Susan was very quiet as she carefully laid out pillows in a row. "I apologize for him if he said something personal" Tina said. "I'm not angry. Just embarrassed I called out that name" Susan said. "He must be special to you" Tina said as Susan laid down. "He's very kind. He didn't give up on me when I was at my lowest. Special? I guess you could say that" she muttered. Susan pulled the covers over her. "Do you love him...if I may ask?" Tina said. "...hush. Time to sleep" Susan said before sticking her finger in her mouth. She quickly drew a sleeping arcane on the bedsheet and closed her eyes as she activated it. Suddenly, both twins were sleeping soundly. Susan bunched up the bedsheet covering them to keep them warm. "Alright. Our peeping toms got a good enough show and they won't see me shrink when I fall asleep. God I'm tired..." she thought as she closed her eyes. 15 minutes later Susan was sound asleep and the growth spell wore off. The sheets collapsed slightly but the pillows made an impression that Susan was sleeping in the fetal position.

She woke up before they did. Her spell would wear off shortly anyway. She grew under the sheets and threw them off yawning and stretching. She glanced at the twins. It was cute that they hugged one another in their sleep. It would be a big day and she wasted no time ordering breakfast. "Wakey wakey you two" Susan said as breakfast arrived. They began to rouse as the giantess hovered over them. "Good mornin'!" she said. Tina woke with a start not remembering where she was. Not all her mornings were nice. "Morning" she said seeing Susan. "And morning my handsome borrower man. That erection for me?" Susan giggled. Chris blushed. "Bathroom is over there" Susan said. Tina and Chris took turns peeing. "Bet you both are hungry. Dig in" Susan said placing them on her tray. It was quiet for a few minutes as they ate. "What's your home like?" Chris asked. "Well there's a mansion with maids" Susan replied. Chris and Tina showed little response as that sounded commonplace for rich clients.

"And the borrowers live in a commune" she added. "Commune?" Tina asked eating bacon. "I respect their independence. It's more accurate to call it a sanctuary. Not all of our...your kind is ready to live in the human world" Susan said. "How...how many are there?" Tina asked. "Many but we have room for two more" Susan said. Tina and Chris looked at one another. With not a word, Tina jerked Chris' cock to full mast and then spread her own legs. "Guys...you don't have to do that" Susan said. They looked confused. "*sigh* Tina, I loved sucking your cute little feet and playing with your tits. Chris, you taste delicious. Your cum was as tasty as cream filling. Having said that, I was just going through the motions like you were. You don't have to pay with your bodies" Susan said. Tina broke into a pitiful sob as her brother held her close. "It's alright sugarplum" Susan said softly in her Georgia accent. The giantess petted the girl's back.

Susan hid her tears as she wondered if this was how she looked those years ago when Lily brought her to her home. It was actually harder for her. The first night Susan was at Lily's wasn't easy. Lily had made it clear she was no pet of hers and their wishes would be respected. Susan didn't buy it. Blinded just two months prior, the two inch 12-year-old girl refused to believe one word of a human. She sat quietly on her bed as Lily touched her. She lay still as the giantess touched her legs and chest. Fondled her little feet. Moved her head. She could smell her breath. Susan waited to be raped. In truth, Lily was making sure she had no lasting injuries like bones healing wrong, lacerations, infections. Nothing at the time could be done about her eyes. "You look very healthy considering everything" Lily said. Susan quietly stood up and made her way to Lily's crotch. Susan figured if she threw herself into being a sex toy for the woman, there would be no need to hurt her.

Susan followed the scent of giant pussy. "Hey. What are you doing?" Lily asked stopping her with her hand. Susan pushed her hand aside. And began pulling on Lily's panties. "Stop! You don't have to do that!" Lily yelled pushing Susan back. Susan thought it might be a sick game and tried again. Lily pushed her back three times. "You're free don't you get it?" Lily asked. Frustrated, Susan followed another scent. She made a bee line towards Lily's feet. "Susan stop! Please...please stop" Lily begged. Susan felt her big toe and was about to lick it when a drop of water hit her head. She instinctively looked up. "You're not my pet sweetheart. You're not" Lily cried softly. Susan began punching her toes over and over grunting. Lily picked her up. "It's gonna be okay. I swear it will be" Lily said as she brought her to her cheek. Susan felt tears on it and broke down crying. It was no trick. The giantess considered her a real person.

Susan found herself missing Lily more that day as she looked at the twins. "Let's take a bath" she said bringing them with her. Susan ran a bath for them in the sink before running one for herself. She watched them scrub one another lovingly. Tina and Chris watched in awe as the giantess rose from the water to dry off. "You're making me blush you two" Susan chuckled. They dried off and she carried them to the bed so she could get dressed. "Once my job...I mean vacation is over, I'll come for you both" Susan said as she slipped on a white dress. "You can find us in room 511" Tina said. "I'll remember that" Susan said. "We'll understand if you don't come" cherish said softly. Susan gave him a kiss on his entire face. "I don't break promises" Susan said. There was a knock on the door. "That's for us. Thanks...for everything" Tina said. Susan opened the door and a porter took them away.

Susan's flat sandals barely made a sound on the carpet as she made her way to the blackjack tables. Seeing what those borrowers went through, she was in the mindset to clean this casino out. She wasn't just going to win big to get attention. She was going to hang them out to fucking dry.  That kind of vindication made her feel light on her feet. She was all business as she sat down at a table and placed her $400k in chips in her banking pile. She bet low for the first ten hands to get a read on the flow of cards like before. As soon as she got a handle, she went to town. She easily bust the others. Hitting on 18 constantly. Checking the odds. Not so much as counting the cards but predicting what should appear. As the hands flew by her predictions got better and better until she hit on 20. "You sure miss?" the dealer asked. "That's what I said" Susan said. And up came the ace of hearts. "21. A winner...again" the dealer said flatly.  

"Table 7 has got a hot one" a man watching the screen said. Lucy took a look. "The one from yesterday. Did the extensive background check come back?" she asked. "Nothing we didn't already know yesterday. Still looking" he replied. "She a counter?" Lucy asked. "If she is she the best I've ever seen. We changed out the deck for fresh cards twice" he replied. "Switch the dealer and use a cooked deck" she ordered.

Susan passed a million after doubling down and winning. She noticed how they switched out the deck on her but with so many chips now, she wasn't backing down. This itself threw them off. A card counter would dial it back or switch tables. No, Susan was comfortable enough to take her sandals off. Her toes tapped as she counted her stack of chips. Then a woman came over and relieved the dealer. She cracked open a deck. "Still in?" she asked. "Me leaving? Not with this streak" Susan replied. The woman dealt her cards as onlookers watched. Five hands in, Susan could see something was off. The dealer’s cards were too close to 21 each time. On the last draw she didn't even hit. She couldn't be counting the cards this soon so it had to be something else. Susan thought hard as she stared at her own cards until she noticed something peculiar. There was a dark red spot on the back of the cards the size of a pin prick. Almost completely obscured for a human to truly notice without knowing in advance. However, Susan wasn't human.

Of all the remarkable facts about borrowers, there was one not widely known. Human vision tends to favor the color blue. Borrower vision on the other hand favors blue and reddish earthy tones. A trait evolved to spot camouflaged predators. Susan could barely see it but it was there. She looked at her other card and sure enough there was one on that too in a different location. She had 12. "Hit me" she said. Again, this card has the spot and in a similar spot as her 10 of spades. Instantly she knew that the location of the spot indicated the amount of the card. She wouldn’t say a word. Oh no. They had given her the perfect way to break the bank and they couldn't say shit about it. People watched in awe as the woman grew her stack hand after hand.

The man in the Pit room looked all over Susan trying to find how exactly she was winning at a higher rate than before. No hand signs. No glasses. No pockets. He focused on the floor and watched her bare toes tapping. "I don't pay you to indulge in your foot fetish" Lucy said. "That ain't it. I'm trying to see if she's counting or giving off signals. Thought maybe she was tapping out some code" he said. Lucy sat next to him. "What is she at?" she asked. "3 mil" he groaned. Lucy quickly got up and dialed a number. "I want answers now. No rich hick from fucking Texas is this good!" she yelled. She listened. "Don't care. Just do it!" she yelled. The man glanced at her. "My friends is busy cracking her iCloud. I'm starting to think this girl is more than just hat she says she is. I'm sure she isn't here by chance. Get the twins in here. I want to know what they found out" she ordered. "But we got the recordings from the cameras" the man said. "Not all of it. And if you value your life, you won't question me again" she said looking dead at him. The man nearly pissed himself as her right eye mysteriously changed for split second...

"It seems we...ahem...ran out" the dealer nervously said. "Ain't my problem. Stock up. Ya'll got the money" Susan said. People hollered and laughed around her. The dealer sheepishly left to get chips. "Jesus ma'am. How much you got?" someone asked. "$3.5 million. Not enough to satisfy a girl like me though" Susan chuckled. A young man sat next to her. "Maybe you need something other than money?" he asked with a grin. She felt his hand on her thigh. Susan used her toes and gripped the leg hairs of the man and yanked hard. "Unless you're green and your last name if Franklin, you're not my type" she said quietly. The man got up and left. The dealer returned with another large stack. "Let's continue" Susan said.

15 minutes later...

"I'm sending it now" someone said on her phone. Lucy waited till the text came and she looked at it closely. "Thought so" she muttered. She went to her personal terminal and logged it. "Sending you a file. Is she linked to Sagittarius?" she typed. Minutes passed. "Confirmed by Gemini. She's using a perception spell" was the reply. "That's explains why I look at her and get this odd familiar feeling. "Baker. Send men to escort her to the conference room. Don't be gentle if it comes to it" Lucy said on a walkie.

Susan hit the four million mark and dozens of people surrounded her. She didn’t notice two men dressed in black approach. "Miss. It's time you cashed out" one said gripping her shoulder hard. "About fucking time" she thought. Susan took two fingers and grasped his index finger. She squeezed hard and felt the bone crack. "Ya’ll ain't asking nicely. Might give a girl the wrong idea" she said. The second man leaned in. "I got a three-inch ice pick in my left hand pointed at your back. I push it in and I'll nick your left ventricle. You bleed out internally in 12 minutes. It'll look like you passed out drunk to these people. Your choice" he said. Susan sighed and out her sandals back on. "Let me cash my chips. Don't want them thinking you're cheaters, right?" she asked. The man nodded. Susan cashed the chips and was escorted upstairs into the conference room. Susan was sat down as the two men stood behind her. A minute later, Lucy walked in.

Susan sized her up quickly. Mixed Hispanic blood with coppery wavy hair. A black dress going to her thighs. On her feet were expensive Prada peep toe heels. Her toes French tipped immaculately. Her right eye, something strange about it. Like there was more to it but she could see. Susan tensed up as she recognized the feeling of a perception spell on it. Lucy took her hands from behind her back and revealed Tina and Chris in her grasps. She placed them on the desk before sitting down. Lucy slipped off her shoes and placed her bare feet on the table before lighting a cigarette. Susan wanted to cringe from the smell of smoke and sweaty feet. Lucy glanced at the twins who were clearly frightened. "You see feet in front of you. Fuck you waiting for?" she hissed. The twins scrambled to clean and worship them.

Lucy took a puff looking at the tiny people wiping away the sticky sweat and grime between her toes. "I knew there was something funny the second you walked into my lobby. Turns out I was right. Let's start of by you telling me your real name" Lucy said. "Look. The name on my registration is the name I was born..."

Lucy jerked her foot back causing Chris to fall forward. She brought it quickly down on him. Susan could see him squirming as his legs kicked air and his hands slapped the sides of her feet. His screaming muffled by her sole. "The hack job was good. Very fucking good but they never hacked her iCloud. The Real Rachel Anderson is vacationing in Athens as we speak. She uploaded a picture of her in front of the Parthenon 7 am this morning. So I ask again. Who are you?" Lucy asked. Susan didn't answer. With no emotion, Lucy bared more of her weight on the foot she was smothering Chris with until a chorus of cracking bones and screams filled her ears. Lucy removed her foot revealing a dead young male borrower. Tina shrieked and sobbed his name. "You nasty bitch. They have NOTHING to do with this!" Susan yelled.  "We heard enough of your conversation with them. Ungrateful little shits" Lucy hissed. "You're a fucking pimp. Don't act like you're charitable" Susan spat. "We're getting off track" Lucy said yanking Tina by her hair making her fall on her back. Lucy took her cigarette and brought it within inches of her tiny face. "SUSAN! Susan Durmont" Susan yelled. Lucy took the cigarette away. "Good. You stall me again and I turn her little pussy into an ashtray. Now, undo EVERY spell you got going for you. Now" Lucy said to her. Susan took off her bracelet and canceled her growth spell. Shrinking back to her normal size in the chair, a guard grabbed her and placed her on the table. Lucy bid her to come closer.

"THORN sent you. Why?" Lucy asked. Susan tensed up hearing the word thorn. "To investigate how someone can get lucky or so unlucky by coming here" Susan replied. "This is how" Lucy said waving her hand over her right eye. Her hazel eye was replaced with a creepy looking gemstone. The sight of it gave Susan shivers. "There are thousands that look like this all over the world. They're called cat's eye stones but this one here is very different. Called the Eye of Bast. You know anything about Egyptian mythology?" Lucy asked. "Not as much" Susan replied softly. "Pity. Rich in history. Even their laws are still reflected in modern society*" she said.

(Authors note: It's true. Most believe that the Ten Commandments are the cornerstone to modern law. That’s true to a point but the Ten Commandments have their origin in what's called The Negative Confessions of Khemetic Law or 42 Laws of Maat which predate the Ten Commandments by about 2000 years)

"Bast was a lioness goddess. She oversaw the protection of children, women, fertility, gamblers, and most important in this case the balance of luck. This gem in my eye socket can not only evaluate a person's natural luck but redistribute it" Lucy said. "Is that what Zodiac has you doing here in the desert? Robbing suckers of good fortune and giving it to millennials who have an idea for the next candy crush game?" Susan asked. "Then you do know of us. Yes, I'm a member of Zodiac. Lucinda Alvarez also known as Leo at your service" she said nodding her head.  "You people are pathetic. After what I've been through in the last 6 months, you're nothing" Susan said playing off Lucy's narcissistic introduction. "Oh I assure you we're a worthier adversary than Ebonheart was" Lucy said. Susan stared at her wide eyed. "Yeah we know all about that. Between us girls, we have a mole in your colony keeping tabs on you. Been that way for years" Lucy said. "You're lying" Susan said.     

"The Hope child ended the conflict did she not? Good thing too as we were primed to vaporize you all with a tactical nuke tipped cruise missile fired from the HMS Prince of Wales sitting off the western coast. Zealous Organization of Domination Interrogation Assassination and Control or ZODIAC for short. We've been at this game for an extremely long time. Far longer than your puny THORN" Lucy grinned. Susan looked at Chris and the pool of blood formed under his body. She glanced at Tina who was nearly catatonic in shock. "So now what?" Susan asked. "Honestly I don't know. You're dangerous knowing magic that's evident. If you lick my feet clean, I might be inclined to keep you alive. I am a reasonable woman after all" Lucy said. Susan walked right over to her foot. Tiny claw marks where Chris struggled to survive still on it. Her foot was pungent with her sweat and now borrower blood. All she had to do was lick and maybe her life would be spared. Lucy smiled as she watched her get closer. Tina closed her eyes not wanting to watch her last hope be extinguished. 

"There's another choice. Why don't we play a game for what happens?" Susan asked. "HAHAHAHA! Why...why should I even consider?" Lucy laughed wiping tears from her eyes. "That gem can see how good someone's luck is right? Check mine" Susan said. Curious, Lucy did just that. She was shocked at what she saw. "I've lived through shit that would boggle minds. Out of thousands I was chosen by a woman who lived on another continent. Out of all the pet shops in America, she chose to come to a shitty hole in the wall in Atlanta. I got luck coming out of my fucking toenails" Susan snickered. Lacy narrowed her eyes. "Imagine how much that would fetch from your customers" Susan added. "What do you propose?" Lucy asked. "You bet your luck against mine" Susan replied. "And the game?" Lucy asked. "One round of dice. Lowest roll wins" Susan said. "And if there's a tie?" Lucy asked. "House wins" Susan replied. "...so be it" Lucy said getting up and leaving the room.

"Tina are you alright?" Susan asked. "What the hell are you!" Tina yelled. "A borrower trying to save our lives" Susan replied. "She never loses. Never..." Tina muttered. "She never played against a borrower before" Susan said. Lucy returned to the room and sat down. "Other than my eye, this is my most cherished possession" Lucy said holding what looked like a nub of bone. "Ancient Egyptians were some of the earliest people to use dice. They crafted it from astragalus bones of sheep like this one here handed down though my family line. As you can see it looks exactly like modern dice right up to the dots. You go first" Lucy said handing the die to Susan. The die was as big as a basketball in her arms. Heavy too. A very small crack ran alongside it.  Susan flung it with all her might. It clacked over and over on the wooden desk until it came to a stop. Lucy let out a sinister laugh. "Six! You rolled a six! No matter what I roll I win!" she cackled. "Lady. It ain't over till it's over" Susan said tapping her tiny bare foot.

"Smug little shit. I'm going to enjoy seeing what comes when you're lucked out. You want me to roll?! Then here it is!" Lucy yelled actually throwing the die right at her.  Susan didn't move or flinch. As fast as she possible could, she punched forward. Her hand collided with the die shattering every bone in her right hand. And as much as she wanted to shriek out in pain, the sight of what was now on the table gave her unabashed confidence. "You lose" Susan chuckled. "You rolled a six! By your own rules I won!" Lucy yelled. "No, look closer" Susan said. As Lucy stared at the die, Susan quickly cast a healing arcane on her hand. Lucy was astounded to see her precious ancient Egyptian die had split in two. One side was one, the other six. "You rolled a seven. I win" Susan said. "No, that's against the rules! The die split! It...it never touched the desk!" Lucy stammered. "I never made such rules and you did agree to them. Time for me to collect" Susan said. Lucy's eye began to glow.

"No! NO THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO TURN OUT THIS WAY!" Lucy screamed. A white beam of light shot from the Eye of Bast striking Susan. "Uhhgh...so this is what it feels like to get a fuckload of extra luck. Kinda makes my pussy wet..." Susan said grinning. The beam faded away leaving a very pissed off giantess. "You think you accomplished something? I may not be allowed to kill you now but nothing was said about those two not doing it" Lucy said before nodding to them. Susan took off at full speed towards the giantess she zipped past Tina and ran up Lucy's right arm as her hand still sat on the desk. The guards froze for a moment as Lucy jerked back and raised her left hand as if to swat the girl. The fabric was luckily stiff enough not to crease of move as Susan ran up her arm. Luckily, her tiny feet weren't to sweaty from wearing sandals to slip.

Susan ripped some hair off her scalp and slapped it right on the Eye of Bast. Lucy blinded, slapped her hand on the eye just as Susan used her upper cheek as a springboard to jump at the nearest guard. The guard raised his hand that held his gun to swat her. Luckily, Susan avoided it by millimeters. She punched him in the left eye. Not hard enough to injure but just enough for him to stagger. When he did, the burst of pain caused him to absentmindedly pull the trigger. The round found its way into the throat of the second guard. Panicked and bleeding out, the second guard fired his gun. Two very quick pings could be heard as his round ricocheted off a silver vase and then the fire sprinkler overhead eventually digging its way right into Lucy's hand which had risen dangerously overhead Tina.

Susan landed right next to Tina. "Come" Susan said invoking sympathetic magic yanking the hair covered Eye into her hands. A frozen scream of pain was caught in Lucy's throat. Blood splatter from her eye socket fell right at Susan's feet. "A girl can get used to this good luck shit" she muttered as she quickly made a growth arcane. In seconds, she was human sized and carrying Tina and the Eye out the conference room door. "You won't get away! The police are in my pocket! My guards will shoot you before you exit the lobby! Lucy yelled covering her eye socket. "Honey. Your luck is running on fumes. Whatever happens to you...I don't wanna bet near ya" Susan said as she ran out. Lucy used her own blood to write a healing arcane and just before she finished her finger slipped. It glowed brightly as she stood up thinking the healing arcane was taking effect. In reality, when her finger slipped, the primary rune was altered for a powerful shrinking one. Lucy got near the balcony railing watching Susan run down the stairs. Then suddenly, the world exploded in growth. "What...?" she asked.

Her bad luck was truly just beginning. She froze as she was less than a foot from the drop off. "It'll wear off. It'll wear off" she muttered trying to stay calm. Then up above, the air conditioning cycled back on. Normally barely a breeze, it was like a hurricane for the centimeter sized woman. It easily blew her right over the edge. It would've been instant death for her as the 900 ft. (to her) plummet would've turned her into a smear on the floor except for one very tiny stroke of good luck she had left. She landed right in someone's martini glass. She bobbed to the surface screaming in pain as the vodka felt like molten lead in her wounds. She looked up above to see a teenage girl with her hand on the glass. Two guards approached. "Kyle! Bradley! Down here!" she yelled. "Drivers license miss" Kyle asked. The girl gave Jim the finger and raised her glass. She moved it to her mouth. "No...oh god no..." she muttered as she began swimming in the freezing alcoholic liquid. Her hands found the edge of the glass and as her bare feet found some degree of hold, an olive cracked her in the head making her fall right back in. She came up just as the glass was tipped.

"NOT LIKE THIS! NOT LIKE THIS!" Lucy screamed as a tidal wave washed her right into her mouth. "NOOOOOO!" she shrieked her the teen giantess wasted no time swallowing the liquid including Lucy. The girl grabbed her chips and ran. The guards chased her and radioed for backup. Susan spotted two guards at the lobby door and readied herself for a fight. Then they got a call on their walkies and ran past her. "Isn't Jackson on Pit duty? He usually catches the underage" one said. "He's with the boss right now" the other said. Sudan grinned at her lucky streak.

"My car. Now" Susan said to the valet. He looked at her irked at the traces of blood on her dress and the fact she was barefoot. "Chop fuckin' chop!" she yelled. The valet went to fetch the car. She snatched the keys from him, hopped in the vette, and roared off. A short time later, Susan was quietly changing her clothes in the rental parking lot. "What...who are you? How do you change size? Fuck is going on?!" Tina yelled. Susan pulled out a set of clothes for her. "There are people in the world that want to use magic to harm others. I'm someone that stops them from doing so" Susan replied. "Fuck kind of answer is that?!" Tina yelled. Susan handed her clothes and shut the trunk. "The only answer I have" she replied. She carried Tina to the rental office. "Hi! I'm so glad I saw you again! I followed your advice and asked him out. He said yes right off the bat!" the borrower girl said happily.

"Sounds great" Susan said. "I want to go to this restaurant tonight but it's usually booked solid" the girl said. Sudan handed her the keys and she climbed up to hang them up. With her back turned, Susan shot her with the Eye. "My advice is to try anyway. Never know. Might get lucky" Susan said smiling. "You got a friend there" she said seeing tins on her shoulder. "Yeah...a friend. I'm helping her move. Better life and all" Susan said. "Good for you. It gives me Hope seeing humans stick up for us" she said. Susan said nothing and smiled.

On the flight back, Tina was quiet for the first few hours. "We're you telling the truth about a borrower preserve or was that also a lie?" Tina asked. "Not a lie. The honest truth" Susan replied looking at the ocean out the window. "How many are there?" Tina asked. "Fluctuates but it's about 11,000 there right now. It's a small city. They have schools, pools, gyms, apartments and townhomes" Susan replied. Tina looked skeptical. It was created by my old boss Lily Durmont" Susan added.  "The borrower fashion mogul who recently died?" Tina asked. Susan curled into herself tighter. "Yep" she replied. There was a pause. "I'm sorry for your loss. As much knowledge, training, and power I have. I couldn't save him" Susan muttered shedding tears. "...you tried and that's what matters" Tina said. "Susan. Can I ask you something?" Tina said. She nodded. "When you had sex with us, was that a cover?" Tina asked.

"They were watching and I...I...I'm so lonely Tina. Borrowers my age have at least one kid and somebody there for them. Hard day today, prop your feet up and I'll suck your toes till you feel better. Bad dream, lay in my arms. Hungry, I'll fetch some grub. I have nobody in my life for that. One is a girl stinging from the loss of her mom and memories of torture. The other is married" Susan said. "What about this Keith guy? You said his name" Tina asked. "Married and my boss" Susan said. "Nice? Caring? Attentive to your emotional needs?" Tina asked. Susan nodded. "Then go to him. You don't need to outright fuck the guy. Or do you...?" Tina asked. "I wouldn't mind if he fucked me. I could do worse. No, that's the loneliness talking" Susan said shaking her head. "In any event, if he cares for you, he'll be there" Tina said. Susan felt humbled that this woman, pregnant with the child of her dead brother/mate would be cheering her up. It made her issues seem trivial.

Susan and Tina arrived home at 4 am. Still dark out, Susan directed her to social services which would set her up with a place to stay in the colony. She went into the mansion, undid her growth spell, and sat in the windowsill. "Mornin' or is it night?" Keith asked. "Jesus you scared the fuck outta me!" Susan said jumping nearly falling off the windowsill. "Sorry. Decided to stay up to welcome you home" he said. Susan could see how exhausted he looked as he sat at the kitchen table. She knew firsthand how hard he worked every day. "You didn't have to do that" she said. "Nonsense. What you went through was crazy. I wanted to make sure you were alright" he said. Susan hopped onto the table. "Is that the artifact?" he asked looking at the Eye on the table. She nodded. "Damn...looks so unimposing" he said poking it. Sudan took off her clothes.

"Keith...do...do you like me?" she asked. Keith nearly fell out of his chair seeing her stark naked. "Susan?" he asked. "Am I attractive to you. Do I...please you?" she mumbled. Keith hid his erection. Between the two of them, one knew he was sexually aroused by his smell, and the other knew not to lie to a girl who could literally smell lies. "Yeah" he muttered. "You can do things...if ya want. You can even suck on me" she muttered. "Susan..."

"My feet are nice and pedicured. I'm experienced with men..."

"...Susan" Keith muttered. His finger went to her and she closed her eyes. She felt the tip of his finger on the back of her head and felt it pull away leaving her long brown to fall away. "I love you so much but not in a way you're asking" he said very softly. Her eyes shot wide open. His finger gently petted her head. "Stop it. STOP BEING SO GODDAMNED NICE TO ME!" she screamed. Susan stood there sobbing. "You know how infuriating it is for someone like you to be so damn nice! Every girl wants to fuck you! Every damn one! And look what you did to me..." she cried. "Three minutes and 9 seconds" he muttered. "What?" she asked. "That's how long it takes to bury a borrower. Four minutes 12 seconds with honors. For the first few days after the battle, I watched as rows of small boxes were laid out. Each one a borrower inside. Their lives snuffed out. As the person in charge of THORN, it was my duty to walk about the colony telling their families they were dead."

"And some...some blamed my daughter for their loss. There was one girl that came to my room barely a week after the fight. She was at most 16. She stood there at the foot of my bed in the dead of night just staring at me. This girl...Susan this girl told me to eat her. I of course told her no. She went on to say her husband of two years had been killed in the fight and she couldn't live on with the pain" Keith said. "But why ask you that?" Susan asked. "Who I was? What I could do? Someone she could remotely trust to kill her? I don't have a fucking clue Susan. But I've seen that broken look before. Like there was nothing at the end of that dark tunnel" he said. "What did you do?" Susan asked. "I placed her on my pillow and told her if I couldn't convince her to live than I'd eat her alive" he replied.

"I talked for hours. Said she could find another person. Find love again. Start a family, a life among humanity. Nothing was getting through and dawn was soon approaching. She began taking off her clothes in preparation and she was so pretty. I wanted so much to hold her and keep her safe and that's when it came to me what I truly needed to say" he said. "What did you say Keith?" Susan asked. "I love you" he replied. "She just sank to her knees staring at me. I love you and I don't want to lose another person" I said. She looked right into my eyes, my exhausted bloodshot eyes. She ran to my cheek sobbing.

"Susan. She wanted to die because she thought there was nobody left on this earth that loved her. I love everyone because I know the power of those words. You guys aren't agents, employees, or random folk. You're my precious family. Come here sweetie" Keith said scooping her into his hands. "I really do love ya. Yeah you got sexy little feet and a butt to die for but its what's in here that gives me the reason to keep doing all this" he said pointing to her heart. He gently kissed her belly and nuzzled her some. "Made your point you big goof" Susan chuckled. "Can you do me a favor?" she asked. "Sure" he replied. "I want to sleep in your bed tonight. I just...just want to feel safe" she said. Keith carried her to his room. He undressed and placed her on his pillow. He turned the lights off. "If circumstances where different, would you have?" she asked. "Until you couldn't walk straight" he replied. Susan chuckled. Susan fell asleep very quickly after but Keith stayed awake. His eyes locked on her half covered little nude body.

She was lonely and it unnerved him that she reminded him of that girl from that night. In truth, it terrified him to send her on missions. Having access to Lily's files, he knew that no borrower agent was still alive from the time THORN was created. The average life expectancy for one was three years. He was conflicted. She was the absolute best but eventually her ticket would be punched no matter how lucky she was. And the thought of him lowering her mangled corpse into a shoebox caused his heart to skip a beat. That's assuming there was a corpse. Most agents lost were classified as MIA. Crushed or devoured left no or little traces of their existence. A sad fate for those brave enough to protect humanity from themselves. Keith petted her gently until her bare foot kicked him in the nose. He kissed her tiny sole before coving her up once more. "I do love you. I love you all" he muttered as he closed his eyes.

At an undisclosed location....

"This is outrageous! We lost Sagittarius and now Leo! This keeps up we won't be able to prepare for the Great Alignment!" Virgo yelled. "Gas the colony, burn them and take the Etherion child" Aquarius said. "And when the child wakes up?" Cancer asked. "Enough. The loss of Leo was a great blow but we did get something out of it. The name of this borrower. You can use that right Libra?" Ares asked. "Indeed, if Gemini assists me" Libra replied.  "The entire organization is the threat not just the borrower!" Virgo yelled. "My plan will kill two birds with one stone. I've arranged for it" Gemini said. "Very well. Proceed with you plan" Ares said looking at two identical young women both holding an ancient mirror...