Dragon Queen (Avery Rome Book 3)

by P. S. Power

  Avery hadn’t been paraded around or anything, as if knowing her was part of Calley’s platform. Everyone had kept her decently well hidden, actually. In fact, at the time it had seemed correct, based on the fact that Avery wasn’t all that important to anyone. Not past her ability to line walk. Now… Well, she was something different than that.

  A celebrity, if a minor one. That got Tarsus to put up a different chart for her, this one in a nice amber-gold mix of color. It was simpler in some ways, but still had a paragraph at the end, summing it all up. What would most likely happen with her, given the things she’d done.

  She was the first Shifter to do a lot of things in public. Their first high school student to have come out publicly. Their first actress to do the same as well. Or she would be as soon as the new program aired. She was also publicly known to the Human world, having changed in public. In the back of the grand palace house she stood in front of at the moment.

  Meaning that, even if she hadn’t noticed it, not watching television at all as a rule, other than for news of special events, she was, possibly, slightly more famous than she would have suspected. Especially with the Shifters. Which could influence people to vote for Calley, if they were on the fence about the idea.

  Avery had just been standing there thinking for over a full minute, as Calley smiled a little bit, twitching. It might have been longer than that, or less, but it hadn’t been a few seconds. She was nearly certain on that point.

  “Sorry. I was just working out your odds of winning…” She shook her head, then pretended to be a bit sad about what she’d come up with.

  Calley made a face.

  “That bad? Oh, well. I think I can do the job, but everyone else is solid, if I can’t win. I might be a little sad, but it won’t end my world or anything.” She sounded pretty certain of that, but the words tasted of something acrid and yellow. Defeat.

  Which wasn’t what the chart had said at all.

  “Nope. You probably have a fifty percent chance of winning right now. It isn’t certain, but you should have your speech ready to go, to accept the win. The numbers you need, to start calling all the right people, as well. Does Little have those for you?” The man had run her campaign, so it made sense.

  “Yes. Do you really think I really might make it? I mean, even a coin toss is kind of good odds. Thanks.”

  There was a hug to go with it, but Avery stepped back almost instantly and patted the Bat on her gray colored jacket arm. Mainly because a car was pulling up. It was nice, but not rich seeming. An older model that was blue and a little boxy. Some of the paint had been replaced at some point. Avery could tell because the shades were different. Given the location of that, it probably meant that the vehicle had been in an accident at some point. It pulled over to the left, by the garage, where the other twenty or so cars were parked. It was more than had been there earlier.

  As they watched, two men got out of the thing. Steve York and Troy Lopez. Both of them were Master Vampires, so they could do things like be out and about in the sun. Being awake at all during the day was kind of a big deal. Before they got ten feet toward the door, Eve Benson was there, dressed up in a nice skirt and blouse. They weren’t matching, the top being a light cream colored thing and the skirt being charcoal gray.

  She’d just appeared, since the Vampire made a point of running everywhere she went. That was to work on her speed, which was already so fast that Avery hadn’t seen her get there, until she’d stopped moving.

  The shoes on her feet were running shoes… after a fashion. They’d been hard to make, but looked decorative, even though they were well padded and reinforced flats. All of what she was wearing Avery had made for her. It looked good together, she had to admit. The shoes needed to be fixed of course, the next time she made anything like them. The line was just a little blocky looking. Eve had small and fairly narrow feet, which should have been showcased better.

  Calley waved at them all.

  “I didn't think that any of you would be coming! Much less bringing presents.” She looked at the heavy wooden case that was being carried by both Steve and Troy, between them. It wasn’t huge, and the car hadn’t been dragging its bumper on the concrete as they drove in, meaning it wasn’t all that mass intensive. So it was, she had to guess, a ceremonial thing. A presentation rather, than taking two powerful undead men to carry the thing.

  Eve stepped forward, smiling.

  “This is a gift, from the Council of Vampires. It’s just some wine, so no one will think it’s a bribe or anything. Even though it totally is. I mean, leading with a present is kind of manipulative, don’t you think? On the good side, they really seemed to mean well when they came up with the idea. Bey brought me in for that, so they could use all my insider Calley information to help them out. They were thinking of sending a troupe of hot slaves for you, but this is America, so I had to quash that one. Instead they sent in Steve and Troy for that part.” She grinned, her face actually seeming to really mean it. That was rare, but showed that real effort was being put into the whole thing. “As if you’d need the Council to help you hook up with a guy? Still, free wine, so it isn’t all bad. Mid-priced stuff. That was me, again. They wanted to send over the fancy kind, but if they did that, you’d have to send it back, which might be considered a poor move, if you win.”

  Troy actually laughed.

  “You’d think that all of that was just Eve being her normal fun loving self, but I was there, too. She had to actually yell at a few people to get it toned down enough. They really want you to understand that they’re backing you in this. They couldn’t during the race itself, but don’t want you to feel unloved.”

  Avery kind of got the idea, she thought. Calley just nodded.

  “Well! Tell them I said thank you? I’ll have a note sent. Or do it myself if I have a lot of time suddenly open up. We find out at four, so… That isn’t nerve wracking at all. Did you know that CNN and MSNBC are both doing full coverage of the election? Like they did for the Presidential race a few months ago for their own people. No one had expected that! I can’t really get why they care. We don’t have a country or anything. It isn’t like we really have anything to offer them, or could really affect their world.”

  Eve made a squeaking noise, which was a suppressed snort. Given that it had to be fake, since she was a Vampire, it was masterfully done as far as acting went. It really seemed totally real.

  “You’re kidding, right? Trust me, people that change shape are pretty popular with Humans right now. Probably more than Vampires are. Oh, sure, you do have people that are afraid of you, but those aren’t the mainstream. Most people are starting to work out that Shifters and Mages don’t go around killing people all the time. They aren’t that certain about Vamps yet, but that one makes sense. If you’re the food, you might not love the person that’s going to eat you.”

  Avery could see that one for herself. Really, fear of being attacked had to have been a big issue for the Humans over the last few years. Then, no one had really had any issues with Shifters or Mages so far. Some things had happened, but the Mages came down on their own people really hard, if they started harassing anyone from another group. They had, even before they were out in the world openly.

  The Shifters mainly kept to themselves, in tight groups, so they just didn't get into trouble with Humans that often. When they did, well, the Humans still didn’t really think of it as being a Shifter problem. The Gray stole from regular people all the time and none of them had ever even suspected that they weren’t just strange travelers that moved from place to place.

  That lent the Humans the idea that Shifters weren’t that big of a problem. Which was true, really. Some of them could be, but even then, it wasn’t because they were killers or ate people. They were just thieves or muggers. That feeling might hold even if people learned about the bad ones that existed in their midst.

  Calley waved for everyone to go in, which had Avery moving, even as she kind of didn’t want to.
There were potentially stressful things inside, after all. The thought wasn’t one that she wanted to live with though, since it was way too weak for her to project to the world. That part of things was hard for her, but she needed to appear strong enough that no one would try to take advantage of her later.

  When they got into the room, people were chatting and there were ten or so that were glued to the television. There wasn’t a lot of new information yet, since unlike the Humans, the Shifters didn’t allow exit polls or other data to be released ahead of the election results. They also didn’t have physical polling places, since people just used computers to vote. Which reminded her that she needed to do that herself.

  Looking around, she noticed that Eve had headed straight over to Tyler Gartner, who was standing next to Ann and Leslie. Her slave.

  Also Avery’s mother, who had been physically changed a bit, to look like a high school girl. Mark, one of Ann’s other slaves, was nowhere to be found. Hopefully that meant something pleasant. Otherwise, it was probably going to lead to a fight. One that Avery probably couldn’t win.

  She was willing to do it anyway, if Ann didn’t hold up her part of the bargain they had, to love both Leslie and Mark and treat them as well as possible. It had been all that she could see to do in order to save her mother from a horrible existence. All it had cost was Mark’s freedom for the next hundred years and a day.

  Thinking that, she walked straight over to the Greater Demon, the Greater Vampire, the Master of Death and the Shifter slave, directly. It was a lot easier than going other places in the room she was in. When she got there, Avery smiled, then gave her mother a small hug. On impulse, she did the same with Ann. They were friends, after all. Not that she trusted the demon.

  She couldn’t.

  “Hi.” Avery sounded a bit bland, but not upset. Which she wasn’t, so it worked out pretty well for her. “Oh! Eve, I have a letter for you. From a different reality? Here…” She pulled it from her purse, feeling a bit clumsy, since she had to hold it with one hand while digging with the other.

  Eve took it and then read, carefully.

  “Oh, this is different. We’re invited to a meeting. Well, I am. Along with a few leaders from here, if I want to include them. It’s in a different reality. I don’t think I’ve been there. Brian Yi’s world?”

  Avery didn’t know that name from her own time there, but Troy heard it from across the room and walked over.

  “I’ve been there then. The Human line walking me showed me where it was. The good one, not the one I had to kill. They’re pretty nice people. A bit funny looking, now and then, but no worse than we are here, really.”

  Eve looked at the letter again, then nodded.

  “It will be us, the people from Countess Thomson’s world and them, so far. Probably some others. That’s in a few months, our time. I’ll get that set up? Tyler, are you in?” She seemed to think it just made sense that he’d be going, kind of like how Calley had.

  The man, who had a cloud of darkness around him all the time, moving him, making him live. It was, from what she’d heard, the literal power of death.

  Still, he grinned, his young face pale but happy.

  “That sounds fun. How do we do that? We’ll have messages to go back and forth.” He glanced at Eve, directly, and she tried to look at Troy, who cleared his throat.

  “Um, I’m currently on a special pass, away from the police academy? It wasn’t easy to get, let me tell you. Luckily, I’m near the top of my class, so the commandant was willing to let me out for the day. I get evenings each day, but I have ten hours a day taken up right now.”

  Looking at them all, one by one, Eve finally landed on Avery.

  “You start your new show in a week or two, right?”

  “Yes. I have time between now and then though. I’m working for parts of it, but I can do it. Nothing I have will take up ten hours a day consistently.” Which was her being too nice, but they all worked. A lot. Traveling around with some messages wasn’t exactly a huge hardship. Not if she did it correctly.

  That got her a rather firm nod from the Greater Vampire. Ann patted her on the arm, currently looking like a young girl. One that could have dated Dumas without anyone being concerned. Eve was the one who spoke, her tone not displeased seeming at all.

  “Thanks. We probably can’t pay you for the work. I could trade something though. Do you need anything in particular?”

  Ann rolled her eyes at that.

  “You can do better than that, Eve. Sure, Avery isn’t a Greater Demon, but she’s powerful. She also has a mentor, just like you do. You can’t just pass the ball over to her like that, or she’ll rip you off.” There was a tiny hand held up suddenly, to forestall speech. It worked too, which was interesting to see. Eve wasn’t afraid of Ann, in particular. Even if she was an insane Greater Demon. “Oh, I know, you’re thinking, but Avery is sweet and kind, she’ll do it for free, if I just bat my eyes enough and occasionally bring her a box of donuts. This is for multiple node travel though. Into places that are at war, as often as not. Playing messenger could mark her as a threat, if she isn’t lucky. That, or end with her being drawn into trouble. If you don’t set things up to begin with, and do it right, who knows what you’ll end up owing?”

  At first Avery didn’t get it, thinking that Ann was actually trying to help out Eve. They were friends, after all. In a strange way. It wasn’t until Bente, the one in her head, came forward that she understood that it wasn’t that at all. It was a warning. To Avery.

  To a Greater Demon it seemed incredibly clear, but to her it was harder to see. The taste was right though, when she had the idea. It was a thing that she couldn’t do for free. Not because Eve wasn’t her pal, but because they were in public at the moment. If she was too cheap, then word would get around that she was someone to try and use. Given who she was, that would probably even work, most of the time.

  Meaning she had to make it seem like she wasn’t as easy to abuse as all that.

  Avery brushed at her dress, over her right leg. Going without underwear was a little annoying, but she didn’t let that bother her, just taking Bente’s mental advice.

  “Four million. Plus, two large favors. That will cover a weeks’ worth of travel though. Only in regards to this one conference.”

  Eve didn’t wince or act like it was too much to ask for.

  “So, I get the friends and family plan?”

  Avery didn’t get that, but the term triggered a memory chain. She had to cut it short, since just knowing that it meant she was being nice about things was enough. It could have been sarcasm, of course. Four million wasn’t unheard of for a round trip, but it was near the top end for such things. Plus, there could be a lot of trips in that time frame. Hundreds. That probably wouldn’t be needed, but if there were three or four locations, and she made a few trips to each, that could add up.

  Her friend, and Eve was that, just stood there for a bit, so Avery nodded.

  “That’s right. These are the rates for my best friend in the whole world. Everyone else gets to pay more.”

  That got a tongue stuck out at her. The move worked, but wasn’t done meanly. It was meant to seem disarming and childish. To manipulate her.

  “How about a million per week, but it only counts when you are taking a message around. Not each leg of the trip. One small favor as well?”

  Ann seemed about to jump in and start her own negotiation, but held her tongue when Tyler moved in to put an arm over Avery’s shoulder.

  “We get in on this too, right? We don’t have enough of a budget to pay a million per message right now.”

  Avery shrugged.

  “Two million per week, but only when the messages go around. That’s for everyplace though, not just from here. Meaning that you’re paying for everyone being invited. Plus, a medium sized favor, from each of you.” She looked around, though she wasn’t really including Ann or Leslie in the mix. Unless they were working on the project as well.

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nbsp; Tyler squeezed her shoulders, making a lot of skin on skin contact. She didn’t know, but thought he might have been doing it on purpose and not just to try and get a better deal from her. As in, she was nearly certain he was flirting with her. Right there, with both her parents in the room.

  That part was a bit embarrassing.

  Giving her a hard look, Eve faked the clearing of her throat.

  “A million per week, but I’ll get Phillip a job at Yoghurt World for the summer. He mentioned that he didn't have a job yet. Kids need to be kept busy.”

  Avery thought about it for a minute, then nodded.

  “All right. I want him to learn the embassy side things too, as part of the arrangement. That might help him later, if he becomes a Vampire. So, that, and a medium sized favor from each of you?” The goal was for him to do that, but the secret goal also had Phillip Hart learning to be a line walker. Either one of those would, in the end, stop them from being together.

  That didn’t go over well, but eventually they hashed it all out. It wasn’t really about the money anyway. She had enough to last a long time. It was just about showing everyone that she wasn’t a total push over. Even though, naturally, she really was.

  Chapter six

  The rest of the day wasn’t that hard for her. She had to mix and mingle, but everyone was kind to her. Calley got a bit nervous, but had a perfectly good Tyler there, along with Ginger Harris, to cuddle up to and hang off of. They were all dating. It was an open situation however, which meant that if she saw them with someone else, it was probably inside the rules.

  Avery knew that, because Ginger told her about it. Twice. Given the woman, who looked even younger than she did, wasn’t flirting with her, that rang out as being a bit off. It wasn’t until Tyler called her on it that there was an explanation.

  Ginger, who had a mix of blonde and brown hair, with some silver mixed in, at least to Avery’s eye, didn’t seem that pleased when it took place.

  “I, ah, was asked to go on a trip with the Egarth Ambassador. I’m pretty certain he means it as a, you know, real date. Back to his homeland? They have mountains made of diamonds, which means he can pay. It isn’t a big deal, but Felicia, the Ambassador I work with, suggested that I should do it, to curry favor. I just don’t want Avery to think, you know that it’s a big deal, if she sees me when we go.”