Possessed men with gleaming white teeth, clutching shivs, swords and knives entered the tent. They surrounded the unarmed men determined to carry out Rosemary’s dark intention. Van gritted her teeth, and as she did, Rosemary advanced on her with a look of deranged hunger in her eyes. “You’ll make a delicious appetizer right before the main course,” she whispered.

Van drew back knowing she could not cleave an Everblood to death. Swallowing hard, she felt her heart nearly stop as she prepared for her imminent doom. Rosemary loomed closer until a blinding blast of white light filled the eyes of Henry and her assailant. “Sorry, Rosemary,” Archibald said, laughing from the rafters. “Dinner time has been canceled.”

He stood beside the collapsed body of the clown who was operating the spotlight and used his good arm to direct it onto Rosemary with full power. Rosemary moaned and froze in place, the light seemed to have a paralyzing effect on her.

“Archibald!” Van exclaimed in joy. “Thank you!”

“No thank you, kid,” he said gallantly. “I was darn near ready to become that vampire’s house husband.”

“I think they all were!” Van responded.

“I hope Sadie Belle found Cyrus and they’re doing alright!”

“We are!” Sadie responded with a dazed Cyrus hanging off her.

“Henry,” Cyrus responded looking at the beardless female knight. “You’re...”

“Dead,” Not Nick said, having scaled the stage. His smile reflected in the spotlight like a gleaming bent knife and the sword he sported matched its sharpness perfectly.

“Get back,” Van warned, leveling the sword between Cyrus, Sadie and Nick.

“What are you going to do?” Not Nick said with a sneer. “On my word, the shadow criminals in your men’s bodies will kill everyone and there’s nothing you can do to stop them.”

“Oh is there?” Archibald said from above. “Oh ladies!”

From all around the tent, the town’s women both young and old entered. They surrounded the shadow criminals armed with shovels and axes, ready to take on the possessed men.

“Archibald…when did you..?” Van stammered.

“While you were snooping around, my lady knight. Sadie Belle and I spread the word of rebellion. Word travels fast in a small town.”

“That’s great and all,” Not Nick said, “but I hope you know that any damage you inflict on us will hurt your precious lovers, relatives and friends. Cut me down with that sword, and you’ll cut poor Nick down too.”

“Oh Nick!” Sadie Belle exclaimed. “Please no…”

Not Nick drew his sword and Van followed, but right before they were about to duel, Sadie ran in between Not Nick and Henry.

“Please don’t hurt him,” she cried to Henry, her big eyes trembling. “I love him!”

Sadie turned around to face the man who was about to cut her down. She reached her hands out and grabbed Nick’s shoulders. He froze in place, petrified by the sudden touch.

“There are so many things I never got to tell you when you were still Nick,” she said as her body began to tremble and tears ran down her face. “I’m sorry for bossing you around, and I’m sorry I’m not as curvaceous as Rosemary. I understand fully why you went to her, but please understand I have something Rosemary will never have.”

Sadie Belle drew in close to Nick, her cheeks flushed and her eyes shining. Her lips shook as she spoke. “I have a burning desire for you that shapes my love in ways that a shapily body could never match. You could run this sword through me and I would take it, if it meant bringing you back so I could die in your arms.”

“Wow, this girl is intense,” Archibald remarked. “Maybe a little therapy is in order after this.”

Sadie Belle stood on her tip toes and kissed Nick right on the lips. She grabbed his head and pulled him in close, causing him to nearly lose his balance. Vanessa sighed when she saw this absolute display of passion, nearly forgetting she was in a life threatening situation. It was the kind of love she hoped to experience one day.

Nick reeled back from shock. His mind was in a haze. He felt his cheeks, a redness had flushed over them.

“Nick,” Sadie asked looking shyly up at her former love.

“Sadie…” He said with sudden clarity. “I”m…back?”

Sadie’s eyes filled with love and tears as she embraced him full on. “Nick!” She cried. “I can’t believe it’s you.”

“I can’t believe its me either. But you brought me back.”

“Did you…” Sadie stammered “Did you hear everything?”

“I did,” Nick said tearing up. “And I’m finally ready. Please marry me, Sadie Belle.”

“Nick…” she exclaimed with absolute joy and slumped in his arms.

Nick laughed as he held his limp girlfriend and tried to straighten her body up. “Are you ok?”

“Now I feel like I’ve floated off to some other dimension,” she said softly.

Archibald cried out in his nasally voice. “Ladies if you can hear me. Grab your man and remind him how much you love him. There’s nothing more pure and genuine than a woman’s love!”

Soon, men were being exorcised by women, left and right. And as the criminal souls departed for the shadow lands, the stunned Rosemary groaned. Her now beady eyes were still blinded and widened like the eyes of a decaying body and her tongue hung limp. “No,” she cried. “My plan to build an army for the Everbloods…it’ssss gone.”

Suddenly, a deep, guttural voice thundered from underneath the ground. “Rosemary, we won’t forget your promise…You said we could have these bodies.”

“But…b-b-b,” the Everblood stuttered. “I didn’t know of this flaw. I thought it was as flawless as my looks.”

“You weren’t…” the voice shot back. “Rosemary, we won’t forget this…”

The lady vampire staggered back as a large shadow loomed underneath her. Wrapping its arms around Rosemary was a large shadow hand that manhandled the singer. It squeezed her tight as her eyes budged. Without warning, it pulled her back into the demonic realm from where she came.

Everyone was dead silent until Archibald made his way down. “What a ripoff,” he remarked. “No encore!”

***

The next day, the air had returned to the mild dryness of summer with only a slight breeze. The clear blue sky reflected with the blueness of an angel’s iris and the sun returned to warm the earth. Archibald, Cyrus and Vanessa all stood on the edge of town. Archibald was in his dark robe, Cyrus was in a brand new prince outfit that Archibald had brought with him, complete with a dapper curved cape and gray tunic, and Van still sported her chain mail but without her beard and with an uncertain expression on her face. Sadie Belle and Nick stood with a crowd of grateful men and women, many of which had been reunited and were beaming with pride. “I can’t thank you enough,” Sadie said, her eyes full of mirth as she clung to her engaged boyfriend. “You’ve truly bought happiness to this town again. I hope that Rosemary is gone for good.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Archibald said, “Everbloods are notoriously hard to kill. But if she shows her face in your town again, send us a parcel with a strongly worded letter.”

“Strongly worded sounds like me all right,” Sadie said, hugging Nick. “But I’ll work on not being so harsh in the future.”

“And I’ll never let myself get seduced by an evil demon lady again,” Nick said. “I’ve learned to remain steadfast and true to my woman. Home is indeed where the heart is.”

Archibald let out a squawky laugh. “Hey that’s what I always say.”

After everyone said their ‘take cares’ and ‘goodbyes,’ the trio fell silent once again. Once they had gotten completely out of range and walked through the neighboring woods, Cyrus broke his silence. “So…Sir Henry. How about telling us a little about yourself? If that is your real name…”

“Yeah, I’m a bit curious about you too, lady knight,” Archibald responded. “Especially because I’ve never seen a lady knight before.”

Vanessa bit her lip and looked away. Her second worst fear had come true and she could not escape it. “My name is not Henry…” she said, her voice shifting from her bold knight voice to an accented feminine voice. “It’s Vanessa. Vanessa Montero.”