Otherwise, she was passing as a human pretty well. Her clothing was nicer than what Zack had on, though it was similar in style. A light blue tailored shirt, with an apron over it. All looking lovely.
Looking up at him, she smiled even larger and went a bit wide eyed. That got Zack to turn, smiling. It was his buddy who spoke first, clearly giving him time to think.
“There you are. I called it right within five minutes.” He picked up his six pack of treats, then nodded slowly. “Which is, by the way, three days before Ann actually figured you’d do it. You got Dareg to bring you back? His energy stepped through the node.”
Smiling, Troy rolled his eyes.
“I would have been quicker but the woman whose palace you left me out front of decided that I should learn their language as part of the lesson. It took a few days.” That had been a bit weird but it really was the thought on that side of things. Taman had figured that Troy needed to do more than just put a call in and ask for a free trip home.
The words got a light wave from the slightly shorter man. Not that Zack was short at all. Just two inches less than Troy was. They were both thin, so matched that way. Now. For a long time, the demon had been very skinny. Dangerously so. Now he just looked healthy.
Interestingly, there was an impressed expression on his face.
“You worked out that I did the transport for that? Not bad. I traded some things with Ann for it. I got you a house. In Lincoln? Keeley used to own it but it ended up being traded around for a while. No one has been living there for a while. It’s nice and big though and has been renovated, so looks decent.”
“Neat. How much are you asking for it? I could use someplace.”
The words got a nod, instead of being dismissed.
“Work? We can count it as an advance, being we’re going into business. Call it a million three for the value? That’s over market but you aren’t paying in cash for it or anything.” The words were relaxed sounding and probably honest enough, even if he were a demon.
Zack was, more or less, like that.
“Or… And this works too, why don’t we go with real market value for the area? It’s what, half a million for that?” He didn't want to rip anyone off but Zack had told him that you always had to bargain and do it hard, with greater demons. Otherwise they wouldn’t respect you.
The words got a sudden smile. Barb looked on, almost seeming scared suddenly. It wasn’t going to be real though. Not over Zack. There was danger to it but they all kind of thought of him as harmless. It wasn’t true. None of them were that way.
Not now.
Once, fifteen years back or so, it had probably been more or less true. For him at least. Possibly Zack. The guy hadn’t known what his true nature was and didn’t get into conflicts at all, when he could help it. Troy had always been more about peace and love than not. At least on the outside. What was inside had been more intense but that was probably everyone.
The demon narrowed his eyes but smiled at the same time.
“A million but I’ll throw in a new car. I have a few that I don’t really need, that are nice. Something that will get you all the women, now that you have a sex drive again? You both do, right?”
There was a look over at Barb, which was meant to distract him from what they were doing. It was manipulative, to say the least. Troy noted the information, then locked the feelings about it down, using a bit of magic. The only thing he allowed was logic and focus. That was strengthened enough that he felt his mind actually sharpen.
Another thing that he noted. Being able to think more clearly, and at a faster level was possibly useful.
“I don’t really need a babe magnet car right now. Even a nice house would be a bit much, on my salary. I’ve been trying to live inside my means. I wouldn’t even be looking for a new place, if not for the fire.” He glanced at Barb, then explained. She might not have heard the news yet, after all. “A djinn was set on me, for some reason. By a cult group that wants to free a trapped ancient god. Baphomet? Just in case you need to know where to address your prayers in six months.”
Turning back to Zack, he tapped his right foot.
“Let’s… Six hundred thousand? That’s going to still be over market price for the area, I bet.”
There was a slow head shake then.
“Actually, no. Not after all the work Keeley had done on it. Eight hundred thousand. That’s market, plus seven percent. I need to make at least a bit of profit.”
He nodded.
“Fair then. I can sign off on that. Um… Sold?”
They didn’t shake on it or anything but Zack glanced over at Barb.
“I can throw in some advice to help sweeten the pot?”
Given the look in the general direction of his ex, who looked away, Troy understood that it was about them. Data had been passed already. Then, he’d gotten some from a variety of greater demons as well. None of them really seemed to think that either he or Barb should be having an issue with relationships, due to being vampires.
“Is it to just control my emotional state and possibly to live outside of her territory and just come in to visit regularly?”
A single finger pointed at him, the greater demon seeming happier suddenly.
“Great plan. Yes, it was that but it’s better if you already know about it. So, fix that? It isn’t my business but seeing two friends mope around in misery is annoying. You’re adults, so do what you want. Just, you know, in a way that doesn’t make it hard to be friends with both of you?”
There was a bit of animated hand waving. Troy didn’t know what to say however. Asking to come back was oddly hard seeming, given everything. Even if he were the one that had to do it. After all, he’d broken up with Barb, not the other way around. Given how she was looking, which was very cute, it was possible that she had something else lined up already.
Thinking about it, he shrugged.
“I don’t know. You’ve been dating Phillip, haven’t you? He’s kind of a catch, from what I’ve heard.” Also, a human, which was the normal way that vampires did relationships. True, he was a line walking, powerful human that had enough power to hold his own with a vampire but he didn’t come preloaded with a need to dominate anyone. Unless he did. That hadn’t been mentioned to him by Avery at all however.
Barbara faked a snort. It was well done, and reminded him of Denise Tran for a moment. That was a thing he needed to deal with as well. Or not. After all, if The Rotted wanted to play detective, and did a good job of it, then that wasn’t a real issue. There were some things surrounding that, like what had happened to Denise Tran, the real one, if she’d ever existed but given he couldn’t do anything about that at all, regardless of what had taken place, he could let it slide.
His ex smiled at him though.
“He’s cute now. Fun enough. He isn’t you though. I can date you and have him on the side. That and the other three guys I’m doing. None of them are more powerful than you are, or vampires, so it shouldn’t be an issue.” She managed to sound playful, which he would have taken incorrectly, if he were reacting like a vampire at the moment.
It was probably true enough but also meant to reassure him, not be about how well she was doing that way. Vampire relationships tended to be pretty straight forward. Then, for classic vamps like them, lust wasn’t normally a real part of things. Now, for them, it was an issue. It could mess things up, if they let it.
He rolled his eyes.
“That’s going to be awkward then, don’t you think?”
There was a slow nod, from Zack but Barbara didn’t seem to get it yet. The greater demon bailed her out though, not being a jerk, for one of his people.
“Because it’s clear that Avery is planning to make a move on you? With marriage in mind, if I have it right. That one… It isn’t a bad idea. She needs someone stable and a bit older than her. Still, she’s way more open minded than you might think that way. I say give them both a chance. Maybe get a few other women on the side as wel
l? That way you can show Barb that you aren’t her bitch. I know you didn't mean it that way but if I could see it, so can Troy.”
She winced but then smiled, slightly.
“Fine, fine. We can do that? I… Don’t really want to beg you to come back. That doesn’t mean I don’t want it to happen. We can make this work now, can’t we? I’ve been working on some things. Um, Eve has been helping me.”
That was different. Not really though. The woman was in nearly as thick with greater demons as he was. That didn’t leave him feeling comfortable at all. They weren’t all good people, even when they liked you.
“I’d like to try. It should be me begging, since I was the one that fudged it up in the first place, not fixing myself first.” He didn’t kneel down for it but did try to school his face so it didn’t seem like a total joke. “So… Pleease?” Troy waited for her to say no. It was the only real response, after all.
Except that she moved around the counter, fast enough to blur in space, and tackled him. Into a hug. Doing it back, they held it for a bit, as Zack waved.
“Hey, come to the book store before you head out, Troy? I need to get you the keys and there’s some paperwork to do for the house. Plus, you know, the address? The little details that make life worth living… I need to get back and eat these before they move past that perfect point of meltiness. Say… Half an hour? You can’t get it on right now to seal things, since Barb is at work.”
Then he left.
Barb looked at the demon’s back, her eyes lingering on his behind a bit, which was firm and shapely enough for a dude, Troy had to admit. Then he realized he was staring at it himself. There was no lust in it, on his part. His ex, or possibly current, girlfriend smiled at him when she looked up.
“Too bad he freaks me out on an existential level, you know? Otherwise I could totally hit that.”
Instead of feeling threatened, Troy let his head bob a bit.
“Yeah. I get the basic idea there. I don’t feel that fear in regards to him but the whole man thing is a bit strange for me still.” He could do it but hadn’t really considered Zack for that before. Not as more than a passing thought, when someone else mentioned the idea.
“Prude.”
He had to agree with that one. For a vampire, he was probably at about the fifty percent mark as to what kind of thing he could do that way.
“Pretty much. Anyway, I need to get that house going. Some new clothing as well. Um… I should be here more often, soon? Zack and I are going into business.” He had to explain the bridge idea but other than smile at him, Barb didn’t react, at first.
After he finished, she sighed.
“Damn, Troy… That’s high powered. You could own half the world, being able to do that. Even at airfare prices, people will want to use it. Enough that you could do it full time, I bet. Um… How is the police stuff going? That one… It doesn’t really sound like you. Do you like it?”
At the moment, he felt nothing about it at all, which was nice enough.
“It has its good points and bad. It’s kind of slow moving and I can’t love how tied my hands are. This current thing, with that cult I mentioned? I know what to do, in order to fix it but can’t, since it would be illegal.” Which would be counter to his job.
Instead of telling him that the rules weren’t real things, she just grabbed cloth and wiped at the counter.
“Who can, or should, be dealing with it then? Is it a real threat?”
The questions were actually good ones. Not things he hadn’t considered himself but he’d been a bit distracted. Part of that was his dislike of his current position, which was sad to see. Real enough though. Working to control his emotions all the time was probably the better plan that way, given everything.
“The cult is made up of mages, so their people should be doing something about it. Then… Well, it seems like the god they’re worshiping is actually real. It’s doing something to give them orders and powers. I don’t know who deals with things like that, to be honest. I should ask around. Someone built the cage the thing is in, right?”
Unless it was natural but that didn’t seem too likely.
Rather than go on about that, Barb made a soft face at him. It was nearly loving.
The words were different than that but not harsh at all. Just considering.
“So, Avery Rome? How long has that been going on?”
He shrugged, actually nailing the movement, he thought. It just happened, almost as if he were a real human. He had the breathing going on, to grab energy from the world, so it probably seemed about right that way.
“I have no clue? Really, I don’t know if it’s going on at all. It could just be these others teasing me. Why they’d do that using a seventeen-year-old girl, I don’t know.”
There was a joked laugh in response to the words.
“No… It isn’t people making fun of you. Avery has asked me about you directly. About us? I told her about the whole vampire thing, and that it probably wouldn’t impact someone like her. This was after she broke up with Phillip. I… Really, and I’m not putting him down but he’s kind of a player. Without being skeezy about it but it’s there. I mean, rich, good looking and powerful… Well, you know how that goes. Women throw themselves at him constantly, and he’s still a seventeen-year-old guy, with all that means. Avery is looking for a man to settle down with. Phil is looking for the next woman that he hasn’t done ten times already. Those things don’t really match up.”
That didn’t explain why Avery would be thinking in his direction, in particular. Sure, he was Troy Lopez, and awesome but the girl was an actress and could have any guy in the world she wanted, or nearly so.
Then he stopped and thought about it for a moment.
“She… Avery was in a cult, when she was younger. A really sketchy one. The men kind of ruled everything…”
His new girlfriend went serious and then still for a bit.
“And she still has all the normal girl things going on inside of her head. She wants a man that’s her equal but short of getting with a greater demon that one is hard for her to pull off. So, she thinks about you, who is as powerful, if not more and has authority as well. That kind of fits. Well, no big thing. Just remember, I saw you first.” She seemed to be serious about that.
As if it mattered at all. They weren’t in competition. The whole thing was sort of strange to him at the moment. Avery was cute, and nice enough but seemed young to him. Then, as he’d pointed out a few times to other people, she was also hundreds of years old, so the rest of it was only half as creepy as it might have been.
“Well, I won’t be doing anything about it today. I need to get that house going, I think. Um… Sorry. About being a moron about us? I… Really, I doubt that I could have managed it until a few weeks ago. Not without taking that space for a bit.”
There was a slow nod.
“I know. You weren’t wrong, really. We can be more than we’re supposed to be, if we try hard. I think so, anyway.”
“Me too. Love you.”
“Love you, too. Now, go get that house, so that we don’t have to stay in my little place all the time.”
Her house wasn’t little at all. It had six rooms and was well decorated inside. Not what a rich person might have but a part of that was down to the fact that she really didn’t care that much about seeming wealthy. Instead, it was done the way she liked, so had a lot of bright and cheery colors. It wasn’t all tasteful inside but it reflected her pretty well.
They kissed, which was more interesting to him than it had been for the last part of their relationship. It was probably that way for her as well. They’d had sex, a lot of it but that had dried up after he changed and didn’t really get anything out of it. It hadn’t really been a big issue for him though, since the relationship wasn’t about that. It kind of had been, at first, back when he’d been human.
Now he had to turn off his sexual response, so he didn’t embarrass himself walking through the mall. I
t took a bit to get free, since Barb was actually tempted enough to consider locking the front door and doing it in the back room. Duty won out. She needed to keep the embassy open, in case anyone came to get help with anything.
His feet felt light, as he walked out. Barely making a soft tapping sound on the floor. There was a hint of pain from above him, which meant that it was daylight, again. That reminded him of something, which he asked Zack, when he got back to his office in the node room.
“Oh… How long was I gone, over all? I might have to answer to my boss as to why I was gone so long.” Possibly be fired for it. Or not. Roy Benson would understand him being dumped in a different reality by greater demons. Most wouldn’t but that one man would understand the basic idea, if nothing else.
“About seven hours? It’s still Sunday morning. Will’s world runs at about eight to one. That makes it a popular vacation destination, by the way. Especially with Avery’s friends.” He waved at his desk, and moved through the glass fronted door to it. There were papers and several sets of keys there. “We have some signing to do. I’ll get the paperwork around for you, since it’s a pain otherwise.”
He wasn’t kidding though. If Troy had still been alive, his hand would have cramped with all the signing and initialing of things. The address was there though, so he memorized it, using a pulse of magic to increase his ability to do it. He wasn’t certain it would work but Zack got the idea and nodded.
“Intelligence, creativity, emotional control and shape shifting. I shouldn’t admit this to you but it took me a while to work all of that out and what it really means. About the mages?”
Troy didn’t get it, for about half a minute. Then, feeling slow and sluggish, his brain woke up as to what Zack was getting at.
Hell, In a Troy (Lopez Time Book 2) Page 25