by P. S. Power
Blinking, she nodded.
“I’m good that way, but my date, Ravi, he could use something like that I bet. I can get you his data?”
Instead of begging off, Jonas nodded. Almost eagerly.
“Sure. Let me put this upstairs. I’ll… meet you in the kitchen?” There was a glance over at Rebekah, who relaxed a good bit, nodding to her lover. They were Vampires, and she was both older and far more powerful than he was. That meant she was in charge.
Including the fact that she’d have to try to fight Keeley, or even Bey, if they tried to harm Jonas at all. The older Vampire wasn’t there though, and probably wouldn’t be that night. Even if Bey looked Middle Eastern, though pale due to being dead like he was, the man lived in China most of the time.
Plus, his energy wasn’t there in the mansion with her that day.
Rebekah followed her into the kitchen, which was on the first floor, toward the back of the house on the right-hand side. They didn’t speak until they got there, the pot of sauce just starting to bubble slightly. As she’d planned. Keeley turned the heat down a single notch. That would keep the sauce to a low simmer, instead of boiling and slopping all over the clean silver of the stove top.
The Vampire moved to sit at the kitchen table, about fifteen feet away, near the windows in the back. She was in the sun, though it was already starting to dim a bit. Not that the sun was going down. It was simply that a small rain storm had moved in.
Raising her eyebrows a bit, the now pretty singer cleared her throat.
“You have a date? Ravi? I don’t know that name, do I? Is he…” She stopped then and shook her head. “No, I can’t make a guess. So, what do I need to know about him?”
Keeley stirred the sauce and then moved efficiently to pull the cutting board out again, the large wooden thing being needed for some other veggies. For a moment it probably seemed like she wasn’t going to speak at all on the topic. Meaning the Vampire stiffened a bit, thinking the question had insulted her. Still responding to her as if she were the Mistress of Souls, instead of Keeley, her incredibly sweet friend.
When she spoke, her voice was slightly playful.
“He’s nice. A Human. He works at Safeway in town here and over at the main non-Starbucks coffee shop. He’s developed the ability to summon energy constructs from his subconscious mind, since the veil has been down.” He’d done it one time at least. Really, she needed to get with him to see if it had happened more often than that. She’d read his mind, but hadn’t taken his entire life into herself yet.
Really, she wasn’t certain that was the way she wanted to work things with him. Leaving him some kind of mental privacy might be more normal, as far as relationships went. At least if she wasn’t going to share her entire being with him at the same time. There needed to be some kind of balance that way, she thought.
At the table, Rebekah smiled, sweetly.
“Really? That’s impressive then. Low paying jobs, but he has two of them, which shows a certain mettle and work ethic. Also, he holds power in his own person. Have you been dating long?”
The words were small talk, not meant to be an inquisition, of course. Normal women would share things like that, Keeley thought. Including intimate details of their sex lives. A thing that Keeley hadn’t been having any of for the last two months or so. Hally had avoided touching her before she left, trying to keep Keeley from working out what was being planned. It didn’t work, of course.
Even a regular person would have seen the signs at that point.
She smiled a bit, hiding her thoughts.
“This is the first date. It was supposed to be coffee and a chat, but something came up, so I invited him along with me for this. Besides, group dates are a thing, right? That way he can see how hot all my friends are, before dating me. You know, so he knows who he’s going to be cheating on me with?” A thing that, she knew, Keeley honestly didn’t care about at all.
Rebekah just nodded, as if that were a real consideration.
“Are you planning to share? I haven’t been, with Jonas. I probably should. It’s just that… you know, for a long time everyone I knew was better looking than I was. Thanks, by the way. For the new look. Everyone loves the new face.” There was a stillness to the woman then, a total thing that spoke of fear, for her kind. That or a desire to attack that was being suppressed.
When she spoke again, there was a deep breath taken first. An affectation, since it was more than would be needed to speak. Vampires didn’t breathe, except to do that.
“I, um… A few people asked where I got the work done, so I told them? You know, that I know a girl named Keeley that does this kind of thing, for a million dollars a pop. Some of them want to make appointments.”
There was actual fear in the last words, as if it was a bad thing to consider. She had the powers after all and really, it would take her about two minutes to do the work. Before she could express that, the Vampire looked away.
“They… Two of them are kids. They have burns from a house fire. Their family can’t afford that kind of thing, though. Really, Scotty and I have been covering their hospital bills. You know, as a publicity thing? Hally set that up for us.” She tightened up then, since the band’s PR person was Keeley’s ex. A thing that she hadn’t really thought about at all.
Rather than ask about it, Keeley just read her friend’s mind. It wasn’t fair, but she didn't want to spend her time talking about painful topics.
The information was interesting. Mainly due to the fact that Hally hadn’t just set up one or two things for the band, she’d kept working with them almost every single day. That was one of her jobs. It simply hadn’t seemed to Keeley that she’d be staying that close to any of them. They might not be Greater Demons, but they were still Vampires and zombies. Though the real answer was that none of them were dating her. Hally wasn’t a bigot. She just couldn’t handle being attached to Keeley, due to what she’d had to do in life. Also, what she might have to do in the future.
The work on her new projects had been done over the phone at least, so the red head wouldn’t be showing up at dinner that night. Her ex still had to make a living and there was a certain sort of honor in not skipping out on the band due to personal reasons.
Rather than get mad, or even use magic to suppress her upset at the news, Keeley simply nodded her head.
“No problem.” She waved at the other woman, then went back to work. “I mean, we can head over and do the work on that for the kids, whenever you want. I’m not a demon anymore, so I get to do things like that for free.” She nearly added can’t I? At the end of the sentence.
A thing she didn't need to do. After all, she was making up her own rules. It would barely cost her anything to do the work, so charging for it seemed like a thing that didn't matter at all, any longer.
Rebekah stood up, suddenly enough that it seemed like an attack might be incoming. Instead it was just a hug, which was still going on when Jonas walked into the room, holding a writing pad. Looking at the scene, getting that it wasn’t the start of an orgy, looking at his girlfriend, who answered, with tears in her voice.
“I told Keeley about Sam and Mara… She’s going to go and fix them. Like she did me? For free. I didn’t even suggest that.”
No tears fell, though it sounded like she was crying a bit. Vampires didn’t have tears, really. A few individuals of that type could pull it off. Though it came out as blood when they did it, making the effect a lot different than it might have been.
A thing of horror, instead of grief or happiness.
Jonas joined the embrace. His hands didn’t wander or anything, just going around her and Rebekah both. Apparently, that was the kind of relationship they had, for the time being. Friendly, but platonic.
“That’s incredible, Keels!” He stopped then, and pulled back. “I do get to call you Keels, right? Since we’re secret chair pals now?”
That sounded right to her, so she nodded, then brushed her slightly curly blonde ha
ir out of her gemlike green eyes.
“Yep. Now, unless the kids are coming to dinner, I need to cook for a bit. We can… Really, we can go and do that whenever you want. I can get us there.”
There was a nod then, Rebekah seeming pleased by the offer.
“They’re in Lincoln, Arizona… There was an apartment fire a few years ago down there. Almost everyone got out… and no one died.”
Meaning it was in her sister’s territory. Also, that Hally was probably in the area. The only real problem was that Keeley didn't want to deal with one of the women at that moment. Her sister wasn’t who she was avoiding, either.
Blowing air into her cheeks, making them puff out, she set the blade she was using for her food prep, a very sharp chef’s knife, and pulled her phone. Then she dialed without hesitation. It was the same number that her older sister had been using for years. A thing that she’d dialed almost once a week, even after moving away from Arizona.
After three rings, the device picked up on the other side.
“Darla Gibson here, how may I help you today?”
Keeley smiled, fighting off a sense of sadness.
“Hey, sis… Rebekah and Jonas just hired me to heal some kids that live in your territory. Sam and Mara? Burn victims. I’m doing the work for free.” She stopped then, since the rest of what was going to be needed had to be decided by Darla.
For instance, she was within her rights to charge Keeley to heal the kids. That or to sell them to her or, if she wanted, to deny them the healing at all. At least under the old rules. It was one thing to pay for a meal or drop a title or two, in an attempt to stop being a Greater Demon. Those were simply rules that had been made up at some point. Probably by Tarsus, The Librarian. The whole Greater Demon trick had been his from the very beginning, after all.
The problem was that their people, biologically, were territorial and particularly concerned with their people. Vampires would fight for actual land and control over it. Greater Demons, even if they were going to call themselves Wise Ones, were far more concerned with the beings under their control.
Her sister was no different than she was, that way.
Fortunately, Darla wasn’t a bitch. Not most of the time.
“Oh? That’s sweet of them. Hiring you for free, like that. A good plan on their part as well. You can do that kind of work though? I have a machine that might be able to get that done…” The words were leading, as if it was something she might want to rent from her. Probably for a few billion dollars or massive favors being traded.
Keeley rolled her eyes, looking at the others in the room with her.
“Of course I can do it. I worked out that thing you didn't teach me about shape shifting. You know, that it’s incredibly easy? I also worked out why we can only do cosmetic changes. Mainly at least. Well, that and use it for healing, I mean.” She was, gently, calling her sister on a bit of poor, or possibly brilliant, mentoring. A new demon with the ability to make any physical change to themselves or their army of minions was a thing to avoid, no doubt.
There was a low whistle from the woman on the other side of the phone line.
“Okay, that’s impressive! I honestly figured that it would take you two or three hundred years to realize it wasn’t nearly that hard. So, you’re doing the work for free? I can throw in a few other people if you’re just giving your work away… There’s a homeless man in town that needs a new set of teeth you could help out.” That part was teasing. After all, demon or not, Darla hadn’t allowed vagrants in her city. A thing done by setting them up with work, in the main, rather than having her police force run them out.
A thing that got Keeley to laugh.
“You know… There are rules to this kind of thing. A million a pop of you want to make someone better looking or just different than they are. Free, if it’s from wounds or illness. So, you want to hook Sam and Mara up with top end looks? That will be a million each.” She didn't really care. The kids were burned, probably across their faces. Looking however they did before would probably thrill them, after years of living with horrible scars.
There was a bit of clucking from the silver and pink device in her hand, then a sigh.
“How about… Eights? Maybe nine for the girl? Use your best discretion on it. I’ll transfer the funds tonight. They’re my people and I really should have done more for them. Years ago. You can handle that tonight? If so, I’ll clue you into something that might help you.” The teasing tone was back. It seemed to be the new life track her sister was on, since she’d given up on the old ways. Being playful and teasing. It was both nice to see and a bit annoying at times, all wrapped into one.
Keeley rolled her eyes, getting the idea from what had been said.
“The kids live right next to the Yorks, don’t they? Which is how Hally found out about them. Meaning that Hally will be there, or at least nearby, since she’s still staying with her parents while she finds a place of her own?”
“Ding-ding-ding. Right in one, little sis. Here I’d been worried you’d be going soft, mentally, without the threat of death hovering over you constantly. Still, it’s in a different house, and actually two away, not right next door, so you can get in and out without having to see her, if you don’t want to. Not that you should live in fear of your ex. She left you, after all. It’s her place to be embarrassed and worried when seeing you, not the other way around. I get it, but… She could have done it more smoothly.”
Keeley understood that part, too. Hally had left her, for being a Greater Demon, if an ex one of those… Then gone and commiserated with her sister, who was also a Greater Demon. Because they were old friends.
It would be like leaving a serial killer and then going to talk about it with a more active serial killer. Then, life didn’t always make sense. Getting upset over that part of things wasn’t going to help her at all. Even if it was a slap in the face. One that was hard to see as anything else. She actually used a touch of magic to kill that feeling, totally. Otherwise Hally might not have lived through the night.
Given that her old love wouldn’t have meant it as an insult was important to keep in mind. Hally had just sought out her old friends, not thinking about how it would seem to Keeley at all.
After a moment she felt better. Blank and focused.
It showed in her voice, if only slightly.
“Well, I really do understand why she did it. We are what we are. Even if we’re trying to change the rules and job title now. So, anyway, I’ll get to that after dinner? We have a thing going on tonight. Plus, I have someone coming. Going to heal some kids sounds like a fun first date, doesn’t it? Dinner and a show.”
Jonas, listening shamelessly, snorted.
“Well, if you follow that up with sex, then yes? I mean, that really would have done it for me, back when I was alive.”
Thinking about it for a moment, got Keeley to agree with that call. After all, seeing changes like that was interesting enough and men did, as a rule, like sex. She did too, so it would be win-win that way. So, nodding, she smiled.
“Okay, then. We’ll go with that plan. Thanks, Darla. Finding the new rules is…” She was going to say annoying, but was interrupted.
“Hard. It’s a lot more difficult than it should be. Mainly because we’re all too used to doing things the old way. Five months ago, we couldn’t have done this at all, without millions of dollars changing hands. This… I feel like a hippie. I really do. You know that, don’t you, Keels? I swear, if even one more thing happens, I’m going to rent a farm in upstate New York and hold the next Woodstock.”
Not speaking for a moment, Keeley considered the idea. Holding a vast music festival might be fun, really. Then she shrugged a bit, her head moving to the right as she did it.
“You might not want to say things like that. After all, chances are pretty good that things really are going to get worse, before they get better. Unless you want to finally go to Woodstock? In that case…”
The words got a real
laugh. It sounded like one anyway.
“Finally get to go? Sis… I was there for the first one. I said it makes me feel like a Hippie. I didn’t say I hated that kind of person. Peace, man.” Then the phone was hung up. Suddenly.
Keeley laughed, since it was something to do. Then she got back to her cooking and giving Jonas the information he needed to make old fashioned calling cards for Ravi. A thing that the boy she was trying to date probably didn’t even know existed.
Chapter four
Heavy handed of her or not, Keeley had a full meal ready by the time Ravi got to the front door. She didn't get to meet him herself, that task being done by Rebekah, who dashed out of the room before Keeley even noticed anyone was there. It was a simple matter of the other woman having better hearing than she did. The truth was that Keeley could arrange for that kind of thing in a few minutes, using magic or shape changing. It was just too annoying to live in a constant sea of noise all the time.
Still, she was good enough that way to understand who was there as the guy was brought to her in the kitchen, as she zipped around the room, making certain everything was ready for the meal at seven. Looking up, she grinned at the man.
He looked cute. His hair was brushed and styled, if not perfectly, then well enough to show that he’d bothered to try, without going so far into it that he looked too concerned with his appearance. He had a blue sports coat on, with a light blue button up shirt and tan slacks. In his right hand he had a bundle of yellow flowers. Tulips, which weren’t the right kind of thing to bring if he was using the ancient flower code. Yellow tulips would indicate hopeless love. The fellow had no reason to think that the situation was all that dire, since it wasn’t. His chances with her were actually pretty good, so far. It was still sweet of him to think of her that way. That kind of thing, giving a woman flowers, was considered old fashioned, while still being appreciated by women.