When Forrester came to he was tied to a chair in one of the upstairs bedrooms of the saloon. The ungentlemanly gentleman’s corpse was lying at his feet, having bled out what must have been an hour ago. Forrester raised his head, his vision was a bit blurry, but he could make out Muriel, Daisy, and Nick the Bartender standing at the other end of the room debating what to do.

“We gotta kill him.” Nick said, “I’m surprised he’s lasted this long!”

“Now hold on, Sug,” said Muriel, “No one’s killing him, I like him. He’s good people and we don’t get too many of those ‘round here no more.”

“We could turn him.” Suggested Daisy. Turn Him? Those words hung in Forrester’s mind, what could that mean?

“Look, I haven’t had a bite in days,” Said Nick, “I’m starving. This guy’s trying to get to the bottom of the Demon murders, whaddyou think he’s gonna do when he finds out about our little operation? He’ll be back with a cross and garlic in no time!” A cross and garlic? This can’t be happening…

“You… You’re…” Forrester started.

“Oh! He’s awake!” Sang Muriel.

“You’re not…” he choked.

“Oh, get over it, Sug. We’re vampires. So, what? We ain’t hurtin’ no one.” She said. Forrester stared at her in disbelief over the corpse in between them. “No one who ain’t deserved it. Trust me, he deserved it.”

“You can’t just eat people!” Forrester said.

“You can if they’re evil!” She protested, “We take evil people out of the world! That makes us a bit like Jesus. You know, not a lot like him… but a bit!”

“Why haven’t you killed me?” he asked.

“Like I said, you’re good people. I think it’s worth preserving purity in this world, and you, Sug, are pure as they come. Heck you ain’t even looked at one of my girls disrespectfully since you got here.”

“We even had a nice conversation where we talked about my momma!” Daisy piped in.

“I don’t like him.” Said Nick.

“You don’t like anyone, ya blow hard.” Said Muriel. “Go downstairs and drink some booze and we’ll send you some leftovers when we’re done.” Nick left the room grumbling.

“All of this… This town… The demon....” Forrester said

“All true.” Said Muriel. “Moloch is real. He ain’t the devil, but he’s real. Hell, who d’you think trapped him in the mine? It was me and my girls! ...Nick helped…”

“Then, the Acolytes… they could really free him?” He asked.

“They could.” She said. “We take out the Acolytes here and there. Especially if they’re dumb enough to walk into the saloon with a brand.”

“Did he have a brand?” He asked, motioning to the corpse with his head.

“No, he was a horses ass.” She said. “But, eventually, if the Acolytes find the right sacrifice, they’ll free him.”

“What do you mean, the right sacrifice?” He asked almost hesitantly.

“Moloch needs a heart to beat and a face to wear, and it can’t just be anyone’s heart and face. There’s a specific person. A chosen one, if you will.”

“Why haven’t they killed me yet? They killed Ned, and John, and Henry.”

“You don’t fit the type. Yet. They’ve got their eyes on you, waiting for the signs that you might be the one. The face and the heart have to be fresh.” She said.

“I don’t understand, how did you trap him? Why did you trap him? Aren’t vampires demons too?”

“With blood magic! Pretty much the only magic us vamps are good at. And as for why, well… He too was a horses ass.” she said wryly.

“So, what do we do now?” He asked, “Are you going to let me go?”

“That depends,” She said, “are you going to go all demon hunter on me? Or can we coexist?”

“I swore an oath to do no harm…” He said in a very serious tone.

“And you can either look the other way while I do a little bit of harm to a lot of bad guys, including the demon when he gets out, or you can do a lot of harm to me and my nest and let the baddies go free.” She said matter-of-factly. Forrester thought for a moment.

“I guess, then, we can coexist…” he said, “Can you untie me?”

“Daisy.” Muriel said motioning towards the doctor with her head. Daisy ran over to him, hopped over the corpse and began to untie him. Forrester stood up and rubbed his wrists a bit after being tied up for so long.

“So, what do we do now?” He asked.

“You go home, you get a good night’s sleep, and we deal with all of the bull shit as it comes up.” She said. “The world needs a good doctor, and you are, Sug.” She kissed him on the cheek and left the room, Daisy followed close behind her, leaving him alone in the upstairs room with the corpse of the man and a general sense of bewilderment.