by P. S. Power
“Right. Damn. I forgot to get with Eric at all. I need to check on him soon. I think Zack took care of the killers, but… Really, I’ve been being a self-absorbed little bitch.” She blinked, since that wasn’t the kind of thing she said, most days. It was true, but when she tried to focus on the idea, she noticed that Tarsus, the librarian, was sitting there, suggesting it to her. Silently.
Other things as well.
One of them, helpfully was that she needed to be using her focus to agitate the portions of her brain she was working with at the moment. Her creative imagination and her ability to collect data and infer things from it.
Another was that Terra had gotten awfully protective about Vince and had gone into denial over the idea of him having sex with the Alede. Since anyone with a sex drive, including Terra, would be likely to find that happening if they were simply around any of them too long, that was pretty telling.
Plus, the girl had gone off with Scotty the drummer at the party, clearly to have sex. That meant she liked that kind of thing well enough to do it outside of marriage, at the very least. Looking at her, Avery nodded.
“You’re not seeing anyone?”
That got the girl, who was a bit soft looking, but not fat, to blush a little.
“No.” That was grumbled, as she looked covertly over at Vince, who glanced up, smiling.
Then he drew more. It was a flower, that wasn’t very well executed, but he wasn’t working from any kind of life model. That meant he was inventing the idea inside his head. That, or working from memory.
The boy finally sighed.
“Well… I don’t suppose you’d like to go out this Saturday? I finally got a car. It isn’t nice, but it’s mine. We could see that new movie? The one about the cartoon fish?”
Alan made a soft snorting noise, but Terra actually smiled a little bit.
“Um… yeah? I guess. If you want. We can meet at seven?”
“Sounds fine.”
Avery didn’t really understand why there were both acting like it might have been a date to pull teeth. After all, cartoon fish sounded fine enough for an entertainment. Not that she knew what Vince was talking about there.
Things occurred to her then, again provided by Tarsus.
“I need to experience more things. Movies and television. I don’t really know the culture here, for all that I’ve been living in it for months. Spending time at the mall, working, isn’t really teaching me all that much. I mean, it is, since I see a lot of new people and do different things, but…”
Everyone stared at her, as if she were being strange. Again. It was the likely case, so she just smiled, then drew until the end of the class. The idea for the picture wasn’t exactly hard for her to source, even if the object wasn’t right in front of her. It was a rough picture of herself, wearing a dress. The waist was gathered, with it hitting mid-calf for the bottom hem.
There were sleeves, but they were short and a bit pointed. The back dropped out, the cloth meant to be iridescent. Like scales. Not Dragon scales of course. Even for Avery that would be a bit too on the nose. It was really an extreme variation of Krista Hall’s Halloween costume, after all. What it would look like, if it were pulled back until it nearly wasn’t recognizable as such at all.
The real trick was going to be finding the time to work on it. The pattern would have to be measured out, meaning she needed to have help with that part. The right kind of material for it as well. That could be done by simply going to a shop for it. The issue there was that she didn’t really have time for that kind of thing. By the time work was over for the day, the local places would be well and truly closed. Except for Wal-Mart. That would have to do, even if their selection wasn’t the finest.
There would also be a need for a sewing machine, as well as other supplies.
She thought about what she was going to need, pushing her mind constantly, making it buzz and ache as she moved through her courses in gym. The weights weren’t heavy at all, so she did as many repetitions as time allowed. Near the end, as they were about to leave for the day, Phil found her, waving.
“Hey! I’m going to try and get to you at about six or so? My mother actually yelled at me for not being back at my normal time yesterday. I swear she’s never cared before. I… Um… Told her that, you know, we were dating? She kind of wants to meet you, now.” He looked apologetic, as if that didn’t make sense or would be unwelcome. It was a bit nerve racking, but comforting as well.
It meant he had people who were good enough to care for him that way. Then, so did she.
“Edom wants to meet you, too. Um… He’s a Vampire. Kind of my adopted father? You met Eve already. She was talking you up to him, by the way. This is about the dating stuff though, not the Vampire parts. I think…” She realized that she wasn’t totally certain that way.
Her boyfriend made a rather exasperated sound then, half choking on it.
“Well, no pressure then. Fine. We can… I don’t know, dinner is out on that side, isn’t it? I guess I can show up for an interview with him? No big thing.” There was a sudden, rather charming, grin. It looked mischievous. “Though I swear that my mother won’t get mad and try to drink your blood. Just pointing out that the bar might be higher on the one side than the other.”
There was, most likely, truth in that. Not that Ed or Eve would harm her friend. They were good people, who just happened to be undead.
“You get some time. I hear that Ed is going to be out of town for a while. Days. Eve has to work a lot, so…” Avery was thinking about her own schedule, but noticed a nodding from the Human.
Her Human. She reminded herself of that, her special Human, who she was assigned to court by her new mentor. That was important, after all, if only as a lesson. If it wasn’t Bente wouldn’t have given her the task.
“I understand, you want me to come by your house, so we can make out.”
She nearly said no, since really she didn’t particularly want that at all. It seemed like a time commitment that could be better spent doing almost anything. Except that it was part of her mission, and probably about what would happen if she were a Human girl.
Except for the part where she lived with Vampires, so having another person over would be noticed, even after several days. The scent would linger.
“I’ll ask about that. You’re coming to the book store tonight, if you can?” He’d said that already, but part of actually carrying on a conversation was constantly checking to make certain you recalled everything correctly. Some people didn’t get that, and ended up looking foolish, or thinking that asking a question at all seemed weak.
It could be, of course, but generally wasn’t.
Phillip stopped.
“I… Kind of tried that thing, with the shortcuts, earlier today. I did one of the ten that I attempted. I can sort of make them out, but it isn’t easy really. I’ll try to make it.” He didn’t sound at all certain, but that was the point. Why he was being goaded with the idea of sex, if he succeeded. To link getting things he’d like with doing well. If he failed, well, there were other days, in that case.
Avery thought for a moment though and then hugged him.
“That’s actually a great sign. If you can do it once, that means you can do it. On your own. I’ll see you at about six or seven. We can raid the café for food. It’s free for employees. I might have to pay for yours, but…” She stopped then, as he looked a bit strange. “Um… I’m a line walker. Just working tonight, I’ll probably be earning most of a million dollars. I can afford to feed you without it being a problem.”
The words got her a hug back.
“It isn’t that. I’m just not allowed to eat for three days. That’s hard, but I’ve done it before. At the same time, I’m supposed to be around temptation. The point is that I need to resist it, which means nothing for me to eat today. That’s weird, right? I mean, for a date.”
She nodded, since it was, given the local traditions.
“I understand it,
however. You have a lesson plan to follow, so of course you will. Speaking of which, I need to get to work early today, if I can. I need to connect with some people. Friends mainly.”
“Boys?” Phillip didn’t seem hurt by the idea, but was a bit curious about it, as if she was going to have ten dates lined up that night, other than the one with him.
Rather than say no, which was the truth, she caught a small thread from Tarsus, who was making too much of a point to be at the front of her mind for some reason. It wasn’t even annoying, since he was being most helpful. Which had to be a trick. He pointed that part out to her easily, as if it made any sense to do that at all.
She nodded.
“Men, but yes. Some of them might even eventually be people I have relations with. Women as well. Vampire rules. I’m the powerful one, for now, so if I want to do that, I can. I can even have you stand there and watch. Or take part, at my pleasure. Like I said before, that isn’t my way, but remember those rules. You have to do what I say. I do what I want.” Then she let her eyes go wide as he seemed a bit glum about it all. “For today though it’s really just calling people and making sure they’re all okay. Friends. People that I want you to meet soon, actually. At least some of them.”
After all, there was very little reason to have him meet with Eric Weise any time soon. Except that Phillip Hart was, in the end, probably going to end up being both a master Vampire and a line walker, unless she was greatly mistaken. True that was years away still, but even if he only managed one or the other, it would be worth it to know people.
They were at school, so public displays of affection were, per their orders, which had been in the orientation handbook, to be kept to a minimum. They were allowed to hug, but that had to be brief and with enough distance between them that no one would think anything of it. It meant, Tarsus assured her firmly, that kissing her boyfriend on the cheek would have more weight there than it would in other places. That didn’t come in words, but after a quick look around she did it. He was covered in sweat, which tasted masculine. Powerful, really.
Not that she was licking his face. That would be strange. At least in North America in the world she lived in.
Information bashed at her about different customs that way, for a moment, but then moved back, as she scampered off to the shower room. She didn’t see Phillip after that, but hurried, carrying her school things, to get directly off to the book store. That meant, leaving at exactly three-thirty, that she was at work precisely at three-thirty-six. Zack saw her coming in, working the front of the book store, and waved at her.
“Hey. You’re early today. Planning to make some calls?”
For once she understood the idea without having to work too hard for it. She’d walked in with her cell in one hand, the straps of her book bag in the other.
“That is exactly my plan. What’s the schedule like today?” She meant the transfers, since she wasn’t the one who did the book store portion of things. Not unless they needed heavy lifting done. Zack did that as well, but it really didn’t come up much. Everyone there was fit enough to move boxes around. Even filled with heavy paper books.
The Greater Demon smiled, letting his eyes wrinkle to show that he wanted her to believe it was real. Given it was Zack, it might even be that way. His insanity, even if it was shown as kindness, made him unpredictable and dangerous. At least to other Demons. To her it was more like he was actually just a good boss, most days. Trusting and trustworthy. One who actually cared if she was working too hard.
“Not bad. Ten transfers, but half of them are coming here for it on this side, in one group. That’s at four, sharp. The other five are scattered, but easy to find. Two are going from other locations to Lesser Shia. One of the others is coming back from there, to a different reality. Other me, the Human one, set that up for us. Apparently in his neck of the woods, no one thinks anything of dealing with Greater Demons. I mean, to them the useful line walkers are all Human, so keep that in mind. They won’t know what you are.”
She nodded, even if it wasn’t that big of a deal.
Then he went on.
“Tomorrow is delivery day, which means that I’ll be working on that. Naturally we have a few large movements coming in then. Nothing that you can’t handle. What do you have on tap? Bente didn’t fill me in, since it’s none of my business. Except that it might be, if it gets in the way of my actual business…” He was leading her to speak, as if she might have orders not to. As far as she knew that wasn’t the truth at all.
“I’m supposed to work on several different things. Practicing sewing, increasing my creativity and ability to track data, as well as dating a specific Human. Phillip Hart. He’ll be here later. He’s in training to be a Vampire. It’s only his first day. I… We went to the void for a few decades, yesterday. He did well. Eve thinks he should wait to learn line walking, until he looks older.”
Zack nodded, his face considering for a few moments.
“All right. Well, if you do the first group in, you can have some time off for the other things. We can split that up, half and half. I’ll want to meet your Human, of course. After all, he’s from my territory. You really have to ask first, next time, before you poach like that. It wouldn’t matter for regular girl Avery, but the second you started doing it for Bente, the rules changed. Keep that in mind, because if it happens again without me being dealt with, we’ll have to fight over it.” There was a gentle pat on the shoulder then. “Which you would be hard pressed to survive. Which means you need to navigate more carefully around me from now on.”
Rather than try to act tough or do anything that might set a fight in motion, she nodded.
“Understood. Oh, um, hey… A bit late, but can I have one of your Humans? Phillip Hart. Great guy.”
That got a real smile from the man.
“Sure. Fifty million dollars. I hear that he’s already made the cut to be a Vampire and is promising for line walker training as well. That means he’s worth more than an average boy would be.” There was an odd air to him then, as he glanced at her from the side of his eye.
Tarsus came to the front powerfully, but only made suggestions for her. Which she followed. For one thing, she didn’t know if she had that kind of money in the bank. She thought it was less than that, being about half that much.
“But still, only a Human, and he has to do the training. Plus other things. Also, having me court him now means that you might make friends with him as well, at a fraction of the effort. In fact, I should charge you for the work I’m doing. Let’s call it you paying me twenty million and say, two favors of medium size to be named later?” She tried to seem confident, which wasn’t hard, really.
That was mainly about body language. Standing up straight, her head high and a smile coming to her lips slowly.
Zack giggled at her, like a school girl. At least that was the impression she got from it.
“Nope. Granted, those are good points, but you were still poaching first… How about the two favors, but you owe them to me, and one can be fairly small?”
That was actually too fair, given that they really probably would have been fighting right then, if she were a Greater Demon. She wasn’t one however, which altered the rules for her a lot.
“I already did a favor for you, working for a week past when you’d figured you’d be back. That alone is pretty much worth a Human being. At least for the rent on one like this. I mean, I don’t get to own him or anything, since that’s illegal, so this is really just to make it so the other Greater Demons know you aren’t a push over. The thing there is that none of them will really count me as being important that way, in the first place.”
Which was true. On their scale of things, she didn’t count much at all. More than some, maybe, but it wasn’t enough to be one of them. Not that she desired that, personally. Even Bente had mentioned that.
So she went on.
“Besides, it’s clear that you set me up with Bente to control me, later. That means th
is is really all just extra for you. Me doing anything that might help you at all, that is.”
“All right. That’s true enough. So, you’ll pay me three million and do one small favor, in return to the right to date my Human, Phillip Hart?”
After a bit, she nodded, prompted by more than one Greater Demon in her head. It would be costly, but by doing that Zack was going to have to think of her as more important than he would have otherwise. After all, you didn’t bargain with pets. You swatted them on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper if they displeased you.
“We’ll do that then. You have to help me with him, however, whenever I need it.”
That got a hand shake.
“On those terms then, Avery. Now, you need to get to your calls? Staying in touch with people is important.”
Chapter ten
It was kind of hard to pick out who she needed to be in touch with first. Part of her wanted to make sure her friends, Rebekah, Scotty, Tyler and Steve were doing all right. Especially Steve. It was surprising, but she was actually worried for him. Not too much, since she also had faith in him doing well. Thinking about him made her recall the feeling of his tongue on her arm. It had probed her a bit at the time, but there had been no biting. She didn’t try to fool herself into thinking it was about something sex related, either. He’d been testing her, to see if she was food. Which, to him, she was.
Then he’d prevented himself from taking a bite.
To her that seemed like a really good sign. Not that she knew all that much about how Vampires reacted to things like that. Except that, when she thought about it, there were the memories of thousands of that kind of being inside of her now. All of them agreed that showing the ability to do that, along with staying up all day, meant he was making it. Really, over half of the beings were afraid of him. That was interesting, since they were just memories.
Things that were reacting to new information, as if they were still living. The only blessing was that as soon as she let go of them, they became themselves again. So they weren’t going to take over or anything. It was a complicated thing to even notice, which reminded her to focus on her training again.