking to my car when a vampiress found me. It's not witching hour yet, so I ran."

"I saw your lights." She had a slight accent. Something Eastern European. She swallowed hard and looked up at him, large eyes swimming with tears. "May I come in? Safer?"

Half in love, Digs invited her in.

She examined her glamourous beauty in the bar mirror. "I'm drenched." She shrugged out of her wet coat and hung it over a chair.

DIGS handed her several bar towels. She smiled seductively, and began drying her hair with a towel. She sat down, slid her wet shoes off, and crossed her legs. "I feel safe now," she said. "You're very kind." Again that smile.

Digs swallowed. "I'm ready to lock up, but would you like a drink? I could make coffee. Warm you up?"

"A drink, dear man, if you'll share it with me."

"What? What would you like?"

"Whiskey. A double with one ice cube, please. She put her soft, ice-cold hand on his wrist. He blamed the cold on the rain.

Digs poured a tumbler of the bar's best whiskey, reserved for the owner.

She drank deeply. "Good whiskey. Your turn."

Digs drank, forgetting that drinking or eating after a vampire is almost as dangerous as being bitten by one. She put one finger under his hand and lifted it until he drained the tumbler."

"I must find some way to thank you properly. What can I do for you?" She rubbed her bare toes against his leg.

Digs could think of many things, all of them physical. He shook his head, trying to think clearly "You can stay here tonight. You're safe in the bar. It's well warded." A muzzy part of his brain whimpered.

"I know you're protected here." She frowned. The clock struck 12 slow, solemn notes. Digs didn't hear them as she whispered in his ear, her cold breath tickling. "I'll return tomorrow night. Tell me everything I shall do to thank you."

"OK," Digs said, obediently.

She looked outside. "Almost midnight. Kiss me, dear man, and walk me to my car." She pulled him to her, kissing him deeply. She was quite strong. She shoved him away. "Till tomorrow night." He opened the bar door and followed her out. He locked the door behind them, and turned to check the street. He'd have to get home before the clocks struck midnight.

"Where's your car?" Digs asked, as cold air began to clear his mind.

"There."

"That's Mr. Martin's car. Isn't it?" Digs was still too muddled to think clearly.

She kissed him again. The drugs in her saliva made him forget everything but her.

"What's your name?" he whispered. She shook her head and kissed him again. "Your name?" She growled and put a finger on his lips. He asked, "What's your name?"

"Lespita," she said. "You shouldn't have asked three times."

"Why? Vampires and Monsters don't tell people their names. It gives us power over them."

Lespita nuzzled his ear. "I know."

A small drugged part of Digs' mind yelled to get back in the bar, as he watched her eyes glow red and her teeth lengthen into fangs.

She nuzzled his ear. "You're mine." Her cold breath froze his skin. She whispered words nonsensical to him and the world faded away.

***

Digs woke up sprawled across a bare mattress . The fading light of sunset threw shadows across the room. He sat up, rubbing his neck. No bites there. No bites anywhere. He wondered what Lespita wanted with him. He checked the door. Locked. He tried to think of a way out until day became night.

Lespita entered without knocking. She led a she werewolf, tail between her legs, on a silver leash. Werewolves were sworn enemies of vampires. This she-wolf had been captured somehow.

"Dear man. Welcome to my humble castle." She grinned to reveal sharp fangs, and leapt on him. He struggled against her greater strength, but her fangs slid into his neck and she drank. When she finished, she stood up, looking down at Digs as he wiped blood off his neck. "I have plans for you. In three days you'll be my new minion." The werewolf whined unhappily.

"Why me?" He looked away so her glamour wouldn't dazzle him.

"You have power. Not much, but you'll do." She forced him to look at her. He relaxed, like a deer in headlights just before it was hit. She walked out, dragging the werewolf. It looked back at him, ears flattened in fear. The lock clicked.

Over the next 24 hours, various minions brought whatever he needed, except freedom. They stared at him hungrily, but made no attempt to feed. A skinny female vamp brought new clothes and told him to change and give her the dirty ones. He turned his back, although he knew she had zero interest in his maleness. He emptied his pockets and found the ring Bert gave him. He slid it under the mattress and gave his clothes to the minion. She left. He slipped the ring on his forefinger. It was very warm.

A minion had left a mirror and razor. He shaved quickly and wiped off the last of the shaving foam. He examined his reflection. The next time he saw his reflection he might be corrupted into one of Lespita's minions. He tried to smile at himself when a message appeared in the mirror. 'Save yourself and me. Use your power. Take hers. You have the three: her name; charmed silver blade; she bit you. Your werewolf friend.' He almost dropped the mirror. The werewolf could cast message spells. Hope dawned in his still-beating heart.

At sunset the lock clicked as Lespita entered and leapt at him. He barely had time to lock the small drop on the ring upright before she grabbed him. He slashed her face with the point and sparks flew. She shrieked as her glamour faded, revealing the corruption that was her true self.

"Lespita, Lespita, Lespita. I end your evil". He stabbed her chest, hitting the muscle that was her dead heart. She collapsed into dust.

Digs wondered how he'd fight his way through her minions when he heard screams. He peeked out the door. Her minions, freed from her enslavement, were dust.

He searched the castle till he got to the kitchen. The werewolf was chained to a loop on the wall. He unfastened the collar that held her. The werewolf transformed into a woman, lovely and naked. He gave her his jacket. His number one fantasy, a hot werewolf girlfriend, might just come true.

"I'm Tyler Digby. Everyone calls me Digs."

"Sierra Malone," she smiled. "I owe you my thanks." He flinched at words so similar to the ones Lespita used to dazzle him. Sierra wasn't casting a spell, and he relaxed.

She got her clothes from the pantry and dressed. "We have to leave before her allies get here."

"How?" Ty asked. "She used a migration spell to travel here. I don't even know where I am."

"Lavtia. Or maybe Germany. Let's check her library for her spell book."

They searched fruitlessly through the library. Sierra stripped and was a werewolf. She sniffed around, barking at a shelf. Ty examined it. Nothing there. Sierra reared up and took a book in her mouth. Ty found a smaller book hidden in a hole cut out of the bigger book. He flipped through it. Her book of spells, including migration spells.

"We got it. Can you cast spells like these?"

Sierra pulled her clothes on. "No, I'm not that powerful. You can. You killed a vampire witch. Hurry. Her allies are almost here."

Ty selected a spell he could pronounce. He took Sierra's hand so she would be sure to travel with him. He thought of his apartment in Charleston as he whispered the words. The world blurred as he finished and they were in his living room. Home.

Sierra smiled at him. "I owe you my life." Ty's favorite fantasy began unrolling in his mind, newly featuring a hot werewolf girlfriend who was grateful to him. She shook his hand, squeezing it gently between hers. Her brown eyes stared intently into his hazel eyes. "If you're going to be a monster hunter, I'd like to be your partner."

Ty nodded dumbly.

She squeezed his hand again and smiled happily. "Deal, partner. May I use your phone? I want to call my wife and tell her I'm safe."