Other Places 2: Road Blocks
Author: P. S. Power
Date: 2013-01-01 00:00:00+07:00
Description: Zack Hartley is just a man. He has a simple job, working in a candle store in a mostly empty mall, a roommate to help make the ends meet, and the ability to walk magical lines that take him places instantly. He also has a split personality that thinks he might be a homosexual, and a few pesky demons hanging around far too much for his liking. So when there's a sudden attack at a different mall, Zack is asked to help sort things out, which is where the fun really begins. Because it seems that some people have taken it into their heads to think that he, the humble candle man, is a demon too. In
Publisher: Orange Cat Publishing

Other Places: Book Two

Road Blocks

P.S. Power

Contents

- Chapter one
- Chapter two
- Chapter three
- Chapter four
- Chapter five
- Chapter six
- Chapter seven
- Chapter eight
- Chapter nine
- Chapter ten
- Chapter eleven
- Chapter twelve
- Chapter thirteen
- Chapter fourteen
- Chapter fifteen
- Chapter sixteen
- Chapter seventeen
- Chapter eighteen
- Chapter nineteen

Chapter one

"Do you really think anyone is impressed with a minimum wage earning, thirty-odd year old candle jockey that works in a rundown Mall? Have some pride, and get a real job, punk. Like selling to me." The man that was speaking to Zack had been saying things like that for about five minutes. There was no one else in the store, but the fellow was clearly, and irrationally, upset. That meant he was trying to take his anger out on the only person there.

It wasn't a rational thing, and the beefy, bald fellow, was trying to push him into admitting that he had drugs for sale. The problem there, Zack decided, was that, if he did have anything like that for sale, he wouldn't have sold it to the man in front of him at all. Ever. He was like every bad undercover cop from any eighties movie you wanted to name. It was so obvious that for a few minutes it was really hard to tell what he was actually trying to do at all.

The voice inside his head agreed, which was a rare thing. They normally argued a bit.

Mirror Him, his alternate personality, wasn't going to take this much longer either it was pretty clear.

'How's the arm feeling boyo? Cause I'm going to punch this dickhead in the nuts in about six seconds.'

The problem with Mirror Him was that about half the time when he said something like that, it was really about to happen. Zack cleared his throat and looked out into the Mall not seeing anyone at all. It was the dead side, so that wasn't a big surprise, this time of year. February wasn't a prime shopping season.

The fellow leaned in, which had Zack moving back, into the hole in space the movement made. It wasn't a real attack, but he was a bit shy about things like that right now. The last scuffle he'd gotten into had left him healing for six weeks nearly. His arm was better, and so were his ribs, but the strength hadn't come back yet. Given that he'd had to look up to ninety pound weaklings before that, it wasn't a good thing as far as his martial arts skills went. Or wouldn't be if he had them, he was sure.

"Sorry, you need to leave now. This is a candle shop. We don't have drugs. We don't sell hot women, and if there's anything else you might need officer, I suggest you look someplace that actually sells them. Now, if you don't leave this minute, I'll call the police and let them take you out, as you proclaim that you're innocent loudly for all to hear. It isn't much of a threat, but it's all I have for you at the moment. If you want my best material, you need to buy something. Just to clarify, in case you missed it, that would be candles or candle associated things. Incense, holders for that... what have you."

The man paused, just for a moment, the gap in his body language screaming at Zack that his words about being an officer had accurately hit home.

"What? Who said I was a cop? Do I look like a pig, I mean man, I'm just trying to score here... Dude, I can't believe you'd say that. What, so I need to bring a friend in to vouch for me?" He got a lot less aggressive then. It probably had to do with the fact that he was too busy trying to seem cool, rather than like an authority figure. It was a bit late for that.

"No, you don't look like a pig. Just a police officer. It's in your bearing, around the edges. You also keep touching the spot your side arm would have been back when you wore a uniform, even though the one you have is on your back. I'd guess local police, but I don't know that. You're no one I know, clearly. So... You were asked to leave? We don't have that kind of thing here at all and if we did, trying to make me sell to you wouldn't work. Also, you have bad breath. Dental hygiene is a good habit to have. I get the idea, keeping things realistic, but there are limits." Zack wasn't trying to be mean to him, so shut his mouth then, before the rest came out. A part of who, and possibly what he was that forced him to tell the truth all the time. At least if his lips moved. If he didn't talk, he was normally fine.

At the moment he was feeling a bit upset, not being used to people trying to make him do illegal things like this. Not by being mean to him at any rate. The very idea that an undercover cop would come to his store and think they sold drugs... Well, honestly, that made a lot of sense. The manager had just gotten back from a retreat, which for Mages was kind of like rehab. Only with chanting and spells, if Zack had been told about it correctly. She seemed better, but was actually working at taking it easier now. She left work at five now, every day. That meant he was there in the evening, so got to deal with jerks like this.

That was better than Lisa having to do it. For one thing, she might even know something that could get her in trouble. He just didn't. That would protect him a bit.

Zack pointed at the door, but smiled a bit.

"So, the next time you come in, please do so for your candle needs and remember, the 'more' in the store name just means incense. Thanks." He actually sounded relaxed and like he was a bit amused, even though the man stormed out, calling out that he should go fuck himself with his candles.

'Ooohhh, kinky." MH laughed as the man turned to glare at Zack. "You could have him killed, I bet. Lenore would get it done for you. Or you could take him into the back and push half of him through the Node, that works too. Hide the body in never land, or some shit."

Zack tried to let that suggestion pass. After all, Lenore would have the guy killed, but running his mouth a bit wasn't that big of a deal. The strange thing was that she wasn't in her store, as far as he could tell. It might be that she was on the phone in the back, since her job had her doing that a lot, but she almost never left the front space go unattended for more than fifteen minutes or so, and he was nearly certain that if the Vampire Ambassador had heard the man hassling him, she would have come over, or at least walked to the front carrying the hand held, to look at them through the window.

She was his girlfriend after all.

That part was sort of new, but he was planning to actually get her something for Valentine's Day, which would be a first, as far as women went. If, of course, they didn't break up a few days before the holiday. That was something that he'd seen people do a lot, and his self esteem was low enough to realize that she might just not be that in to him. The sex was great, since she was willing to have it with him, and couldn't get pregnant, so it took a lot of subconscious worry out of all of it. She was very skilled at it and he wasn't, but he was almost certain that she didn't enjoy having sex with him at all.

It wasn't a great thing to think, and he hoped he was wrong, but there wasn't really anyone to talk to about it in his life. Troy, his best friend, maybe. No one else really.

That didn't mean he wasn't going to worry about her, if there was a problem. The fact of the matter was that if anyone could just take her from Yoghurt World, Zack wasn't up to doing anything of note about it. Which also showed how little they had in common. If he saw a mugger, he'd try to run, and end up caught, losing his wallet. She ate them. The balance of power was just a bit off there, between them, wasn't it? Still, he was her boyfriend and that meant making sure she was doing all right, when he could.

Her store was open, which was always true, being that it was a twenty-four hour a day place. The candle store wasn't, but they did half days, seven days a week. Most of the time managing to bring in no more than a few hundred dollars in that time. They weren't a real store, so it was hard to get people into the place. It was an embassy for Mages. Who were also the ones that actually paid for the candles. They used them in rituals, and things like that. Probably while bathing or having romantic dinners.

'I know Zack, why not go across the way and find your hot chic and bang her? The place is dead. Theirs is worse.' That was a Vampire joke. Mirror Him ran hot and cold that way. That it was that bad meant he thought it was weird too, Lenore being gone that long.

"I'll just pop over and see what's up? I'm probably going to catch her having sex in the back, but hey, that's cool, right?" The idea actually didn't bug him as much as it would most people. It was one of the rifts that people caused all the time. They wanted to have a lot of connections with people, and weren't allowed to, which made holes in their personalities. They didn't notice it, mainly, but Zack did.

He headed to the back for it though, since if she really was doing something like that, he could see it through the Node. As long as it was in the back room, and not the little office space, or the bathroom. Or the closet they kept the mops in. Or up in the ceiling, under the tiles. She could do that pretty easily, with her super strength and agility.

The Node was in a magical warding circle made of silver, which was inlaid in the tile floor. The arcane symbols along the outer rim were pretty meaningless to him, since that hadn't been part of his early education at all. He knew Mage law, since his grandparents had taught him that. He even knew a bit about herbs, or had once. His grandmother did that kind of thing, but he hadn't used it in years.

In the center of the mass of symbols was a floating distortion in space that was like a spotlight to him. It called to him the second he got close and tried to draw him inside. Really, it was a way to go almost anywhere, if you could use it. Most couldn't, and other than Demons, who didn't need them it turned out, being able to make their own, only one being could do it without great cost to himself or others.

Zack.

Unfortunately it was the kind of thing that ran hot and cold, it seemed. People that needed his help to get someplace, or find something, normally traded with him, or occasionally paid a lot for it in cash, gems or precious metals. Generally trade though. The rest of the Universe just didn't need him at all. At first he'd had a few in every couple of days, asking for his help, or trying to get a free trip, since he'd given loads of those away for Christmas to people in the Mall. Lately it had dried up a lot. Maybe it was just the slow season, but it felt like people were avoiding him.

'Wah. I'm Zack and can't figure out how to make my cool super power do enough for me. Baby.' The voice in his head was back to normal now, as he approached the Node physically.

For a second he nearly didn't look at what Lenore was doing. She was an adult, and if she really was doing something she didn't want seen, then it was wrong of him to look, wasn't it?

It was simple to find her, since the Mall only really only had one Node. Most people didn't understand that, because there were nine stores with them, in physical space. He got it, feeling it easily, but most didn't. Not really.

Peeking into the back of another store here however was simple and happened instantly, which meant he was looking at his girlfriend, on her knees in front of a stately looking man, her head bobbing a bit. Zack blinked, but realized after a second that it looked wrong. She wasn't blowing the guy, but...

Begging?

That didn't make a lot of sense, did it? She was the Ambassador there, and while the man seemed to be a Vampire, nothing else about him spoke of power. Which could happen if he were old enough. A long time ago Vampires were picked in their human forms for reasons other than great looks. Even now the pattern was to pick nice looking people, rather than jaw droppingly hot. It made it easier to hide in most places.

Finally, after a few moments, he tried to focus, working on something new. Light passed through the Node, so why not sound? It wasn't as easy to get, and they sounded very soft and far away.

"Please Vaughn, don't do this. It's wrong to get the Line Walker involved in our business. We can do it some other way. The council..." There were words after it, but he couldn't hear them.

Hearing her beg to protect him was worse than her doing what he'd been thinking she had at first. That would probably just be politics after all. She'd explained that part to him on their first date. Sex was used for domination more than pleasure among their kind. It was that too, but not the main reason for it. It was probably why she was on her knees like that anyway, to try and tempt the man into doing that, instead of whatever he wanted to do to Zack.

"I know. I ran it by them first, and half of them suggested we just cut our losses, but it would be... hundreds of people. We don't have a lot of time left, I don't think. The Node has been taken and no one else can do anything about it. We'll protect him as best we can. With our lives if need be, I promise you. This isn't just our problem, a dozen races are involved here. We have to ask."

The trouble with the whole thing is that Zack was nearly positive that the asshole making his girlfriend beg like that was crying at the same time. They were clear tears, not the blood all the movies had promised. Lenore didn't get up until the man started to walk out anyway, apparently to come visit with him. She followed then, and Zack walked to the front.

'Always liked that Lenore. Yup. Good gal you got there. What do you get a Vampire for Valentine's Day anyway? A box of chocolatiers?'

That actually sounded about right. He was hoping flowers, and maybe a nice piece of jewelry would work too. He was busily thinking about that while he walked to the front counter, not bothering to hide what he'd been doing, after all, it wasn't like he could lie about it anyway, if asked.

The wooden tile floor was new, being put in about a month prior at night, while they were closed. He'd helped out a strange creature with an unpronounceable name, whose wife had wandered off. Not run away, just actually gone out one day and gotten lost. It was a problem for their people, but the being liked her, so Zack had done his part, not figuring that there would be a trade, since he didn't speak the guy's language at all. That was so wrong. They got a new floor in one night, and the front door had been replaced, so that it didn't squeak when being opened. He wouldn't have even known who'd done it, if Cormack the night Vampire from across the way hadn't seen him doing it. With his wife, who was pretty happy to be found as well, it seemed.

The new floor was nearly seamless, and easier to keep clean, so he'd switched to the dust mop for it, rather than a broom. Zack was only thinking about that because Mirror Him had grabbed it from the back on his way past, not that either of the two Vampires really noticed it at all. Not even as a potential weapon. That made him slightly sad. If either of them had a nice thick dust mop handle, made out of hardwood, the other would be staring, and trying to find the exits.

For all her begging of moments before, Lenore came to him first, her eyes happy looking, except for the extra red in the center. That was a sign of real agitation and was hard for her kind of Vamp to control.

"Zack? I've come to ask something of you, and you should say no without hesitation." She looked sideways at the man with her, who was about six-three and had light brown hair. His nose was long and roman and his pale flesh looked a little fake. Almost like he had makeup on for some reason. Zack nodded at him, looking at the hidden fangs. They made a bulge under the top lip.

"You're wearing makeup, so you can pretend to be a fake Vampire if anyone catches on? That's smart. Just tell them you're LARPing." Live action roll playing wasn't a thing Zack had ever gone in for, but for a man that looked as normal as this one, a little stage dressing and a case for some fake teeth could do wonders. Not for the first time he wondered if one of their kind had invented that kind of thing, or at least the Vampire version.

"Indeed. Lenore is correct as well. You should pass on this. The only reason that you might not, is the situation." He paused and looked at the pretty girl next to him, who looked nineteen and was a few hundred years old at least. She could be a bit sketchy when it came to a real number, so Zack hadn't pressed the issue. That used to be a thing for women, right? Hiding their age?

She didn't make eye contact with either of them, so the man started to speak, his voice low and mellow, a slightly rhythmic thing that wasn't sing-song, but started to tug at Zack's mind with the first words.

"Stop." He didn't want to be rude, but there had to be rules. If they needed something from him that both of them had already suggested he decline to do, it was only fair that he heard it with a clear mind.

"Forgive me. I..." The man faked a shrug. Everything the old Vampires did was fake as far as emotions went. Except possibly anger. "To be exacting, I was planning to try and control your mind to gain your cooperation. It would be wrong of me to do so, and possibly cost my life, but there is a situation in the New Mexico region, at their Node. A group of... Criminals, I suppose, have taken it over, and are demanding that we send you to them, or they'll kill one hostage every hour until we do. That place is much like this, except..." He paused and drew in a deep breath. Vampires didn't need to breathe, except to speak, but this didn't seem false for some reason. That had to mean it was even worse than Zack would have thought.

"I've been there. They actually had people in their stores? Real ones, I mean? Shoppers. Not that we aren't real, but you get the idea. Soccer moms, and Little League coaches. That kind of thing?"

"They have several hundred people, and if they kill them, we won't be able to hide it from the authorities. As it is we may not be able to anyway, even if they can walk out now. It isn't strictly needed, hiding ourselves, but scrutiny by the police is a danger to some groups. The weak, and those that can't protect themselves in a typical fashion from incarceration."

'Plus there have to be kids. It's what, an hour later there? On a Friday? Yeah, school girls in their pretty little dresses, even a few boys for you, Zack, with their letterman's jackets and crew cuts. You just have to rush in and sacrifice yourself for them. Oh, you must, you must!' The sarcasm was laid on so thick that Zack could feel it inside his head. MH didn't stop either, keeping up a steady stream of it, just in case he didn't get the idea. Going there was likely to be a bad idea. Probably the last one he'd ever have.

Still, kids in trouble, who could resist that? Not the world's most well traveled store clerk.

"I won't just go and die. I know it's selfish, but anyone willing to ask that is probably planning to kill everyone anyway. Me going in there solves nothing. Now me taking in a group of superhuman fighters... Gets a lot of people killed. Tell them that if they explain what they want with me, and let all the people, and beings there go, right now, I'll talk to them. On the phone. It's all they're getting from me. I don't want people to die, but this is ridiculous. I mean, anyone that wanted me dead could just shoot me, and if they want my help, I can't see that..." He felt small and weak, and the idea that any of this was about him was insane.

Unless Greater Demons were involved.

Vaughn actually smiled and shook his head.

"They claim they mean to kill you, thinking you a Demon. They've already executed three people, perhaps four by now. The Shifters have a mercenary crew prepared to enter the building, from the outside. Only twenty strong, however. If you could get some of our people in place, inside the building, it would allow us to try and protect those we can. It may not be possible. They told us all the Nodes are being guarded. We could sacrifice a person or two in order to take them out of play, the guards on a single Node, but..."

But Zack would most likely die first, probably screaming, and asking why he was so stupid. He got what the man was getting at there. It was still a bad idea, but he shrugged.

"O.K. Come back here with me. Or... let's lock the front door first."

Lenore did the same on her shop and came back, so he could lock them all in. It was just so they wouldn't be interrupted. He was really starting to wish that Lenore had just been giving the guy a hummer. It would have been easier to deal with.

Without stopping he went to the Node again, and waved at it. Then didn't bother explaining.

New Mexico. He could feel it in his head, a set of raised bumps on the otherwise smooth surface of the world. The map it was on in his head was the one he used to practice capitals off of when he was eleven. It had the whole world, but was remarkably free of needless junk.

The Mall there was really being held, like he'd been told, and it was a mixed bag of people doing it, as far as size went. But only about ten of them. The Nexus there had ten Nodes in different places, but they weren't guarded by people. They had guns pointed at the nodes on all sides, with what had to be lasers running through them. He got the idea. Break the beam and find a nice bellyful of lead. It would work pretty well.

Unless he was actually a Greater Demon like these losers thought. It would only really work if he was exactly what he'd claimed to be.

The problem there, the ones that they missed, were the little Node points. His Mall had them too, places in the structure that weren't real weaknesses in the fabric of space, that lead to anywhere, but divots that were still more than his shortcuts normally were. Things that went two or three places or more. More to the point, since he was at a good spot for it already, he could enter any of them from where they were standing. Or any other Nexus, he was sure.

Smiling, he looked at Lenore and shook his head.

"Is it polite to get a girl blood for Valentine's Day?" It was a sudden change in topic, but she was old and agile of both mind and body. She kept up.

"Very. Especially if the host is still alive, it acts as an energy link that way. Have someone in mind?"

"Nope. Just trying to figure it all out."

Then he waved at the Node point. It was a lazy thing, but the idea was clear.

"The actual Nodes are booby trapped and I doubt that I'd survive them, but there's a bathroom on the second floor, in a men's clothing shop, that I can take people in through. It's a bit small in there, but we might get ten in, if we do it carefully? I don't know if the shop itself is empty, but I think that most of the attackers are in the center, holding..." He gestured, trying to show the kind of weapons he meant. "Machine guns? But little ones for the most part, I can't tell who or what they are, since they have masks, but a few aren't human at least. I... The Ambassador there, your people's, he isn't in the crowd."

Not that he could find. For some reason they got quiet, instead of happy, like he expected, even after he explained to Lenore that the bathroom might be pretty safe, as long as no one noticed them while he took people in. Then all everyone else had to do was run out and they'd be able to...

Get shot. It didn't mean the same thing to a Vampire maybe, but Shifters bled red blood.

"Go through the ceiling? Or into the floor? They have the strength for it, your people."

It wasn't a perfect plan, since if it was up to him, he'd get a couple of snake Shifters in first to set up sniping positions. He might not know the name for the kind of weapons he'd seen, but he could see that working. After all, he had played a video game before in his life.

The closest team of Vampires that could be gotten to go in, was in Denver, and would be in position at their own Node, in about thirty minutes. He could take them from there, he thought. Still, he didn't have time to train them how to do it, did he? Barb was his normal porter, carrying people for him, or their luggage, and Edom, the second in command for the area had managed it several times as well, really having a knack for it. Lenore had gone through with him several times, on dates, because that showcased him as really special, and she'd seemed impressed by the effort.

The one he wanted for it was Bey, but the little Vampire man was off in Asia, and just showing up to bug him seemed rude.

He realized he was saying all of this out loud and shook his head. The point was, he needed a strong and skilled person to take the team in for him, or it wouldn't work. He just wasn't up to lifting that much with his right arm yet.

Vaughn stopped moving and looked at him hard.

"I see, we'll not send your lady, so one of the others? Which will do the best job?"

"That's probably a wash for this one. Edom is way stronger, but I'm going to slow both of them down, and Barb is slightly better at it than he is. I don't particularly want to put either of them into danger. Bey either, but he's very fast when he chooses to be. If we had him, I don't think this would be a real problem at all. Just take him in and get the Shifters to fake an attack from the outside to distract the dying."

He let his thin and boney shoulders come up. Nearly touching his ears, but not quite.

"I can't choose between them. If I do and they die, it will be my fault."

It was probably ridiculous to say such a thing, but Vaughn stepped forward.

"Teach me this trick. We have half an hour, is that enough time to master it? You don't know me at all, and I'm the person that delivered the problem to you. The risk should be mine, don't you think?"

It sort of made sense, plus, as an added bonus to sweeten the deal, he was already there. It wasn't hard really, as long as the people being carried held still for it and didn't go limp.

He got it on the first try, after a long explanation, then had to carry Lenore for him through ten jumps. The actions, the stepping through that did the physical part of it, wasn't hard for him, and didn't even hurt yet.

Now, after he got himself shot, that would change, he didn't doubt, but for the moment...

"Hey, can I get a bullet proof vest? Or... I don't know, armor?"

That got a quick phone call to be made, and Zack had to describe how tall he was as well as what he weighed. It wasn't enough. He was five-ten, but weighed about a hundred and twenty-five pounds. For a long time he'd been nearly starving, and hadn't been large before that, so it showed. Even though he kept eating three meals a day, it was like he just couldn't get anything to stick to his bones.

No one mentioned it, thankfully.

So, at fifteen until they were supposed to leave, Zack carried his Vampire porter through the portal. His new one for the day. Then he was stuffed, a little roughly, into a bullet proof vest, and given a helmet that had to look dorky on him. It was all in blue, like he was a police officer. It even said police on it. He didn't ask how they'd gotten it.

He let Vaughn, who was clearly a leader, do the talking for him, which got the Vampires, all rather old themselves, to form a line.

"On three we go in, like described. Get out of the way and stand ready. Remember, move to the mark on the floor and stand rigid, until you're there. It doesn't feel like anything, so you'll just be there, after a small bump. Any questions?"

There weren't any.

Taking the first one in line, a scared looking pale man with a machine gun of his own, he started counting.

"One, two, th-"

Chapter two

"-ree."

For Zack it was a single step, and for a strong Vampire, even carrying another one using a bear hug from behind, it was just a hop. Vaughn had the timing down pretty well already too, which meant the second he dropped his passenger, he turned, ready to go back, his hand finding Zack's right arm again so he could be pulled back.

This time, instead of counting out loud, Zack bobbed in place, and on the third one, hoping that his signals were good enough, he went back. After they got the first seven Vampires into place, the room seemed full to him, but these men and women didn't seem to care about their dignity or comfort and simply laid down, so that the new ones coming in could stand on them, until there were fifteen in place. That left seven back in the little room, but no more were really going to fit, and one of the Vamps signaled this to Vaughn, who in turn stopped him as soon as they got back to the office complex that housed the Denver Node.

"They have to move some of the people out, can you watch to see when there is space? Then get the rest in?" The look from the Vampire was strange as he said the words, but what it was supposed to mean, Zack couldn't really tell. Mirror Him was silent on the whole thing, too, and instead of suggesting it meant he wanted to snack on Zack, or even date him, there was nothing. It wasn't like him to pass up that kind of opportunity either, so it was odd and got his attention.

"I'll do that. I guess everyone else should stay ready? I don't know how this kind of thing works, but if I had to fight terrorists, I'd want as many friends there to help me out as possible." It was a throwaway line, but one of the remaining fighters, who wore all black, like the rest of them, nodded. Her hair was short and a plain brown, like a buzz cut, and she looked hard enough to play in a movie about space marines. In fact, with her Hispanic looks, he thought he might have actually seen her in a role like that before.

"We all would. He wasn't asking if you'd do it for us, just if you had the ability to keep going. We were told that you might not get all of us through." She was so intense that it seemed almost like she was planning to attack him, if he said the wrong thing, but she went still, like her kind did when worried.

"Not a problem at this point. We should get you there. Just, you know, be safe on the other side and remember to send me a birthday card next year." As humor went it wasn't great, but no one hit him, so he decided it was good enough.

On the other side of the rift the bathroom was emptying, as the Vampires took his advice and went into the ceiling, using the tiles there for cover. He couldn't have done it, even with help, the whole thing taking superhuman effort and skill to pull off the way they were doing it. They left one man in the room, guarding the door, his back to the Node.

"We're up."

The rest were in place about two minutes later. All the turning around made him a bit dizzy, but going through the thing itself wasn't that hard at all. In fact... He felt refreshed. Like it was easier to be doing that than standing around, or like it had added something to him. Most beings that could do it at all, use the Nodes, complained that it was incredibly draining, so that was a strange thing to notice.

Vaughn tried to call for a chair, still holding him, like he was ready for the frail Human to fall over, or even die from the effort, but he shook his head, and tried to look a bit grim. After all, people could still die in there, and it was far from over. He ran a commentary about it for Vaughn and the Denver Ambassador, watching it through the Node, which had them both on the phone after a few seconds, repeating what he was telling them. Finally a cell phone was pushed to his head.

The voice that spoke wasn't anyone he knew at all.

"Hartley? This is Branson Meers, I'm heading the external entry team for this mission. We're set to begin on your word." Then he went silent, as if Zack was simply supposed to understand what to do or something like that. Why would they want him to tell them when to go in?

'Because you're so cute, dumbo. You've played this video game before, so think about it, you're their eyes. Look at what's happening and explain it all as clearly as you can. The Vamps are almost surrounding the hostage takers, but in the ceiling. The doors have booby traps on them, all that crud.' The tone was so exasperated that Zack felt a bit stupid for a moment, then told the man on the phone all of that.

"We need to reset... do we have time?"

The people in the middle of the room looked miserable and the men, and women, with guns, seemed agitated and like they were going to kill another person, but it looked like they really might not yet, not having anyone ready to die. It took nearly ten minutes. That gave them time to pick someone and get her on her knees, a little to the front, so everyone could see it happening.

The signal to start was going to be gunfire, but only from outside, which meant that when the masked person, he had a nice ski thing on his head that covered his face totally, shot the old woman in the head, no one reacted. Not on the scene, except for the crying, no doubt.

"It's a go. Go on your own volition." Zack thought it sounded cool, but was still wincing about the woman that was bleeding on the floor.

Then the place erupted, fast and hard, so much so he couldn't track even half of it really. The people he'd brought in waited for the men and women with guns to turn toward the outside, then literally dropped on them from above. It was a mess and got bloody, fast. Most of the hostages laid down and tried to cover their heads, which was what Zack wanted to do himself, just watching it from a remove, so he wasn't going to blame them for it. There were children there too, and the only saving grace that he could see was that even the attackers hadn't started to use them yet. Not even as shields, though they were right there.

One thing was clear however, these people weren't just regular folk dressed up for a bank robbery. When their weapons ran out of bullets, most of them started fighting hand to hand, with a speed that made it nearly impossible for him to track at all.

That meant they were Vampires, most likely. Or something else so similar that it wasn't a real point at the moment. They were outnumbered, and after about thirty seconds, moving from one bit of cover to the next, a military group in green came from the outside. They weren't invisible, but they hid as they did it, being careful not to make killing them too easy. It was a great plan, and Zack had to endorse it personally, since none of them went down, even when some of the hostages did.

Hiding... Zack nodded to himself. It seemed like an effective plan really.

They were doing it slightly wrong, going toward the violence and then, as covertly as possible, trying to pull people away, even as the battle raged. They didn't engage in it themselves, focusing on the extraction portion of things.

It was about that time that he saw one of them go down. He was just stabbed, and only once, but from behind and in the lower back. It was a man with short hair in a deep rust color and heavy glasses. He was small and had a twitchy look to him, which meant Zack had a good guess as to what he was. A Bat Shifter.

He also had a group of kids with him, and the attacker with his silver blade was moving in on them. It probably wasn't going to involve reassuring them that it would all be all right either, from the menacing way he did it.

"Vaughn..." He explained it quickly, and just hoped that the man would be willing to go in. They had a shortcut into the place not too far behind the scene that was playing out, right on the battle field. Floor? Maybe it was an arena of death? It was a stupid place to go if you weren't nearly immortal, but there wasn't time for him to debate the idea. Instead he held out his arm, and bad, horrible, plan or not, the Vampire with him picked up the local Ambassador with one arm around his middle and grabbed the back of Zack's arm so hard he was probably going to have bruises.

"Jump!" There was no time for counting, and they were in the mess so fast that he didn't know he'd done it himself. Before he could wet himself or dive to the floor, which was his personal plan, Vaughn threw the Denver Ambassador, like a ball, at the attacker with the knife, then ran to engage the being as well. They weren't armed, which was an oversight, but they managed to take the man out pretty fast anyway, then had to turn to fight another one, who seemed to realize there was a new threat. For his part, Zack saw the little kids, none older than nine or ten, and noticed that one of the larger ones, a boy, was trying to drag the Bat Shifter away by himself. It wasn't working very well, but seemed like a real plan, given where the bullets were going at the moment. He moved to help and together, barely, they did it, another little kid, who might have been all of five, and seemed like a girl, jumping in to do the same.

Then they all, the five kids, the Bat man and him, hid behind a heavy brick planter that made a low wall. If anyone came back there for them, one of the killers, they were dead, so they all held very still, and tried to do their crying quietly. After another few moments things started to become quieter. Calling it silent would be a lie, since the din of crying people and occasional bit of gunfire wasn't that at all, but Zack risked popping his head up.

He couldn't do a lot, being that he was holding the palm of his hand tightly over the wound on the downed fighters back. He didn't have a band aid, and first aid, while a great sounding idea, hadn't been on his home school curriculum. What he saw then was one of the masked people being driven to his knees and having his face uncovered. The Vampires doing it didn't hesitate, having three hold the fellow in place while another wrenched his head back and forth, finally ripping it off after about twenty seconds. All the attackers were being killed. Instantly and without trial.

Zack was good with that, since they'd wanted to kill him personally and weren't even smart enough to just walk up to him and do it. Any of them could have, and he would have simply died if they did it right. It was a thing he didn't point out, but he did manage to wave to one of the other Shifters, of a kind that he couldn't really identify, and got them to run over. It was a homely woman, but she was fit and hard, like they all were.

"Hale? Crap! Medic! We need the medic over here!" She knew what to do, and whatever else she was, got right to it, pushing him out of the way after she pulled a strange looking pad from her waist.

'Bitch.' Mirror Him said it without heat or seeming upset, so Zack realized it wasn't about calling her names, just that she was some kind of canine Shifter. True, he could have just said that, but it was MH, so only so much could be expected.

He carefully stood up, still behind the planter, in case hiding was needed again, ready to drop to the ground without hesitation, but no one tried to kill him or anything. In fact, all that happened was the wounded being tended to and the hostages being taken to one of the exits that the mercenaries had created in the wall.

A tough looking man that seemed to be in his forties and looked like he had enough muscle for both of them, if only he'd be willing to share, called out to everyone, not seeming to care who heard him.

"The local's are in. We need to get out of here... Except we're surrounded. We might have to fight our way out." The voice was familiar at least, being the guy from the phone.

Zack picked a likely looking shop, which seemed to sell soap products and baskets, but had a good line of sight back to the Node.

"Um... Right... Evacuation. Vaughn, can you get your people to help move the wounded? Branson, we don't have time to teach you all what to do, so get with the Vamps. I'll get us out of here." If they had time.

The first problem he realized, was that there was a sensitive trap on the Node. The room it was in was used for actual storage and had boxes and baskets all over the place, which, he realized, probably meant it was run by a powerful group, since they got the Node points as a rule, but one that was never planning to use it. He started to move things out of the way, but it was taking too long, so the Hispanic Vampire picked him up and deposited him out of the way and did it herself.

"Tell me what we're doing?"

"Uh..." He outlined the point in the air, which was about seven feet across in a circle. Higher than that too. "This space needs to be clear and a line, for people to get through."

She did not take long about getting it done, or complain that it was beneath her or anything like that. She also didn't take the time to be tidy about it, just throwing and kicking things out of the way. Before anyone came in to see about the trap, she had it ready. Then, looking at the machine guns on their stands, she just moved, and turned them to point at the far wall, taking a single bullet in the process. He wasn't certain, but Zack thought that one would have hit him if she hadn't moved in front of him in time. Protecting him with her own body.

"What else?"

That involved Vaughn, who started grabbing two people at once, which meant Zack had to take his arm to get it done. It couldn't have been comfortable for anyone, but the Hispanic woman laughed. He saw it on the way back into the room.

"Damn. I don't suppose you two do parties?" It was impressed sounding, so Zack didn't bother to worry about what she really meant.

It still took a long time to get everyone back to Denver, and when he got to the Bat Shifter, he was actually a bat. The others had been grumbling a little bit about a Vampire touching them, but Branson ordered them to shut up about it almost instantly. It was Vaughn's turn to refuse suddenly.

"I don't think so. He'll need to turn back. I don't handle... creatures."

That got the remaining five Shifters in the room to make faces, and Zack to roll his eyes. It was Branson, the vastly muscled man that explained at least.

"I get the cultural prejudice, but he had to heal and his body forced a change to make it happen. It will be hours before he can get back. I won't leave a man behind."

"Nor do I wish you to, I simply can't touch him. I would, if it were a mere taboo, but... I don't have time to explain."

Zack looked at the wound on the bat and found it wasn't there, which made sense. Why shift into an injury? If you had that kind of power, it made sense that you'd heal while doing it each time, didn't it? The man wasn't huge, about a hundred pounds at a guess.

"Hey... I don't know how this works, but can you fold your wings together a bit, so I can try to pick you up? It will look like I'm trying to have sex with you, but I swear that isn't the case."

He didn't expect words, and they didn't come, the man moving in front of him and folding his arms so that he could be reached around. Then, gasping from the effort, his right arm hurting from the strain, he got the man through. The rest of the work was faster than that, even with the injured, since this one was the only being that had changed shape.

That it was a big sticking point for an old Vampire didn't make a lot of sense, but it wasn't his business to ask about it, so he just did his part.

On the good side, he wasn't personally needed for the rest of it, so took Vaughn back to Candles and More, so that he could unlock the space, having an hour left to his day still. If anyone gave him grief about leaving the place closed for so long he was going to have Mirror Him spin a story about an orgy with twenty hot swimsuit models.

They were supposed to be open all the time, at least during stated hours, but things could happen. If this wasn't a good enough excuse then he couldn't think of any at all.

Lenore ran over, and moved around Vaughn to hug him closely.

"You live? What's the situation on the ground there?" That at least was addressed to the other man, since he didn't know how to really explain it at all.

Vaughn actually sneered, which wasn't what Zack had seen from him so far. He looked horribly angry.

"It was our own people. Vampires all. We thought it was a mixed group originally, but we got enough from them in the end to put it together. This is... about things other than the Line Walker. That was both a distraction and an attempt to threaten the rest of us. The feeling of it is that they're opposed to the new ruling that states live feeding should be controlled. They drove our debt with Mr. Hartley to a level today that I do not think we will ever be able to repay, using his name so. Some Humans died, and all the Vampires working against us perished in the action. Or after. We had to leave the bodies, which will probably mean we need to send someone around to talk to the coroner and his staff." He looked away and froze, just not moving for several minutes.

Lenore made a face, which for her meant faking it. She tried anyway, all the time, and most of the ruling council did the same thing, only much better than the young. She was decent at it, but he could see the little differences, compared to a regular person.

"That's..." She took a huge breath and shrugged. "I'm willing to do my part in paying it, but he already has funding enough to make him happy, and to keep him safe during hard times. He refuses to take slaves and wants no one dead in particular. So... I believe I'll leave repayment to you this time? Perhaps some new furnishings for his home? It's a modest dwelling, but some wear has taken place over the last months."

That was true. For some reason, people kept getting into fights in his living room. First it was Bey and a young Vampire that just... died, leaving his head on the sofa. Then his friend Keeley and... herself. It had looked like it at least. Both of them were Greater Demons, and he had a suspicion that those two being around, along with the others, was what had really given him a bad reputation. Most people knew that playing with Demons was a bad plan, so tried to avoid the places they hung out in.

Zack could endorse it, but when several of them claimed to be your personal friend, you didn't flip them the bird and walk away. Cowering came to mind as a good response, but he doubted hiding was a real option.

His stomach growled then, which got him to sigh.

"Could I get a peanut butter swirl with chocolate on the top. I'll-" He was going to say that he'd grab his wallet, which was in the back, but Lenore just ran to her own shop and started making it for him.

That left him standing in the front of his own store, looking around. They had a lot of pink and red Valentine's decorations up, along with candle displays. In the few days they'd have to redo it, but he liked to keep things seasonal. What was next though? Spring themed things?

The Vampire's cell rang, and he moved away, speaking rapidly, but in a calm voice. Clearly not being needed, Zack started to front face the whole store, which took about three minutes, since no one had moved anything all day, and then swept, which for once got almost nothing at all. Just a bare hint of dust. The place was clean, and neat, as well as decorated. Now if they could just get sales, it would be worth it all.

Not for the first time he stood behind the counter wondering if he should start bringing books with him each day. Reading was fun, and killed time, but felt like he was cheating the store, so he hadn't been, but it got very boring sometimes.

'Yeah it does. I mean with the shooting and dying all around and you trying to get us killed to save people you don't know. Oh, you didn't mean that part, did you?'

"Nope, I didn't." He smiled and saw the man in the back of his store look at him a little strangely, but was rescued by Lenore coming in with an extra large frozen yoghurt. It looked amazing and tasted that way too, the chocolate on top being a caramel not just stuff from a can. Nothing in the dish was. She even ground her own peanut butter. Zack knew this, because occasionally he filled in over there in the mornings. Otherwise Lenore could never have a day off. Most of that was being done by the Mage intern, Jennifer, since he'd been convalescing, but he liked to put in a little time there, since it was a place filled with free food.

"Thank you. This is perfect. I'll get my wallet as soon as I'm done?" He knew she wouldn't make him pay, but asking was important. Besides, he could afford things like this now.

She didn't even answer, just waving a hand at him and walking to the back of the store, staring at Vaughn, going into a truly blank state. After a bit she turned to Zack and explained, knowing that his hearing wasn't up to the task.

"This isn't good. It seems that everyone has figured out that this attack was done by my kind, and many of them are far less than happy about it at the moment." She looked back at her shop and then actually moved to look both ways up and down the Mall proper.

When she turned back her face was serious.

"In fact, most are calling for war over it."

Of course they were. It wasn't the best way to handle things at all, but most people got scared and just lashed out, or at least wanted other people to do it for them. It was tempting, if you knew that you, personally, wouldn't have to face the consequences of your own actions. More than once he'd thought things like that himself, like about the pesky cop that had been bothering him earlier. They were wrong, but that wouldn't occur to many of them for a while. At the moment they were angry and scared, so things like being right in what they were calling for took a back seat.

It seemed it was a real problem too, since Lenore ran back to her store to answer the phone. She was there late already, which was a bit odd and probably also meant that she needed to eat. He didn't feed her himself, since what Vampires really ate was life energy, not blood. That was just a way to keep links open to the various sources.

Tilting his head, Zack had a thought and dug out the card Keeley had given him. He didn't really need to talk to her, personally, but rather to her friend, Rebekah, who was one of the cool looking Manthori Vampires. They had a business being started, a blood bank system for Vampires, that was possible because they'd learned to preserve the stuff without it tasting like toxic waste, which had been a problem before, from what he'd heard.

The phone picked up on the second ring.

"Zack. What may I do for you today?" It was Keeley, who always managed to sound a little formal with him. She was sixteen, and looked it, but also a Greater Demon, so immortal or nearly so, and so powerful that many people had suggested that a good thing to do when you met one was kill yourself. It was better than many of the alternatives, or a least that was the general idea. Keeley however was nice, to him. So were most of her friends, which meant he'd met a half dozen Greater Demons and hadn't been enslaved yet or anything.

"Hi. I was wondering if I could get in touch with your friend, Rebekah? I don't know what I can trade with her, but if she has any of your new blood available, I'd like some. Please."

"It's currently a hundred dollars a pint, but we can do that. Let me get her for you. Perhaps you could work out a trade? I know that her friend, Jonas, would like to come and visit her, but has to be at work regularly. The other way around as well. That might be a place to start. Just make certain you get fair value for it." Then she held her hand over the phone, speaking clearly enough he could still hear her.

"Rebekah dear? Telephone for you. Zack Hartley."

There was the sound of scurrying, but the phone passed without making any real noise about it, so it wasn't snatched from Keeley's grasp, just passed along. They were both just so fast it was nearly instant.

"Mr. Hartley, sir?"

"Or, you know, Zack, which is shorter and easier to say. I was hoping to trade you for some blood. The good kind. Keeley gave me inside information. You and your friend Jonas want to visit each other regularly? What would that be worth to you?"

She paused, and there was a murmur from the other end of the line, which sounded like Keeley, but he wasn't certain.

"A lot. Not my soul, or being enslaved, and I'd like to avoid torture for it, but I can work with almost anything else. I have some money, but not enough for that kind of thing. Jonas is a political aide, so that means not rich. You want blood though? For Vampires?"

He nodded, then realized that wouldn't communicate anything well at all.

"That's right. Can I get some now? Enough for a few people for the night. There... Might be a war coming for your kind, which you should check in to." Then he had to tell her the whole thing, which got her to go silent for a bit.

"I'd give you whatever you wanted just for that bit of information, sir. I mean Zack. I... If I could book some trips with you? I can pay in blood. Call it a hundred units per? That's cheating you horribly, but we aren't up to full production levels yet. We need to open at least a thousand new blood banks for it. It's going well and we do have a hundred already being set up, with fifteen in operation, so I can pay what I offered." She sounded professional when she gave her spiel about it. "Including breaking into my private reserve for you tonight. I have enough on hand I think, but it's at Keeley's home, the one she shares with her mother? It will take me a bit to get it."

He knew where that was however, so offered to pick it up himself, since that would keep the thing just between the two of them. Keeley chuckled in the background, but also had Rebekah agreeing a few seconds later.

"We'll call ahead, so she knows to expect you, so, about five minutes or so?"

That would work for him, since it was almost nine, meaning he could close the store, at least for a bit. He had a feeling that once news spread, normal working hours might just be something that went away.

He waited, got Vaughn to leave with some waving motions and smiles, the man not looking hurt about it, being too distracted with his talking, and locked up. Then he jogged to the back and stepped into Arizona. It was warmer there, even this time of year, than in Washington, but not hot at all. Chilly enough that he hurried, having to walk a few blocks to get there.

At the door he knocked gently, half expecting Keeley to come to it, even if it wasn't the plan. She could be like that at times, he knew. Unexpected.

Chapter three

The woman that answered wasn't Keeley, but was, as planned, her very cute mother. She looked to be in her early to mid-thirties, and was dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans this time, which was different for her, being that the last two times they'd met she'd been in nicer clothing that was a bit revealing.

Mirror Him took control and smiled, leering a bit.

"Why, hello. You look good tonight, Keeley's mom. I don't suppose you'd like to come out and play?" It was so unexpected that she just stood there for a moment, then smiled, laughing a bit.

"I can't tonight, but soon? I have a huge party tomorrow. Floral arrangements and decorations. My assistant and I will be up all night. We could get together this Friday, I think, in the evening?"

MH tilted his head back and nodded once, very slowly.

"The day after Valentine's? Perfect. I'll pick you up at seven, here. Wear cute underwear, since I plan on seeing it."

Then being a gentleman, he let Zack have control again, laughing.

He tried to keep his voice strong at least and to smile. Sherri really was pretty after all, and he did not want to make her upset.

"Right now I need to get something for..." He looked around and the woman touched his arm, her soft hand pulling him in gently.

"Eve is packaging that up for you. In here?"

By packaging she meant turning it into a blood gift basket, complete with flowers and two candles, as if he were going to be going on a very strange picnic. Which was an idea, if he could get a sandwich too. Maybe a soda?

"This looks great! Thank you... Eve is it?" He held out his hand, since the girl was obviously a Human, and might not get what was going on. Acting like whatever strange thing was going on was normal left most people feeling better, if they had to rationalize it all to themselves.

Eve, it seemed, was up on what was happening however. Knowledgeable even.

"Hey, nice to meet you. Keeley said I should call you some time? See if I can get a job as your intern for the summer? Anyway, we have containers of ice for each of the four bottles of blood. That will keep it fresh, but you have about four days before it will go bad and lose the energy links. Which sucks. Most of the Vamps like it heated a little, but a warm water bath for a few minutes works best for that. They'll be tempted to microwave it, but that damages the energy too. I hear it also tastes horrible if you let it touch anything metal. It will react to the compound used for preservation." She handed it to him with both hands and smiled.

He dug through his pockets, to find his wallet, which he didn't have. It wasn't for a tip, thank goodness, though they deserved one for the presentation. Zack just wanted a card. Finally he wrote the store number, and his new home one on a piece of paper for them to have around.

"I didn't know I needed an intern, but if Keeley suggested it, I'll try to see what she has in mind. Give me a call and we'll look into it?" Then he turned to Sherri and smiled, even meaning it. "As for you, call whenever you like. I think I should mention that I have a girlfriend, as well as a split personality, but she's a Vampire and won't care if we date, and the alter is the one that asked you out, so, you know, we both like you." He managed to make it sound sane and charming, like a joke, but it was all true. She smiled about it and touched him again.

"Oh? That's nice to know in advance. Most people keep the mental health problems for the breakup."

He nodded, since it was just the truth and waved to them both as he walked out. The trip back was longer, but he could route through the Paris Node, using shortcuts that weren't as good, but still got him where he needed to go in about fifteen minutes.

Then he took the gift basket to his girlfriend. And the other Vampires that were suddenly in the building. It was late, and apparently they came in for things like this. It wasn't a lot of people, but there were eight of them. Most were avoiding the place now, it seemed, since Bey had come to visit a little over a month before. Generally that meant a whole lot of Vampires would be dying, but he'd only taken out a few, since it was part of the new plan.

The one that, oddly enough, involved the kind of preserved blood that he was holding out to Lenore. She didn't have a phone pressed to her ear, but the Vampire woman in front of her growled, her eyes red. Pure red, with even the whites being hidden. It was a sign that she was about to eat someone, or fight, and since she wasn't clenching a fist, but was eying him, he had to figure it was the first one and that dinner was about to be him.

"There should be enough to share? It's the good kind." He tried not to seem nervous or afraid, since that could set a feeding frenzy off, he thought. Lenore snagged the basket and smiled, then opened the colored cellophane enough to see the four glass bottles inside, sitting, as promised, in containers of ice.

She popped the top of one of them and sniffed it, her own eyes showing more red than earlier, but handed the bottle to the woman, who, Zack realized, was the Chief of Police. Sims. That was her last name at least. She didn't hesitate, drinking the whole thing as if it were water and she was in a desert, which might actually be the case for her, after a fashion. When she finished, her eyes closed, she held the bottle out to hand back and then waited as everyone watched her.

"That..." She said, eyelids going up, to show very normal brown instead of blood colored irises, "Is really very good. At least six links in each bottle? It feels right. I've gotten the ads for it, but hadn't tried it yet." She looked at Lenore and smiled. "Thank you."

Then, surprisingly, she said the same to Zack.

"I hear we have you to thank for today?" The words sounded bland, but a little accusing, which got her to shake her head. "I mean preventing the worst of things for us. This isn't great, but we should be able to figure it all out. If we get enough time."

Lenore drank hers cold too, but he explained what he was told which got the other two heated that way. Soaking in a pan of warm water for a bit, Vaughn got one and rather politely the last was put in sample cups for the others to have a few sips of each. The general consensus seemed positive about it.

One of the men, who looked younger than the others, physically, gestured at his cup, which was just a paper one from the shop. "If we could do some tastings like this soon, perhaps we could prevent any more events like today's? Or at least slow them down a bit." He knocked gently on the orange Formica of the booth he sat at, and looked around at the others, including Zack. "When are they going to be producing in full swing?"

That got answered by Lenore, who was washing out the bottles and the cups, before tossing them. She kept the bottles actually, since they were nice, being glass with glass stoppers. She was from a time when you just didn't waste things easily.

"Three months, I hear. That will be the first hundred locations. Then there are plans for many more across the country. I don't know that we can get enough for wide spread testing by our people, but perhaps it could be arranged for the leadership in most areas? I'll put a call in and see, in a few days. Right now..." She looked at Zack and then the others, "Mr. Hartley needs to go and answer his telephone, I believe."

He jogged over, but had left the door unlocked, so got to it in about four rings. It might be more than that, if it had taken time for Lenore to let him know about it.

"Candles and More, here to help you with all your candle needs." It wasn't an inspired slogan, but no one had ever said anything about it yet.

"Zack? Bob Millhouse here. Good to see you're on site. I've been getting calls for half an hour from the Council and every Mage that has CNN or Fox news. What can you tell me about the situation in New Mexico?"

It took him a bit, the story being longer than he thought it would be, but at the end of it, the man on the other end of the line, the Mage Ambassador for the area, just grunted.

"We'll be in shortly. I hate to do it, but we need everyone on this. For the time being the whole staff needs to be on call."

"I'll get in touch with everyone." Without warning, the phone went dead in his hand, the line buzzing. Apparently shortly meant no time for saying goodbye that night?

He got on with Lisa first, since she was the second in command of the whole thing. She sounded sleepy when she spoke, like he'd woken her up. Which made sense. She was still trying to recover from the drug addiction she'd developed trying to handle the place on her own.

"Hi Lisa. Everyone needs to come to the store. A bit of... Um, possible wide spread war, and mayhem? Don't do any drugs for this. You can sleep in your office if you have to or whatever."

"Thanks mom, I'll be right there, along with my pillow and teddy bear."

"Good. See you in a bit."

Then he had to find Hiram, who wasn't sleeping at all, from the sound of the woman's voice that was next to him.

"Hiram?" He explained and waited for a response, which was a murmur that sounded... erotic. "Dude, you are not getting a blowjob while talking to me on the phone."

There was a bit of heavy breathing and a sigh.

"I'll be a bit. But I'm coming." Then he stopped... and spoke to the other person. "No, keep doing what you were, I just meant that I'd be in to work. Yeah, that's it..."

Zack cleared his throat, but Mirror Him chortled inside his head.

'Jealous? I bet she's a washed up crack whore with no teeth, but hey, that might be interesting. Better suction that way I bet. Plus, no accidental biting.'

"As soon as you can please." Then he hung up and debated calling their intern. It wasn't a school night, and someone would have to keep them in coffee and donuts.

He actually had to talk to her parents, to let them know she wasn't secretly planning to run out and do drugs or have "the sex" with strange men in a parking lot.

"No, it's a real emergency. Her newly reformed Uncle will be here, as well as many responsible adults. I promise she won't have any fun at all." That convinced them well enough that they offered to drive her there. It meant they wanted to check things out for themselves, but that seemed reasonable to him. What did real parents do most of the time anyway? His had sold him to a Greater Demon, which hadn't gone well for Zack at all. It was why he was so broken, most likely, not that he could remember it. From the sound of it, that was a blessing.

The Mall was always a bit more busy at night than during the day, at least the few times that he'd been there to see it, working nine to nine. Tonight it started to actually buzz a little, with people running past the store occasionally. Most of them looked vaguely familiar, but some were new to him. Like the strange fishlike man that stopped at the window and looked in. He was really more like the creature from the black lagoon than anything, but had on pants, a loose shirt and shoes. He didn't pop in to visit, just walking deeper into the Mall, where most the shops were.

The phone calls started coming then, with people sounding a bit stressed, but not panicked.

"War? Not yet. Everyone is on this though. Keep your head down for now and make sure that your doors are locked and you have wards up, if you can." He basically just repeated that same phrase, with minor variations until Bob Millhouse and a very pale and thin woman came in. She looked like she was still recovering from being mostly dead, so he figured that she was Evelyn, Bob's wife. Just as they got to the counter the phone rang, so he gave his little speech again.

When he hung up the Ambassador, who looked to be in his thirties, but was likely much older, nodded. He was a trim white man, but Vancouver had a lot of those, so he blended nicely.

"Excellent. Don't create fear, but get people to take precautions. Zack, this is my wife, Evelyn." He didn't go into the whole thing deeply, since it was an emergency. The phone rang again and Bob headed to the back to do something.

This time the man on the line sounded cold and professional. That was a change from partly panicked and angsty, so it really caught Zack's attention.

"Eric Weise here. Is Lisa in at the moment?" He didn't add the rest of what he was thinking, but it was clear in his voice. Was she there, or off having sex with some woman. The guy was such a jerk on the topic that Zack kind of wished he could imply she was off sucking some guy off, but couldn't say the words, and for once MH didn't do it for him.

"She's incoming. If you leave a number, I'll see if she can call directly."

"She has it. I'm at the office and will be all night. Thank you." Then he hung up, which was the treat of the night, it seemed. No one was being overly polite.

Crises or not, Lisa didn't get there until the intern and her parents were walking in, even given that she lived closer. Of course she'd actually brought things with her, and carried a big bundle of bedding and a bag awkwardly.

"Bob's in the back, and your father wants you to call him at his office."

Jen's parents stood around awkwardly and didn't say much, since it was clearly a real emergency, and not some highschooler's trick to get out of the house to go clubbing. She was called to the back, where Bob had a folding table out with some chairs, along with several phones. That meant Zack had to learn to transfer calls, he thought, but was wrong. The ladies in the back took over, and he was supposed to run the front, not answer the phone at all.

Forty minutes after the call went out Hiram came in through the front, his gait rolling and his face smiling a bit, content with how things were going for him, it seemed. He was put on phone duty as well, so that he could yell at anyone that got too mouthy with the others. That meant that Zack was just standing around after a while.

Shrugging he poked his head in the back.

"So, coffee run. Does anyone need anything else? Food or..." He had no clue what those things might be, but Evelyn nodded.

"Tea? I'm not that picky, but it helps a bit."

Jennifer looked over at her parents, but smiled at Zack and winked.

"We could use some quartz crystals, with the best purity you can find, silver and gold wire, rubies if you have them and other precious metals, for trade. Then you should go around and see if anyone else in the Mall wants anything, so that they get the idea we're working together, which might help. It worked at the model U.N. in school." She went to a local one of those, not a special one at all, which meant she had to find most of her skills where she could and given that her parents were basically normal people, lacking a lot of talent that way, she'd gotten them mainly from her Uncle. It meant she wasn't great at healing, but could probably take down a master level Mage's Wards with a blindfold on.

It was a thief's skill.

Bob had popped his head out of the office, then hurried back in, made some noise, and came back with a full box of supplies, which he handed to her directly.

"Your plan, Miss Stone?"

She froze, probably wondering why the Ambassador even knew her name, much less why he was asking for her ideas, but she took a breath and rushed into it.

"We should go and ward anyone that wants it. Everyone loves Zack, so he should really go and see if anyone needs anything. I don't know how involved we are in this, but..."

The boss smiled at her and winked at them all. It was catching and seemed fake and forced, like that kind of thing always did.

"Not bad. Would you gentlemen be willing to give it a try? We might be rebuffed, but Jennifer has a real point. War is bad for everyone, in the main. If we can do anything at all to stop it from happening, we should."

Zack just stood up, and Hiram, looking at him like it was all a trick, narrowed his eyes a bit.

"That might not be such a great plan. Not everyone loves me so much."

Nodding at the Mage, Zack thought for a few seconds before speaking.

"If you don't reach out to them, they never will. It won't work with some people, but it's something to do." Then he walked out, leaving Hiram to carry the box, since it looked heavy. He headed directly over to Yoghurt World, to find Barb behind the counter, staring at them like they might actually ask her to make something for them.

"Hi Barb. Free wards if you want them? We're making the rounds, but it would be a good idea for you to do it. It will remind people that we're working together."

Those words had all the Vampires, and there were more of them now, about ten in all, including Cormack and Edom, so at least some he knew, pouring out of the back almost instantly. Vaughn blinked a half dozen times and smiled at Zack when he saw them.

"Mr. Hartley. Am I to understand that the Mages are throwing in with us? That's good news indeed."

Hiram nodded, as if it was the plan, but Zack couldn't do that kind of thing, no matter how much easier it would make the moment.

"We're trying to get everyone pulling together. This was an act of terrorism, and some people will blame you for it, but that isn't right. You didn't do it, and punishing innocent people for this is going to just make things worse. So first step, we get you an early warning system. Then I go and try to talk to anyone that will listen here, so they can pass word back to their own people."

It was what he was thinking anyway and while not a promise of total support, it was better than kicking them just because everyone else was doing it.

The Vampire clapped Hiram on the shoulder and they let him do the work, smiling and pretending they trusted him, and that it wasn't about setting up some way to spy on them. It wasn't, but that would also be a good plan. After all, that's what they were doing there, wasn't it? Listening in to all the Mage business? They didn't even need bugs, just ears. Their sensitive and dedicated Vampire ones.

It took about half an hour, but thankfully for Hiram only a few other places thought they needed that kind of thing. They mainly just went from shop to store, asking if the crews needed anything at all. That was mainly food and drinks, coffee or in one case, for the people in the sword and knife shop, a live animal. They said anything would do, if it had plenty of meat on it. It was less than perfectly fun, but at about three in the morning he managed to get them a wild pig. That took a large box, Hiram doing the actual hunting, and some help to move from Barb, but it seemed like it was a huge deal to the three that received it. They thanked them all, and kept smiling at least. Hopefully it wasn't how they signaled death threats.

The Trolleinkein needed food, and a lot of it, being awakened at night, since for them it was eat or hibernate, and they needed to be alert. At least they were sensible enough to agree that the whole thing likely wasn't an attack by all Vampires on all people, but past that they didn't know what was going on. During the day they normally ate at the food court, but at night, or if they needed too much food, they had to make other arrangements for themselves. The problem was really just one of funding. They didn't use money where they came from, and had to actually earn what they used to run the embassy. Each of the giant men and women got a per diem, essentially, but they couldn't afford extras like this.

It took a bit to figure out that they could eat almost anything humans could and that, while proud, they weren't stupid about it.

He did two things. The first was first calling Bob and asking if he'd set up an account for them, so that the Guild would cover their food for the time being. It was such an odd request that he expected to be lectured, or simply told no, but the man put him on hold and got in touch with them a few moments later.

"I set it up. It's active right now and the food court is expecting a call."

"Thanks. That was easier than I thought it would be."

Then he called Lenore, who was busy and had to talk to Vaughn instead. It worked though.

"Hey, well, you said you owed me right?"

There was a pause, and the man took his time in answering. It seemed like a habit of his. About ten seconds too late, he answered in an even voice.

"Yes, what do you require?"

Zack knew they wouldn't have a problem with it, but it sounded a bit strange, even in his head, so it was his turn to take a moment and blush a little.

"I was wondering if everyone in the Mall could have unlimited free treats from there?" Because, in case of War, break out the sugar.

That thought nearly got him to laugh, but the voice from the other end of the phone didn't, taking it as deadly serious.

"Agreed. That should, eventually, cover about a millionth of a percent of things, for the matter at hand. It's a start at least. Please let everyone know. Or... yes, we'll put up a sign." They didn't speak much longer, but there was no sense that the fellow was making fun of his silly request.

When he got off the phone he explained it all to the people in the room, who were, more or less, big foot, as Barb had once mentioned. Ones that shaved, it seemed. They looked brutish and spoke funny. And if the Vampire woman was right, and he figured she was, they were all geniuses too. High level ones. They just had a slightly odd situation.

"So, that should help a little, at least while you're here, when you go home for the night, not so much. The Mage thing might run out after this dies down, but the yoghurt deal should be permanent. It will help you get through the night I hope?"

That got Hildegard, the large and powerfully muscular light skinned girl to pick him up into a hug, her arms wrapping him totally.

"That it most kind of you! We will not abuse your gift, I promise."

"What?" He thought about it for a second and shook his head. "No, both groups think they owe me vast debts, the poor Vampires think they can never repay them either. If anything it would be best to visit there regularly and eat well, so they can feel like they have a chance. Just make certain you take time to let Lenore know which things you like, so she can improve on them, and keep them in stock. It's a thing with her. She's very nice though."

That had them making a call for real food first, since that was a thing for them as well, not just Humans, and meant he and Hiram could get to the top level.

Luckily that was less adventurous for them, and while they also arranged for some meals for people there, they didn't have to catch another pig or anything. Zack was starting to fade, yawning every few steps he took, and felt like sitting would be a very nice idea. So, naturally, that meant someone followed them into the store, holding malice for him and contempt in her heart, no doubt. She was also incredibly beautiful and not only knew it, but was clearly flaunting it as she walked up to him directly, smiling seductively the whole time.

Valerie, the Alede Ambassador, and more important at the moment, Succubus. They fed on human energy too, like Vampires, but did it by freeing a bit up using sex. Instead of it going into producing life, it went to them. So it wasn't any bigger of a drain than what people did in their bedrooms together nightly all over the world, but they had a bit of a negative reputation. Not this one in particular, but their leadership. At least he thought of them in a poor light.

"Mr. Hartley! I know that you're refusing to work with the Alede ruling body, and I thank you for it, personally." She moved in a way that pushed her chest out toward him, because that's what personal probably meant to someone like her. "They presented an issue to me that's rather sensitive, however. We have a protected personage that we'd like to remove from her movie shoot in New Zealand. This has been arranged on her end, but while we have a very strong presence there, we can't go head to head with attacking Vampires. Or any other of the more physical groups. We fear, being famous, that she's a real target, if someone turns against us." She waited and then simply moved so close to him they could kiss, and did it, right in front of everyone. She did a really good job of it too and he ended up standing there with his pants getting tight, which was a bit embarrassing.

"Hey! Back the heck off, woman." Mirror Him didn't get aggressive, not yet, but he glared hard. "Pull your crap on me and I'll make certain you never travel by a line in your life." He didn't shove her back, since it was hard to do that with someone that made you want to melt, but he did get her to move to speaking distance after a bit. "Now, tell me the rest, like a real person, or the answer will just be no."

Then Zack was back as himself. Protected and safe from the evil temptress.

She smiled which was a sexy thing that made him want to do whatever she wanted, but was just normal. He was a guy, she was a ten, it was pretty much a done deal that way. Unless it would get him killed. Then he decided to play it smart.

"Later then? Anyway, Judy Swan is an actress, and high enough profile that-"

"The Judy Swan?" This came from Jen, so at least one of them got who that might be.

"Exactly the one. So, I'd like to broker something with you. She can't get to a Node directly, being well away from any cities. I'm not even sure they have one there. But we can pay, and if you still refuse to work with my government, which I trust is the case, I'll personally trade with you on this one. That's within your policy, isn't it? That you'll hear-"

He interrupted, and didn't let her finish the whole speech. There just wasn't enough energy left right now.

"I need a picture of her so that I can locate her. You can owe me for it. Make a note or something. Let's hurry though, I'm afraid I'm not going to be awake for much longer." He wanted to growl at her, to show he meant it and act surly, but actually got that she was willing to do whatever he wanted her to, in order to pay for this. Given what she was, that would be sex. Especially if she got him alone for any length of time. He might even do it, just so she wouldn't feel like she owed him too much. Cash could work too, and he was starting to realize the problem everyone was having with him in that regard.

They all really thought what he was doing was hard for him, even when he didn't show it all the time. No one else they wanted to deal with could get it done, not without killing loads of people for it, or in the Mages case, getting a lot of people to fast, pray and chant for a week or more to raise the power for it, so that was their yard stick for the work. If they offered him a hundred per trip, he would have taken it and counted it toward rent, never the wiser. As it was, he was starting to realize that while he was thinking that sounded fair, they were thinking that it would be in the millions or more, for each trip.

So writing a check might be out of the question. He had money now and not just his salary. Keeley had brokered some of his trips and managed to turn nearly three million in profit for him, without harming anyone while doing it. Then she took a twenty percent cut, but since he couldn't manage to do the same thing, that was probably more than fair. Actually she'd gotten him more than that, and it was sitting in several banks, waiting for him to buy things with. He just didn't know enough to do that kind of thing, so it was down to this.

Instead he was vague and seemed like he didn't care about amassing a super fortune, which he didn't. It made everyone think he was really expensive, and only gave cool deals to his personal friends. That worked for him, because in the end it meant less work and not being approached by everyone that wanted to take a vacation somewhere exotic. Technically it probably meant that he and Valerie were buddies now, so he waited for the picture by the Node.

A succubus movie star? That sounded like it had prima donna written all over it, didn't it? Hopefully she wouldn't be too bad, or he'd have to leave her there.

Grrr.

Chuckling he found her easily enough, since New Zealand was rich in rifts and Nodes, and got moving.

Chapter four

It was a bit of a hard situation really, Zack decided.

The woman, who was very pretty in a girl next door way, sat on what seemed to be a large boulder, wearing a baseball cap, a t-shirt and jeans, with a light jacket over it. She also had bags with her, but there were two backpacks and a duffle. All large, and no doubt heavy. Sighing, he realized it wasn't going to be fun at all, since getting help for this from a Vampire wouldn't work, and taking Jennifer with him would be about the same as going alone really. The same was true of Hiram and honestly, the man was a bit sketchy seeming, if you were a woman sitting alone in the near dark.

It was also twilight there, on the other side of the world, and while the woman was alone and seemed relaxed, a strange man approaching her without warning might just be out of place. It was going to happen, but he'd have to do something to reassure her he was harmless. What that would be he didn't know at all. The idea of carrying a teddy bear was kind of a good one. That or really creepy. He couldn't decide, so didn't act on the thought at all.

Stepping through he ended up abut fifteen feet away from the lady, which was better than being at two feet, he had to figure, and was unnoticed until he spoke.

"Judy? I was sent by Valerie Swanson to take you back to America. My name's Zack Hartley." He tried to sound sane and normal, but she jumped anyway, then laughed about it.

"Oh..." She grabbed her chest a bit. "You scared me! I didn't hear you drive up. You say Val sent you? That's so sweet of her. I knew that someone was supposed to be around, but I kind of thought I'd have to set up the tent and eat trail mix for a few days. Were you in the area?" She sound like one of those very earthy people that just assumed everyone was a friend almost instantly. Her voice was smooth, but just friendly, not manipulative or demanding at all, and in the dim light it was clear that she was smiling in a very sociable fashion.

It made her very easy to like, he realized.

"No. Um... I can use the Nodes to travel? I'm not a Demon though, so Valerie asked if I'd come get you. It looks like we might have to walk a bit, since the place I came in at is gone." He tried to seem relaxed about it and sounded like he was a nervous boy trying to ask her on a date. That was wonderful, since nothing ensured trust like your voice nearly cracking halfway through a sentence.

"You're the Human Line Walker? Oh. My. God. That is... I've been wanting to meet you for weeks!" She stood up and then laughed a bit, but in a good natured way. "Now I know what all those fans of mine must feel like. I don't even know what to say to you. Do you give autographs? Can I wash your car?"

"I don't have a car. But I could sign something if you want... I never saw the reason for that really. I guess to help people remember you? That or prove they met someone. Anyway, we should get moving, if you feel up to it? I don't know how long this will take, but we might have to walk for a while." He waited for her to demand he carry all her gear, but she slipped one pack on immediately and hoisted the duffle over her other shoulder. Then she looked at the last bag. It was a sad thing, but she firmed her face up almost instantly and stood a bit straighter.

"I can leave it, I suppose. It would be a bit too much to ask for you to carry it."

He had to work to get it on, but it settled the weight really nicely once it was in place. The blue and black thing let him carry a lot more than he would have if it were in his hands. A whole lot.

"Wow, I need to get one of these. This is nice. I've been having to bring Vampires with me to carry everything for the last bit. I had a broken arm. I would have gotten one to come with us now, but I didn't know if you'd be comfortable with it, since the current situation is so messed up. It isn't Vampires overall, just a few of them." He wasn't totally sure that made sense, but the woman nodded.

"Thanks. I try not to be prejudiced, but I've been confused a few times for food, and this isn't the space I'd want to meet one of them in, if I can help it. Which way?"

Zack oriented on where the closest shortcut was, and pointed. It wasn't that far, since the area was rich with them, but he didn't know them well, so it might mean doubling back. They walked in silence for a bit, the light going away before they got into place. Judy didn't complain or anything, in fact she was really quiet. Even her breathing was. His was louder, gasping a bit from the unfamiliar exertion.

The rift was decently stable seeming, and glancing through it looked to take them about fifteen miles away. He could feel that, as well as the other rifts at that place, which were more frequent. It was a good enough place to start. The question would be how to manage it all.

If the rift was one way, and he went through, then he'd lose Judy. There was also no way he could carry her and all the baggage at the same time. Considering it he shrugged.

"If I take the duffle, can you hop into the air about six inches with your pack on?" He didn't explain and it had to seem really weird, but she put her bag down and jumped three times that into the air, which was darned impressive. Zack wasn't really certain he could have done it without the extra pack. It was probably the difference between a person that worked out and one that really didn't.

"Great. Now, let me explain this. Your feet have to be in the air when I go through, or it won't work. This isn't a Node, so if we miss, we'll just stay here. If it was, I'd need to be extra careful, because ... Well, it won't be a problem." Telling her she might be cut to bits wasn't a good way to make her feel at ease, was it?

It took them three tries, but the woman got it right eventually, and they were able to keep going, traveling with only a soft clanking sound from the gear. He couldn't actually see anything at this point, except stars and a few trees. There was grass underfoot, but he'd just have to hope there were no snakes.

He actually kept them just walking, stopping to look through the various holes in space to see where they led. The third one was a lucky find really, since it would get them to civilization, and, if he had it right, the Nexus in Australia. He'd been planning on using the one in New Zealand, but it didn't matter all that much, did it?

"This is a good one. It will take us into the back room of the Vampire embassy in... You know, I don't know what city it's near. Australia though. No one's in there right now, but it should be safe enough." He waited for a protest, but the woman didn't speak, just rearranging the gear like she had before.

The instant they were in the room, they were rushed, by two men and a woman. It was too fast for him to do anything about, but they all froze in place and stared from about six feet away, rather than attacking.

"Hello?" This came from the woman, who nodded after a second. "Oh, thank goodness, we thought it was an invasion." She waved to the others happily enough, seeming actually relieved. "This is the Line Walker. If he comes, we're to do anything he asks. That comes from the whole Council too, so don't do a half job. What can we do for you today, sir?" She smoothed the front of her orangey-red skirt. She had a little matching jacket and a mustard yellow blouse on under it, with pearls. She looked like a fifties T.V. mom this time, but still had her fangs out and ready to go.

"Just passing through, thanks. I really appreciate you letting us use this place. Not that I called first, but... I normally can't, you know?"

"Our pleasure. You just let us know if you need anything, sir, and we'll be on it before you can finish the sentence." Since that was true, he decided to be careful about what he said to the woman. Tamara. They'd met before, though she was warmer this time. Helpful the last too, but apparently she understood he wasn't there to kidnap her or anything now. That, or something else had changed. Like orders coming in that basically said that if he wanted to take her, she was just supposed to go?

The men stood back, but they both fought to smile, with their mouths closed, a few seconds later. It was fake looking, which meant they were probably pretty youthful for their kind. He smiled back anyway and got Judy to reset and hop at the right time, landing them in the back of Candles and More, stopping a few feet away from the card table where everyone was still answering phones.

"Hi all. This is Judy. I'm going to walk her down to Pretty Plus." Turning he frowned a bit. "Unless you need something else first? Food, or something to drink?"

The woman shook her head, her sporty looking blonde ponytail bobbing a bit. "I'm good. Nice to meet you all. I don't know if I'm going to be around for long, but if I am, I hope we can all get together and chat?" This got a smile from Hiram, and a nervous expression from Jen, but Lisa moved in and put out a hand to shake, since Zack was still holding the duffle bag.

"So nice to meet you. I'm sure we'd all enjoy that." She said the words, but Zack noticed, no plans were made. Everyone already looked really tired, so it was probably just that.

After a bit they were able to get free, and he took her to the right place, which was brightly lit at the moment, with no activity at all in the front of the place. They were probably all in the back, doing the phone thing, he realized.

Except that the door was locked. He pounded for a bit and then shrugged.

"Crud. Maybe they got called away? Well, no big. We'll just get you a hotel room. Unless you want to sleep in my bed?" He got that it might sound wrong when he heard the words, but she nodded, happily.

"Thanks. Alede are many things, but one of those isn't particularly hard working. Not as a group. They probably realized that this really won't affect them, and all went home for the night."

The straps were starting to hurt a bit, where his boney shoulders pushed against them, even though they were padded. His feet were sore from walking, and so was his lower back. It was less than perfectly fun.

Zack nodded.

"Oh, I should warn you, my place is probably just a bit better than your tent. I don't want you to be shocked when you get in."

She laughed and shook her head.

"I normally live in a small cabin in Colorado. I'll deal."

They had to stop by the candle shop, since he didn't know if he was supposed to open in the morning, but Bob assured him that it would be fine to come in a bit later than that. The Mall was going into a lockdown for the day, so no one would be there to shop, or even lodge complaints or get permits for anything.

Zack thought it through and nodded.

"I'll try to get in to take over the phones then, as soon as I can. I'm about to crash right now. Even if I stayed here, it would mean sleeping."

Mirror Him, who had been being very, very good for a while, laughed.

'They'd probably draw pictures of dicks on your face in Sharpy if you did, too. At least Hiram would. That's a guy with a sense of humor, I can smell it.'

All of that was probably even true, so Zack didn't answer.

Judy followed him, waving to everyone again, seeming content to be led to his hovel, and she knew what to do at a rift, but was surprised that it was all so close together.

"This must make for a short commute each day."

"Yes, it really does. One of the perks of the job." He used his key, which still had a string tied to it, to make it easier to find in his pocket, the black slacks being easier that way than old jeans. Troy wasn't home, so when he flipped on the lights, he waved around at the place.

"I did warn you. No need to claim it's cute or quaint. My bedroom is through here."

That actually looked nicer, having a new king sized bed in it, an actual dresser and a table with a mirror, that Lenore had put in. Clean sheets and everything, so he didn't have to worry that way too much. There were even throw rugs to hide the ugly orange and brown carpet underneath, all a deep red, with the same black pattern woven into each.

"I'll take the sofa." He dropped the bags inside the door and went to the dresser to pull clothes for sleeping in. Sweats and a t-shirt. "We have food in the kitchen, and in a bit my roommate should be home, if you need sex or anything. He might have someone with him, but if not I think it's fair game."

She smiled and looked around the room.

"Thanks. I could use that. You have someone?"

"Yeah. Lenore. She did most of the stuff in here, which you might notice doesn't match the rest of the place? She's the Vampire Ambassador for the area. Really, we could have sex, but I'm pretty tired, and my energy is messed up enough that I don't think you'd get a lot from it." He suppressed a groan and yawned. "Speaking of which, I need to do some exercises for that before I sleep. The phone's in the other room if you need it. You probably won't wake me up by talking, but shake me if you need anything."

Then he left her alone, since he really was about to fall over. He did grab a pillow and a blanket from the linen closet for the sofa though, which was something else Lenore had given him. The pillow and a set of matching blankets. They looked old fashioned and handmade, but, she'd assured him, store bought.

He spent ten minutes on breathing exercises, drawing energy from the universe and passing it through his body carefully, over and over again. It set up a bit of a flow, but it still wasn't what Wu-Li, the herbalist at the Mall, wanted to see. Not even close.

Then he changed and curled up just in time for Troy to walk in and see him doing it. He had a rather plain and slightly heavyset girl with him, who'd obviously been at the club until closing. She wasn't falling down drunk, but had been drinking. It was obvious in the way she clung to Troy's arm.

Troy whispered to her.

"I don't know why he's out here, but let's go to my room..."

He drifted off, but thought he heard some light knocking a while later, and then some quiet talking.

Zack got to sleep until ten, and felt like crap when he got up, after only six hours of rest, but made himself do it anyway. It was the girl Troy had brought that did it, by poking him in the shoulder. She waited for him to stand before talking though, which gave him a few seconds to blink enough that his eyes sort of worked again.

"Um, sorry. Can I use your phone? I have to be at work later and need to call a cab."

"No problem. Need a phone book?"

"Yeah. That and money for a cab. I was not planning ahead last night. I can call my friend Jill and get her to have something ready when I get home. I hope." She didn't sound all that certain about it really.

"I can cover that for you, if you need. Let me get the book."

It took ten minutes for the woman to realize that her friend wasn't in and that the other people she knew didn't like her that much. He could see why, just looking at her. She was scattered and jangly, which meant her mind wasn't very well put together. At a guess it was probably the early stages of schizophrenia. Not that he was one to judge brands of crazy. He didn't let her get that worked up though.

"No problem. I'll give you forty for it, that will be enough, right?" Unless she lived over in Portland, or something. She made a slightly silly face and nodded.

"Twenty will do, but I don't know you at all. Why help me?"

The real reason was so that she wouldn't have a meltdown in his living room, or be forced to walk the cold February streets in high heeled shoes for hours. He couldn't say that and anything he tried to say would end up with him saying that.

Mirror Him stepped in, taking over smoothly, stretching to buy time with his hands over his head.

"All part of the service, doll. Let me hook that up for you with the cab company, and get you something to eat. What do you like? We have bagels, eggs, I can do some frozen waffles, if you want?"

"Oh, I couldn't. Thanks."

Then he did the whole thing, calling the first cab company in the book, which Zack knew to be located less than a mile away, giving the address quietly. Then he walked out with the girl, who had never given her name and made sure that the cabbie, who was a man in his sixties or so, had the fare, plus a nice tip.

He leaned in, slipping the man an extra twenty.

"Take a few extra turns, and make sure she can't find this place again, will you?"

It was strange, but the guy just gave a nod, as if he understood what was happening, and took off.

Zack waved, since the girl was turning around and looking at him, and then went in to get a shower. He was fast about it, since others were there and might want one too. That, it turned out, was right, with Judy bringing in an armload of stuff as soon as he opened to door. She smiled at him at least on the way past.

Having a bit more time and clearly being a better cook than MH, being able to also make pancakes without burning them, he made a meal for two. He had the table set and everything when Judy was out of the bathroom, her hair still a bit damp.

"Oh, this looks good. I noticed that you got rid of Troy's new friend? That's good. She's... Not well. I could, I suppose taste is the wrong word, but it's what we call it when we analyze energy. She isn't going to be in for an easy time, poor thing. It was dark last night, and I didn't give a name, so I don't think she understood who I was. It's one of the tricks I've learned over the years to keep people from thinking I'm a giant slut. That goes without saying, but the press can be brutal about things like that still. I doubt they'll catch on to my location yet. Not doing what we did to get here. As long as I don't get a hotel room it should be all right."

Zack nodded, looking at her for a moment. She was nice and pretty enough, in a fresh faced way. Probably more of an eight than a nine or ten, which, he realized, was probably why she got to be the famous actress and the others kind of hid in the woodwork. Some of them were so good looking it would draw too much attention. Actresses could be pretty, but the fantastically good looking ones were often hated too.

A bite of buttered pancake went into his mouth and he savored it, still remembering when all he had was the ramen that Troy had bought them. It hadn't been enough food by far. Now he had four pancakes on his plate and had made them really big, using their old griddle. Four eggs too.

"That has to be a pain. Being famous I mean."

"Not really. People complain about paparazzo, in the industry, but you don't go into the profession of acting unless you're a bit of an attention hog. Behind the scenes they spend more time counting how many magazine covers they have, and the number of hits they get on Google than they do actually being worried that someone will catch them eating at McDonald's. It's part of the game, for all of us. You try to hide a little, so they have to work to find you, and so it's a big deal when they do. Right now I don't particularly want attention, because it could be drawn to Westfield." She ate for a while too, finishing half her food before continuing the thought. "It's a bit hard to explain that I have both a daughter and a granddaughter to the masses. They just wouldn't believe it at all, but attention can lead to stalkers and that kind of thing, which is already a big enough danger for my kind."

That was news to him, but Zack didn't bother asking if she meant Kaitlyn and Valerie Swanson. It didn't take a Mensa member to work out that Judy Swan might just be a shortening of that last name. She didn't look that old at all, but then, she looked almost exactly the same age as Val. The perfect age to have sex with in American culture. About twenty-four or so, give or take. Old enough to clearly be legal, young enough that nothing would be expected to sag much yet.

Thankfully a mouthful of food kept him from saying that out loud.

When they finished he washed up immediately, since dirty plates bred, he'd noticed, and started to leave about eleven-thirty.

Judy looked around and let her eyes light up.

"I guess I should get my stuff?"

"Or stay, if it's a good enough place to hide. Want to come with me? I can get you back whenever you want." Or provide the address to her people, so they could pick up her things, whichever was needed first.

"Thanks, I was worried I'd have to beg. This place is nearly ideal for me right now."

They had to wait for a bit by the tree the rift across the street was near, but then timed it pretty well. She stumbled a bit on the landing, but managed not to take the both of them to the ground. The problem there was that the door was locked when they tried it. He scrambled, trying to think about what to do, considering a multi-shortcut jump to another Nexus, so that he could enter through the back, when Mirror Him sighed in his head. Loudly.

'I can't even call you stupid, because that would be too easy. Just go around and pound on the back door, so they can let you in.'

That made more sense and for once would probably take less time. It was a droopy eyed Hiram that was there, alone, running the Embassy. The very idea made Zack grin.

"See, in charge already. Why at this rate you'll be the Guild Chair in no time." Turning to Judy he explained. "Hiram is a month or two into his attempt to give up a life of crime. This is actually a great sign for him."

The voice that came from the man croaked a bit.

"Everyone else just had to go. Lisa said she'd stay and camp on her office floor, but I ain't leaving a Wistra addict alone in a high stress situation with no sleep. The calls have slowed down, so at least the ones coming in now are half important, and not just people trying to find out the news. Nothing has really changed, not yet. After the first bit of shock, most of the different groups are kind of understanding that this isn't a full on Vampire assault. That will last until the first hothead starts some shit and ends up getting caught on camera." He sat and sipped at a cup of coffee that looked black and bitter, and smelled cold, if he could tell that kind of thing at all.

"Wonderful. Well, let me see if the Alede Embassy is open or not, and then I'll take over for you, so you can get some rest too."

The man smiled a bit, but let it fade and pretended to fall asleep, waking with a start. It was way more comical than he could have managed, but he did smile.

Judy did too, and walked with him to the front door, smiling when Lenore saw them through her large and spotless front window. Zack walked to the door of the shop and stuck his head in.

"Hi! How are things?"

"Tense, and the stress is making those of us here hungrier than we would be normally. I don't suppose you could manage another basket of blood? That or find someone for us. That wouldn't be as useful though however and would be hypocritical to the new effort." She smiled and waved a bit. "Who's your new friend?"

"Oh, this is Judy Swan. Alede, but don't worry, I fed Troy and the crazy girl he brought home to her. She's really nice. You'll like her I think. Right now I need to get her to her Embassy before they think I kidnapped her."

"Indeed. We should all get together later then."

Judy was technically outside the shop, so didn't make conversation with Lenore, meaning they were underway a few moments later.

"So... You're dating Lenore Hawthorn? I didn't even know she was a Vampire. She used to do movies, back in the thirties for a while. Now I know why she quit. It's hard to hide not aging for too long. Hmmm."

This time there were actually people in the plus sized women's clothing store, and the door was unlocked, so they were allowed in and everything. It was a vast improvement. Several of them walked over, but Kaitlyn ran up to hug her grandmother, just in case he had any doubt who was related to whom.

"You made it! Mom said she was trying to get Zack to go get you, but didn't know if it would work or not. We're paying for it ourselves, since he won't work for the governing body." She pushed her fake nerd glasses up with a single finger, her brown eyes looking as perfect as always. "Except no one knows what to get him, and we can't afford the millions of dollars it would cost." She looked at them and nodded. "At least you left your bags. That would technically double the debt for each one. That's the consensus at least. Everyone is scrambling right now, trying to make him take something."

Zack sighed and gave her a hangdog look.

"You don't owe me anything. We can just claim it was your Christmas present. Then I won't have to put up with Valerie coming by twice a day to see if I need anything. Not that she won't just avoid me, like everyone else that thinks they owe me something."

Valerie herself moved in and did the whole hugging thing too.

"You really did it? That's incredible. I thought you were blowing me off..." She licked her lips, seductively and pushed her chest forward toward him. "I hadn't thought about that, do those gift certificates count for something like this?"

Mirror Him moved in a bit and moved his face toward her, like he was going to kiss the woman.

"I'll have to check with the corporate office on that, but..."

He moved away and nodded his head.

"Oh, here I am, the CEO of Me corp. Yes, that does count. Whew, glad we dodged that one. So, tell me, how is everything-"

There was a crash from behind them, a thing that sounded like and elephant beating the crud out of a tank. He was almost certain it was a fight, but it was coming from the food court, and not in the center where the tables were either. No, he realized, as he closed in on the scene, it was definitely coming from the back of the Chinese food place.

Which was currently on fire.

Chapter five

Zack just stood for a minute, or at least it felt that long, freezing in place, even though a lot of others ran, one way or the other. The Alede all headed to the back of their clothing store, and a metal screen that was heavier than normal slammed down, leaving him in the hallway. That was fine, since he was supposed to go and do something, wasn't he? Help people.

Mirror Him screamed at him, sounding freaked.

'No! Everyone here is non-human. Running into something like this you don't understand is a death sentence you idiot! You need to help by not getting in the way and calling for help. Do that, which might be something that won't get me killed!' It was clear to Zack that the other part of him didn't expect to be listened to, but he was right. Running into that fire, with its billowing smoke and banging noises was not a wise move.

Instead he started calling fire and found the red fire alarm on the wall, breaking the glass with a tug on the white handle. Instead of an alarm, it got the property manager to appear, walking quickly. He was wearing the same black suit he had been lately, which was always clean and tidy looking, and he seemed like a middle aged man of Middle Eastern origin. He'd never spoken to Zack, but he was good with fire. He didn't even wave in that direction, the flames just weren't there the instant he looked at the location. The smoke stopped too. There was still some noise, but it was metal clanging on metal.

Then Zack started toward it, hoping that it really wasn't an attack. He was scared, his heart pounding, but that didn't mean he couldn't at least take a peek.

The white door that was meant to swing both ways had been burned, but was still up, so he kicked it open, to find what seemed to be a piece of machinery that had exploded, and Merry, the tiny red haired Elth woman, trying to do something with her brother, Conrad. It was strange, and was what made the noise. Her hands were held over him, light pouring from them as she shook, tears running down her face.

Conrad was lying very still, with metal shards sticking out of his chest.

"Line Walker..." The words were high pitched and firmer than he was used to hearing from her. "I require a boon. Pull the death metal from his form, so I can heal him, before life leaves complete. I beg-"

Zack didn't know what to do, but he went to his knees, so fast they smacked into the tiled floor painfully, and winced, but started pulling the bloody bits of metal out. There were four large ones, which all came out easily, and three smaller ones. Two he just couldn't get a grip on.

"I need tweezers or something..."

Mirror Him snorted in his head.

'Death metal is iron, moron. Use your teeth.'

That didn't sound very pleasant, since Conrad had blood pouring out of him from the other holes, which meant he had to act fast, icky or not. Mirror Him got the urgency and the small distressed noises coming from Merry, and did it himself, taking control of the body without much hesitation.

It was disgusting. So much so that had Zack been in control, he'd have hurled all over the man. MH used his tongue to find the sharp bits and then did it, clamping on and tearing them out inside half a minute. Then, after spitting them out, he pulled back, leaving a metallic taste on Zack's lips.

Merry could work then, and the wounds closed. The tiny man was still covered with blood, red and sticky, but nothing new came out. She kept working, until after a few minutes, shaking and looking ready to go down herself, she stopped.

"Thank you, and your shadow..." Then she dropped, tilting to the side, a red patch of blood on her own middle.

Zack didn't know what to do, but as other people came to see what was going on, he found the large piece of steel in her side, bigger than the ones in her brother, the flesh around the wound cooked and blackened. He pulled it out, waiting for fresh blood, but nothing came.

There was a voice from the door.

"Oh, my, that isn't good. Not at all."

The lady that stood there wore a white chef style outfit, one that was pristine and spotless, and had curly hair. She looked to be about forty or so, but a tiny bit of silver had started to work into her otherwise brown hair.

She started to breathe hard and seemed genuinely distressed by the scene, though it could be the sight of blood or the scent of burnt Elth that did it. Maybe it was just the whole picture? She didn't explain.

"Elth are very hardy souls. If they are free of iron related metals, save what's in their blood, they should recover. I don't know... we need to have someone care for them. They have no other people here that would do it. They aren't highborn for their kind." She seemed pretty certain as to that, which sounded strange to Zack, since their Ambassador should have watched out for them. That didn't seem like it would be the case though, since the much taller, very thin man that came over just looked in and waved a bit. It seemed pretty dismissive.

"We'll have to have new workers brought in. Just toss them out, we can find more. It will take time, which is a bother, but nothing to be done about it." Then the man, who was nearly five feet tall, and had brassy hair that looked like metal, turned and walked out.

Nothing more than that, just "toss them out", like it was an actual answer to the problem. Zack nearly followed the man to let him know what he thought about it, but shook his head instead. Feeling anger surge up from inside him. He wasn't an angry person in the main, but this... Yeah, it set him off.

"We need to carry them to Candles and More. Someone tell that jerk that I expect this place to be fixed by the time they're better, and their jobs to be here for them, or I will have words with him." He meant it, but telling the truth all the time meant that his threats were a little less than frightening, he knew.

He got help almost instantly, from a nice seeming man with dark skin and extra shiny teeth, as well as the curly haired woman from the food court. The man was from the Fun Zone, on the bottom floor, but on the other side, so Zack hadn't seen him very often. The friendly seeming dark man carried Conrad, who looked like a child in his arms. The woman cradled Merry, which was good, since Zack wouldn't have made it, if he'd been trying. On the way past the Herb shop he waved to the man inside, who wasn't Wu-Li today, but his assistant, the white guy with the thin mustache. Dan.

Zack pointed at the others who'd kept walking away, when he came out to see what was going on, realizing that someone was injured and being about the closest thing they had to a doctor there.

"Two Elth, a metal thing exploded on them, hitting them both with iron. Merry managed to heal Conrad's wounds, but she had a chunk in her while she did that, and it burned her really badly. We're taking them to my shop. I don't know if-"

The man turned and ran, moving with a quickness that was impressive really, and just left the store open, but moved to meet up with the potential patients. Zack followed at a jog, only to have Lenore and Vaughn meet him in the front of the place, following them all in.

He didn't explain it, figuring that they probably already knew it all, having heard all the conversations. Instead he thought about what was needed and pointed.

"Something for them to lay on. Beds, or something soft. Cushions?"

They ran away too, but were back, carrying everything soft they could rip from the furniture in the back of the Yoghurt World. They had it down on the floor near the far side wall before the people carrying the injured had to set them down, which let Dan, the herb man, get to work quickly.

"They'll both need liquids and alternating cool and warm compresses, to help prevent dehydration. Food as well, when they wake up. It might be a few days. Who's going to be attending them?" The man looked around, but didn't make eye contact with the Fun Zone fellow at all. The other one from the food court shook her head.

"I can't, as dear as they are. We're in a crises and I'm needed for negotiations. That and my job. Their own people can be... difficult, about things like this. They're low ranking. Regardless of the fact that they're both amongst the best at what they do, and practically run the section here. If the Line Walker hadn't taken them, they literally would have been dumped outside, to live or die as they may." She didn't seem happy about that at least.

The black man smiled.

"I'm leaving now. It will help them more than me being here. I think I have work, elsewhere now anyway. It was their leader, Leif, that ordered that, you say? I have the correct member of their tribe?"

The woman nodded, but didn't make eye contact.

"Oh, well, something to do, something to do. Thanks. Line Walker." He actually nodded, and seemed more than a little pleased at how things were turning out.

When he was well out of ordinary ear shot, Dan regarded the scene somberly.

"Ridley is a Trickster. His kind live to teach people lessons. Normally in a way that is rather painful, humiliating, or both. If you fail to learn, you tend to die. Let's just say I wouldn't want to be Leif right now." The man's mustache twitched, as if he might just want to see that lesson happening.

Zack ignored it all and tried to work things out. He was needed for his job too. He could work in the back though and let Hiram go home. It wasn't perfect, but what else could be done? They couldn't just go to a hospital, could they?

Dan had to run to his still open store, and the woman did too. Hiram had floated to the back, but got enough of it from context to get the idea. Either they did it, or it wouldn't be done.

"Fuck, this is just what we need. What these two needed as well, I bet. I'll get some food going for them..."

Zack shook his head and looked at the Vampires, who both seemed a bit red in the eyes again, which meant angry, or hungry and he already had been told which it was earlier.

"No, I have this. You need to sleep. Lenore, Vaughn, I need you two to get out of here, before we look delicious, I need to..." Call someone. There were a few people he could call, but he decided on Keeley. Greater Demon or not, she wouldn't let injured Elth be tossed out onto the street while unable to care for themselves. Unless she didn't like them at least.

He walked off to do that, while the others all actually left, Hiram going out the back. It was a bit nerve racking, but he needed help.

The phone picked up, and he started speaking without hesitation.

"I need fresh blood and someone to help me watch two injured people. Elth, if that means anything to you. The good kind of blood, for Vampires. Is that doable?"

The voice that came back was a bit young sounding and innocent, rather than the confident tone he was used to from Keeley.

"Um, hello? I think I can get some of that blood from Rebekah, if you want. I don't know about the other..." Then she stopped dead, as if she'd said the wrong thing.

He almost barked out who is this, but he hadn't identified himself either, he realized. It was rude, he was just used to Keeley always knowing right off the bat.

"This is Zack Hartley. I really could use that blood. In fact, we'll take as much as we can get. I'll pay full price for it, and pick it up. May I ask who this is? I was expecting Keeley."

"It's Hally, I think we sort of met once? She's out of the room at the moment..."

That could mean anything from being in a different dimension to using the bathroom, so he didn't ask. Not his business anyway.

"I could use the help with watching these people too, in case I get called away. Anything that can be done, without costing someone their life or freedom, would be great."

"Uh, sure. I'll see if I can do that for you? Can I call you back?" She asked it like that would be the sticking point. It probably just meant she felt a little shy, having to help broker blood and send someone in to watch people... for some voice on the phone ordering the extra special drinking blood.

That could do it.

"Thanks. I'll try to stay by the phone."

It took a while and he got two cups from the bathroom and tried to trickle a little water into Conrad and Merry's mouths, then arranged some cool clothes for them both. Instead of a ring though, he found himself turning from Merry to find himself looking up at a nine foot tall Demon, alongside of a small redhead and a Manthori Vampire man.

The girl waved to a large basket, a family picnic kind, that the very pale guy had in his hands. No blanket, so it probably wasn't for a date.

"Blood. Ten containers of it. I left a note, but kind of stole it, so..." She shook her head. "I stole Elis too. That makes sense, right? He's going to watch the people for you?" She looked over at them and went wide eyed. "Oh... What happened?"

Zack shrugged.

"Kitchen appliance blew up, I don't know what kind. Steel, it hit them and their people are sensitive to it."

In a great grumbling voice the reddish brown, horned and slightly fur covered demon, who was carrying a lot of muscle on him, spoke, which caused fear to rip through Zack instantly.

"A pressure cooker most likely. Does the Elth blood on your mouth mean that you cleaned the wounds with your tongue?" It was an academic sounding question, one that suggested it might have merit, rather than calling him on his cannibalistic tendencies.

He shook his head anyway, answering.

"I had to pull two of the pieces out with my teeth. I doubt that's very clean at all. It was on Conrad, and he's healed now, but not awake."

The giant thing stared at him for a long time then moved forward his hand reaching for him, which had Zack moving back suddenly.

"Sorry, I'm afraid of you." He said it blankly, with his normal honesty, but the being smiled, and bowed.

"I see. No insult is taken. They don't call me the Fear Demon for nothing. I need to return to my domicile soon, lest I be missed. The lady Hally as well. She is brave and of good heart, but no price for this has been established. While I doubt The Mistress of Souls would punish her for this theft, Elis may be punished for leaving without permission."

Zack nodded. He got the tone, which said that the giant was haggling with him.

"Right. What's the going rate for services like this? You got them here, and that's pricey, then the rest of it?"

Then the room suddenly had even more people just standing around. All women. A hot blonde that looked too young for him, a hot brunette that he knew was too young for him and a Manthori woman that had copper hair and chalk colored skin, with red eyes. She wasn't as great looking, but was so exotic that didn't really matter. Rebekah looked ready to beat him senseless for blood theft too. That was going to hurt.

"Oh, hello!" He didn't try to explain what they were doing, and Keeley just moved to him, giving him a gentle hug, that wasn't half as violent as all that.

"We were just worried, this isn't a hit team or anything. Elis is going to stay and help here. We can trade for that, since I need a similar favor from you soon. A double date. I'll need Kyle for that too, as per our prior agreement. Balthias doesn't need to be paid, since he's just trying to get Hally into bed, but you should think about paying her something for her efforts. She showed good use of resources today, don't you think?" There was her normal calm and confidence to the words. She brushed her hair out of the way, but was actually looking at Merry, not him, as she spoke.

"You know Zack... You should pass her some energy. She's very weak right now. Just like what you do for your breathing exercises, just run it to her, instead of into the Earth when you finish. It's in her nature to take that energy and use it to heal."

"Um.." He said proving that he was half useless when too many pretty girls came into a room. "I'll do that. Thanks. I think we can agree to those terms, at least to the way I understand them."

The blonde, who he knew was actually Keeley's sister, laughed.

"Not too badly stated. Elis should take that basket over to your friends. They're going to frenzy if they have to wait too long and it wasn't packed in ice, so a fridge would be a good idea."

Keeley waved at the pale Vampire to do it, and he practically ran. Carefully enough that there was no clanking of glass however.

He couldn't think clearly for a second but shook himself. There was supposed to be something for Hally, that was right. Hopefully she wanted cash, because unlimited Node travel... He smiled. That was doable too, as long as it wasn't every day.

Turning to her, Zack tried to think of what to say, exactly when Mirror Him took over.

"Hey toots. How does twenty thousand sound? We can get the cash to you directly." It sounded a bit odd, like he was faking being Zack, rather than himself, but his nerves made a botch of it, sounding more like a nineteen-twenties era gangster. Or at least the movie version.

The girl blushed a brilliant crimson.

"I... I couldn't. I didn't do that much."

Zack shrugged, figuring that MH had a reason for giving away that much money. It was probably his terror of Greater Demons, but he wasn't going back on it now.

"Maybe, but I might need you again, so consider this a down payment... A retainer?" He looked at The Technician, the blonde one, if he recalled her title correctly.

She nodded back, which was helpful of her.

"That's the term. I can arrange for that to be delivered, if you like? That way you won't have to worry about it. You won't even owe me a favor for it, deal?" She nodded, trying to get him to simply agree, which he did of course.

"Sure, that would actually be pretty helpful. Of course it means you already have access to my accounts, but hey, I guess that means you won't rip me off. After all, you could have already." No one else spoke for a time and there was a strange tickling over his body, but it went away after a few seconds.

Keeley turned to her sister, and growled.

"That's a dangerous game to play with him, Darla." She didn't call names or anything, but the big Demon, Balthias, chuckled, which was dark and menacing.

"That also explains much."

Keeley looked annoyed for some reason and shook her head.

"Elis is coming back and we should leave, before the Mages get in. We'd scare them without needing to. Bal, be a dear and get Hally back to my house? We need to have a chat. For the moment I need to find my pet Succubus."

They changed positions and he was left alone with the Vampire man, who didn't just tend the sick patients, he literally focused his entire being on them, so he wouldn't miss a single thing they might require.

The phone rang, which was Lenore, sounding much more relaxed.

"Are you all right? Elis said that you had two Greater Demons with you? I saw them leave... I... How much did this blood cost you?" There was worry in her tone, a real thing that seemed more human than what she regularly showed the world.

"Twenty-thousand. Cash. I also have to go on a date with Kaitlyn, as Kyle, and one of Keeley's friends. She said double date, but I think I'm supposed to go with her, not the friend. I didn't get the rest of it, but it sounded pretty innocent. You know, for a Demon. That was to get someone to watch Merry and Conrad though. Elis, the one you met?"

"I think I understand. That's a dangerous game for so low a prize, isn't it? Even an evening with the full regard of a Greater Demon is a high payment."

Zack shrugged. It wasn't the only option, but it should work. He hoped.

"I know. I can only do my best. Thanks for calling. See you later?"

"I... don't know, unless you can come here when you get free from work? We have some things to discuss."

"I should be able to. See you then."

There was a lot of information in those words, he understood. She wasn't leaving work that day, and simply knew it. It was only about noon too, which put things a good ways off. The phone wasn't ringing now however, and no one tried to come in, so he took a chance to do what Keeley said and tried to pass energy through himself and give it to the tiny woman in front of him. He did it the same way Wu-Li did, touching her arm however, instead of head.

The breathing was rhythmic and flowed more naturally now, but the visualization was what caused the movement of energy, pulling it from above himself, sending it down, and instead of into the Earth below, into his injured friend. Or, well they hardly knew each other, so that was probably wrong. His... acquaintance? He kept going regardless, sending as much energy as he could.

It didn't seem like much of anything was happening, but after nearly an hour of it, she opened her eyes and blearily looked at him.

"I live? My brother?" The words where almost inaudible, they were so very soft and weak.

"In the other bed. Or, well, collection of cushions. Do you need anything? You burned yourself really well, but I got the metal out of you. I've been trying to pass some energy into you. I don't know if it's helping or not." He felt embarrassed about it, since it sounded so intimate suddenly, but didn't let himself flinch away from it.

"You have? I didn't know that was a skill of yours. Please continue." It wasn't an order, but she closed her eyes as if waiting for him to deliver it to her.

So he tried. Imperfectly, with wavering attention and distractions from the phone, every now and again. At about three she opened her eyes again.

"That is enough, for now. Has Conrad woken?" She looked over at him, her face pained, but no complaints came about that at all.

"No, should I do something for him? Some herbs or medicines? Or this energy stuff?"

He actually felt decent still, even after the rather boring time spent doing what he had. That got a strange reaction from Merry, which was a strained smile.

"I think not. It's a healing sleep. Waking would be the bad sign. That I woke like this means I was near the true death, and I think only your aid has kept me here. If I live the next days, I should be fine. I'm... not certain that without you, or at least another feeding me thusly, that I'd make it."

"Oh. Well, I'll do it. I feel good still, so..."

She smiled weakly and looked away, her eyes bitterly sad, but she didn't say why. It could be the pain, or something else. Zack just couldn't tell.

After a while she asked for some water, which had Elis at her side with a plastic cup instantly, carefully letting her sip from it, because they couldn't raise her head much without putting stress on her middle, which was so painful that Zack nearly cried just watching her try. She didn't. Her reaction was one of pain and gasping, but she worked to do what was needed even so, her tiny form struggling to sit up when asked, without question. Elis had to actually order her to stop it, so she wouldn't hurt herself.

It was moving along in time, and close to when he thought the others would be around to take over for the evening when the phone started ringing again. A lot of the calls were various officials from different groups, including the Shifters, whose leader himself called. Zack had spoken to him on the phone before, a few months before, so recognized the voice. He sounded really worried, but it was about something different than a possible war.

"Mr. Hartley? Jahn Samson here. So glad I got in touch with you. A group of our people went into the situation the other day? In New Mexico? I was... wondering about your fee for that?"

It was this thing again, then. The idea that they wanted him to personally do things for him, but couldn't pay for it at all. Then it occurred to Zack that it wasn't true. The Shifters had already been there when he got in. That at least made it easier.

"I think that's a miscommunication. They were already there, so..."

There was a pause and then a light chuckle. "Ah, yes, they are indeed local to that area, but you got them out so they wouldn't be found at the scene. I was asking about that."

Oh. Darn. This part was so hard to manage.

"Um, I have a girl that manages that for me now? Let me give you her number. Please tell her that I ask for you to get a discount?" Then he located Keeley's info and passed it along, hoping that it wouldn't be too big of a deal. Or a deal at all.

Then he finally got what the Blonde Demon had been doing. Why Keeley had gotten so upset. She'd tried to make a deal with him, to steal his will, and make him a slave. He'd walked right into it too. He felt fine, but couldn't figure out why it hadn't taken, since he certainly couldn't resist something like that.

Jahn, thankfully hung up without talking for too much longer, so he could try and think it through, and MH explained it to him, sounding a bit scared.

'Zack... I think that other Demon chic, Keeley, I think she must have stopped it. You need to be more careful from now on and not hang around with the wrong type. I mean, think about it, these are the good Greater Demons, and one already tried to take you over. If it was your girlfriend Keeley doing it, you'd be like Elis here right now, unable to do anything she didn't tell you to.'

He had more to say too, about the whole thing, including the fact that if Balthias could and would take people around through the Node like he clearly had, then why would Rebekah want to hire a costly Zack to do the same thing for her? Sure, there could be some reason for it, but they hadn't glared at each other when they were in the same room, had they? No hugging either, but it was a real point.

'No, this is messed up, and they want something from us. I think we should run. Just take off and go to some other land where it will be harder to find us.' He seemed pretty adamant about it too, which normally meant he wasn't kidding.

Zack shrugged and thought his own answer, not wanting to be the strange guy that talked to himself in public, if he could help it. His answer was basically that the last time he'd tried to make it without doing what he was, line walking, he'd nearly starved to death. As it was he felt like he was still doing that, hunger ripping at him suddenly.

He needed to get something to eat as soon as he could, he decided, feeling a little ill from it already.

Mirror Him sighed and sounded like he thought Zack was a moron again, so about normal.

'At least wash the blood off your face before the others get in. They'll think you've really thrown in with the Vamps, otherwise.'

That got him to head to the bathroom, which took three trips to get through, and about two minutes of vigorous scrubbing, since the phone was a lot more active now than it had been all day long. He didn't know why, but when Maddy Morse called, the Mage Counsel's leader, he managed to get a bit more information as to what was happening.

She sounded pleased enough by it too.

"Things are calming down. Several humans died, which is horrible, but only one of the Ambassadorial staff members, a..." She said a word that sounded like she was clearing her throat. Twice. "And while they're naturally upset, they aren't a warlike group. As long as nothing major happens in the next, call it six months to a year, we should be all right, as far as avoiding war over this. I'm just calling to check with everyone there. Get a reading on how the atmosphere is at your Embassy and how individual relationships are going."

That got a run down on what he'd seen and an offer to personally call Leif, the Elth Ambassador.

"Um... Ridley, the... I don't know his title, but he works at the Fun Zone? A Trickster? He's handling that part, I think. I can ask him to give us an update, and see if he needs any help with his plans, if you want?"

She chuckled a bit, which Zack took to mean he'd said something funny. It was a bit mean, since how was he supposed to know that kind of thing? No one had ever told him about Tricksters at all.

Then they got off the phone, just in time for everyone else to start coming in.

Chapter six

The first one in was actually Lisa, looking well dressed, professional, and even slightly made up. She was still thin, but looked good enough that Mirror Him purred a little.

'Ah, right. Remember to bang your boss. I nearly forgot about that, what with her looking like a skank for so long, coming in with dirt on her knees. You did get that right? Chicks can do each other that way, but I doubt she was doing that in some alley to get her fix. If she's willing to do that, you're a shoe in.' The leering wasn't visible, but implied heavily enough that Zack could feel him doing it.

For his part he just smiled and waved to her, hoping to get a chance to explain all the people before she went into combat mode.

"There was an explosion in the food court. An industrial accident, I think. I don't know what happened to tell the truth. Merry and Conrad were injured pretty badly, so I brought them here. That's... Well, I'm going to be watching the situation. Elis here is their nurse. He's planning to stay for a few days. I know that it's inconvenient, but I didn't want to try and move them too far yet, and you know, couldn't leave. Is it all right?" He suddenly felt nervous, since having two sleeping miniature people in the back of the Mage Embassy was kind of a big deal and he didn't really control that part of things, did he? Lisa, or even Bob, could just say no and he'd need to find someplace else for them. As he started to really get nervous the woman started to nod and took a few steps closer to them all, looking at each carefully.

"Of course they can stay. I'll have to clear it with Bob, but it should be fine. How is your friend going to feed? I'm... not really up to donating right now. Still at kind of a low ebb that way." She didn't even shy away from the idea, which was more open minded than Zack would have thought she was, to be totally honest. It was a bit more than he was, just to be open about it all.

"That, is a really good point. I'll see if I can borrow some from Lenore. She has the new bottled kind in. Really, they should sell it here, since it will be easier to bring in here than almost anywhere else. I can just pick it up every few days or whatever." He wrinkled his nose a bit. Talking wasn't getting anything done at all. "One bit here."

Then he ran, at a slow pace, through the store, to find Lenore standing in the front of her shop with a pan on a hot plate behind the counter, a bottle of blood being warmed right next to it. The place was spotless, but she was alone now, it being before dark still. It was just about the time that Edom normally came in, but he hadn't yet.

"I heard your idea and it's excellent. We can put a large refrigerator for it in the back. I don't know the plan for shipping it however. Fed-Ex?" She said it as if that just made the most sense, which was a thing that he didn't know about at all. How were they planning to do that? He wasn't doing it for the entire country, not that he knew of.

He shrugged. "I'll ask and see if there's a list? I think Rebekah likes me well enough so far. No screaming or trying to have me killed yet at least, that I know of. I probably need to take her around today, if she isn't busy, so that she knows that I'm going to keep my end of it up. I'll ask about the rest of this when I call to check." He looked at the pot, a small thing that he was nearly certain was aluminum, which was just starting to let a bit of water vapor waft from it, the wooden handle tucked carefully toward the wall.

Lenore smiled and glanced at it.

"It really does taste better this way. Cold is fine in a pinch too, of course, but this is nearly like feasting. You know Zack, you are an uncommonly kind being. Few would sacrifice even their own time to aid those they hardly know, and much fewer would do all you have. It's a bit creepy, and you should stop it before the natives start to talk." Then after a few seconds she winked at him, letting just a bit of fang show as she smiled suddenly. It was done well, and caught him by surprise.

She had the bottle in already, and waited for it to smell right, if he had the right idea. The glass cap was off, and she kept moving close, sniffing gently.

"Oh, I'll get you something too. I didn't think... Silly of me. You haven't eaten for half a day with all this. So, something not too sweet?"

She re-capped the bottle first though and suggested he go and feed his guest first, and that she'd have something for his return. He ran into Bob in the back, and his wife wasn't with him, which Zack hoped wasn't a bad sign.

Looking at his right hand, with the glass bottle in it, the older man, who looked almost like they were the same age, seemed to put it together.

"Ah, good thinking. Lisa filled me in. I'll lodge a formal complaint with the Elth Embassy. Treating people this poorly is a bad idea, especially in a land that has very different rules than theirs does. I don't want this to blow up too much, but we should make our position known. Otherwise they won't even pretend to change. Sorry about the headache here. Good thinking, bringing them in right now. It might not do much for us with their people, but everyone else that hears of it will see it as a positive thing, I think. Most of them." He moved to the right, so the drink could be passed along.

"Are you leaving for the day now? After Elis has something to keep him going?"

Zack hadn't been thinking about it, but Lisa had the phone held down pretty well, handling it better than he had, or more smoothly at least. Bob was good at his job, and probably didn't need a store clerk anymore that day. Except for running errands, possibly.

"Yeah, after I get some food in here. The food court is a mess and I don't know what they're doing at all at the moment. So I was thinking a store run? I can ask around and see if anyone else needs anything. I hope that the weapons shop people don't need another live animal. If so, I want Hiram to help with it." They wouldn't have gotten the pig without him, after all. The man had skills.

"Not a bad plan. I can pay for it. For everyone. We have the funds right now. Do you need a driver? I know you don't have a vehicle, not normally needing one, but this might be a bit much to carry by hand. We should get at least a few days worth of things in, in case we go into a true lock down."

Zack didn't have a driver in mind, but shrugged and thought about it. Really, if her car was fixed, Barb would do it. They needed to touch base anyway.

"I should be all right. One of the Vampires will help with it, once they start coming in. We need to make it a multi... Um, national? Project."

It sounded silly when he said it, but Bob seemed to take it seriously and just got him a cash packet, to get things started.

"Keep the receipts however, so we can write this off with the guild as an outreach project."

It gave him a reason to get back to Lenore, who had a large dish of yoghurt that had been topped with dried fruit bits and some kind of golden liquid, that turned out to be honey. It was barely sweet at all, as promised, but not bad. It wasn't frozen yoghurt, but the real culture, which was smooth and creamy, compared to the stuff he could get at the store.

"Thanks, this is good. Very much so. So, is it possible for me to borrow Barb for a shopping trip tonight, and for her to borrow a working vehicle that's large enough for it, if her own isn't ready yet?" That could take time, right? He hadn't done a lot with that kind of thing, since, shocker, the guy that can suddenly see weird things that others didn't, isn't really the best person to have on the road all the time. He'd never even tried it really.

Lenore seemed pleased for some reason, and didn't respond directly, just getting on the telephone and calling around to make it happen. It reminded Zack that he had calling to do too, as soon as he got home.

The whole thing took longer than he thought it would, since he went to absolutely every store in the mall, including Princess Pretty Nail, which was at the far end. It was a strange place in a way, since it was the only one that was run by regular humans. It seemed to be a Korean family concern, and the four women there were all related. That was so clear he didn't have to ask about it. They also had no clue at all what was going on, but it was part of the lease that they manned their store twenty-four hours a day if the Mall had to go into lock down, and they got good rent, so only complained bitterly about it to him, instead of demanding he open the place up instantly.

Like he was in charge? How had they even gotten a store there, if they weren't in on the whole thing?

"You go tell. We not get information! We no pay rent, they no let us open." It was the oldest woman that said that, who looked like she might be about fifty or so and despite the demanding tone was well put together and made up, even if she did look cranky.

"I... don't really have that kind of pull. It's about the attack on that New Mexico Mall though? I don't know if you caught that in the news, but apparently that's related to us, so all this happened." It was true, so he didn't have to lie about it. "I just came to see if you needed food from the store? Or drinks?"

That went over better, and with a little prompting they realized they might want enough for a few days, even if only one person had to be there, since they weren't an Embassy or anything. At least he thought so. He didn't mention it, but could try and find out for them.

The youngest one was actually cute and looked about his age. In her early twenties. On the way out, she touched his arm and looked embarrassed.

"Um, if I give you money for it, can you pick up some tampons for me? I know that's sort of an issue for some guys. I'm down to two, and if we aren't leaving..." She really didn't seem happy to have to ask, but he just wrote it on the list. After all, with this much food and other supplies no one would think it was all for him and Barb, would they? Even if they did, why would it matter? It would just make it seem like he had a girlfriend or possibly a wife.

"Shouldn't be a problem. Candles and More will cover it for you." He didn't try to explain why, but she seemed to think he was kidding, until he walked away, not getting anything from her.

On the way back to his little nook at the end of the world, or at least Mall, Kaitlyn ran to follow him, her glasses on and dressed in normal person blue jeans that only hugged her behind in a way that meant he was a perv for noticing, not someone truly tempted by the offerings of the underage girl. Maybe a little worse, because he did look a bit longer than was normally polite. She however didn't seem to care, just tugging at her slightly too tight powder blue t-shirt.

"Hey, Zack. I'm being sent to help you lift and tote for everyone. Oh, Judy wants me to remind you that she's at your place again tonight, so please don't forget her." She was doing her best to seem adult and proficient, so he didn't make fun of her.

After all, having the extra hands wasn't a bad idea and when he'd found her a few months ago, looking like a rather studly teen boy named Kyle, she'd been busily working a real job, and seemed to have been pulling her weight at the same time. Also sleeping with the boss, and all the female employees, but Zack let that go, since it was who she was. Alede consumed sex energy. Getting up at arms about it, or prudish, would be the same as telling her that she should starve to death, because he was a bigot. Since that wasn't the case, he smiled.

"The more the merrier. Come along and rest assured I won't leave Judy here to languish. She's nice. A bit more like you than your mom." That sounded mean, but the girl just walked and looked at him, as if waiting for the rest of it. "Valerie is nice enough too, but leaks sex into everything. It kind of leaves me feeling like I can't be her friend at all, not really, because it would only ever be that one thing. Judy didn't even blink when I was too tired last night, and you aren't too bad that way. Too young for me, but..." He shrugged.

Kaitlyn nodded though, as the red tile of the central strip passed under their feet relatively quickly.

"I know what you mean. Mom isn't really like that all the time. It's you. I mean that too. If a nude male stripper walked in just when she needed something, she'd be less aggressive about it most of the time than what she has been doing with you. I think... She keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop. For you to come and lock us all up in cages, or make us do horrible monsters for your amusement. Plus, I think it's really about the whole school thing too. Even after it was done, you told the Governing Body that you wouldn't work for them, because of me, and she was the one that hired you. It's a really big statement. There are people coming forward and trying to get a hearing in place even, because they know that the Line Walker is backing them in it. Mainly angry parents." She looked away. It was actually toward the Yoghurt World, which got her to shudder a bit.

He didn't ask about it, but the girl seemed more than a little scared.

"Vampires and my kind, we've never been at war, but the worst of them have used us to do... things. Unnatural ones. It isn't all of them and I know that ours, here, are good for their people, but right now I have to admit that I'm a little leery."

Zack nodded, kind of seeing that. If Lazar the master Vampire that had beaten him, and wanted to kill him as a lesson to others, had a hold on Kaitlyn, it wouldn't be pretty. He was at least a bit unhinged. Had been. Until Zack helped him commit suicide.

"You're going to be working with at least one, if you come with me. Barb? She's not too bad, but younger than Lenore or Edom, so a little more wild. You can back out, if you need to?"

They got so close that there was no really graceful way for that to happen, but the Vampires had to have heard what she'd said. At least if they were paying attention. That had to be murder in a crowd, didn't it? Or a noise blasting night club for that matter.

"I'm in. Face your fears. Just disregard the shaking and holding myself." She clasped her own elbows in demonstration. It was cute, which she probably couldn't help, he realized. He'd mentioned that he didn't really like the over the top seduction attempts of her mom, so she was moving in the other direction, while still making sure she had his attention. Clever really.

Barb however acted like they were all old friends, and as if the girl had been totally expected. It was just a shopping trip, so it kind of made sense, right? Alede were good at shopping, he was sure. Not that he had proof of that, but it felt right.

They had a large, if slightly old, but very tidy looking panel van, the kind used for deliveries like UPS, and more than that, Barb drove it like an old pro, working the thing as if she did it every day. Then, at Wal-Mart, she did something else that was a bit surprising, which was to call for the manager at the door, and wait for him to arrive, rather than just going in.

"Hello! We're doing a massive shopping trip, and were wondering if we could get some help with it? There's a bit of a schedule and we don't really want to take up a whole security team because we make eight trips in and out each." She winked at Zack, who she motioned at, taking the cash envelope from his back pocket carefully. It had more in it than he'd figured, since it was filled with hundred dollar bills, not twenties. "Just so that you know we can pay. It's mainly food, some other things too."

The man, who was named Bill Montgomery, saw the very long list and whistled a bit.

"Is the apocalypse coming? This is enough for about two hundred people."

It wasn't that many, closer to a hundred and fifty, but Zack managed not to talk, so that didn't come out, even though Barb smiled as his attention strayed to Kaitlyn over and over again. The manager was doing it more often, but she was subtly pushing her breasts out and looked to be cold. She also wasn't wearing a bra, for all that she had to be defying gravity a bit for her chest to look that way. It was an impressive sight, but he got his hormones in order before Bill did, which meant he won.

Barb nodded.

"Only for us, you should be fine. All night renovation work at Westfield Mall? But... help? Please?" She wasn't doing too poorly on the damsel in distress thing either, even if she wasn't anywhere near as good looking as the other girl. She was darker in hair and eyes, and had fine features, it was only in comparison that she might lack. A seven or so, Zack guessed, one that could use make-up to go a bit higher if she wanted.

Bill the manager didn't make them wait and had four people out to help them, all the volunteers for it being men, two of whom got Kaitlyn's number from her. One went after Barb, so there was that. The last one just shook his head. He was an older man, who took the list and made sure they actually got everything. It cost most of the money he had, but left a bit, and the men all worked with them to load the truck, which he was so glad they had now. It all fit, but Barb's tiny car would not have been even close to enough.

Zack didn't mention the numbers that had been passed, since it wasn't his business, but Kaitlyn grinned about it.

"I'm legal in this state, even by Human law, which Alede never follow anyway. How old are you?" It was a bit blunt, but wasn't a secret.

"Twenty-two."

That got Barb to turn and look at him in the front passenger's seat, Where Kaitlyn was pressed up against him in a way that he thought was accidental, but wasn't positive of that fact. In fact she seemed to be looking at him too, if from the side.

"Really? I..."

He knew that one, he had a mirror after all.

"Thought I was older? Yeah, I know. I'm a youngster though."

"Then what was with all the 'you're too young for me' stuff? I'm seventeen even, which is a year older than is needed and you're only twenty-two... That's it. I'm totally doing you. Pull the car over Barb." She sounded serious for a second and Barb actually started to do it, but then they both laughed, as if it were hilarious.

Mirror Him popped out and let both hands come up as if protecting himself from blows instead of the weird flirty playing that was really happening.

"Hey, I thought it was set at eighteen here. That's all. I'm not a lawyer or anything. I plead the fifth, or the seventh. Whichever one is right." He laughed too which was good, since neither of those fit at all.

Kaitlyn pushed against him with her shoulder, like a cat. A really big one.

"Fine, this time. Anyway, you and I are going out. Unfortunately I'll be a guy at the time and already have a date, so no joy there, but Keeley said that her friend Becky really just wants to make the boy she likes a bit jealous, so that he'll see her as a real person and not just a friend. I don't have the whole plan yet, but we're not supposed to let either of them know we aren't perfectly normal. Soon, I think? Unless the plans change."

That was more than he'd been told about it, but hopefully that meant his acting skills wouldn't be challenged. Since he couldn't lie, it was kind of an important thing to remember.

There was more teasing, but it was gentle enough that MH didn't have to come and protect him from it, after that. Then they spent two hours making deliveries, even with Barb doing almost all the heavy lifting for them.

He went to collect Judy, dragging his heavy legs a bit. Zack felt a bit bad, since it was nearly eleven already. She didn't seem upset or neglected at least. She'd just spent most of the day visiting with her daughter and granddaughter, so it wasn't that odd to her, he didn't think. Just what she might do on an incredibly boring visit to see her family.

Then they checked on Merry and Conrad again, with the tiny woman explaining that she still had plenty of energy from what he did earlier.

"I should be fine for a while I think. It might even be enough. I don't want to bother you more than I have." She seemed really shy suddenly, but more awake and alert, it was, hopefully a good sign.

That let Judy and himself finally get in at eleven-fifteen, where they located Troy sitting on the sofa with a different girl. One that Zack knew at least, and who wasn't crazy. Or at least wasn't as gone as the one from the other morning seemed to be gearing up for. That morning, he realized, feeling like the days were starting to run into one another a bit.

Calley Hale, the Shifter Ambassador's Assistant.

"Hey! I wasn't expecting company. I was going to run and make some food, would you all like something?" It was a little late and he had no particular skill in that area, but, it turned out, Judy did and she was glad to help. They all followed her into the kitchen and tried to be helpful in return, which didn't work well, with Calley moving in next to Zack, instead of Troy, even if the other two were probably closer relationship wise, having had sex before.

She was a squirmy and twitchy girl. One that wore thick glasses that could be used to set things on fire in the sun, and had heavy rims on them. Her hair was short and rust red, and she had ample freckles, which fit, as well as a nose that would have looked very at home in Africa. It meant she was so exotic looking that it was kind of hard to decide if she were cute or kind of ugly.

Zack decided to go with the first one for now, even if he could stand a bit less movement from her in general. It was like she was on speed, all the time, and never stopped. Only, as far as he knew, it wasn't true and all Bat Shifters were like her that way. The one in New Mexico hadn't been as bad, but he'd been stabbed, so it was hard to tell what the real score there was.

When they settled and were given the obligatory vegies to cut up, Calley started talking.

"The thing is, I was wondering if any of you had news or information we could share? I'm low on the list for my organization, but I've heard a few things, if you want to deal?" She smiled at each of them, looking hopeful.

Troy went first, seeming less than pleased, which made sense, given what he said.

"I know that TTLA is being shut down if a war starts. It's too easy of a target I guess. That would mean getting a new job, because, in the main, Vampires don't need bartenders for themselves."

Calley nodded, and looked like she was taking notes, mentally.

"Did they seem to think it was likely?"

His roommate shrugged and then looked over at Judy, who was at the counter, slicing things herself. She had the beef. It wasn't prime steak or anything, but they had some real food in the place now. It was a steak of some kind and hadn't been too expensive. As a bonus it came already tenderized, which probably meant it wasn't the best part of things.

"Edom didn't say. He just suggested we keep our eyes open, in case we have to bug out quickly. No work, no pay is the rule, so we'd all need to find something." He'd looked at Calley, but shifted back to the stove again, if only for a few seconds, as if a woman cooking there was unheard of. It was true, but it shouldn't have influenced him that much.

The little Bat girl wiggled in her seat, as if trying to get comfortable, and spoke softly enough that it meant Zack had to put his head closer to her.

"I have word that Shifter Mercenaries are being hired. No one is giving marching orders yet, but at least eight different groups are setting up troops. That isn't a brilliant sign really." She glanced at Zack, as if it were his turn, like he knew anything at all?

"All I know is that it really does seem to be a fringe group. One that wants to keep going along like they have been. The new bottled blood is supposed to be good, from what I've heard, better than live feeding in some ways, but it costs money to get, and some in their government want to make it so that it's that or animal, and nothing else. If someone told me that I could only drink bottled water now, and then tried to charge me a hundred bucks for a tiny bottle of it, I might get a little upset too. Especially if it was three months ago and that basically would have meant I'd have died. I'm not sure that this kind of a war will help with that however. The mood in general seemed about split, when I went around earlier to see about things." He was going to stop at that, but Calley kept asking questions and actually got out a paper and wrote on it in code, finding who was leaning what way.

"It isn't perfect. War is... Kind of good for Shifters. We make most of our cash that way, as a group. Everyone is trained from an early age, and all of us can fight. The Birds aren't that great at it, so run messages and admin, and each group has their strengths, but we can all take nearly mortal damage and heal it instantly by changing. It can be a pain, but our attrition in battle is also nearly zero. We don't have down time due to injuries either. It makes a difference."

There was activity, as Judy kept working, both at the stove and on the counter right next to her, still cutting things. Her voice was thoughtful, and a bit too smooth really.

"Supposedly we're neutral, but the fact is that no Alede wants to take the chance of falling under the power of the Vampires. Nothing against the ones here, that I've met, but it can lead to some dangerous things for us. We'll fight if we have to. Most of us aren't warrior types, not in any way. Lovers, as the saying goes. We have a lot of money and are willing to spend it all, not to be slaves again. I know that isn't the current situation, but it's the way we think, even as we try to play nice with the undead." It was pensive and she looked guilty, a thing that said she knew how it sounded, and that it was still true anyway.

They kept talking as they chopped and diced, and even after the meal was prepared. It turned out, once things were brought up, that he actually had the most information. It was enough, that after he spoke about being at the attack, Judy frowned.

"Wait, you were there? While they were fighting and killing people?"

It was the Bat girl that answered, her voice and face both so serious that she should have been wearing a black suit, instead of a green business skirt and jacket.

"He was. If he hadn't gotten the Vampires in, the whole thing would have been a hundred times worse. My brother was there, he said that without Zack, he'd be dead right now. A lot of people owe their lives to him. A whole lot." She didn't even look at him, staring at Judy instead.

Zack made a little circle in the air with his tiny paring knife.

"All hail the mighty fast transit point!" It was funny, but the strange thing was, he realized after the words came out, that he had to expect them to actually do it, or it probably wouldn't have come out at all.

That was more than a bit creepy, to him, at least.

Chapter seven

After successfully using her junior attaché super powers to suck all the information they were willing to part with from them, Calley relaxed a good bit, seeming more interested in Judy than either of the boys. That wasn't too hard to understand. Bats weren't, according to her, picky about who they took to bed, but that didn't mean a pretty blonde might not trump them, right?

Troy kept glancing over too, but was silent until the food was on the table. It was a vegetable stir-fry with seasoned beef and white rice, which amazed Zack, as soon as he saw it, because he'd been almost certain that they didn't have anything that close to a staple in the place yet. It came from a pretty generic and large bag too, which meant that Troy was stocking up. That was actually smart.

Zack decided to try and do that too if he could, in the future.

"Wow, this smells great. Thanks Judy." He really meant it too, since it had been a long time since anyone had cooked for him, except Lenore. He appreciated that too, of course. "It looks good too."

She winked and settled at the table after bringing it all over, setting the hot serving dishes on their two very old and horribly stained hot pads and a dish towel that once was white and dark blue stripes, and now had a disturbing yellow and green quality to it. For a few seconds he wanted to be embarrassed about it, how poor they were, but then he forced himself upright. If she cared about that, she'd have already escaped to a hotel, or possibly insisted on replacing things.

"Thanks. I don't get to cook for this many very often anymore. It's a treat, really. I hope it's OK?" She sounded very nearly shy about it, but then, actress. She could probably sound like whatever she wanted to on demand. It was a handy skill really. Pretending to be someone other than you were.

Regular people did it all the time, but he was always stuck just being him.

Troy took a bite, savoring it for a moment.

"Delicious. OK, that's it, you'll just have to live here full time. We can put another room in the basement for you." Then his brow furrowed and he made a strange and twisted face that was funny. "In a non-creepy way, I mean."

That got a chuckle, since it wasn't very funny, and Judy sighed.

"No can do. It would expose Zack too much... Oh!" She went wide eyed and then coughed. It seemed nearly like she was choking or something, but then she started laughing. "I just thought of something totally incorrect and wrong. Just horrible. It involved Zack walking the lines naked everywhere he went. Sorry." She bit her lips and then took another bite of food to avoid talking.

"That would be horrible." Zack agreed. After all, some places he went were incredibly drafty, even with pants on.

They went back and forth like that for a while, and while Troy flirted with both women, he kept himself at about half speed, for him, so he only seemed like he was interested, instead of ready to drag them off to bed at that moment. They had ice-cream for desert, which was just a store bought kind that claimed to be double churned, whatever that meant. It was good, but he'd gotten a little spoiled at work, he realized. It just wasn't exactly what he kept expecting with each bite. It was just a butter pecan after all. He almost felt sorry for it, not being treated very well in its making.

Then, at about one, which was too early for him to escape, since they had company, he went to his room to sleep. True, Judy was in there, but he was going to crash, regardless, and they were using the living room. That meant she'd have to share with Troy, but hopefully that was doable for her. Or, when they left she could just wake him up and send him packing to the sofa. That would work too.

Instead, when he finally woke up, he found that neither thing had happened, and she was fixing breakfast. It was crepes with an orange sauce and sectioned fruit. Made in his home, in his own kitchen. He hadn't really been aware that it was capable of that kind of thing.

"Good morning! What plans do you have today?" She gestured for him to sit and then gave half the food to him, which was probably more than he could handle. She took the rest, and sat across from him, her green eyes like emeralds, watching him, waiting for a response.

"Oh... I guess I need to go and check on Conrad and Merry. Then I'll answer phones and try to play make believe ambassador and get things to quiet down, if I can. That, or, I don't know. What do you have going on?" It was an old trick. When you ran out of things to say, ask the other person a simple question.

"Not much, work wise. It's incredibly strange, but my granddaughter is actually busy working, and my daughter is an important government official. I'm going to be a bit stuck. I don't suppose you can drop me off in Paris for the afternoon?" She laughed, as if it was a joke. He could though, even a full day, if she wanted.

"Do you have papers for that? The Shifter leader's wife got in trouble over there, and I had to go and get her before they locked her away. She was not pleasant about it either, even after I came to help her out. It had been free, but I charged them just for her bad behavior. Got a land settlement from them, to stop a war. They still think they owe me, but I don't really care about that." How did he explain it? As long as he had enough and could stock up, well, that was all anyone could ever do really. Things were nice, but in the end they weren't real.

That thought sounded wrong to him, but he knew it wasn't. Things weren't real.

If that was actually the case though, what was?

Judy coughed and pretended she was thinking, which was done in a way that let him realize it, holes showing in her demeanor.

"I do have what I need, except a Visa, which I bet won't be asked for. It could be fun, but I can't ask you to do that."

"Well, you know, you have to fly standby and all that sort of thing. First we need to make sure that it's safe there. You can get some fancy pastries for the rest of us, and we'll call it a trip for provisions."

She nodded, looking at her plate, then eating for a while.

"If you twist my arm, I guess. I just wish I could pay you somehow."

Zack got ready for the offer of sex in exchange, or at least hints at it, but if that was going to be the case she at least needed to convince him it wasn't a payment. There were rules to things like that, after all.

"I don't suppose you'd like a part in a movie? Nothing big, mind, just a walk on or something?"

"Nope. That actually doesn't sound good at all. I'm too likely to be mistaken for the drugged out production assistant. Say, did you sleep on the sofa? I know I took the bed..."

She actually smiled and winked at him.

"Nah, I climbed in with Troy and Calley. Very nimble, that girl. I'm actually almost certain that neither of them have any clue who I am. Or even that I'm an Alede. I collected so much energy that I didn't need the down time, so I read most of the night. Scripts that my manager wants me to consider taking on. Most of them are... Fine, really. Not what I want to do, but not awful. Howard knows not to give me those." After that she just ate, and so did he. He'd thought it was going to be too much, but finished it and barely felt full at all.

"So... Zack... Were you serious about Paris? Because otherwise I've got nothing." She laughed again, this time seeming a bit embarrassed. She didn't take it back though.

"Yeah. I was also serious about the pastries. You see how this works? I do a little something for you..." For once his attempt to be flirtations didn't totally fall flat at least and she winked at him. That got his attention, because it seemed to be a thing with a lot of people he knew suddenly. Really, no one did that anymore, did they? It was just a thing from old movies.

"I hear you. That works... poorly, and with such a deficit in value that I can't believe it, but if you're really sure?"

After he nodded she ran to change for the day, using the shower first, doing it all quickly enough that he had water left too. Troy and Calley would have to wait. The water heater just wasn't that big. It wasn't a well kept up place and had been built about sixty years before, so a lot of things were less than perfect. They paid their rent, but the landlord stayed away, which was the best thing about the man, as far as Zack could tell.

It meant they got out the door early, about seven-thirty, and were safely in the Mall three minutes later, let in the back by Hiram, who was actually just sitting and chatting with Conrad. Merry was asleep and looked peaceful. Like a tiny angel laying there on the brown and tan cushions, covered by a well worn light blue blanket. Out of place, but lovely, nonetheless.

Before he could ask how they all were, Elis started speaking, not looking at him directly, just splitting his attention between Conrad, who was sitting up normally, and his sister.

"The man woke up. He needs rest for several days, but healed the wound on the woman. She should sleep now, for a time, due to that. They both seem to believe that she'll live now. She spoke to me about it before she drifted off." He sounded focused, rather than tired or bored, which Zack would have been, doing nothing else for that long. Keeley had set him the task, and it apparently meant more than he better do a good job, or else. It was almost as if he literally couldn't do anything to contradict her wishes at all.

'Which would be why the smart money doesn't hang around with Greater Demons, dim-bulb. You know what I'd do if I were you? I'd go to Paris with Blondie here and see if you can score some fresh.' He stopped suddenly, but Mirror Him had used this one before.

Zack was supposed to act clueless and ask; fresh what? Then he'd tell him, in depth, about what he meant. It was attached to Judy, so Zack actually had a decent clue already this time.

Mirror Him laughed at the thought.

'Such a dirty mind. I meant croissants. Filled with buttery goodness. Though, if someone like that offers, you should fill her with buttery goodness too. To think, three months ago you had to sweet talk your hand to get any action, and now you're swimming in possibilities. That you keep failing at it pretty much means you're playing for the other team. It's a sad thing, but best to admit it now, so we can start looking for a nice fellow for you.' The words didn't stop for a bit, so Zack nodded and tried to talk over him, without sounding like he was screaming. It was only a voice in his head, so it could be done.

It was just harder than it sounded like.

"Um, sending out for pastries. They won't be in for..." He looked over at Judy who smiled winningly at each of them, including the sleeping Merry.

"Let's call it four hours? I should call first, so that no one is surprised to see me. May I use your phone? It will be long distance, but I can cover it."

She was speaking directly to Bob then, and the man, no matter how old he actually was, practically purred at her, even if she wasn't trying to be all that heavy handed for an Alede. In fact she seemed like no more than any other attractive, currently famous actress in the back of their little store. Which meant that he practically ran to help her do what she wanted.

Ten minutes later she was off in Paris, a driver coming to take her around, and a nice bit of cash waiting on the other end. It wasn't a clothing store that he took her to, but a modeling agency. They were temporarily closed however, since the building they were in was closed for "renovations". The woman that met them hugged and kissed Judy, making it seem like they were old friends, but then started to kneel in front of him. She was saying something in French, but Zack couldn't keep up with it all. It seemed a little strange, but Judy didn't laugh, just translating for the lady, who had black hair and a single mole on her upper lip, while being very nicely dressed. She looked about his own age, but that didn't, he realized, mean much for her people.

"Claudine wanted to know if you'd like her to blow you? You should say yes, she's really very good at it. Of course she also thinks you're actually a Greater Demon, and might make her do things anyway."

The interplay then was quick, but, Zack noticed, Claudine moved closer, shuffling delicately on her knees, which had to take a lot of practice on her part, to get it done so smoothly.

"Um, I'll be back in four hours? Please call if you need me sooner than that, or later? Also, pastries. enough to share with everyone?"

Judy laughed and hugged him, but didn't grope or anything, clearly getting that he was fantastically embarrassed already. So far she'd been the nicest of her people that way. Even Kaitlyn tried to do that, at times. It was almost like they couldn't help it. That probably meant that Judy was a lot older than she seemed. Or than he thought. Old enough to manage being in the public eye as a Succubus and not get too bad of a reputation.

"Understood. I know a place, so don't worry."

Then he got back to his job, expecting a scolding for being friendly with the woman, or at least not charging her, but Bob was busy looking at him so strangely he stopped thinking that almost instantly.

The man looked oddly proud, for some reason.

"You have the mother of an Alede Ambassador doing food runs? Well, that should at least engender good will. She gets a trip to Paris that way after all, and we get fresh baked goods. Unless that's a code phrase for something? Or you aren't sharing, in which case I'll have to beg." He tried to look sad for a moment, but didn't pull it off well at all. "Of course I won't be here when they come in, but save me some for later tonight?"

"I did ask for enough so everyone could have some. We won't know the results until later."

Then Bob left, and so did Hiram, which pretty much meant all he had to do was make certain Elis got his blood to drink and eat a cup of yoghurt that Lenore brought for him.

"Spending each night with an Alede... I won't be able to compete when next we get to have some time together, will I?" She was teasing lightly, instead of seeming mad at him for the supposed transgression at least, as if it was really just expected that he'd be doing that kind of thing with Judy, if she were around.

"Not me, I haven't ever had sex with an Alede at all. Judy hasn't pushed me very hard either. She's really polite that way. Now if you have sex with Troy, then, that seems pretty likely. He'll be ruined for good women everywhere, no doubt. He's been having threesomes with her and other girls for the last two nights."

That got a slight stirring from the awkward little cushion beds on the floor, and Conrad sat looking at him closely.

"An Alede has been staying with you, and you've resisted her? The others here too? That's an impressive feat. Few manage that once they set their sights. It's part of their nature." He really did sound impressed too and brushed his short hair with a hand, smoothing it a bit. It was clear he needed a comb or something, which Zack should have noticed earlier. Other things too, like a shower and some clean clothing.

It felt mean but after he mentioned it, he had to shake his head.

"It will have to wait so I can get to the store, I'm afraid."

Conrad gave a look that wasn't unkind, but had a bit of a patronizing air.

"Merry and I live behind our kitchen. We won't be dispossessed. Not just because Kenton put some chicken in our pressure cooker, and became side tracked with other matters. Leif is an ass, and I heard what he said about us, but the others wouldn't have done it. We're far too distant from home to waste. The fact is, the Elth Ambassador here is less requested than good Chinese food. That you took us in was a kindness however. It should shame him endlessly, no doubt. It would be petty of me to want to see his face when it occurs to him, and alas, that moment has most likely passed, but I won't claim it wouldn't be worth the viewing."

Elis chuckled, which was the first time that Zack had heard him do anything of the sort, and Lenore lifted her shoulders, delicately.

"Well, it might be a bit more serious than that. I hear the Trickster is aware of the event, and seems to believe that Ambassador Leif might have been a bit more concerned for his people. Hopefully this doesn't end in you needing a new leader here. I personally get along with him tolerably well."

That got Conrad to cover his mouth, which given how small he was looked a bit girlish.

"Oh, my then. I guess we'll have to see what happens. Poor Leif. He's not the best of our kind, but he's far from the worst."

Lenore turned back to him, but didn't suggest a way to save the man, so Zack figured it wasn't their business.

"I noticed that we missed each other last night? I hope it wasn't something I said?" She seemed a tiny bit miffed at him suddenly, but not so much it was scary or anything, just the kind of thing that women did when they thought they were being ignored or avoided.

Zack nodded and fell on his sword.

"My fault. I let myself get side tracked and ended up just going home. That's hardly a good reason, but it's what happened. Should we reschedule for tonight? Do you have enough blood?" She didn't really sleep, but she had to eat, and so did Elis. If the others had been drinking the blood too...

"No. I hate to ask you to purchase more, at the prices you paid." She stopped and then shrugged. "We have some coming via rapid post. It should arrive in a few hours. Rebekah was most eager to hear from you. Did you forget her as well?"

He had, and that was a horrible thing to do, especially since he still owed her trips for the blood she'd been providing. Zack decided to give her a call, just as soon as he finished his meal. Of course, he noticed, that Conrad wasn't eating anything, just sitting and not complaining, letting himself heal from his wounds. Or whatever he needed to do.

Looking down he was about to offer half of his meal to the little man, when Lenore saved him the trouble.

"Would you like anything Conrad? We can send for it, from the food court, if dairy products aren't to your liking at the moment?"

"Oh, aye, that would be good. I could tolerate a hamburger, if Kenton can do it without burning the place down. That's a bit unfair, of course, as the boy is a good soul and skilled enough, if a bit too interested in a certain Human girl. I doubt they're delivering right now, since that would be Merry and mine own task. I should retrieve it myself." He actually started to stand and seemed well enough for it, but Zack shook his head. Rest meant something other than work. He was almost positive of it.

"Let me make a call." It sounded very important, but it wasn't really. They could get a person to do deliveries after all.

He still ate first, even if it was selfish, and complimented Lenore on it, enough that she pretended to blush and pushed his shoulder with girlish charm before she left, her phone ringing across the way, from what she said. She was wearing a nice green dress that day, that still would have looked right about a hundred and fifty years before then. It was new, and she had a cute white apron on to protect it.

Finding a good delivery person for inside the Mall was harder than it sounded at first. It wasn't a paid position or anything, so no one had any real reason to volunteer, he didn't think. That meant coming up with a bribe for them. Maybe a trip? It made sense to him at least.

Getting Bob's big blue binder of numbers, he decided to try the Trolleinkein gym first. After all, it would have been easy to get Kaitlyn to do it, but the Alede got most of the perks, didn't they? Life was a lot easier in a certain way, when you were the best looking, and loved everyone. Even if only as a source of food.

The man that answered spoke with a slightly too deep voice and an accent that was more about his jaw shape and vocal structure than about lack of good diction.

"Good day. Trolleinkein Embassy, this is Darrow."

"Hello! This is Zack Hartley? I was wondering if you might have someone willing to trade doing deliveries from the food court to everyone here at the mall?" He was about to put in the rest of it, about the free trip, but the man made a single, very simple noise and the clanking and din of the other place cut out totally. "Certainly, Line Walker. How many do you think the task will need?"

It didn't seem like that large of a job to him, but he looked at Conrad who could clearly hear the phone conversation. He mouthed the word two.

"Two should be good. None of you have used your Christmas presents yet, but please let them know that I'll trade them a round trip for it. Each. It isn't cash, but..." Again, he'd been about to say they could do that too, but there was a bit of an outburst from the room on the other end of the line. It didn't sound angry at least.

The man was silent for a moment, speaking as if debating his own words internally first.

"Would it be possible for you to retrieve our Great One and High Shaman from our homelands? This would not be an option normally, but communications are very slow without such, and we must pass messages through dream talking, which is less than reliable for a dangerous time such as this."

Conrad tensed, looking almost angry, but Zack couldn't really see it.

"That will work. We'll have to figure out how to get there of course and arrange that. Would tonight, or sometime tomorrow be all right for that? I'm working the early part of the day here by myself." It could take a while to actually find the right people after all.

"That... I must check, you are not playing games with us?"

"No. I don't do that. It's a failing of mine, but you know where you stand."

"I see. Tentatively, I would agree to this for my people, if we can accept, would a time during the day tomorrow be serviceable? Regardless, those deliveries will be made, without question."

That was nice of them, if they didn't know if they could trade with him for what they needed. Then, cash was possible as well, if they wanted.

"That's really great of you. Thanks. This kind of thing is more important than a lot of people get." It was to him at least, since getting out of the store all the time was hard to manage.

"The pleasure is ours. Service to the whole is the most important thing, after all." The line clicked, and a dial tone played, but different places had different ways of doing things.

Over on his pad, Conrad sighed.

"That is too mighty a reward for my work, I fear. It must be done now, but I'll never be able to repay you for it. I know, I'll give you Merry. That's hardly fair either, but at least I won't be burdened with her anymore." The man was a bit dour about it, and glared at the female that lay sleeping, but Zack felt something that he didn't normally, most days.

Anger.

"Slavery isn't allowed here. You don't owe me anything for being a friend, and if you talk about your sister like that again, I'll find a nice little deserted island and leave you on it. She saved your life, healing you with a big piece of steel in her side. I don't know if that hurts, personally, but I'm going to kind of guess the answer is yes. You should treat her well." He glowered at the man and started to fail at it, since it wasn't a thing he could do really. Mirror Him could though and did.

Conrad sighed.

"I know, I know. She's a darling, but I was set the task of finding her husband here, by our mother and none of the others of my kind are interested. It's no fault of hers, a simple class matter, but we don't meet enough Humans for her to find one of that ilk either. At this rate I'll be searching for her husband in my dotage."

Given how tiny she was, it might be a problem to find her someone good, Zack had to agree. If it was going to work, they couldn't be overly large themselves he didn't think, not if they could have children. Otherwise they might be too big and kill her. If that was a thing for her people.

"So, of course, I keep trying to send her to you. Wealthy, powerful and able to care for her well, even in dire times." He waved at her sleeping form, there on the sofa cushions from across the way. "She speaks highly of you, and how you always treat her politely and with kindness when you've met. I think worse matches might be met."

Mirror Him rolled his eyes at the little man and then crossed them while sticking his tongue out.

"Not that I think Zack should say no, but is this the time to try and pressure the guy into marrying your little sister? He's a bit of a fruit loop you know, or at least I am. I can tell you this, Merry's a peach, but Zack ain't marrying nobody for a long time, not until we get some things solved. It wouldn't be fair, and might just get her killed." He fixed the Elth with a solid look but didn't frown. "Now if you just want to help her get laid, I can see to that. Send her by whenever she wants and we can lock the doors and try to make baby Elth. Tell her to bring lube, and plenty of it, since given the relative sizes, it's going to be a tight fit."

That was crude enough, but Conrad laughed.

"Shadow, do not vex my attempts to arrange this. I will however think on your offer. If Merry falls with child, the tradition here is for the man to take the lady as his wife, is it not?"

Mirror Him seemed to be thinking for a bit and then shook his head. He didn't deny the idea though.

"For some. That's the kind of sappy thing Zack would eat up, so it's worth taking a shot on. He'll probably insist on a condom, and that would make it less likely."

They both kept plotting against him for a bit, so he got up and ordered that burger for Conrad and one for Merry, in case she woke up. Then on a whim, one for him, since he was pretty hungry himself, even if it wasn't lunch time yet.

The person that brought it, about fifteen minutes later, was Hildegard, who smiled at him and passed the food over, but didn't stay to chat. She actually seemed to be busy, rushing around carrying several deliveries at once for people.

That was good, since it beat awkward situations and being left sitting around, like he was doing. The phone wasn't even ringing yet.

Zack sighed, since that probably meant things were about to get truly wild, didn't it?

Not knowing what was about to come, he went and started to plan a new window display for the store. After all, they'd open again eventually, wouldn't they?

Chapter eight

He was wrong and the most interesting thing that happened all day was Judy coming back, complete with sixteen boxes of pastries and four large shopping bags of loot, which turned out to not even be for her. It took a bunch of trips to get it all into the back room at Candles and More, but it still wasn't enough to kill more than ten minutes or so, and most of that was him chatting with Judy about her day.

"I love Paris. It has a sense of age and majesty about it, at least in the right places. Plus it's so easy to get a quick energy boost. I had that taken care of in the first half hour and my new friend didn't even insist on following me around like a puppy dog, which is surprisingly common here. Your friend Troy has been good that way, I have to admit. It makes it a lot easier to deal with people, in my line of work. The last thing I need is a chat board detailing all the men and women that I sleep with. Two a day adds up fast." She said it like that was totally normal, and Zack just nodded along, since, he was almost certain, for her it really was.

"That would be tough, especially if there are diminishing returns on the energy each time you fed on someone. Or harvested, I guess, you don't really feed on people, right?" He thought that was the case, but he didn't know for certain, having never been an Alede.

Judy smiled and seemed pleased that he was paying attention, if nothing else, touching his arm gently.

"Yes, and yes. We just take energy that's already being expended by the act of procreation, which would be wasted otherwise, and we do have to space feedings out that way. People can have sex several times a day, but on the second or third go it's not even worth the effort anymore for one of us. Not for that. We enjoy the act too, a lot more than most Humans, so we have a reason to do it anyway, but it pays to not exhaust people. Hence spreading things out and making sure you don't attach yourself to anyone that will demand being exclusive. That never works."

He realized that he knew more now about her kind than he'd learned in months so far and decided to pay attention. After all, who knew what the test would be on later? Oh, there would be one, and it would probably end up with him looking insane, but at least he could be informed at the same time.

Looking at the large pink and powder blue boxes, Zack realized that when he'd asked for enough to share with everyone, she'd taken that to mean the entire Mall, not just the people there. Counting things up, he thought he got it. There weren't sixteen Embassies that had people that ate things like that, he didn't think, some having particular diets and all that, but some ate a lot more than others...

"So, we should get Hildegard in to take things around with you. You're willing? You should get the credit for this after all. You did the actual work."

There was no verbal response, but she didn't seem adverse to a little more walking and once she understood who Hildegard was, she made the call herself, taking the things around with the muscular and heavy boned girl as if it had always been the plan. Zack sat and realized, after about five minutes, that he was literally just twiddling his thumbs. It wasn't even twelve-thirty yet. He ate some very nice pastries, but had nothing else left to do overly.

So he tried to call Rebekah, not knowing if she was old enough to be up that time of day. More to the point, he called Keeley, since he didn't have the Vampire girl's number on hand.

"Hello Zack." She sounded bright and chipper. Happy to hear from him and didn't wait for him to speak at all. "I have those numbers for you. I'd also like you to get in touch with Richard Swerlin. I think he might have some work for you. I told him that we'd get a good rate for travel for him and his people, if you're amenable to that? It's to stop a war after all, and since our side in this is in stopping such things for the moment, it seems reasonable." She sounded like that was the case at least. Perfectly so. It was almost a little too persuasive. It got Zack to think about what she'd said in the past about making sure to charge people enough. "We" aside, she counted for that, didn't she?

"Um, what are you planning to trade for this? For that matter, why not just do it yourself?" He actually managed to sound suspicious, which was good, since he was trying to at the moment. It normally didn't work.

"Well, believe it or not, you have rather more pull with the Vampires and several other groups than the Mistress of Souls. I could go in and perhaps gain compliance through fear, or with a show of force. You can do it because people respect you, even if they do think you might be one of my people. The Line Walker is not overly harsh in his dealings with anyone, and gives aid without massive payment being expected. Half of those you've helped are still waiting for you to demand their souls you know. Each time you request something less than that, they sigh with relief and think more highly of you." There was a bit of speech on the other side, which he couldn't quite make out. "As for what I'll trade... Nothing for the travel itself, but if you aid Richard in negotiating a peace agreement, I'll trade you four million dollars, one favor to be named later, as long as it isn't beyond the value of the work I'm having done, by my own estimation, and I won't hunt you down for trying to sleep with my mother."

Zack thought it sounded fair enough, but knew that MH wouldn't like the last bit.

"How about... Four million, one favor, as you said, and you don't hunt me down or kill me after Mirror Him bangs your mom? She really seems to want the attention and I don't get a lot of choice in that kind of thing you know. It's probably fair not to want that to happen, but I can't promise it to you. She's kind of hot."

That got a dark laugh that nearly sounded mean, which wasn't what he was used to at all.

"Oh... No. Let your other half know that if he touches her with more than a goodnight kiss, I'm taking your testes. I'll leave you alive, but she's off limits." Then her voice lightened a good bit. "The rest is good though? I can count on you?"

Zack sighed, since he was really just starting to get to use those and would miss them.

"I'll try. I don't expect you to pay for anything if it doesn't work. It's a bit unfair to hold me hostage to a madman's whims, if you want my opinion."

"Sure it is, but he won't do anything, because he knows that I'll do it, and his job is to protect you. Wonderful. I'll set everything up, let me get those numbers for you. Do you have a pen?"

She was off the phone two minutes later and Mirror Him was actually silent even as he started to dial the number to reach Rebekah, who had her own cell phone. They were practically friends, so it would be easier to talk to her, he figured.

She was very easy about it all, and relaxed, indicating that she would love a trip to visit with Jonas soon, if he had the time.

"Well, after work today then? Which will be... Probably a few hours, call it around six, so I can eat first? That will be later your time. Is that too late?"

There was a low and happy sound from the other end of the phone.

"Um, no, sir. Vampires. We'll be up all night. I'll need a trip back, in the morning? I know that might not be possible..."

"Why not? Hopefully it doesn't take too much walking."

They set a time, for it so he knew what to do, and she was going to be at Keeley's, instead of her own place, since he had no clue where that was. On the good part she had a picture of her honey, and he was going to be at the office, which was literally the outer portion of Representative Swerlin's.

That was the next call, and he got a bit of a surprise when it picked up.

"Representative Richard Swerlin's office. How may I direct your call?"

"Oh... Well, first, could I speak with Jonas Carver, please? I guess that should be the place to start."

"Oh? Speaking. What can I do for you?"

"Um... this is an interesting thing to explain. Rebekah, the Vampire? She's hired me to take her to see you later tonight, at about six, call it six-thirty or a little later just to be safe, Pacific time. Oh, this is Zack Hartley. The Line Walker? Anyway, that's a thing, so try not to skip out, and you know, have some plans ready if she hasn't told you about it. If that's the case, then I probably ruined the surprise." He didn't apologize, it not having been a thing mentioned either. "For the rest of it, I think I need to chat with Mr. Swerlin? Just to arrange some things."

All he could hope was that his words didn't sound sinister in any way. The last thing he wanted to do was tick off either a Vampire or a politician by seeming like he was doing something... Really, he had no clue what that would be.

"I can see if he's available. One moment?"

"Sure. I'll hold." Hopefully it wouldn't become one of those three hour ordeals, with music playing and hope slowly fading as you realized that no matter how long you waited, they probably weren't really going to help you at all.

"Richard Swerlin here. Mr. Hartley?"

"Hi. Um, I was kind of hired by Keeley Thomson to help stop this war thing that people seem to want? Or, to tell the truth, I haven't met anyone that's really calling for it yet. But I think the point is that I'm supposed to be useful or something. I'm not sure how, but I can take you around to visit or whatever, run errands, or even talk to people myself, if that might help?"

The man actually sucked in air fast enough that Zack heard it, all the way across the country.

"I... see. I think. That's... How much does that run?"

"For the travel? She's not paying me for that part. To actually be useful in stopping the war, if I am at all? I'll get four million dollars. Plus a favor and she promised to not hunt me down for trying to sleep with her mother, though I lose my balls if I do it. I think that last bit is actually separate from the rest."

"Ah. Well, I won't turn down the help. This situation is dicey and trying to juggle this and my day job is harder than it sounds like. When would you be available for a meeting?"

That one at least was easy, and made him seem good, since he already planned to be there later. The man sounded impressed, but then, he was a politician. He probably seemed like that on demand.

Then things went back to being very boring after that for about forty minutes, until people started to get in touch with him. First it was Lisa, who said she'd be in about five, if that was all right, followed by Jennifer, saying about the same thing.

Then he got an honest to goodness call about candles from a woman that did decorative holiday wreaths and was planning a spring time version, as well as one themed for the Fourth of July. It was early in the year for it, but it made Zack happy to hear from the older woman anyway.

"Let's make an appointment and we'll go over the catalogs. We're closed right now. The whole Mall is. There was a fire in the food court. As soon as we open though, we should get on that. Wholesale again." It wasn't like they were a real store and if she could supplement her income with handicrafts, didn't he need to help her out?

"Oh, thank you so much! It's a great help to me. The people at church are being so kind about buying them too. Let me get you my number."

That one left him feeling better, even if it was work, after a fashion.

Then the phones stopped ringing and nothing happened at all for hours. He chatted with Conrad, but Merry was still sleeping her ordeal off, and Elis didn't add a lot to things. His blood came however, but Lenore had to scurry right back to her Embassy, smiling the whole time, as if she were being naughty even bringing the stuff over at all. As if it were really about seeing Zack. She did make a point of hugging him, before hurrying back. It was nice, but had a feeling of obligation to it that seemed out of place. She had to know that she could do whatever she wanted, or not, especially at work.

That seemed the real point too. She was acting shy, because Conrad and Elis were there, even given that neither of them so much as glanced over at her while she did it. The back room just wasn't much on privacy.

She whispered to him though, her lips near his left ear.

"Remember, after work?"

"Right." He hadn't forgotten. Hopefully it wouldn't be rude for him to have dinner sitting in the Vampire Embassy.

She smiled sweetly as she left and then he only had to wait a little while longer for Lisa to come in, actually showing up early for once. She was already talking on the phone, even as she pounded on the back door to be let in. She had a key, but that would have required getting it out, which would be a pain, in the rain that was pouring down outside.

"Hey all." She covered the phone to speak, but then looked baffled, clearly listening to someone. "I don't know. He's right here, let me check? It... right. Still, we have to be there."

She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders a bit, the nice jacket she wore, which looked like real leather, but wasn't, had droplets of rain on the slick tan outer coating.

"OK..." She blew air out, her cheeks puffing, like she was getting ready to play a trumpet. "There's a big meeting, being held in the Ettarian lands. We need to send Maggie, but it's... Well, let's just say that if the Mages are going to be represented, we need you. They have a Node, but it isn't a fast trip going overland. It would take about six months otherwise. We think it was picked so that the organizers could control who would be there. It's in a few days, so we don't even have time for a power raising ceremony." She looked at him and didn't ask if he'd do it, which he would have anyway, since it was important.

Instead he nodded, realizing that he'd already sort of been hired for that, hadn't he?

"Right. I'm getting everyone that wants to go in, if I can. Leadership first. That's going through you and Bob, as well as Representative Swerlin's office. People shouldn't call there until tomorrow, since his aide has a date tonight. It's already arranged and covered payment wise, since this is really important. I'll give you his number so you can coordinate with him?"

She let her mouth hang open, which looked kind of tempting for a moment, even if he was being a bit of a perv.

"I... Ms. Morse, did you get all that?" She walked away, chatting the whole time, seeming happier. Perhaps excited was a better word? Zack didn't get that, since it was likely to be a lot of work, and not just for him. He had no clue how many groups would be represented, or where the Ettarian lands were at all, for instance. He figured that they'd need to get everyone in for it.

On the very good side Merry woke up, as in all the way, and actually stood, stretching cutely, her tiny form nearly perfect looking, if too small for him. Without a word Conrad stood too and bowed to Elis, who climbed to his own feet.

The tiny man spoke with great certainty.

"I can do the rest of this, if your charge allows? Merry and I both are well and should return to our place. If you have need of us, Line Walker, call and do not hesitate. We shall come and stand our duty." Then they both walked out as if they'd just been there for a short visit. Elis looked around, blinking, and then stretched himself.

"So, that's done. Thankfully. It's a lot harder to do that kind of thing than it seems. So, I guess I just hang out here until I'm called for?" He sounded hopeful, his bright red eyes shining a bit, but Zack had to shake his head.

"Nope. I'm heading to Keeley's in a bit, after I eat, so should return you. Thanks, by the way. I know you didn't get a choice, but you probably saved Merry's life, making sure she was so well cared for." He meant it, but the chalk white Vampire snorted at him anyway.

"If it wasn't me, it would have been you. Glad I could help anyway. It beats sitting in my room or re-cleaning the gutters on the house for the eightieth time. They're clean. We're in Arizona, and trust me, they barely collect dust at the best of times. The food here was better too. I normally get goat and alpaca. Not that those are horrible, if you have to drink animal, but the energy value of Human is so much higher." He shook his head a bit and then stretched again, his wiry muscles standing out cleanly from his flesh.

"The Mistress of Souls is not a big fan of mine, personally. The others get treated well really, Balthias and her Hsreth. Those last two are practically free, to tell the truth. She actually asks them to do things. Unlike me." He looked away though, before Zack could ask why and shook his head. "It was a bit of a ... miscalculation on my part, I guess. We, my old coven, were told that Eve belonged to The Technician, so when we took her I used a bit of mental persuasion to get her to sleep with me, not really thinking anything of it. I mean, after all, look at me. I don't get girls otherwise. Instead of thinking it an advanced pick-up technique, the Mistress of Souls decided that it was rape, and worse, the rape of her personal friend." He shuddered a bit, which seemed real, no matter how old he was. "She took me. A Manthori. That's supposed to be impossible you know? Even Greater Demons can't do that, except her. It didn't even take her much time. She did it without a real bargain or anything, just..." He snapped his fingers to show what he meant.

Zack absorbed the information, nodding when he figured he had it.

"That doesn't sound fun."

"It isn't. She doesn't let the others hurt me, not really. Balthias keeps trying to screw me up the ass. Eve has actually helped me out there, keeping him occupied. It's a convoluted fuck fest all around, in case you missed that. Still, this has been a change of pace, so, thanks." He stuck out a cold hand to shake.

When they finished, Zack started to collect the cushions, since they had to go back, and managed it, with a bit of help from Elis. Lisa was still on the phone, so they had to wait in the door to talk, but as soon as she hung up she smiled.

"We're on it. I'm in charge of scheduling for it, so it's a joint effort. Are you taking off for the night? Also, what's in these boxes, and can I have some if it's food?"

"Yes, French pastries, and yes, but leave some for Bob, since he asked specifically. Judy Swan went to Paris earlier to pick them up. They're good."

"Hmmm... So worth about what, ten thousand dollars a bite? I'm going to have some then. Thanks."

He started to leave, then turned back.

"Oh, right, in the morning, the Trolleinkein should be scheduled first, coming here I think. Two for that, unless they have an entourage. I kind of hope not, since they're kind of going to have to jump for themselves to make it work. I can't carry them. Then most of the rest in the evenings, as much as possible, if they're willing to work with Vampires right now at least. If not... I don't know. Maybe I can get Hildegard to help out?" She was strong and easy to get along with, so it might work, if she were willing, in the early part of the day, or for those that were too busy hating Vampires to realize that he wasn't going to be able to pick them up personally, at least in most cases.

Lisa nodded, as if not paying attention at all.

"I'll get in touch with them on it. I'll make a note that they get the first slot. Let's call it... ten in the morning?"

"Sure. I'll be in. Make sure that you sleep and don't over work. I'll go and grab someone from the head office if you need the extra bodies." He was a bit worried about her overworking, but she actually smiled.

"That's not a horrible idea, I'll call about that too. I bet we can manage something, since we just became the most important Mage embassy in the world. I made such a good decision, hiring you." She sighed and looked self-satisfied, if in a joking way. It was true though. For him at least, it was working out way better than starvation, wasn't it? "Now, get. Go do something fun. See a movie or whatever it is kids do these days."

He went, taking the Manthori Vampire along with him.

That meant he was able to get to Yoghurt World about five minutes after five and that they were able to call for an order of food from the Italian place in the food court. Elis just sat, but didn't seem bored or anything. As he pointed out when Zack asked, it wasn't like he was in a rush to get home. Slavery wasn't all that brilliant an occupation it seemed.

Then, the guy was a rapist, which meant that neither Zack or Mirror Him actually wanted to help him out all that much. That was more of a feeling, from the other part of himself, rather than direct conversation, which was rare, but a pleasant change.

The food came, delivered by a large Trolleikein man that he didn't know, who smiled, his tusk like fangs showing as he did. It was done with precision and care and the man had nearly run it seemed, since the food was still hot and smelled really good.

"Thanks." He wanted to tip the man, but that would be awkward, since they didn't do that there.

The man seemed pleased enough with the words and left without saying anything. Then he ate. It was pasta with a cheese sauce and garlic bread, along with a small salad. It was good, and unlike anything that he'd ever had before. Zack thought that might be because it was actually an Italian dish, not an American knock off version. Just as he got the last bite, Lenore came and sat down across from him, her face serious.

"I was asked by Bey if you might see to picking him up from his home? It's in China. I can pay-" She stopped as Zack stood and looked at the clock.

"This is what you wanted yesterday? It's my fault, not finding out. I can get him now, or whenever he's ready. I didn't realize. I should have asked."

She forced a bit of a chuckle.

"Bey doesn't expect you to hop to his needs like a servant. In fact, if it wasn't that he was needed here, or might be soon, he wouldn't come at all. Not like this."

"Not a problem. Is he near a Node at all?"

It turned out he was waiting at one, just in case, so Zack ran to the back of the shop and found him, which took a minute, then stepped into place, looking around. He was rushed from all sides, but they stopped nearly as fast as the Vampire bodies had started moving and Bey clapped from across the strange room. It took a bit for him to orient, but he could feel it when he tried. The whole thing was in a cavern. Underground, about twenty feet.

"Friend Zachary! I did not know if you'd be available, but Lenore held hope that she could pay enough for a passage, not that we can repay our current debts to you." He seemed ashamed as if it were a real thing at all.

"This isn't that, I'm just coming to take you to my place. We'll set up a space in the basement and you can have a room there, for when you visit. We'll make it nice, don't worry. After all, both Troy and I think of you as a friend, so why not?" It was heavy handed, but the fact was, neither of them were afraid of the little man with his big ears, large nose and polite manners. All the Vampires were, including Lenore, who was his daughter.

The little man bowed his head and smiled.

"That is an unprecedented kindness. If I may question it, without seeming rude?"

"I don't know, to be honest. Still, why not? If nothing else it will get the basement renovated, right? Are you any good at carpentry? I don't really know how to do that kind of thing. Troy can, so maybe he can teach us?"

The ancient being smiled hugely.

"I have been known to partake in woodworking, a time or two. I accept your offer and thank you, friend Zachary. It is as kind of one as I have heard in... why, nearly a thousand years."

He had his trunks there, so Zack got him through, then those, and realized that, if they hurried, they could get Judy back to the house before he had to leave. The only snag there at all was that Bey insisted he go along, if Zack might have to face the Mistress of Souls. He didn't really mind, but it was going to be more work that way.

The blessing in it all was that Judy was easy, and ready to go instantly, so he didn't have to dig her up. She even came out of the plus-sized women's clothing store on her own, so that he didn't have to risk being jumped when he went in. Not that it was horrible when it happened, but he was running a little behind.

In the end, to make it all work, he had to jog places. That meant he was a little out of breath when he knocked on Keeley's door, but despite Bey's fears, they only had to meet with a very nicely made up Rebekah. Elis was left behind, and they took off, a sweet scent of perfume wafting off of the woman, who was wearing a nice teal skirt and a black top, to accentuate her skin. It worked, since everything pretty much went with white.

She saved her reaction until they were under way, him jogging and the other two walking a little quickly.

"So, Bey, are you here on business?" Unlike every other Vampire... ever, she seemed relaxed enough about it for some reason. Professional.

"Indeed. We have you and Richard Swerlin in the same place, which means we may arrange a meeting in regards to the new hunting prohibition. It is an excellent opportunity."

Rebekah didn't even let her face change at the news, but Zack did.

"Nope, sorry Bey. She has a date, as in, meeting a guy, going out and maybe doing things that are none of our business. We have phones here anyway, so you can all call each other, in the morning. The blood will still be there. Though, Rebekah? If I can get some for my place? Bey's moving in, you know, as a roomie, so we'll want some of that for him, I think. Troy and I normally do the food shopping." It seemed about right. Hopefully Troy would be cool with it all. Zack hadn't exactly asked, had he?

Bey clapped a few times, not slowing down at all as he walked.

"A date? How marvelous! You look lovely too, so I should have known. Yes, tomorrow then. It will be done."

The woman looked at him, and then Zack, her face blank.

"Roommates? Really?"

She probably would have said more, but they were at the first shortcut, and needed to coordinate it all.

Chapter nine

When they got to the office, which was in a rather plain building somewhere in Maine, but was nice enough inside, with red and black carpets and wood panel walls, almost everyone except the guards on the doors had gone home. There was a metal detector they had to pass through, and a list that they were supposed to have identification for. Otherwise, how could they prove they were them?

Zack nearly threw his hands up, that being a barrier to entry he hadn't planned on at all, but Bey handled it much more easily than that, just looking at the man on duty and then his friend. They were both white, but not nearly as much as Rebekah was. In fact Zack would have figured that they'd have a problem with her first, looking so strange, but the guard in front just smiled at her.

"Rebekah? Jonas Carver mentioned you'd be by soon. He told me about your band, how's that going for you all?" His uniform looked decently tidy, but it was still rent-a-cop, not state police, if Zack had it right.

"Not horrible. No major contracts yet, but I figure it won't be too long before someone picks us up, if only for the novelty factor. The All Vampire Band. It just has a ring to it, don't you think?"

The guards both did, but also didn't act like she was about to suck their blood. They took it as a joke, no matter what she looked like. He decided to file that one away in case it ever came up later.

Bey moved in then and mentioned that both he and Zack were on the list, and checked out. That's all he said, but with meaning, and in a way the man couldn't ignore. Neither of the other Humans could, it seemed. It was either an area of affect power, or Bey had really good targeting of it. Zack wasn't being affected at any rate.

That got them up onto the fifth floor, where Rebekah introduced them first to the correct door, then to Jonas Carver, who shook their hands before jumping his girlfriend.

He looked... normal. Zack was almost certain he wasn't, being a bit too pale for that, and moving with too much energy, but he didn't have fangs and his body motions were too Human still. That probably meant he was young and a different sort of Vampire than say, Bey was. He certainly wasn't one of the distinctive Manthori, which was what Zack had expected.

'Because you're a racist. Just can't stand to see the hot white chick with someone with darker skin, can you?' Mirror Him didn't wait for a reply at least, just laughing inside their head. "I kid. I get what you mean, but different strokes and all that. By the way, since I'm the brains of this outfit, you might just want to go gently, introducing Bey. Having the Representative running around screaming for mercy might not be the best trick ever.'

That was a great point, but he didn't get much of a chance to try anything subtle, since Rebekah looked at the door that had to be to Swerlin's office, a tan wood thing, and then it opened. The man himself came out with a small bustle of energy, shaking hands as if it were an attack, first his, then Bey, without asking names at all, then giving Rebekah a quick hug.

"So nice to see you again. I've been meaning to grab your ear on blood shipments..."

Bey moved in, smiling benignly and bowed a bit, catching the politician's attention. Swerlin looked like a regular Vampire. Like Lenore, or Bey himself, if a bit younger in real years. He seemed about thirty to forty and was more medium of build however, rather than slight. He had light brown hair, and light colored eyes that Zack didn't bother examining closely. His suit was decent, but slightly worn at the cuffs, a few threads showing. It was a deep blue, rather than black, and the man had on a red and blue power tie.

Bey was in a gray outfit that was similar, unlike Zack's sweater and blue jeans. Then, he worked in a shop in the Mall, not politics.

"Ah, perhaps we can arrange that on the telephone tomorrow? I believe that young Rebekah has a date? From the greetings, that would be with your man here? I think we should let them be young, while they can, don't you?" He seemed so sweet about it that the other politician grinned, no fang showing at all.

"We can do that. I will call, Rebekah, so expect it?" Then without missing a beat he oriented on the others, first on Bey, since he was clearly a very ancient Vampire, and then Zack. "I was hoping that Mr. Hartley and I could meet. We have some business matters to go over..." It was leading and the idea, politely, was to lead the other man away, or at least into waiting. Bey just looked at Swerlin and let his eyes close slowly.

"That will be fine. To speak to both of you is why I came, myself, so we'll all win. Perhaps in your office?"

At least that let Rebekah and Jonas off the hook, the much younger seeming Vampire having flowers for her and everything. They were gone before the rest of them were settled into the main offices at all, Zack thought. It was clever of them, if they wanted the night off. Otherwise they'd end up in the office working all night, instead of enjoying life.

Sort of like what seemed to be happening to him.

Before he could try to introduce Bey in a soft and gentle way, the little man smiled and did it himself.

"I've been meaning to come and interview you for some time now. I am Bey Transmorguir. The council is most interested in what you're doing. Not all of us favorably, I might add. It's roughly split. There are those that enjoy the spectacle of you living so openly, making promises for us, and others who are very opposed to your plans, prohibiting live human feeding."

Zack looked at the scene and had to give Richard at least a bit of credit, since there was no screaming for begging for his life.

"Ah. So, am I to die this night, for the final time? I'm flattered that they sent The Bey for it, if so. It probably isn't needed, to tell the truth." He seemed resigned to his fate, whatever it was, but Bey gave him a serious look and reached out slowly across the desk to touch his hand.

"No. This is a much less formal meeting, and not even a warning. Zachary was coming here and allowed me to follow along, as it were. I hope only that I might add something to the conversation?"

Since he already had, letting them know how the Vampire Council was split, that seemed likely, but it took a bit for Swerlin to get his feet back under him. He managed finally, speaking of the calls he'd gotten from Lisa, and the fact that she was telling everyone that it was the Vampires that were paying for Zack's time and effort.

"It's really the Mistress of Souls. After a fashion. I..."

Bey growled and shook his head.

"You did not sell Mr. Hartley to her in this, did you? If so, know that you will never leave this room." The small face was suddenly very fierce.

"No! I had nothing to do with it. I can't control a Greater Demon, but I didn't suggest it at all. He isn't being hired for transportation duties either, if I have it right, but to prevent a war. This is, I think, just how he's doing it, making certain we all get to the meeting on time and spreading the word that we have something to do with it. I was told that he even has beings to help him with the travel portions? A Vampire and a Trolleinkein. Both women, but for most groups that will be easier to accept. Right off the start it shows everyone cooperation, and how we're willing to work with others, to prevent a tragedy." He'd fallen into politician mode and sounded like it, but didn't seem self aware enough to know it was funny.

"Ah." Bey stood and started pacing a bit, moving rather slowly for him. "Very good. I'll warn you then that you have enemies on the High Council, Richard Swerlin, though you know it not. Marisa and the Wanderer in particular. You might seek to smooth ways there. Others may be turned against your will as well. I suggest you tread most carefully. Remember, none there love you well enough to stand against the others. Not even I. That said, you seem to have a good start. If war is avoided, opinion of your plan may soften. Perhaps not, but it wouldn't hurt." He stood then, as if to leave, but Richard held out a hand, toward Zack.

"Would it be possible to arrange for myself and Jonas to attend the meeting in Ettarian lands? Normally I wouldn't rate that kind of thing." It was a simple statement, with no explanation, but if it was about stopping a war, why not?

"Get on the schedule with Lisa for it? It makes sense for you to be there. Her too, really, even if you'd both normally be a ways down the line for it. The attack on the Mall in New Mexico was linked to your ideas and both of you are helping with this. I don't know." He could get them there if they wanted to go. If not, he was cool with that too.

For his part, Zack wasn't planning to head that way, other than as transportation. Why go to a government meeting where you wouldn't have a voice at all?

Bey gave a slight and very particular bow toward the other man, and moved to the door, which meant they were leaving, Zack knew, reading the subtle signals in a way that left him feeling proud of himself. A man halfway out of the building might just be hinting it was time to leave? Brilliant deduction on his part.

"Bye. Call if you need anything."

That nearly got him yanked out by the arm, Bey coming back for him, his face a bit upset by the time they were down the hallway. He didn't mention anything until they were back to the Node in Maine, which was set up as a wilderness retreat in the middle of nowhere. His words were soft however.

"These people abuse your good spirit. Worse, I fear that it is I that have led them to it. They see me traipsing around as I please, going hither and yon in the blink of but an eye, and think to themselves 'why not me, as well'. The work that you are undertaking, it would take any of us so much as a cost that no one would go at all. It is a trick, certainly, meant to shame us or control a vote, but such meetings do not have meaning without all being present. A call for war, the threat of it, is an empty thing if only a few can be there. The rest will not abide." He looked grumpy for him, a bit upset and like he was ready to call the whole thing off.

For his part Zack was looking forward to it, if he were going to be honest about it.

"It will be good experience, and show people that we can work together. Plus, maybe it will stall some of those rumors that I'm a Demon? I don't know how those got started, but they seem to be growing for some reason. You'd think that anyone seeing me would be able to tell the difference, but..."

That got a scoffing laugh, just before the little man hopped and they ended in the back of Zack's Candles and More.

"Truly, you wonder at it? Someone is trying to tear you down, before they strike. It could be anyone, given who you are. A Mage threatened by your growing power in that organization, or even a Vampire that fears your backing means that the Council will soon be too powerful for their liking. The Shifters are not normally a clever group of people, as far as intrigue, but it takes only one or two, and my sense is that not all love you evenly there. In the main you help others, but there are always those that will feel slighted or taken for granted. That is the way of power. There is no helping it either, only enduring the weight." He sounded wise, and like this was a topic he wasn't just talking about on the fly. As if Zack's rumors had come up for him before at some point.

Not that it would make sense at all.

The strange thing was that he felt the regard of others, their like and dislike of him, and just the fact that he was considered special at all, as a weight. Something that pressed him down and reshaped him into a smaller and lesser being than he was supposed to be. It was just shy of crushing him, and he didn't really know what to do about it at all. Wasn't it enough for him to simply be himself? OK, not with girls, but the rest of the time? How could he make anyone understand that he just wanted to be helpful and nice to people?

It was like no one expected him to be and really, in their deepest hearts, didn't want that at all.

Lisa popped her head out of her door, looking like an underfed meerkat and blinked a bit. She didn't say anything, just waving a little with the tips of her fingers, and moving back to answer the phone, which was ringing again. Zack didn't speak, just leading Bey over to his own people's Embassy, hoping that something good might have happened by that time, to find that it hadn't.

In fact there were several Vampires there, screaming and yelling at Edom and Lenore, with enough force that Zack actually moved between them, as if he were somehow going to physically protect anyone in the world? Then again, that got Bey to move into place directly beside him, which made everyone shut up very quickly. There were far too many fangs out, if all on the other side, and some of the five Vampires that had been shouting in the front of the yoghurt shop had red eyes already. That wasn't a good sign, if Zack was learning anything at all.

'And yet here you are, standing right in front of them like a juicebox.' Mirror Him didn't sound surprised by it, and simply sighed in his head.

"Hello, everyone. Sorry to interrupt, but..." He shook his head and went silent for a few seconds not really knowing what to say at all. He had nothing to threaten them with at all, did he? He just didn't want some big fight breaking out, especially when things looked to actually be quieting down a little so far.

Finally he just said that, getting narrowed eyes and a few nods from Bey.

"I concur, Mr. Hartley. Perhaps if our friends tell us what their issues here are, we might remedy the situation?"

No one was willing to speak on the other side, so Lenore moved so that she was off to the side, not behind them any longer and straightened her white apron. It was clear that things had already gotten slightly physical already.

"Merely flaring tempers. It isn't easy to bear the sting of name calling and bigotry, and they were simply letting it be known that they did not appreciate the local Shifter community burning down their domiciles. They might not have been grand palaces, but a person's home is sacred, none the less."

The angry looking people nodded at least and one was brave enough to speak then, if in a deferential tone. After all, no one screwed with The Bey. In fact they stood with down cast eyes, not even looking at the tiny man.

"We could smell the scent of them all over the place, and they worked as a team. It's pretty clear that they wanted us dead, from what they shouted. If they'd done it an hour earlier, none of us would have been up, but luckily Devon is an early riser and managed to pull the rest of us to safety." The man in front who was speaking gestured to the back, where an average looking Vampire that looked about thirty-five stood. He was pale and had dark hair, but was different than the others. More like Jonas, lacking fangs, it seemed.

That got Bey to go very still, and for once, Zack to feel like he might be able to do something about the situation.

"Right, first, let's call and check with the Shifter Ambassador, or better, her second in command." He looked at the arrayed people and shrugged a single time. "There's a reason for that. The Ambassador is bigoted against Humans at least, but that might translate to anyone not able to change shape. Calley, her second, is open minded and a decent person. That's probably the option that will have less screaming, over all." In his opinion at least.

Lenore went to the phone, either to call in take out for everyone, or do that, and Edom moved into place on the other side of Bey. Still ready to fight, if he had to.

It made it look like they had a wall of death. Except for the one obvious weak spot in it, which was him. He sighed and gestured to the booths.

"Do you all have someplace to stay tomorrow?" Their houses had been burnt and it turned out that, while they didn't live together, they did have places in a small clutch, or had. So they'd all been neighbors. It meant that they didn't have a lot of other people to fall back on at a moment's notice or anything.

One of the women glared at him as if that might just be his fault, but didn't scream or anything, resting her butt in one of the orange vinyl seats and looking mean for a while instead. The others followed along then, but it was pretty clear they were at loose ends. Zack wasn't about to invite them to his place either. Not worked up like they were.

Instead he looked at Bey and shrugged, hoping it would look better than he imagined it did.

"Uh, Bey, are the baby Vamps still at that summer camp? They were fixing it up, right?"

That actually got a bit of clapping, the tiny man smiling fiercely as if it were the world's most brilliant idea ever, and anyone saying different was about to have their head shoved through the back wall. Given the way the man liked to do that normally, it would probably be in the form of a bloody mist at the time, too.

"I do not know, but it was being readied for your summer vacationing enjoyment. Are you suggesting that these people be allowed to use it, while this is settled?" The Vampire elder looked at him, as if very pleased, but didn't add anything else too it.

"If we can? If not, I don't know, we can rent a place, or maybe two, can't we? That doesn't get anything for them tonight. Or get them to work, if they have jobs they need to see about. It might not be perfect, but..."

That started a conversation at least, and something funny came out almost instantly, which was that the angry and dispossessed Vampires hadn't really expected their own people to help them that much. Fires happened, and so did wars. You were supposed to deal. They'd mainly come to try and get support for killing some random Shifters, in retaliation.

Zack shook his head to that, when the angry woman said it in a low and menacing voice.

"Not right before the meeting on this, you won't. Not random either. If you can't find the guilty, then it isn't justice, just creating more problems. You said you knew what they smelled like? Can you tell the difference between full scents and say, an old t-shirt that they'd been wearing being rubbed over some wood?" He really didn't know, since the limit of his scent of smell was the occasional flower and half microwaved hot pockets.

Bey nodded however.

"That won't be at issue. If they say the individuals were there, and are not lying, then they were. There are ways to fake that, but most involve actually tricking a person into doing the act you desire done. It is a very good sign, actually."

For some reason what they were talking about actually got everyone to calm down a lot, even though some Human dude was telling them that they weren't allowed to go on a killing spree. It was funny, but Mirror Him was kind of on their side in the whole thing, and made a point of letting Zack know that.

'If it were our house, I'd be all over the mother fuckers that did it. No reprieve, no saying they were sorry, just dead. I keep all your cool stuff there, you know what I mean?' He sounded deadly serious about it, even if they didn't have any really cool stuff. Well, other than the new furniture that Lenore had gotten him.

Still, Calley came over, and they all acted no more than aggrieved. She offered to send out some investigators, Shifters with keen noses, to check it all out, but it was clear that they didn't really expect to get an honest hearing that way. Even Edom and Lenore looked away, as if it were silly to mention.

Bey however clapped once.

"Excellent, Miss Hale. Please see to that this night, before the scents fade. You have my word that no one will molest your people while they work. I shall go myself, to ensure that, as will these homeowners. We seek a peaceful resolution to this, and will not allow any innocent beings to be blamed or harmed in the matter." It was a bit political sounding for him, but it worked well enough to have some large vans brought out and people called in for the task from Calley's side of things.

The only problem there was that everyone expected Zack to go along too. Because he might be needed to keep the peace.

Mirror Him nearly growled at the Vampire woman that suggested it first.

"Like that makes any sense? Listen lady, I don't know what you expect me to do, but this is your problem. You've got Bey with you, do you really need a little Human to hold your widdle hands for you? Seriously?" For him it was nearly a polite speech, though the Vampire that had spoke, the angriest looking one, jumped to her feet, right hand clenched in a fist.

She didn't swing, so Zack, who had control of his body again suddenly, merely moved into the gap in space that was caused by all the other bodies and the handy tables and booths. When she did lash out, a few seconds later, all he had to do was shift to the left a bit and then rotate his upper body while his legs were steady on the ground. She tried to hit him about fifteen times, and he never truly moved out of range, he was just never where she was striking.

After about five seconds she humphed and sat back down again.

"You claimed us, so it is your problem." The certainty she showed about that fact was so great that Zack nearly wondered if he'd accidently asked her to marry him. If so, given that there were five in the crowd in front of him, he might be in for some interesting dating in the near future.

Edom chuckled a bit from the far side of Bey and handled it for him though, since the black Vampire was, obviously, great. One of his favorite people really, come to think of it.

"Bull. He's making arrangements for you, yes, but I totally missed the part where he held you down and mounted you, then tossed you crying and broken into the corner. Stop trying to be a gold digger and go get in the van, or I'll call in some favors and have you left outside all day tomorrow." He smiled though, his white teeth gleaming above his charcoal gray suit jacket. "The same, of course, goes for the rest of you. Of course I don't want you to think that it's lost on me that none of you were making the same claims."

They all nodded except the angry woman in front who made a face and shrugged, actually smiling, if miserably.

"Can't blame a girl for trying."

Except of course, no one cared what she had to say at the moment. Bey in fact waited for the vehicles to get there, and then held back, along with Lenore, to see what Zack wanted done about her false claims of being... claimed.

"We can kill her if you like? Or of course, you can do it?" The little man was so serious that it sounded like he was insisting, until he smiled and laughed a little. "Ah, friend Zachary, you are too gentle by far for the young of my people. I shall speak to her and she shall apologize to you. Or if you wish we can simply drop the matter? Most would have actually raped her and claimed her as a slave in truth for daring to even say such, but she is lucky that way, I think?"

He blinked and shook his head a little, but didn't let himself go wide eyed. After all, the idea that Vampire culture had some things in it that were darker than he'd been made aware of so far didn't actually shock him, did it? They kept hinting at it, after all. They'd flat out offered to give him servants and slaves, and from the sound of it they meant for the rest of his life, which would kind of undo that whole thing Lincoln did, wouldn't it?

Shrugging, his boney shoulders pressing against the inside of his Wal-Mart button up shirt, he sighed.

"We'll write this off to her being worked up at the moment and not blame her for it? Her house did just burn down after all, and I guess that trying to get a position with a rich person isn't that bad of an idea." He froze for a bit then, and tried to count things up in his head. "Wow. I just realized, I'm rich. Keeley's been handling most of that for me, so I hadn't really thought of it before. I mean, I have a card for it, but there are millions of dollars in the accounts."

Both Bey and Lenore seemed less than impressed by the proclamation, though Lenore explained that to him at least, getting that he wouldn't know what that lack of response meant from them, since she was actually trying to be his girlfriend and all.

"It's the major problem that we're having with you, Zack. You live simply and don't seek anything in particular, which are good traits, but it makes it hard to pay you. Then you come and stand in front of a bunch of upset Vampires, not all of them young, and drive them back for me, and seek only to help remedy their problems. If you were a Vampire we'd be considering you for the Council I think. We have almost nothing else to do with you."

That got a gentle chuckle from Bey as well.

"Indeed, friend Zachary. As it stands, Marisa has offered to come and play body servant to you in an attempt to repay our debts. That is no small thing for one of our leaders."

He nodded, but didn't respond, since, while a fine looking lady, Marisa was a man, and Zack didn't really want to know what being a "body servant" entailed, he didn't think. So he opted for smiling and moving on to a different topic.

"Is there a way of getting some properties then? I mean, I don't know how to do that, not quickly. I can pay for it, but... we need to put them somewhere." It sounded lame and weak, but Bey simply nodded, and left. Lenore actually touched his arm gently.

"Zack, be careful. This is kind of you, helping those in need, but we can only take so much debt. If it becomes too great with no way to repay it, the elders will do nothing but worry about it all the time and probably camp out on your doorstep, trying to give you presents." She smiled sweetly and turned away a little, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "You don't want that. I'm nearly positive of it."

He nodded, since it would ruin the quiet of his neighborhood, all those people hanging about. Plus it would make it look like he lived in a drug den and that wouldn't do at all.

Giving her a smile, he turned and left, knowing that he should have given her a hug first. He went back and did it, since that was kind of what having a girlfriend meant, wasn't it?

Chapter ten

There was no one at his house except a famous actress, who was busily reading a science fiction novel that he'd gotten a long time ago and re-read several times himself. It was famous too, and had been made into movies a couple of times he thought, but was a bit dry, when you actually read it.

It was the desert theme he supposed.

Judy marked her place with a slip of paper and stood up from the old and well worn sofa as soon as he walked in.

"Hey sweetie! Take your shoes off, I'll get you a drink." She actually went to the kitchen, so he did it, glad that he had new socks on, leaving his tennis shoes by the door.

What she came back with was a glass of Sunny Delight, not anything alcoholic, which was good, since he didn't drink. He really didn't need to, since reality was screwed up enough for him as it was. The very nice looking and athletic blonde woman wasn't even teasing about it, just handing it over as he sat on the other side of the sofa, where a Vampire's head had once rested.

Separated from his body, at the time.

"So, how was your day?" She said it like she meant it, but also like she was practicing to be a nineteen-fifties housewife. If so, she'd totally missed having dinner on the table. Zack didn't mention it, since she was being friendly and was probably bored, having been left alone for hours.

"Not too bad. I have a lot of new work coming in suddenly, taking people to the big meeting about not having a war. It seems over done to me, but apparently everyone just deciding not to is too much to ask. I guess I'll have to take the Alede leader, or whoever, too. I'll let you handle setting that up? You can tell them that you called in a personal favor or whatever, so I won't look like I'm going back on my word not to help them." Fixing her with a solid look, he took a sip of the fake orange beverage and let his eyes close. It was good. For a long time all he'd had was water, so everything was still excellent to him.

She waited for him to finish the drink and took his glass, setting it on the carpet a few feet from them and pulling his legs around for some reason. It was, he realized, so that she could rub his feet. She did it through the socks, but he kind of wished she wouldn't since they'd been trapped in his shoes all day and couldn't be that clean anymore. It did feel good. Enough that he melted a little inside.

"Or, you could just tell Charisa that she can walk. She tried to have my granddaughter executed. Don't tell Kaitlyn this, but it had nothing to do with her, and everything to do with that bitch being jealous of my success. She tried it, back in the seventies, and ended up a small time porn star. It burns her up that I'm making this really work. Going after my family is too much. I could respect a bit of sabotage, but that? It's an invitation to take things to a level that my kind seldom does." She pushed a little harder on the ball of his foot, not paying attention, until he tried to pull away in pain.

That got him to think about things and finally shake his head.

"No, I can't risk leaving anyone out. Why don't you use this to... I don't know, get back at her? I have no clue how to do that kind of thing, short of assassination, but you might know what would get to her. You don't get long to work it out, but we can schedule her for the last day, going in?" That was actually his idea, making her go last, but Judy sat up and went to the phone, smiling at him as if he were wonderful, so she clearly had some other idea in mind.

That meant he could wander to the kitchen and start making something to eat. He didn't know what Judy might want, but if it was more advanced than Mac and Cheese or a T.V. dinner, they were going to have to get take out. That he could actually do that now was a shock to him, all over again. In fact he'd immediately gone to the Raman cupboard to look for something to eat. They had it, since the first thing he'd gotten nearly was six cases of the stuff, just in case the cash ran out. Zack had learned not to take things for granted, he thought. That was the plan at least. Always be prepared.

He ended up being a little more adventurous than Mac and Cheese, adding browned beef to a box of the stuff with an actual cheese sauce packet. Zack had already eaten, but was starving again and it was clear he needed more. That, and to do his energy exercises, which he'd been neglecting. He did it at the stove, and was just adding it all together when Judy walked in, her eyes bright and face looking like it was Christmas morning.

"All taken care of. She even had to thank me for getting her a good spot, without waiting there for three days first. So not only do we get to take out revenge on her, or at least start, but she won't know what hit her." There was a brief pause and then she steepled her fingers in front of herself dramatically. "Mwa-ha-ha!"

Nodding he gestured to the beefaroni and saw her shake her head, meaning he could have as much as he wanted, since Troy wasn't around and he didn't think that Bey, when he got in, would be eating food. For some reason that did remind him to pick up Rebekah first thing in the morning, which would be a good time to ask about some deliveries of her product to his place.

Judy seemed happy, and sat to watch him eat, her youthful face smooth, and while less than perfect, it was about right for her chosen profession.

It made him think.

"Hey," He made sure to swallow before talking, since his grandmother would have to call and scold him otherwise, knowing that he'd done it with her secret grandma magic. "You aren't as good looking as the other Alede. How does that work?" The second the words where out he realized that tact might have been a good plan, but she actually smiled about it, not taking offense.

"We all have a good looking form and one that's less so. You know that we can switch genders?" She looked at him as if it would freak him out or something, her face going blank.

"I've seen that. It messed me up more than a bit when I was looking for Kaitlyn, because I kept finding Kyle instead. I didn't really notice a big difference in looks, between them. I mean, different, but Kyle is about the same as Kaitlyn that way..."

"Not really. Kyle is... Oh, let's call him a solid eight point five. Kaitlyn is a ten. You probably just didn't notice because she hides her looks in her natural form. She was born a girl, not that it matters really. We all just pick whatever suits us and run with it. Some trade off every ten years or so just to keep things interesting." She waved a bit and then smiled. "So Joe, my male form, is hot. Actually so good looking that I can't take him out for the movie industry. Too many men would be attracted to him and think that meant he was gay. You know how that goes."

The funny thing was that he did, if not first hand. It was a thing that guys did. Not him, since he didn't have issues that way, but a lot of them did it.

"Neat. So, why don't the Shifters think of you as awesome all the time? Their supremacists keep going on about how two forms are better than one, and people you want to have sex with have to catch the attention..."

He was trying to joke, but it was actually a point of real political stuff, according to Judy.

"Well, they do, really. Not as much as those that can turn into an animal, but it's certainly there. We're kind of second or third on their list of who's worth listening to. The Vampires are about seventh or eighth, since tossing small cars around gets the attention, then it's almost everyone else and finally regular Humans. They've had some issues there in the past, so aren't fans."

He practically shoveled the beef and cheese dish into his mouth, using his napkin only because of childhood training. It was a bit insane, but he was still just starving for some reason and couldn't get full. Judy, being a good guest, pretended not to notice.

"This current thing is a mess, of course. Everyone keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the next attack or a declaration of war from some fringe group that sends us all into a tizzy. I know it will be hard for you to get, but for the most part, our wars are both big and small at the same time, when they happen, which is rarely." She waved her hands in the air, as if trying to show points on a map that didn't exist. "We have people spread all over the place, and some of the groups, like Vampires, don't have their own homeland. The Alede either. We mainly claim New Zealand, which is why the women there have sex more often than anywhere else in the world on average, but don't tell anyone. So if a big fight breaks out, it's mainly local, since we can't really travel around quickly. Here it would basically mean that the Vampires and Shifters would fight things out, and whoever the Trolleinkein and Kobolds side with would win, most likely. No one else has the numbers to make that big of a difference. Well, the Mages, but they don't do well in war."

She didn't explain that one at all. Instead she waved at the kitchen, her eyes lighting up.

"Have you thought about remodeling? This isn't a bad space really. Add some larger windows, maybe marble countertops and a hardwood floor?"

Zack nearly cried poor, then remembered he wasn't, and shook his head anyway.

"I don't own it. The landlord might frown on all that."

She laughed, covering her mouth delicately and then making a funny face at him.

"OK, first, make an offer on the place, I bet that he'll sell. Second... No, he wouldn't. If you added a hundred thousand to the property value, he'd be wild about the idea, not whining about it. At least until he had to pay the taxes on the place." That got her to grab a pad and pen from her own gear, which was in his bedroom and start planning a full scale remodeling project.

Zack looked at her for a bit, then shrugged.

"The basement too? Bey is going to be staying there when he's in town..."

She clearly had no idea who that was, other than an old Vampire, but was excited to have something to do. That was just good sense, because they still didn't have cable, or even a nice television to watch, or the internet. Zack had been so busy that he hadn't thought about it and Troy, for all that he was interested in that kind of thing, wasn't exactly holding the keys to Zack's bank account or anything.

That meant he walked around with her and took notes for a while, and then sat while she made phone calls, getting workmen set up for the next day. He had a checkbook around somewhere, in his room, that Keeley had given him, so it should work out well enough, even if it did cost lots of money. Judy didn't ask what he was willing to spend on the whole thing, but he figured that it wouldn't break him totally and that was good enough. He was putting his foot down if she tried for diamond encrusted anything. Especially in the bathroom. He wasn't a rap star after all.

He did get the bed that night, and she didn't complain that Troy was out working until the wee hours of the morning, though he was there and playing a video game when Zack got up, as well as eating pancakes.

He took a big bite and paused the game, which seemed to be a new one and pointed at it. "Assassin's Pride. Kevin from the club lent it to me. You know, the bouncer? I have to hit the hay soon, but your new friend made me breakfast. She's awesome by the way... Um," He pushed the plate away and looked a bit guilty, but kept looking directly at Zack anyway. "I've... kind of been sleeping with her. I mean, she volunteered, just like, you know, climbing into bed with me and whoever was there and she's... a bit freaky. In a good way, but..." Troy's slightly dusky face was a bit red underneath, which meant he was clearly embarrassed by the idea that he was poaching that obviously from Zack. It was a good sign, even if taking three days to ask about it probably wasn't.

"She's an Alede. A succubus? They drink sex energy. I mean, only after you've used it, so it isn't that big of a deal, but that's the reason there. Really you should probably do it with her before you go to sleep, since I don't know that she's had anything today." He shrugged and looked at the kitchen, knowing that Judy would know he was talking about her. "Also, she's a famous actress, so don't let anyone know that she's here. If the tabloids find out she'll have to leave, I think. Then I won't get any pancakes unless I make them myself." That would be a sad, sad thing too, since his didn't look half as good.

As if knowing what he really wanted from her, the lady herself walked out with a large plate of the things, six high and the size of Zack's face, smothered with butter and syrup.

"Here you go!" She handed it to him, to eat in the living room, and then winked happily at Troy. "I agree on the sex idea, if you get some time? It's the best way to start the day!"

That got Troy to hurry with his own eating, since, for some odd reason, a hot actress wanting to bang you seemed to get a man's attention. The odd thing there was that, while Zack did think she was pretty and nice, and knew that his girlfriend was just assuming that he was sleeping with Judy anyway... He really didn't want her. He did want sex however, which was confusing. It wasn't some little thing either.

If Kaitlyn had been around, he would have done her right then and there for instance, or Barb. Even Nikki or Hildegard would be nice, he decided. But not the good looking actress?

Mirror Him chimed in then, his voice a bit playful instead of biting.

'Don't forget your boyfriend Edom. I know you want his chocolate yumminess too. I get what you mean. Maybe it's just that you feel, I don't know, responsible for her? It don't make sense, but then you often don't. You should totally be banging someone tonight. Maybe Lisa? I bet she could use some hot Zack lovin' about now. On the rebound after being dumped and just off of drugs? All her defenses have to be down, don't they?'

That was probably true, but felt wrong. She was a lesbian for one thing and even if she was willing, which Zack wasn't certain of, he was her employee. That meant they needed to keep things professional, right?

'Then do Nikki. That whole pierced punk thing is kinda hot. I bet she does anal on the first date. You should at least see if Lenore wants to do something. She's been working her ass off and all you've done is get her some blood. You better not cheap out, today is the fourteenth. If you don't get her at least flowers she's going to dump your ass, and you'll be back to sweet talking lefty there.'

Zack actually looked at his hand and sighed. There was some truth to that, wasn't there? It was early still, so he got the phone book and used his card to get a flower delivery made to the Mall for her, and as an afterthought, a smaller arrangement each for Lisa, Jennifer and Barb, since they were friends too and, as MH pointed out, V-day was an excellent time to set the groundwork for sex with women who's boyfriends didn't step up, or even remember them. Or girlfriends.

He wasn't doing the whole female population of the Mall, since that would be far too obvious. Then he twisted his face and realized that he needed something a lot more special for Lenore, if he was even doing that little bit for other women, and decided on jewelry. It meant finding an open shop for it and being fleeced on the price, coming in last minute like he was, the older man in the store seeing him coming from a mile away, but the guy did wrap it for him, his wire rimmed gold framed glasses sparkling under the store lights.

Thus armed he got into work at eight, and managed to go and find Rebekah at Jonas's apartment, in Maine. He had to pound on the door a little, but didn't mind waiting really, even if it took ten minutes for her to get to the door, a bright red silk robe wrapped around her, showing that she was really that pale all over. She wasn't half as careful about closing the front as she might have been, so he knew that she had pubic hair to match the copper stuff on her head.

"Ah! Sorry, sir... I'll be... Just a second. I said to come early, and got side tracked." She seemed panicked or something, like he was going to leave her?

True, it was eleven here in Maine, but he wasn't exactly worried about it in particular, as long as he made his schedule on time. He got left at the door and there was a bit of rushing from inside the place, but other than some hushed talking, and some thumping sounds, nothing seemed out of place. Four minutes later the Manthori Vampire was at the door, her hair a mess and smelling of sex, but there, and ready to get back home.

It still took a while, since it wasn't Node to Node travel, which meant some walking was involved, but she seemed both subdued and pretty pleased the whole time.

"Thank you. I wish we could do that more often. He's very sweet, Jonas." She didn't mention anything for a long time, just walking along with him, in heels, as they worked through various shortcuts and bends in space to speed things up a bit. It was odd, but he was able to see a lot more of them now than he used to, he thought.

"So, I can have that blood ready, when you need it?"

He smiled and nodded pretty happily.

"I hear you can send it Fed-Ex?"

"It's a different service, but about the same thing, except with refrigerated trucks, yes."

"Great. I need some for my house? Bey is staying with Troy and me. Kind of a roommate thing, like I mentioned? At least when he's in town, so that would be good. Actually if it's marked well you can send it to Yoghurt World there and I can take it home with me? That way no one will have to be there to sign for it." It seemed like a plan, but she stopped walking suddenly, staring at him as if something were horribly wrong.

"The Bey is your new housemate? I... Know you mentioned something, but... You know that little Vampires everywhere are taught that if they misbehave, The Bey will come and kill them, right? It's like setting up house with the Bogey-man." She pronounced the word with an almost British accent, instead of saying boogieman like Zack would have.

He nodded anyway.

"Except I just know him as a nice guy that's saved my butt half a dozen times in the last three months. Saint Bey, practically. He's really nice too. Always willing to help people out and all that. I bet he's tidy. He just seems like he would be, doesn't he?" She'd met him, at least once before. It was at a party though, but the Vampire woman nodded, her red eyes still a little wide.

"I guess he does, come to think of it. Well, I'll get that done, the blood deliveries. I would anyway, for The Bey, if only to curry favor. I shouldn't say that, or you'll expect it for free, but I would." She gave him a wry look that showed a lot of pointy teeth. It wasn't a smile, but was an unguarded moment for her, he realized. That probably meant she was comfortable with him.

That was good though, right?

"So, call when you need me to deliver you for your next date, or vice-versa. You two should go to Paris or something. I can do that too. Maybe other places, if you let me work it out in advance. It's easiest for me, going Node to Node, so try to find places close to one, so we don't have to do this all the time." He waved at his feet, indicating the walking, even though it wasn't that bad yet.

Rebekah at least didn't try to demure or claim she couldn't afford it.

"What's the price?"

"Well, if you help me keep the needy Vampires and my guests in fresh blood on demand, that should work. I'd ask for sex too or something, since you're kind of hot, but Jonas would kick my behind for that, so I better not." He didn't know that the man would, but it seemed about right, didn't it? He was pretty young after all.

She smiled, letting her teeth show again. It looked fierce, but happy.

"You think I'm hot? Ooooh. This is my lucky year then, isn't it? First I get Jonas and now get a crack at the Line Walker? OK. I don't think Jonas will mind that much. He knows the score that way. I'm so much older than him that I'm sort of expected to have a stable of lovers anyway. So, whenever you want. Just call."

It was a lot more blunt than he'd been expecting and was tempting, to say the least.

MH took over, ripping his control away and grinned.

"Fuck yes! If it wasn't for the obvious sloppy seconds I'd be doing you right now, over in those bushes." He pointed so she could see what he meant. "Damn, I wish I'd brought some rubbers with me. Well, next time, we're totally doing it. I'll be in touch. Soon."

That got a giggle from the Vampire, but they both kept walking, and reached her door without Zack saying anything to take that idea back. It wasn't like he felt bad about the idea, or like it was cheating on Lenore, but there was only so much energy he had for the day and he really was going to save it for his girlfriend that way. Temptations aside, it was Valentine's Day and while he might not know anything about being with a girl for that particular holiday himself, he had a feeling that sleeping with other women was kind of bad form, all things considered.

Then, he was probably being a moron too, since Vampires had totally different rules that way.

Rebekah got dropped off at her door, since Zack wanted to see Keeley's other house, which was nice enough, but not a mansion either, and then he got back to the shop half an hour later, since the route was a little convoluted. So much so that he actually ended up at a Node in Washington D.C. as the fastest way back. He wasn't certain, since the thing wasn't huge and didn't seem to be guarded or anything, but he thought it might be in the Smithsonian. The old man guarding the room he was in probably didn't notice him leaving, but that was the name on the arm of his uniform.

The whole thing had taken him until a bit after nine and Lisa was glaring at him a little when he got in, ready to scold him for being late, it seemed. He sighed first and shook his head.

"Sorry, delivery. I had to pick someone up in Maine and take her to Arizona." He was about to say more when the woman, still looking a bit thin just smiled at him and took her hands off of her hips.

"I should have known it wasn't just you being lazy. We have the Trolleinkein Great One and their Head Shaman at ten, and then about one pick up per hour for the next three days. Per work hour, that is. I told everyone that you were off at seven and that they could just hold the meeting if they had to, for everyone to get there." She smiled again, her blue dress looking new. She had a big silver belt on with a turquoise buckle, and regular pantyhose on underneath it. She actually looked pretty good. It was a thought that had MH ready to jump her bones right there in the office, though Zack held him back, if with some effort.

He didn't need to be fired after all.

What he did need to do was give Lenore her present, before something wacky happened like it falling out of his pocket in a far off land or something like that. He didn't need his life to turn into a sit-com after all. If he wanted that he'd let MH run the show all the time. To that end he smiled at Lisa.

"I'll be right back? I need to go and talk to Lenore." He carefully didn't mention why, because he had a feeling that letting the recently dumped woman know what he was doing might be rubbing salt in the wounds. He just hoped that his tiny bouquet of flowers coming later didn't do that too. He fretted over that while he walked out the front, which hadn't been locked in days, so that anyone in the Mall could get in touch with them instantly. Almost no one had come in, but it was open to them, just in case.

He didn't make a big production out of it, just handing the box to Lenore across her counter. It probably wasn't enough, but she smiled at him kindly at least.

"What's this?"

"Valentine's Day present. I know, I need to do more and have plans for flowers to be delivered later, but several women will be getting them, mainly so that I can sleep with them later. Or at least so they'll feel loved. This is just for you, since you're special." It was, again and like always, too much information, but Lenore acted like it was a perfectly normal kind of thing to say.

Opening it her eyes lit up.

"A necklace? With emeralds? My favorite stone. Thank you! This is lovely Zack. I fear I haven't remembered to get you anything yet at all. Vampires don't really do Valentine's Day, what do you want?" She looked at him closely, as if expecting an outrageous demand.

"I think that the traditional gift is sex. I give you flowers and chocolates, or in your case blood, maybe some jewelry and you give me sex. I could have that wrong, since this is the first time I've gotten this far with a woman that I'm actually seeing."

She gave him a blank look for a few seconds and then nodded.

"I can do that. It sounds like far more fun for me than for you, over all, but..." She threw up her hands and smiled hugely. "If it's the way of things, then we should follow along too."

Then, after getting his help in putting the necklace on, she made him a treat. It was filled with cherries and folded fluffy cream, making the whole thing look and taste like a cloud. It fit the day, and again, even with his large breakfast he was starving. It was as bad as when he'd really been without food for months even as he ate. He consumed the thing, but left before she could offer him another, not wanting to look like a pig.

"Do I have a tapeworm, or what?" He said the words out loud, but was in the central hallway, which meant that, while fifty different beings probably heard him say it, no one answered that he knew of. That meant that he got back into the store in time for two things to happen. The first was Hildegard coming in right behind him and clapping him gently on the shoulder.

"Line Walker! I have come to guide you to my lands, since the others all guard their Christmas gifts too jealously, even in this time of need."

She had to explain that, how she'd been picked to come, since she was willing to spend her gift, in order to arrange the pick-up of her people's leaders. The giant girl held her heavy featured head up proudly, as if it were an honor.

Before he could explain that she wouldn't have to use her gift for it, the front phone rang, which he answered, since that was normally store business. This time it wasn't though. It was a Demon.

More, it was one that he didn't know well at all.

Chapter eleven

"Is this the Line Walker?" The voice said, not being at all familiar at first. Not until he clarified the situation. "This is Gregor. We met at Finias's wonderful Christmas party? I suggested an arrangement for some work?"

This was all said as if it was a question, or as if Zack might have, somehow, forgotten the bespectacled and priestly looking man.

"The Cleric. I remember. How are you doing?" It couldn't hurt to be polite, Zack figured, even as Mirror Him was gibbering in the back ground, mainly repeating the word fuck, over and over again.

"Things are going well, to tell the truth. I do have a minor difficulty, like the ones that I mentioned before? There is a group of people, in a small and isolated village in Guatemala. Very good people, but there is a disease outbreak there and I'm known to be in Switzerland at the moment so I cannot quickly attend them myself. We had a shipment traveling by plane and boat, but an unforeseen storm has rather stopped it. There won't be time to send another shipment through normal means, I fear. Would it be possible to hire your services for the task?" He sounded concerned, and as if it were actually desperately important to the man, on a personal level. He was a Greater Demon though, not a man at all, and that meant...

Pretty much whatever he wanted it to, most likely. If he wanted Zack to walk into a trap, that would simply happen and probably wouldn't be something as simple as asking him to take medicine to needy people. Or maybe it would? What did he know about Greater Demons and what they did?

"I... Have to get the Trolleinkein Leader and their High Shaman right now, but after that I think I have an hour. I don't suppose you could get that stuff to a Node, could you? Also, how heavy is what I have to carry?"

There was no discernable pause at all, the man simply speaking as if he already knew what was going to be said exactly.

"Please hurry. I'll have an agent of mine, an Elth, since you are aware of that kind of being, waiting at the Mage Embassy. I'll have instructions for you that will get you to the correct person in the village you need to go to. What is your price for this?" The words all flowed smoothly, as if they were just regular conversation.

Zack really hated this part. Something clicked in him though, so he decided to simply try and run with it.

"A favor. One to be of a similar nature. You can decline it at the time, if you want. If I need it, I'll try to give you at least the same amount of warning you've given me." That sounded fair at least, and the Cleric made a noise that sounded like he was fine with it.

"Very good. That is what we will do. Please let me know when it's all done? Or if there are problems and you can't finish it?"

"Right. I'll get to things now. My real job first. Can I get a number for you?"

That didn't take long and he jogged to the back, Hildegard moving along with him, clearly holding back tremendously. She was doing no more than walking it seemed.

He explained what was needed of her, which was something very different than he'd ever tried before, but it felt like he could do it.

"I'd like you to think of your home. Plus your leader or High Shaman if you can. I'm going to try to use that to locate them. If it works..." Then it would be a miracle. The girl was smart, and didn't question that he could do it, and even let him hold her hand, in case that would help.

The very shocking thing there, was that it really did. He could feel the place in his mind. It still took a bit of searching, but he had the correct Node not five minutes later, he thought and there were two beings, both very large and dressed in what seemed almost Polynesian island like gear, with grass skirts and bone necklaces. One was a female, he thought, but they didn't look that much like Hilde did. In fact they looked a little wild and rough. The one his right was all white, or at least an eggshell color, and the other was brown, with liberal white of his own on his shoulders and face. What skin he could see was white though, like his own.

"Let's give this a try then. If nothing else it will be good practice for later. On three, hop." He counted down and she did it perfectly, as if she had been her entire life.

When he stepped through and she landed, the darker one stepped back a bit, but the other clapped her huge hands once and started speaking in a guttural language that seemed a bit like German, but wasn't. He didn't think so at least. Then, would Zack have known ancient Germanic languages if he heard them? It didn't seem all that likely, come to think of it.

Hildegard however was very excited and waited for the woman to stop speaking, then stepped out of the way. She was clearly explaining things however, very quickly, and with enough force that both the high ranking officials of her people stiffened a bit, then moved to step forward, extending their arms for him to take.

Hilde growled and waved them back, as if they were being silly.

"One, two, three!" She spoke loudly, doing a good imitation of his own voice, if not exactly right, being a little high pitched, and hopped exactly on three. Then she showed them again, without waiting, several more times.

The Shaman went first, letting him take her lower arm, since she was much larger than he was. She missed the hop the first time, but not the second, which was good enough. The Leader got it on the first try, but stumbled a little when they got into the back room of Candles and More. They both waited however, which was good, since he had no way of explaining what he wanted from them at all. They'd be really smart, but you still had to have context for hand gestures to work, and he didn't know if they really did yet.

Back in her homeland Hildegard stood looking around the open glen they were in. It was just headed to twilight there, he thought, and the air smelled of strange plants, but it wasn't a bad thing, just a different one.

"We need to get their things for them." He didn't want to rush the girl, but she was clearly in a hurry, trying to carry everything at once. It wasn't going to work, since it seemed that the Shaman had needed working material for her job that were in a giant case that was made of very thick, and well carved, wood.

Hildegard just didn't have enough hands for it, and the comparatively tiny and weak human next to her wasn't going to be much help at all that way, it was clear. She looked sad about leaving it, but Zack shrugged.

"So we make two trips. Not a problem."

That got her to seem a bit different, but she did it, and then helped the others take their things down the Mall to the power lifting gym. They didn't say thank you, particularly, but both pounded him on the back, which he took to be the intent. That or they'd decided to kill him covertly, under the guise of pretending to be friendly. They seemed like nice enough people, even if they were a bit different looking. Not everyone was as friendly as all that, he knew from personal experience.

It didn't take a long time at least, since Hilde had kind of kicked butt at her part of things, so Zack was able to stick his head into Lisa's office and try to explain the next bit to her, just hoping it wouldn't destroy the schedule for the day.

"Hey, um, right." He said it as if that might be a good way to start a hard conversation. "I have to get off to Switzerland to pick up some medicine for people in Guatemala now?" He looked down and then shrugged. "It's for a Greater Demon, The Cleric. I don't know if it's a trap, or what, or like, eighty times harder than it sounds, or... I just don't know, but from the sound of it those people will be dying soon if they don't get their stuff, so I have to try."

Lisa just tilted her head and looked pissed. It was a pretty strange thing for her to be doing, all things considered, but at least she explained, after a few moments.

"Freaking Demons. Don't let them kill you Zack. We kind of need you, in case you haven't noticed. Even if all you ever did was keep the store clean, you're too valuable to waste on them. Do you know when you'll be back?"

He didn't. It sounded like a simple pickup, but the odds were there would be a long walk into the village and another to get out, in a place he wasn't familiar with at all. He tried to explain that, but she shook her head, looking upset again.

"We have to get with the Ettarian Ambassador at noon. I set it up so that you'd actually know where to take people. That gives you roughly an hour." She tried to look fierce, instead of sad about it, but they both knew that probably wasn't going to happen.

Still, no harm in trying, so Zack waved.

"Sure. Let me see what I can do about that?"

Leaving without saying anything else, he found the Swiss Node that had a tiny woman standing in front of it. She was bigger than Merry was, and had metallic hair that looked silver, with matching eyes. It made for a creepy and eerie combination, but when he stepped through the Node to find her alone in the back of the large and otherwise empty space, she bowed, which seemed humble and friendly.

"Line Walker." It wasn't a question at least and she pointed to a heavily constructed red back pack with a white cross on it. "The Cleric asked me to deliver this to you, for those in need. I have a photograph of the man you need to find. Is that sufficient for your task? I also have map coordinates and a GPS device, if that is preferable?"

Zack looked at the woman and realized that her eyes were solid silver, which made it look like she couldn't possibly see him. That wasn't the case, since she tracked him easily.

"I think the photo will work best, actually. How heavy is that bag?" It looked big, but that turned out to be deceptive, since it was filled with some kind of packing material, so the whole thing was only about twenty or thirty pounds. It would be a pain to carry through a jungle, but he'd manage.

The tiny hand came out with what looked to be a string of photo booth pictures, all of a man that looked to be about thirty-five or so, sitting alone. He wasn't great looking, and had thinning hair on top, but he had a nice smile and was clearly fighting that from his face in half the pictures. One was missing, which was probably the one used for his passport.

Once he had it, Zack carefully got the pack onto his back, which really spread the weight very nicely, as he'd learned with Judy's gear a few days before, and then stood in front of the Node, making sure to give the pictures back first. He wouldn't need them now, after all. He had to focus to find the man, who was in a tent, surrounded by sick and half dead looking people. Most of them being kids, he realized. Once he had that, he tried something that he'd only done once before, and pushed at the fabric of space on the other side, using the power of the Node to rupture it there, allowing him to travel directly to the space next to the man.

If it had been a movie, doing that would have gotten a gasp, or possibly screams as people saw a man walk out of nothingness. In real life it never happened that way of course. Most people couldn't see things that were too strange, being too tied up in what they thought reality was. In this case the reality of dying, or knowing people that were going to soon.

"Help me get this off. It has the medical shipment you're waiting for?" Zack said it to the man, who did jump then, going wide eyed. He didn't speak though, rolling something off in a language that Zack didn't speak. It sounded like Spanish, but he couldn't prove that.

"Sorry. Here, take this?"

The man unpacked the red bag quickly and then closed his eyes and spoke in a totally different language then. Again not anything that Zack knew, but there were tears in his eyes and he called out, which got people to run into the tent, wearing masks. That was an interesting point that he hadn't thought about. Had he been exposed to this plague or whatever it was?

He had no way of asking, and the people, there two men and a woman that ran in speaking French, didn't seem concerned about that overly. They just got the little glass vials of yellow out and started giving people shots. He got one, when the woman just turned and stabbed him in the arm, whatever that meant.

Then the first man nodded at him and went to work.

It was good enough for Zack, so he tried to figure out how the heck he was supposed to get out of there before noon.

It required jogging, but for a chaotic Node system, South America was actually pretty well organized, which meant he only had to travel about a mile on foot, gasping a bit the whole time in the heat, and then got to a Node...

In New Mexico.

It was still a major crime scene, which meant that there were police walking around, and detectives as well as government types, if he could tell that kind of thing from the movies. One saw him, and he nearly panicked as the man walked over, but instead of questioning why he was there, he just nodded, since it was inside the controlled area, at the back of a clothing store.

"Finding anything?" The man, who was dressed like a regular Police officer said, trying very hard not to seem bored.

Zack shook his head.

"Not at all. This place is a mess. Even the building construction isn't quite right. I need to go soon, myself. When do you get off?" It was an odd thing to say, like he was hitting on the man, but all of it was true, which meant he could speak the words. The guy tensed a bit and moved back, not realizing that Federal Agents didn't walk around in Tennis shoes too often, it seemed.

"Bout six..."

Zack just nodded, and sighed.

"Well, back to it then. Keep your eyes open." Then he walked to the Node and waited for the man to turn around, stepping through to Candles and More instantly.

Mirror Him mocked him, but it was pretty light, considering everything that had just happened.

'Hey sailor, when do you get off shift? I can come over and show you a real good time...' It was classic MH, so Zack just looked around and realized he had ten minutes still, according to the clock on the wall.

"Made it!" There was a pleased lilt to his voice, because he'd honestly thought it would have taken him a lot longer than it had to do that. The bit with the cop had been scary, but not too bad. The man had just spoken with him after all, and not been unfriendly.

Lisa came out and then let her eyes go wide, pretending to wipe her brow.

"Seriously? Not bad time then. Yavvel will be here in a bit. I didn't cancel the meeting or anything. He's kind of large... and I'm not sure if dynamic jumping things are exactly the type of thing he's into. Maybe we should get some help for that?"

Nodding Zack smiled.

"Ask for Hildegard at the Trolleikein Embassy. She did really well earlier. Barb can take over at five, if we have anyone then. I need to call a Demon about some medicine, right now." It sounded far more awkward than if he could have said it was about a horse, but things were what they were.

He went to the front for that, and got the man almost instantly.

"Mr... Cleric?" Greater Demons could be picky about their titles and all that, so it was important to use them. Keeley had mentioned that to him a couple of times, so it was probably not meant as a joke.

"Line Walker. Did all go well?"

"Not bad. The stuff has been delivered, and they're using it. I got one of the doses, so hopefully there was a little extra? I'd hate for some little kid to die because of me. It was interesting. Hot. Is all of South America like that?"

There was a low chuckle from the phone, and the voice that spoke wasn't unfriendly, but did correct him, on several points.

"Guatemala is in Central America, very near the equator, so it does tend to be warm. You were in no danger of catching the disease, which is a hemorrhagic blood born thing. As long as you didn't stuff any bodily fluids in your mouth, you would be safe, no matter who you are. There should be nearly twice the doses of the compound sent as needed however, so having yours will not harm anyone. Excellent. May I call on your services again?"

That part was less than fun, and MH really wanted him to say no, but the fact was, if the Greater Demon wanted him dead, he would be, so doing work for him for even trade wasn't that dangerous really. He hoped. It was probably wrong, but what else could Zack do? Insulting the man would be worse than almost anything else he could think of.

"Sure. Same kind of arrangement. If you want me to do something, I can refuse at the time, and if I take it, you'll owe me something comparable as a favor in the future." There was no law saying he had to call those markers in, right?

"Most fair." There was a pause, one that was for affect, it seemed. "Now, I hear that you and the Mistress of Souls are managing the new conflict that has arisen within the ranks of the Peoples? She's cheating you horribly as to your payment, by the way. Seizing control of a war, even a potential one, should gain you in the billions, not a few million. Unless, of course, it's also a pet project of yours? I hear that you've done wonders at assuming control over the Vampires? Very nicely done too, without bloodshed or threat at all. Well, I'll let you get back to your day. It's been good working with you, Line Walker."

"Cleric."

It was a strange conversation, and had a tone that said that he didn't think that Zack's dealings with Keeley were just about him surviving or something. She could have offered a popsicle in payment and Zack would have taken it for the same amount of work, just trying not to be her slave forever. The worst part was that she was also just Keeley too. She looked like a harmless and very pretty teen girl. Some of the others had to be a lot scarier. True, not the Greater Demons that he'd met, but that Balthias guy sure was. Zack was nearly positive that Greater Demons could seem like whatever they chose.

The Ettarian Ambassador wasn't just a little large, like Lisa had said, but prodigiously so. He wasn't tall, about Zack's own five-nine or ten, but he was at least four hundred pounds and moved slowly, with great folds of fat wiggling as he did it, his breath coming in panting hisses just from walking into the store. Thankfully Hilde came in at a much faster pace, looking ready for work.

"I am Yavvel S'tress Condiceit. Ambassador of the mighty Ettarian Empire!" Glancing at Zack he grinned at least, and then nodded, doing the same with Hildegard. "And neither of you care at all, do you? At least we're finally getting to host something, my people. I have come to show the way, though I do not know how. Is that your part in this?" The look went directly to Zack, as if he knew exactly who he was speaking to. That would be strange, but wasn't wrong, so got a nod in return.

"That's right. Basically I just need to know where I'm supposed to get people. We can do that in the back, I think?"

It was a lot harder with Yavvel than it had been with Hilde, because the man knew of three Nodes in his homeland, and a fourth that was just outside the natural bend in space and time that he'd had to come through in order to move into the Human lands, some fifteen years before. His memory of them was great, but the telepathic communication that he'd gotten about where things were to be held wasn't exact enough for him to know for certain.

It meant that Hilde had to carry the man physically, since Lisa had been right, he wasn't up to jumping at all, through each of the Nodes, more than once, so that they could then double back and walk around the various complexes to try and find someone that actually knew that a horde of strangers was about to descend on them.

Ettarians were not, as Zack at suspected, a bunch of overweight and slow people, but seemed to be tall on average, and fit. They all had blond or light brown hair and were attractive enough too. It seemed that Yavvel was sent because he was different. Short and prone to endocrine disorders. It let him fit in with the people of the United States, better than a seven foot plus Aryan looking fellow would have.

When they finally found someone that was able to help them, there was a bit of a shock, since they'd been told to expect no more than five individuals, not the nearly three hundred that were likely to come. The woman they were talking to hurried to the wall and touched it, bending her head to send a message.

'Alert, incoming dignitaries, all aid is needed at the conference section.' The voice in his head was hers, but in English this time. It was handy, but he had to wonder why she hadn't just done that before? Except, of course, that touching the wall seemed to send the thought out to everyone.

Yavvel translated it for them, his words a bit different than what the woman had used, seeming a lot less panicked.

"She's setting things up for the increased numbers. Everyone is most excited, I think." He smiled a lot and others came, thinking at each other at times, which Zack heard just fine, but Hilde didn't, for some reason. It was strange too, since they clearly all thought that she was in charge. Probably because she was so tall and intelligent and telepaths would realize that last bit easily enough.

It wasn't a bad idea, was it? She was really smart, and knew more about what each group might need or want for comfort than Zack did. He touched the tall and thin blonde woman on the arm, trying to project his thoughts to her on the matter, hoping they were clear.

She gasped, but didn't pull away at all.

'You send? I wasn't aware. Yes, we can do as you suggest, the rooms must be restructured, it will take time, perhaps...' That part wasn't clear at all, and they had to get Yavvel in on it.

He spoke out loud to include Hildegard at least, which was very polite of him.

"We need an extra day, before people come. It's unfortunate, but such things happen. Can the various leaders be brought here? We can transport them to the conference hall from this point. Myself and Hildegard will be needed to check the facilities before then, to ensure no missteps happen. Again." He did not seem pleased by the first set of problems, but Ursal, the tall woman, just made a face and touched Zack's arm.

'May we contact you directly? With use of an amplifier we can reach your lands, and it will increase the speed of converse.'

Thinking back, trying to be clear about it, Zack agreed. It might mean he'd have intruding thoughts in his head all the time... but oh, wait, he did already. He'd live. He let her know this, and while a bit baffled, the woman didn't act like he was insane.

Yavvel smiled a lot and seemed like he was about to be screamed at, but suggested they go back to the Mage Embassy to set things up. It turned out that he wasn't really wrong, because after Hilde set him down and he started to explain to Lisa, she flipped on the man.

"What the hell? I just spent a day getting everything set up! Keeping groups that hate each other apart, finding ones that are willing to be touched by Vampires and Trolleinkein, and working it out that way, smoothing ruffled feathers over the timing... and now you want me to redo the whole thing? Are you insane? I..." From her curled right fist it looked like she was about ready to beat the Ettarian Ambassador down, but she didn't start swinging. Instead she yelled. "Argh!"

It was loud enough that half the Mall had to have heard her. Possibly literally, given how keen some of them were that way. Zack didn't try to sooth her. She was right and the very fact that the Ettarians hadn't been planning for everyone to come, only a few people, who were probably already on hand, meant that the whole thing had been worked out as some kind of scam in the first place. A sham meeting, one way or the other. To what end though? No one would have gone along with wanton killing based on something like that, would they? Had it just been about buying time to let things cool down? Or something else that Zack didn't understand at all?

It seemed to him that a good, solid meeting, with people that mainly wanted to set things right would work better than anything else. Unless it didn't, and people got into fights and started something bigger.

Unfortunately he didn't have a clue at all as to what would happen, and now Lisa was going to have to redo everything. That meant being stressed and getting yelled at, she assured them all, glaring at Yavvel as she did it. Like it was his fault?

"And I don't need that right now. Not at all."

Zack nodded a bit, but didn't speak, since suggesting that she better not relapse wasn't going to really help, was it? It was part of her job, but at least she didn't have to do it all alone now. She had him, and Bob, to round things out. Jennifer and Hiram. It might not be the dream team, but it wasn't alone, either. They were due in shortly too, which he hoped would help.

Yavvel made his escape, back to his own Embassy, which was on the upper level. His people ran the electronics shop, which was a bit like a Radio Shack in a real Mall, except had useful things in it, and component parts for do it your-selfers. They also didn't take down all your information for the NSA each time you bought a battery. Zack had actually done part of his Christmas shopping there and was intending to see about getting a bigger, and much nicer, television from them too. The people that worked there weren't all really tall, so it had thrown him off a bit at first.

Lisa started making calls, and even with her door shut, it was clear that she was being yelled at on about half of them. That made Zack wince, but there wasn't a lot else they could do about it, since the Ettarians just weren't going to be ready.

It was nearing two when he and Hildegard got to the front of the store, so he got on the phone and ordered some lunch for all of them, hoping he got something close to what Lisa would like. She ate, he knew that, but what she normally wanted he had no clue at all.

Conrad brought it down, and seemed to be happy enough.

"Leif actually got things fixed before we were back, and didn't try to send off to home for replacements. I didn't think he would, since that would make him look like an imbecile. Poor Kent is in for a time however, for damaging us. Beatings and the like. It was his fault, but he didn't mean to do harm." It was all said like Zack would know who that was, but Hilde got it and winced a bit.

"The Hamburger Elth? That's not good. It's one of my favorite places to eat here. He won't be too damaged, will he?"

That got a laugh. A low thing that sounded nearly sinister.

"Nay. Oh, he'll taste the lash, but Leif isn't going to be doling the punishment himself. Not until his arms grow back. Remind me never to get on the wrong side of a Trickster, if it comes up?"

Zack just nodded, trying to remember that for himself. Because, as far as he knew, his arms didn't grow back at all.

Chapter twelve

The others, thankfully, all started coming in about three, like they were supposed to, with Hiram being the first one through the door, then Bob. Jen was a bit later, since she had to come from school, and brought her homework with her in a clear plastic backpack. That was so she couldn't take weapons or bombs to class. When she'd first told him that, Zack had thought she was kidding, but it was apparently a thing now and all the kids had them. Not by choice either.

It made him glad that he'd been home schooled.

Bob was in the back, taking his turn being shouted at, meaning Lisa got to eat something, while Hiram went over the store itself to keep it tidy and Jennifer did complicated math that was beyond what Zack could do at all.

Hilde stood and stretched a bit, then smiled big enough so that her heavy canine teeth showed.

"At least I got to use my gift to go home. I would have liked to stay longer, but someone had to retrieve the Shaman and our Leader. This is a good thing and a kindness, allowing us to pay for their passage with work. Am I needed at the moment however? I should go and see to my front desk duties if not." It was what she did, running the desk, being that she was so cute as she'd said, compared to the others. She wasn't wrong there either.

'Thata boy Zack. Now just get her to bend over and...' MH didn't finish the thought.

Zack got that the guy was horny, but he'd been hitting the sexual stuff a little hard for some reason, lately. It wasn't that much more than normal, but enough that it was becoming apparent. He'd have to ask about that when he got a chance.

'Except you won't, will you? You're walking around just working constantly, not even knowing why. If you aren't going to go out and have some fun, you could at least let me have some every now and then, you know? Get out to a club, or go on a nature hike that doesn't have me searching the bushes for anti-government rebels. Anything. Paint a freaking picture... Macramé. I don't really care, just do something before my head explodes from boredom.' The hiking line got Zack thinking, since he could use more exercise.

"I should take up weight lifting. That way I could walk with more than thirty pounds some day." He spoke out loud, not really thinking about it, and was shocked when Hilde clapped suddenly, instead of looking at him funny.

"Yes! I will get you a trainer and arrange for a time. Perhaps three times a week to start? That will give you some chance to heal, between times. How exciting! Yes!" She didn't wait for him to say anything else, practically running from the store, which was just a walk for her, but still quicker than he could have gone.

It was a good idea, but MH sighed in his head and sounded miserable. 'Not what I meant. Not at all.'

There was no name calling at least, which was a good thing.

Then, other than tension wafting off of the back room, from all the phone calling. Nothing happened until about four, when the florist got there, pounding on the back doors of places, since that's what Zack had suggested they do. The woman that came in to the candle shop smiled and passed things to Lisa and Jen, which meant that they both stood there, blinking for a bit, having not been expecting anything at all, it seemed.

Lisa read her card and nodded, then moved in and gave Zack a big hug.

"Thanks. This means a lot. I... Well, it's been a day. I hate this holiday."

Jennifer hugged him too, and kissed him on the cheek, which Hiram saw as soon as he walked into the back, glaring suddenly. He did soften when he saw the red Mylar heart balloon that went with the little flower arrangement. It was mainly daisies, instead of roses, since he really wasn't trying to get the girl into bed. Lisa had a rose. It was yellow and not red, for much the same reason. No balloon for her. She got a giant chocolate chip cookie on a stick.

The ex-thief just sized up the situation and snorted, a bit disgusted sounding.

"Kiss-up. I suppose for arbor day you're going to get them little trees to plant too?" He sounded skeptical.

It was a great idea though, wasn't it?

"No, I'll get everyone little trees. You can help me pass them out. Good thinking. You're a genius Hiram, you know that?"

"Sure I do. But does anyone appreciate me? Nope. It's always just checking the wallet and making sure they have their visa card on them. Like I'd take that without the PIN?"

On the good side it meant that Zack was going to be allowed to go home a bit early for once, since there didn't seem to be any pressing need for a sales clerk, what with the Mall being shut down, but it wasn't going to happen, he realized, about the time that Kaitlyn called.

Sounding like a boy.

"Hey Zack. Could I get a trip to Keeley's? She said that you needed to be ready to go out to dinner too. She's driving?" There was a hopeful tone to his voice, which meant that Kyle thought that Zack might just say no, even if he didn't want that for whatever reason.

"Sure. We can leave from here." He tried not to sound defeated at least. After all, it was part of the arrangement he'd made with Keeley, and it wasn't exactly hard, compared to some things. He just wasn't that great in social situations. Plus it would probably mean talking to her mom, and trying to explain everything.

It didn't take Kyle long to get in the door, since he was already at Westfield. He was dressed nicely, but more casually than Zack was, in jeans and t-shirt, but with a nice black jacket over it. The shirt was a deep red, and the shoes were designed for looking sharp, all black and shiny, not for walking. Zack had to hope that he was dressed all right for it. Also that no one would ask him too many questions, since... Well, he didn't know what to say if they did.

The trip was a bit of a walk, but Arizona was already getting dark and cool, so it wasn't miserable or anything like that. Kyle kept up a steady stream of chatter the whole time, and very carefully didn't touch Zack at all. It was good, because while he wasn't gay, the guy was good looking enough to cause him to freak a bit, if they got too close. It was a thing he'd dealt with before, Kyle, so he handled it like a pro.

"So, double date. Nothing fancy, burgers and a school thing. I have no clue what it is. A basketball game? I mean I know what that is, but not how it's played. They didn't teach us that one at little Alede school." He made it sound like that was a normal thing too.

"Me either, in my sheltered home schooling. You should claim that too, probably. That way everything you don't know can be written off as your parents not being the best ever. If it comes up."

"Point. Are we there yet?" He looked at his feet, but wasn't limping or anything, which got Zack to wave lazily in the correct direction.

"There."

The place was a simple ranch style house, and nice, being fairly new, but it wasn't a mansion or even an eighth as large as her other place at all. He marched up to the door, ready to take his relationship lumps with Sherri, but after knocking it was Keeley that opened the door for them, no mom in sight.

Clearly she was guarding her away someplace, to keep her safe, from the potential of marauding Mirror Hims.

"Hi! Come in." He got a hug, but Kyle didn't, which Zack figured was her marking out which guy was for the slightly round faced girl standing back in the living room. The place had rifts and shortcuts all over it, he realized, now that he had a chance to look. Probably from Keeley popping in and out all the time, forcing temporary Nodes into existence.

She looked great, naturally, but was dressed down and not wearing much makeup at all. That meant her friend, who was a little better than average looking, but bumped up a few places due to good clothing and artful face painting, looked nearly as cute. Kyle moved to her instantly, as if drawn by a magnet.

"Why, hello. Are you Becky? I'm Kyle, your date for the evening. If Keeley had told me you were so hot I would have insisted on it being a real date, instead of just trying to make this other guy jealous." He really seemed to mean it too.

Zack didn't have to say anything, and Keeley didn't do much more than suggest they leave a bit early, since the game was going to start soon, it being a school night.

"Not that I know why they decided to put the early season games on Thursdays this year. Or, well, I have some guesses, which all involve a string of murders that took place a few months ago, and trying to keep the city's youths under control. If that's the plan, it's a horrible one, of course. It just means that even more people will be off running around without direction tomorrow, but what can we do? Mitch needs to be schooled, and tonight is when the school district decided it should be done." Then she practically marched out to her car, which was... Marvelous.

The outside looked like it had been beaten by a hobo trying to get at its precious gasoline for drinking, then fixed. Several times. It was a purplish-red color, but not shiny or pretty at all and had primer spots in half a dozen places. That was all fake, he could tell, since there were no warps or rifts carried with it from real damage. It was just paint. When it was turned on it started instantly and made so little noise he almost missed that it had happened, except for the faint vibration of the thing.

So, in short, it looked like a piece of shit that someone's poor mother would buy them for their birthday, but was basically a race car inside. Even if it had been the first one, it still would have been better than his non-existent vehicle, so was impressive that way too.

Becky was in the back with Kyle, who kept lightly touching her, flirting just a bit, but not actually taking it further than that, yet. Becky was clearly interested, but they kept their voices low, as Keeley explained the whole thing to them.

"Mitch does the game announcements for the home events. I'll strategically seat us so that he can't help but notice his hot friend, Becky, sitting with Kyle. Zack, we need to hold hands and make it really clear that this is the most special Valentine's Day ever. I have some props in the back for that. Mitch has taken it into his head to like me, not seeing that Becky is clearly the better choice. The idea is to make her look valuable, and me very taken. Then, after the game, we're all going out to King's Burgers, which is a local place. Not really nice enough for a date, but Gary, another friend of ours, has made a point of getting everyone, including the announcer and the sound crew, to head out there after every game so far this season. That's where Zack and I will leave for a while, so that you two can be 'alone' and really turn the heat up. Tonight the plan is for Mitch to notice it. Pull out the stops, Kyle. Or at least half of them. King's is a family place after all." She sounded a little too efficient for a school girl, but the others seemed to just accept it.

Zack cleared his throat though.

"Of course, there's the part where I look about thirty. Aren't I just a tad old to be hanging all over you? What will your friends think. Or, for that matter, the police?"

She drove with her eyes straight ahead, focusing on going exactly the speed limit, there was a light laugh from the back, but she spoke normally, for everyone to hear.

"I can fix that. We'll do it before we go in. You'll look a bit old still, but close enough to pass for the night, just being my secret college age sweetie. Probably just in it for the sex. You know how your type is." She shook her head slightly, but smiled at the same time.

"You're not wrong, except for the part where I want to get you into bed. Too young for me. So..." He locked it down then and managed not to speak about possible wars, Vampires or most of his life. It meant that they had to listen to a recounting of how well the basket ball team was doing that year, but he could put up with that for an evening.

Before they got out of the car, Keeley pretended to put makeup on him, but was actually running a strange magical device over his skin. He could feel it working, tightening things and smoothing the lines that existed around his eyes. When she held up a little mirror for him, he did look a lot younger. About twenty or so, instead of like a student there. Kyle could pass, but if Zack were the Principal and saw him hanging all over Keeley, he still would have kicked him right the heck out.

He paid for all of them, since it seemed right, and wasn't that expensive. If he were taking Keeley out on a date, that just made sense. Of course, he was also a cheapskate it seemed, but at least he'd gotten her some flowers, which were in the back of the car, like she'd mentioned. Becky had some too, but they weren't as nice. They took them in, showing off a little.

"It's a bit obvious, but I doubt that Mitch will pick up on it that clearly. He's a bright boy, but not the kind to think of anyone as trying to trick him like this."

The crowd in the pull out bleachers was larger than he'd thought it would be, being nearly seventy people. Zack remembered the plan, so took Keeley's hand to help her sit, wondering which of the three people at the table in front of them would be Mitch. It probably wasn't the older one with glasses, since he was about forty, so one of the others. On the good side they both looked normal. One was dressed a bit funny, wearing a brightly colored shirt and camo pants, but he seemed to not be a secret Shifter or Demon, so it probably didn't go beyond having a poor sense of fashion.

Remembering the plan, he held Keeley's hand and moved a little closer to her, like he would have if she'd been his girlfriend and not jailbait. It got noticed. The important part was twofold... and then three. The first one that saw them was one of the Cheerleaders, all of whom were sitting in the front row. This one had red hair and looked adorable in her little skirt outfit. She saw him and then looked away for a bit, glancing back.

He waved and called out, as if it were a normal thing, not knowing why.

"Hally!"

That got her to smile back and wave, but she looked a little troubled. That got Mirror Him to take over, cuddling with a Greater Demon or not.

"Are you and Hally doing it?" The bluntness was a bit sharper than needed, but he kept going, not giving control of the mouth back. "Because if so, I totally want in on the three-way action there."

That got Becky to look at him like he was a monster and Kyle to cover his mouth, probably to hide the fact that it wasn't a horrible idea really. Not for an Incubus.

Being a great guy, MH dropped him back in to do the damage control.

Keeley just winked at him, which made her seem a lot older than her real years, which was probably the point. "It's not exclusive, but not known here yet either."

Even though he'd said it loud enough that several people heard them. Meaning it might well be all over school the next day. That would keep the Demon happy, he thought, directing it at MH with more sternness than he usually bothered with.

The whole thing served to get one of the boys at the table to turn, and elbow the strangely dressed one, who turned to look himself.

Keeley smiled and leaned into Zack like she meant it, and was having a grand old time.

"Showtime, Kyle."

What the boy did next was so artful that Zack wasn't certain he got it all. It wasn't handsy or anything like that, involving a loving gaze that got Becky to look back and actually reach out to touch him. It only took a moment, but Mitch, if he was the bright shirt guy, looked like someone had taken his puppy suddenly.

It was a good thing, Zack thought.

The game was a blow out and even though it was about as boring as anything he'd ever seen, involving a lot of running back and forth and tossing a ball, Raintree High won by enough points that, when they failed to score in the fourth section it was pretty clear they were actually stopping themselves, so their opponents wouldn't be too embarrassed. It made him wonder which would have been worse, losing by a hundred points, or knowing that the other team pitied you like that?

They got to the burger place about fifteen minutes later and were set up, complete with decorations at their booth, and food, which was actually decent for the kind of establishment it was, in time for the team to show up, with, as promised, Mitch and the other guy in tow.

The players were all a bit happy and rowdy, but didn't trash the place, and they had most of the cheer squad with them, which, Zack noticed, included a Greater Demon. One of the guys on the team was clearly different too, but he didn't know how really. He'd been the game high scorer however, which probably meant something. They all stayed back, with about a third of them looking over far too frequently for it to be casual.

Kyle and Becky did their thing, and it was working pretty well, he thought, though he had to make himself remember to act a bit more friendly with Keeley. That and laugh at the right times.

In all, he had no clue if it would work, but on the drive home, his real opinion came out, sounding a bit more grown up than he'd intended it to. Or crude, if anyone wanted to look at it that way.

"You know Becky... If that Mitch guy can't see how wonderful you are, maybe you should move on? Half those guys were checking you out in there, while they were sitting next to Cheerleaders, so I don't think it would be that hard for you to find someone." It was probably forty kinds of rude to say that, but the girl just sighed, loudly enough for him to hear from the front.

"I know. You're right, but I just wish... I'm stuck, I guess. When we first met I was a bit heavier and kind of thought no one would want me, so I tried to be his friend. Then Keeley comes along this year and she went from hot nerd to even hotter trendy girl, still with straight A's and I can't compete, can I? I should just look someplace else, but he's all I think about."

He really wanted to not talk then, but words came out anyway. Worse they were his, not MH's. That at least would have let him protect his delicate sense of internal balance, but no, the truth just popped out. In all its sticky and evil sounding glory.

"I bet Kyle could get you to forget him if you want. Or heck, you could just go and offer to blow the guy. If he isn't a player or anything like that, I bet that would make him like you a lot more. It would me, and I'm betting that I'm not that different from most men on that score." He wanted to slap a hand over his mouth, but Mirror Him came out then and...

Did a much better job than he'd been doing.

"Not that you really should do that. But there are ways to get his attention. You aren't a guy after all, and this friendzone stuff only holds as long as the girl isn't willing to take it to the next level. I say you use what you all did here tonight and give him one more chance. Ask him out and flat out tell him he's getting lucky at the end. If he says no, then you have your answer. It will mean that you need to move on, even if it sucks. Of course, if he says yes, you have to do it, so, it depends on how ready you are. If you don't want to have sex with him, then it probably isn't love, right?"

No one said anything for a long time, but finally Keeley sighed.

"True enough. Think on that, but let's finish my plan first. Kyle, you can switch schools and come to Raintree for a half year, right?"

"If I can commute from home."

That made Zack want to groan, since he got the idea there, didn't he? The boy wouldn't be living with Rebekah and Elis, would he? It would mean constant early mornings, at least on week days, to get him into place.

Keeley liked it well enough at least.

"There we go. That should ramp up the desirability factor a good bit if nothing else. Too bad he had to leave early like that. It cut my evening in half."

The boy had seemed upset, for some reason, and left shortly after eating his burger.

Zack kind of thought that was about Keeley really, not Becky. It was just based on who he'd been looking at.

He was looking forward to getting out of there directly, but a certain teen aged Demon Girl had other plans, and dragged him to her bedroom to talk, leaving Kyle and Becky in the living room. He got ready for a scolding, having run his mouth when he clearly shouldn't have, but she just sat on the edge of her bed, and gestured for him to take the other side.

"This is just to give them a chance to get to second base in there. You weren't wrong about the situation really. Mitch isn't a bad guy, but he's not understanding reality well right now and letting his hormones lead. I came in with a nice looking presentation, and he failed to notice that Becky is right there, ready to do just about anything he could want. She's lost weight for him, and I had Bente in to help with her makeup earlier. You're right of course, if she'd just blow him, he'd be hers, but that isn't going to happen easily. That's down to her mother being a bit of a drunken slut, not anything else. She's terrified that means she's going to end up the same way. Still, you put the idea out there, so maybe she'll either jump on it or look for someone else?"

Zack nodded, but didn't exactly understand why she was bothering to go through all the trouble. Not really.

"Couldn't you just, I don't know, make him like her?"

The Greater Demon nodded, but carefully looked away.

"Zack, I could. For that matter you could, and so could half the people we know. Hally or Eve could probably manage it with no more than words. Your solution, while a bit blunt, would allow Becky to do it herself. Mitch isn't really resistant to her, merely hopeful for someone else that he simply isn't going to get. Me. But I was asked to aid her, not fix her life. Besides, I really don't go around seizing young boy's minds and making them into love slaves for other people. I try to keep that sort of thing to myself." She smiled and looked at the clock on her computer table. "I notice that you need to keep up with your energy circulation work? Your flow has nearly stopped again. You barely seem Human at all at the moment. Why don't you do that now, while we wait for the others?"

"Um, sure?" It wasn't like he'd been hoping for sex from the girl, but she could have at least turned a T.V. on or something. Instead he spent forty minutes breathing first into his stomach, letting his chest expand and slowly reversing the whole thing, visualizing and even feeling, energy moving through him the whole time.

Keeley nodded finally. "Almost like a real boy and everything. Let's go catch them in the act? I think that Becky is about to get off and the embarrassment of us seeing her in the throws of it will tie her to me. I know, that seems backwards, but it will work." She led the way, moving almost silently the whole time.

The carpet was beige and thick enough that even he didn't sound like an elephant walking into the living room. It was really clear that Keeley had been right, since Becky had her shirt all the way off and was sitting topless on the sofa, with her pink panties around her ankles, with Kyle's hand working at her crotch. Perfectly it seemed. It was probably a bit pervy, but Zack felt himself start to get a bit turned on watching Kyle suck on her right breast, licking it delicately.

Her eyes were closed tight, but a few moments later she started shaking, her whole body involved in it, and she cried out gently as she orgasmed. It went on for a bit too, since Kyle clearly knew what he was doing. Which was milking the young woman for every bit of energy she could part with at the moment.

Then she actually screamed a little, a panicked yelp, when her eyes opened, and she fought to cover herself, failing by and large, since her clothing was too far away. She couldn't even run, with her panties around her ankles like they were. Kyle on the other hand, was fully clothed, and still looked satisfied. Probably from all the energy he'd just absorbed.

At least Keeley pretended to go wide eyed, and blushed, but Zack didn't, since... Well, clearly he was a pervert.

"Don't worry. You look hot. Um, if you two are done? I need to get home. I have work in the morning." His words didn't stop the awkward scrambling, but Kyle stood, then turned and kissed Becky on the lips, doing a better job of it than Zack had ever managed with anyone.

"Later?"

She nodded, clearly not thinking at all about her grand love of Mitch. Keeley showed them to the door, and pretended to be awkward, but winked at Kyle on the way out, when Becky couldn't see, having managed to head toward the bathroom.

"Good, that should about end that. She can see the use of sexuality now at least, I'm willing to bet. Now I just need to get with her and make it seem like this was a wonderful thing and not let guilt set in. Away with you two now... Away." The last bit was said with humor, but loudly enough that it was clearly meant for someone else as well. Becky was too far away however and if there were other people around, Zack didn't know about it. Then, why would he? There were the warps in space and the ones created by people when they moved, especially beings that were powered by magic, but...

The weird thing there was that he realized that Vampires had to be powered that way, and that was how they moved things, after a fashion, by bending the space within themselves, not by lifting things with muscular power. How he'd missed that before he didn't know. It was so clear, now that he thought about it. He could probably do that himself, at least a bit. He'd opened up little windows to places twice now, and that was moving space around, wasn't it?

Shaking his head to clear it, he started walking, Kyle following along happily.

"Becky's nice. I bet I can get her to sleep with me before she does Mitch. It's almost like she doesn't know what a teenage boy is really like inside or something. She keeps talking about him in terms of love, and respect. No matter how great a guy he is, he's still just a walking bundle of hormones and angst. If she put herself forward with him half as much as she did with me tonight, they'd be married by the time they were eighteen." He said it knowingly, as if they weren't about the same age anyway.

"Oh? And you aren't a bundle of hormones and angst?"

"Who me? The wonder Alede? Never." The nice looking guy smiled, and made a point of walking a little faster then, as if trying to outrun the obvious lie. It wasn't going to work, since he carried it with him. "So... Zack."

"Yes, Kyle?"

There was a weird look and the boy finally smiled a bit and shook his head.

"Never mind. I'll ask you later."

Then they went home.

Chapter thirteen

The house, when Zack finally got back to it, was both empty of everyone except for Judy, and an unholy mess. It was like a tornado had set down while he wasn't looking and the place had been torn up, spit back out and then stomped by a giant for fun. There might have been a little action from a large tracked vehicle in there too, just to keep things interesting.

"Surprise!" Judy said it as if he were supposed to be impressed by the whole thing. Oh, he did get the idea, and a lot of remodeling had happened, considering that they'd only just started. It was clear that about twenty people had been in working on things. He could see the rifts and eddies from the movements still. In a concentrated space, one that he was familiar with, it meant a lot. They'd probably even tidied a bit, before leaving.

The kitchen floor was torn up, but half of it had been replaced with nice tile made of shining wood. The far side of the room was all like that. They had a new stainless steel sink in place, but the water was still off. It was twice the size of the old one, and took up more counter area, which meant the old dishwasher that they'd never used anyway was gone. So was the stove and the refrigerator. The doors were gone from the cupboards too, and all the food had been moved. That was so the insides of the things could be refinished, though so far it was just a mess.

Judy was smiling, so she saw some kind of potential in it, no doubt.

"Come look downstairs!" She walked across the room and took him by the hand, leading him to the ugly green carpeted stairs, which smelled a little of damp and had dusty boot prints all over the thing that hadn't been there before. The twelve steps, four of which wrapped around to the left at the bottom seemed the same to him, other than the filth, but once actually down them, he saw it.

The place has been gutted. It had been four rough looking rooms, and was now two, but the wall that made a little laundry area was new and fresh looking, as well as larger than before. The old washer and dryer were gone and two new, much bigger and more powerful looking machines in silver metal had replaced them. The floor was the same, just being plain concrete, but it was clean and scrubbed, with racks along the wall for hanging clothing up and an ironing station, one that had a table that didn't fold up and three different machines in place for the job.

Like he ironed anything? It was probably a hint.

The rest of it was re-paneled and the floor was gone and replaced with what looked like marble tile. It was dark in color, but looked... Good. The only thing it lacked was new furniture. They hadn't had a lot down there, but the few chairs and the old mattress that had been stored there were just gone. Zack didn't ask, since even he'd thought that they belonged in a landfill.

The blonde actress was wearing sweats, blue work out pants with a light green t-shirt, and had her hair back in a ponytail. Her feet were covered with tennis shoes that had once been all white, but now looked like they'd been responsible for at least a little bit of the dirt on the carpeted steps. She didn't touch Zack at all, but seemed to be excited, rather than seeing the worst part of it all, so he tried to use that mindset himself. Kitchen aside, it did look pretty nice.

"Okay, I know that it's a bit rough so far, but this is being done at breakneck speed. We actually have some things coming for in here tonight. I paid for the special delivery. It's basically going to be a large sitting room. We'll get a television in and a sound system, in case anyone other than Bey ever uses it, or if he has guests to entertain. A wall of books too. He looks like a reader to me." She buzzed around, heading back up the stairs, her face fixed in a slightly manic and wide eyed grin.

Once back in the kitchen she waved at the back door, her head not even turned in that direction.

"Most of the stuff from in here is in the back. I scheduled a pick up every day, starting tomorrow, so you won't have to worry about that. I left the bathroom and living room for later, since we're staying here while the work is happening. So, what do you think? Is it great, or the best thing ever?" There was a hopeful look to her eyes, and he knew that almost anything he did would be wrong.

He actually felt a little shocked by the sudden changes, to be totally honest and he couldn't lie about it. Mirror Him just chuckled at his discomfort and didn't make a move to bail him out at all, which was a jerk move, for certain.

Finally, he looked at the kitchen as if thinking.

"So... are we going out for dinner?" That, even though it was a clear deflection, apparently counted as being nice enough for the moment, since she nodded heartily.

"That one. You probably won't want to sleep here tonight, not if you actually want rest, I mean. I don't need to sleep, since I got a few of the construction people to take a little break with me. Unfortunately I was recognized and don't know how much longer I'll be able to stay here. I'm thinking that I'll need to get a car and commute from Portland each day, which will buy a couple of weeks. As it stands we need to take a cab to get food, so no one watches you too closely. Vanishing into thin air is a neat trick, but do it too often and..." She didn't explain what would happen, but then didn't need to really. "Let me change really quick? This is the best part of being an actress. If I go out looking like a slob, I'm just trying to hide my identity, not being a lazy-bones."

It took half an hour, and he was actually kind of hungry, but called a cab to take them to the local Denny's. It wasn't exactly gourmet food, but Judy nodded and seemed happy enough with the choice, since going to the highest end place in the area would actually be a much larger giveaway than someplace like that. Plus, they had onion rings.

The meal went fine, for the most part, but the idea that her days of hiding in town were about over seemed pretty clear on the way out, since they were met by a half dozen cameramen. One at least tried to act like he was a legitimate reporter, and actually asked who Zack was, and why she was with him.

"This is my friend, Zachary." Then, actress and professional or not, froze, which did get Mirror Him to come out and play, his arm going around her playfully.

"As you might imagine, I've got all the good blackmail material on her. You know, some sex tapes, pictures of her dangling a baby chimp over the Grand Canyon, that sort of thing. This is absolutely not her platonically staying at a friend's house while I sleep on the sofa. Nope. Definitely not that one at all. Also, if you could get captions saying that I'm an internationally known playboy and not just some shlub that works in a candle shop as a clerk? That would be great, thanks." The five men and one woman, none of whom looked very special themselves took pictures, but laughed at the words.

"So, you're just a friend?"

MH sighed dramatically and pretended to start to squeeze Judy's butt, but stopped a good foot away and shook his head.

"Yeah. Her gay friend. Before you ask. I'm trying to get her to help put my new reworking of Dune forward, but so far she thinks it sucks. You know those Hollywood types, always trying to keep the little guy on the casting couch. It's a sad and horrible fate."

They had to wait for a cab, which meant that the paparazzo were able to keep watching them as they stood there feeling awkward. Judy didn't say a lot, but kept pretending to whisper to him and laugh, her hands on him the entire time. It was pretty clear she was making sure everyone knew he was at least bi, which was sweet of her. Mirror Him was chortling inside however.

'Oh, like it matters if they think you're a fruit? I'm sorry, I mean... What is the polite word for gay now? Anyway, they won't even get who you are at all. If they do... Well, I told them all about you, so yeah, the chicks won't be banging down your door, but that changes what?' It made a dark and twisted kind of sense, but Zack couldn't help but think that it was still MH just being a dick.

It wasn't enough to simply go with the first bit? That he had blackmail material and that's why she was with him?

In the cab it was instantly clear that Judy agreed with his actions totally.

"That was... brilliant. Now they won't know what to think. Of course the rumors will be that we're hiding our secret love, but I can live with that. On the plus side we can explain our love triangle with Troy pretty easily as well." She laughed, but Zack got the idea, her eyes were going to the back of the drivers head, and this was all a show for him. "Being that they know you like men too, already."

It wasn't until they got home that she said what she was really thinking.

"I need to get out of here tonight. This is what I was afraid of. I can't let anything track back to Val or Kait. They're both too good looking for extra press, or being tied to me directly. Thanks for letting me stay? I'll head out tomorrow. After the work is done."

They'd just left the place open while they were gone and furniture had started to appear in the basement. Judy didn't have a problem with that, but it really left Zack feeling like he was open, and vulnerable.

Not wanting to seem like he was ungrateful he took her advice, got a pillow, a blanket, and tried to think of a single place he could set up for the night that wouldn't have hammering. The easy idea was a hotel room, but that might not be the best plan ever. Going to Keeley's was possible, he suspected, but he didn't really want to wake up either under the Greater Demon, or having his junk ripped off, because MH was doing her mom while he slept.

Not having much else to do, he headed to the Mall, carefully, making sure that no one was busily watching him as he did it. At least no one he could see or hear. That meant night vision cameras could be on him, or any Vampire might have been around, if they were far enough away for the eddies and gaps their passing made not to affect the space around them. That and probably dozens of other things. Shifters, Kobolds, whatever they were, or raccoons.

For some reason he'd never really trusted raccoons. It was probably the combination of being too cute and having that mask on all the time. Like tiny bandits with their too human looking little hands to get into his stuff. On the good side, at the Mall, he was able to see that there was clearly someone watching the back door of Candles and More from inside a big Sedan type car. It was the police officer that had come in to hassle him a few days before. The man with the shaved head and cop face that thought no one would guess who he was.

It was a bizarre thing, but Mirror Him took over and tapped on the fellow's window, after getting all the way to his car without the man bothering to look at him at all. He was reading something, but that required a book light, which lit his face pretty well. He was alone, so that probably meant he wasn't doing anything official.

The policeman, a Detective, jumped, and made a startled sound, then tried to start the engine.

"Officer? Hey!" MH was good at sounding happy about things, but before he could get more than a few words out, the man peeled out, leaving tracks on the pavement. "Jeez, I was just gonna ask if we could sleep in the back of his car. Well, so much for fair weather friends, hey Zacko?"

He nodded and got control of the mouth, stifling a yawn.

"I guess. It's a bit strange, someone watching us like that. We need to ask around about it. I wonder if Nikki knows anything?" Zack felt the ripple in space from the Vampire and while it was true that he couldn't tell one of them from another that way in the main, he was willing to bet it was the punk looking girl herself. Turning, he wasn't disappointed.

"Mr. Hartley. Going to a sleepover?"

He shook his head, feeling a bit sad about it.

"Homeless for the night. Remodeling being done at my place. So, I take it that you're watching our friend the bad detective here? Is he a buddy of Detective Bacconi? I thought that was finished now." Bey had warped the man's mind for him so hard that he thought Vampires were just role playing and that Nikki was a cute, but annoying girl that was more effort than she was worth. It should have done the trick, but apparently no one had told this other guy.

"McKenzie is Bacconi's girlfriend or something. The guy noticed that our Detective friend went from claiming we were a kidnapping drug ring with dead bodies around all over the place, to thinking we just loved to LARP. This is all off the books, but at least this time the guy just thinks that this is a drug den. He does think that Baconni took a payoff, which is causing some friction between them. It's not really a Vampire issue, though clearly it started because of one and no one wants to piss you off in my organization, so I'm looking into it. The problem is that anything I do will probably just make him more suspicious. I've looked into it and the man isn't mentally flexible enough to handle the truth..."

Most weren't, not really. They thought they were, they wanted to be at times, even. They liked to think that U.F.O.'s and Bigfoot were out there, but if they saw anything too strange, they'd barely have the ability to even remember it the next day. If they could at all. It meant that most people had to spin stories in their heads to keep reality close to straight, which made it ridiculously easy for things to hide, but most of the groups would have actually been fine with Humans having full awareness of them.

It just wasn't going to happen.

Richard Swerlin had run as a Vampire and gotten a seat in the House of Representatives based mainly on the fact that his opponent was so creepy that the openly polygamous, obviously unbalanced man was still a better choice. He'd popped his teeth out on national television and run on a platform of trying to get the undead not to feed on the living if they were unwilling... And no one believed him at all. Or at least almost no one had.

Zack shrugged, his shoulders touching the fabric of his shirt, which was probably a bad thing to sleep in, meaning he should have changed first. He was tired though and really needed a place to lay down.

"I hate this stuff. The things like this. He's not wrong, or, well, he is, but it isn't his fault. Things are weird here and he's trying to find out what. He can't though and we can't tell him, because he just won't get it. He won't be placated easily either, I don't think. Not if there's unofficial stake outs going on. Do you know he tried to buy drugs from me? I get the idea, I look like a tweeker, but still, no means no, and he was really aggressive about it." And, Zack realized as he finally shut up, he was whining. It got him to roll his eyes.

"Sorry. I need to get some sleep. Any suggestions?"

She thought for a moment, started to speak and then shook her head.

"I nearly said my place, but then you wouldn't get much sleep at all. Let's see... The Baron Grande? It's the Massachusetts Node. They have rooms, it's an ancient hotel, if anything younger than I am counts as being antique. Which unfortunately, it does." She winked at him, and patted his shoulder gently, moving closer to him than their three or four previous meetings really should have allowed for.

"I bet they'll have something for you right now. They're on lockdown too, so business has to be a little slow."

Then she was gone, traceable only due to the collapsing rent she made in space. It formed in front of her, then faded after half a second as she moved away. He got that it wasn't physical now at least. Shaking his head he wondered again if he could do that too? Not having anything better to try he focused and made an attempt, but it felt like he was just walking to the back door normally. There was a tiny bit of a ripple behind him, when he spun to look at it however. He thought so at least. That could mean a lot of things however. Really, he might always leave that kind of thing and just now have noticed it. He walked away then, and spun again, not doing anything at all, but the only thing that happened was that he felt a little dizzy.

Blanket and pillow in his arms he tried it again, making a point of really firming up the bend in space in front of him, but not really pushing through, like he might at a Node.

Again, it rippled behind him a little, but it wasn't all that.

He smiled, and knocked on the door, hoping to be let in.

It was late, but Hiram was there, looking fresh and ready for the day, and after taking in the gear he had nodded.

"Old lady finally tossed you out for your drunken ways and all that cheating?" It had the sound of a joke, but one that could secretly be commiseration if it was needed, at a moment's notice.

"Remodeling. I'm going to a hotel, I think. I'll be back in the morning." He didn't exactly push the man out of the way, but he did brush him a bit, smiling the whole time so it wouldn't turn into some kind of manly aggression display. He really needed to get to a bed, and fast. Why he was so tired, he didn't know, but it was hitting him hard suddenly. It might have been trying to warp space outside, but that hadn't even made him breathe hard, so he doubted it. No... This was something else.

Possibly just lack of enough rest lately?

It wasn't hard to find Massachusetts through the Node, since they only had the one nexus, and when he came out, in the lobby, using one of the lesser points, the man behind the front desk gasped.

"I... we..." He didn't seem to be clear at all, but looked at the pillow and blanket and then gave Zack a most puzzled expression, his slightly middle aged face wrinkling over the cheap, but well cared for gray of his jacket. "May I help you, sir?"

Whoever he was, the man managed to get his feet under him and become professional fast enough that it was clearly his day job. Or night job as the case may be.

"Yes, please. I'd like a room for the night? I don't know the rates..." He could put it on his card, but it would look funny if charges showed up all over the place too quickly, wouldn't it? It probably couldn't be helped, that night, since he'd used most of his cash at Denny's.

"Oh? Very good, sir. What kind of accommodations would you be looking for? Are you entertaining, or... Do you need a place to hold a meeting?" It was very clear that the man wasn't trying to judge, but also didn't think that Zack would want to just sleep for some reason.

"Just a bed and possibly a shower. One night. It doesn't have to be fancy."

That got another confused look, but the man let him pay, which came to ninety dollars after taxes, and left the desk in the hands of a young woman who seemed incredibly nervous when she looked at him. She'd seen him come in too, but the twenty-something brunette was clearly trying to avoid eye contact. She was cute, in a glasses and slightly stringy hair way. Just a tad overweigh, but not unpleasantly so. The man seemed stiff, but took him to a very nice room that had a giant bed in it and was done in rich reds and golds.

Zack was glad he asked for the basic room. On the good side, this one had a Node in it. That seemed wrong, really, but there it was, right over in the corner.

"This is really nice. Thank you. Oh..." He didn't know if he was supposed to tip the man or not, but only had a few ones and no bags, so he got him a card instead. One with the contact info for Candles and More. "If you need anything, let me know, all right?"

After all, they had guests in, and it was a Nexus, a nice rich one too. The man didn't even look at it, just nodding without speaking and getting out of there so fast that Zack couldn't even ask about a wakeup call.

It was hard, sleeping in a new place, but he managed after a while. Sure, it was ten when he woke up in the morning, but the time difference meant it was really only seven, so he wasn't late or anything. He showered, but put on the same clothing as the day before, and got his pillow and blanket around, rolling them together so it wouldn't look sloppy. Then he took the key, an actual metal one, back to the front desk, where the girl from the night before stood.

"Good morning!" He tried to seem awake and bright, since that was always nicer than being surly, and acting like an entitled snob, wasn't it? "Do you have a restaurant or..." He didn't know what the or would be, but the woman swallowed as if he were a mugger and pointed to the left, where there was, a good ways away, indeed a door with a rather nice sign above it. She didn't speak at all, just watching him like he was going to steal something and took his key very carefully, without letting her fingers touch him. Maybe she thought he was dirty, wearing the same clothing?

A grumpy sounding Mirror Him explained, sounding as if anyone would have realized the real issue already.

'She thinks that you're a Demon. Probably even after that guy showed her the Line Walker card. You'd think that would have her being a bit less obvious about it, but some people won't be. Don't let it get to you. You know it's not your B.O. You should go get some clean clothes before you bore me with another day of candle shop work.'

It was strange, but Zack remembered a time, not all that long before, when MH had kind of insisted he go and get a job. Now it was all whining about being bored? That was balanced, wasn't it?

There was no answer to that, just silence and a sense of brooding for some reason. He couldn't tell why, but it was way more about something different, and not being bored at all. Something about being called a Demon?

The restaurant had food and it was pretty good, but not that filling. The servers were all attentive enough, and tried to leave everything to one younger man who was literally shaking with fear. In the end Zack tipped him, on his card, going to twenty-five percent, mainly because he felt bad for the man, rather than anything else. The black haired fellow was clean and hadn't seemed like he could work up enough spit to put it in his food, but he was still more than a little hungry.

Instead he asked the woman at the desk if he could use a Node, which had her freaking about five seconds later, but she ran down the hallway with a key in her hand, which he took as a sign that he might want to follow. The room she took him to was small for a Node space, but was able to get him to Candles and More, from where he went outside, after tiredly waving at Hiram. A quick change and the realization that they had nothing to eat, got him back to the shop about ten minutes later, ready for the day.

In fact he was early enough that he got himself over to Lenore's across the way, and managed to smile before speaking.

"Zack. How are you doing?" She didn't seem worried, and was alone already, which meant that things might be calmer than he'd thought, if it wasn't felt that she needed the backup."

"Not horrible. I could use a bite to eat though? And, if possible a PR department to explain to people that 'Line Walker' isn't my fancy Demon name, just something I get called now and then?" He explained the renovations and the hotel stay, which got her to nod along, as if it all simply made sense to her.

"Well... It's about half and half, right now. The people that know you at least believe that you're a good being, no matter what you are, but many do think that you might well be a Greater Demon. The problem there is that everyone knows that if they attack you, they'll face about half of the various groups right now over it. No one wants to risk it. You're too well liked." She handed over a concoction that had half a dozen prepackaged honey buns, sitting alongside real yoghurt, sweetened with honey and dried fruit. Cherries today. It was fantastic of course. Everything she made was good, he realized.

"Thanks." He pointed with his spoon and ate for a long time, until it was all gone. The worst of the hunger was gone at least, so even if he felt amazed, it was a good thing. It was a lot of food, compared to the amounts he'd been able to eat after nearly starving.

Lenore smiled at him and then patted the back of his hand gently.

"Never a problem. Now, I hear that the Ettarians were planning to keep almost everyone out of the talks? That seems unwise, doesn't it?" She let her voice go low and slightly vicious, but didn't go red eyed yet.

"Or, I guess they were really just not thinking anyone would be able to come. It's a nice enough place. I'll take Hildegard later and we'll make sure they're holding to their schedule. I don't think they really meant it as a slight. Then again, I don't know why anyone thought it was a great idea holding it all the way over there? It's almost like someone wanted everyone to have me take them all." He meant it as a throwaway line, but Lenore let her brow furrow and then, slowly, nodded.

"It... rather does, doesn't it? I think perhaps you need to make an effort to speak to Miss Thomson and your other... Less than savory friends." She wrinkled her nose and held up her hand in a move that seemed too forced to be happenstance. "And yes, I get the irony of a Vampire calling anyone unsavory. Still, it might be a good time to see if anyone knows anything. Go carefully, Zack. This is almost certainly a trap, and if Greater Demons are involved, I doubt that anything you do will truly save you from it, without similar aid."

The problem with that, of course, went without saying at all. If he asked for help from Keeley and her friends, it would place him in their debt, which was just about the worst place that he could be. On the other hand, the only people that could have set something like that up, or would bother, would probably be Greater Demons right?

That left him wondering why, or if he was just making things up and sending Lenore into a crazy person cycle along with him? It was possible, and he'd seen feedback groups happen before. Cliques of people thinking the same, but obviously wrong things, and reinforcing it for each other, so they always felt right. They didn't know they were doing it either, for the most part.

He almost hoped that was the case here, but didn't know if it really was. Heading back to the candle shop, sitting in the front, he called Keeley, not even thinking about it being too early in the day for her. She was probably sitting in her first class at school and everything, if he had the timing right on that sort of thing, which he probably didn't.

"Hello, Zack." She almost always asked what she could do for him, but he heard a bell ring, and knew what that meant from televisions shows. Class was starting.

"Could you call me back when you get a chance? I have some things to discuss."

"Right, talk to you later." She clicked off so fast it was clear that someone had been glaring at her over it.

Hopefully they didn't try to take her phone away. He was really curious after all.

Chapter fourteen

Keeley didn't call back right away, so he ended up actually going to the Ettarian lands again, to make certain they had something set up. They had a shuttle to take them from the Node to the conference center, which was a nice place, in a strange and slightly extruded looking way. The rooms he and Hilde were shown to weren't huge, but they had enough for three hundred people already, without sharing, and large spaces for people to hold the meetings in, now that they knew it was a real thing and not just some kind of joke or whatever it was that they'd been working on before.

The interesting thing was that the tall woman from the day before was nowhere to be found at all, which seemed strange to Zack. He'd thought she was a dignitary in her own right, or at least in charge of the facilities. Instead they got a young man that knew how to get in touch with people, using telepathy. He didn't speak English, but knew enough to send the information directly to Zack's head, so they were able to pass information clearly enough. It was mainly about practical things, like special diets, sleeping arrangements and translators, since they couldn't communicate with most of the races directly.

'We'll need those brought in, I fear.'

Which meant more work for Zack, but he did get them to agree to cover at least room and board for the people that would be coming in. It seemed like a logistical nightmare to him, but Hildegard understood and patted his back gently.

"We'll simply contract some Hireesie. They're conversant in all the languages, I think. It's their nature." That got the young tall man to nod, when he translated, and they found a woman who was working on the room construction, making desks and chairs for the delegates or whatever they were calling the attendees, to show him how to find them. They didn't have a Node, exactly, just a single weak spot that allowed them to moved into and out of the Reynard lands. Those beings looked normal enough to Zack, and seemed to speak French, but had a Node and were, he hoped, willing to let him use it. They didn't have a large group of people there, not being considered a very important group by anyone, tending to stay to themselves and not trade a lot with outsiders.

A short six hours later, he was back at Candles and More, having opened negotiations with the Hireesie, who really did all speak his language and after a few moments in which they seemed to be learning it, all did it better than he did as well. They were a birdlike people, ones that looked far too different to be at Westfield, but were actually kind of pretty, having large round eyes and bright feathers on their heads that stuck nearly straight up, for all that they looked like thin and pale Humans otherwise.

The Reynard were the actual sticking point, since they didn't want anything, but weren't wild about just letting people come and go as they pleased either. It turned out that they had loose ties to the Shifters, so Zack headed to their Embassy personally, to try and see about getting some help. That...

Got him yelled at by Catherine Peterson. The bitchy Ambassador.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Who the hell do you think you are? The Reynard took us nearly two centuries to open up as a contact. They don't like outsiders and hate Humans! Are you trying to sabotage us? Why do you want to do that? You've done nothing but work against me personally since you got here!"

That at least had the rest of her own staff either slinking away so they didn't have to see the scene, or rolling their eyes. After all, Zack was working against the Shifters? They'd barely crossed paths really and when they had, he'd gone out of his way not to make anyone to mad at him, hadn't he? She was still talking, but it was all just a load of garbage that she'd been imagining about him.

"You... what, just because I haven't offered you my ass, my entire people aren't good enough for you? You one forms are all the same! You can't be at the top, so you try to tear down the ones that are."

Zack looked at her, but didn't have an expression for this. He tried to review and find something, a frown, or perhaps an angry look? That didn't seem right. Pity was closest, he decided, but couldn't remember what that was supposed to be like at the moment. A short five minutes later, after she stopped talking, with him just staring at her, blankly, he blinked.

Really, she'd given him so much ammunition that even Zack, who normally wasn't able to use comebacks, since they all had to be true, had a good dozen of them ready to go. If it had been MH in charge at the moment, he could have reamed the woman and done it without ever addressing more than what she'd said personally. As it stood he decided that it wasn't worth it at all and looked at Rupert, who was standing behind the woman, the giant man with his large brown beard looking like there was going to be a physical altercation, and he didn't know what he was supposed to do about it at all.

Zack gave him a single nod.

"So... I take it that's a no?" Then he just left. He didn't want to be rude, but everything else he could think of would be worse, and he had work to get to. The translators were needed first, or at least before the meetings, but people were going to be heading out later that day. In fact, when he got to the shop again, Hildegard was already there, waiting by the Node, with Lisa holding a list and gesturing to people.

"Leader D'ast'arg. You and your people will be first, followed by Cless and Mobes..." She had ten groups ready to go, and nearly forty people standing there. He counted, and there were actually forty three, plus baggage. This was just the first group too.

He walked through the Node alone first, to let the Ettarians get ready, which they nearly were, though the shuttle wasn't there yet. It was a nice vehicle, a thing that slid on a track that had very low friction, instead of a road, so it was quick enough.

Now at least the tall blonde, Ulsan, was around, dressed in all white, with loose trousers and a tunic that made her thin body look shapeless, compared to what she'd had on the day before. He just waved and thought at her.

'Incoming.' She got the idea and nodded, folding her hands in front of her, and standing by two gentlemen that were both pushing seven feet high. They were dressed the same, except that one had a blue belt on, showing that he had style. The man clearly understood the thought and smiled about it as Zack turned to start things going.

It did not go smoothly. Hilde did her job, but while the people there had said they were willing to be touched by her, they hadn't all realized that meant being picked up like a teddy bear and carried. No one thought that she meant them harm, or smelled bad, or anything that crass, they were just afraid that she might crush them. That or their luggage would be delivered to the wrong place. It was a bit insulting really, but Zack just smiled, being glad that only about half of them spoke the same language that he did.

In the end it meant that an hour's worth of slightly plodding and easy work turned into nearly three of frustration and a desire to leave people in the Arctic. Even Hildegard, sweetie that she was, growled at two of them and seemed cranky by the end.

Worse, by the time that was over, the evening group had shown up.

Lisa smiled, as if they were the nice ones too.

"The ones that are a bit more comfortable with a Vampire aiding them. I did explain that the porter, Barbara, would be picking them up physically, several times. No one seems worried. About that. They're all Vampires however and are requesting that Humans be brought in for... snacks." She did not seem thrilled to be delivering the information at all. Zack didn't glare, but left everyone standing there, to go and talk to Lenore, who wasn't in her shop. It was Edom instead, and while he was wearing his little white apron, it was over a modern and very expensive business suit.

On the good side he already knew what was going on.

He spread his hands slowly.

"Can you take them some of the new blend? That's not bad and it might at least tide them over. I don't know what to do on the other end."

He sighed.

"Right. Get with Rebekah and see if she'll ear mark some for us? I'll try to make certain it reaches the right place. Do you have some here? For sampling?"

It took fifteen minutes to set up, but the Vampires, all of whom were old and crusty, no matter how young they looked, and not the well balanced kind that were on the council, managed to tolerate being fed from paper cups.

There was grumbling, but Zack spread his hands and looked from one of them to the next, his eyes going cold, since he was supposed to be done by seven and wasn't going to be at this rate. Not at all.

"The situation on the ground is delicate, ladies and gentlemen. You may not like getting blood from a bottle, but we don't have people for you to feed from and doing that at this particular meeting will probably start a wasteful and unneeded conflict. So, how about this; you can all drink the stuff I get for you, or I'll take the bottles and..." Really, what he wanted to do was claim that he'd shove them up their tight Vampire asses for them, but that wasn't going to happen. Instead he modified it. "And leave them here for someone that likes to eat. This is taking a lot more work than I thought it would, and I'm getting annoyed. It's not really your fault, but working with us on this would be so nice right now."

Surprisingly, that worked and the grumbling stopped, which let him get them all into place, even if it did mean being felt up by a Vampire girl. No one complained this time, so the extra explanation seemed to help. That, or they just weren't worried that Barb could crush them.

After that he had to go to Arizona and pick up coolers packed with ice and blood, which meant walking about ten miles in all, along with Barb, carrying the things. They had seven of them and would need more, since the Vampires were trying to stack the rooms with their own people, so they wouldn't be outnumbered too badly if it came to a fight. No one said that exactly, but it was so obvious that even Zack could see it.

On the last trip, being playful like she was, Barb grinned and started to rush ahead.

"Race you! Last one to the shortcut is a rotten egg!" The words marked her as being older than he was by a good twenty years, but the truth was more than that. He shook his head, then shrugged, trying to bend space like he had the night before. If he had. It was clear, once he was doing it, Barb was too, and that the harder she pushed, the bigger the warp in front of her got. Or at least the further away from her body it pushed. He copied that, just walking quickly, which was really all she was doing. He'd always thought of it as running, but it looked different now. She was ahead of him and not watching, but when she stopped, a bit short of the transit point, he did too, which got her to jump.

"Holy crap!" She wasn't breathing hard and he was a bit, but she still seemed a bit impressed, if he could judge such things. "How the hell did you do that? I mean, I'm not exactly the fastest Vampire girl ever, but you matched me..."

It was actually too hard to explain, since to her way of thinking she probably just moved, not realizing how it was done. Trying to go into it would just be too much work. He was starving, and his stomach growled at him fiercely.

He had missed dinner, which could explain it.

"Here, I need to get some food and see if I get my own bed tonight or if it's back to the hotel." He took her arm and shocked at his speed or not, she made the hop perfectly, having done it so many times now. He watched it, and saw just the tiniest extension of space around her when she did it too. Once he knew to look for it, it all made perfect sense.

They weren't done of course, because they still had to make seven trips to the Ettarian lands, where a man was standing by to get the blood around for rapid delivery. Zack thanked him, telepathically, which got the man to smile and nod, then call for help to get things in place fast enough for the Vampire's liking.

Then...

He headed to the food court and made a total pig of himself, eating three full trays of things. It was insane and he should have popped, but he just had to. It was probably a mental thing. Controlling his stress through eating.

'You gotta watch that, or you'll get fat. Not that a bit of weight would hurt for now, but you don't stay twenty-two forever.' MH didn't tell him to stop even with that warning, until people started watching him do it. Then he suggested they move along and at least diversify where they were doing it.

It wasn't totally lost on Zack that Keeley hadn't been around all day, or even called back. Sure, she could just be busy, or worried that he was going to confess his undying love for her, or angle for that three-way with her and that hot redhead that was way too young for him, but he really doubted it was that. Perhaps the busy part? The rest was stupid of him to suspect. As far as he knew, she didn't make mistakes that big, and while she was hot, she wasn't really his type, being all...Demony.

So he was a little bit shocked to find her standing outside the back door of the Mall, leaning against the building when he came out at ten.

"Hello. You wanted to speak to me?" She said if from behind him, but she'd been there for a while, since space wasn't boiling the way it normally did when she was just moving through it.

"Hi! Yeah, I was... Is it possible that someone set up the meeting to be in the Ettarian lands so that I'd have to take everyone? If so, can you tell who and why?" It seemed like a damn tall order, but she looked around and started to walk, waving to him, heading toward the far side of the building, toward Princess Pretty Nail and the Power Lifting gym.

It wasn't what he'd have normally done at all, which was probably the point.

"It seems odd. The most likely person, given what we know, to have done that, would be me. I didn't however. Finias or Darla could both do it, but they have no particular reason to either draw you out, or expose you to so many people that will take your ability to do that as being odd." She wasn't going fast, but scanned the area closely as they moved, looking for attack. He tried to do the same, but didn't know what would be coming that way, if anything at all.

After a moment she turned to him, staying in motion the whole time, taking his left hand, as if they were a couple or something.

"If it were either of them however, they would have simply asked for what they wanted from you, or made a bargain. You aren't intractable and anyone wanting you dead would attack, not do something like this.

"I believe that Gregor is the same. He'd just ask and deal. Bente... Well, she considers you a friend already, and Tarsus would... Honestly, it could be him. Most likely however..." She actually stopped talking and looked around like a person that thought the cops were after them in a movie.

"Yes?" He tried to sound polite, but it had that drawn out tone that annoyed people got anyway.

"Well, I don't have proof, but my best guess is that my brother, Xenses, is behind it. He probably wants to test you and see if you can do it."

Mirror Him howled, a thing of fear and rage, but didn't do it out loud, thankfully, leaving Zack in charge for once when things got tense.

"The freak that put me on the lines when I was kidnapped and did... I don't know what all he did to me, that old guy, Finias? He said that it was bad. Considering that he's a Greater Demon, I have to think it's probably just as well I don't remember. I should probably know, but..." He wasn't sure that it would help and if not, why would he want to?

That got the hot teen girl next to him to take a deep breath.

"Okay. I..." She actually went blank for a bit and then started to shudder, a single tear coming from her right eye after a minute. "I can access those memories. I... Zack, I won't lie to you, not ever. You understand that, right?"

He knew she was saying the words and they seemed honest, but that didn't mean she'd never lie. Almost everyone did at some point. He said this, but she just smiled and shook her head.

"Demon bigot. Anyway, my point is... Just knowing half this stuff would break you right now. I mean, really badly. You can't cope with it yet. I can tell you part of it, and it's true, but you need to understand... this is the mild stuff. It also wasn't your fault. None of it. Xenses is crazy for one of our kind, and he tried to make you that way too. It pretty much worked..." She opened a rift, as if it weren't a problem, making space bubble and breach, and then took his hand, stepping into it. He followed, almost by rote, since it was what he did all day. They ended in her living room, with Sherri sitting on the sofa alone, watching television.

She turned and went wide eyed, then grinned.

"And here I'd thought I'd been stood up! Where would you like to go?"

He was a bit worked up, and Mirror Him was not up to coming out to talk to his would be date, so Zack handled it, after a fashion.

"I'd like to go to your room and see if I can manage better than average sex, but Keeley promised to tear off my balls if I did that." He looked at the Demon in question and then back at her Human mother. "You get the idea right? She really means it, and I've barely used them yet. It isn't fair at all, since you're very nice and attractive, but under threat of physical bodily harm, I have to fold. Just to be clear, this does mean your own daughter is cock-blocking you. I don't think it's in a nice, she just wants me for herself, kind of way either. You two should probably talk about it. Later, after I leave?"

Sherri laughed a bit, but Keeley crossed her arms and made a serious face.

"We will talk about it later, mother. Right now just... watch your movie." She smiled as the woman gave her a look that spoke of a potential spanking for the trouble maker if she wasn't careful. A grounding at least.

Then he got pulled to her bedroom again, which Keeley clearly used as her private office.

"This place isn't really secure, but I can run some counter measures. So... that bought me about two minutes to think. I... Don't want this to hurt you. I don't suppose you accept that it was really bad and call it a day?"

"Honestly? If it won't hurt anything later, I can do that."

That got her to frown, and look more sullen than he'd ever seen her even try for.

"You have to know, in case Xenses comes for you. You can run, if you have to. He's not as good as you are with the lines. Not really. Slower than I am, and I'm only sixteen. So that's something. You need to be able to get on them from anywhere, which you haven't been doing, but you can. I'll show you in a bit. It takes energy, which for now will mean eating more. You need to anyway." She patted his left arm. "Anorexia is so schoolgirl. I'll get us a snack in fact. You can pay me for it."

That seemed an odd way to offer food to a guest, but he had his checkbook with him, even though he never used it. He needed to start carrying more cash.

"That's a Greater Demon thing. Never offer food, or drink to one of us for free. That's an insult, and saying that you think we're children. Always trade or pay for food, even if it's a gift. Just like how you don't do favors for people for free. Always bargain for them. Speaking of which, just to give you the idea, what are you trading me for this information?"

Zack looked away, trying not to check out her butt as she moved to the stove and started making steaks. She had some water on to boil in a big pot and opened not one, but three jars of pasta sauce and started browning more meat on the fourth burner. Hamburger that got spices added to it. She traveled from one task to another without using greater than normal speed at all, but she didn't let anything burn.

"How about that, um, favor you'll owe me? If I can stop the war, or help with that?"

She nodded, not looking at him at all.

"Done. I think we should wait until after you eat. I expect tears and hair pulling and you'll need the calories for it. In the mean time, Becky was mortified that we caught her the other day. I told her that it probably only made you want to do her yourself, so if you could give her a call and ask her out? She's legal after all, eighteen, and within your dating age range. I doubt Lenore will mind, if you explain it. Or Kyle. Alede are so good about things like that. At least with anyone but another Alede. Then they get territorial fast."

He sighed.

"I have time for dating? I haven't even been alone with my girlfriend in nearly two weeks. Maybe she's trying to avoid me? I know that I'm not all that good looking..."

That got a laugh, but she didn't turn from what she was doing, just putting two loaves of premade garlic bread in the oven. Apparently they were having guests?

"You aren't half bad Zack. The bit of work I did last night is going to hold, so you look younger and a bit more symmetrical. We should get a truly different look for you soon, but for now it's about what people will accept without realizing that something is wrong. Lenore really likes you however. In a Vampire way, true, so, you know, not soul mates, but she isn't about to dump you or whatever it is you fear. She wouldn't if you were a toad with horribly bad breath, which you aren't. If anything she's probably worried that you aren't entertaining more Vampires yet. She'll want that to help bind you to her. I think you should avoid it for now, to be honest. You'll have more leverage that way. Make her do the work herself. Be a bit more demanding, so that she knows she's wanted personally." It was a lot of free information, considering everything and he wasn't certain he could follow it all, but Keeley just kept right on talking, as if he was absorbing her pearls of wisdom without question.

"Oh! You should arm yourself too. Fire arms and blades are what I go with. Of course I learned how to use them first, but you can too. You have a great blade place at Westfield, the Kobold Embassy? Fantastic work. Go in with about fifty thousand so you don't insult the man, and get some lessons first, so you don't hack off a limb. Wu-Li can help with that, I bet, if you don't want me to do it. I have a book printed out too, that you should read..." She kept stirring and added the noodles to the water about then.

Ten minutes later the table was loaded with food, and she waved at it.

"Call it twenty... three dollars worth for your share? I have some great desserts too, you'll want in on that. The stuff here is only a fraction of it." She waited and took the check from his fingers with a little tug and he could swear, as strange as it was, that she actually sub-vocalized a "yoink!" sound effect.

Then she started eating without ceremony or saying that he should at all. He started by taking normal portions of food, but she just shook her head.

"In public, yes, but right now get as much in you as possible. Load your plate and remember that you need more protein than you think." She actually got up and did it for him, heaping the plate with more than four people could keep down. He was hungry, it was true, but that was ridiculous.

"I'll get fat, trying to eat this."

"No... You won't. Go ahead. Eat." She didn't watch him directly though he could sort of feel her regard as he slowly chewed hoping it wouldn't insult her when he couldn't finish it.

When he did, she got him another plateful and a full loaf of garlic bread.

"You see the trend here? Where does it all go? It's like a stage magic trick almost. You're just processing it so fully, and so fast that it isn't a problem that way. I kind of thought you might. Don't do this around other people. It's a dead giveaway for those that know. You can come here and pay me for it. That or Darla's. We need to get with her in a bit too, after you stop crying and all that. Dessert first. I have the best cheesecake. My Hsreth friends make it. This one had lemon curd on top... Finish that and I'll show you."

Zack was starting to get just a tiny bit suspicious after he finished that and a full cake. It could be a trick, except that, deep inside, howling the words, other him slowly explained what it meant.

Well, actually at first it was a litany of, 'fuck, fuck, fuck... fucking hell!' Zack didn't feel enslaved however, so he managed to extrapolate what was going on, from the obvious clues and the fact that Keeley had pretty much started using "we" to reference Greater Demons in a way that seemed a bit too him inclusive to be a mistake.

He smiled at Keeley and tried not to let the idea rock him too much. He wasn't actually a different person today than yesterday, was he? No matter what, he could just always be himself, and not let the world control how he acted too much.

Except that he also knew that the idea made him feel not just bad, but really, really horrible. He said the words anyway, since it was his part in things no doubt. Even if it made him sound stupid, if he were wrong.

"So... I guess the bad news here is that I'm a Greater Demon after all?"

That actually got Keeley to stop and then smile at him, shaking her head a bit.

"You got that already? I figured that it would take a lot more than those little hints to break through to you. The denial is strong with you, after all. You are, however, a Greater Demon. That isn't the bad news. It isn't bad at all really. Lots of perks to being one of us, which I'll get to soon."

She made a point to eat the last of the cheesecake before going on and then started to clear the table and do the dishes in a very particular order. Doing things like washing each plate three times before putting it in the rack.

"No, that's the good news. The bad news is... Well, I think that Xenses is your father, and that he really doesn't want to let you grow up."

Chapter fifteen

Zack made a face and then tried to look skeptical about the whole thing.

"Riiight. I'm pretty sure I know who my father is. I have grandparents and everything. They raised me?" That was just a fact, and he remembered it, from the time he was about eleven on.

The Demon girl was standing, her body relaxed, but balanced. Like a person ready to run or fight, Zack realized, instead of a friend giving some guy news that he just might not be that happy with. What did she think he was going to do? Run away? She smiled and it looked real, but the girl kept talking anyway, explaining.

"They probably think that's simply a fact. It isn't. Greater Demons don't have children with each other. The men procreate with Human women. I don't know the particulars of this case, but if you're one of us, your father is too. There are no exceptions." She kept at the cleaning, working quickly, but again, not so fast that it broke anything or bent reality around her.

"We can go into that later. Maybe I'm wrong and it's another one of us. That would probably be for the best. Xenses... He's insane. Not the good kind either. For our kind it means a being incapable or unwilling to see what's really there. Like you, but worse. Much so, because he's violent and horrible at the same time, and honestly sees it as his best option in many cases. That you're so gentle is really what's kept you alive so far, I think."

That got a shrug in return, and a bit of a frown. He'd done violent things, even hurt people. He'd killed twice, that he knew of and...

The girl just blinked at him.

"Yes, you did all that, and a lot more. The thing there isn't that you've killed, but why you did it. In each case it was sensible at the time. When you killed that Mage girl's father, you did it to save her life, which was the job you were doing at the time. Later, with the master Vampire, you were trying to survive. That part of you is remarkably well balanced, for one of us. Maybe too much so. It isn't the same thing at all, so don't worry that way. The big problem is that half of your mind is someone else, and that's going to have to change, only..."

She stopped talking and Zack wasn't totally certain it was just to control the flow of conversation or what he was thinking about. When she continued, her words were harder, and she almost seemed ready to give up on him.

"You can't handle what Mirror Him knows. Not yet. You may never be able to. The problem is that too many know that you're a Greater Demon, and you've seen how that goes for the young of our kind. People will try to kill you, eventually. Especially since you aren't that well balanced."

Zack nodded, since he really had seen how she was treated and beings feared her, at least as much as any of the other of her kind. Their kind, if he wasn't being jerked around.

"So, I'm dead?" It was a simple question and she smiled about it. Then nodded.

"Almost certainly. It's what happens to you, and to those you love and care for before that happens, that you need to be willing to fight for now. There are some ways to die that are simply better than others, if you have to. Not that you shouldn't try to get around all that anyway. I just don't want you to think this is really about saving you."

"It isn't? Then what's the plan?" It seemed like a good thing to know, didn't it?

"To flush out Xenses, and kill him. I'm using you as bait. That doesn't mean you aren't someone I want as a friend as well, but that's my current goal. You... Really, I doubt you can survive that. I'll try, but I can't promise anything. Honestly, if you were going to be sensible about all this, I'd suggest using the one talent you really have, and use the in-roads to get so far away that even Demons can't easily find you. That could give you... decades of time to prepare. Longer if you did it right." It sounded matter of fact and a bit cold, but suddenly a look of misery crossed her face. It wasn't a thing he associated with her at all.

"Of course, if you do that, then a lot of innocent people will die."

Zack thought about it all for a while and tried to work out what he should do. Mirror Him was hiding in a deep corner of his mind, so wasn't going to be very helpful for a while. The brave thing to do would be to stand and fight, but it was also foolish. You didn't do that if you had another choice. He could end up a slave, or worse, if things went wrong. On the other hand he really didn't want to starve to death either, did he? That was something new to him, he realized, this was the first time in... years, that he actually felt not hungry. He'd sort of been blocking it out for a long time, but it had been there, gnawing at him.

After he mentioned this out loud, Keeley nodded.

"Sure. You can do that on purpose. In fact, if you can do that, you can do a lot of other things too. Imagine what emotional state you want, focus on it for a bit and you'll enter it fully. If you can remember a time that it's happened before it's really easy. The same with feeling awake, rested after exertion, or healing. Remember to feel whole and well, add a bit of energy to it and you'll do it. You'll have to eat a lot more for that. Like you did here, three or four times a day. Here, try to imagine yourself feeling happy and really hold it for a while."

She had to wait, since Zack didn't easily come up with a happy thought, but when he did, remembering how he felt when he first went to a carnival as a boy, it all came back to him, washing over and through him perfectly. Keeley didn't let him stop there, getting up to fix him a snack, and then running him through ten different states she thought were most useful.

"Blank and peaceful are both good. Especially when you're about to get shocking news, which... Well, I could do without three hours of tears. Why not practice that one right now and write me another check? I want to go over some of the healing things too." It sounded pretty innocent, and of course really just wasn't.

First she had him find a good healthy feeling and push it for a while, which actually left him feeling good. Much stronger than before. He hadn't realized how much like crap he'd been feeling for years.

Then she winked at him, leaned in and kissed his cheek, taking his right hand gently.

"Got it?" She whispered the words, which made him feel pretty uneasy, suddenly, because she was still far too young for him. And, if she was right, his Aunt. He made that go away however, leaving a sense of peace behind and then did the healing thing again.

"Yes. I think so-" He figured that she was going to do something. Crush his hand or give him a black eye that he'd have to heal. Apparently that was too wimpy for a Greater Demon, so she pulled a flat gray knife out of nowhere, from the bent space beside her really, and stabbed him in the stomach. Only once at least, so there was that, but it still hurt horribly.

"Healing and pain control. Remember both at once, so you can function. You just practiced them, so let's see it." She waited as he bled, her face blank and then slightly happy as, miraculously, he started to manage it. The whole thing took about five minutes to get done, but he did get the pain to go away faster than that.

She grunted and looked disgusted with him, glancing at the blood.

"And if I were Xenses, you'd be dead. Or more likely, being raped about now. That's his go to family friendly move, by the way. At least that seemed to be his plan for me, when we last met." She looked at him, as if he were supposed to get it all, and he nodded.

"I always just assumed that I was raped, in my missing time. Is that the bad part?"

"You keep asking that, and it keeps not being the case. You were raped, and raped people. You ate them alive and then did even worse things to them to bend your mind into his image. He tortured you in ways that I won't tell you about, but physical things won't break one of us that easily. Not even as babies. You're getting the idea? If those are the things that I'm telling you, then the rest is so bad that you still don't want to know yet. Not until you master your thoughts and emotions more fully." She waited, focusing on him closely.

Too closely really. It left him feeling afraid and uncomfortable.

She threw up her hands, smiling.

"And what do the baby Demons do when they feel uncomfortable?"

"Change how they feel?"

She nodded, seeming to think he was actually adapting to what was going on. He tried to control his mind, and managed it, after a few tries. This was decently big after all, and it was so temping to block out the bad things that he'd heard, before he remembered them. Zack could feel that happening, and didn't want to relive things. Then, he probably didn't have to, did he?

Keeley clapped him on the shoulder gently and smiled.

"Not bad for the first day. I need to get you to The Technician and The Mind Stealer. That's probably going to be Darla and Finias to you, but it's important to use the right titles. You have a lot to learn and will need a mentor. That probably isn't going to be the sixteen year old girl, regardless of me being proclaimed an adult early. Really, I vote for Darla. Finias is great, but you two have history and it might make him want to be too gentle with you. Darla... She dropped a car on me once, to help me learn something. I don't know if that's who you'll get." She turned and got out a box of snack cakes, which were the cheapest kind most stores sold, and pushed it toward him. "Snack first. These things are great. Lots of calories for a low cost. Mom buys them in bulk for me."

They were strawberry shortcake rolls and she was right, they were good. Enough so that he finished the whole box of them in about five minutes, then felt guilty, for having eaten so much. He was able to make that go away too, and then realized that it would work for all the negative emotions. She'd said that was the case, but it was real, suddenly.

"Okay, let's go. We can walk. Darla only lives about three blocks from here."

She really did too and Keeley didn't run or anything, just strolling along, watching the world around her, as if it were constantly fascinating. Zack tried to copy that too, and felt a sense of wonder, and a sudden popping out of details that he'd been missing. Keeley grinned about it, but didn't comment.

At the door she did two things. The first was knock and the second was standing back about three feet, which got him to follow along with her. He didn't see a trap door, but he didn't know how The Technician guarded her place either.

Really, it just seemed like she opened the door, looking like a hot blonde cheerleader from a movie or television show. It was really a little over done, he thought, but at least she hadn't overdressed for the evening, just being in jeans and a t-shirt, like Keeley was. They didn't look like sisters, being very different from one another, but they both seemed just a little unreal, now that he was paying attention to things like that. Too perfect and smooth. Even gorgeous women their age needed a bit of makeup, right? They had features that were just on the uncanny valley side of balanced, not being normal really. Oh, it was a close thing, so most wouldn't understand what they were seeing, or might think they'd just had really good plastic surgery, but it was there.

"Good evening. Have you come to sell me cookies? If so I have to point out that the local Girl Scouts have already shaken me down three times this week. They're just so cute in their ugly little uniforms." The words were playful and didn't admit to anything on the surface, but high school girls didn't get approached by girls selling cookies, did they? And they certainly didn't buy them.

Of course, The Technician knew that he'd recognize her, didn't she?

"Technician." He felt like he should bow or something, but didn't know if that was a Greater Demon thing or not. She actually gave him a little hug.

"Line Walker." Then she sighed and glanced at Keeley a bit harder than seemed normal. "And the Mistress of Souls. So, you told him. Don't give me that line about how he guessed on his own either. That wasn't what happened."

Instead of arguing the point, she smiled and patted her sister on the arm in a way that looked funny, but that Zack didn't get for a few seconds, until he realized she was talking to her telepathically.

"Do you disagree?" Keeley tilted her head a little, almost imperceptibly and waited, not even moving to go in at all.

Darla sighed, a large and overdone thing that was meant for him, Zack realized, not her sister.

"Ah, kids. Just because you're correct, that doesn't mean that it's the wisest course of action to take. Too late to take it back now, and I do agree, with reservations. Finias should have been there for it, and possibly broken the news himself. Now we have to try and manage him, which is going to be... Less than a fun way to spend the evening. Come in. Try not to bleed on the furniture again."

That got a chuckle from the darker haired girl and entry into The Technician's home, which was very white. Cream colored carpets and eggshell furnishings, accented with wood and only a few pieces of art hanging on the wall. They were all by the same artist, he thought, and not bad. A little too impressionistic for his taste, but the splash of color the pictures of flowered fields and barns gave was nice. Near the back of the room, beyond the sunken living space, was a short staircase. It was a strange shape for a house, it was clear. All the recent work on his own brought it to mind. Looking around he could see how the place was in a bent field of space. Why, he didn't know.

"I'll make the call. Would you two like anything? I can make some sodas?" She said it blandly, as if she weren't testing him personally on what he'd just learned.

He pulled out his checkbook, which got her eyes to light up.

"At cost?"

She nodded, and then smiled, which was a sunny thing that made him feel warm and gooey inside, in a way that was a bit out of place for the moment, given what they were really talking about, he shut that down with a bit of work and then made the check out for five dollars. She took it and didn't mention that being too much.

"Exactly like that. If you hadn't done that, she would have tried to enslave you again. She probably will anyway. Every adult Greater Demon you meet from now on will, until you become an adult yourself, and sometimes they might even try then. Don't fall for it. Just a word of warning; I won't try that myself, because it would work. Don't get complacent however, since you've literally seen another Demon looking like me before. It's a good trick, once you learn it. Shape shifting." She made small talk, but it was important information anyway, covering things like bowing, ranking systems for their kind and the fact that about half of them were born crazy.

She actually went over that one a few times.

"You weren't. You were broken, and before you had a chance to develop. Forced into being a full Greater Demon before you were ready for it. Like I said, that has to be fixed, and might not be possible. Remember the rules for now, because I'm pretty sure we're getting the full meeting here already." She didn't explain that, but Darla nodded after getting off the phone and called for them to follow her up the stairs.

That was all about changing clothing, into a very light brown outfit for him. The girls each got one too, and the material was the same, but theirs were darker. Keeley was about three shades so, and Darla ten. He understood the significance, since it had been explained, in the ranking thing. He was at the bottom, the closer to black you got, the higher you were.

It was just a tradition, but if someone thought you were going above your station, they'd attack. Or might at least. If they thought you were too weak, they might too. You wore about what you thought you could back, really. He was pretty happy with his light tan. White was for sacrifices, so he didn't want to go that low, after all.

They still had to wait, and Darla kept examining him, in ways that didn't make a lot of sense to start with. Mainly it involved her touching him a lot, and then poking at him occasionally with various metal and crystal devices.

She didn't say what anything meant, just letting him sit until about three in the morning, when there was a bending in space moving toward them from different places, but at great distances away. Three of them, to be exact, coming from the position of the door. That would be the terminus, he thought. The Technician nodded, but only after a few moments, and Keeley stood, turning to face that direction.

There really was bowing, which wasn't hard, since he'd been told what to do, and made himself feel relaxed enough not to forget or mess it up. The men that came were in deep brown, but different colors, with Finias being just darker than Gregor The Cleric, and the third man being in what seemed to be pure black. He didn't recognize the face, which was like a picture of a Roman patrician, more than anything else. None of them were bothering to look half as good as the women were. Then, they were a lot older, so maybe it just didn't matter to them as much?

Finias did the introductions, but realized that only the last man, the high ranking one, was needed.

"This is The Librarian. Tarsus. You've met. He looked like Keeley at the time?" The words brought the scene back easily enough. It had happened in his own living room after all.

"I remember. Librarian." That apparently was close enough to correct that no one ripped his head off, thankfully.

The man gave him a watery smile, and then held his hand out to Zack, as if to shake, which he wasn't buying at all. Still, he did it, since he'd been instructed to be polite, and really didn't want to die that evening. Why, he had whole weeks, possibly months left for that.

The Greater Demon laughed.

"Fatalistic, but accurate. Still, my task is to give you information. You might not be able to make good use of it, as disjointed as your mind is. It will be there however. I suggest you make the effort. Then, I always do, and very few ever bother."

What happened next was something that Zack just wouldn't have been able to articulate to anyone. It was as if the sum of the world's knowledge was suddenly hovering over him, beating at his mind, wanting him to know it all at once. For a second it tried to overwhelm him, but then pulled back, ever so slightly, fading slowly over the course of minutes, until Tarsus let go of his hand.

"Well set, at least. That's better than I feared. Normally at this point I try to intimidate the new ones, so that they'll work hard and listen to their mentors. I'm not going to bother with you. You're either going to survive this or not, based on what you truly are. Oh, learn all you can, but being insane means that the rules are different for you than others. On the good side, you can make them up for yourself. Which of you is going to watch him?" The words went hard, and there was no attempt to volunteer himself, Zack noticed, which was nice. The man was creepy. Not in a good way either, but in the way that he associated with the worst kind of evil. The sort that knew what it was, and relished in it.

Finias started to clear his throat, and gesture, which got The Cleric to look at him with a soft smile.

"I think not. Perhaps the Mistress of Souls? Or Bente?" That suggestion got a puzzled look from Keeley at least.

"The Fashion Demon? I'm not certain I see that as a good fit." That started a conversation that finally worked around to Darla, who had her arms crossed and was rolling her eyes at him behind everyone's backs. Not that they didn't get it. They were pushing her into it with their words, and by ignoring her.

"Naturally. Well, I had a short duty with Keeley, and did a great job there. Plus, it still works for the same reason, a way to get a line on Xenses. What do you say Zack? Are you willing to work with me? It won't be fun most of the time, and I'll beat you when you get things wrong, or sometimes right, but on the good side, I don't care if you bang Keeley's mom at all." She smiled about it and held out her right hand to shake. "Deal?"

Zack froze, knowing that you didn't agree to anything like that with a Greater Demon and feeling her energy already trying to press across his skin.

"No. I mean, the mentoring is fine and I can do that, but no deal." He hoped he got it close to correct at least. He still felt like him, but waited to see what she said.

"Darn. Well, I guess I'll have to actually do the work the old fashioned way." Whatever that was, he didn't know, but he was starting to run down a bit energy wise, and the others were actually hanging around, chatting.

Keeley nudged his arm.

"Like I showed you, earlier?" It was a whisper, but everyone heard it anyway and looked at him. Hard.

It took him a moment to get that she meant making himself feel awake and full of energy. It still took him a few seconds to really start on it, but he felt normal again and slightly hyper by the time that Gregor and Tarsus were headed out, making their own Nodes outside the front door, and leaving in different directions.

Then Finias turned to him, his old face looking a bit upset. That was a choice though, he understood, so was being done on purpose. Probably to make an impression on Keeley, rather than just him.

The man let out a large breath of air.

"So much for hiding this. It's going to change things for you, and I'd hoped to spare you the trouble. I guess that wasn't the best plan ever, but it was a workable one, before you started at the Nexus. What do you plan to do now?"

Zack didn't really know. After all, every single person in the room that evening had clearly just assumed that he was going to die in a very short period of time and really, that seemed pretty darned likely, didn't it?

"The best plan I've heard so far is running away, but I have to get through this war thing first. I promised to get people there and then return them, and won't go back on that. Besides, if it works, Keeley has to pay me for it. I guess I should... I don't know, come and learn stuff here, when I can? I have no clue about any of this at all. Not really. Everything I've heard about Greater Demons has basically been bad and now it seems like I'm one of those bad things." It would have sounded sad, but he made it come out merely blank. Not peaceful, since that was the wrong emotion for it. "Do I tell everyone back home? Am I supposed to hide it? If Xenses is after me, then all that would do is make it so that regular people might be in the line of fire, right? Lenore... God, she won't want to be my girlfriend now, will she? But lying... I can't do that and MH is out of commission as far as I can tell." There was gibbering and moaning from the back of his skull, but it was nearly silent now.

Finias shook his head, looking grandfatherly and like he knew what the right thing to do was.

"If you don't have to let people know, then-" He stopped when Darla cleared her throat, disagreeing.

"Tell them. Everyone. You haven't been hiding it well anyway, and coming out to them honestly will prevent you from making a mistake later. You really need to learn to lie soon, but until then, it's better for you to just be direct. And armed." She smiled about it, and glared a bit at Finias, who made a face at her, then demurred.

"As your mentor says then. Well, if nothing else it should help you in moving on if you choose to run later. Few things will cut ties faster than admitting that you're everyone's biggest nightmare." That, apparently, was going to be his last word on the subject for the night, and while he said goodbye politely enough, touching Zack's hand instead of shaking it, he left himself shortly after that.

Keeley walked the man to the door however and gestured for Zack to watch what he was doing. It was different than what he did himself, making thousands of little bubbles in space, rather than one hole to walk through. He got the real point. The energy for it was coming from within the man.

She didn't comment on it until he was gone however and moving away.

"He's slow compared to you, on the line. But you should be able to do that. I guess if you're out, you can just have food brought in. I'll be by tomorrow or the next day, to visit."

Darla shook her head.

"No. Not that you don't have some things to teach him, but I have a specific plan and don't need you trying to take control right off the bat. Besides, we don't have time for fifty years of him acting like a baby. That means that he has to bargain with you for lessons. We need to cover that first too, since you make bargains like a hippie." She grinned, a little viciously. "Like... peace and love will win the day, man. I'll trade those beads and your good regard for all this gold..." It was a good impression of a stereotype at least, Zack thought.

She went on, her voice smoother.

"No, he's mine, and that means hands off for now. That does mean that I'll be over most days for the foreseeable future, except when I can't be. I have a business to run after all. Right now, I need for you to go and practice making openings onto the In-roads. Then we need to work on your strength and speed. I don't think you're weak, like Keeley. Not at all. It's just that you've let yourself starve for too long. So buy food, and see to eating it. You probably can't eat too much, even if what you do, inroads wise, is fairly low energy for you. I'll be at your place at six this evening?"

Zack made a face.

"I've kind of already said that I'd stay at work until at least seven. That means getting home later than that. I don't want to break my word." He waited for one of them to ridicule him for that, but Darla just agreed.

"Eight then. Be ready to work. Practice all the things that Keeley showed you, when you can. The hardest thing to learn at the beginning is to actually use what you know, and that takes raw repetition for most people."

He nodded, and then tried to copy what he'd seen Finias doing, using energy from within to open a Node. To force one into being. He did the whole thing at once, and then focused on moving directly into his own living room. It wasn't fast, taking about two minutes, but it did let him get there directly, which was quicker than any other way would have been. The only problem then was that he was starving again. It hadn't felt hard, but it clearly took a lot more energy than using a point that already existed.

He went to the kitchen and started making something to eat, trying to do what he'd been told, but also leave a bit for Troy. After all, they shared the food and he was having a lot of it. It was pushing six, Pacific time, when he was done eating. He had most of the dishes done by the time that his roommate got back, and Bey was nowhere in sight.

Judy either, but then, she was planning to go and stay in Portland, to hide from the people with cameras.

Troy smiled and looked at the remaining mess, but didn't complain. The kitchen looked great after all. Clean and totally refinished already. The cabinets looked like wood and the floor like real stone. The countertops too. The new stove and fridge were silver colored, like steel and all the cooking ware was fresh and shiny.

"Late snack?"

Zack smiled and shook his head. "Fourth meal. Say, um, we need to talk about some stuff. I have to tell everyone, but I wanted you to know first."

The guy blew air out hard and looked away.

"I guess I know what this is about."

That was news to Zack, and he had to wonder how he'd known? Had someone told him already?

Chapter sixteen

"You do?" He tried to make himself not feel shocked by the admission, and after a bit it happened, though now that he noticed it he could feel the disruption that the magical energy was making in space, leaving a hole that caused everything to sort of orient toward him.

Troy pulled one of the new kitchen chairs around. They were real wood and had a classical feeling to them, his purple silk shirt being slightly wrinkled from a night of hard work at the club. His hours had gotten longer since his promotion and longer still ever since the lockdown, because he was basically doing Edom's job too. After all, there were Vampires that worked there, and Humans, and only one of that second kind knew that the other existed. It wasn't a horrible choice, since his roommate could be out and about day or night. Most of the younger Vampires had problems that way. Even Edom had admitted that he struggled a bit around noon.

"Sure, all the changes here, hot actresses coming to stay. I'm cramping your style and you want me to find someplace else. I hear you. How much time do I get?" It was said as if Troy's name wasn't the one on the rental agreement.

"Oh! No, that's not it at all. I am going to buy this place, but your name will be on it too. Co-owner, so you don't have to worry about that kind of thing. It's just... I found something out tonight, and you know, kind of need to share."

That got a sense of relief from his best friend, and then a strange look.

"Is it that you like men? I don't see it for myself, but you know, that's cool, if you do. As long as you don't want me, even though I'm clearly awesome. If so... Well, that's not happening, but I understand." He grinned about it, clearly getting that it wasn't the actual case.

It normally would have been time for MH to come and tease him, but nothing happened at all. So there was a real problem there.

"Also not that. Any other guesses? I think you get one more?" That was the rule, right? Three?

Troy actually stood up and put his hands behind his back, pacing for a bit, as if it were an actually game or something. Zack just waited, wondering if he had time for a donut run before work.

"You're sleeping with your boss?"

"Nope. Not yet at least." He sighed and tried to think of the best way of doing it, then realized that out of everyone he knew, Troy was the one that might just not really get it, or care. "It turns out that I'm a Greater Demon. People have been saying that, but I thought, you know, that I was Human. Apparently not so much. I didn't know, until a few hours ago, but when people find out, they're probably going to freak, hence telling you first."

That got a nod and after a bit Troy sat down.

"I... Have heard some shit, then. Soul stealing and taking slaves? Total bad asses too, which... Are you sure? That doesn't sound like you much at all."

"No doubt, still, it seems to be the case. That, or I'm being pranked on a level that is completely beyond reason. It will mean some changes, I guess. For one, we need a lot more food. I mean... Like way, way more. I'm thinking of getting deliveries in or something. Also, everyone hates us, or at least will be afraid, so most of my relationships are about to go away, I guess. Still, the part where we're all soul stealing jerks seems to be optional, so I'm going to avoid that one. Are you okay with all this? I could leave. I might have to, since it seems like some Demon guy is coming to rape me or something. My real dad."

Troy blinked.

"What? Rape you?"

"Again. I guess, when I was little... I told you about being kidnapped? That was him. Also, in case we're ever playing truth or dare, don't ask about me being a rapist or a cannibal, because that's apparently in there too. Gross, I know, but some kind of magic was used or something. That or force. I don't know how you turn a little kid into a rapist, but Keeley said that wasn't the worst of it." He grimaced, then waited for the judgment to come.

"Well... got it. Damn, that's messed up. I'm here, if you need to talk, you know that, right?"

"Thanks. Well, that's it. Other than that The Technician, Darla, is going to be around in the evenings and maybe other times. She was at the Christmas Party? The blonde?"

That got a grin that said Troy really didn't understand what a Greater Demon was at all. But he didn't suggest anything bad, just looking like he had... plans.

Then, almost as if the conversation had been about dish washing duties, he went to the living room and started playing videogames. They were borrowed ones, but for the new system that he'd gotten for Christmas.

Zack felt pretty good about things so far. True, his buddy might melt down later, or get scared, but so far, so good. It hadn't even taken long, just about twenty minutes all told. That meant he had plenty of time for more food, and started walking, taking his normal shortcuts toward the Michaels, which was only about four blocks from the Sunshine Bakery, which had always seemed like a good place to go to him, with its happy blue sign, and pleasant scents. He hadn't had a lot of need for that kind of thing before, since it would cost money. That reminded him to stop and get some from an ATM, taking out as much cash as he was allowed in a convenience store.

The glass display case was about half filled, but it was early in the day and there were things cooling still. The place smelled like a thousand different things, but it was the apple fritters that caught his attention first. He used to love those as a kid.

The lady that came out of the back stopped when she saw him, her face frozen for a few seconds, and then she squealed and ran around the corner.

"Mr. Hartley!" Erin Soars smiled at him and then drew him into a big hug that threatened to crack his ribs, at least metaphorically. "Ginny! Come quick, Mr. Hartley is here!"

Ginny, who was dark skinned compared to Erin's light European complexion, walked out wiping her hands on a rag that was tucked into the side of her apron waist. They both were clearly the bakers for the place.

"Call me Zack." He didn't get to say more, since Ginny took a turn hugging him then. They were partners, as in, together, Erin and Ginny, as well as running a business together.

Erin stood back and smiled, but let that fade after a bit.

"I guess that you've come to collect? I owe you a life." She swallowed, but Ginny didn't gasp or anything, just stepping forward, in front of her lover.

"Rebecca needs her mother. Take me instead. I'll... do whatever you want." It sounded very brave, if a little frightened.

Calming himself and trying to remember to be happy, but just a little, so he wouldn't smile like a predatory freak, Zack got his wallet out and pulled a twenty. They were just donuts and it looked like that would get three dozen plus taxes.

Yes, he knew what the women were offering, and in a way it was kind of tempting. They were both in their late thirties or early forties, and neither was exactly a fox, but they were nice and a bit of sex would have been kind of fun, except for the part where they wouldn't want it, and it would be done only as an obligation, because he'd helped rescue Erin's daughter once.

"I'd like to start with a dozen apple fritters, please, and then two dozen assorted?" He held the bill out between his thumb and index finger, making himself look at least hopeful that they'd take his money. It took a confused and hesitant minute, but Ginny did it.

Zack focused and then tried to be both honest and charming about the whole thing.

He spoke to Erin, who was still just standing there, gaping at him.

"I don't take people as slaves. I help little kids that need it and that doesn't cost anything. If you want to vacation in Bermuda, or the Trolleikein lands, then we'll bargain for it. I don't want to be a jerk about it, but if we're going to be friends, we can't have this kind of thing hanging over us. When I get you both into bed, it will be because you want to be there." He smiled, realizing what he'd just said. It was what he believed, but wasn't a sure thing at all. When he did it. That had to seem like crazy talk.

That got Ginny to make a face at him, which he realized was about that remark, though she didn't say no, even if she was probably thinking that he was the wrong gender for her totally. That was fair enough, so he just winked back, copying Keeley's standard move.

Erin sighed.

"So you aren't a Greater Demon? There have been a lot of rumors, I guess we should know better than to listen to that kind of thing, shouldn't we? You saved my daughter though, and... well, Node travel isn't free. Not for anyone."

Zack looked at her for a few seconds and then nodded.

"Right. Except that I paid for that one. After a fashion. That's all. Also... and I don't want Ginny to drop those donuts... so, you know, get ready for it?" He paused and let her set the thing down on the glass top counter, about halfway full. It was the second of the light pink boxes, the first assorted one. Lots of jellies in the mix, which was good. He liked those too. When she nodded at him, looking a bit glum for some reason, he went on. "I actually am a Greater Demon. To be fair, I just found out, a few hours ago, and really didn't know before that, so please don't think I was trying to lie to you. That changes nothing about me though, knowing that. You don't owe me anything, except quality baked goods, since I'm paying for them." He almost said deal, to be cute, but didn't, since he didn't know how that worked at all.

Both women froze, but after a moment, Ginny started to fill the box again, going very carefully.

"Thank you, then. I... Well... How are you doing? That's got to be a shock, finding something like that out." She actually sounded like she meant it too, for all that it was a bit hesitant.

"Yeah, it is. On top of it all I get to be hated now too. But, at least I know that I need to eat more, so there's that. I hope that we can still be friends? Not that we were hanging out, but you know, I'm really not a horrible person, I don't think."

Neither of them volunteered anything after that, but Erin did take his money at least, and didn't make him act all awkward about it.

"Does Lisa know?"

"Nope. I really just found out, less than seven hours ago. I'm probably going to be out of a job soon, aren't I? Well, at least I have some savings. Anyway, thanks for being so nice about this. I'll see you later? If I'm still welcome, I mean?" It was a point. No one sane would try to kick him out, but they might not want him around, if he offered to stay away.

Erin actually looked at Ginny and then shook her head, "you're always welcome here. No matter what." She was shaking gently, afraid for real now, but Zack nodded and touched her hand, focusing on trying to understand what she meant. Like he had with the telepaths in the Ettarian lands.

That got a lot more information than he'd counted on. Way more.

In an instant he knew her. Everything that she'd ever done. How she'd cheated on her SATs, and how on the weekends, while Ginny was at the shop, she liked to use her large pink dildo and pretend it was Brad Pitt, even though she wouldn't have done him if he'd asked. There was a lot of old abuse, both as a girl and then by her ex-husband, who Zack had killed personally, but for the most part she really wasn't that bad.

Incredibly afraid of him, now that they knew what he was for certain. Also there was fear for Ginny, and her daughter, for all her brave words, since Greater Demons might do anything, and who could really stop them?

Somehow, without actually acting like he was being electrocuted, Zack managed to get his hand back. It was all still there, he realized. Everything about her, and her entire life. Nothing was hidden from him. It was a lot more than he'd wanted to know, but it also left him liking her a little better, for all that.

Taking his three boxes of donuts he tried to open a Node directly to the Nexus, which was way easier than into his living room, having a good end point already. It meant he was able to do it in a few seconds, and step through without waiting to see what Ginny would do next. Hiram jumped up, startled by the sudden movement, but he saw the boxes and grinned.

"All right! I could use a snack. Did you get raspberry filled? Those are my favorite."

"I did. Is Lisa in?" He realized that he knew that, seeing the warping of space in her office, but let Hiram nod anyway.

"Yep, for about an hour. I'm a bit worried about her. I know she's gotten clean, but Wistra... It's so easy to relapse, and she's pushing herself hard lately. I get it, but..." There was a shrug. The man was an ex-thief, who probably still dabbled from time to time and was mainly working there so that his niece could afford her Guild membership. He was doing well enough and was a good worker, but it wasn't the life he would have chosen for himself. Zack had always known that about the guy.

He got him a donut, and then grinned.

"Let me see to things. I guess there's an order to them. I need to chat with Lenore first and see if she's going to break up with me." The thing there was that the Vampire would have heard him say, he knew. So a bit of warning for her? He took the donuts with him, so that he could explain and eat at the same time.

As luck would have it, not only was she in, but so was Bey. It was... Well, Zack knew he might not live through the explanation, but it was coming out anyway, so he walked in and took a seat at one of the tables along the side.

Lenore looked at him with a troubled expression. That probably meant she had heard him then.

"Is something the matter, Zack?" She sounded calm and like she expected him to break up with her. Probably for not having enough sex with him.

"Yes. I... Well, it seems that I really am a Greater Demon, like everyone has been saying. I just found out and-" He didn't know what he was expecting them to do. Hit him? That seemed likely. Or rant and rave while he ate fritter after fritter, but they both just went still and then Bey nodded a few times.

"It... has been suspected. How will this change our agreements?" He looked sad, as if his world was crumbling around him, his large ears twitching a bit which got Zack to look at the back room, where there was at least one person behind the wall, listening. They weren't very strong, compared to these others, so probably Barb, or at least a Vampire near that age and power level.

Zack shrugged.

"Not at all. Why would it? You keep giving me far more than I'm asking for. Probably because of this being possible. It doesn't change anything however. I just..." He was going to go into the whole thing about him being a Demon, so he'd understand if they didn't want to be near him, but then just smiled and tried to find a place that was calm inside. "You know what? I'm not going to keep sugar coating this for people. It seems like I'm the last one to know. So, Lenore, are we still going out or what, and if so, when are we actually doing that? I get that this current crisis is a pain, but you have a back room here and we can put up a sign." It was blunt for him, and he wondered if she were going to try and go all hostile on him, but instead it was her turn to shrug, which really did look fake.

"We can do that. To answer the first question, yes. If you want to? It's a bit strange, but you aren't a different person yet. If you change, well, then I guess I'll do what I have to. That's every relationship isn't it?"

"Good, Well, that's settled then. Thank God. I thought Bey was going to make my head explode, which would be a giant mess in here. Poor Barb would be scrubbing for weeks." That got a reaction from the back and she came to the door, her face blank and pale. More so than usual. She was very still, and was watching him as if she expected a new regime of beatings and rape to follow or something.

"Hi!" He waved a bit. "Tonight, at about five or so? Oh, Lenore, I'll be back, probably a bunch, today. I need to eat more and I seem to remember having unlimited treats from here? Can I just come and get them, since I know that you're still busy?"

She looked at him and nodded once.

"Clean up after yourself as you go and make sure to mark down anything we're about to run out of. I might need you to fill in for me soon, if a war doesn't happen. I badly need to have my nails done again." She held them out and the paint was a bit chipped in places.

"I'll need the practice then. Reread the notebook and all that. Thanks." He'd been eating the whole time and finished six donuts while talking, being careful not to do that with his mouth full since that would be rude. His grandparents had taught him that one after all, from an early age.

That was a conversation he wasn't looking forward to having, right there. It wasn't like he was coming out as being gay or something easy like that. Of course, that wasn't easy, it was just by comparison that it seemed like it. Now that he thought about it, it would have been a thousand times simpler to say those words to them rather than that he was an evil Demon.

On the good side, he realized, he wasn't going to have to have a long drawn out, and sort of repetitive conversation with Lisa about what he really was. She'd gotten a call and had locked herself in her office. She was working magic, it was clear, but they seemed to be warding spells, rather than an attack of any kind. Hiram looked panicked and ready to run, so Zack plopped the boxes down and offered another dose of fat and sugar.

"So... Erin Soars called?" It was a guess, but the man shook his head.

"Nah, someone named Ginny? Said you admitted that you're a Greater Demon? Lisa's freaking man. Like it's true or something. Heh." The man had his hands on his little silver wrapped quartz crystal weapon. It seemed to have a nice charge too it, but should be single use. Kind of like a tazer on crack.

Zack sighed.

"Yeah. I just found out last night. Late. I haven't even slept yet. Hence yesterday's clothes. And no, this doesn't mean I'm suddenly going to endorse your life of crime." He looked at the man, and tried to remember what it was like to feel confident and in charge. He had to use his imagination, but it sort of worked, he realized, once he added the needed power to it.

Then he started eating some more, just waiting for something to happen. It did, in the guise of Hildegard coming in.

"Good morning! Oooh, little cakes..." She didn't ask for any, but Zack pushed the box toward her, and then gestured at the closed door.

"I'm a Demon, Lisa just found out and is having a meltdown." Then he watched the girl for her own, but she just ate a cherry iced cake donut.

"I know, I was told on the way down by Kaitlyn. She seems worried, but I didn't hear screams, so I figured that it isn't important today? We're still doing the transfers?"

"If people show up, we do them. The only real difference between today and yesterday is that I was apparently being a lazy moron, who just didn't eat enough to keep his strength up? Still, people will feel better with you touching them than me, I bet. What do you think Hiram, will it improve my bad-boy street cred with the ladies?"

The slightly older man sniped a third donut, eating more than he normally would, due to nerves, and then nodded.

"Oh, hell yeah. Pretty much the top of the food chain that way, aren't you? Don't touch Jelly though or I'll..." He blanched a bit, but Zack nodded.

"Got it. She is legal in this state, did you know that? But, yeah, that would be wrong. Especially since people would think I was taking advantage of her." Which would be the case. He was, until Lisa realized she could just fire him, the girl's boss. That was all kinds of inappropriate.

That got Hilde to grin at least, showing her nice white and very heavy teeth.

"I'm older than you are I think. Unless you were lying about that?"

"Nope, twenty-two. How old are you?"

"Twenty-four. We could date. You're a little small for me, but most of the men here are related to me, so I have to be willing to settle. Are you going to come and lift weights? I made a plan."

He agreed to try and show up, starting in two days, if he was allowed. He said it that way and Hiram snorted at him.

"Who's going to stop you? I don't mean who can, I get that you'd go away and all that, if people get their panties in a twist, but who would? I know I want my free trip to Hawaii later this year, you know? That was in there, wasn't it? That, and complimentary donuts?"

Zack made a face.

"You can do that, but it's kind of bland. I mean, pretty, but when you could go anywhere, why pick someplace that a plane ticket would do just as well for?"

They all went back and forth like that for about an hour, at which point Bob came in, looking stern, which wasn't like him. He didn't glare at Zack though, or Hiram, just the door to the office where Lisa was layering Ward after Ward.

"Hi Bob. I think we have a donut left?" Actually two, since he'd slowed down, not wanting to be the one to take the last one. Both were maple bars and the man blinked, then grabbed one, using the little paper in the box to hold it, caring more about not getting sugar all over himself than germs, it seemed.

"Thank you. I kind of ran out of the house when Lisa called. She wasn't very clear about anything. Is she using again? Wistra shouldn't be like that."

Hiram was the one that spoke, his face set.

"No, if she tried, her watch ward would have gone off. She just found out that Zack's a Greater Demon for real and isn't taking it very well. We're still on schedule otherwise. The whole Mall knows, but so far no pitchfork wielding mobs have come. We... really haven't tried to get her to come out yet. Kind of a low key approach?"

The man didn't comment, just looking at each of them, clearly thinking, and finishing his bar. When he was done he left, to the bathroom and washed his hands, which Zack realized was a great idea, and then came and knocked on the door softly.

"Lisa? Can you come to the door? We have a maple bar left." It was an odd thing to say, but there was no answer, just more chanting. She was pretty good at it and had a nice rhythmic flow going, the words in some language he didn't recognize, until he realized he did. It was floating around him suddenly, the language. Ancient Sumerian. She got most of the words right even, though she was mispronouncing about half of them. Some had clearly been distorted so much they didn't really have meaning anymore.

Basically she was telling the demon to go home and leave her alone. It was kind of rude, since he worked there. She charged the words with power, but Zack didn't feel anything from it at all yet. It was being driven into the wards. That meant she might well be safe inside her office, but unless the trashcan was going to get a new use, and they could toss food and water in, she wasn't going to stay in there forever.

Bob kept trying, but she finished the new layer before speaking to him.

"No... Zack... He's after me. From the first day he's done everything he could to make me like him, and be in his debt. Now he's going to call that in and make me his slave! I won't do it. I won't let him take me!" This sounded a lot more like a personal issue than something that was really about him, but he didn't have a clue why she felt that way.

Zack did get that nothing he said would let her feel good about him yet, so he didn't try, just washing his hands and face. Finally after Bob had given up and Hiram was rolling his eyes at the door, Hildegard stood and gestured at the people slowly coming in the front of the place.

"The first transits for the day are here. Lisa should come out and do her job. I know that things feel different, but that's not real. Zack, your friend, is real. I, Hildegard, am real." She didn't force the issue however, which was good, since there was simply no way that Lisa was leaving that room while Zack was there. Instead he shrugged and did what Darla had said, practicing his new skills. The first order of business was turning his feeling of frustration and annoyance at Lisa into compassion. It took energy, but didn't leave him starving at the moment.

Then he got Hilde to go through Lisa's speech about the fact that the large girl had to pick people up around the middle, to carry them through. No one spoke to him overly, but that was to be expected. The ones that came first were the bravest, but that didn't mean they weren't worried about what might happen. Of course what did take place was everyone just going to the Ettarian lands, safely, and far more quickly than the day before.

Only half the leaders showed up now, but that just meant he was able to order in more food for an early lunch than he would have thought three people could eat. The others stayed in the back with him for it, but when he was done they had time, so he hopped up and dusted the store, then swept. It wasn't horrible, but being closed meant they hadn't been doing it daily for a while.

It was while he was doing that chore that Lisa made her break for it. She darted out the back door at a true run, and hit the bar to open it so fast that she actually knocked the undercover police officer that had been standing there down. For his part he grabbed her, not knowing what was going on, which was a bit of a mistake, since she was amped up and wild eyed already, just from fear.

The bald man looked surprised, but held on to her ankle, which got her to stop, and yell at him.

"Run! There's a Greater Demon here! Run for your life!"

Zack just nodded, realizing that, if he'd been paying closer attention, he might well have realized that the man had been standing there, trying to listen to them.

Raising his hand, Zack waved, and then smiled a bit.

"That's me. I just got the job, so she's overreacting a bit. Don't let it worry you."

That got the man to let go of her leg, meaning that, with a run in her pantyhose now, she was able to leave, finally.

Chapter seventeen

"What the fu-" The bald guy was cut off when the heavy blue fire door in the back swung shut on him. No one went out of their way to hold it open either, so it was decently effective. After all, if he wanted to come in it was going to mess with the schedule for the rest of the day. As it was Zack wanted to just give it all up and go home. Lisa hated him.

It wasn't fair, since he'd always tried to be a good friend to her and did a lot to help her out already, which should have trumped him being something other than a crazy person with line walking abilities. Trying to be a good little Demon, he made himself feel calm about it all, letting the pain of it slowly fade away. He had to keep that up, which meant using magic for it, so he walked out without saying anything, to get something to eat from across the way.

That he made up for himself, producing three of the large frosty treats, making sure he did it right, each time, focusing on the details of the thing. It might not help, but it couldn't be worse than Lisa hiding under her bed or whatever it was that she planned to do.

Using a small cardboard carrier, one that he found under the counter, in a stack of them, he got all the treats back, after cleaning up as he'd promised. Lenore didn't try to speak to him, being on the phone, until just before he was getting ready to leave, then she covered the hand piece and spoke in a normal enough tone.

"We have several of the High Council members that want to know if they're still permitted to attend the meeting? I've been telling them yes, but they won't believe me that you aren't charging them for it, personally. What do you want me to tell them?"

Zack sighed and then forced a smile.

"That I'll do it, just like always. I'd like to buy the house that I'm living in. Can you set that up for me? I want it to be for a fair market value, so the landlord doesn't get cheated, but I don't know how to arrange that. Troy Lopez needs to be on the papers too. I told him that would happen. Co-owner."

That got the Vampire to actually smile at him and start speaking to whoever was on the line in a rapid and happy tone, since it was clear that she thought that sounded like a very good trade indeed. It was still underselling the work, by a lot, but Zack had already contracted to do it all with Keeley.

He made himself eat, even though he didn't feel the hunger like he had before. After a bit he understood that. He'd been fighting against that feeling for a long time, trying to make himself seem normal. Or rather, if he had the right idea, MH had been doing it. Probably hiding a lot of other things from him too. Why that was, Zack didn't know for certain. He tried to think it through, but the only thing that came to mind was that he was in hiding and Mirror Him was his protector.

Letting himself feel what was actually there, hunger wise, meant that the treats were gone a few minutes after he started. That, and he looked like a pig, shoveling food into his mouth, sitting in the back room. At least he tried to use his little paper napkin. He'd only taken one. It was a mistake. That meant he needed to scrub up in the bathroom again, not knowing what else the day would hit him with.

It turned out to be a terrified Barb, who came in at five, after Hiram had left. There was no mention of anything changing, but the first time he touched her arm, to take her and her passenger through to the Ettarian lands, he got it. Everything about her poured into him, and he knew what she was thinking. Not just in the moment either.

"That, is really distracting." He muttered it out loud, which she pretended not to notice, and he didn't talk about it until they were back in the candle shop, a few minutes later.

He did his new little thing, choosing how he felt and then turned to her, as she cradled her straight left arm with her right palm, like a nervous school girl.

"Really? I mean, do you really think that knowing what I am now is that big of a deal? I'd like to point out that I didn't act that way around you, when I thought I was a Human, and you were a Vampire. It's pretty much the same thing, except that we already know each other and you know, for a fact, that I'm a decent person. That plus I don't want to eat you. Well, not in a way that you wouldn't possibly enjoy." It came out sounding playfully light and even, at least, instead of like an accusation of unfairness. It was valid, since she was reacting based only on the fact that he might be more powerful than she was for real.

That was at the heart of it for her, nothing else. Zack was higher on the food chain than she was and now that she understood that, her reactions to him shifted, almost without her being able to stop them. It was a lot like how she acted around Bey too.

"Sorry. Sir. I'll try to do better." She actually refused to look at him, her black sweater leaving her washed out and cold looking, even though he was nearly certain that she didn't feel things like that anymore.

The really sad thing was that there was nothing he could do to change that about her. She'd grow out of it, eventually. Even she knew that. At the moment, Barb was just too young to challenge someone like him, and that meant she was afraid. It wasn't built into her, Vampires actually had to learn that. It had been beaten in, carefully, over decades of effort from Lenore and a few others. It sounded mean, but he understood now, he thought.

It was like with the baby Vamps that Lazar had made and left to fend for themselves. They were flush with hunger and power and didn't know that they needed to follow any rules, much less how to control themselves. That almost had to come from the outside, at first. That or they'd spend hundreds of years just running around killing without control, making a generalized mess of the world.

Barbara however was taking it too far, for the moment, which was annoying.

They worked, with him making an effort to make her feel as comfortable as possible, so that she'd let go of the idea that he, personally, was going to beat her if she got out of line. He wouldn't do anything of the sort, since she was already a reasonable person, just... scared.

At seven there were no more guests to go through to the meeting, and the next day would be the last of the people actually headed in that direction, so he'd get some time off. Probably not real time to do anything, but it wouldn't be person after being who kept looking at him like he was a shark, getting ready to devour them all.

"Well, good job today. I'd love it if you'd realize that I'm still me and that things are fine between us, but that will probably take time. At least you didn't run away screaming about how I want to steal your soul, like Lisa did."

That actually got the girl to blink and then smile, for the first time that day.

"She what?"

"Yeah, not a joke. She made a break for it and ran out the back, screaming to the undercover cop that was listening at the door about how a Greater Demon was after her. That's going to make it seem like no drugs are being sold here, isn't it?" He grinned. "If I can learn to lie, I'm planning to try and sell the man on the idea that we're all just doing a complicated role playing thing. I already told him I was a Greater Demon. Do you want to be an Orc? I think you should totally be an Orc. We can get you a fake nose and some chainmail to wear. It will be cute." He meant that part, which, he realized, was a disturbing thing that he really hadn't realized about himself before. Orcs were basically pig people after all. That he thought it might make the girl in front of him look sexy...

She shook her head.

"Heck no. I'm going with cleric." Then she stopped and brushed her fingernails on her sweater. "That's right, you didn't think that I'd know that, did you? I've eaten more than one Vampire groupie in my time, you know. It's actually not a bad idea really. If we aren't going to just kill the man, or, you know, you don't make him your slave?" At those words she was suddenly scared again.

Naturally.

"No thanks. The man isn't really someone that I'd want hanging around for the rest of his life. I think that the whole role playing thing is probably the best bet. We should write a manual for it. That way people can leave them around and it will clearly look like a joke, or at least a game."

Zack had never thought about writing before, and bet it was hard, but if he was suddenly going to have all day to get things done, it made sense to do things like that on occasion, didn't it? He'd need an illustrator though, that or to learn how to draw. Growing up, art had only been part of his therapy, and no one had really tried to cover exacting technique with him on it. Still, he should be able to learn how, given time. That was in that floating memory bank that Tarsus had foisted on him.

Being a Greater Demon was all about learning things, and seeing how to make them really work. It seemed strange, since no one feared artists and fashion designers in the main, but there it was. Right there, waiting for him to try and understand what it all meant.

He went to the food court, where he was shunned like an Amish man with blue hair by everyone. Even Conrad and Merry refused to look at him, though they did get him his food to go. He got a lot of it and billed it to the Mage Embassy, since that was one of the perks of the job. It wasn't just the Elth and Hsreth either. As he walked back he saw Valerie and her people practically running away from the front of the store, as if he didn't know where they were?

It was dismal, but to be expected, so he just walked back home, watching the whole time, trying to stay ready for an incoming attack. Not that he knew what to do about it, other than trying to run into the lines to escape. It was his one good trick, so he tried to stay ready to use it. That he took his normal shortcut home...

That was mainly just habit. Technically he really should have made a point to just travel directly into his living room, but it didn't occur to him, so he used his key and hoped that Darla wasn't waiting for him inside already. For all that he'd loaded himself down with several plastic carry bags of food containers, it probably wasn't enough to share anymore. Not if she ate like he seemed to need to.

No one was home, but that didn't mean that much really. It was clear that more work had been done and there were ripples from the workmen that had come in, who were all Human, and one Alede, meaning that either Judy didn't know about him yet, or if she did, was avoiding him, while still getting the work she started done. They'd clearly focused on the bathroom that day, and when he popped his head in, it was redone with wood paneling, but the real kind, and had a rebuilt shower with a much larger tub. They were still the one unit, since there wasn't enough space for more, but it was a lot nicer looking. The toilet was even new, and was actually clean and everything.

Zack set to getting the food inside of himself, and was still eating when Darla came, almost exactly at eight. He could feel space warping around her and a terminus forming at the door, before she knocked, so it wasn't a surprise. He got up and let her in, wondering if he was supposed to bow to her, being that she was his mentor and all. Not really knowing, he did it anyway, getting one in return.

"Not a bad start. Keeley always just acted like I was supposed to be her baby-sitter. I see that you're eating?" She walked past him, not waiting to be invited in. Then, she wasn't a Vampire and they had an appointment, so it made sense. "I'll talk, you eat."

As soon as he actually started, feeling a bit conspicuous and not bothering to change that, just shoveling fried rice with sweet and sour sauce into his mouth, she laid things out, starting with what her job, as mentor, really was.

"I'm supposed to give you a chance to survive, if it can be managed. That means teaching you for a reasonable time period, until you can handle things on your own. That won't be forever, but it's normally about seventy to a hundred years. Don't be thrown off by Keeley. She's too young to be a real adult, which means that something there is very wrong. It's a trap, and we all know it, but it's so subtle that I haven't worked out who's behind it. Not Xenses, in case you're wondering. He's about as subtle as a knife to the middle." She smiled, but didn't let him speak.

"So, being your mentor is a sacred duty, and pretty much means that you have to do what I say, until you don't anymore. You have a whole lot to learn still."

Zack swallowed and interjected, hoping it wasn't all that rude. She hadn't said he could speak, but it made sense.

"Except that I probably won't really get that chance?"

She didn't look pleased by the words, but nodded, doing it slowly, and then looking at his food, reminding him that he needed to eat.

"Exactly. Not only are you clearly being set up here, outted, if you will, but honestly, given how damaged you are, we'd have normally killed you already. Instead of that, for some reason no one bothered to explain to me at all, you're being given an actual shot. Don't for a second think that means anyone has faith in you, or thinks this will work. It's part of something bigger and probably linked to whatever is going on with Keeley. That means we're all being played here."

He ate, going after several eggrolls in a row, using the rest of the sauce on it.

"So... Should you even waste time on teaching me anything?"

That got a strange and oddly fierce look on the pretty blonde's face.

"I'm your mentor. So far I'm the single most effective mentor in Greater Demon history. I've never lost a charge, and my only one so far reached adulthood faster than anyone else ever has. True, a lot of that was her, but darn straight it's worth teaching you, and keeping you alive. If I don't, the other Demons will make fun of me. I hate that."

He nodded, his mouth full again. When the last of the food was gone, not long after that, she started on what she thought he'd need to know first. Zack figured that would be fighting, or magic, but she actually started him on...

How to cook.

That got him to look at her funny, and finally tilt his head in a questioning fashion.

"I... Is that so I can subdue Xenses with homemade roast?"

She didn't take offense at least, just nodding.

"You can't learn to fight fast enough to do you much good. Don't get me wrong, you will be working on that, but for now you need basic survival skills. Real cooking, from scratch, more food around here and a chance to build up without exhausting yourself trying to use magic like you have been all day. Not that you shouldn't be practicing, but you have to recover and that means food for now. Later I'll show you how to gather energy from the world around you, but that takes time to get good at."

It sort of made sense, he supposed. He was, Zack realized, still starving, for one of their kind of people. He needed to actually eat way more and build back up. He'd thought that he had been, but then, no weight had come back, had it?

"All right, what do we make first?" He tried to sound like he was into the idea, and really wasn't all that opposed to it, in the main.

"Well, you have a nice set up here, but first you need to do some shopping. A lot of it..." She smiled about the idea, as if it would be fun or something. It wasn't, not really.

She had him make twenty trips to different stores for the purpose, stealing and then returning, their shopping carts. They got things in bulk and spent nearly five thousand dollars on food. It was so much that they didn't have a place to put it all, so most of it ended up being carefully packed into heavy duty bins and placed in the garage, along the left side. It was a mess in there, which meant, to Darla's way of thinking, that they were cleaning that up first. That meant no actual cooking was being done until nearly four in the morning, and they started on meat, fixing seasoned beef sausages that had been gotten from a butcher in Germany, eggs and pancakes, which she made him memorize six different recipes for. If the food was prepared sloppily, she made him eat it and then make more. She handed him some cash, and had him do several dishes up for her as well, but wasn't having half of what he did.

"The privileges of age. I can take in enough energy to offset things. It's never perfect and we simply consume more than Humans or most other creatures do. Since you aren't in hiding, you can do this openly, which will make your days easier. I take it that you had some interesting reactions to the news?"

"Oh, yeah. People refusing to look at me, my own boss, who's supposed to be my friend, running away, thinking I'm after her for some reason. One of my assistants is afraid of me too. So, probably the standard reaction set for one of us?"

That comment got Darla to chuckle and touch his arm gently. He got the idea, now, that she was reading all his information, but since he couldn't stop her, he just waited. It didn't take long.

"That's actually much better than you should have been expecting. Enough beings there owe you already that they weren't overtly hostile and no one tried to kill you at all. For a young Greater Demon that's practically the same as them all giving you extra birthday presents. Smooth things over where you can however. The situation you've worked yourself into there is not a horrible place for you right now. The level at which you're gaining favors and new friends is so high that few will probably challenge you directly. Oh, the rest of the Greater Demons might, but for now they're holding back, which is... telling. You can't stop them from killing you, so it isn't fear of you. My guess is that no one cares overly, to tell the truth. You just fit in too nicely."

Zack didn't see that one at all, but tried not to let the French toast he was making burn. It had spices in the batter, but other than that wasn't hard to make, once it was explained to him.

"Explain that one for the dumb new kid?"

"Really? You can't see it yourself? Well, you did admit you were dumb. It's simple, you're clearly insane, so the, let's call them the 'bad guys' so you don't get lost, the adversaries, think of you as a potential recruit to their cause of general mayhem and destruction. The others, the nicer ones, like myself, realize that you're relatively harmless and have even been orderly, over all. That means that most of us don't really want you dead. That doesn't mean it won't happen that way, but for the next days and weeks it might give you a chance to repair the damage you've let happen to yourself."

Then, as if making a point, he had to eat more. It wasn't a Human amount at all, and he wasn't gaining anything from it, even though the actual raw weight of the food and drink he was consuming should have done that for him. He looked the same at least.

Darla waved at him, when he looked down at his still flat and slightly hungry stomach.

"We process things differently. You may see Greater Demons that appear heavy, at times, but that's false. Our energy is held in a different portion of reality, which means that you need to fill the bank there. It will be a while. It won't hurt for you to add a bit of muscle however. Later, however. This is going to take months to fix already, so we don't need you burning it all up for vanity's sake."

He wasn't that vain, he didn't think, so had no real problem with it all. Before she left, Darla had him make up a large plastic bin of food for him to take to work. It was mainly junk, but as she pointed out, he needed the calories more than simple nutrition.

"Eat. Whenever you can, all day. I'll be back this evening, at eight again. I won't be here all the time or anything, but for now, you should expect me then. You're very important to me, Zack."

He sighed and stood, to walk her to the door, which seemed to be the polite thing to do.

"All that and I don't even know how to lie yet?" He smiled, but she nodded at him, as if letting him know it was an actual thought, and a good one. How she conveyed all that he didn't know, but he got it anyway.

"Try it. I suggest, when it comes up, that you simply make yourself feel like it's the truth. Not so well that you believe it, but enough that you can speak the words. Also, remember to pay attention. You're being pretty lazy that way and it's the fundamental portion of being one of us, crazy or not." Then she gave him a quick hug and got herself out the front door as Troy came in the back. He sniffed the air, but it was clear there was no food left.

"Darn. Well, cereal for me then." He laughed about it, but Zack shrugged. He was late getting home, and didn't have a girl with him, so that meant he'd either gone back to her place, or had to work late. That or something had happened.

It turned out to be that last one.

"Remember that girl I brought home last week? The one you got a cab for? She actually tried to follow me home. She sat at the bar all night, making eyes at me too. It was creepy. I mean..." He looked around and didn't start right in getting himself food, so Zack stood and started in on some more of the sausage and eggs, pointing to it with two fingers, so that Troy would get that at least part of it was for him. "Oh, thanks! Anyway, it wasn't normal at all. It wasn't the kind of thing that had people wondering if I was going to get lucky after work, or even like obsession. It was bad enough that Edom asked her to leave, himself. Then she waited for me outside and tried to follow me home. I can't explain it really. It was weird. Like, stalker level strange, not just a one night stand that can't let go."

Zack watched the stove and made sure he got it all right, starting some more French toast at the same time. They had real maple syrup for it, since Darla had insisted. Nodding without looking over he paused to think about things.

"I know. She's not well. I mean, I got that she was crazy when we met. Judy did too. The real kind, not just name calling. It's why I got rid of her like I did, I paid the driver extra to take her the long way, and make certain she'd be confused as to where we live."

That was news to Troy, since Zack hadn't mentioned it to him, and while Judy had been having sex with him, before the paparazzo had made her leave, she hadn't exactly spent hours in long and heartfelt conversation with him. It really just hadn't come up and probably didn't seem important to an Alede. If that kind of thing happened, you dealt with it and moved on, since each day meant you needed to be ready for the next meal. Getting caught up in the past just bogged you down.

They ate in silence, with Troy seeming a little concerned, but he didn't worry about things too much, in the main, which was one of the great things about the man. That and the fact that he'd taken care of Zack when he'd been having problems functioning at all, making sure he wasn't on the street long after most people would have cut him loose, just for their own protection.

"Well, I'll keep an eye out and try not to let our home be invaded by crazy girls." It was about all he could do, other than hope that she wasn't an agent of Xenses sent in to get him. That would make sense, wouldn't it? Using someone unbalanced to do the work like that?

Or not. He just didn't know enough about how the guy worked to make guesses like that. It was probably just some girl that wanted a little extra time and happened to be off her rocker. Zack could commiserate with that, so tried not to judge.

Instead, after doing all the dishes again, to keep the whole place clean and tidy, he set out to the Sunshine Bakery. He went the long way again, having plenty of time to get into work that day. After all, there weren't a lot of people that needed to go to the meeting still and of those that did, like Bey, he already knew they'd be willing to work with him. The Shifter leader was coming in that morning, Jahn, but that was all really.

Zack had been assured that Mr. Samson would not be bringing his wife and that all his aides were at least willing to fake not being bigoted anti-Human a-holes. True that had been back when the man had thought he was a Human, but if he showed, it might not be that bad.

The shop was open and no one had put up twenty layers of warding against him, just a simple ward line around the outer perimeter. It flashed a bit, when he crossed it, but didn't do more than that. It seemed to be responding to the new level of energy he was carrying, from the slight feeling of resistance.

It got an armed Ginny to run out of the back, her face set and eyes slightly wild looking, and Erin to follow along, holding a large wooden paddle. They both stopped when they saw him though and relaxed, which was incredibly strange.

Erin explained.

"The ward line tripped, which should only happen if we come under attack. I guess that, since you don't seem to be shooting fire or holding a battering ram that it isn't the case?"

"Not so much. I just came for more donuts? They went over pretty well yesterday. I think that I'll grab an extra two dozen today?" He dug out the cash for it, and waited while they both worked to put it all together for him. On a whim, he asked Ginny something, since she'd been the one to call Lisa up after all. It made a bit of sense to find out what she'd said.

The dark skin woman, her face slightly round looking, but mainly from bone structure and not fat, shrugged.

"That got weird, fast. I told her that you'd mentioned being a Greater Demon and how you were going to go and tell her about it. Then she freaked." She didn't seem to be lying, but when the cash got handed to her, he let his fingers touch hers ever so slightly, and focused on reading her.

That made things a lot more clear suddenly.

She hadn't said that he was coming to her exactly, being flustered and still a bit scared, thinking that she'd end up his sex slave by morning. Ginny had said that Zack was coming for her.

Smiling a bit, he left, almost able to make sense of things then.

Chapter eighteen

The work day was rocky and filled with annoyance, even before he got a chance to do more than walk in the door. Not huge, Earth shattering upset or anything, just a small problem that would have gone unnoticed if he hadn't been carrying five large boxes of donuts. The back door was locked and when he kicked at the door, no one came to let him in. Sighing, he walked around the building, so that he could try at Yoghurt World.

That actually worked, which was an improvement at least. Lenore smiled, and didn't seem baffled at all however, just waving behind her, to show that Bey was there, waiting calmly with his luggage, sitting in the back of the shop by their Node. The furniture had been replaced, instead of just fixed, and was all in a durable brown leather now. It had been lighter before, but still nice. Except for the fact that some of it had been torn apart, because of him. Twice.

His girlfriend didn't make him wait to explain at least.

"The Mages are temporarily cutting ties with you. This is coming from on high, not locally. They rather foolishly have decided to dump the entire embassy on Robert and Lisa, not even keeping young Jennifer on, since she was technically hired by you, and, as Bob mentioned, you can't be a Guild member, not being a Mage." She looked worried, and for the first time in over a day, Mirror Him actually came out, snarking right out of the gate.

"No shit? Go figure, people don't love the Demon boy. Well, we should have seen it coming. I bet I know who's behind this."

Zack was willing to hazard a guess himself, but kept his mouth shut, taking back over again. It was kind of comforting to hear that MH wasn't just going to be hiding all the time from now on at least.

"So..." Zack let himself feel bad for a few seconds, then caused a feeling of energy and boldness flow into himself. It was better than self-pity, if nothing else. "I'm going to eat some donuts, and then go make a nuisance of myself with anyone here that will listen. If the Vampire Council hasn't decided to ban me too?" Okay, so he sounded a little bitter, since he'd functionally been fired from his job, without notice at all. "Then I'll see to getting everyone where they need to go."

After all, it wasn't Bey's fault that the Mages were listening to Eric Weise, was it?

Lenore looked at the fried food and wrinkled her nose a bit, but didn't offer him a healthier alternative that day. She did explain however, since she hadn't started a fresh batch of culture the day before, not needing one with the very light traffic she'd been having that way.

"Not a problem, apparently. I need to eat so much that vitamins and minerals are kind of a given, I guess. Anyway..." There just wasn't a lot to talk about and Bey smiled, but settled into his chair and sipped at some warm water, checking out the surrounding area using his hyper keen senses somehow.

It was early still, and Zack had a key to the front door of Candles and More, even if he didn't need it really. He could have just walked in, but after he finished nearly two dozen donuts, he left the rest on the counter with Lenore and knocked on the door very politely, using magic to make certain he didn't get all that upset. It wasn't good, but it also wasn't Bob's doing. Lisa probably hadn't helped, but that wasn't his problem at the moment.

It was the Ambassador himself that came to the door, with a rather plainly dressed and bedraggled Lisa standing behind him. Her eyes shone and she was clutching a weapon of some kind. A blade that had energy worked into it. It was fresh work, but he could tell what it was supposed to be. A Demon killing knife. It was in the old memories that he'd gotten from the Librarian, along with the fact that it wasn't for his kind of Demon at all, and would do no more to him than any largely silver blade would. It wasn't a real point, since Bob stood in her way and she stayed a good fifteen feet back.

"Zack..." At least the man looked upset about things and wasn't calling him names or cringing away in fear. Then he had sort of helped save the man's wife from cancer. For free. It should help him realize what he was really dealing with. "I don't know what you've heard?"

"That the Guild is trying to get rid of me? That they decided to do it on the say so of Lisa's dad. Probably after she freaked him out last night by calling and falsely claiming that I wanted her soul? Which," He called out passed Bob so he was talking to her directly. "Is ridiculous. The only thing I want from you Lisa is for you to go and get off drugs again. I can't believe you did that. Not over something this stupid." It was frustrating, so he had to take a bit and master that part of things, as she stammered something at him that barely made sense.

"You tricked me into letting you in. There's only one reason to do that. I trusted you... You made Deidre leave me."

He blinked and didn't hide his shock at all.

"I made her leave? What are you talking about? I met her one time. I think it might just have been the drug use and the fact that you kept acting ashamed of her that did it, don't you? I mean..." He stopped and shook his head. "You know what? Never mind. My point here is that the Guild shouldn't listen to her or her father in this, and I know that they will. It's..." Throwing up his hands, he turned and just walked away, getting that most of the rest of the day wasn't going to be much better. He heard the door close behind him, then lock.

It was a statement, more than a way of keeping him out, he figured.

Trying to keep his mood up, he went to visit the Shifter's next, because of all the groups in the Mall, they tended to be the most annoying, so it wouldn't bother him half as much when they yelled at him or acted like he'd come to collect some slaves.

The moment he got inside the place, Calley was on him, her face...

Pleasant and professional. It was actually a nice change, to tell the truth.

"Zack! Jahn and his people are coming from the airport right now. I heard that you're still taking people in to the meeting? That's nice of you. I also heard from the Mage Guild that they're being a bunch of whiny little girls? 'Oh, poor us, the big bwad Demon that never asks us for anything twicked us! Damn him and awl his hawd werk!' It would be funny if... Nope, it's just funny. Catherine is busy hiding from you right now, but you can use our Node, if you need. We may not be perfect, but we won't forget who we owe." The Bat girl pushed her glasses up, and the others moved around them, which would have been menacing, except for the slightly nervous smiles.

"Thanks. I was thinking I might, I don't know, see about getting a store front and maybe starting my own place?" He had no clue what would be needed, but something might come up, right? They had three places that were just sitting there after all that would work.

That got an appreciative look from one of the men in the back, who from the warping of space around him could turn into something very large. He looked Asian, and had a hard look to his eyes, like a gang member, more than a guy that worked at a mid-priced casual-trendy clothing store.

"Probably a good idea anyway. People were starting to think the Mages owned you. This way you can show them that you stand for yourself. There are people that will be willing to travel with you, Greater Demon or not, or make bargains for things other than their souls, if they know you aren't going to just do what your wizard masters tell you." It sounded aggressive, and MH laughed, getting it first and actually sharing with him again.

'He's pushing you, so you can show that you're who you've been saying all along. Dragon I bet. Not a match for an adult... one of... like us, but you're not up to taking him in a fight.'

It was helpful, so Zack just nodded.

"It's still kind of sad that they're flipping out now, or at least a few of them are, but I think that you're right. If anyone get's an idea about what kind of shop to open, let me know? I'm just going around checking in with everyone and trying to find an excuse to practice lying. It's sort of a training assignment, but I haven't done it yet." It was too much information, but everyone laughed, as if he were telling a joke. "The herb shop next, I guess."

That went better, since Wu-Li, while a Mage, was also so old and powerful that he didn't bother with the Guild most of the time, and surprisingly didn't seem worked up at all about what Zack was.

"I knew. From the first event, when we met and went to aid Rebecca. I could see the energy pattern within you, and also understood that you either wished to hide what you were or did not know, so I attempted to aid you in that. I've seen enough to know that those of your blood are all different, and it is not impossible for them to be friendly, if treated well. Not common, but not without precedence."

Zack was glad to hear it, and didn't even blink when the man jokingly tried to hand him a package for Master Yang, who was halfway across the world. It was at a Nexus, so he took it and gave a nod.

"Not a problem. Nice talking to you. Later Dan!" That was Wu-Li's apprentice, who had worked the whole time, but smiled and waved when spoken to. It was almost like they thought he wasn't going to soul rape them or whatever it was the Lisa suspected.

That got a weird response from MH.

'You know... That's probably about what she thinks is going to happen. She let you in... I think... I think she actually has a crush on you, and since you have that inconvenient penis, she figures now that it meant you were working that old Demon mojo on her. It sort of explains the Deidre comment. That's just a theory, she might also just be a trippy loser that wanted a reason to get back on the uppers.' There was a low chuckle and then a considering bit of actual good advice. 'You should call your grandparents and Maddy Morse, get them to check on her. She might be being a bitch, but she gave you work when you were starving and no one else would hire you.'

Zack... had to agree. He owed something of a debt there, didn't he? A real one.

The Alede tried to all run away to the back of the place again, and he wasn't planning to follow them, but Kaitlyn walked out, her thick black rimmed fake glassed pushed up and her brown hair in perfect curls. She pushed her chest out, and Zack noticed that she did that really well, but made himself ignore it, since her t-shirt and jeans sort of meant that she wasn't actually on the prowl and probably wouldn't be for him anyway. He wasn't food.

"Hey." She sounded subdued, but not scared of him, so there was that.

"Hey." He returned the greeting and then looked into the back of the place, his eyes probably a bit sad. "So, why do I feel like it's that part in the movie where we talk about our feelings and how, even though I kissed Jenny at the dance, it was only because I was upset that you were blowing Dave behind the gym?" It was way off topic, but she nodded.

"Except that I was really just helping him with his algebra so he didn't get kicked off the football team and had dropped my eraser, giving you the wrong impression? That scene?"

Zack smiled, meaning it and clapped her on the arm, getting hit with her entire existence all at once. It made it clear why she was the one standing there and not her mom at least. The "school" she'd been at was a hellhole, and they'd planned to kill her, but it was worse than she'd let on. She'd been moments from killing herself to stay out of that place, when Zack had said that if there was no other way, he was taking her and running. Then Keeley had come and cowed the Ruling Body into backing away from the death order they had on her, which never happened.

If she had to be his slave or minion for that, she counted it as being only fair. So far, the work hadn't been that bad at all. It wasn't lost on her.

"That's the one. I wonder what movie that's from?" It wasn't, but it was so close in theme to thousands of them that it was hard to tell really.

She touched him back, her hand staying for a longer time on his arm than the other way around.

"Anyway, do you plan on making us all your little Demon girlfriends or whatever?" She said it loud enough that the rest of them could easily hear her, Zack was sure.

"Nope. Slavery is illegal in the U.S. and most of the rest of the world. I'm announcing my strong stance against it, even if I can't do anything about the other Greater Demons that have them, and won't. The whole not wanting to die thing? I should make up a poster or something. Anyway, you heard that I'm thinking about a store? Any ideas?"

There was a moment's hesitation and then she smiled and waved.

"Why not come and tell him that? It's still just Zack. You're all being really rude to him too."

That only got the one person to come out, a good looking man that was blond and tan. He looked like he belonged in GQ as an example of how not to look as ugly as most of their grungy models and seemed to be working very hard to prove that. The man held out his hand, but Zack didn't bother to get the download from him. That would probably be disconcerting. He was already blocking out how much more sex Kait had each week than Zack had managed in his whole life.

"Glen. I was just saying that we could use a nice book store. Maybe with a small cafe in the back? Or front. A trendy little place with ferns that will be a destination site for people looking to use their brains? Bookstores are dying out and most of the big box places are fading fast, but a smaller place, one that carries a good selection? That might work. It would give you a reason to have people in and out all the time too." He looked hopeful for some reason, one that Zack didn't get, but Kaitlyn did.

"Ah... The old coffee bar scam. Good one. Get Zack to put a little space in with a sofa and some chairs, that can be locked from the inside and we could use it for entertaining." She nodded as if he might have missed the reference. "Sex. This place isn't horrible that way, but it's way easier to get men to have sex with a hot woman, than for a good looking man to seduce the ladies. At least in the numbers that we need to do it. If we had two places we could go to here, it would really open things up."

Then, as if he weren't standing right there, they started planning it all out. The big expense, after the initial remodeling, which they didn't want to stint on, would be getting two of the larger spaces, side by side, which meant being on the lower level, between Candles and More and The Chasm. That would give them plenty of space for it and leave Zack a Node.

Glen waved at the space that they'd want, or at least in the right general direction.

"You won't even have to run it. We can do it and hire some other people from here. The Shifters had the right idea, you being tied up with the Mages made it seem like you were theirs. This way, if we diversify, we can have a lot of different groups involved. It might even get some of them to relax, about the whole Demon thing. I mean, it isn't like you're the only one here, is it?"

Zack didn't get his meaning, but the others had started to walk out, slowly, as if they were squirrels and he'd been scattering food, but they weren't really ready to believe it wasn't a trap yet.

"Won't that get in the way of your embassy duties here?"

Glen shrugged.

"Not really. We don't need many people here for that, and are over saturating our client base. If you let us set this up right, we can not only run both places, but probably reduce the overall tension level in the Mall by fifty percent." He smiled, which was a disarming thing and meant to be. "I'm making that last bit up, but..."

Zack nodded. He had the funds for it, he thought, and might have more coming in. He held out his hand to shake, and got one from both Glen and Kaitlyn, who seemed to want in on the whole thing.

"I'm headed to college next fall, but that's a ways away, and... really, I'm not getting a lot of action here. I might do better as a girl. Kyle still triggers too many maternal responses in the clientele here."

It was the kind of problem that he'd have never figured out on his own, but he just asked if they wanted to set it in motion. It might not work, but it sounded nicer than not having anything to do with his days, and he had people to see to and promises to keep still, so this would let him stay around.

No one in the food court would talk to him at all, being too wary, though Conrad did offer him some food, which he paid for out of pocket this time. The man took his money, but didn't make eye contact with him at all. After eating it, right out in the middle of the set of white metal and glass tables, he cleared the tray carefully and finished the rounds. The Trolleikein all acted like everyone else was tripping, and the women at Princess Pretty nails all figured that he'd come to ask out Charlie, the youngest one, who blushed the whole time.

So he did it. After all, even if she turned him down it was at least something for them to talk about, when he left. They all seemed horribly bored.

"So, what do you say? Everyone else seems to think it's a good idea? Dinner and a show? I have no clue what's playing, but I bet we could find something." This came out sounding so confident that he almost blushed, but the girl ate it up, doing first the blushing, then the agreeing part of things in rapid progression.

"Um, I'd like that. When?"

They agreed that the next weekend would be good. He set it for Friday, figuring that he could always change what they were doing if it was needed. Of course it meant that Darla would have to be all right with him taking off from practice, but he'd ask. Charlie was a little cutie and while not as alluring as some of the women he'd met lately, she was real. The fact was, for one reason or another, most of the people he knew weren't.

Not that they weren't good, but Lenore, for all she was nice and pretty, had to fake her way through every expression and emotional response. All the Vampires were like that really, except the very old ones and he just wasn't going to date Bey. The Alede were literally a trap to lure in victims for food. True, they didn't hurt them, but it was a part of them to not seem real at all. It was probably why Judy was a good actress. Like Lenore, it was part of her nature.

The Shifters were real, but half of them were a bit annoying, with their bigotry. Not fake about it, but that wasn't a huge improvement for them. Keeley and Darla...

Again, they were faking their way through everything, weren't they? And now he was too. That didn't mean he couldn't see the value in making a friend of Charlie.

That covered the first level, which meant that he'd turned around to work over to the stairs when Calley came out of her Embassy and waved at him.

"Zack! They're here!" She looked a little off however and Zack had a feeling of dread cut through his stomach about then. There were a dozen reasons why Calley might have been upset, it was true. Jahn could have told her she was fired, or her brother might have died in a freak flying accident. It was also possible that she'd overheard the book shop idea, but didn't like coffee, or reading.

It wasn't that, and he could see the warps in space that told him all about it. Shifters had come, but there were too many little ones for it all to be a coincidence. Taking a deep breath, he started walking that way, making himself feel peaceful this time, instead of just calm. On the good side, there was a chance right there to practice lying. He tried to make himself really believe the words before he got there, nearly two minutes later. It took enough of an energy draw that he was worried it would be too much for a moment, but he felt the new condition slip into place.

He moved into the place, past the circular racks of clothing and the faceless bald dummies wearing them and saw them all. Jahn Samson, along with three aides and his whole family. Including his three little children... and his wife.

She gave him a disgusted look as soon as he walked up, and he gave it his best shot.

"Mrs. Samson, how wonderful to see you. Looking so pretty too." She wasn't that great looking, but had taken pains to be presentable, and while a little twitchy, being a rabbit, the woman wasn't so much flighty as she was a mega-bitch.

Her nose actually wrinkled as the small man beside her held out his hand, preventing her from speaking yet.

"Line Walker. Thank you for coming here and doing this for us. I understand that the Vampires are making the arrangements to pay for this?" He looked slightly worried, even after Zack nodded.

That wasn't really true either, but he was on a roll, it seemed.

"That's right. They really don't want this to blow up into something negative. More negative, I mean. No one can claim the events in New Mexico were good. I didn't realize that we'd have this many, I have a porter coming. A Trolleinkein. She'll need to touch you for this to work." He felt stronger now, but hadn't tested it and didn't really want to start something with the tiny, rather angry seeming woman in front of him. Even the other Shifters were acting like they didn't want her there. Zack understood why, as soon as she opened her mouth.

"A Troll? At least they aren't as low born as Humans. I had to wash them for weeks to get the stink out of my children the last time this... man, touched them. An emergency, so it had to be done, but the sloppy service, requiring us to fly home, after what we went through-" She kept going, but Zack realized he had a true super-power that he'd never noticed before at all. He was able to block her out completely, and still hear everyone else. That meant he had a nice conversation with an increasingly uneasy Jahn and his aides, which occasionally included his oldest child, who was very polite and courteous. All the kids were. They had some bags, but had packed for a week, not a year and a half. It would make a difference.

His job or not, the Dragon-Shifter, if that's what he was, went and got Hilde for them, and Calley walked in front of Catherine, as if guarding her physically from Zack's notorious rage. For his part, even though he could see the tiny woman's mouth move, he was very pleased with the results he was getting. In the back room he went through and waved at the telepath there, who signaled for him to stop and touched his arm. The man thought at him and it was very clear at least.

'We could use those Interpreters?'

That was a thing that Zack had forgotten all about. He nodded, planning to go and get them after the Shifter leader and his people were in. He explained it all, including his lapse, but not why. The man nodded calmly and stood back, letting him get to the job at hand.

Mrs. Samson was a pain, it seemed, but other than listening to everyone apologize about it, including two of her children, Zack didn't have to hear it. It was nice.

Then he spent hours getting those translators in, the bird people being willing, but the Fox Shifters not so much so. In order to get them to be happy with it, he had to promise to take their leader along, which he had no problem with. The woman was old and didn't say much to him, and as soon as she stopped stabbing him, which meant twisting the knife from her hand and healing, he had her in place in the Ettarian lands. He hadn't been ready for it, but the healing was much faster now that he had more energy. It reminded him to go and get his big box of food from his house, which was still on the table. He had donuts too, but kind of felt like a chicken sandwich instead.

Plus, now he needed to go and change.

Calley looked at him and winced, but it was Catherine, the bitchy Ambassador, who was a cat-woman of some kind, who commented on it.

"Trouble?" It wasn't rude at least and she looked almost worried about it.

"A bit. The Reynard leader took exception and stabbed me about ten times. I healed, but need a new shirt." He was going to leave it at that, knowing that it was that thing were everyone tried to kill the baby Demons, but the Ambassador acted like it was some vast problem.

"Do they live?"

He could have played dumb and ask who she meant, but the idea was that he might have killed The Reynard, wholesale, for that kind of thing. There weren't that many of them after all and turning into a fox, while a real ability, wasn't exactly enough to protect them from, say, a hunting rifle.

"Everyone is fine. I just took the knife away and got her into place. If they do it again, I'll have to do more however. That's their free pass, because I hate killing old women in the morning. You might want to pass the word around?"

She acted as if he were being mean to her, personally, but Calley came up and moved between them again, which was a little strange. He really wasn't going to harm the woman after all, and she hadn't exactly been slapping him down, or even yelling.

"Let's get you a shirt, to replace that one? Something in light blue would look nice on you. Over here?" She goaded him away, but seemed shocked when he paid for the shirt. They hadn't stabbed him after all and while it might feel good to make the woman that stabbed him replace it, that would just lead to wasted time for him.

Taking his bag, which had the bloody shirt in it, he used their Node to go directly home. He needed to scrub up. He picked his own bedroom to appear, in case there were workmen around, but that wasn't a big problem that day, since Troy was sleeping and Judy was on the sofa, finishing the book she was reading. When she saw him there was a large smile on her face, but she didn't hop up to hug him or anything. Instead she marked her book and sat up.

It was still the old sofa, which she patted gently, indicating that he might want to sit.

"Long time no see. I hear they're keeping you busy at the Mall?" Her voice was calm and held a slight edge of playfulness, instead of that sexiness the other Alede always had with him. Even Glen had, which was a bit odd. They couldn't really help it, except for her. That meant she was probably way older than he'd originally thought, wasn't she?

"Not so bad today. I just need to go back and make sure Bey gets into the meeting in a bit. I needed to get some food first." He looked at the kitchen and then sighed. "I guess I got fired from work. For being a Demon? You have heard about that right?" It was possible that no one had told her after all.

She nodded.

"I have heard something. Considering it's all over the alternative news sources, at least ours, it was kind of hard to miss. How do you feel about it?"

"You know... I haven't really thought about that yet. I don't get a choice, so... Does it matter how I feel?"

After a bit, her eyes glued to his closely, she shook her head.

"No, not really. When there's nothing you can do about things, you just have to make it work. Speaking of which, let me make you something to eat. I noticed that the food supplies have both increased and gotten better? How about this, you can tell me about what's going on and I'll cook. Deal?" She grinned as if she were being cute.

Zack shook his head.

"Nope."

Judy laughed, but went to make the food anyway.

Chapter nineteen

Since there was no pretense that he wasn't different, Zack just asked for way more food than Judy would think was reasonable for one person, which had a large pot of chili made, with two pans of corn bread and a salad, to round things out. It took about forty minutes for it all to be done, but the pot had added sweet onion and enough spices that the whole place was far more inviting to him than it had been for a while.

That was due to the changes, which he realized was a bit mean of him. On some level he'd kind of felt like the actress was taking over and being pushy, even when all she was really doing was making his world nicer. He had to eat out of regular sized bowls, but was able to put a lot of melted butter on the bread, along with honey. It shouldn't have worked with the spicy food, being too sweet, but he really liked it, once he let himself feel the gnawing hunger again.

"This is really good. Thanks." He had to wait between bites, but she winked at him, and reached out to touch his arm gently. It wasn't a come on though, he didn't think.

Zack, remembering to practice like he'd been told, tried to read her in that brief contact, but didn't get anything. That could mean almost anything, naturally, since he wasn't all that good at doing that kind of thing yet. After eating for a bit he moved and tried it again, touching her arm in a way that would probably seem like he was coming on to her, instead of the other way around. That would be natural enough, since she was a friendly person, as well as cute. It took a lot longer and still nothing came out. It was baffling.

He'd gotten a read on an Alede before, so he knew it could be done.

Still eating he tried to work out what it meant. Was he doing something wrong? His review of it said that he should be fine really. The connection was solid, flesh on flesh, and his focus should be deep enough. The light trickle of magical energy he was using was enough, but he tried to increase it, just in case he was wrong.

That got her to pull back, as if stung.

Then she smiled.

"It seems that we're about done with this game then, aren't we? Well, it's been fun." She stood, but didn't run out or anything, even as what had to be happening slowly dawned on him. Mirror Him got it first, but then, in a lot of ways MH was smarter than he was.

'Crap. She's not her. She's-'

Judy looked strange, but tilted her head, her eyes going just a little bit blank.

"That's right, boys, it's daddy!" She threw her arms out wide, and spun in a circle, but only one time. Then she cleared her throat, which was strange and obviously meant to get his attention. She still looked and sounded like her however, even as his brain slowly processed everything.

Mirror Him freaked, but didn't attack, just screaming again and hiding. It was a bit less than helpful, or protective, but Zack got the idea. He was the one in charge now and MH knew it.

It took a moment, and Zack kept eating, since he was both still really hungry and wanted the time to think. That last part simply wasn't happening well, so he actually was dishing up a second bowl of chili when he finally let his mouth move.

"You can pay me for the food then. What you've had here." It was what he was supposed to say, he figured, but the actress, who clearly wasn't, just nodded, and sat down, getting that the first move wasn't going to be fighting, or even running off, it seemed.

"Fair." The eyes went back to being a lot more normal, or at least more Judy, but the voice was a bit sing song and eerie. "So, son of my flesh, daughter of my soul, I've come to bring you home with me. After Finias stole you away, I thought to never find you again, but then I heard of a boy that walked the lines, and who wore my old face, all while pretending so very well to be a Human. I didn't believe it at first. I really thought that Keeley was my son, you know. I'm very happy that it's you. You're... perfect." Absently she, or more properly, he, took some of the corn bread and buttered it. The spread had herbs in it but was starting to solidify from its melted state a bit already.

Buying time for thinking, Zack did the same, adding honey to his. He needed to eat. That or it was his last meal, so was worth paying attention to anyway.

"You know, I kept thinking of you as taller. With horns too. Maybe red skin? The way the others talked about you made you seem, really insane. Like... me. Still, I guess you're kind of horrible, aren't you? What you did to me and all that? Not a great thing. It might have been better to leave me alone that way. I'm... not well, as you've probably guessed." It took an application of will and magic to keep the fear at bay, but he sounded confident and even slightly tough, though that wasn't going to really help him in the end, was it?

Xenses surprised him then, because while Zack expected laughter, or mocking, what he got was a somber nod.

"I can see that now. At the time I thought I was creating a masterpiece, something so broken that nothing would be able to stop you. A force that our side could use against those that seek to constrain us and hold us down. There's a war going on. One between those that love freedom, and those that think that the apex predators of the world, meaning us, need to be held to Human rules of behavior. Not that they really do that themselves, the bunch of hypocrites. We're Greater Demons, son. We have our own rules, and don't really need more. We should seek to shape reality to our liking, not just accept what it is and nudge here and there like those goody-goods. I bet that no one explained that to you at all, did they? It was all just rape and torture, having to eat your mother's legs while she screamed and fucking your human father in the ass with that little penis I helped you grow?" The Judy Demon sighed, and pushed the large pot of chili closer. "Eat up. What Finias allowed to happen to you... Starving you like that for years..."

There was actually anger in her eyes.

"I won't let them hurt you anymore. I'll admit, at least they gave you over to Darla, she's a good girl. You really should fuck her, you know that? If you make your cock big enough she'll scream for days. I used to do that to her, when she was my slave. I was going to do Keeley that way too, but she actually got the better of me. Can you believe that? Luckily she's done it a couple of times now to others, or I'd be a laughing stock. There's a person that needs her ass raped. I'll leave that to you. It can be your birthday present."

"Um... That sounds horrible. Why would I do that? For one thing, I'm pretty certain that either of them would just let me do that, if I asked or traded for it, as long as it didn't hurt them, plus, aren't we all related?"

That got Judy to nod, explaining calmly, instead of lashing out.

"Sure, but Zack, we aren't Human and incest doesn't produce monsters for us. It doesn't weaken the line, and we aren't fertile that way. You'd have to get a Human woman pregnant to make it work, and that takes effort on our part. Only the men can do it. I mean, clearly, I'm a male." She gestured to her rather cute body, and grinned. "We can look like anything, or anyone, once we learn how. I can show you, if you want? Or Darla can. I didn't come to make your life harder. I already did that. All the bad things in your life are my doing. Then, I am called The Defiler for a reason. We don't need that between us though, you're special. I could see it the moment I laid eyes on you. I came to let you know that you're loved. I know that things were rocky in the past, but someday, I hope that you'll see that we're on the same side."

There was another light hand on his arm and the woman stood up, pacing a bit. Her shoes, which were just sneakers, tapped on the ground lightly. There was only that and the faint ticking of the clock on the wall, across from the stove.

"Can we do that, do you think? Can we move past my mistakes at all?"

Zack nearly tried to lie, but then shook his head.

"Probably not. Not in a happy-go-lucky family way. I doubt that I'm going to invite you over for Christmas or the Fourth of July picnic or any of that. I suppose, if you really mean to try, and aren't just playing games with me, I can try too. Slowly. For now..." He didn't know. Really, as scared as he was inside, magical suppression or not, he wanted to know more about what was going on. "Why don't you tell me about what you did to the real Judy?"

That got a pause, and Zack waited to hear that she was dead, buried in a forest somewhere, probably having been tortured first.

Xenses waved a hand.

"I figured out that harming her, and then making myself likable to you wouldn't go over well. She's in Australia, in an isolated cabin with no phone service and should be there for another week. I left her food and told her it was just for her own protection. She doesn't even know that anything is wrong yet. I was even good with her bitchy daughter and didn't put her through the back wall of her secret smut shop. Pretty Plus, because fat chicks need love too. It's a great idea, but the Alede can be catty at times. It's part of why I picked Judy for this. You'll like her when you meet I think. She's actually a lot like how I've been playing her for you. I suppose that you want me to leave and never darken your doorstep again now?"

He shrugged.

"That would probably be the best plan, for me personally, but we're setting up a bargain here, aren't we? I try to be willing to overlook all the horrors you've committed and you keep yourself to good behavior around me? No killing people, or rape, that kind of thing? No slavery either? At least between us or my friends. I have a lot of friends, I won't lie about that."

The blonde actually froze in place, like a Vampire and didn't move for a long time.

"Sorry, are you actually trying to bargain with me over family relationships?"

"Yep. Is that too stupid? I can't say I'll instantly like you, but if you weren't lying to me about all this, we can deal. It won't keep Darla and Keeley from coming for you, I don't think, and I won't get in the way there. They plan to use me for bait, but..."

The truth was, at that time, any of them could simply kill him in a fight. The only thing he could do was try to set things up so he didn't just die. It probably wasn't possible, since Xenses was said to be insane, but Judy nodded, her face lighting up.

"Like I said, perfect. You're smart and strong, like I was. More, you can walk the inroads better than anyone, I think. That can take a long time to learn. That whore, your Aunt Keeley, she learned it fast enough, but you did it faster. Space, as they say, is your bitch. I accept your terms. We'll be family and try not to be evil to each other. I won't harm you, or call in harm to you or your people. That doesn't include Finias, Darla or Keeley, or their people. I'm not trying to trick you there, some of their minions will be known to you, and I might have to do things to them that you won't like. That doesn't get included, if they're already claimed." There was no hand held out, but the eye contact was sharp and direct. The blue eyes that looked at him were lovely.

Zack nodded once.

"No tricks or anything. A truce, of sorts. I can't remember what you did to me, and made me do, but when I do, we may have to renegotiate. I don't want this to be a lie or anything, but since I don't know, I can't make promises there."

"Agreed, to those terms, then."

"On those terms."

Then, just as the clock struck six, Judy started to move, collecting her things. Her face was remarkably sane, but so, Zack realized, was his, most of the time. He didn't know if Xenses could keep a bargain even, never having heard one way or the other.

"I should fly then. Oh, before I go, tell Troy that I had fun? Next time I want to do him from behind, do you think he'll go for that?"

Zack blinked.

"I have no clue. I'll pass the message along."

"Also... Eat more. I know it seems intense, but both Darla and Keeley are light eaters and you have a lot to make up for. Finias is going to pay for that. He knew what you were and should have seen to your care, instead of just leaving you like he did. Worse, his fingerprints are all over your life. So he knew. That won't be forgiven." Then, without waiting, she walked to the back of the house and got into her car, which was a rental that was parked behind the garage.

Feeling baffled and like he was in a situation that he just didn't understand at all, he ate more and kept going, until eight. He finally managed to feel full for a moment and hadn't bothered to clean up everything, but had cooked, to practice that skill too, not just opening jars and cans or plastic wrappers. That happened, but only while he waited for food to finish.

That meant that when Darla showed up, wearing a cheerleader's uniform of all things. She noticed the disarray right off. Zack managed to seem calm, but she made a face.

"Eating good, mess bad." Looking around her eyes went a bit wide, but she didn't comment on how much he'd actually managed to get down, not directly. "Excellent however. We can go shopping again. I thought that I was going to have to fight with you for a while, before you caught on. It was hard to get Keeley up to speed and she still under eats."

"Well, Xenses mentioned that you both were light eaters. He's been here off and on for about a week, pretending to be Judy Swan. I worked out a bargain, a trade of services I guess. I'm supposed to treat him like family, eventually at least and he's agreed not to kill me, rape me or do any of that to my people. He's still coming for you and Keeley. Finias too. He's really mad at him for letting me starve."

She reached out and touched his arm gently, taking in the information, which he couldn't stop her from doing anyway, which had her actually looking impressed after a moment. Then she looked around and pointed to a hundred dollar bill that had been dropped by the back door. Right in front of it in fact.

"That was it. The point that made things go in your favor. You offered to let him pay for the meal. That was adult behavior from you, and then you called him on what he'd done directly, not responding with a lot of fear. That's a thing he respects. Don't get me wrong, you aren't out of hot water there yet, but things have improved for you about fifty fold in a few hours time. Of course, as the kids say, if you go over to the dark side, there will be problems. I'll make some cookies."

He didn't get the joke, and she didn't explain, but it was clear she meant what she said, getting up and starting to make some chocolate chip cookies that were actually made from real chunks that she created from a block of chocolate in the cupboard. She chattered while she did it, explaining things, and reminding him to pay attention.

"Some of what he said was just correct. Shape changing, and the rules about sex. I'll give you the same talk that I gave Keeley with one caveat, you can, in potential, get a woman pregnant. That takes work. You can't catch diseases, and you should probably get used to the idea of doing things in all combinations. Keeley's actually a bit of a prude that way, but the rules for our kind are open. If you want to do a Trolleinkein, Vampire, or even your Aunt, you can. As long as I don't object I mean, which for now I will. With me. By all means have a crack at Keeley. Her mother too, if you can negotiate for the use of her. Sherri is really sweet, but I swear Keeley has something against her getting any action at all. The big thing there is that with any of her people, or mine, or any Greater Demons, negotiate for the rights first. You can't just get away with that kind of thing. Also, be aware of who's area you're in. This one is functionally yours, by the way. Keeley actually still lives in mine, which as an adult is a bit of a no-no." She used a little ice cream scoop to measure the cookies onto a new, but non-stick, tray.

Zack swallowed, but realized that she hadn't ordered him to do that, just suggested he try to get used to the idea that the rules weren't the same for him as they might be for others.

"Or, of course, do whatever you like that way. You're young and will adapt."

"I hope. If I can."

"Oh, you will. Crazy or not, you already have been, so it's something that will happen. Right now, after you clean up in here, we need to start working on fighting. Then figure out how to redecorate your living room. That thing looks really out of place right now. Too bad Xenses couldn't have gotten that done before running off."

It took an hour for it all to be done, and then he was shown some basic fighting moves, then a lot more, being instructed in how to both use the memories he had to learn faster while being told to heal at the same time. He had to kill off pain sensations too, since after a bit she didn't hold back at all. At four, when Troy got up and stumbled to the bathroom, she stopped suddenly and bowed. He tried to do it back, which got her to kick him in the face, really hard. She was grinning about it too.

"This isn't a dojo, Zack-san. We aren't Humans. We don't have their rules and no one will ever cut you any slack if it comes to a real fight. You've got the basic skills for it now, but we need to practice, a lot. Right now, after your boyfriend comes out of the bathroom, you should clean up and then eat again."

"Boyfriend?" It was insulting, and meant that way, he thought, but the tone had been a little off.

The too pretty Demon mentor shrugged, looking at the bathroom door.

"Yes. You aren't sleeping together, but what else could you call it? Friend then, if the term insults you, but I meant Troy. You'll need to watch him, with your new deal."

That got Zack to look at her funny, not understanding how that would work.

"He's my friend... Even you just said so."

"Exactly, however Xenses stated that only your claimed people would count and he's clearly in thrall to Finias. His slave. I picked up the link at the Christmas party. It isn't a big deal, since he's being allowed to roam free, in exchange for helping you, and I don't think he knows about it really, but it's there. That means that Xen can have him, if he wants. You're allowed to protect him however, so that isn't out of the picture. You aren't ready, but you can fight now. Better than Keeley can, though don't tell her I said that. She's a bit sensitive about things like that."

Then, while he was washing up, having more than a bit of dried blood on him, Darla cooked and made food for Troy as well, since she was polite that way it seemed. The idea that Troy was someone's slave... It worried him, to tell the truth. It also gave weight to the idea that Finias had known about him for a long time, and let him starve. Maybe it had been needed? A part of hiding him from the other Demons, perhaps?

His roommate was still dressed in PJ's, but they were his nice silk ones, meaning he was trying to impress a girl. Since there was no one else there, that meant he was angling for Darla, most likely.

"Wow, this is all really great, thanks." He gestured at his plate, which was a small pot pie, made with roasted chicken. It wasn't huge, but it was very well done.

Troy nodded, agreeing, and eating his own.

"Yeah, thanks." After taking a few bites he looked at Zack and then made a bit of a face. "I heard that you got fired from the candle shop? I can try to pick up more hours at Terran 2 LA, if we need the extra money?" It sounded gentle and kind and as if being fired hadn't been his fault, which, for once, it really wasn't. Darla shook her head however, not eating at all.

"He's opening his own place, a bookstore at the Mall. With a little coffee place attached, I think, though it isn't set up yet. That, plus his transportation services will keep you both in pop-tarts. So... Troy, any plans to become a Vampire yourself?" She said it as if it only made sense, which got Zack to feel slightly shocked, but his roomie just took a bite and nodded.

"It's an offer on the table. Edom thinks I should wait a few more years, until I'm in my late twenties at least, so I won't be this young looking forever. That makes sense to me. Especially with the new blood service coming online. I can live on protein drinks in exchange for super powers, you know?"

"That's sound advice. My friend Eve is considering doing that as well. I'm planning to have her come here this summer and watch Lenore and her friends, while working for Zack."

Troy, slave to Finias or not, smiled.

"Is she cute? On top of that, is she friendly? If so she can just share my room. I could use a girlfriend to help protect me from 'Stocky The Bunny Boiler'." He sighed and shook his head. "A crazy girl that's been following me. She's totally driving all the other women away at the bar too. Even telling them I have diseases. Kevin isn't letting her in, but she sits across the street and waits for me. It's creepy."

Darla nodded.

"Well, I can ask her about that? You're good looking enough, and she's not exactly stingy with her sexual favors, but she might be willing to pretend to settle down for a bit, in return for a bed and perhaps board?" She glanced at Zack, and he nodded, since the girl had seemed nice enough and if they wanted to spy on him that badly, they could anyway. They were Greater Demons. That had to be a thing they were good at, and that he wasn't ready to stop at all yet.

It was a bit of a powerless feeling, but MH had stopped screaming at least and was back to merely whimpering in the background, letting Zack do the hard things. That would probably have to be what happened in the end. One of them was going to have to become the real him and MH wasn't up to the job. Zack might not be either, but he could try, couldn't he?

He spoke softly, thinking about things, and realized that he needed to set a lot of things up that day, if he was really going to have a place to work from. He made a mental list, while talking.

"Eve is actually really good looking. She's a Cheerleader. High school though, so watch the age thing and make sure you find out who she's attached to. Keeley?" He looked at Darla, who shook her head firmly.

"Me. I suppose you can both have sex with her, as long as she consents." That was blunt enough that Troy started to choke on a bit of chicken. Zack nodded.

"All right. I suppose we should arrange a date soon, so we can all meet? I mean an interview. For the position?"

They hashed that out, and at about five-thirty, Darla got up and left, telling him that he had the next evening off. She suddenly had things to do herself, which would be about Xenses, since they were actually fighting. The very strange thing there was that the Demon hadn't corrected a lot of what the man that looked like a famous actress had told him. About how her side was trying to stop the other's freedom, and all that. Zack didn't know that he really agreed, since the side Xenses was on seemed to be really evil, and the one that Keeley was on less so, but still bad.

He had to survive however, and so far he was doing it without being anyone's sex slave, or eating people. Again, apparently. That tried to shake him, so he fought it down. He'd eaten his mother's legs while she screamed and had done his Human father in the rear? He'd been forced, or controlled into it, somehow, but... Yeah, that tried to steal his sanity for a bit and probably wasn't even close to the worst of it. That he'd had to set up a plan with the being that had done all that to him was unconscionable.

Thank goodness for the ability to control his emotions. That one trick was all that saved him, he thought.

After cleaning up again, with Troy moving to the living room to get a game going, a new one that he'd actually paid for, since they could afford that now, Zack sighed. Things were far from perfect in his world, but he was alive, for the moment, and was able to actually plan for the future. He had money, and still, by some miracle, had a girlfriend. Given everything he could probably have more than that soon, if he wanted.

All he had to do was help stop a war and he'd have millions of dollars for it. That looked to be reasonably likely even. People would grouse and moan, but in the end, fighting was always a poor plan, on the large scale.

He'd have to figure out who exactly was setting him up for being at, or near the conference, though he was willing to be that it had actually been done to force him out into the open. It could have been Xenses, but no mention had been made of that at all. It was one of the Demons that knew who he was though, he thought. There were others, Vampires and Shifters, or even Mages, but none that could have done what had happened that weren't able to travel easily to the Ettarian lands. That meant one of his new people. One that would both know about him, and care.

True, in the end it might not matter, but chances were it was part of some bigger plan, and when he thought about it hard enough, it was clear that if it was, then it wasn't directly about him. He was only just coming onto the scene. So that meant he was being used as a pawn, most likely. Since he was too ignorant to really figure everything out for himself yet it would probably work, too.

It was a bit sad, about Lisa and how the Mages were reacting, but maybe that last part was for the best? It would be good to win his old boss back to his side, since she was his friend, even if she hated him now. That wasn't the case, however, and he knew it. She actually liked him. More than she was comfortable with. That was probably just because he'd been really helpful to her, but it was something worth pursuing, being friends again. If nothing else it would leave him looking like the good guy, just for trying.

That was the most important thing for the time being, no matter what else he eventually became. He needed to engender good will now, while he had some momentum going that way. Otherwise he'd keep hitting road blocks, and it would just die, leaving him alone and standing in place, with who knew how many hostile creatures coming for him.

With that thought, he left, going through the front, using his shortcuts, and not really knowing how he was supposed to get floor space at Westfield. Hopefully he had enough friends left there that someone would help him with it. If not...

Then he'd figure it out.

If what he'd heard was correct, that was actually supposed to be what Greater Demons were good at.

Putting on a smile, in case anyone saw him, he crossed the street, then looking through carefully first, stepped into the Mall parking lot, to get his new life going for real. It would be hard, and take time, but he could do it. Now.

He hoped.

Taking a moment, he fixed that to something more certain, using a bit of magic and some concentration.

Then he knew he could do it, and went in.

Other Books

By

P.S. Power

Young Ancients:

(Tor)

The Builder

Knight Esquire

Knight of the Realm

Ambassador

Counselor

Slave Line

Ancient Kings

(Timon)

The Dark Half of the Sun

Lord of the Sky

(Tiera)

A Simple Darkness

The Silence within

The Infected:

Proxy

Gabriel

Cast Iron

Proxy: Reunions

Cellophane

Goblin

Dead End:

A Very Good Man

A Very Good Neighbor

A Very Good Thing

A Very Dark Place

Gwen Farris:

Abominations

Monsters

Strangers and Lies

Keeley Thomson:

Demon Girl

Keelzebub

Mistress of Souls

Demon Trap

Related works:

Christmas of the Vampire

Other Places:

Shortcuts

Road Blocks

The Lament:

Without Rhythm

Stand Alone Novels:

Crayons

An Unrelenting Terror

Friendzoned