by P. S. Power
What had happened over the years was mainly down to television. The boys on their teen wall posters were all wearing make-up, airbrushed and coifed by professionals. Women got to do that kind of thing every day, if they wanted. Men in real life simply didn’t have that option, unless they wanted to be misrepresented in the minds of those around them. Meaning that the movie and television stars the ladies crushed on seemed far better looking than Joe the mechanic from down the street. Even if Joe was kind of a hottie. He just didn’t have the same tools that women and show people did to improve his appearance.
Once women knew this was an issue, they could correct for it. The simple truth was that no one ever bothered to tell them it was a factor, so they didn’t bother to change. Some of them wouldn’t believe it as a factor for themselves, of course, since denial was one of the great powers of Human beings. A crippling factor that let them get through the day, at the expense of long term capability to grow and learn.
Keeley didn’t bother thinking about anything all that hard, simply standing in the door, hugging everyone there goodbye. Including Don, who even if he was recovering from sexual addiction as to her orders to him as his master, still grabbed her behind and fondled it for a bit. That part was interesting to see happening, when she read his mind to make certain her hold on him was working correctly.
Most of the time, in the past, the first thing she’d done was order the slaves she’d taken not to struggle against her or fight their enslavement. With Don Holmstrum she’d simply mentioned that he needed to cut his desire to have sex by about fifty percent. This then, holding her rather cute behind through her tight slacks, was how he was expressing that. She, to his mind, was a friend of his. Not a sexual conquest, but still the kind of woman that had bothered to let him jerk it in the shower in front of her, while making good eye contact. Doing it without even asking for anything in return.
He’d asked, she’d said sure and then didn’t act like she was too good for him, later.
Making Keeley Thomson player and good time gal that had hinted at being willing to let him hit that, as soon as they had time for it. Which they did just then, she had to admit. No one was trying to kill him at the moment, at least. True, she had a new Ravi to play with and by Human rules that meant she should probably not do anything with the man.
Which wasn’t why she wasn’t doing anything with Don at the moment. Human rules were, in the main, counter to even what individual people wanted to do in life. They were a control mechanism, as surely at the old Greater Demon rules had been on her. Backed with a bit less of a threat of being killed, perhaps. Even that was there, if you bothered to look at things realistically.
The truth was that she’d been avoiding doing anything with him due to being her slave and not getting a choice in the matter. Except that, of course, his will, if he were free, would have been to get as busy with her as she’d allow. Denying him that was an expression of her will and logical processing, not his.
The idea annoyed her for a moment. That, being bothered by things, was a feeling she wasn’t really used to. Not anymore. Since she’d been sixteen, Darla had instructed her to suppress her feelings, using magic. Now that she wasn’t, trying not to be evil like she was, it was becoming increasingly clear that her nature wasn’t exactly good, in particular. That was what she was thinking about as she walked out of the room, with Will.
They got out front before she opened a portal back to the embassy complex in Sparks. She used the small closet space at the end of their basement hallway, where she planned to keep that kind of thing, once the others started to line walk in and out of their office space. It was easier to get into the place that way, not needing to bother with guards or checklists. That and the almost insane need to be vetted each time they got to the door. It normally took about ten minutes in the morning. She bypassed that by simply going in to work through the secret basement entrance.
Because rules didn't always apply to her. Honestly, they didn't really apply to anyone that didn’t want to play by them.
She started to walked through, with Will finally being ready to hop at the right time. That was a good thing, if not one that she’d taught him specifically. He’d seen it done, so had picked up what he was supposed to do. A great plan, since that meant she didn’t have to manhandle her boss as much. Not that she wasn’t going to miss hugging him five to ten times a week.
“On three?” The man needed to know what to do in a specific fashion, just in case he had to work with other people in the future that could do that kind of thing. She didn't describe how to do it, since the process was rather different for the Humans that could do it, compared to her or Zack.
She bypassed the void between worlds, using magical energy. The Humans and Vampires, probably the Mage even, so far, went into the void between everything and survived there on their own. It took slightly longer to do it that way, while using a lot less personal power.
Vince could probably do it Zack’s way, at a guess. He generated his own magic at a nice rate, after all. That and the ability to sense the movement of power was the entirety of the Mage talent. The rest of their ability was all learned.
If they practiced regularly, they were potentially as powerful as the old Greater Demons. What they lacked, as a rule, was the imagination to see the possibilities. If one of them, say Vince Riddenhour or Rebeca Soars, were to be guided properly, they could certainly learn to be a lot more than they currently were. Both of them, in their own fashion, had already been doing that sort of thing. Line walking for the man, with Rebeca actually working combat magics on a level that no one else had at her age in a very long time.
When they stepped out of the rift, into the closet, a thing that was meant to have mops and buckets in it, with a low sink at the back of the space, she finally spoke.
“You have a date with Ambassador Fellows at seven.” Opening the door, she walked, the large man following her the whole time. Listening, since she’d moved into the voice she used while giving a report. “She’s a Dragon shifter. Common type for her people. There are only about twenty-seven of them in the world, so it’s rare. Unlike other shifters, all Dragons have three forms. This one is Avery Rome’s half-sister, so you know family of hers. They aren’t currently close, though that isn’t due to hatred, as much as lack of exposure to one another. Dragons lack basic sexual impulse. That means she can have sex and even likes being close to people, without the desire to actually do it on a physical level. Which is why we need to get that thing with Judy in place as well. I know that will be hard for you, since it will mean putting Human prejudices aside for her. The issue here is that you need to get Ambassador Fellows on our side, fast. Dating is probably the best way for you to get her attention. She’ll respond to romantic gestures like any Human woman might. Don’t forego the sex, just understand that she’s not going to give you normal signals that way. Just ask, when you feel the time is right. On the great side, she probably won’t say no. She’s motivated to make a connection with you as well, so keep that in mind.”
The man stopped walking then, a hand going to her shoulder, pulling on her, gently, instead of like he was planning to hit her for her obvious and overt manipulation. She winced anyway, since it was clear that she was practically ramming the three people together at the crotch, without caring if they really wanted to do that kind of thing at all.
“How important is it that I seal the deal? I really had a feeling she wanted in for political reasons, earlier. The thing with Judy Swan is just…” The man looked a bit troubled, as if it was a much bigger deal than it really was.
Keeley thought for a second, taking a lot of information about dragons from the memories she held in the Library that floated outside of her.
“That… Really, you don’t have to do anything to get her to help that way. She’s a Dragon and most of them are drawn to group service. That or being hermits. Which is the problem here. She’s interested in helping the whole, but is currently lacking a personal tie to
the greater community. You can be that for her. So, in a very real way, sealing the deal here is probably decently important. Not so much that we need to prostitute you out to her for it. To the Alede and a few other groups, but not the Shifters. Not that you shouldn’t consider Calley Hale for that, if she’s around. She’s a Bat Shifter and their President. Currently I’m aiming Ravi in that direction, just so you get how important that might be.”
All of that was true and her boss didn't suggest she was selling his ass in particular, which wasn’t the case. She was just trying to get him laid on a regular basis. For Humans and even the average dragon being in a relationship was a good way to make that happen. With Alede, being in their presence was the key, clearly. The trick there was that Will needed to know that asking for sex was going to be needed each time with one of the women that would be coming into his life. Even if Morisy Fellows wasn’t mean that way. The woman would put out, if she liked a guy. It was just that in her current job, no one had asked. For years.
Not that Keeley was going to pretend that it was about anything other than her trying to make her boss happy in the moment.
It was actually a little bit hard to take, the idea of him sleeping with someone else, other than her, even if they didn't have that kind of relationship. She understood his crippled Human reasoning for it, and the need for the man to have connections with other people, of course. Keeley simply wanted him for herself. A thing that, even half a year before, she would have simply made him do, if she cared that much. Now she was using complicated plans to do what she really should have simply been suggesting to people. In order to leave them all a feeling of free will in the matter, while stripping them of it at the same time.
She walked into her own office, and then put in an order to the cafeteria, for food to be brought to the couple. Then, since it was hours past when she was allowed to go home, she thought for a minute, then shrugged.
Ravi still hadn’t called, which was annoying to her. A thing she smiled about, since it was clear that he’d just be getting back from work in about half an hour. Instead of calling him and demanding he pay her respect and give forth the required adoration she demanded and deserved, she simply moved to the end of the hallway and used a rift she made to go home.
Where she found someone standing on her front door stoop. Well inside the wards that she had around her place. A thing that meant this person wasn’t a threat for her, as far as intent went. At least if he was the Human that he seemed. She examined the scene anyway, since one of her people could have walked through her wards with only a bit of effort on their part. The easiest way would be to send a slave in, ordering them to not have any ill intent, until it was time for them to try and kill her.
The man was in coveralls, had a new seeming straw hat and when he turned, the weathered face of a long-time farmer. Also piercing blue eyes that tried to search her soul as he smiled, his right hand rising in greeting.
She had a name for the man and oddly enough, a memory of him that came to the front of her mind as soon as she saw him. It wasn’t a small shifting, either. The force of it hit her like an actual brick to the back of the head. In that she rocked forward a bit, the impact of this being’s presence drawing her in a step, toward him.
Walking forward, she didn't bother feeling upset that he was there. After all, their last two meetings had gone well enough, really. They were, she understood, on friendly terms. A thing that she hadn’t recalled until even a moment before.
“Michael. I wasn’t expecting you to show up.” She stopped for a second and then faked a shrug. “Really, ever again. I mean, I’m not a demon any longer, so why would an Archangel show up on my doorstep, right? To me that would mean that I’m out of the loop for things like that.”
There was a pleasant smile from the man, who wasn’t one of those at all. Really, he didn't even have a body, just being a creation of ephemeral energy. A thing that seemed real, while not being able to show up on camera or video at all. Almost a mental projection, like a powerful telepath could have put forward. The mechanism was different than that, of course. He was, in short, a different order of being.
His voice was mellow, not fitting his face much at all.
“I can see that. Still, He wanted me to come. We have some things to talk about, you and I, if that’s all right? We need to hurry, since your young man is planning to come over in person, to surprise you. It would be best if I wasn’t here when that happens. Mr. Pendar isn’t ready to meet my kind of person, just yet. That will happen of course. May we sit?” He gestured at the stoop, as if she wouldn’t let him inside her house.
Which was ridiculous. After all it wasn’t like the angel was going to steal her things or make fun of her decorating skills. Leading him in, she smiled, trying to work out why he’d be there. Nothing came at all, on that score.
Chapter eleven
Keeley had to roll her eyes at the angel as soon as she realized what was going on. The man, or ephemeral being, as the case might be, was sitting on her brown leather sofa. She, for her part, had a handmade soft drink in her hand that smelled like cherry flavoring. There was just a hint of real vanilla bean to the beverage. The perfectly tasty and refined beverage made in a sixteen-ounce tumbler. Mike had one in his own hand, beads of condensation on the outside of the glass. A few chunks of partially melted ice inside. Chipped off the block she kept for such things, in her freezer.
A thing she’d clearly done specifically for the being in front of her. He had his hat off, the floppy brimmed thing sitting on the back of the couch, looking clean as she glanced at it. When she looked away a bit, it seemed dusty and like she’d need to wipe down her place as soon as the farm hand looking guy was gone. It wouldn’t be the case, of course. The angel was simply tricking her mind into seeing both what he wanted and what she expected, at the same time.
The issue she was having at the moment was a simple one. She didn’t have any syrup for the drink he was imbibing on hand. It was, again, clearly her work. There was no hint of angelic power of magic around the glass, and as far as she could tell it wasn’t a projection. That meant she’d gone inside from the porch, got the being settled and made him something from scratch.
She was polite enough to do that kind of thing and really she didn't have any particular reason not to be nice to Mike. They’d met before, even if she could only really recall it specifically when they were together. Except here he was, holding a glass of something she’d made, looking well at home in her front room. When to her perspective they’d just walked in the door.
She frowned at the weathered face and growled a bit.
“What the fudge, Michael? How long have you been talking to me, I can’t remember anything.” That wasn’t how she lived her life. Most of the time it took magic to forget things, not the other way around. It simply wasn’t what she was used to, which caused a thin line of anger to rise in her. The real kind. She used her power to suppress it, in the moment. After all, she didn't really want to have her ass kicked by the man, again.
It had happened before, she was certain. Probably dozens of times. Even if she couldn’t recall it ever taking place.
The being smiled at her, his blue eyes shining a bit. They were clear at the edges, the whites stark seeming, instead of the slight discoloration a Human man would actually have at that age.
“Only about forty minutes. It’s of no real matter, Miss. You have the words that He wishes you to and will recall them if you need. The influence is set. Truly, I should leave soon. It’s a bit disruptive for me to speak over long to one such as you.”
She sighed, then nodded.
“You mean a Demon? Some kind of conflict with my natural evil and your innate good?”
Smiling the man shook his head. Then he quickly emptied his cherry soda and stood, retrieving his hat, while handing her the glass at the same time. The physics of it didn’t strictly work, since he was too far away from her to do the last part while also turning to grab the head covering. T
hen, it was clear that Angels didn’t have to play by the same rules that everyone else did.
When he spoke, he was at the door, which was suddenly open. Without it having been touched in any way that she could see.
“Not exactly. I meant one of the living. A Human or one of that family. Like your people, or the shape changers. Those who once were of that kind. You know how it goes, you all look the same to me. Besides, you aren’t a Greater Demon any longer, Miss Thomson. Even He is aware of that and agrees with your plan and current efforts to that end. That kind of being is gone from the world. Others will take up that task, defining the outer boundaries of the left hand path. It is time for you to become something different.”
She shook her head, since it was always so hard to think around Mike.
“So, I’m not evil?”
That got a shrug.
“I didn't say that. You are, by the nature of your very being, prone to that kind of thing. Of those who are born to the darkness at your level of creature, you are among a handful that is very capable of fighting the darker impulses. Only a few are better that way. Bente, Darla, Finias, Lyn… Darrel and Linden. Some of the others, the darker ones, are better at hiding their predilections… You could do that as well, but seek the harder path of being good, not just seeming that way to others. Both are valid. In the end, you will find your own way. How you do that is up to you.”
She recognized most of the names given, with a few escaping her. She probably knew them by their titles or different names. Her kind changed things like that, over time.
Something occurred to her then, earning a frown.
“Wait… What about Zack? He seems better than I am at being good. Is he faking it? He always was a bit insane.”