Her Forbidden Threeway

The sound of scurrying across the floor caused Reade to jump back in irrational fear. Her back collided with one of the many book shelves and a large box crashed noticeably to the floor.

“Sh*t!” She said, smacking her palm to her forehead. “I hope that wasn’t anything valuable…”

Reade crouched down on her haunches and began to pick up the contents of the box that had spilled, her head tilting to the side as she slowly examined each piece. She found herself at a loss for words.

The box was full of more cash than Reade had ever seen in her life, as well as journals dating back to the 1800’s and donning her ancestor’s names. There were crystals in every color of the rainbow and each one glowed brightly like a radioactive weapon. There were rolled up scriptures, talismans, weapons and books of Mythical creatures that all seemed to be bookmarked at the mention of one: Dragons.

*****

Reade glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror of her Honda Civic. Her skin was the color of milk and her eyes were sunken in, emulating exhaustion. Her fiery red hair was tied up in a messy bun on the top of her head, while thick framed glasses sat on the bridge of her nose. She wore them for reading, mostly, but she loved the way it caused her green eyes to almost double in size.

At the far end of the old strip, Reade had heard about a few shops that specialized in magic and old world folklore. She had remembered her father telling her numerous times that she needed to stay out of that part of town; he was suspicious and thought it held some type of danger. As Reade sat parked in the parking lot across from one of the oldest shops in town, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“It doesn’t look so dangerous,” she thought to herself, her fingers gliding over the uneven edges of two of the glowing crystals she brought from the chest she knocked over in her father’s den. “It looks forgotten.”

Drakon

The name of the shop stood out among the rest of the buildings that surrounded it. It seemed to be the only one that still had a name attached to it and there were people standing off to the side, taking photos.

Under normal circumstances, Reade would never have bothered wasting her time and energy looking into something that seemed so ludicrous, but in her mind there had to be a reason her father seemed so bent on them. Not to mention the card she found tucked between the pages of one of his mythical creatures books.

The sound of wind chimes hanging above the door caused Reade’s brow to furrow as it tinkled musically upon her entrance. The shop was dusty, deserted and caused the hairs on her arms to rise. She didn’t even know that places like that existed in Vegas. She spent most of her time watching people stumble down the strip, and drunken bridesmaids yell out from the roof of their limo.

“I’ve been expecting you…” A voice that seemed crippled and full of despair resonated and Reade’s heart began to thump in her chest.

There was a small, elderly woman hunched over a cane and pointing her finger towards Reade as if she was accusing her of shoplifting from the store. Her features were withered and her skin was leathery and spotted from the sun. She was the vision of a witch from a Disney movie. Reade wasn’t one to judge people based on their appearance, but it was almost impossible for her not to.

“Excuse me?” Reade asked hesitantly, her slender arms folding across her chest.

“You all make your way into the store eventually, don’t you?” The woman’s voice creaked and it was dripping with rhetoric influence. Her mouth twisted into something that only resembled a smile. “You know nothing can be done here. We’re protected.”

Reade stood off to the side as confusion washed across her face and the nerves in her stomach began to boil over the rim. She watched the woman carefully and did her best to keep her composure, though there was a thin layer of sweat forming at her lower back.

“She’s an old woman, Reade,” she mentally berated herself. “It’s not like she’s going to hurt you or whisk you away to some gingerbread house and shove you into the oven.”

“You have no place being here,” the woman continued on, this time her voice rising.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Reade suddenly said, blowing off the overwhelming sense of fear that was coursing through her blood. “I found the card to this store and thought I would come and check it out. My father seems to be a fan of it. I thought I could buy him something as a gift.”

“You must master the art of deception better than that if you want to succeed. Your destiny requires it of you.”

Reade barked out a laugh unexpectedly.

“I don’t mean to laugh, but I don’t believe in destiny or whatever psychic mumbo jumbo you’re trying to throw my way,” Reade said as her confidence came back and she pieced together that this was probably some act to help the woman sell more to the naïve and gullible. “Though I can see why my father likes your store so much. He believes in everything and I’m sure he falls right into the palm of your hand. God only knows how much money he’s spent in this place.”

The floor behind the old woman creaked unnervingly and Reade flickered her gaze to where the sound was coming from. A set of two burly palms sat comfortably upon her shoulders as they guided her to the back.

“Come on, you shouldn’t be out here,” Reade overheard the man say.

“I apologize for that,” a fluid voice sounded, thick with appeal and a strong Scottish accent. “My grandmother is old; she’s not lucid most of the time. We try to keep her in the back because she can frighten away customers.”

“No, it’s okay, I completely get it,” Reade replied, barely above a whisper.

Reade’s eyes were trained shamelessly on the broad chest of the man that was standing feet away from her. His muscles were defined perfectly and the fitted black shirt he wore showcased his abs. His thighs were thick and his biceps seemed to bulge with the need to protect, or the need to destroy. Reade wasn’t sure which at the moment. His hair was long and blonde, it came down to just above his shoulders and his blue eyes bounced perfectly off of the shade. His jaw line was tight, chiseled and had a hard edge, but there was a particular kindness to his stare.

“I hope she didn’t rattle you too much, darling,” he said. “My name is Jackson Moffett. I’m the owner of the store. Is there something that I can help you with?”

“Well, really I only stopped by to—“

“Co-owner of the store,” another voice that resembled Jackson’s resonated from behind his shoulders, interrupting Reade mid-sentence. “You don’t want to forget your brother, do you?”

The expression that took over Reade’s features was pure surprise as she watched the new man standing directly at Jackson’s side. They were twins. Identical in every way but two. While their body shape and muscles looked like they were cut from a mold, Jackson’s eyes were kind, while the other’s were cold and hard. Jackson’s hair was long, while his brother’s was short and disheveled.

Reade couldn’t help but notice the way Jackson stiffened in response to his brother’s appearance.