by P. S. Power
"Zack? I was speaking to Lisa, and she mentioned renting a place for you at the coast? Rather, she already purchased a house for you. Nearby, so that we can contact you at need. I think that was her purpose in doing that, at least. It isn't a grand palace, but it sounds cozy." She smiled, and moved over to him, sinking along side of him, her cool body harder than a living woman's would have been. "Before you go, could you do a service for me?"
For half a minute he wondered if she wanted to have sex, but vampires didn't really want that very much. A few of them around there could enjoy it however, which her inner self was reminding him of at that very moment. There were no words, just the memory of things coming at him, but he picked up part of the idea. The big thing there was that her words changed the meaning slightly, away from him getting lucky toward something a lot different.
Claire smiled, and looked away, as if she were feeling shy. She was many things, but that wasn't one of them, so Zack didn't buy it, even for a moment.
"Luthor and his people have recently been given a large amount of aid from a rather ancient vampire, named Lissette. It was suggested that we, here, might be able to reward her, by returning the pleasures of the flesh to her? I know that we don't have a real payment that we can give you at this time, but..." Her inner self just shrugged, copying what he did all the time, and suggested to him that she wanted to climb the social structure, and being the person that Luthor went to first like that was vast.
It nearly meant the man was saying that she, Claire, was one of the most important of her kind. Given that she was only about three hundred years old, that was a big deal. Luthor however didn't particularly want to be in open ended debt to anyone forever, for some strange reason. So he'd asked Claire to try and work out some way for Zack to do it, since being able to feel sensual pleasure was a big thing after centuries of not having it, but to do it in a way that wouldn't leave the vampires open to all the cost doing that kind of thing should entail.
So it took him a second, as Claire sat there, fearing he was getting angry at being asked for things, yet again. It wasn't that, really, since he didn't bother with that kind of thing anymore. It was just tricky to figure out a way to make it all work out.
"Would she..." Zack tilted his head, then shook it gently. "I'd like for the others to learn to do that, too. Don and Chris, at least. Maybe get Eve in and see if she can pick that up, too? I think she might be able to, using magic. I don't know if Kate can do it, but I'd like her to give it a shot. I think that at least remembering what sex was like would be easier for her, for some reason. I just don't know if she can communicate it well enough on the shadow level. But maybe if we got a few people in to practice on? It's harder on the older vampires, so that would be useful. A mix of them, both young and old?"
Claire sat up, suddenly pleased.
"That could work very well. We could, perhaps, do this before you leave? Or after, if you wish. I don't want you to be stressed before your holiday." She was both slightly giddy, and a bit tentative.
Smiling, he stood up.
"Sure? If the victims can attend? If not, then we can do it whenever is convenient. That will work though? If we do a training run for some people, then the people volunteering to help us out..."
"Indeed. That way we can write off their help, and yet still reward them for their good deeds. I need to run and make a call, however. Several." Hopping up she hurried from the room, moving a good bit faster than a human would have been able to.
Zack stood, and then stretched a bit, bending over to touch his toes, and reaching up to the ceiling. For all he didn't get to do that kind of thing a lot each day his flexibility wasn't too bad. Then, thinking about what a trip to someplace he was going to stay at would take, he walked to his own room and packed a small bag. It was a backpack, though in his closet there was a real suitcase, too. This one, which was blue and black, was just a lot more him, in some way. It fit, and would look right, he thought.
He took some of his more casual clothing, running shoes, and a swimming suit, now that he could do that kind of thing. He still wasn't great at it, but Troy had taught him how to do enough that he wouldn't drown, most days. They even had a pool in the back, but that wasn't the ocean. Then, he thought about it for a moment and realized that the Pacific in December might not be a great place to go wading.
Still, he'd have a toothbrush, paste and cleaning gear. That and enough cash so he wouldn't starve, even if it meant dining out for each meal. How that would be done he didn't know, but he was, Zack guessed, almost ready. All he had to do was find the address, and hopefully get some keys from Lisa.
That meant finding her, he thought. It was getting late, after a fashion, being dark out already. It was December however, so that happened at about five, more or less. Still, help or not, she was just in her office at the candle store, fretting about leaving Kate in charge for a week. Not because the girl couldn't handle things, however. It was mainly about having known her when she was too young to be trusted with things like that, not long before, to Lisa's mind.
It wasn't real after all, and wouldn't have been even if the Alede were really seventeen, which she wasn't. After all, if worse came to worse, they could just not take anyone through the node.
Given that there would be two line walkers there, they could also just take anyone that came in. The girls even had plans in place to get several of the others into play at times. It wasn't like Kate didn't know the job either, so it was really just about Lisa feeling more important than she really was.
Zack could kind of understand that. She honestly did a lot of the work there, and that could leave a person feeling like no one else would do it right. Zack sort of felt like that, and there were a lot of other people that really could replace him now. That was why he got to leave for a week. Thinking about that, he smiled, and looked into the office, where Lisa was pouring over the schedule for the week, trying to get it all in perfect order before she left.
"Hey Lisa! Claire said that you bought a beach house? One that I can use, or is it just for you and Maryl?" That hadn't occurred to him before, but was possible. It was even within the bounds of reason that she could have told the vampire that, and been misunderstood.
In vampire society, the more important you were, the more things revolved around you. It was a sharper and clearer thing than with humans, though obviously that was where the whole thing came from originally. Zack wondered if, thousands of years before, things were actually done that way. With each person constantly fighting for position, and power, over those around them.
Lisa however lit up, hearing the words.
"It's yours. I hope you like it? It's small, and not a really nice place, but it occurred to me that you might actually enjoy that? You always seem a little out of place at your new house. If not we can get something bigger and nicer. There were some places available, but this was a direct sale to the previous owner, and they took cash, so it went a lot faster than normal. I have a map, some pictures, and the keys for it. Um... Here we go!" She smiled, and pushed a stack of papers over the desk toward him.
He grinned, looking at the picture on top. It was gray, with a bluish tinge to it, and had rough looking shingles on the outside. That gave it an old feeling, and a sense of having seen a lot of weather over the decades. The shadow of the place spoke of it being mostly water tight, and sound, however. It would have a bit of a musty smell, probably, but nothing he couldn't handle.
"This seems great! I'll probably go in first thing in the morning, if you need me for anything. Are you and Maryl leaving today?"
"After I get done here. Kate is taking us to Lesser Shia. I figure that we can try and find some new goods or services to steer people toward?" Her inner shadow looked at him, happily, and projected at him the idea that she wasn't going to be that silly. It wasn't about turning the week into work. It was going to be all about her girlfriend.
Zack smiled at the idea, since it was good to see her working that hard at it. Maryl was
sweet, and hard working. That meant she deserved anything good that came her way. Lisa did too, so it wasn't hard to be happy about it all. Not for him.
Holding the papers carefully, he pocketed the keys, which were on a small metal bobble, a flat piece that said Candles and More on it. That got him to smile, since it was one of the things they sold there now. He'd dusted the rack of them just a few days before.
Perversely, that thought reminded him that it probably needed to happen again soon. Much like Lisa, he wanted, on a very real level, to run and do it right then.
Instead he clapped his hands, awkwardly, since he had things in them.
"Now, let's leave. The kids can handle it. Or not, and if that's the case, then it will still be fine. Come on... Leave it... Leave it..." He drew the sound out, and made it playful.
Her shadow glared at him. There was no speaking however, so he winked, and gestured toward the door. On the deep level he pointed a bit more firmly, which got the woman to stand and pack up for the day. It was time for them to let someone else take over, and far past that.
Then, with no more than some waving at Kate and Jen, who felt like him inside still, he called out.
"We're out of here! Talk to you in a week. If you really need me, I'll have my phone." That was a normal enough thing to do, he thought.
Kate ran over and gave him a warm, but not too close, hug.
"See you then. We won't need you, unless an attack comes. In that case, well, then all rules will be broken instantly, of course. I have a plan for it this time. Anyone trying to come at us will be slapped down so hard that they won't ever want to try it again."
"Good. One of us needs to be ready for that kind of thing. So, see you then. Jen." She got a wave, since it was only a week, and the girl and he, while close now, weren't physical in that way. Alede held to very different ways with family, and it had taken Kaitlyn a long time to understand what that really meant as far as how to treat him like they were close. Without just jumping on him blasting away with lust. Alede mothers didn't have sex with their kids, but a lot of what they considered casual contact would have had them arrested if they were human men. They were just different that way.
Trudging he walked into the node in the back, and moved quickly, so that he'd end up in a different reality, in the back of a different Candles and More. The rapid movement let him avoid Big Shadow, who was, it seemed, still trying to find him in the void. Zack ended in Westfield, barely having to work to make it happen. The place was nearly silent, lacking the chatter that the Underwood location had going on. Really, it was a little sad.
Dusty for one thing, and a bit off, as to scent.
The other Lisa, who seemed a little younger in some ways, but also a bit more worn down in others, was in her office, just sitting there with the door open, sipping at a cup of something that wasn't coffee, or tea. Not any kind he could determine by scent. Some kind of herbal thing however. Like medicine, rather than a thing to enjoy.
Looking up she seemed troubled for a bit, her face going harder than he was used to seeing it.
"Um... hello?" She knew that he looked like a younger version of how Zack used to, and that he, new Zack, existed, but it was also really possible that this was a Greater Demon, or an illusion. She was tempted to try a breaking spell, but it would take about five minutes, and wouldn't work on a demon anyway. That meant she kind of froze for a few seconds, looking at him.
Her shadow explain all of that to him, as she stared, not knowing if being afraid was the correct mode to slip into or not.
"Hi, Lisa. Um, it's just me, other Zack? How are things going here?" It was kind of obvious that the answer was that things simply weren't going well.
The woman gestured at the store out front with a flip of her left hand. Then she sighed. There was weight to it, and it hung heavily in the air for a long time.
"Like always? All my help keeps drying up, and this job is too much for one person. As soon as I get anyone to come in, they end up being called away to do something else. I don't suppose you came to get a job? It pays ten dollars an hour to start." She knew that wasn't going to happen, but he smiled at her.
"I'm actually going off on vacation. Want to come with me? I got a rundown little house at the beach. In a different world, but it's basically the same as here, I bet." It was pretty safe to ask, since there was no way for her to get away at all from her day job. Even if there was, he felt bad enough about her plight to actually take her with him. This was a woman that needed help, and fast.
Otherwise her world was going to melt down around her ears.
"Sounds fun? I can't, of course. There's no way I can get away from here. My own private work prison. So, what can I do for you today?" She looked up, behind him, as a rather cute blonde girl slid in behind him, touching his shoulder. That part was a bit weird, but after a moment, his whole life being sucked into the nice looking twenty-something seeming greater demon, she pulled back.
"You know, if you want, I could fill in for you here, Lisa? Zack here, this one is... Very safe. Really old too. I'm not even certain how much so that is yet. I'm still processing the information, and will be for a while." She smiled at him, her blue eyes shining. "Darla Gibson. Greater Demon, as you guessed already. I'm Zack's aunt here. His mentor as well. I figured that I'd come and check you out, once I realized that you were here. To make sure you weren't one of my people, plotting against us. You came to get Eve for the evening? That sounds wonderful, by the way. What you have planned? Honestly..." Holding a smile she stepped back a bit, to signal that she wanted to do something. It was a bit dramatic, and meant to be, in order to hold his attention on her.
She pulled her phone out, a small silver thing that was tiny compared to the one that he had, and put in a number by hand, calling someone or other. Her shadow explained it to him, or started to, then paid all her attention to the thing in her hand.
"Hey, Lenore? You don't know me well, but we've met. I'm Darla? Zack's aunt?" She stopped, a smile on her face. "That's the one. Anyway, Eve is going off to another world in a bit, and I think I can get you in on the trip? It will just be a few hours, but I think it might be worth your while to get in on this. The people over there know how to return sexual pleasure to classic vamps, and are holding a training party for it tonight."
Then there was listening, and the pretty shadow, rolling her eyes and bobbing her head side to side while making fake talking movements. She looked as solid and full colored as her other self was, so it made for an entertaining few moments.
"I don't know, let me check?" She pretended to cover the mouthpiece, her face bland on both levels. "What would this trip to your world cost, Zack? She doesn't really believe that you're just a human, being mostly sane like she is, so she wants to know in advance."
He hadn't invited her, but the idea of meeting another Claire, and that was who he thought this lady was, seemed intriguing enough to be worth trying.
"Um, nothing? I just want to get Eve in so I can teach her how to rekindle sexual responses in vampires. I can do it, so I'm betting that at least some of the others can too. I don't know if Eve will be able to, but it seems right. Are you willing to let her try doing that on you? We can count that as your payment for it. The worst it will do is nothing, in which case I'll hook you up, so it's a win for you, if you want to do it." He just spoke, since it was clear that the other woman would hear her.
She was a vampire after all. For that matter, Eve, who was across the way, would be hearing the whole thing too. Probably better than he was. After a bit her shadow appeared hovering off the ground, in front of him, wearing a smile.
Niiice. If I can do that, I'll have leverage over a lot of the others.
Which was, in the end, simply true.
The nice looking girl, who was a movie star, if a pretty minor one, in his own world, looked away, her voice projecting silently.
Can Bey come? He's here, in the back. A friend of mine?
Zack smiled and figured that ta
king three or four more Vampires in wouldn't hurt really. He wasn't planning to leave before morning, after all.
"That sounds fun. Your friend Bey can come, too. We should take Nikki back as well. At least for a visit. How is that going? Or, I'll ask again in a few minutes. Be right over. Lenore..." That felt funny, since he was thinking of her as Claire. "Do you need me to come get you? Or Eve, if you'd rather? I'm sure that either way would be fine. Not that, you know, I can really volunteer other people like that. I mean, I can, clearly, but you know, she doesn't actually work for me, so..."
There was a laugh that was hard enough Zack heard it, if only in the faintest measure. Then speaking, which seemed to be about getting the information to the demon lady, the youthful looking Darla.
Her voice was smooth, and unworried for some reason, which probably had to do with the fact that she, unlike everyone else involved here, knew that this new Zack really was a nice person. The blonde woman, with her nearly perfect skin, which was like porcelain, nodded slightly, her eyes sparkling at him from the side.
The dust from the shop nearly made him sneeze, which he fought off without it showing on the outside, for the most part. The place really needed to be cleaned up and taken care of. At the same time it shouldn't have been that hard to get people to work at the mage embassy. Not if it paid actual money, and the work conditions weren't that harsh. Something like a help wanted sign should work, or an ad in the paper.
It was also within the bounds of reason to think that just telling her own people to send along a few bodies for the job might be enough to get her help. The other people there seemed to be doing all right, though his own Candles and More had been hard to fill positions at for a while, too. Then he'd gotten work there, and fixed it.
Blinking, he stared at Lisa directly, and smiled a bit. Then he shook his head, as Darla hung up the phone, and smiled at him.
"She's in Sparks, visiting her daughter Ginger. I believe she's at Tyler's house? I can get you a map, but you should be able to find her, since she's basically your wife. In Nevada, in this world. I don't see that as being too difficult for you to manage. Now, this was my idea, so, what do you want in return for it? That's kind of important here, when dealing with my kind. If you don't charge enough, then everyone will think you're a push over, and then attack. Given that you're actually a human, that could go worse than you might think." It was clear, from her shadow, that she was both serious, and for some reason, teasing him.