Magician's Choice, chapter 1: A sequel to "Fixated," a "Let's Spit Up" fanfiction.

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Chapter 1: Attacks

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This fanfic is based on the work of a gifted animator, Liam Vickers. Look him up; you won't be sorry. I derive no remuneration from this story.

Please read and review!

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Chapter 1: Attacks

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Di was getting angry again, and Klied didn't know what to do about it. As usual.

Ever since they'd hooked up with the hunter girl, Angela Sanchez, Di, his sister and lover, had had spells of jealousy, each one seemingly worse than the last. She was absolutely convinced that her brother / lover was head over heels, madly in love with the girl sworn to kill wendigos. And she and Klied, just coincidentally, happened to be wendigos, shape-shifting eaters of human flesh. And Angela knew it.

It would be hard to imagine a more awkward arrangement.

No, actually, he thought, it wouldn't be: on more than one occasion, Angela had indicated that she would definitely spread her legs for him. Needless to say, Di didn't care for that notion one bit.

So, yeah, that would definitely move "awkward" several light-years in the wrong direction.

Klied never saw any of this forthcoming. Here he was, in an incestuous relationship with his sister, and it was...so….wonderful. He didn't want to lose that.

But then, technically, they weren't really brother and sister anymore. Ever since they'd killed the skinwalker, and Klied had drunk its blood, he'd been conscious of a, a difference in him. He was no longer an ordinary wendigo anymore. Now, he was….something else. What, he didn't know. And he was afraid to find out.

The two were currently in a hotel room, right next door to Angela. "You love her," Di practically spat. "You wanna fuck her. And you know she'd do it in a heartbeat. So why don't you? I'm…" She was turned away from him; he heard a sniffle. "I'm just...in the way…"

He went over to her and took her in his arms. She was stiff as a board. "I'm...I'm just your sister. You don't need me. I'll, I'll just...leave, and, and the two of you... I'll...I'll go...somewhere..."

"Never, Di. You hear me? Never cubed, to the tenth power. Remember your promise? You, yourself, said I'd go nowhere without you. So I'm holding you to that. Never leave me. Never ever. Yes, I admit, I care about Angela. But only as a friend. You're the one I love. If I haven't made that crystal clear by now, well, I don't know what more I can do."

She turned towards him and softened in his grasp. Tears were running down her face. This bothered him to a degree he hadn't thought possible. Di had always been the strong one, the one who'd taken care of him, ever since they'd been kids. Impulsive, yes, and highly emotional, but strong.

She put her hands over her face. "I, I'm sorry, Klied. I know I'm being a real bi—*"

He put his finger over her mouth. "Don't say it. I don't even wanna hear that word, not applied to you. Ever. I don't like hearing the one I love insulted, even if it's by themselves."

She smiled, drying her tears, putting her arms around him, and, laying her head on his shoulder, held him even closer. "Okay, I'll be good." She paused. "Wanna step out for a bite to eat? My treat." Meaning she'd find the victim, the target, and make the kill.

"Sure, just let put on my—*"

At that exact moment, Angela burst into the room. "Hey, you two, I got us tickets—* Oh!" She saw them embracing...more closely than siblings normally did. "Did...did I, er, interrupt anything?" At least they still had all their clothes on. This time. Angela was aware of the pair's intimate and somewhat unorthodox—by human standards—relationship. At first, she'd been kinda grossed out by it—okay, a lot grossed out by it—but finally figured, hey, wendigos. Who knew what was normal for them? Besides, these were her friends. She was perfectly willing to kill anybody that looked crosseyed at 'em. "I mean, the bus doesn't leave 'till ten." She checked her cell for the time. "I mean, you got time…"

Di turned to Klied, a bit shyly, it seemed to him. That also was very unlike her. She took his hand in hers. "Klied? We do have, uh, time..."

So while the two wendigos in the next room made passionate love to each other, Angela went over the plan, making sure there were no flaws in it. They needed IDs, birth certificates, social security cards, the works. They needed a backstory to get that. References, maybe? Well, she could be one. Okay; two young orphans whose foster parents had been killed by wendigos. That would explain their knowledge of the flesh eaters, and their motivation: they wanted to join the Hunters' Organization out of a desire for revenge.

In a sense, Angela was betraying the Organization, but in another sense not. She'd come to the conclusion, based on how her amulet reacted to the yee naaldlooshii, that her parents had not been killed by wendigos. Enchanted by a tuft of strange fur she'd found in her house, it had reacted only to the skinwalker. Not Klied or Di. Not wendigos. So her grudge wasn't with them.

(Except, she reminded herself, now her amulet did react...to Klied, who'd drunk the monster's blood. So what could that mean?)

So she'd made a deal with them. Help her find the specific skinwalker that killed her parents, and help her kill it. In return, she'd help them get legit IDs, and even a position within the Hunter Organization. "And besides," she'd pressed, doing her best to sell the idea, "once you're members of the Organization, you'll both have an income."

And Klied and Di were her friends now, flesh-eating monsters or not. Angela didn't have many friends, even in the Organization ….face it, girl, you're lonely.

And you're especially lonely for the cute guy in the next room.

The one who's right now getting all up inside another girl.

You wish it was you. She leaned back from the table, crossing her arms and sighing. First guy I've ever really been interested in, and he's taken. Men really are like parking places.

Just then, she heard Di moan, a sound of satiation. Okay, enough is enough. She went into the room's small shower, stripped off, and, remembering that night she'd helped Klied save Di's life—that night they'd all spent together, naked, in Klied's bunk—applied a remedy of her own. And, at the moment of climax, whispered his name.

…

Di sighed, a sound of pure satisfaction. "Don't know where you learned to do all that, but wherever it was, I'm eternally grateful." She was lying, naked, next to Klied in their shared bed.

"I don't know, either, Di. It just seems to come to me, like an instinct or something."

"You...you think it might've been the skinwalker? You said you seem to've gotten its memories. Or something."

She could feel him shake his head. "Don't know. But I doubt it. What would a skinwalker know about human or wendigo sex?"

He was lying on his back, with her pressed up against him. How did I ever live without this before?—she asked herself. The feel of him, the scent of him...he was like a living tranquilizer.

And, although Di had offered / threatened to leave, leave him to Angela, she somehow knew she, herself, wouldn't last a week without him.

So was this selfish of her? How could it not be?

She remembered all those fights they used to have, the names she used to call him. True, they hadn't been serious fights, but now...now she couldn't imagine even having those.

She couldn't imagine life without him. "Klied?"

"Hm?" He sounded half-asleep.

"Make me a promise."

"Sure. What is it?"

She giggled. "You don't even know what it is, but you'll promise it anyway?"

Now he turned fully towards her, his expression serious. "Di. I told you I'd do anything for you. I meant it. So spit it out."

"Promise me...promise me that you'll never leave me. Never. Even if I leave you, for some reason...promise me you'll come find me. Find me, throw me over your shoulder or somethin,' put me in a sack, and drag me back home."

He pulled her head around to face him and kissed her tenderly. "That one's pretty easy. Of course I will."

"No matter how mean I am to you, or Angela."

"No matter."

Pause. "It's just...I've seen the way she looks at you, when you aren't looking. I know she wants you. Wants you badly."

"Yeah, well, my heart's already taken,' as the old saying goes."

She was silent for a moment. Then, "Klied? It...this hurts to say, but I have to say it...it may be a good idea—tactically speaking, I mean, of course—to, to let her have you. Once or twice, I mean."

"Huh?" What brought that on?

"I mean, we'll be going down to South Dakota, the very heart of the Hunter Organization. Angela's old knife—and amulet—were defective; they couldn't detect wendigos. But we'll be right in the middle of a group of people whose weapons aren't defective."

He saw where this was going. "Di. We won't be anywhere close to the Hunter's HQ. Angela arranged for us to get a room miles away. So that shouldn't be a problem.

"And no, I am not gonna sleep with her just...just so she'll, what? Protect us? Or something like that?" She looked away. "She's smart enough to know what I would be doing, anyway, and, and she's just not that sort of person. You know that." He leaned back. "The only way I'd ever sell myself like that, would be if you were in danger. And you won't be. I'm stronger now; you've seen." And they all had. Being part skinwalker had conveyed upon him powers and abilities he barely had names for. "You protected me when we were children. Now it's my turn." He kissed her. "Now let me have my turn."

…

Pierre, South Dakota: Population: 13,000 and change. One of the least populated state capitals in the US. And the home of the Hunter Organization.

The motel they checked into had seen better days, but it wasn't so bad. The rooms were clean, at least, and they had decent cable.

Angela had arranged for them to get adjoining rooms. "And here's our cover story, just in case. Our last battle with the wendigo," she emphasized, "You both got covered in wendigo blood. That stuff doesn't wash off easy. So, if some hunter happens by, and his or her amulet goes off, that's what we'll say. Now." And she proceeded to read them a grocery list of things they needed to do. "Oh, and I'll need a lock of your hair, Klied."

"Huh? What for?"

"We're all getting specially attuned knives, and amulets. But yours are gonna be attuned to skinwalkers." That had been their deal: she would—at least on paper—continue on being a hunter of wendigos, but they'd help her hunt down the specific yee naaldlooshii that had killed her parents. "And I don't have that bit of fur from so long ago. So, give, already." He yanked out a piece of his hair. She glanced down at his groin, a mischievous expression on her face. "You know, it'd work better if you got it from—*"

"Make do with this." He glanced over at Di, who was quite deliberately and obviously looking away. Fists balled up by her side.

"Killjoy."

"You bet."

The taxi carried them back to the hotel. They'd been able to fill out most of the forms online, but some things had to be done in person. Like the ceremony for the knives and amulets. Fortunately, nobody in the small chapel seemed to have any means of detecting wendigos. Klied might not register anymore, but Di sure would have. "They'll be ready tomorrow. Oh, one other thing. I made you two an appointment tomorrow afternoon. With the Justice of the Peace."

"Whu?"

"The Justice of the Peace. Once you get your ID's, an' are all official and everything, you two are getting hitched." At their surprised expressions, "What? Didn't I tell you?"

Klied turned to a stunned-looking Di. "Di, I think we're in the grip of an irresistible force."

"Damn straight you are."

…..

That night, however, things took a turn for the worse. The much worse.

Angela was in her room, right next to the one she'd reserved for Klied and Di, trying to see if there was anything good on TV. It wasn't until you lost something that you realized how much it meant to you, and she really had missed "America's Got Talent."

But finally, the infomercials started coming on, and she got ready to go to bed. She was already in her pajamas, and snuggled down in the bed, trying not to think about what the two in the next room were probably doing.

Suddenly, she was aware of a presence in her room. She glanced up to see Klied, of all people, standing by the window. What gave? "Klied? What are you doing here?" Not that she exactly objected, but she wondered how he'd gotten in. Maybe those weird skinwalker powers?

He just chuckled and moved closer. "Why, I came to see you, Angela. Why else would I be here?"

"W-what about Di?" Something wasn't right. This...whoever or whatever this was, wasn't acting like Klied.

"What about her?" And with that, he leaped on her.

The next room: Klied and Di had just decided infomercials weren't their thing when Klied suddenly started up out of the bed. "Something's wrong," he said, to her quizzical expression. "Angela's in trouble."

Without bothering to get dressed, he dodged out of their room, and without bothering to knock, smashed Angela's door in. Di followed him, also without getting dressed.

Inside was a horrific sight: Angela, completely naked, pajamas ripped off of her, lay face down on her bed, legs spread, body pumping forward rhythmically. "MMMMPHH!" It was apparent she was trying to say something, scream maybe, but something they couldn't see was preventing her from doing so. And that same invisible something was clearly attacking her.

"Klied! Something's raping her!"

"Not for long." His expanded senses could make out a vague outline of something shoving itself up into the hunter girl.

With a single bound, he was by her side. Fool! said a voice in his mind, you cannot stop me!

"Wanna bet?" he growled, and, using the powers he'd inherited from the yee naaldlooshii, somehow reached down into the thing assaulting his friend, into its soul, and tore it off of her. He fought with it, dragging it over to the far side of the room, while Di held Angela in her arms, comforting her. The hunter girl let out a scream, then subsided into a crying fit, her face against Di's shoulder.

Let me go!

"Not a chance in hell. Which is where you're going." He reached down even farther into the monster. "You hurt my friend," he snarled, "I'm gonna suck every last ounce of soul-energy out of you."

Surprisingly, the thing seemed to go limp. Do it, then. Free me from this curse.

"Happy to oblige, asshole." And he drew all of its soul energy into himself. It was the first time Klied had ever done anything like that, and it felt...strange. Almost like it energized him, somehow. Was this, he wondered, how a skinwalker felt, after consuming someone's soul?

Must be.

He got up and approached the two on the bed. "Angela? You...I mean, I know you're not okay, but, but…you're not hurt, are you? Do we need to call an ambulance or something?" He didn't notice her flinch when he approached.

But after a long moment, during which Di held her in her arms, she nodded. "I, I know what you're trying to say, and, and, yeah, I guess I'm...okay. More or less, anyway. I mean, I'm not...not injured"

Di was still trying to comfort the hunter girl. "Uh, Angela? Did, did that thing...I mean, did it, like…" She didn't know any delicate way of putting what she was asking into words.

Angela sighed, trying to get herself under control. She was still shaking, both from fear and the reaction. "I don't think so. I think you got it, in time. I don't feel juiced up, inside." She noticed both Di and Klied wincing. "Sorry," she said. "I'll try not to be such a potty mouth." She tried to make it sound like a joke, but the tears kept coming down her face.

Klied slid onto the bed, on one knee. He took her hand in his. "You be," he said with surprising strength, "whoever you wanna be. If that means being a 'potty mouth,' then so be it." He noticed her looking at him oddly. "What is it?"

"That...that thing. It, it looked like...like you."

"Like me? Oh, Angela, I, I'm so sorry!" He swiftly backed off the bed, holding his hands up.

"Don't be. It wasn't you. I could tell. Even before it...even when I first saw it." She pulled him back down beside her, and quirked a smile. "And I know you'd never do...that. To anyone. So...just give me a little time. I'll be alright."

"Well, one thing's for sure," spoke up Di. "You're staying with us tonight."

"Oh, I couldn't!"

"Oh but you can and you will. Suppose that thing comes back? Or one like it? No, there's no question. Safety in numbers. Now come on. Uh…" It was just dawning on all of them that they were all completely naked, and the door was wide open. Di and Klied normally slept that way, and whatever had attacked Angela had ripped her pajamas into unusable rags. Klied and Di could shape-shift, but here in the heart of wendigo-hunting territory, it was better to be just plain naked. "Come on," she whispered, and checked outside the door. Nobody in the hallway; good. "Now come on." And she led them into their room.

….

Once in their room, Di had taken Angela into the small shower room for a more thorough examination. When she led her back out, to the bed where Klied was waiting, she'd placed the still-shaken Angela in between them. "Here," said Klied, "I'll sleep on the outside. That way, you know, if…" He didn't have to finish the sentence: if that thing does come back, I'll be right here to finish the job.

Di had insisted that Angela sleep in the middle. "If...if you two wanna…"Angela said hesitantly, "I mean, I can stop up my ears an' close my eyes…"

Di hugged the hunter girl, surprising Klied. "No need for that. It's...not exactly like we have any secrets from each other. I mean, you helped Klied that time when he had to, uhm, revitalize me, shall we say? Besides, I think we can do without for one night. You're okay with that, aren't you, Klied?"

"Of course." Angela came first, at least for tonight.

There was a pause. Then, Klied cleared his throat. "So...find out anything?" he asked Di.

Both their arms were around the hunter girl between them. "Nothing aside from some massive bruises. Whatever attacked her sure wasn't gentle."

"Amen to that," murmured Angela

"Angela," said Klied, "you'll never know how sorry I am this happened to you. That damned thing used my image to, to do that to you. Is...is there anything either of us can do?"

Angela smiled tiredly. "If you'd have asked me that two hours ago, I would've had a quick answer." She saw Di's expression. "Oh, not that I would have! It was just a joke! Geez Louise." She sobered. "But you sure don't have to worry about tonight of all nights... I'm...too sore."

Klied looked over at Di. "I don't suppose our 'wendigo folk remedy' would help?"

She shook her head, her short blond hair swishing back and forth. "No. Not against blunt trauma like this"

"It's okay, guys, really it is," said Angela. "Just the two of you being here, wanting to help, counts for a lot.

"I always thought I was tough, that I didn't need anybody. Tonight sure showed me how wrong I was."

…..

They were silent for a while. Klied knew sleep was probably gonna be an impossibility for any of them tonight. "But what was that thing?" Di finally asked. The elephant in the room...

Angela shook her head. "I've never heard of anything like it. My first thought was, maybe it was a ghost or, or poltergeist or something, But ghosts and poltergeists don't have physical bodies. Nothing to, uh, you know, work with." But then her voice took on a resolve, the resolve they remembered from before, from the old Angela. "But I know one thing: tomorrow, I'm gonna find out what it was. I'll check the Hunters' archives. Somebody's bound to have heard of something like it, before."

….

Nobody had ever heard of anything like it before. "Klied?" whispered Angela over her cell. It might be safe enough for Klied to be in Hunter HQ, but he wasn't gonna leave Di.

Truth was, Klied was scared to leave either of them. What if something like that happened to Di? He couldn't bear to even think of it. And if he'd been just a few minutes later…"I'm not finding anything. Nothing about rape-y ghosts or other supernatural beings. Makes sense; though. I mean, rape is kinda a human thing. Most supernatural predators just eat people. Did you say it spoke about some kinda curse?"

"Yeah," came his voice over the cell, "'Free me from this curse.' That's a quote."

"Huh. So some kinda magic-user's involved. That pretty much opens the door for just about anybody with any kind'a talent." She sat back in her chair there in the archives. "And nobody I've spoken with has heard of anything like that. Well, I'm gonna copy some stuff, and pick up your knives an' amulets—and that reminds me: your IDs, too." When asked why the pair couldn't come get their own, Angela had simply said they'd both "tested positive." Nobody asked any further questions after that. "Guess we'll meet up at Burger King in, on," she checked her cell, "give me about thirty minutes, okay? If I get held up in traffic, maybe forty-five. But if so, I'll call you from the cab. 'Kay?" Ever since the attack, Klied had been nervous about Angela being out by herself. After all, what had happened at night could happen in broad daylight.

"Remember, we meet with the JP at three."

Klied closed his cell. "Nervous, husband-to-be?" smiled Di.

"Well, yeah and no. Not about the marriage part, but I guess I worry about Angela. I mean, that thing talked about a curse, Di. Curses get placed on someone by someone else. And we're no closer to finding out who cursed her than we were."

They were in their hotel room, Klied sitting on the bed. She came over and sat beside him. Curled her fingers through his. "You couldn't get any, any, I dunno, any idea from when you soul-sucked it? I mean, you got its full essence, its life-force, inside you."

He shook his head. "I couldn't even tell what kind of creature it was. Maybe I was in too much of a hurry."

She sighed. "I doubt that. You've had the thing's essence in you all this time. If there were any clues to be had, you'd know 'em, by now."

"I guess."

"You don't feel any different, do you? I mean, when a skinwalker drinks someone's soul, it's supposed to, to have that person as part of itself. Like, it would be living inside you."

"No, no different. Maybe it wasn't alive enough."

"It was alive enough to rape her. Or try to. Good thing you were able to stop it. I could barely see it."

"I could only get a glimpse of a, a silhouette. Like when you move a piece of glass around. Things distort."

"Maybe you killed it, got it all. Maybe it, or something like it, won't be back."

"I wish I could believe that, Di. I mean, it said it was cursed. Cursed, I guess, to...do what it did. I doubt it cursed itself."

She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Yeah. That's what I'm afraid of. Poor Angela."

He looked at her fondly. "What happened to all that jealousy?"

She sighed. "I, I guess I figured it was time to let things go. Angela's been nothing but good to us, all this time. She didn't have to be. She could've just...left. In fact, I wonder why she didn't. Yeah, she wants you, but..." and here she quirked a smile, "I guess I can't really blame her for that. I want you, too."

"Maybe she's lonely. For friends, I mean. Ironic, in a way. I mean, here we are, the very beings she was hunting…"

"But we aren't. It's that skinwalker that she really wants. That one specific one, the one that killed her parents." She raised up and slapped him in the knee. "Anyway, it's about time to head on to the JP's office, future husband."

…..

"...you may now kiss the bride." But Klied had beat him to it, raising Di's veil and planting one on her very eager face. Aside from the Justice of the Peace, the two of them and Angela were the only ones in the office.

"Sorry I couldn't give you a proper wedding," he whispered in her ear.

"Sh," she said, "I always wanted a small ceremony, anyway." Another eager kiss. "Never actually figured on having any ceremony."

On the way back to the hotel, Angela was saying, "...an' I'll get the room right next to you two, on the other side. I've already made arrang—*"

"Unmake 'em," said Di. "You're staying with us."

"But...but there's only one bed in your room!"

"Yes. And?"

"I can't sleep with you two!"

"You have before, and under some pretty intimate circumstances, too. Why not now?"

"I...I mean, I just...don't you want some, like, privacy? I mean...I know, this won't be your first time, but, but it's still your freaking wedding night!"

"You stay with us until we find out what that thing was the other night," said Klied, firmly.

But Angela was shaking her head. "No, look, guys. I really appreciate it, more than you'll ever know, but, but I can't do this. Either you two would be fucking—sorry, making love, in which case I'd be uncomfortable, or you wouldn't be, for my sake. And that would make you and me uncomfortable. So, no." She smiled a pained smile. "I'll be okay. I mean, you sensed it before, Klied. You'd sense it again. And come to my rescue, just like before." Suddenly, she reached up and pecked him on the cheek and hugged Di. "I never did thank you guys for that. My knights in shining bare skin." At their doubtful looks, she said. "I'll be okay. I promise."

"O-kay," said Klied, reluctantly, "but only if you're sure."

….

Far, far away, a meeting was being held. "You. Utter. Fool." said the robed figure on the throne. "You let her get away."

"Please, master!" begged the figure kneeling before the throne. "It, it wasn't my fault! The boy, he had some kind of power…!"

"I told you I'd give you one more chance. You've used it up." And the figure on the throne drew something from its vest.

"No, please, master! One more ch—*"

Hollywood notwithstanding, the report of a silenced gun is still pretty loud in the confines of a small room. Other acolytes rushed in. "Here," said the figure holding the smoking gun, "dispose of this garbage. And clean up that blood." While his underlings worked, he sat on his throne and pondered.

Not only was the girl still alive, but she was still sane. Either one was unacceptable to him. His plans couldn't proceed with her in either condition.

He sighed. Time to put another ad in Craigslist. Maybe this time, he'd get someone who was actually competent. For a change.

…

Di and Klied's room. "Klied? Do, do you think we did the right thing? I mean…"

"Short of tying her up, I didn't see any other way. And she's just in the next room. If she's in trouble again, I should be able to sense it."

She turned towards him. They were, of course, both naked, but that was the way they normally slept...at least nowadays. "I can't help but worry about her. She wasn't sure, there." She laid her head on his shoulder. The pair had just completed a bout of love-making. "I can't help but worry about her. I mean, curses...somebody has to place them. Which means whoever placed the curse is still out there."

"We'll find him. Or her. And I'll tear him limb from limb. Slowly." He smiled a smile of predatory anticipation. "Probably make a nice meal."

Di grimaced. "Not sure I'd wanna eat somebody who'd do that to a young girl. Probably taste like offal."

He glanced down at her. "You really care about her, don't you?"

Di sighed. "She's...been through a lot, Klied, and just since she met us. Before, there was the death of her parents. And now, all that's happened...I can't find it in myself to hate her, even if she does wanna 'bump uglies' with you." She placed a finger on his mouth. "Just don't do it" She paused, smiling. "Guess I can't blame her for that. But I wonder if that wasn't the reason she insisted on us getting married. Part of it, anyway." She lay back flat on her back, and sighed. "She's part of us, Klied. We've both lost family, parents. So...in a sense, we're like our own little family, just the three of us. Maybe not the most functional family in existence, and certainly the most unorthodox, but still. Can't get away from that."

…..

In the next room, Angela had stuffed a piece of bedspread in her mouth, trying not to scream. She'd just waked up from yet another nightmare, and she didn't want the two in the next room to know—*

The knock on the door was such a surprise, she actually jumped. "Who-who's there?"

"It's us, Angela. Let us in." Di's voice was muffled through the door.

"No! I'm fine! Go on back to—*"

"You're not fine, I can tell by the sound of your voice. Now come on. Open up. We aren't going away. And we're both naked out here. You want us arrested for indecent exposure?"

Defeated, she went to the door...but she had her knife in her hand. Not that she thought it would do any good against what she feared, but…

She let them into her room. "It really is us, Angela," Klied was saying, sitting beside her on the bed. "We could both sense your distress from the next room. So come on. You weren't attacked again, were you?"

Angela sighed...but they noticed she kept her knife within easy reach. "Not...not like that. It's...I keep having dreams. Nightmares, actually."

"Well, that's understandable. Anybody who went through what you did—*"

But she was shaking her head. "Not, not like that. I, I keep dreaming that it's happening again...but this time, I'm enjoying it. I mean, I'm getting force-fucked by something I can't see and I'm loving every minute of it. But that's not all.

"It seems like, the longer it goes on, the, the less of me I become. It's like...I can't really explain it. It's like what I imagine the skinwalker did...siphoned away a piece of me. Only, I'm fully conscious, and, and the longer the dream lasts, it's like, the crazier I become. Until I'm not even me anymore."

"That settles it," said Di with finality. "You are staying with us tonight.

Angela was shaking her head. "No, no, we've had this discussion—*"

"*—and we're having it again. Only this time, we're not taking 'no' for an answer." She was sitting on the other side of the hunter girl on her bed. Now she reached up and moved a lock of hair out of Angela's face. "Look. Whether or not you realize it, you're still under attack of some sort. These dreams...they aren't normal dreams. So no, you're staying with us tonight."

"I, I couldn't…"

"Of course you can. Angela, it's like I said: we have no secrets from each other. You've seen us both at our most intimate moments possible. You actually helped Klied fuck my brains back into my body. How much more intimate could you get? So come on," she said, standing up, offering the hunter girl her hand. "Don't fight us on this...sister."

…

Klied thought he'd never get used to sleeping in a bed with two naked girls. True, Angela had bought a new pair of pajamas, but she'd taken them off before climbing into bed with them. When he raised an eyebrow at this, she'd just shrugged and said, "It just...seems only polite. Besides, I'd feel out of place." And Di noticed, with some gratification, that, while Klied did occasionally look at Angela (although, thought Di, anybody with a functioning set of XY chromosomes would be hard-pressed not to sneak the occasional look at the hunter girl), the most of his attention was for his new wife. Guess I can't blame him for a look or two.

…

But the difference this time was, that it was Klied who slept in the middle. "Look, you two," said Angela, "seriously. If, if you wanna, y'know, do it, I can turn the other way."

Di stroked her husband's face. Maybe we should get this out of the way. "Whaddaya say, Klied? You up for another run?" Then she giggled, glancing down. "I can tell you're up, that's for sure!"

If anything, Klied was more nervous than either of them, but he realized what she was doing. Sooner or later...and the sooner, the better. "You bet," he said. When Angela started to turn away, he stopped her. "Angela. Neither of us care if you watch. Like Di said, we've no secrets from each other. Unless you just wanna, I mean, you don't have to turn away."

"S'not that," sniffed Angela. "I'm...I'm afraid I'll be tempted to, to, to rub myself up against you two while, while you're...you know." She looked embarrassed. Klied and Di looked at each other: Angela, their Angela...actually embarrassed about something? Had the world come to an end while they weren't watching?

Now he reached over and kissed her on the forehead. "Well, you know what? If you wanna do that, I'm okay with it. Di?"

"It's fine with me. As long as that's as far as it goes, I mean"

"You guys," wept Angela, embracing them both, "You're the best."

And yes, during their lovemaking, Klied was conscious of Angela rubbing up against him. It didn't bother him. If it gratified her, then well and good. He was much more focused on Di.

…..

Miles away, the robed figure pondered the matter before him, the one that had consumed his soul all these years.

If his divination was correct, the hunter girl was now occupying the same bed as the other two...and there was something strange about them. Especially about the boy. It was almost as if their life-force was stronger, somehow.

And they were, right now, engaged in sex. That, of course, meant nothing to the robed figure, who'd long ago sacrificed that part of himself so thoroughly that he no longer even understood what it meant. But what he could tell was that the pair were, in some odd way, sharing their life-energy with the girl, his target. That was making her stronger. He couldn't have that. He needed her weaker. Or dead, either one would do.

He'd counted on their physical relations to distance them from Angela, give him the chance to catch her alone somewhere. But instead, it seemed like they were including her in their mutual conjoining.

So...he'd just have to arrange for something else.

….

To be continued….