Damian's Oracle

"Now that you're here, my lovely Claire, you can help me nail that son of a bitch for good," his master said. "Between you and the Oracle, there's no stopping me."

"Anything for you," she said.

They looked at each other. His master glanced over to make sure Two was in his assigned corner, and then pulled off the visitor's clothing.

"I want him to watch," his master said, "while I fuck you every way I know how."

His woman laughed huskily and approached Two naked. Her body was beautiful, curvy, with large breasts. He thought he remembered seeing her naked before, maybe when she arrived last night. He didn't know for sure.

"This is for you," she said and returned to his master.

Two watched them tumble into bed and fuck for hours, wondered why she seemed so familiar, before deciding his master was right-slaves were too stupid to remember.

*****

Sofia tried to focus on flipping through a magazine. The mansion's heavy drapes on the ground floor were closed and the lighting in the library dim enough for her to tolerate. She'd roamed the ground floor before adopting the library as her favorite room and settling in front of a deadened hearth with a stack of celebrity magazines.

The monster in the corner of her mind was a man, shrouded in darkness. He wasn't a nightmare or vision-this much she knew. Since her dream, she'd heard him even when she was awake. His crying and shifting distracted her from the strange world around her and made her head pulse, as if he were trying to pry his way into her unwilling mind.

"You're still pissed at me?" Jake asked from his seat nearby. "I brought you here, didn't I?"

She gave him a withering look, wondering what crack he was smoking to think he did her any favor by bringing her here instead of to a hospital. He'd followed her around all morning, and she was sick of him.

"Come on, Sofi, I'm trying to help you."

"Okay, fine," she said, tossing the magazine. "Tell me where I am, why I'm here, and what's wrong with me."

"I can't."

"Then leave me alone."

Han chuckled from his position near the window. He was pretending to read a book, though she suspected he'd been emplaced as her bodyguard. He'd followed her and Jake all around the house earlier like a bored puppy.

"Han, you following me to the bathroom, too?" she challenged, standing. He snorted. He remained in the same spot until she returned. So did her lying, cheating bastard of an ex-boyfriend.

"You're in Arizona," Jake said as she resumed her defensive position in the library's most comfortable chair. "This is one of D's compounds. It's where we come to … be safe."