Chapter Three
Nyssa watched Helen walk into the shop, and she frowned. “Don’t you have a treatment today?”
“No. My levels are down. I have to wait a week.” Helen looked at her. “How is Dina?”
“She’s good. I have to bring her with me on the weekend. She’s nervous about being around that many teens.”
“She can stay near the booth, and we will make her a spot in the back.” Myro came out, and he said, “How are you doing, Helen?”
“Dying, boss.”
Myro looked sad. “Aside from that. Getting rest?”
“Now and then. I needed to talk to Nyssa about something for the introduction of the new characters on Saturday.”
Nyssa nodded. “The boardroom?”
“Sure.” Helen led the way.
Nyssa brought her tablet and computer. “So, Helen, are you willing to let me boost you a bit?”
“The mass isn’t shrinking. I am not going to take your life energy to support mine.”
“What can I do then?”
“Listen and take notes. I have the path of the game in my head, and I want to make sure you get it right. This is my legacy.”
Nyssa snorted and began to take notes. They were half an hour in when she said, “Wait. You want a red djinn to unveil itself?”
“Yes. I do. I also want you to be the title figure.”
“I... we don’t have a costume for it.”
Helen gave her a long look. “You are going to play that game with a poor, sick woman whose final wish is to see you prancing around as a red djinn in battle gear?”
“That’s low.”
“I know, but if I can’t do anything about it, I can have fun with it.” Helen smiled. “I designed and wrote that character for you.”
“And still haven’t told anyone you are part-owner at Tiberia Games.”
“Well, it will be a surprise for those at the will reading.” Helen chuckled. “Just wait until folks find out who is getting my shares.” She rubbed her hands together.
“Helen, how old are you? Because you are going all supervillain on me.”
“Fifty-two. Why?”
“I would have added a thousand to that. You are nice and wizened in your soul.”
Helen chuckled. “I always enjoy talking to you, Nyssa.”
“I know. When you depart this world, I hope that your soul will haunt me. Dina will love it.”
Helen smiled. “Thank you for the invitation. I am definitely considering it.”
“I can even get you something special to take over so I know you are there.”
Helen grinned. “A scythe? I want to be creepy about it.”
“Of course, Helen. That way, Dina can grab you and go out on Halloween all nice and spooky.”
Helen smiled. “Thanks for this.”
“For what?”
“For being normal about it. For not weeping or looking at me with horror.”
Nyssa reached out and took her hand. “No one gets out alive. There is one door, and some reach it sooner than others. We all head for the same way out.”
“Even djinn?”
“I suppose I will have longer than the average human. Longer than most of the people I have grown up with. I will have to watch them age and die, some getting sick. I will carry their memory and remember every laugh and every tear we shed. And then... I will say suck it, I am a djinn, and you are a wussy human.”
Helen squawked and squeezed her hand. “Thanks for rallying at the end. I thought you were all soft and sweet for a moment.”
“Naw. I save that for pet rescue commercials.”
They laughed and discussed the details that Helen wanted for this project. She was the original game designer, after all. Others had pitched in, but the idea and development were hers alone.
Nyssa changed into the red djinn battle suit and made the alterations Helen asked for. A lot of black silk, silver metal, and an astonishing quantity of earrings completed the look. Helen took photos of the front and back and then sent copies to Nyssa and the convention team.
Nyssa urged Helen to get some rest, and it didn’t feel like a bad idea.
* * * *
Dex lay there and tried to figure out how to get past two alphas so she could pee. They both had a death grip on her.
Lips moved against her ear and whispered, “Do you need to get up?”
She nodded.
He chuckled. “Then say something or move.”
She whispered, “Every time I move, there’s an erection pressed against me from both sides.”
Etienne laughed. “Well, you are adorable. I am surprised we didn’t formalize things last night.”
“Formal? We are all naked. Do you put on a tux or something?”
Tosh chuckled. “If you are into cosplay, the costume manager can arrange something.”
She sighed. “Since you are both awake. I need to pee. Let go.”
They let her go, and she tried to keep her dignity while two naked alphas stared at her backside.
When she returned to the bedroom, they were sitting up with their backs against the headboard, and she sighed. “I need to see my shop. No sex until I see my shop.”
Etienne nodded. Tosh nodded.
Etienne said, “But it isn’t even six yet. Come here and get some rest.”
Dex looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Just rest?”
“Well, we will find it relaxing. Let’s see how you feel about it.”
She crept toward them over the bedding, and they tucked her into the space between them. There were half a dozen heartbeats, and then she heard Etienne say, “Now?”
Tosh said, “Now.”
The bedding flew over them, trapping her in a space that smelled like her two favourite people in the world. Then the kissing and touching started, and she heard her own voice with gasps and moans.
Dex’s senses spun, and then pleasure built up with the serious use of lips and fingers. She felt heavy waves of lust that weren’t hers, and that was the point she understood what the link was for. It was not only to share energy but also to share cravings and needs.
She was slick, and Tosh’s fingers eased into her while Etienne circled her clit with a single digit. Dex started shaking, and then she moaned as she shivered and twitched against them.
She was still jerking and twitching when they rolled her to her other side, and the same procedure was engaged before she had stopped the aftershocks.
An hour later, she was propped up in the shower and yawning. “That was not restful.”
Tosh chuckled and supported her. “We found it energizing.”
She yawned and thudded her head against him. Etienne laughed, took the handheld showerhead, and rinsed her off. Her hair was already squeaky clean and conditioned.
“So, Dex. We are going to get breakfast, and then we will take you to the shop.”
She muttered, “Yay! You guys aren’t dirty anymore?”
There was a lot of laughing that continued as they dried her off, and Etienne put her into an outfit that felt like it was worth more than her car.
Tosh twisted her hair into a thick rope and wrapped it with her braid, kissing the base of her neck. “There. Not a ponytail, but it looks all grown up.”
She looked at him and said, “You are playing Bottom in Midsummer Night’s Dream?”
“Yeah.”
“Jackass.”
He laughed, and they headed down for breakfast.
Etienne was setting the table, but Dex couldn’t smell food. She sniffed the air. “If this is a diet method, I am not in favour of it.”
He laughed and went to open the door. There hadn’t been a chime, but he let Dr. Aquilar in with Mrs. Doctor behind him. The second she locked eyes with Dex, she walked forward and hugged her. “Oh, I finally get my little girl. We can do all kinds of things that they won’t do.”
Dex blinked. “Um... my parents were violent and abusive, so I am not sure that I can jump into anything. This hug is nearing the edge of my comfort zone.”
Etienne’s mother blinked and slowly leaned back.
Dex exhaled. “Thank you. I will get better. I promise.”
Etienne smiled. “Mom, she’s adapting just fine. Give her a week. She’s getting used to Tosh and me, and that is our primary concern.”
His mother sighed and touched Dex’s cheek. “Just like I have seen in my dreams.”
“So, you are a seer?”
“Dreamer. Do you know other seers?”
“Um... yeah.”
Tosh said, “Dex, your phone is going insane.”
Dex nodded and took it. She opened it, and her eyes went wide. “My apartment burned. My mom committed arson because she thought I was there.”
Dex swayed. “Oh. Boy. The police want to talk to me.”
Etienne asked, “Was anyone hurt?”
“No. Everyone and their personal effects were out on the lawn, out of the way of the fire department. The fire in my apartment was put out, and it was the only one directly impacted. Mom tried to kill me.” She blinked and lowered her phone.
She blinked a few times and then saw a familiar name.
Arwell. “Oh, that explains it. My friend Arwell got everyone out and pretended to be me to get my mom to act.”
Tosh frowned. “Arwell?”
“Yeah, she has ears like Ax’s.”
“Oh. Right. She’s a djinn.”
Dex nodded. “I need to sit to read through all of these, and I need to call the investigator.”
Dr. Aquilar said, “Have a seat, have some coffee, and get some food into you.”
She nodded, and Etienne guided her to the dining room, where he sat her down.
His father and mother brought in the bags of food that she hadn’t really clocked the first time, and while Tosh introduced himself to Leah Aquilar, she went through the emails she had received.
It took her four minutes, and there was a paper cup of coffee in front of her as well as a breakfast sandwich and a blueberry pastry. Napkins were on standby.
She glanced up with a smile. “Thanks, Tosh.”
He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “I have been paying attention for a while.”
She ate the breakfast sandwich and started to type replies. She sat there for fifteen minutes and then sipped her coffee and answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Hello, Miss Dex? I am investigating the arson attempt last night.”
“I just learned of it. I was spending time with my mates, and phones were off.”
“Oh, you have witnesses to your location?”
She looked at Etienne’s smile. “Yeah. They can confirm they were there. Is my roommate okay?”
“Arwell Breaker? Yes. She was evacuated with the others. There were no casualties.”
“Oh. Good. So, Mrs. Soo was fine as well?”
“Yes, miss. She and the rest of the people in your building were fine.”
“Okay. Good. What happened?”