"Huh," Troy said and went back to thinking about it. Something was definitely going on here, but then, that's why Clyde had sent him.

  "Any of you think I could get a lift back to Minden Base?"

  "Sure, when we get back, I'll find out who's got weekend liberty. I'm sure they'll have room for one more," the pilot replied.

  "Thanks!"

  Troy made it back to the family compound by six, and was showered and ready to go by seven. He wrote up a report on what he'd seen, and the questions he wanted to ask Sal. He didn't file it, however. He needed a lot more information before he could draw any conclusions, but he didn't want to forget any of what he'd seen or suspected, so it was best to write it down to make sure he remembered it.

  He stepped out the back door of the main house because he didn't want to run into any of the guests who'd be showing up soon. He was sure Mihalis was about as excited as he was. SJ was probably the only one who really enjoyed these things, but then he worked for Dad, and it was a part of his job.

  Making the roundabout way to the hangars to see about caging a ride, he saw the small guest barracks and remembered Mihalis' jibe the night before. Yeah, Nadinc was pretty hot, and he'd never dated a djinn before, much less seen one. Sure, the stories made them out to be troublemakers, but then, so was he!

  Changing course, he went over to the barracks and went inside. It only took a moment to find the door with her name on it. Knocking, he wondered if she was in.

  "One moment!" she called, and he smiled.

  When the door opened, he looked down at her and smiled as she looked up at him in confusion. She had long, fine, black hair, and an olive complexion he'd never seen on a girl before. Only her black irises made it clear that she wasn't human. Her body was definitely the kind that would draw looks, with an ample bosom, a narrow waist, and a heart-shaped butt that led down to some rather nice legs.

  All of this was quite visible, as she wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing.

  "Were you expecting somebody else?" he asked, motioning to her body with a hand. Troy himself was going 'human' at the moment. "I can come back later if you want."

  She blushed a little, but still grabbed his hand and tugged, leading him inside.

  "Please, stay," she said in a husky voice and wrapped her arms around him.

  Trying not to frown, he looked down at her, using his own hands to tilt her head up to look at him.

  "What's wrong?"

  "Why would anything be wrong?"

  "Because you're throwing yourself at me, and we've known each other for less than ten seconds?"

  "Your brother Mihalis told me you were interested in me. So…"

  "Oh, he did, did he?" Troy sighed and suddenly realized that his brother was getting even with him for that poster gag.

  "Don't leave!"

  "Huh? Why not?"

  "Nobody ever visits me! Nobody will talk to me! They're all afraid of me!"

  "Why would they be afraid of you? You're beautiful!"

  Nadinc sighed, and turning her head to the side, she pressed it into his chest. "Because they've heard the stories of the djinn, that we like to trick people and play jokes on them."

  "Go get dressed."

  "Why? Don't you want to stay?" she said, and looking up at him, she batted her eyes a couple of times, making him smile.

  "Because we're going to a party in town, and I don't know if folks would appreciate you being naked." He reconsidered a moment. "Well, the guys might, but the girls definitely wouldn't."

  "You want me to go out with you?" she asked, looking shocked.

  "Yes, why did you think I was here?"

  "Ummm…" She blushed again. "Your brother slept with the others, so I thought you…?"

  "Maybe later," Troy said with a smile. "I like to think I've got better social skills than Mike does, however. So go, get dressed," he said, easing her away from him, then turning her to face her closet and giving that nice butt of hers a pat.

  "Are you sure?" she asked, looking over her shoulder as she walked over to her closet and dresser.

  "Why wouldn't I be?"

  "Well, I'm a djinn, and…" She looked a little embarrassed. "Aren't you afraid of what I might do?"

  "Nadinc, what's the first rule of gags and jokes?" He asked looking her in the eye.

  "To be funny? To have a good laugh?"

  "No, those are the second and third rules. The first rule is to be ready to bear the consequences of your actions."

  "Umm," she said and looked down at the floor as she dressed.

  "Don't worry, it took me a long time to learn that one as well," he said with a chuckle. "My name is Troy, by the way, in case my brother left that out."

  She nodded, and he watched as she dressed. He had to admit, she was quite captivating, and she was dressing rather seductively. Stockings, garter, panties, a long slit skirt that matched the color of her hair, then a light green blouse that set off her skin, as well as allowing for ample views of her cleavage.

  He was a little surprised when she put on a set of spike heels, but when she came back over to him, she now came up a bit past his chin. It wasn't that she was short, though he suspected she was probably all of five and a half feet in the heels. It was that he was tall, at six-one, and the sneakers on his feet probably added another inch to that.

  "You look quite lovely. Now, shall we?"

  "Are you sure this is okay?"

  "Yes, I'm very sure. I know my father won't mind me taking you out on a date, and I'm equally sure if he knew you'd become a shut-in, stuck in your room, he'd encourage you to go."

  "And?"

  "And what?"

  "Aren't you going to tell me to behave?" she asked, giving him a sly look.

  "If they can't make me behave, why would I ever think I could make someone else? Nadinc, you be you. We're going out to have fun and get to know each other. Just remember that first rule."

  She frowned a moment. "But won't that take all the fun out of it?"

  Troy broke into a big ass grin. "Oh, trust me, not at all!"

  "How do I look?" she asked, smiling up at him.

  "Like I'm regretting not taking advantage of you already?" he teased. "Now, let's see if we can catch a flight down to Minden and go have a little fun."

  She smiled a little brighter, and taking her by the hand, he led her out of the building, and off to the helipads. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious about what kinds of trouble she was going to get him into. Ryan's parties were always pretty wild, with a lot of out of control behavior by some of the people there. But then, just about everyone there was a soldier of some stripe or other, and being able to cut loose every once in a while was kinda necessary when you might end up dead next week.

  "Ah, we're in luck! That's a base helicopter shuttling someone in; we can catch a ride back down with 'em."

  "Are you sure I'm allowed?" Nadinc asked him with a worried look on her face.

  "Don't worry. If you run into any problems, just tell them you're Troy Valens' girlfriend."

  "Oh, I am now, am I?" she asked with a smile. "And you think they'll believe that? Me, a djinn, could be the girlfriend of the king lion's son?"

  Troy laughed at that. "Oh, trust me, if they believe dating a djinn is crazy, then they'll definitely believe I'd do it. Now watch your skirt, it gets a little breezy when these things land."

  Nadinc moved a little closer to Troy. When the dark lion had told her that his brother was interested in her, she'd gotten the feeling he might be playing a prank on his brother, but she was so alone, and so afraid of being sent back home, she'd decided to do whatever she could to convince him to take her as a lover in the hopes that his father, who was obviously king here, would allow her to stay.

  Obviously the dark lion knew his brother well, because here she was, going on a date with him! He was a big, strong looking man, and she could tell that he held much power inside. She also could tell he wasn't human. A lycan like many of the others here, but not a lion like his father and his dark brother.

  That gave her hope. Djinn like her were far too lowly for a lion to consider as anything more than a plaything, to be used and then tossed aside once they'd grown bored, or found one such as her too troublesome to keep. Hopefully Troy hadn't inherited any of that from his father.

  A Small Quiet Party

  Troy actually had a car he kept down at the Minden Base for those times he had to haul people or things, or when he didn't want to show up hot and sweaty from running. It wasn't anything fancy; in fact, it was an older sedan. It was clean, it was in good shape, but it didn't stand out, and there wasn't a single memorable thing about it.

  It was his own little getaway, because nobody would expect a cheetah to be driving something that could only hit seventy when going downhill, with a tailwind.

  "This is your car?" Nadinc said, giving it a critical look.

  "Yup! And just think! Only two hundred more payments, and it'll be mine!"

  "You're making a joke, right?" she asked, frowning.

  "Yes, I'm making a joke," he said, opening the door and helping her into the car.

  "Why?"

  "Because you disapprove, that's why," he said, closing the door, then vaulting over the hood. Opening the driver's side door, he slipped in and started it up.

  "But you're rich and powerful! You should have a car that reflects who you are!"

  Troy sighed as he put the car in gear and started to drive.

  "Now why in the world would I want to do that?" he asked, glancing over at her. "I know who and what I am. That's more than enough for me. The people who need to know, know."

  "But how will the others know who you are? How will they know to respect you?"

  Troy thought about that for a moment.

  "Why in the world would I worry about that?"

  "The lower castes, how will they know you're a prince if you don't show them?"

  He could see that she was looking equally confused.

  "You've never been to the West before, have you?"

  She shook her head. "I've never been out of Asia before, and even there, I only lived in one small part of it."

  "Ah, okay. Well, just understand that we don't have any kind of caste system here, and we try to treat people equally, regardless of their position, imagined or otherwise."

  "But your father is a king!"

  Troy snorted. "My father is currently the most powerful man in the world. Yet when he and my moms go into town, they don't ask for special treatment, and they don't even stand out if he's in his human form. Hell, the only reason he has bodyguards is because they were forced on him, and good luck noticing them."

  Nadinc thought about that for a moment as he drove.

  "I'm not sure I understand," she admitted after a couple of minutes.

  "Things are different here. Who my dad is doesn't mean shit to most people. Same for me being a lycan, or you being a djinn."

  "Being a djinn didn't mean very much back home, either." She sighed. "Otherwise, they'd never have done to me what they did."

  "Yeah, I think we figured that part out. Was that just because of your particular place in society back there? Or are all djinn at the low end of the totem pole?"

  "What's a totem pole?"

  "Bottom of the pyramid then?"

  "Ah, I understand. Djinn are split up into certain castes, or classes, I guess you might call it. Some have magic and can become mages. Many have some skill at arms, though that's more of the men than the women."

  "The rest?" he prompted as she was quiet for a moment.

  "We're servants, mainly," she sighed, "and are often used for serving in more sexual activities. Again, there's levels even within this group, within all the groups. Those who are of the highest status are usually taken by the magicians or the warriors to please them. Those of us in the lower ranks, we have less to look forward to. I was sold off to a dark elf household to help them with their smuggling, as well as some other things."

  "Why'd they decide to sell you to the djevels?"

  "Because I played a trick on one of the men, and he did not like it."

  "Is that how you ended up with the dark elves in the first place?"

  "The one who sold me to them deserved what I did to him," she said with a frown.

  "Ouch. Sorry if I touched on a sore spot. What happens if you go back?"

  "Nothing good, I promise you," Nadinc said with a heavy sigh.

  "Then I guess you're staying here."

  She turned and looked at him in surprise. "Do you mean that?"

  "Course I do. Why do you think my dad hasn't sent you back yet?"

  "I thought he was keeping me to use me."

  Troy laughed at that and shook his head. "No, definitely no. If dad was like that—and he's not, trust me on this—my moms would be having words with him."

  "What about you?"

  "What about me?"

  "Are you planning on using me?"

  "Sexually?" he asked, though he was pretty sure what the answer would be.

  "Yes," she said, blushing a little and looking down at her feet.

  "I guess that depends on how we get along, and if we both decide to go to bed together."

  He could see her thinking about that.

  "Nadinc?"

  "Yes, Troy?"

  "Lycans are pretty easy going about sex. A lot easier going than humans are. But that doesn't mean you have to be. If you don't want to sleep with me, I won't be offended if you say 'no', should I ask."

  "Why wouldn't you ask?"

  "Why didn't my brother ask?"

  She frowned. "I don't know, and that puzzles me. He asked all the others."

  "He didn't ask the gnoll, either."

  "Do you know why?"

  "Yes."

  "Then why didn't he?"

  "He didn't sleep with the gnoll because he's a lion, and a lot of gnolls don't like lions."

  "And me?"

  "He wasn't attracted to you."

  "What? How can that be?"

  "Mike knows nothing about djinn. He doesn't know what makes you happy or how to relate to you. But he did with the others."

  "Do you know?"

  "Nope."

  "Then why do you find me attractive?"

  "Because I'm a lot more willing to learn," he said, smiling at her as he parked the car and turned it off. "Besides, you looked like you needed a friend. Now let's go inside, and you can meet some of my friends."

  Getting out, he went around to the other side of the car and helped her out. He found that little behavior interesting. Few women waited for a man to help her out of the car, but from the older movies he'd seen growing up, he knew once upon a time, that had been the norm. Which gave him some clues as to what her home must have been like.

  He'd had a lot of exposure to different societies and customs while growing up because of who his dad was. He wondered if all djinn women were like this, or if it was just because Nadinc was so low in status? At least she didn't have that 'whipped dog' look in her eyes.

  Taking her hand, he led her into the old house Ryan rented. The place was a bit of a dump, which probably explained how Ryan could afford it. Going inside, they saw the party had already started. Somebody was DJing on the sound system they'd all chipped in to buy, and a number of girls and guys were dancing in the large, open living room. The walls and the ceiling were painted black, the walls covered in posters and other things, and the odd collection of mismatched chairs and couches were lined up against them.

  "Troy!" a couple of folks called out as he stepped inside, and he waved back with one hand as he pulled a startled Nadinc up against him with the other.

  Ryan and JJ immediately headed towards him, and he saw that Ian and Craig had made it, as well as several of his sisters.

  "Troy! Who's your friend?" Ryan asked, getting there first. Ryan was a lion—Adam and Jenna's oldest—and he took after his father in looks, as well as a tendency towards disreputable behavior.

  In short, he was a lot of fun.

  "Ryan, JJ, this is Nadinc, and before you ask, yes she's my girlfriend, and she's a djinn."

  "I'll spread the word to go easy on her, then!" Ryan said with a smile.

  "Go…easy?" Nadinc asked, looking between Ryan and Troy a little nervously. This Ryan was a lion, after all.

  "Chasing after one of Troy's girlfriends often has disastrous consequences," the other one, JJ, said to her. She could see that he was also a lion of some sort, one of the ones she'd heard called a 'mountain' lion.

  "Also, you're obviously a bit new to all of this," Ryan said with a warm smile. "My dad's told me about the djinn. I'm sure this is all quite strange to you."

  "You know about djinn?" Nadinc asked, a little surprised.

  "Of course! What one lion knows…"

  "They all know!" everyone in the room suddenly said, and then started to laugh for some reason.

  "Come on," Troy said, leading her over to the kitchen. "Let's get something to drink. Oh, does alcohol effect djinn?"

  Nadinc nodded. "Yes, it does."

  "Well, be careful what you drink here. A lot of this stuff is pretty high octane."

  "High octane?"

  "Potent. Very potent."

  "Why is that?"

  "Because it's really hard for a lycan to get drunk. Our bodies burn it up really fast. Also, don't touch anything with a picture of a fox on it."

  "Why?"

  "Because that's the stuff my brothers Craig and Ian make that will get a lycan drunk, and I have no idea what it'll do to a human, much less a djinn."

  "Oh!"

  Nadinc looked around the room as Troy made her a drink. There were a lot of different species of lycans in the room, as almost all of them were in what she'd heard called their 'hybrid' form. A fair number of them were wolves, but there was also a lioness, and some big, heavy, black cat that looked like a panther, only heavier, who was dancing with a girl who looked human.

  Troy handed the drink he'd made to her, then started making one for himself, only one of the bottles he grabbed had a sticker on it with a logo of a fox that was winking on it.

  She stopped a moment and stared at it. It was winking. Over and over. She'd never seen a label do that before!