Page 25 of Seer

“Right. No. No way, no how. And whatever this fucking game is, you can count me out. I’m an NPC, or whatever makes me not a player. I do not consent.” I pointed a finger at them. “Tell the DM to leave me the hell alone!”

I kept glancing over my shoulder to make sure I wasn’t followed until I made it around the corner to the front door of the diner. I was sweating, and my hand shook as I grasped the door handle.

“Hey, Cal!”

My brain recognized Felix’s voice, but not until after I spun around and raised my fists.

“Whoa!” He stopped in his tracks and put his hands up in surrender.

“Fuck, sorry.” I rubbed my face. I scanned the parking lot. “Let’s go inside.” I opened the door, the rush of warm air and the smell of syrup and pancakes relaxing me slightly. I felt immeasurably better after the door shut behind us. Shane and Ellis couldn’t sneak up on me now.

Felix side-eyed me. “You okay?”

I made a little choking laugh. “No, not really.”

Cautiously he put his hand on my back. “Let’s get some carbs in you, then you can tell me and Steve all about it.”

A server breezed by and said, “Sit anywhere you like, I’ll bring you some menus!”

Felix pressed his hand against my spine and urged me forward. I’d barely taken a step when the diner’s front door opened again.

I turned quickly, elbowing Felix to get him behind me.

But it was just Steve.

“Okay,” Felix said, sticking his head around my arm. “We’re sitting down, and you’re going to tell us what’s going on.” He shook his head at Steve’s confused face, then he grabbed my left bicep, turned me in a half-circle, and pushed me toward an open booth in the back.

I told them—in a very low voice—everything that had happened since Felix had given me Delphia’s phone number, interrupted every so often by the server bringing us food and coffee. I ended by describing how Shane and Ellis had accosted me outside the diner.

When I was done I sipped my water—I did not need caffeine after what had happened outside—and waited for their reactions. Felix had his elbows on the table, his face cupped in his hands, and slowly blinked at me. “Wow.”

Steve, wide-eyed, laced his fingers on top of his head. “Holy Mjölnir!”

Both Felix and Steve were longtime readers of science fiction and fantasy, not to mention gay erotica, so they didn’t ask me if I had possibly ingested or smoked any hallucinogens.

“I don’t understand this game,” Steve said, dropping his hands to the table. “The shifters have obviously been keepingthemselves secret all along, so what’s with making a game out of it? And these other guys, whoaren’tshifters, they want you to sleep with them to give them power? Do you think that’ll turn them into shifters?”

Felix sucked in a breath. “Greg has to know about this. Right? Because everything started when you talked to his mom.”

I nodded. “The bird-women knew who I was, and I’m pretty sure the bear shifter did too. Delphia had to have told them.” I ran my thumb over my water glass and looked up. “I’m going to call the pet resort to see when Greg is working next. Then I’ll confront him.”

Steve scrunched up his forehead. “Do you think that’s safe? What if he tries to grab you like those other guys?”

Felix made a whining noise. “I hate worrying about that. IlikeGreg. He and Malcolm have been friends forever, and he’s been nothing but friendly since Malcolm and I started dating.” His eyes went wide, and he sat up in his seat. “Oh, crap! Greg is one of Malcolm’s groomsmen! And you two are mine!”

I grimaced. “Even more reason for me to hash this out with him now.”

Felix put his hands on his cheeks again. “How will I keep this from Malcolm? I can’t tell him; he had a hard enough time accepting your visions were real, Cal. This would be way too much for him.”

Steve made a face. “Yeah, I’m not telling Baz any of this either. But he’ll know something’s up with me.”

I blew out a breath. “Tell them you’re worried because I’ve been having some disturbing visions. It’s the truth.”

My vision of the man vanishing had happened before I’d talked to Delphia, so I’d forgotten to include it in my storyearlier. Quickly I recounted the awful vision I’d had and how Ranger Ramirez had said they’d found a duffel bag right where I’d told them it would be.

Steve shivered. “That’s scary. Yeah, I won’t have any trouble blaming my distraction on that vision.”

I grimaced. “Sorry.”