CHAPTER 7: THE DRAW

Jayne was gone.  I finally had a moment to collect myself.  No climbing onto a ridiculously large foot.  No hiding in purses.  No running from goddesses.  Angel, who was the leader of this little group as far as I could tell, had the amulet.  Whatever activates it, it only affects you if you look at the light, if what Jayne said was true.  Why the women were not affected by it, I couldn’t tell.  And it was reversible, somehow.  Finding Angel would be my next course of action.  Once I got the amulet, I would have to figure out how to use it.  My fear is that it will require one of the girls to work.  In which case, I had better work on my charm.  From what I could tell, if I had to sweet-talk one of these three giantesses, my best bet would be Nicole, the lusciously tall (even at my normal height) blonde.  She hesitated to off the barkeep, and she had an apparent distaste for Jayne’s sadism towards Hotshot.  But hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.  Being this tiny doesn’t do much for your confidence.

I hugged the walls and worked my way towards Jayne’s bedroom door.  I could hear some voices coming from outside, but they were pretty distant.  The door was closed, but I crawled under it with ease.  The voices were louder now, but this time they were coming from below.  I was in an open hallway.  To my back was Jayne’s still closed door, and to either side were long stretches of walls and various doors.  In front of me was an open banister that appeared to be lofted above a larger room.  Scanning around a little more, it was a large house with several bedroom doors all facing an open courtyard-style living room.  That’s where the voices were coming from.  I didn’t see a soul up on this floor, so I ventured to the banister opening and looked at the scene below.

Eleven.  I counted eleven young women, including Angel, Jayne, and Nicole.  And they were all beautiful.  From up here, I almost forgot my size predicament and simply admired the view.  Just for a moment.  They were all situated in a kind of circle, and then I noticed that the large round conference table in the middle of the room had a shallow glass resting on it.  Inside… was something.  Lots of things, in fact.  And they were moving.  I squinted and realized what I was looking at.  There were people there.  My size.  People.  In… was that an aquarium?

“So we have twenty total newcomers,” Angel’s accent was so alluring.  “Tonight, we’ll draw again.  You know the rules: You do what you please, but they must be killed by morning.  No pets, no exceptions.  Also, this will be our last draw here.  We need to move on soon.”

“If you play with them out in the common area, it is your responsibility to clean up,” Nicole pointed out.  Maybe she wasn’t as gentle as I’d hoped.

“Draw, Angel!” one of the girls called out.

Angel reached into a black velvet bag and withdrew a small piece of paper.  As she brought it up to her face I spotted the amulet again.  Probably not the best time to try and take it, but it was encouraging to at least be able to see it.  Hope was tangible that way.

“Our first draw is… Jayne!” Angel called out with glee.

One of the girls whistled.

“Who is the lucky fellow?” Another girl asked.  “One of the newbies?”

Jayne stood up instantly and walked, ever so seductively, to the glass aquarium where the rest of the people were.  From here, I couldn’t tell if they were all men, but it seemed like it.  She knelt in front of it and peered inside like a naughty cat in front of a fishbowl.  Funny thing is, I knew who she was looking for.  And so did he, probably.

“There you are…” Jayne reached in.  I swear I could hear a man yell when she snatched his body.  Poor Hotshot was going to be in for a long night, I imagined.

Angel drew more names.  Each time, a young vixen playfully leapt up to the aquarium and chose a prize like a child in a candy store.  There were jokes and whistling.  All the while, I stared at Angel and the amulet that dangled from her chest.  Once they were finished, one of the girls carried the aquarium to some unknown room down another stairway.  A basement, I presumed.  And the young women, each with a tiny human in their palms or pockets, marched up the stairs.  At this point I was tired of running all the time, so I hugged the banister and waited.  Only Jayne and Angel remained downstairs, standing.  I simply wanted to know which room was Angel’s…

            “I know,” Angel said knowingly.

            “I’ll clean up,” Jayne replied.

            Angel removed the amulet and chain from her neck and handed it to Jayne.

            “Enjoy, love,” Angel said, propping her legs on the sofa and opening a book.

            Jayne put the amulet around her neck and slowly walked up the stairs, holding good old Hotshot up to her face with a smirk.  When she was halfway up the stairs, Angel called out again.

            “Have you heard from Leila?” Angel asked, without looking up from her book.

            Jayne stopped and turned around.

            “She called, yes,” Jayne answered.  “She… just wanted to make sure the snatch went well.”

            “Awful chummy, you two,” Angel still was looking at her book.  “I would think you would be on bad terms after your little… misunderstanding.”

            “She’s making an extra effort,” Jayne replied.

            When Angel didn’t respond, Jayne slowly turned and continued up the stairs.  I was already halfway under her bedroom door.  I decided that wherever that amulet went, I would go.  And right now it was with Jayne.  I hugged the wall and made my way behind her dresser.  I faintly heard her cooing to him as she approached the door.

            “Tough luck,” she said.  “I hope you are well-rested.”