Evil is... (Once a Demon Book 2)

by P. S. Power

  Faking a smile, she turned back to the boy behind the counter, who was staring at Mara. She was nice looking and had clearly decided that being as close as she was to a ten meant she needed to dress the part. Interestingly enough, the clothing that she had on, as well as Sam’s, were clearly made by Avery Rome.

  Meaning they were dressed up professionally, and looked out of place, being both too young for that and too well dressed for the business they were in. She was as well, since her own outfit had been made by the same woman. The big difference was that she was in darker colors that day.

  The kid behind the register blinked a bit and looked back at her, smiling.

  “Sorry… That will be one-fifty-four and seventy-three cents.” He glanced away, as Mara made her way close to the front of the line. There was no one behind her, so by the time Keeley had her card out, they were all right there. Not three feet off of her backside.

  A thing that Sam at least stared at a little bit. She could feel the pressure of it. Which tickled, meaning he wasn’t just darting a casual glance.

  Counter guy started to tap.

  “I need a name, so we can call your order. It might be a few minutes.”

  She could have lied, but didn’t bother. After all, she was allowed to get cheap and greasy food. Even in Lincoln. Hiding who she was would make it seem like she was stalking Hally. At least if the woman figured out who was there with her.

  “Keeley.” They didn’t need a last name and there was no gasp from behind her, even if Hally did stiffen up and stare at her a little bit.

  She didn’t just shift to the side, moving all the way over to one of the small tables, near the door on the left-hand side. The yellow seat was nearly clean, having only a few smudges from fingerprints on it. The table had some crumbs, mainly bits of shredded lettuce and a few strands of cheese. Whoever had sat there last had picked up after themselves, without really focusing on doing a professional level job.

  Then the people that worked there had been too busy to get to it, most likely. After a few minutes, being told that there was a huge order ahead of them, Hally, Mara and Sam all moved over by her. They each smiled in her direction, moving in one table down. Instead of doing the normal thing and keeping a full table between them, since they needed two of the things for three people, being they were tiny, the good-looking kids took the one closest to her and Hally, being friendly, waved at the chair across from Keeley.

  “Would it be all right to join you?” There didn’t seem to be a lot of doubt that it would be all right.

  Keeley didn't let the magic she was using slip, not being an infant, so she stayed pretty blank, inside. Nodding, she agreed, forcing a smile to her lips. After all, that was what you did in social settings.

  “Sure. Um, how are things going? You called the other night, then hung up. I wasn’t planning on bothering you but ended up on the food run after the thing at the White House today.” She didn’t explain that part of things, which didn’t really matter. Hally got all of it. Sam, sitting directly behind the nicely appointed red-head made a noise.

  “That thing was… Insane. Who drops people like that?”

  Keeley glanced over at him.

  “Settlings. They were bringing gifts and didn’t realize that people weren’t food for the leadership here. They use death energy for things and are kind of like Vampires, only alive. Which is interesting, since all the other places they’d left gifts had been either Vampire related or Tyler’s house, so far. In Sparks. The mansion.” Hally had been there enough times that it would mean something to her.

  Rather than shout Keeley and ask why her face was different, the woman simply made a face.

  “Ouch. You… You took care of it though? We were watching it on the news. I didn’t get that it was you. Um… How are things going?”

  She was nervous about asking, of course. It showed a bit. After all, Keeley wasn’t just a psycho serial killer, she was one of the best of that sort to have ever lived. A thing that was true, even if she’d given it up, mainly. Human beings didn't really have a category for ex-monster. If anything, ex tended to mean monster, as often as not. It was kind of how her feelings were trying to categorize Hally, so it might not simply be a Human trait to do that sort of thing.

  She shrugged and let a smile come to her lips.

  “Not bad. I’m working with the Coalition of Nations… You caught that one. I’m also putting together a television show with Eve and some of our other friends. Reality Wars. The title on that might change. Krista is directing it. I have a bit part, if you can believe that. Playing an old woman. Not a lot of lines, though it’s real enough. A kind of oracle character.”

  The words seemed to roll over Hally, who shook her head a little. Indicating that wasn’t what she really wanted to know.

  Keeley tossed the ball back, anyway. There were rules to how awkward fast food or grocery store conversations with the old flame had to go, after all.

  “How about you?”

  She looked away, her soft blue eyes seeming a bit lost for a moment.

  “I’m… Okay. Things… Business is going well. I nearly dropped everything and went into hiding. Then realized that wouldn’t work, so kept working PR for Living Proof and the rest of it. I’m not really dating or anything.” She seemed nearly frightened to mention that part.

  Keeley patted her hand, taking a copy of her life, getting an update of the last few months. Her ex wasn’t dating, but had seen a few people. One-night stands that had left her feeling guilty and as if anyone she got close to would be killed for it. A thing that hadn’t even occurred to Keels herself at all.

  Truly, she’d figured that Hally would have been halfway to married already, having had over a month to find a man and get that going. She was attractive after all and while not sixteen any more, was cute enough that a lot of men would have been coming after her the instant they realized she was single. They certainly had while she was seeing someone, so it probably hadn’t changed at all.

  Rather than pretend she didn’t get it, since it was painfully clear from the woman’s own memories that she was living in constant fear of Keeley coming for her in the night, she nodded.

  “You should. I have been. Ravi. He’s really nice. A line walker. The new Human one. Also a kind of Human Mage. He works for the Coalition as well.” She let her head move side to side then, trying to seem rueful instead of blank inside. “I do miss you, but I’m not going to mess with your life. Even if I did end up coming here, instead of to the Taco Bell in Sparks.”

  Sam and Mara were both listening, not even hiding the fact. They were both old enough to get the idea that Keeley was Hally’s ex-girlfriend, and the same one that had helped them out, not too long before. Which meant they didn’t interrupt, even though Sam stared at her again. He was too cute to be doing things like that, she realized.

  Not because she wanted him, just due to the fact that a lot of women would, even if he was too young for them at the moment. Her work that way had pushed things a bit too much, probably. At least if getting a fourteen-year-old laid was a bad thing.

  Hally swallowed, then smiled.

  “Like I haven’t been stalking you online? You need to update your Facebook page, by the way. I… I can’t go back to you. It isn’t fair and I know it’s my issue, nothing to do with you. I wish… It’s too confusing.” There was a plaintive note to the last words.

  Almost as if she were going to start crying about her loss. A thing that even a Human was going to see as being too much, since she was the one that had broke things up. Running off into the night, as if from a monster.

  Which was her point. To her, now, Keeley was always going to be an evil creature that could turn on her at any moment.

  It was a bit like she’d woken up one day and realized that her girlfriend wasn’t a Human being, but was instead a man-eating lion. Sure, one that liked her, but still, right there in bed with her in the morning. Looking hungry, even as Keeley had treated her well and been kin
d constantly.

  Rather than let herself seem emotional about it all, not feeling anything except a trickle of energy and a feeling of blankness inside her mind, Keeley stood up, as several large sacks of food started to be placed on the front counter. It wasn’t done yet, but it was a good enough reason to move away from Hally a bit.

  “You can live your life. I really do understand.”

  Hally looked miserable then. Sad and as if something was breaking inside her heart.

  “I know. I… I hope you and your new guy are happy. I really do.”

  Then she turned away. Keeley went to the counter just before her name was called, and waved to the kids before collecting up the heavy bags and walking outside. Where she opened a portal back to Deep Six, directly.

  Then, as she stepped out into the hallway, she very carefully didn’t think about Hally again at all.

  Chapter sixteen

  As odd as it probably seemed to everyone else, Keeley had Ravi go to the Vampire Council House to get Harland and met them both at Ambassador Gillhall’s house in Iowa, even if they had the current situation fairly well in hand already.

  A thing that the Vampires both understood as soon as she started speaking, outside of the walled residence. That, the stone wall, was new and matched the home next door, more or less as far as the construction went. The lawn inside of it was nearly as well cared for as the White House had been that way and frankly, the flower bushes had fewer bodies in them at the moment, which was a feature, to her way of thinking.

  Smiling, she shook hands with Cormack, and bowed toward Harland, since the bone white man clearly wanted to avoid contact with her. He didn't even know for certain that touching her would do anything to him at all, much less allow her to grab his life’s memories. It was simply that he didn’t want to risk having her steal his soul.

  That came across powerfully, since the man was a powerful telepath, along with having several other mental abilities. He could start fires with his mind, for instance, as well as foresee the future, if only a short distance in time. About three days. Meaning he had to understand that he probably wasn’t going to be taken as a slave that day. At least if he thought about it for any length of time.

  She winked at the man, her face pleasant.

  “Gentlemen, so nice to see you both again. This is Ravi Pendar, the new Human line walker. You may have noticed that we already worked out the problem we’d discussed earlier? On the good side, no more bodies should be dropped on your flowers, Ambassador Gillhall. I’m sure that no insult was meant by that.” Which she honestly was certain of.

  Ravi put his hand out to shake with the men, both of whom took it, Harland fairly beaming at both of them.

  “You came to tell us this in person anyway? That’s very polite of you. Both of you. I hear that you’re both with the Coalition of Nations… Is there, perhaps, something you wish to discuss with us along those lines?” It was a bit leading, not what she intended at all and also told her a lot about what the Manthori Vampire in front of her expected from her type of person.

  Some kind of manipulation, using the free trip that had taken place in order to leverage either him, Cormack or the Council, into doing something that they probably would rather avoid.

  In short, the man knew his Greater Demons, at least by reputation if not personal experience. Not that it would shock her to find out that he had that going on as well. It would be hard to become an ancient Vampire and not run into her people on occasion.

  She smiled, meaning it more or less, and shook her head.

  “Not at all. We’d just scheduled something with you and wanted you to know that we keep our word. Not that we have to stay the night at your place here to prove that, if you don’t want, Cormack. Technically speaking, Ravi and I should probably go out on a real date, finally. So far things have been a bit… Well, let’s just say, I’m the worst girlfriend in the world and leave it at that?” She laughed a bit, which was fake, though sounded legitimate enough that no one called her on it.

  Her boyfriend grinned.

  “She really isn’t. Things have just been a bit busy. We’ve only been going out for three days. Not that I have anything planned. You get that though, right? I just started the new job. I haven’t really quit my last two yet in fact. I kind of work at the grocery store tomorrow evening, in fact.”

  That had to sound odd to the two Vampires, though Cormack actually seemed impressed, instead of like he couldn’t understand the basic idea. Then, he knew three or four line walkers personally, so had probably chatted them up on what things were like for them.

  How quickly their lives had changed in the outer world, even though it had been hundreds or thousands of years inside the void, learning to do the actual work their new skills demanded of them. In fact, she knew that to be the case, since the information was in the memories she’d taken from the handshake.

  Her phone rang then, which got her to nearly leave it to go to voicemail. Only a smile and wave by Harland told her he wasn’t planning to take offense at that kind of thing. In fact, the all-white man with his many rows of fang teeth gently guided Ravi and Cormack off to the side, to talk about running grocery stores, of all things. It was, apparently, a thing that the Council was considering moving into, in the near future.

  “Keeley Thomson, how may I help you?” It wasn’t her work phone, being her little silver and pink one. The number was a new one, however.

  A person that had never called her before at all.

  “Um, Keeley? This is Judy Swan. There’s a bit of a… I guess it’s an emergency? I didn't know who else to call. A… We’re being shot at! The restaurant I’m at. I’m here with Don and Steve. We were talking and people came in. I… They’re killing everyone… Randomly, I think.” There were several loud rifle shots in the background, so Keels didn’t ask a lot of questions.

  “Where are you?”

  Over the gunfire, she could hear Judy, though just barely.

  “The Greenhope! I… Help!”

  The words got the phone to cut off, and sounded like there was pain involved. The Alede being shot, most likely. From the semi-automatic gunfire and lack of demands for jewels or cash, it was a mass shooting, instead of a robbery. It could be a terrorist action as well. Regardless, Keeley knew where it was.

  “I need to go. There’s a shooting going on, in California.”

  She started building a portal to the correct location, just outside the building she needed to go into, so she could get the lay of the land before going inside. To her mild surprise, both of the Vampires simply moved over to her, with Ravi dashing up, grabbing Harland by the arm and pulling the larger being through the hole in space.

  “Jump!”

  The Vampire did it, of course. She didn’t have to ask if Cormack was going, the well-dressed Vampire taking her arm without asking if it was the plan. When they stepped through the rift, with her dropping it instantly, Harland was already speaking.

  “There are three inside, with long rifles. One near the front, to guard the door there, another barring the back while the central one moves around executing those inside. Half of the people here are dead or dying already.” The words were grim. Angry, as well.

  A thing that she felt rising in herself. Rage really.

  Smiling, she looked at the three men with her.

  “I’ll go in first and remove the one furthest from us. Harland, if you get a chance, stun the man in the middle. Cormack, take the one by the door here.” She glanced at Ravi then, who didn’t seem to know what to do. “You stay here and get ready to move people to the hospital. I’ll hold the rift open. On three… One, two…”

  She warped space in front of her, the world going quiet and still, compared to the war zone it had been a moment before. Pushing space and time away from her, she moved, nothing else seeming to at all. Not even the Vampires with her appeared to be moving as she walked to the door of the place and kicked it in, shattering the locks that had been keeping the people inside
from fleeing.

  As she passed the middle eastern man that was barring the way, Keeley flicked the rifle from his hands with a slap. A downward movement that seemed to cause the weapon to move only a tiny bit. She didn't wait for the effect to ripple through the man’s body. He had a mask on, though his build gave him away as a trained terrorist, instead of just a man who’d decided on a spot of random killing with some friends.

  It was similar to the carriage of a military man, only without the phony sharpness of bearing that they would have carried with them.

  Keeley picked her way across the room. A place strewn with bodies. All of them seemed still to her, though only a fraction of them were already dead, at a guess. The man in the middle of the room was punched on the back of the head as she moved by him, mainly because she was pissed off and annoyed about the whole thing. From the way that caved in, the man wasn’t going to really be a good source of information, shortly.

  Meaning she stopped for a moment and took a copy of his life. A thing she hadn’t done with the man at the door at all. Then, he’d probably live until Cormack got there. Past that, she didn’t know. Really, the Ambassador would probably simply murder the man. Vampires weren’t good creatures, by their nature. Like her. At least she certainly wasn’t feeling poorly about the man she’d just murdered on the way past. It wasn’t going to be happening for Cormack or Harland, either.

  At the back of the restaurant, where a third masked man was, this one not being male at all, rather a female Human, she was a bit more gentle. Not because she wanted to be kind to the terrorist, which the woman was, being there specifically to gain attention on the heels of the attack on the White House, but rather because the Humans would ask her fewer questions if they had attackers left over to grill.

  Working quickly, she broke the lady’s arms and legs, snapping each in several places, so that she wouldn’t be able to stand at all, or use any kind of tool or weapon. Ever again. The nerve damage would be too great. At least if the woman didn't have some kind of magical healing to aid her.