As the sun began its slow decent towards the horizon a warm, pink-coloured glow filled Vicki and Henry's motel room. Vicki collapsed melodramatically back in to the bed and clumsily kicked off her boots. "Oh my god, my feet are killing me" she groaned as she lay spread-eagled and exhausted, "I haven't walked that much in forever."

Henry was suffering too. Mike's body was aching all over after their day-trip to the zoo. He put his hands on his hips and leaned backwards to stretch his spine. He wouldn't miss the pain that came with inhabiting an aging body. Experiencing the pleasures of spending the day with Vicki however, would be something he would miss forever. He sat on the end of the bed and picked up one of her sweaty, sock-covered feet and gently began to rub. "I can't thank you enough Vicki. Today was magical."

Vicki sighed contently from the bed. "Well, if Dr Sagara doesn't have any news by morning, then I guess I'll just have to think up something new and fun for us to do tomorrow."

"As wonderful as that sounds..." Henry took a deep breath, "If Bettie is unable to find a way to reverse the spell soon I fear we'll need to take drastic action to rectify the situation."

Vicki sat up abruptly. "Drastic action? What exactly do you mean by drastic action?"

Henry sighed. He felt an argument brewing - what a way to ruin such a wonderful day. "I mean if we can't reverse the spell, then we may need to look at alternatives. I dread to think we may need to call upon the use of dark magic to get this situation undone." The thought of having to kill Mike also flickered in Henry's mind, but he would never mention it aloud. Vicki was too blinded by the loyalty that she felt for her ex-partner. She'd never forgive Henry for harming a hair on Celluci's head, even if he did deserve it. Besides, killing Celluci would result in Henry being stuck in his mortal body for the rest of his days.

"Or we could just..." Vicki shrugged then folded her arms across her chest, "oh gee...I don't know...talk to Mike... try to reason with him, find out about the spell."

Henry shook his head. "It's been two day's Vicki. He's had a taste of power, and I doubt very much he's going to want to just give that up now."

"Ahh.. but I'm a woman." She gave him a sly grin. "I have my own special powers. I can be very influential when I need to be."

"Ohh I know first hand just how influential you can be." Henry grinned back. "But somehow... I think it's precisely why we're in this mess to begin with."

"Ahem? Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?"

"What he's done is reprehensible but despite my intense dislike of Detective Celluci I do feel a little sorry for the man. Not just because he's a pitiful, pathetic human being..." Henry knew he was being dramatic, but saying such wonderfully horrid things made him feel better. He paused and held back a smile before continuing. "...but you've emasculated the man time and time again. I can't help but wonder if he just wanted to take a little power trip and show you who's boss."

Vicki scoffed loudly. "I never emasculated him! He just never liked the fact that I was a better cop than he was. It's not my fault he needs my help all the time."

"Oh and you never needed his help? To question his abilities as a police detective is no different to questioning the size of his penis." Henry looked down and shrugged with a half smile. "Not that you'd be wrong to question of course..." He bit his bottom lip to stifle his sarcastic smile.

Vicki harrumphed. "So this is all my fault is it? How come he took your body then huh? Sounds personal to me."

"Oh he's jealous of me too of course" Henry replied with a smug grin as he tried not to laugh. "I mean... who wouldn't want to be Henry Fitzroy?"

"Oh!" Vicki blew him a raspberry. "God you're so full of yourself."

Henry laughed and pounced, pinning Vicki playfully to the bed. "Perhaps you would rather be full of me?" he asked with an intense, lusty smirk.

"When you get your body back...maybe." She grinned then bit gently on her bottom lip.

Henry laughed and sat back up. "So sex with me last night really was that bad?"

"No" Vicki replied with a shrug. "I'd just prefer the next time to be with you, the real you."

He reached over to play with a strand of her hair. "Are you sure about that?"

Vicki leaned in and gave him a gentle peck on the lips. "Absolutely."

Henry wanted to say I'll believe it when I see it, but instead he smiled. He wasn't about to start another argument. Only time would tell how Vicki would behave once he was back in his own body. "So what's for dinner?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Hmm pizza... or pasta... maybe even both." Vicki licked her lips - her mouth watering as she began to crave a combination of rich tomato, herbs and garlic. "I know a nice Italian place that delivers."

Henry climbed to his feet. "Well, given that this could possibly be my last night as a human, I must indulge in a fine bottle of red. Will you join me?"

"Hell yeah" Vicki replied enthusiastically, sitting up in the bed again.

"There is a liquor store at the end of the block." Henry turned and walked towards the door. "I'll head out quickly before the sun sets."

"Hey, whoa, you sure it's safe?"

"I won't be gone long."

"I'll come with you." She reached for her boots and began to pull them back on.

"You most certainly will not. I doubt very much the Detective has any idea where we are, but I won't risk you being out after dark."

"Fine" she agreed, "but only if you pick me up a tub of chocolate ice-cream from the convenience store downstairs on your way back."

Henry smiled. "Whatever Milady wants, Milady gets."

"Now stop fucking with me and tell me where Fitzroy is!" Mike had Sinead by the neck, pinning her to the floor of the magic shop basement. The sun had only just set, but Mike had awoken with an unrelenting sense of determination.

"Fine" she hissed uncomfortably, stunned by the rude awakening. "If you absolutely must know, I'll tell you where he is." Sinead gave Mike a brutal shove then stood, covering her naked body with her robe before heading upstairs. Mike, still naked, followed closely behind

Sinead sighed as she sat down at her reading table, picking up a handful of small sticks and scattering them across its surface. A subtle smile spread across her face as she analysed the results. She reached for a notepad by the desk and scribbled down an address before handing it to him. "This is where you'll find him. Go, have your fun and games. I have other business to must attend to."

"Fine. Whatever." Mike replied as he pulled on Henry's crinkled and well-worn clothes before snatching the address from Sinead.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do..." quipped the vampire-witch. "Or perhaps that should be...don't do anything I would do."

Mike growled and turned his back, quickly heading out the front door.

With an evil smile on her face Sinead waited until Mike was out of sight, then casually got to her feet, got dressed and exited the magic shop.

Mike raced to his destination on foot. Fitzroy was close. So close that Mike thought he could even smell the bastard. As he barged through pedestrians and dodged speeding cars he found himself wondering what exactly he'd do once he got his hands on Fitzroy. What would he do with Vicki for that matter? He knew she'd throw herself in front of a moving train to protect His Royal Pain-in-the-Ass.

Why the fuck did I even do this in the first place? I can't physically hurt him. I don't want to run the risk of having to look at his fucking face in the mirror for the rest of eternity.

Growling with frustration Mike ran even faster. He reached the building and got in the lift. The shiny mirrored elevator doors closed in front of him, forcing him to stare at Fitzroy's reflection. His fangs were snarling beneath his top lip, and his eyes were as black as night. Despite feeling the urge to slam his fist into the reflection he was grinning as got out of the lift.

I'll get Vicki out of the way, then I'll make him forget. I'll make him forget that he ever met her. I'll make him forget that he ever met me! I'll wipe his fucking mind and tell him to get the hell out of Toronto. Then I'll make that bitch Sinead get me my body back. With time, Vicki will get over Henry and then she'll be mine again.

Mike knew that the brain in Henry's head, his brain, could be controlled by the power of suggestion. He only hoped that it would stick even when this little body-swap spell was broken.

A life without Henry Fitzroy – it's exactly what Mike wanted, and it's precisely what Vicki needed. He'd get Vicki away from Fitzroy first and then work his magic.

He walked down the hallway, scanning the numbers on the doors. Mike took a deep breath, readied himself then knocked on the door.

Henry looked nervously up into the night sky as he hurried back from the liquor store. He glanced down at the paper-bagged bottle of wine in his left hand and knew he'd taken far too long to make a decision. He hoped the sixty dollar bottle of Vietti 2006 Barbera d'Alba Scarrone would be the most appropriate wine to accompany an Italian feast.

He scanned the faces of pedestrians and motorists as best he could, looking for Celluci. The dark sky and dull street-lights made it difficult to identify anyone in particular. Henry looked through the scattered crowd, half expecting to see his own face staring back at him from the shadows. As Henry increased his pace towards the motel he remembered Vicki had given him a simple errand to run. While Henry did not wish to leave her alone for any longer than necessary, he certainly didn't want to return empty handed. His lady would have her chocolate ice-cream.

Standing outside the brightly-lit convenience store Henry peered inside. A white, podgy, balding man sat behind the counter reading a magazine. A couple of patrons were perusing the aisles for items. Henry looked over his shoulder once more before deciding it safe to enter the store.

Pushing open the glass door a small bronze bell chimed above its frame to announce his entry. The store clerk looked up from his magazine, gave Henry a courtesy glance then returned to his reading.

The store was modern but small. The ceiling was lined with a series of fluorescent lights that accentuated the store's many brightly-coloured products. One bulb in particular flickered above the front counter – the clerk seemingly oblivious to the annoying strobe-light affect it had on the store. The back wall was panelled with a series of refrigerators and freezers - their glass doors coated in a thin layer of condensation.

Henry tentatively walked down an aisle, taking the opportunity to look over the many items that were available for sale. While he had purchased many consumables for visitors and companions in the past, he'd never been quite so fascinated before. He was salivating as he looked at the pictures on packaging, curious to taste the different flavours they held within. He had to fight the urge to buy one of everything to take back to the hotel to sample.

No. It's late I must get back to Vicki. It can wait. Tomorrow is another day.

Hurrying over to the freezer Henry searched through the many varieties of ice-cream, looking for a flavour that would appease Vicki's cravings. He eventually reached in and picked up a small cylindrical tub titled Ultra Chocolate. He turned and took a step down the aisle towards the register when the bell above the door rang again.

Henry was immediately suspicious of the man that entered the store. He was relatively young, early twenties perhaps. He was wearing baggy jeans and red-and-white sneakers. A black-hooded jacket and sunglasses covered his face and head. While Henry could normally smell toxic substances in someone's blood stream, he didn't need his vampire senses to identify a junkie when he saw one. The man was jittery, on edge and twitchy as hell. He kept his head low and his hands in his pockets as he eyed the candy shelves that ran along the front counter. The junkie sniffled nervously and shuffled in place - the clerk too engrossed in his magazine to even notice his presence.

Henry took a few more quiet steps towards the end of the aisle. His gut instincts told him this man was up to something, but even before Henry had a moment to consider how to react, the junkie pulled a pistol from his pocket and was pointing it at the store clerk.

"Gimme all the fuckin' money in the register. Now!"

The overweight clerk was at his feet in an instant, his jaw wide open with fear and shock.

The junkie leaned in further and waved the gun in the clerks face. "Get a fucking move-on fatso or I'll fuckin' kill you!"

Henry instinctively took a step towards the man and spoke in a calm yet deep voice. "You don't want to do this."

The junkie spun around and pointed the gun at Henry. "Step the fuck back. I'm warning you man, I'll fucking shoot you if you don't step away from me right now." His eyes darted back and forth between Henry and the clerk.

"Just turn around and walk out of here" continued Henry in a soft voice. "No one needs to get hurt." Henry took a brazen step forward with his right arm outstretched. "Just put down the g-"

The man flinched and pulled the trigger twice.

Vicki was getting anxious as she got off the phone from the Italian restaurant. It was well and truly dark outside and Henry had not returned from the liquor store. She was pacing nervously back and forth, biting her nails when finally there was a knock at the door. She hurried over with a smile, feeling like a giddy school-girl, excited by Henry's return. She called out as she reached for the handle. "Hey I hope you remembered the-"

Vicki stopped abruptly as she opened the door to an unexpected visitor. "Sinead?" she asked with a confused expression.

"Oh Vicki. I am so sorry to intrude, but I had to track you down. I need to talk to you about Detective Celluci."

"You need to talk to me about Mike?" Vicki was confused for a moment. "How did you find us?" It slowly began to dawn on Vicki as to why Sinead was here. She shook her her head as the pieces of the puzzle began to fit together. "You did the spell for him didn't you? It was you all along. I should have known Mike would have to stoop to your level to do a spell like this!"

"I didn't want to do the spell! He made me do it. I'm sorry. I really am." Sinead frowned and tried to look sincere as she stood in the doorway. "Please, let's be civilized. Can I come in so we can talk about this?"

"I don't believe it for a minute" replied Vicki. Her gut was telling her something was wrong, but the witch had information they needed. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head but reluctantly waved Sinead into the room. "Mike couldn't make anyone do anything they didn't want to do... well...not without holding a gun to their head."

"Fine." Sinead rolled her eyes. "Maybe I too wanted to teach Henry a little lesson in humanity, but it wasn't my idea. I didn't make Michael want to do the spell. That was not my doing. All I'm guilty of is refusing to turn away a man in need." She sighed and looked around before turning her attention back to Vicki. "Speaking of which...where is Henry? It's been far too long."

"He'll be back any minute" replied Vicki as she stood in the middle of the room with her hands on her hips. "If you've got something to say then say it now. Unlike me, I doubt he'll give you the chance to explain yourself. I'm guessing he'll probably want to kill you the second he sees you."

"I made a mistake!" Sinead melodramatically threw her arms up in the air. "I thought this spell would just be a little bit of harmless fun, but Michael is enraged. He's going to do something terrible. I fear Henry is at great risk in human form."

"And where is Mike now?"

"He demanded I help him find Henry, so I sent him on a wild goose chase then hurried over here to warn you."

"Because you're just full of good intentions aren't you?" Vicki shook her head with disappointment. "If you're so worried about Henry's well-being, then why don't you just break the damn spell?"

"I can't!" Sinead replied defensively. "Mike has the crystal that binds the spell.. and I don't know what he's done with it."

Vicki was still shaking her head with disbelief. "Well if you had the power to find me and Henry, then why can't you use your mojo to find the crystal?"

"It doesn't work like that. The craft has rules and limitations. It's like trying to use magic on magic."

Vicki scowled and folded her arms across her chest. "So what do you want us to do about it?"

"Nothing." Sinead exhaled loudly. "This is my fault. I just wanted to warn you and Henry. He's in danger. I feel obligated to protect him."

"How nice of you to give a damn" sneered Vicki. "I'd offer you a drink while we wait for him, but well, I just don't like you. In fact, how about you go back to your little magic shop and we'll come and find you if we need you."

"What's the hurry?" Sinead flopped down on the hotel room sofa. "I was just thinking how nice it is to have the opportunity for us to talk... woman to woman... without Henry here. He's always at your side... like a well-trained golden retriever. Doesn't that clingy-ness just drive you mad?" She cringed and pull a face. "He used to be like that with me you know."

Vicki laughed out loud. "Oh I heard all about how clingy he was, but it's so sad that you needed magic to make Henry want you."

"I didn't come here to fight Vicki. I want us to be friends."

"Yeah well I'm not in the mood for pillow fights and talking about boys."

"I need to be honest with you about something Vicki." Sinead took a deep breath. "May I speak frankly?"

Vicki was standing steadfast in the middle the motel room, her arms still defensively folded across her chest. She didn't trust Sinead as far as she could throw her, and she no idea what the witch was up to. "I'd rather you didn't."

Ignoring her, Sinead continued anyway. "I want you to know that I've grown quite fond of Michael these past few days. I think I'm falling in love with him."

"Gee" scoffed Vicki, "I wonder if that's got something to do with him looking like Henry?"

"No... I can see beyond his physical exterior. The Detective is a wonderful man. There is only one problem..."

"By all means... enlighten me" Vicki replied, glancing briefly at the door, hoping Henry would walk through at any moment.

"He's still in love with you. Obsessed with you in fact. They're all obsessed with you."

Vicki shrugged. "What can I say? It's probably because I'm not a soulless vindictive bitch like you."

Sinead remained calm and unperturbed. "What makes you think you're so special Vicki? Do you think the whole world revolves around you?"

"Aww if I didn't know any better I'd say you're jealous"

Sinead huffed. "I don't understand why they all want you. You're nothing but a washed-up, dried-out has-been. You're a fucking vamp-hag, that's all you are."

Vicki laughed out loud. "Oh, by all means, don't hold back, tell me how you really feel!" She paced angrily in front of the sofa and glared at the witch. "Just how stupid do you think I am Sinead? Did you honesty think I'd believe a single word that came out of your mouth? Did you think Henry would fall for that fake I'm sorry line? Or maybe you thought you could come here and make him jealous by pretending to be in love with Mike?" Vicki rolled her eyes. "I mean come on... why don't you stop with the bullshit and tell me why you're really here?"

Sinead calmly got to her feet, looking down as she straightened her skirt. "If you must know...there is really only one reason I'm here..." She looked up and met Vicki's gaze with a smile. "I came for you."

"Oh you shouldn't have!" gushed Vicki sarcastically. "No really...you shouldn't have... I don't swing that way."

Sinead stepped in close to Vicki, looking in to her eyes with a predatory stare. "Don't flatter yourself Vicki. The sooner you're out of the picture... the sooner they will realise that it's me they really want."

"What are you going to do?" Vicki scoffed. "Cast a little spell and turn me in to a frog?" She laughed quietly under her breath then shook her head. "I'm not afraid of you Sinead."

The witch's eyes turned black as she bared her fangs menacingly. "You should be."

The first bullet scraped across the left side of Henry's scalp. It burned flesh and scorched hair. He stumbled backwards but didn't fall. It wasn't until the second bullet slammed deep in to his rib cage that he remembered he was in the mortal body of Mike Celluci.

In a state of disbelief Henry crumpled to the floor. The bottle of red wine made a dull cracking sound as it fell to the ground and shattered inside the brown paper bag. The small tub of ice-cream fell from Henry's grip. It bounced and thudded across the floor before rolling slowly back and forth in a half-circled arc. Henry rolled to his right side and tried to reach for it – not wanting it to melt before he could give it to Vicki. Shock-waves of agony bolted through his chest and out to his fingertips and toes – a pain so overbearing that he couldn't even muster a scream.

His cheek was quickly growing cold as it pressed against the harsh white tile of the convenience store floor. With his head to the ground Henry was forced to watch his assailant's red and white sneakers turn and run - the little bronze bell above the door clanging once more as the man opened the door and fled.

With his ears ringing from the gunshot, Henry could only hear the deep thudding of his heart-beat. Yet even louder was the panicked sound of his rapid breathing as it rushed back and forth through his nostrils. Adrenalin began to pump it's way through his wounded body. His pain began to dissipate, only to be replaced by shock and fear.

This isn't real. This isn't happening!

A trickle of warm blood began to dribble along his jawbone. It grew colder as it continued its gradual descent down over the bridge of his nose to eventually drip upon the floor. It tickled. He wanted to wipe it with the back of his hand, but in his paralysed state the blood continued to flow. He could feel it gushing from the gunshot wound in his chest. It soaked through the thin cotton of his shirt – making the fabric stick to his skin like warm wet glue. He watched the blood continue it's journey, pooling in a puddle of crimson red in contrast to the clinical, bleach-white tiles.

I don't want to die. No, not like this, not now!

More feet moved in to Henry's field of vision - black business shoes and a pair of white loafers that shuffled erratically next to him. Most curiously Henry took a moment to note how careful they were not to step in his blood. Mike's blood. People spoke to him mumbled voices that he could no longer hear - no doubt begging him to respond as they rolled him on to his back and shook him by the shoulders.

It was too late. Henry knew that now. He stared past the faces of the unfamiliar store patrons to the failing fluorescent light on the convenience store ceiling. The bulb began to flicker in unison with Henry's tired eyes. With each blink it guided his journey from light to dark. It soothed his fears. It eased his pain. And as the final synapses fired in Henry's brain, the fluorescent bulb twinkled once more before surrendering to the dark.

Henry Fitzroy took one last breath, and as his human heart came to a slow and graceful stop, one final thought would follow him to eternity.

Vicki, I love you. I always will.