by P. S. Power
Keeley, having been thinking about her, was starting to draw the girl to her. Not physically, but that would happen, if she stood in place long enough. Not that she wasn’t going to have sex with her. The Vampire had mentioned to several other people that she was interested, after all.
The words weren’t all that flirtatious or anything, when they came.
“That would be nice. Having another person around here. Nothing against the rest of you, but I’ve pretty much heard all of your stories already. At least the good ones. I know that I’ve run out of things myself. Ravi here will be wowed and amazed by all of us, I bet. The other way around, too.”
That got several nods, though Scotty, who had been in the kitchen, cooking, from the scent of it, spoke up then.
“That works for me. I’ve been working on a restaurant idea. Just older ethnic foods, nothing too strange. I can’t eat though, so you and Tyler can do that for me? If you’re going to be around. You, too, Keeley?” The words were polite, but the wave of interest from him was boldly sexual. As if he was thinking that her being there would mean he could have sex with her, eventually.
Which was probably correct. The nice thing about the group they had there was that they weren’t all that jealous. None of them really were, as it turned out. Tyler and Jonas didn't get a choice in the matter, since one was a slave and the other might have as well been. Still, it worked, in the end.
Plus, Keeley did enjoy eating.
“That sounds nice, actually. With, of course, the caveat that if I ever have to go back to being a Greater Demon, you’ll be paid for all the things you fed me. I’ll have to keep a list, just in case.”
The small, rather twitchy brown-haired man, who was pale even for a Vampire, looked slightly concerned.
“Is that in the works, or a thing that might be happening? You and yours going back?”
She shook her head, since she didn't know anything of the sort and was planning to resist it, if that’s what everyone was up to. Except that, clearly, the ones who were gone were those who were probably among the best of her kind. The ones who should have the easiest time of not being evil.
“Not at all, so far. I’m just not going to get lazy, since, you know, I’m finally getting to actually be a real person, sort of. It’s been a bit trying for me, at times.” She nearly didn’t mention why, then did. If she was going to be around, being attached to Ravi, then everyone deserved to understand what was going on with her. At least in part.
She hesitated though, since everyone was staring at her. Just watching. Waiting for her to go on. That got her to snort.
“It’s mainly that us Wise Ones are a good bit more territorial over people than I’d thought. I mean, we can let go, if we have to, using magic, but it really isn’t the way that we’re built. Also, I’m horny all the time. That’s…” She shrugged, then looked around. “Really, it’s probably a lot like being Tyler or Scott here. I’d been managing that portion of myself most of my adult life, without ever really considering it. Using magic to control for it, without knowing that I really was.”
Ginger nodded at her, then licked her lips. They were still dry when she was done. It was a Vampire trait.
“Hence setting up a date with Ravi and Lenore? She mentioned that to me, the last time we spoke. Her only real issue is the whole ex-Greater Demon thing. She doesn’t trust it yet. Not even from Zack and he’s always been sweet.” She looked around, ready to defend the Line Walker, at least with words, but everyone seemed to more or less agree.
Keeley did, too.
“I know. More than any of us, he was… well, he’s one of my people, but I think he was always a Wise One, not a Greater Demon at all. There are probably a couple of others that slipped through the cracks. I mean, they had to follow the rules, but if you ever really looked at them it would be clear that they didn’t do it that well. Ann, for instance. The Rotted… Only, it’s clear to me, now, that she was always acting. Why she picked to play insane, I don’t know, but there are signs. Lyn was just sweet. Darla… She’s more in line with the old model, but that could be an act as well.”
After sitting there for a moment, she grinned.
“I want to be good. It might not be easy, but I’m making the effort. I need to really do it though. To just commit to the idea and not be afraid that the rules will just change again one day. That might happen, but…” She shrugged and closed her eyes for a moment. Just sitting there and trying to be good. Holding the concept of it. Then she added a bit of magic to the idea, just to see if that would do anything. Like the good people.
There had been a few others that fit in with that.
Gregor, for instance. Something clicked in her brain, hard, then.
“Gregor… he’s not a Greater Demon. I mean, he never was. I… I don’t know…” Something about the man was right there, in her head. Trying to come out.
Tyler simply laughed a bit.
“Yeah. He’s an Angel. I guess that you guys had a hard time keeping that in mind, back when you were evil. Is it easier now, do you think?”
The words felt like they were going to be wrong, but flashes of memories, hundreds of them came to her then. As if a dam had broken loose inside her mind. She blinked for a bit, but knew that she hadn’t just talked with Gregor about it, she’d also chatted with an Arch Angel. Several times. Really, from the list in her head, along with the memories she suddenly had access to, it seemed a lot more like she and the other man had drinks at least once a week. Then, he was a celestial being, not a man, at all.
Michael.
Most of what he’d told her flooded into her mind, suddenly. It wasn’t bad or anything. It also wasn’t really secret knowledge or the keys to the universe. They’d spoken a lot, mainly about what it meant to be good. A thing that she probably couldn’t be. Except that, in the deeper memories, there had been a lot of suggesting that she also could be, if she really wanted it.
It wasn’t her nature.
But the universe wasn’t going to snap in two if she decided to go against that, just a little bit.
Moving to an empty easy chair, a soft cream-colored thing, she plopped down, a bit inelegantly.
“Okay… I… Think I get that now. The Angel thing. I didn't before. It’s… Well, clearly, there was a trigger set up in my head for this. I have a lot of information, really. It’s all here now. Even in the library. I just couldn’t see it before.” She didn't know if anyone there would understand what she meant by the words.
Which didn’t really matter. Not at the moment.
Using a touch of magic, she cleared her mind, then centered herself, forcing a feeling of peace to come into play. She half expected the new information to simply leave her, but it didn’t. It just hung there, at the front of her mind. Like everything else did.
Ravi took her hand, the thoughts coming from him figuring that she’d shake him off, since she seemed to be in shock. Or at least like she had been, a moment before. Instead, she cuddled it to her chest and smiled up at him.
“I just worked out that Angels were real. I mean, I’ve met a lot of them, but I couldn’t keep that in my head for more than a few moments, before. Now… It’s different. Not that the information itself is actually going to make that big of a difference to me. Except that I probably need to get with Greg, ASAP. Just to make certain he’s not missing. We talked a lot, but not being able to remember most of it meant we didn’t seem like real friends. Only, I think we might be.”
The words got a nod, from her boyfriend.
“I think I see. So, this is like when the veil dropped, for regular Humans?”
That wasn’t too far off, though the underlying mechanism was a lot different than that. She didn't go into it, since everyone knew that story already. It had been televised, after all. Most people had been troubled by the idea, even if it didn’t really change much in their lives. She was actually not going to have that problem, she didn't think. To Keeley, this was unusual, but not a thing that should dera
il her at all.
Except for the one part of it. That single portion that had triggered things for her, personally.
“This won’t be happening to all my people, unless… Well, unless it is, of course and I’m just going last? I’m pretty certain that…” She stopped, since the idea was a pretty heady one. “I think what happened just now was that I… Became good enough to recall that Angels are real. When I was evil that hadn’t been a thing for me. I couldn’t hold it in my head. Only now…”
She knew it was the case, actually. Michael had told her all about it. Claiming that the information had come from God, himself. Angels apparently did things like that. Spoke to God and so forth.
Ravi went on, still holding her hand.
“So, you stopped being a Greater Demon and this happened?” He clearly understood that wasn’t the whole thing. Everyone else was looking at her, as if she might be lying.
Which would normally be the truth, after all.
“Um… No? It’s that… Guys, I think that I’m good now. I mean, not like Zack or anything, but just… Regular? Not pure evil, anymore.” Not that she’d ever been that, either. It had been close.
Only now, she was, finally, free to be herself.
Which wasn’t that bad at all.
Chapter eleven
The phone rang after two hours. Keeley moved into a warped space that allowed time to bend just slightly as she moved. Meaning that it had to seem to everyone else in the place like a phone was suddenly at the side of her face. Almost as if it had already been there for a while. It still took a full second for the button she’d tapped to transmit its message to the system, allowing whoever was on the other side of the call to speak. Then, even though she slowed down, she had to go first.
That was only polite.
“Hello? This is Keeley Thomson.”
The voice on the other side was polite, if slightly accented.
“Good morning. This is Kathy, from United Telecom? I’m here today to offer you an exciting new cell phone package. One that could save you hundreds of dollars per year. Would you be interested in learning more about this incredible package deal?”
Keeley nearly didn’t get it, being concerned like she was at the moment, about all the missing people. The voice was different than anyone she knew, though the accent was wrong. Plus, no one called at one in the morning to sell you things. That would just make people angry, even if it wasn’t illegal.
“Wait… Darla?” It was a guess, but a low laugh came a moment later.
“See, I just bet Tarsus that I could keep you going for at least a full minute. That wasn’t even twelve seconds. Anyway, yes. Tarsus found me. I was in Africa, seeing to some holdings that I have there. My people needed their Shaman back. Now, what’s this about everyone being missing? Other than me, I mean. Lyn, Zack and Finias… I tried to call some of the others too. Darrel and Fria. No one has a line on them at all. This… Keels, not to be startling, but the only people that I’ve managed to contact at all are you and Linden.”
Instead of asking who the hell Linden was, Keeley searched for the name in the library. That was instructive. The man was a Greater Demon who had truly loved food. Not on the level that any of the rest of her kind did, either. He was, very nearly, the personification of that one factor. A truly mad being, known as The Glutton.
She nodded though, feeling the impact of the words. Not totally, since it was possible that this wasn’t Darla at all, just someone pretending to be her, as a game or a way to trick Keeley into doing something that she wouldn’t otherwise. Possibly even The Glutton, though, now that she checked, it was kind of clear that the insane Greater Demon had come over to the side of not bothering with that job any longer. He was a Wise One now, or at least had thrown in with their side.
All but thirty-six of them had, it seemed. She’d learned that when the others had come to help Bey with his little family problem. That could have been a trick.
“How many of the others did you check on?”
There was a pause, then a slightly shaky breath. A thing that sounded worried, which probably wasn’t real. Darla would just use magic to make sure her emotions were in check, instead of actually feeling what was going on at the moment. They needed clear heads, if something was going on that had removed the rest of their kind.
Even if it was just a meeting, that she hadn’t been invited to, that was a requirement of the moment. Focusing, Keeley imagined the sense of being calm, on point mentally and ready for action. She put just a touch of magic into the idea, bringing it into reality. The effect was powerful, and showed in her expression, body language and voice.
“Okay. About an hour ago something happened to me. I recalled having spoken to several Angels. Over a long period of time. One of them had mentioned that, if I ever became good, or at least moved into the Human range that way, I’d be able to remember what he told me. It wasn’t a one-time thing. I have a written imprint in my head, by my own hand, with my mark on it as well as a magical locking mechanism that I clearly made, that shows these things have been all over my life. That could be faked, of course. Not easily, but…” She trailed off.
Darla understood what she meant.
“That may, or may not have anything to do with this. Angels don’t exist though, Keeley. That’s a good sign that you aren’t firing on all cylinders. Given that you’re normally decently level headed… That means someone is responsible for doing this. I’m going to see Tarsus in about five minutes. He’s at his place in Greece. Can you get here in, call it twenty minutes? I’m not certain you can walk that fast.” There was a bit of teasing in the words.
As if she really couldn’t manage that, on the lines. It was a good guess as to how long it would have really taken her though, meaning her sister was being playful. Possibly to deflect from the idea that her little sister had either gone insane or was being manipulated.
Keeley just made a slightly annoyed sound.
“I’ll beat you there. At least if it really takes you five minutes. You’re in Africa. We can race?” She made herself sound playful back, even if the situation might not warrant it. Everyone being missing, all at once, even if it was just due to phones being down or not answered was kind of a big deal. A huge one, really. It would have been nearly impossible to call five hundred people and not reach any of them. Not if they were on the same list.
At least if normal rules were in play.
Her older sister, sounding like a high school cheerleader, called out then, hanging up almost at the same time. Trying to cheat, since that was the best way to win.
“Go!”
Making it a race, a game of sorts, meant that whomever was listening would be more likely to think that either of them were suddenly going to Greece for real. Unless it was a Greater Demon, then such an obvious trick wouldn’t work too well. It would be foolish to go to that location, if it was a trap. Darla would know that, too. Meaning that Keeley needed to meet her in a different location. One that her sister would think of, and assume was linked well enough to Keels mind that she’d instantly get the right location.
Except of course, anyone that knew her or had watched her long enough would know that as well, most likely. They’d be able to work it out, heading her off as she walked the lines there. Which would mean that Darla, being smart, as well as almost six hundred years old, would pick a different location. One that Keeley had heard about, from Darla, but anyone watching them wouldn’t know. A place not too obvious from the outside.
She waved to everyone in the room and started to walk out.
“This could be a trap. Everyone… be careful. If something is up, I don’t want it to come back on you.” She hugged Ravi, who started to follow her to the front yard. She still didn't know where to go, so had time not to build a rift in the living room. That would be rude, if nothing else.
He took her hand, gently. His thoughts bled through, since she was, like most of her people, a contact telepath first. She could read minds at a distan
ce, but it took extra effort. When she touched a person, that effect was magnified hundreds of times. At the moment she caught an internal debate going on.
He wanted to go with her, to help, but had also picked up enough to realize that he wasn’t going to be of much use, if Wise Ones couldn’t handle the situation. It was underselling himself, a bit, while still mainly being correct. Most of what he was thinking was how to explain that to her without seeming cowardly.
As if she cared about that kind of thing. Bravery wasn’t really a factor in her life. You did what you had to. If that meant wisely not going headlong into a trap, even for a girl that the man had only been dating for a few weeks, then that was what should be done. It was the smart thing, even if it wasn’t necessarily the good one.
“I need to work out where Darla means to meet me. If she’s actually her and not someone else just pretending to be, in order to throw me off. You should stay here and get some sleep if you can. If I need help, I’ll call.” She shrugged then. “That could really happen. If I don’t come back… Well, then know that I love you, okay?” She didn't act like it was a big deal saying that.
She also didn't insist that he say it back. It was true enough from her point of view. At least to the level that someone like her could really love a person. He was hers, after all. Someone that she’d kill for. Maybe even someone that she’d die for. Not that he wasn’t the one in the hot seat that way in the moment.
He simply smiled then. It was a bit knowing and a little playful. Then, there was no reason not to be. She thought that there was, possibly, some danger. That was vague enough that it would almost certainly turn out to be nothing. Unless it didn’t.
His words were soft.
“I love you, too. So, you know, try not to get killed, if you can help it. I’ll just wait here, nervously, for your phone call. Which you won’t remember to make, until after you have breakfast with your friends, leaving me a wreck, no doubt.”
She nodded, since that wouldn’t be happening. She wouldn’t forget something like that. Pretty much ever.