Chapter 16 Noelle
NOELLE
Noelle lay sprawled on the edge of the Rejuvenation Pool, gasping for air, her bare chest heaving.
Every inch of her body burned and tingled, as though she'd been scrubbed raw with acid and then rolled in hot sand.
The black slime clung to her in patches—oozing down her thighs…
stuck in the creases of her elbows…matting her hair to her scalp.
Her breath sawed in and out of her lungs as she struggled to make sense of what had just happened.
It used its suction cups on me…used them everywhere. The thought spun in her mind, fragmented and jagged. I should be dead. I should be drowned. What was that thing? What the hell was that thing?
She barely had time to think before she heard the hiss of pressurized air and felt a shock of icy spray hit her chest.
“Ahh!” she cried, trying to roll away.
“No, no—hold still!” Lupin snapped, striding over with a hose in his hands. “You must hold still so I can get the contents of the pool off of you. It’s absolutely essential to remove every last trace or the nanites will keep on working and we don’t want that. We can’t let them go too far.”
The icy water struck her again, pelting her breasts…her stomach…her legs. Noelle cried out and tried to scramble away, but her limbs were trembling and useless.
“Come now, don’t be such a baby,” Lupin chided, as if she were just being fussy about a cold shower instead of being power-washed after being mauled by a monster. “On your feet now,” he chided. “I must reach all of you.”
Gripping her by one arm, he made her stand up—shoving at her until she was swaying on her feet, arms crossed over her chest in a futile attempt at modesty.
“Put your arms up—up, I say!” he demanded.
“I…I’m n-naked!” she protested through chattering teeth.
“And I’m a eunuch, remember? You’re of no interest to me except as a canvas to perfect. Now, arms up!”
Dios…Dios…Dios, she chanted silently as she lifted her arms, trying not to weep.
The cold spray blasted her armpits, then her back, then—mortifyingly—between her legs. She let out a little strangled noise of protest, but Lupin only huffed and kept going, directing the hose with clinical precision.
“There,” he said finally, after what felt like an eternity. “That’s better. Now for the dryer. Come along.”
Noelle followed him on shaky, bare feet, her skin blotchy and goose-pimpled. The spa’s metal floor was freezing, and she left wet footprints behind her as she stumbled after the orange dwarf. Every step she felt like her knees would buckle but somehow, she managed to stay upright.
She didn’t even have the strength to argue when they came to a tall, upright cylinder in the far corner of the room. It looked a bit like a tanning booth stood on its side—if tanning booths were made of dented steel and had ominous blinking lights on them.
“Now just step in here and we’ll get you all dry and warm,” Lupin said cheerfully, as though this was the most normal thing in the world.
Noelle hesitated.
“Is… is th-there s-something in there?” she asked, hugging herself tightly.
Lupin frowned.
“Something? Like what?”
“Another octopus monster?” she asked. “Something with tentacles?”
He rolled his eyes.
“Another what? Don’t be foolish. It’s a dryer—not a death trap. Now in you go!”
Before she could protest further, he gave her a firm shove between the shoulder blades, pushing her into the cylinder. The circular door slammed shut behind her with a metallic clang, sealing her inside.
“Wait!” Noelle gasped.
But before she could say more, a sudden whoosh of air hit her bare feet and rushed upward, sending her wet hair flying above her head like she was in the middle of a tornado.
The wind was hot and dry, and it whipped around her body, tugging at her skin and wicking the moisture from every inch of her.
She gasped and stumbled, but the gust held her upright, keeping her suspended in place like a leaf caught in a whirlwind.
At least it’s warm, she thought, closing her eyes. Dios, it’s actually kind of nice after the pool and the hose…
But just as she was getting used to the buffeting winds, a chime sounded—ding!—and the door popped open, releasing her into the spa once more.
She stepped out on uncertain legs, blinking. Her skin felt too tight, like someone had stretched her across her own bones. Every nerve ending buzzed beneath the surface.
I feel like a cotton t-shirt that got shrunk in the dryer, she thought dizzily.
“All, all dry. Very good—now you’re ready for your other treatments,” Lupin declared, already bustling around the spa like a man with an appointment book to keep. “Here you go,” he added, shoving a towel at her.
Noelle barely had the presence of mind to grab it. She clutched the fabric to her chest, still blinking in shock.
“Other treatments?” she echoed hoarsely.
Lupin gave her a toothy smile.
“Of course, my dear. Now that you’re rejuvenated, we can move on.”
“Move on to what?” she asked, dread settling in her stomach like a lead weight.
He beamed, as though announcing a special prize on a game show.
“Why, to your first fertility treatment, of course!”
Noelle’s breath caught.
Fertility… what?
She stared at him, wondering what in the world could be coming next. She was afraid to find out.