by P. S. Power
He had the lights on and most of the floor swept before Lisa walked in.
She stopped. “You're here?”
Going over the whole thing about Master Wu-Li and the energy work, then explaining that he'd be well enough to work at least, got her to give him a slightly incredulous look. That was a little unfair, since healing magic wasn't exactly an unknown thing to Mages, was it? This reminded him to try to keep the energy circulating while he worked today. He made a solid effort to keep it going while he talked to his boss. It took a while to convince her that he really had his health back. Mainly at least. He didn't want to try wrestling or heavy lifting for a bit, he joked.
“But, yeah, I should be able to run the store and stuff. If it gets to be too much, I'll let you know, I promise.”
The morning went slowly, as usually happened, until about eleven-thirty when a medium sized man in a gray suit with silver gray hair, a wig since his Shadow didn't have it, approached him at the front desk.
“Excuse me? I hope this is the right place... I need to book a... Transfer? I heard I could, possibly, do that here...” This came out loudly, as if the man worried that he didn't have the right place, and wanted to make up for that with volume. His Shadow seemed worried and anxious about even asking. If it wasn't so important he wouldn't even consider it. His inner being let Zack know all of this in a rush.
Lisa came out and listened to him for a few moments, then invited him into her office.
About five minutes later she came out to talk to Zack.
“He'd like to go to the Central Australia Nexus. That's a prime hub, so knowing how to get there can't hurt. I told him that he had to pay triple for a one way trip because he's a walk in. He agreed. Do you want to do it? I mean do you feel up to it? I said you were just back and had been injured, so we can beg off or reschedule... He has an emergency there, but it's only some financial thing. He could just fly.” Her eyes sought his meaningfully. Her Shadow self begged him not to harm himself over this, there would be other days for work like that, if it proved to be too much.
“Sounds great! Let's hope I can find the place.” Zack grinned at her, realizing how nice she looked today, she seemed to have on a new blouse, or at least one he hadn't seen her in before.
The man went to his car and came back with a small suitcase.
“I don't know if I'm allowed baggage...”
Lisa looked at Zack.
“Sure. As long as we can carry it through the Line by hand. That should be fine. Shall we go?”
The whole thing took about two minutes, but only because Zack insisted on making certain that he'd gotten his passenger to the right spot, and that everything seemed safe for him. He told the man to call ahead for his return trip and handed him a card with Lisa's contact info on it. That would save a lot of gold. He hadn't known that the price would go up that much just for walking in. It seemed a little off, but he didn't complain. Even split nine ways that was a lot of money. Whatever his personal reason, the man had seemed pleased to pay it too.
Over the next few hours, five others came in asking for passage, and all of them were willing to pay triple rates. Three others scheduled trips at a later date, since that could be had for the regular price.
Merri sent Hilda with a large box of food at lunch time, because she was clearly a saint. If her people had that. She sent enough for Lisa as well and packaged the meat dishes separately, which Zack appreciated. If anything the Chinese food managed even higher quality than usual, somehow.
Master Wu-Li came in about three in the afternoon, looked at him, smiled broadly and made several harsh, exacting, and of course, absolutely precise corrections to Zack's qi flow exercises. Zack made a point of correcting the flow patterns immediately.
Then the young looking old man went still for a second. "Could I possibly speak to Ambassador Penbroke in her office? It's rather pressing, I fear."
Lisa was good with that, and opined that Wu-Li didn't need to ask, but only in passing.
They came out a few moments later.
“Zack, there's an emergency situation. A colleague of Master Wu-Li needs several incredibly rare herbs in order to help stop the spread of a disease in rural China. About sixty people are infected right now, but it's spreading, and the World Health Organization can't handle it. No one else can possibly get everything in time... I don't know if you feel up to it but...” Zack had already started toward the back room and the Nexus point. Wu-Li followed without hesitation.
“Lisa, can you cover for me? I know it's a hassle, but, please?” He begged as he walked. It was a good sign, being able to manage the two things at once like that.
“Go, I can handle things here.” The phone rang and she stopped talking, but her eyes followed him, a strange look on her face for some reason that Zack didn't understand.
The first several ingredients were easy enough to find and though they had to go off the line to deliver them. It took only a few hours really, using dozens of shortcuts and trying to find people that could possibly have such things in stock.
"The next two ingredients have to be harvested by hand. There will be... Hardship in getting them." Wu-Li told him this as they jogged.
Zack found shortcuts for them into an arctic tundra, that was apparently the right place, or close enough. Wu-Li described how Zack could use his qi to warm his body, and demonstrated this while they walked. Since it came down to doing this or freezing to death while Wu-Li collected the special lichen that the disease treatment called for, he paid close attention. By the time they had enough, an hour later, he'd gotten decent at generating internal heat. He still felt really cold, of course, but in the end he had all his fingers and toes, which he otherwise wouldn't have.
The last ingredient also required cold weather techniques, and took them high into some mountains. Wu-Li showed him a node point, like the one into the Trolleinkein lands that seemed like a permanent shortcut that anyone could use. He could see why, the warp being huge, and the center of it dipping in at least fifteen feet across. Normally, the shortcuts he used had ripples that were mere inches across and were pretty directionally oriented.
This led to another place, still cold, with people that looked more like white Trolleinkein then anything else – though they did have their own established nexus, with shops and trade.
Wu-Li explained that they had to go in the hard way, but could take the Nexus lines out. Since he'd never been there before he couldn't lead Zack in.
What they bought, a root, looked more like a shriveled, dried rock than a part of a plant to Zack. Wu-Li pointed at the root and provided gold coins until the giant white furred being handed over enough of it for the project at hand. They didn't haggle, though the giant being's Shadow self told them that the price was fair for the amount they bought. Zack relayed this to Wu-Li, who bowed at the creature in parting.
“That, is a very useful talent, being able to understand people like that. Given the amount of travel you may end up doing it may be particularly useful to you.” The master bowed to him as well, though only with the slightest inclination of the head.
Two nexus line jumps and about twenty shortcuts later Zack had the herbs delivered and left Master Wu-Li to aid the other Master on the scene. He asked if Zack could check on them every day or two for the foreseeable future, and let Dan know the situation.
“Not a problem. Um, let me know if you need anything here? I don't know how much I can bring, but, you know...” He told the man before he left. It got a smile in return and another bow.
Once back, he sat down at the front desk, and nodded to Lisa tiredly.
“Okay, now I'm tired. That was a trip and a half. I think I met a Yeti though, which makes the whole thing worth it, even without the real part. Hopefully those sick people will be all right.”
He related the whole story to her and asked if she had Master Dan's number. That took going to her office and getting a binder out. One with a plain green cover, that held all the numbers of everyone
that worked in the Mall, even his name had several numbers by it, though he didn't recognize any of them.
He called up Dan and explained that Wu-Li had stayed to help in China and would probably be back in a week or so. Zack quickly covered the whole trip, since Dan may need that kind of information – who carried what, where those roots and lichen were found and so on – in the future.
As it neared eight, Hilda showed up with Merri, both carrying boxes with food in them. It turned out to be a mixed offering. Some food from Fried Things, Chinese, Italian and oddly, seasoned sweet potato french-fries, from The Burger Joint.
“Everyone wanted you to try their best offerings, since you now count as family... They expect a visit soon too, though I told them you're a very busy man.” Merri said softly, though she looked sweet and innocent while she said it with no hint of mischief.
“They, uh, really take this marriage thing seriously, huh? Is that normally how the Alfric handle things like this?” He eased out his notebook of girl facts, and turned to the section he'd started about the small redhead.
As Hilda broke out styrofoam plates and plastic eating utensils, Merri went over the particulars with him.
“Had I contracted this myself, or my father for me, or my brother more likely, given the circumstances here, then it would be important, but nothing peculiar. We don't divorce, but that doesn't mean that we'd have to stay together at all times either, we could come and go, love where we will and so on. The only difference here is that the King himself proclaimed this marriage. We didn't even have a voice at the table in that meeting to decide these things for you until he sent the order. That changes things and makes it a lot more important.”
She went on to tell him that her brother – whose full name had complex vocalizations that Humans might have trouble with, so he preferred to be called 'Mac' here – wanted to see him especially, when the chance arose, since her father wasn't available.
“That sounds like it'll be awkward.” Zack said around a bite of seasoned sweet potato. “Is he going to threaten to break my legs if I don't treat you well?” That was the tradition as far as books had told him.
Hilda laughed out loud. After she caught her breath and wiped a tear of laughter from her eye, she mentioned that it seemed funny to her because Zack always treated everyone well, not because Merri's brother wouldn't be coming to ensure his good behavior.
For her part Merri told him she didn't think so, it would probably be something else. Zack could tell she knew what this would pertain to, yet she didn't say, so he let it go and planned to go see Mac as soon as possible. No matter how bad it would be, or how embarrassing, he knew that waiting wouldn't make it better.
He glanced up as a fine looking man, a Vampire from his internal structure, entered the YoGurt shop across the way and went to the back. Another new Vampire, a man he didn't recognize, worked the counter. He looked into the Candle store and raised both hands slightly with a shrug, as if to tell Zack that he didn't know what the man wanted.
After six or seven minutes, Claire came over with the Vampire, his Shadow much larger than hers, a sign that Zack thought might mean that he had been around a lot longer.
“Zack, this is Vaun. He's... a rather important gentleman. I know it's late, but do you think you have the strength left to get him to the Toronto hub? The underground.” As she spoke her deeper self said, I know you must be exhausted from today's work. This would make me look very good however, if I can arrange it. Please?
Taking all of this in instantly, he paused, only his energy circulation moved, as far as he could tell. He'd been there before, and while the specific nexus point would be slightly different, knowing the general location did make it easier. He had just started to speak when the older Vampire smiled and held up a hand.
“I see it's late for you and that you must be tired. Would it help if I offered to double the fee that has been charged today in gold? That would be what... sixty thousand for the trip, one way? My presence is...important. Operations will be disrupted in that area, if this package is not delivered in the next two hours.” He lifted the slim case in his hand, indicating it held something important.
Claire looked uneasy.
He spoke to her deeper self and asked why, being that it might be important. She communicated to him, even though she consciously had no awareness of it, that she'd gain a lot of stature if she could get the rate down, though she knew that she had no right to ask him to take less than the offer on the table.
He turned to the powerful Vampire and nodded.
“Normally I'd take just your offer, of course, but since you're a friend of Claire I couldn't possibly accept that much. I think, if you don't think it too weird, that maybe Claire, who is the manager and go between you're group and myself after all, should deal with that part in the future. So, if it's not offensive, why don't I just take you there now and we'll waive the fee all together for tonight? You can pay next time, but I'm sure we can manage a reduced rate.” He hoped he hadn't messed things up too badly in trying to help Claire look good.
The Vampires both smiled. Claire's had a bit of triumph in it. Her Shadow told him that had been handled perfectly.
"We should go now however, since you mentioned a deadline?"
Vaun chuckled at the mention of a deadline, for some reason. They also all moved to the back almost instantly, showing that it wasn't a bad idea.
It went smoothly, Vaun easily specifying the location, a simple office without a storefront, rather than a yogurt place or other shop, and they stepped through.
The instant they arrived, Vaun whipped Zack around, a meaty thunk pushing the Vampire into him bodily. Zack stepped back into the line, taking Vaun with him.
In that space that really had nothing to do with space, time also didn't exist. He could feel the wood sticking out of the older being's back, the sharp points on both sides of the wound. Two more projectiles oriented toward them. Close to what would have been the back of Vaun, if he had a back here. Almost touching him, one actually slightly within the Vampire. A sense of movement in both, though to his perception, neither piece of wood moved at all.
Using force of will, he shifted around, until he could grasp one of the double pointed stakes with his Shadow properly, wrapping his inner being around it, all that existed here really and shifted it upward as high as he could. The second one followed, though he had to be extra careful to not take part of the Vampire with it. When he stepped out, in the back of the candle shop again, they both flew over the heads of everyone present. Claire hissed when she saw Vaun again.
“Treachery!” Vaun yelled to her as he staggered a step and when down to his knees. “It's Forest and his men. They ambushed us when we exited the line. They're trying to prevent the package from getting to the needed location in time. Claire, would you...”
She nodded and grasped the wooded stake, pulling it out sharply. Neither Vampire made a noise when it happened, not even a grunt of effort or pain.
Looking at the stakes sticking out of the wall she marveled that they hadn't found their marks.
“No marvel. He shifted them in the line. I couldn't move, but I could sense what he did a little. I seemed to have made the right move protecting him. We both would have died had he not stepped back into the line so quickly.”
Claire helped Vaun to a chair so that he could heal. They figured it would be only a few minutes as it had only hit the left kidney area, which was useless in a Vampire. So it would heal very fast, compared to say, the heart. By which they seemed to mean the middle, not the also useless organ that didn't circulate blood any more. Zack filed that one away for later, just in case it came up. You never knew when a Vampire was going to be a problem after all.
Claire maintained her composure, but only with great effort, her Shadow self growing to full beast shape. Her eyes tinged toward blood red though her fangs were not apparent yet.
“They almost killed Zack!” She exclaimed, making her hands into fists. Lisa came out
of her office to see what had happened. Hilda and Merri ran back from the front.
Vaun explained again. Though as to the treaty at that location, as long as things did not disrupt public commerce they were generally allowed. Especially actions within a single group. That Zack had been involved changed things, though being unharmed it would not be openly actionable.
“Still, all they have to do is guard the point all night and they'll have won,” the ancient Vampire stated.
“Wait...” Zack went to the front counter and rummaged through the drawer under the register until he found the card he needed. One phone call later he came back and asked Vaun if he could move yet. It turned out that Vampires, at least old ones, healed very quickly and Vaun felt himself to be at nearly full health.
“All right. I can get you to the Underground. Into the back of Master Yang's Apothecary. If I do that, can you finish your errand, do you think?”
The older Vampire actually clapped his hands in delight. “Oh yes! I have to get off site, but even if they watch the whole of that node, watch every shop, I don't think they would dare try anything in public. That should work.”
Zack asked if anyone had some gold. Lisa came out with a bag she said had about four pounds of coins in it. It seemed a lot smaller than he would have guessed, easily held in one hand.
He took Vaun by the arm again, looked through and saw no one waiting on the other side then stepped through. The Vampire took off at a run, moving faster than Zack could track after only a few steps.
He found Master Yang behind the counter of his shop, and plunked the bag of gold on the counter.
The ancient being smiled hugely.
“You don't have to pay me for use of my node, young sir. It was good of you to call, but no one truly owns the lines or their exit points.” The smile he gave seemed odd to Zack, like the muscles didn't connect in the expected fashion.