Nobody was supposed to get hurt.
I looked up at the poster with Demetrius’s face on it, haphazardly splayed on the plaster wall, advertising the hypnosis show. Well, nobody ELSE was supposed to get hurt.
Beyond the stage, the restaurant was dark—the house lights had gone out earlier, the bulbs exploding like fireworks. The place was bathed in flashing red, blue, and white lights coming from outside, like Independence Day was a guest that had overstayed its welcome.
I had a headache. I sat on the stage, staring at the pool of her blood spreading underneath. No matter how much we tried to clean it later, there would always be a rusty stain soaked into the wood floor.
A handful of uniformed policemen walked around the restaurant, getting statements from the smattering of the crowd that had decided to stay. The crowd almost all had golden brands—I was pretty sure they weren’t saying complimentary things. Fingers kept being pointed my way. The policemen were keeping an eye on me; I was supposed to wait for the detectives.
The paramedics had already wheeled her body out. She was barely breathing. I hardly recognized her once they gave her a neck brace and shoved a tube down her throat. All I could see when they took her away was her blonde hair. I wasn’t looking forward to explaining this to Vaughan.
The hole had looked so small. Entry wounds always are, I’m told. I’d tried to stop the bleeding, firmly pressing my hands on her abdomen. I’d watched the life slowly drain from her eyes before they dragged me away to let the professionals work on her.
A shapely woman in a power suit stepped in front of me. Even through the shock, the lizard part of my brain wanted me to reach out and brand her, take her as one of mine. “Are you Eric Chase?” She flashed a badge.
I held up my hand to look at her—the stage lights were still on, almost blinding. I could only see her in silhouette. My hand looked almost black with blood. “Yes.”
“I’m Detective Logan.” Her voice was raspy. “You’re the owner here?”
The question took me aback, I’d forgotten already. “Um, yeah, I guess.”
“You guess? Can you tell me what happened here?”
Zeroes
Chapter 14: Hypnotist Show
I slept alone that night, despite offers from almost everyone at the table. I figured I deserved a night to myself. If I’d known what the next day would bring, I might have accepted, but that’s water under the bridge.
Phoenix: Home—Friday Dawn
I tossed and turned all night, feeling like oblivion was just moments away. The sky was just starting to brighten when the doorbell ripped all chances of slumber away from me.
“This better be urgent,” I muttered to myself as I grabbed my robe and slipped it on. Modesty be damned, I figured—it wasn’t even sunrise, anyone knocking on my door this early would have to deal with my state of undress.
I could see two of my silvery brands glistening through the door and a new oddity to me—a strange strand connecting the two. That was at least somewhat comforting. Meanwhile, the doorbell chimed again, as knocks began happening on the front door.
“Coming!”
Through the peephole I saw two identical pinkish blonde blobs. It should have been obvious who they were, but it had been a tough and wearying week. So I was completely surprised to open the door to find two teenaged blonde bombshells. The Evies had arrived. They were wearing matching pink sundresses and some formal chokers.
“Master!” They squealed as they jumped at me, each seeming to try to elbow the other away from me. They almost knocked me over.
“Girls! Share!” They immediately stopped, and looked at me expectantly.
I grabbed one of them. “Yvette, you come to my right side.” I grabbed the other one. “Yvonne, you come to my left side.”
“Oui, Tyran,” they murmured as they snuggled into me.
Yvonne looked over at Yvette. ”Je te l’avais dit.“
Yvette just stuck her tongue out.
“What’s all this?”
Yvonne looked up at me. “Yvette didn’t think you’d be able to tell us apart.”
“Je m’excuse de vous douter, Tyran.“ I could feel her blush.
“I told her of course he will be able to tell us apart. He is our Master. Il est notre Tyran, I said.”
Yvette stuck her tongue out at her sister. “Is this your house? Will you show us around?”
Suddenly I felt two hands on my cock. I immediately stiffened.
“Please pardon our forwardness, Tyran.”
“Il a été si longtemps.“
“Why so long?” Somehow, I found the three of us in my house, the door closed.
“When we found your card and realized we were your slaves...”
“...nous avons perdu l’intérêt pour d’autres hommes.“
“How could they compare?”
“We have just had each other,”
“But our tongues cannot be as good as your zob.”
“Where is the piaule?”
Yvette let go of me and ran up the stairs, stopping on the landing. ”Le chambre à l’étage?“
I sighed. “Yes, the bedroom is upstairs. It’s the first door.”
“You hesitate?” Yvonne leaned up and kissed my neck. “Pardon our dynamisme. We have been looking forward to this for a long time. Do you not want us? Are you still recovering?” She ran a finger along my scar. ”Mon pauvre Tyran...”
“I’m just tired,” I said, pulling away from her. “If you want to make love, fine. But I will only fuck one of you.” At their stricken looks, I chuckled. “At least for today. I don’t have enough energy for you both.”
I walked up the stairs, passing by the shocked Yvette. “B...But Tyran! Which one of us?” She grabbed me, trying to stop me.
I shrugged off her grip and waved her away. “Just decide that amongst yourselves. The other sister can watch, if she wants.”
They just stared at me, too much in shock to protest, as I walked up the rest of the stairs and closed the bedroom door. Almost immediately, they exploded into French. Their words just got more heated... until things stopped, and I heard a smattering of feet stomping on the stairs.
My bedroom door suddenly burst open with Yvette, her chest heaving with deep breaths, shouting ”Victoire!“
I began taking off my robe. “So, Yvette, it’s you?”
“Oui, Tyran.“
Yvonne, breathing even more heavily, showed up at the door. “She cheats!”
I dropped the robe to the ground and climbed into my bed. “If you two can’t even agree, maybe I shouldn’t fuck either one of you, and just take a nap.” I sat on the bed and made a show of pulling up the covers.
Yvette looked to Yvonne with pleading eyes. ”D’accord!“ Yvonne threw up her hands. “He is yours.” She flounced into my easy chair. “Enjoy.”
I looked at Yvette. “Did you cheat?”
She grinned and held up her fingers about a centimeter apart. ”Un petit peu.”
“I don’t appreciate cheaters.” Her face began to fall. “But your sister has obviously conceded. And I did promise I’d fuck one of you; I always try to keep my word.” I looked her in the eye, ideas already bubbling. “We’ll have to figure out a suitable punishment for you later. But for now, come here.”
She squealed in delight, and pretty soon I had a French teenager pouncing my cock, taking it in her mouth. The girl didn’t disappoint—youthful exuberance was accompanied by either natural talent or expert practice. Curious, I took a look in her mind.
Although Yvette wasn’t inexperienced, natural talent seemed to be the deciding factor. From her first blow-job at twelve, she’d been getting praise on her fellatio. She just had a sense of how her partner was reacting, and could adapt and react—and so she was getting confused because I was letting myself get distracted, reacting to her past instead of her actions.
I let myself enjoy her tongue and her lips; she even found inventive ways to use her teeth. Meanwhile, on the chair, Yvonne was squirming and gasping—a victim of my magic cock. I met her shocked eyes and winked.
Seeing the look in Yvonne’s eyes spurred me to look down at Yvette. “You need to stop.” I pulled her mouth off my shaft as she was whimpering complaints.
“But... Tyran? Why? You promised!”
“I said I’d fuck one of you, Yvette. But if you keep on with that, I’m going to cum, and then nobody’s going to get fucked. Get on the bed.”
In an instant, her sundress had been discarded and she was naked. I could feel the desire radiating off her in waves. She climbed on top of me, but I said “No,” and gently guided her to the bed next to me. I climbed on top of her.
Almost immediately as I entered Yvette, the peek I took into her mind exploded into a panoramic view. It was clear that, before she met me, she’d never put anyone other than herself first; she was still having trouble with that. She was simply unaccustomed to thinking of anyone else, but I had some ideas about how to make that happen.
I pulled myself off Yvette. ”Tyran??” Her eyes were full of anguish.
“You haven’t been fair to your sister, Yvette.”
“I will be!”
“I know,” I said. “I’ll make sure of it. Now go take Yvonne’s spot on the couch. Yvonne, come here.”
Yvonne squealed in delight. “Are you sure, Tyran?“ She stood up, tentatively.
Yvette tried to pull me back towards her. “No, Tyran! Please, I’ll be good!”
“I’m sure you will. But you need to be taught a lesson. Now go, or I may never fuck you again.”
The pain and shock in Yvette’s eyes were almost enough to get me to change my mind—but I could see in her mind that she was expecting that. It had always worked before. And how could I teach her if I succumbed? This was for her own good. I simply met her eyes until she backed down, and slinked away to her new exile on the easy chair, where she’d left her sister.
Yvette glared daggers at Yvonne as they passed like ships in the night. “Now now, Yvette. It’s not her fault, it’s yours.”
“But... pourquoi? What did I do?”
“I already told you, Yvette. You haven’t been very fair to your sister. And not just now. You’ve always put yourself above Yvonne, and she’s always let you.” I turned to Yvonne. “Isn’t that right?”
Yvonne nodded, very solemnly, looking nervously back and forth between us.
“I have not!”
“Yes, you have. You just can’t even see it. But that’s going to change.”
“How?”
“It’s going to start with you sitting there having to watch while I have my way with Yvonne.” Yvonne let out a moan. “Exactly what you were going to do to her.”
“But she didn’t mind!”
“Yes, she did.”
“She said I could.”
“And that’s why she gets to have me today.”
I could see Yvette struggling between confusion and response, so I just turned away from her and towards her sister. “Are you ready?”
Yvonne nodded eagerly. ”Oui, Tyran! How do you want me?”
“Lie back, like your sister did.”
As she did, I climbed on top of her and grabbed the bottom of her dress. “Lift yourself up,” I whispered as I pulled her dress up her body. She arched her back as her ass rose from the bed. As I pulled the hem above her waist, she set herself down and began to sit up at my urging. I took my time as I pulled the dress over her bosom, and finally over her head. Across the room, Yvette let out a small whimper.
I turned to look at her. “Problem, Yvette?”
“You didn’t undress me like that!”
“You didn’t let me. Your dress was off at the drop of a hat.” I leaned in to kiss her sister’s breasts. “There’s something to be said for patience. Isn’t that right, Yvonne?” She moaned an agreement.
Yvette’s hands started to reach down to her cunt. “Stop that! You do not get to touch yourself.”
“Please, Tyran?“
I just ignored her as I leaned in to kiss her sister. I reached my hand down to check—she’d certainly lubricated herself. I kept my eyes on hers as I guided myself into her. I brought the same hand up and started massaging her chest. Across the room, Yvette began to pant, feeling the effects of my magic cock. A brief glance confirmed that she wasn’t touching herself. That was good.
As I continued stroking myself inside Yvonne, and running my hands along her body, I reached into her mind like I had her sister’s. It was time to set up the second part of Yvette’s punishment. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was trusting my instincts. There was something inside me that told me what to do.
I couldn’t have done it without that strange silvery strand linking the two girls—a connection only possible because they had developed together in the womb. It should have let each sister feel what the other felt, but it was too weak to penetrate Yvette’s selfishness. So, I opened it up—allowing each girl’s impressions to be felt more keenly. Yvette would not be able to ignore her sister’s feelings anymore. Of course, it was a two-way street.
As I strengthened the thread entwining the twins, I could see Yvette’s pleasure increasing, as she not only felt the sensations from my magic cock, but from her sister as well. She was making every effort to not touch herself, but I could see it growing harder for her. I chose to have mercy on her, and came inside her sister.
It was a cacophony of joyful noise as the two cried out in simultaneous and blended orgasm.
Phoenix: Home—Friday Evening
“But why can’t we go with you, Tyran?”
“It might be dangerous, Yvette.” I shrugged on my jacket and grabbed my helmet from the shelf. “Besides, I only have one helmet. And there’s definitely not room on the motorcycle for the two of you.”
“We could take a taxi.”
“We would pay.”
“I appreciate the thought, girls.” I pulled the helmet on. “But not tonight.” I climbed on the bike. “Close the garage door when I leave?”
“Of course, Tyran.”
Next to Yvonne, her sister was pouting, her arms crossed over her chest. “I can’t believe you’re leaving us alone.” She actually stomped her foot. “After we came here to take care of you!”
“You can take care of me more tomorrow, ma belle.” I started the bike, so any response she might have given was drowned out by the engine. I didn’t mind.
It was my first time riding since the surgery, so I decided to take the scenic route to downtown. The leisurely pace was good—it gave me the opportunity to go over the plan a few more times in my mind.
After I pulled into the Egg’s parking lot, Jordan and Erin came up to me. “I thought you weren’t allowed to drive yet, campione.”
I took my helmet off. “Well, the doctor hasn’t given me permission or anything, but I’m feeling pretty good.” I shrugged. “So, maybe I cheated. I didn’t want to wait six months.”
“That could have been dangerous, Eric!” Erin punched me in the arm. “You need to take care of yourself.”
I looked to Jordan, seeking support, but she just laughed. “Sorry, bro. I’m on her side on this one.” She wiggled her finger at me in mock-rebuke. “Bad Eric!”
I laughed, and embraced Jordan. “I expect disrespect from HER,” I waved my helmet at Erin, “but from my harem?”
She just dimpled a smile at me. “You know you love it.”
“Yeah,” I said, giving her a deep kiss. “I suppose I do.”
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that. She’s your sister!”
Jordan laid her head on my chest, looking at Erin. “Half sister, actually.”
“That doesn’t matter!” Erin said, crossing her arms. “Wait, really?”
“Long story, angel.”
“Old college boyfriend of Mom’s,” Jordan murmured.
“Okay, I guess it wasn’t that long,” I laughed.
“But... what... how?”
“I’ll fill you in later, angel. Is everyone else inside?”
“Taffy and Tess are. Brandy and Sabrina are running late.”
Jordan made a face. “I don’t see why Sabrina needs to be there. We don’t know her from Adam.”
“I promised Vaughan. It’s got something to do with the Tribunal. Let’s get inside.”
I went over the details of the plan with Erin, making sure she knew what to do, as we entered the Goose Egg. Sheldon, Brandy’s brother, was standing near the stage, looking like a low-rent FBI agent in a cheap suit and shabby sunglasses.
The restaurant was populated with a lot of beautiful women, almost all of who had the reddish-gold brand of Demetrius on them. I recognized a lot of the girls from the Audubon, friends of mine. But more than half were people I didn’t even recognize. My stomach turned at the enormity.
Taffy was sitting at an empty table for six. I waved to get her attention, then walked over and took a seat, shoving my helmet under the chair. The other girls had already left their purses on their chairs. Slightly beating out Erin, Jordan moved her purse to the seat next to mine. She stuck her tongue out at Erin as she took her place by my side.
“Hey Owner,” Tess said as she walked up to the table. “What’s your pleasure?”
“Just some water, Tess. Actually, bring a pitcher and some extra glasses. You know what you have to do?”
“Yes, my lord.” She grinned, dipping into a curtsey. She gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Let me get your water first.”
I was sipping my water when Brandy and Sabrina showed up. They clearly were not getting along.
Brandy just slammed herself into a chair across from me, frowning. “Ugh! Eric, promise me you won’t sleep with this little know-it-all.”
I laughed. “I have no plans on it.”
“Of course he wi—” Sabrina whipped her head to look at me. “—what? Really?”
“Yes, really. Brandy, what’s the problem?”
“Oh, I just keep telling her that the only reason she doesn’t like me is because I’m a numen and she’s been marked.”
“That’s not the only reason.” Brandy frumphed in her chair. “She’s also smug and acts like she’s better than me.”
“Well, I am better than you.”
“Just because you can read minds doesn’t mean you’re better than me.”
“More superior, then.”
“You might be superior, Sabrina, but you really need to learn how to talk to people. Your people skills are lacking.”
Brandy just looked at her, smug.
“You can just make her like me, can’t you?”
“Probably.” I eyed Brandy pensively. Her face fell. I winked at her, and shrugged. “But why would I?”
Brandy giggled. “You had me worried for a moment there, Eric.”
“Seriously, Sabrina. If you don’t clean up your own messes, when will you learn?” I set a glass in front of each of the girls, then grabbed the pitcher of water. “That said, Brandy, you don’t have to like Sabrina, but I do expect you to get along.” Brandy’s face scrunched up in distaste. “At least as long as we have to.”
I was pouring the girls their drinks as Demetrius made his grand entrance. At first, Sheldon received a text, and disappeared from his post. Then, Sheldon and a stacked blonde wearing a low-cut, really short sequined dress stepped in, holding each door open for Demetrius (in a tux, of course) to saunter in. He was even wearing a cape.
I sat down the pitcher and nodded to Tess and Erin who disappeared into the bathroom together. Shortly thereafter, Demetrius’s phone rang. He pulled it out, checked to see who was calling, then answered. I took that as my cue to stand up and head over to him.
“Hello, Demetrius?”
“Hold on, baby,” he said to the phone, pulling it away from his ear. Then he turned to me. “Yeah, what?”
“I’m the new owner here. I just wanted to introduce myself. My name’s...” I extended my hand.
“Eric.” A sneer almost formed on his face. “Eric Chase. I recognize you from high school.” He grabbed my hand to shake it. “I’m Jorge. Jorge Rocco. Bet you never thought I’d make it this far.” He started squeezing my hand, trying to crush it. “You should come up on stage tonight.”
I laughed. “You shouldn’t have touched my sister.” Then I let loose my “whammy”—it was pretty simple. I just ‘yelled’ at him in the most forceful Ilyskn I could manage. If our timing was right, Erin was ‘yelling’ at him too. I felt a surge of energy that I thought was Erin and put that into keeping the “whammy” forceful. All I knew was that he grimaced, then fell to the ground. Sparks flew from his phone—we’d burned it out.
I didn’t have time to react. Everyone else did it for me. The entire place exploded in a commotion. Half the crowd surged forward in concern for Demetrius. I could hear my name being called by several familiar voices. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sheldon reach for his gun. I heard a voice shout “No!” I remember the crack of a gunshot, and a blur of blonde hair.
The next thing I knew I was on the ground, wrestling with the stacked blonde. This was not what was next in the plan.
I’m not much of a fighter; she easily overtook me. I lashed out with my mind, trying to push her away—that same surge of strength filled me, and she fell backwards in pain. I’d just jumped on her when a shriek filled the air, stopping us in our tracks.
“She’s not moving!” It was Sheldon. He was on the floor, his gun on the ground behind him, holding Brandy’s head in his lap.
I groggily tried to stand up. Even the blonde, full of rage as she was, realized that something more serious was going on. I could see streaks of my silver in the sickly gold of her brand. I couldn’t quite comprehend what I saw, once I got my bearings.
Brandy was lying on the ground, face up. Her head was in Sheldon’s lap. There was a small hole, maybe the size of a pencil, almost near her bellybutton. There was a puddle of blood already larger than her. I fell to my knees and tried to put my hand on the hole. A small voice in the back of my head said I should apply pressure, so that’s what I tried.
Some part of me wanted vengeance. I looked up at Sheldon, whose face was already contorted in shock and grief. It wasn’t enough. “You did this,” I growled. Then I reached out with my mind to strip everything of Demetrius from him. I felt that surge of strength again; I was getting more adept at tapping into it. I was not gentle with him, like I’d been with Patty. Savagely, I ripped every vestige of the gold brand from him, replacing it with my silver. I’m told it was not a pretty sight. I also shorted out almost every light in the place.
By the time that was done, the police and an ambulance had arrived. In my fugue, I’d been pressing so hard on poor Brandy’s body that they had to drag me away. The last thing I remember is the paramedics saying she’d been shot, that she’d lost a lot of blood. They’d taken her away to the hospital; Demetrius too. Sheldon had gone with Brandy. I thought I could trust him with her now.
I’d really made a mess of things.
When she arrived, I told the detective exactly what happened, leaving out the psychic stuff. “I’d heard a lot about Demetrius and his show, and since I’m the new owner here, I thought I’d introduce myself. When I was shaking his hand, his phone kind of exploded. Then, he just collapsed. Then, I don’t know what happened after that. I remember a gunshot. Next thing I remember, I was on the ground, wrestling with the girl.”
The detective paged through her notebook. “That would be Penelope?”
“I guess? The assistant girl?”
The detective nodded.
“Anyway, I guess that Sheldon and Penelope thought I had something to do with it.”
I later gathered what else had happened. Apparently, Brandy caught sight of Sheldon reaching for his gun, and decided to intervene. By the time Sheldon realized she was in the way, his finger had already pulled the trigger. She jumped in front of a bullet. For me. What the hell had I ever done to deserve that? I looked over to Jordan and Tess, their eyes still twinkling with my brand, and I knew.
When the detective finally said we could go, I piled along with the girls into Brandy’s car and let Sabrina drive us to the hospital. I left Tess to lock up the restaurant. I was so numb I barely remember the trip.