“Now this is impressive. What are we having?”
A giant serving platter landed between them, and massive wings carried the lid away. Through the steam coming from the dish, a large silver bowl was revealed. Looking inside it, she laughed.
“I’m still learning,” Mike said, grabbing a ladle. He took a large serving of the oatmeal in the bowl and poured it on Lily’s dish. “This was a childhood favorite of mine. I learned that sense memories are powerful here, and therefore easier to conjure.”
“Yes, but oatmeal? C’mon. A lady deserves better than that.”
“You are quite right, but you aren’t a lady, aren’t you?” He winked.
“You have me there.” Lily smelled the food. She could make out the sweet tones of cinnamon and maple. “Speaking of which, how’s your ass?”
“Ah. Well, I couldn’t sit for nearly a day until I remembered that this was just a dream, then it instantly stopped hurting.” Mike spooned some oatmeal onto his platter. “I must admit, that gave me some mixed feelings. I was so angry at you for doing that, and even angrier at myself because you made me come with it.”
“Your ass is an erogenous zone. And that sensation I gave you was no different than a finger in your ass, which I know you love. Just much, much bigger.” Lily stuck her finger in the oatmeal, then tasted the mash in front of her. Surprisingly, it was good. “You’d be surprised what you like.”
“Well, you would know, right? I remember thinking how well things were going when you made fun of me and I got turned off. Now I know you did that on purpose to ensnare me with false confidence.”
“You’re absolutely right. I can see all that your body desires, even the things you have yet to try, but I didn’t want you to know that quite yet.” Lily took another bite. “This is really good. Where is it from?”
“My grandma made it for me. When I was three, maybe? That part is fuzzy. Every time I smell oatmeal, I remember her face. She’d sit across from me, both of us eating big spoonfuls as we watched cartoons on the TV in her apartment.” Mike smiled, lost in a memory. “She died when I was five. My father took it hard, I do remember that.”
“Thanks for sharing with me.” Lily meant it. Every bite made her slightly nostalgic for a time long ago lost. Each smell and taste took her back just far enough that the sharp edges of her memories spared her broken heart.
“So if I could see your desires, what would they be?” Mike licked the back of his spoon, picking up some oatmeal that got stuck on the handle. “If I could see into your soul, what would your body like the most?”
“Interesting question. I don’t know what I physically desire — I have seen and experienced so much that it’s hard for me to experience those feelings anymore.”
“That sounds awful.” Mike leaned forward. “A being built for pleasure who experiences none of her own.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” She shrugged, her breasts rippling. “I just don’t experience sex like mortals do. It is a necessary act to feed.” Though it didn’t used to be. “My turn. You seem awfully cocky for a man who is one orgasm away from losing his soul.”
Mike laughed. “Oh. That. I’m no longer worried about it.”
The music grew louder, and Lily laughed when she saw the source was a coatrack playing a violin. It had stepped out of its hiding place behind some bushes at the edge of the room. “You have to explain that one to me,” she said, pointing.
“Oh. Yeah, I saw that in a movie once. Can’t remember what. He follows me around, keeps me company.”
“You mean he keeps your mother away.”
“That too.”
Mike’s eyes glinted. For a second, Lily felt a seed of doubt in her gut. He was hiding something from her, something important. She thought that maybe his mind was cracked, but the longer she spoke with him, the faster she was realizing that he was all there. What was the catch?
She replayed the deal they had made in her mind. She rarely missed any mistakes — her capture by the Society was a result of the last play on words that had screwed her over. It had been a similar arrangement to Mike’s, but the wording had been different. The result meant that she had become a slave to her current Master until she could take his soul from him, a deed that soon proved to be impossible upon discovering that he had given it to a far more powerful entity in exchange for magical abilities.
Lily fumed silently. The deal with Mike was impossible for him to win, but a loophole in her last agreement did allow her to transfer ownership under the right conditions, namely that an actual soul was on the line. Such a deal would supersede her previous one, allowing her a twisted version of freedom. Looking at Mike, she had a tough time believing he would be any different than the multitude of owners she had been forced to serve at her Master’s command.
And if she did lose her bet, the Society would come for her. Her Master would come personally. There was no escaping that, and she doubted Mike would survive. She wondered if Mike had somehow discovered a loophole in their arrangement.
“So, is this just a social call, or are you ready to do business?” Lily had finished her plate, her tail twitching off to the side. “I have all night, so to speak, but would prefer to do it somewhere nicer.”
“I don’t see any reason to wait.” Mike licked his spoon again. “The Dreamscape seems interesting and all, but there are people on the outside that I miss. They occupy my thoughts, all the time.”
“You won’t get to see them again when I win.” Lily stood, bending forward to press
