by P. S. Power
Avery nodded at him then.
“Is it near a node?”
The small man, who was young looking, shook his head.
“Nope. The closest one is about fifty miles from there. That would shorten the trip. I normally wouldn’t suggest it, but if you don’t mind, it would be a good idea to meet the people there. You know Calley already…”
Avery had met her, one time, of course.
“I doubt that she’ll remember me particularly. We can do that? I… Really, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now? Go back to battle camp? I kind of live there.” It was true or had been, but she hadn’t for months now.
Jahn looked hard for a moment, then relaxed.
“Nonsense. You can live with me. We should have already arranged something better than military training for you. An oversight, I’m certain.”
Wendell winced at the words, which she assumed was him responding to the training portion of things. Not that she’d really minded. Kids went to school, after all. Even The Grey children had daily lessons. Mainly in languages and lore, since they traveled a lot, but it was done.
The Elder surprised her however.
“Is that a good idea? Rutha might not enjoy that…” He was looking at the President, but Gregory just laughed.
“That’s a point! Don’t worry, we can find you a place. Really, we should probably assign her to something, instead of just parking her at random. Do we have any other line walkers yet?” It sounded strange saying it that way, but Jahn shook his head, a bit sadly.
“Not as of yet. Several hundred have tried in the last two months, but none have managed it. So, for the time being Ms. Rome is our only asset that way. It might be best if we didn’t let you get too far away, given that. I do have to admit that Rutha is a bit of a…”
Gregory made a face then, shaking his head.
“She’s not that easy to live with. Abusive, really. With words, not physically. Dad should divorce her, but being President means he has to stick with her. Not that people wouldn’t have understood before…” He seemed a bit bland on the topic, his own father not even trying to defend his wife.
That was rude of them, but warning her away from the woman seemed about right. What bit Gregory and the files had told her made it seem like living with the lady might be hard. Especially being what she was. That got her to think about her Vampire friend. A person that she was truly close to.
“I wonder if Eve would have any ideas? She… We were in the void together for a long time.” Hopefully that meant the other girl hadn’t forgotten about her. It was kind of clear that the men, the older ones, didn’t love that idea.
Greg patted her on the back, his hand lingering on her deep blue shirt.
“That could work. Let’s get to a phone and see? Don’t worry, these two just want to keep using your skills. They’re afraid that if the Vampires get to you, you’ll figure out how much line travel is really worth. Not that helping out the Shifter Nation is a bad thing to do. You should go to school, though. Make some friends and all that. Have an actual life, not just working all the time…” He didn’t glare at anyone, but Jahn took a sudden, very deep breath.
Then he managed to sound a bit shy, which was a new thing as far as Avery knew.
“That isn’t truly wrong. You don’t owe us anything, Ms. Rome. Even what you provided us in labor today would more than cover any debt that might have existed. Not that I can see that there was any. Still, the whole Congo mission went very well, in part thanks to the ease of travel. I just can’t think of even one reason for you to keep working with us.”
Avery could, but kept her mouth shut on the topic. They were all Chosen. Even the Human doctors had been brave and more worthy of aid than not. That being the case, it was her duty to help them, when she could. Saying that wouldn’t go over well, however.
So she lied, a bit.
“I can help with things? That shouldn’t be a problem. It’s my responsibility, as a member of the Shifter Nation. I still need to find a place to live. That’s a bit…” Nerve-racking came to mind, but before she could have any trouble with that, Greg went to the phone on the secretary’s desk, smiled at the man who’d been sitting there the whole time and spoke to him before touching the thing.
“Is it all right if I use this? It’s kind of official. I need to get a number for a specific Vampire.”
The man snorted a little, rolled his eyes and tapped at his computer keyboard for about ten seconds.
“Eve Benson. The Snowflake. Assistant to The Bey. Do you want her personal cell number, or the one provided for work?” The man, who was some kind of smaller animal inside, though a very still one, presented himself with waves of very smug looking green that came off of him just then.
Feeling nervous, Avery let herself go still as well.
“The cell? I might be…” Unwanted. She knew that, but there weren’t a lot of people to ask for help at the moment. In all the world, the only one she could think of was Eve, who might very well not want to be bothered with her.
She was older than she seemed now, but still what she always had been. A burden.
The numbers on the screen weren’t easy to see, but the man dialed the phone for her, speaking easily when the thing picked up.
Eve sounded normal enough, really.
“Hello? This is Eve. What can I do for you?”
Looking up at them, the smug Shifter sounded very polite as he addressed her, not like he was being bad or anything.
“Ms. Benson? This is Kent Hevard, Jahn Samson’s secretary? Avery Rome just finished her assignment overseas-” He didn’t get to whatever he was planning to say next.
“Avery is back? Awesome! Where is she? Does she need to be picked up?” There was laughing then. “Of course she doesn’t.”
Gregory laughed a bit too, speaking from where he was in the room without even raising his voice.
“We wanted to know if you had any ideas about where she should live? Oh, Greg Samson here…”
“Hey Greg! I do have some ideas. Actually there’s been arguing about that one. Calley, Ginger and Ty have been lobbying for the honor. Edom and I have a room ready for her, here though. So does Troy, by the way. He’s a giant horndog, so we should avoid that one. Even if you want to hook up with him, you should probably keep your distance otherwise.” There was a strange tone to the words, but Troy laughed in the background.
“That’s so true. Still, she’s welcome anyway. Always. Let her know that? Us line walkers need to stick together.”
That told her a lot. Troy had been busy, from the sound of it.
She muttered a bit, feeling heartened, having gone from having nothing to several people that were looking out for her, suddenly.
It felt nice. Odd, but good.
Chapter seven
After making plans with Wendell and dropping Greg off at the Sparks location, using five different shortcuts when three should have worked, Avery went to the back of the yogurt shop that the Vampires ran. It was in Vancouver, Washington. It felt incredibly awkward to her, since she was basically begging for a place to live, but the second she got there, everyone was just really kind to her.
Eve hugged her, which Troy didn’t. Edom Freeman, the Ambassador shook her hand warmly, however. He was dark skinned, had a friendly smile with only a hint of fang in it and was dressed really well. The kind of clothing that was probably associated with vast fortune. Even President Samson hadn’t been in that kind of finery.
“Miss Rome! Welcome. Eve has been talking you up with all of us for months.”
Looking at the three Vampires that were there, her bag of military gear in hand since it was all she owned at the moment, Avery had to stop herself from frowning. The man hadn’t earned that from her, being pleasant to her so far. Kind seeming even. So to prevent herself from seeming mean she made herself go wide eyed.
“She told you all how boring I am? I mean, most of the time we’ve known each other, I just sat there, not doing an
ything at all.” Which was literally false, since there was nothing approaching sitting in the void.
Troy chuckled a bit at the words.
“No doubt, right? That’s cool anyway. All the niftiest kids are doing that these days. It’s practically the new smoking and drinking.”
The words seemed well meant, even though Avery didn’t really understand them. She smiled anyway, because being rude wasn’t going to go over all that well. Not with anyone.
Before anyone could say much of anything, the phone in the front of the shop rang, which had Troy moving in that direction at a quick walk. No one spoke, which meant they could all hear what was going on. Eavesdropping shamelessly. It seemed like a group activity, so Avery did the same, not really getting what was being expressed at first.
“Yoghurt World, Troy Lopez speaking. How may I help you today?”
“Ah! Young Troy! Excellent. It is I, Bey. I had hoped to press you and Miss Benson into service, if doing so isn’t untoward? We have several incidents taking place in various locations. Would it be allowable do you think, to get your aid in some of them? I fear time is rather pressing, or I assure you, I wouldn’t ask.”
There was a snort from the counter guy.
“You know we’re with you, Bey. What’s up?”
That turned out to be four different things. One of them was simply moving a few people, or Vampires, around for work related issues. The Assistant Ambassador was being assigned to that one, since she was both a line walker and needed to make the connections. The others were more violent sounding. Especially the last one.
The man on the phone, Bey, cleared his throat a bit.
“There is also an investigation needed. The Mage Council has reached out to us through the Coalition of Nations. It seems that several beings have been murdered. Gun wounds on each, but the pattern of it seems to be such that it indicates a single group, or perhaps an individual actor being involved. All of those killed seemed to be weak. Not warriors or fighters. Members of five groups have been killed so far. Mainly mages, but also Trollienkeine, Shifter, Human and Vampire.”
The idea that they needed to move the investigations group around made sense to Avery at least. The killings had taken place in four different states. Eve glanced over at her slyly, then let her head come up and spoke out loud.
“Hey, Bey. How about Troy, Barb and I do the meetings and get the Vampires in place for the fighting that might be happening up north? We can get Avery to come and get you and the others?” She made eye contact then, seeming hopeful.
Avery was a bit tired, but that was just from working all the time. A bit of line travel might not be that bad, since it meant seeing new places, which was mainly fun for her.
“I can do that? Um… does he know that I’m a Shifter? A Dragon?” Some older Vampires had problems with different kinds of her people. Especially in their shifted forms. No one understood why, but they simply wouldn’t touch them, as if they were unclean or it would harm them to do so.
This time there was only the briefest pause.
“That would be most kind! Are you willing? We can, perhaps, pay you some small token for you labor and time? You aren’t a Vampire, so it would be improper to abuse your good will.” Not that he’d been abusing the others, having asked most politely about the whole thing.
Interestingly, Eve spoke up then, her face happier than it had been even a moment before.
“Great plan. She’s a rookie, but does solid work. We might get a discount, since she’s a Shifter and they’re involved. Who’s doing the investigation for their side?”
There was a sound that seemed like papers being moved gently, after a moment Bey spoke, his words seeming calm.
“A Lang Peterson? She will need to be picked up at the Colorado headquarters of her kind. The Trollienkeine are sending a male of their sort. From Westfield, I believe? Lars? I don’t have much about him. The Mages are sending their top man however, for such things. Eric Weise. I believe he’s the father of the Ambassador at your location? I fear I will be the difficult member of the cadre to locate, being currently at my home in China. I can be at the node in a few minutes’ time, however.”
Eve held out her hand toward Avery. Taking it, the information she needed came into being, pushing a pink line into the node for her to follow. It didn’t get weaker when the cool and rather pale thing was removed from her grasp.
Avery took a breath and fought feeling shy. She wanted to be that way, but doing so wouldn’t get the work done. Not that anyone was forcing her to do anything in particular. Eve winked at Edom, who seemed pleased by the whole thing, more or less.
Even when the woman spoke, which caused Avery to feel like she was about to match the Vampire girl in color as blood tried to rush from her face.
“We can get Avery for two million. That’s for the whole investigation though, as long as you let her sleep at night. Is that good?”
There was a sharp sound, a single clap of hard hands it seemed.
“Oh, that truly is. A most reasonable rate for such services. Is that truly allowable, however? I do not wish to cheat her. Perhaps we should increase the rate? Or is that for each being in the group?”
It was hard not to stammer, which wasn’t just about the amounts. Among The Gray, unlike the Roma, the men handled the money and dealings like that, so she’d never even seen a woman really doing that kind of thing. Not past her mother haggling in stores for food and fabric. Even then she was given a bit of cash for that by the Elders each time. It was normally a few hundred dollars at most.
Closing in on herself wasn’t going to aid anyone in the moment however, so she forced herself to swallow and stand up straight.
“No. Two million for all of it. I don’t know how to do that kind of thing. Money?” She turned red then, her face going warm with shame. Interestingly, Edom smiled at her.
His voice was deep and pleasant.
“We can do that part on this end. Papers, documents and bank accounts. We have people for that. Unless… Do you have that kind of thing?”
Avery was able to smile then, working out what the man was speaking about. None of the traveling people had papers of their own, for the most part. When they had those, they were often fake, being bought from those who specialized in such things.
“Yes, sir. Ambassador Freeman. I have a driver’s license from South Carolina. Other papers as well. From Wisconsin? That was where we were when I ate those people.” She wanted to shrink back from the words, but Eve smiled and slapped her on the back, suddenly standing beside her.
“Her people tried to kill her for being the wrong shape. Dragon. She straight up took the heads off two of them and killed six. All shifters. Unarmed and with no training at all for her part. Then her people, the Shifter Nation got her three years of their best military program. She’s pretty much super powered special forces now, from what I hear.”
It was Troy, in the other room, who seemed to understand her feelings for some reason.
“No one here will get on you for munching them, either. We’ve all done that. Even me and I’m awesome as heck. Once people try to kill you, anything is fair game.”
The voice on the far end sounded happy enough, even if she was a killer.
“Very good then. I shall meet you at the node? When might you be available for that?”
Thinking about it, she looked into the node, not seeing anything about where the line was going, even though the translucent pink thing was still there, just as clearly as it had been the moment Eve had manufactured it for her with her mind.
“Now? I can be there in a few seconds.” Possibly less than that.
There was another clap then.
“Ah! Perhaps you could wait three minutes? I will need to let the Vampires guarding it know to expect you. Otherwise they might attempt to fight you, which would be most rude of us. Especially given that you’re providing your services for such reasonable rates. I shall leave from here directly. Three minutes?”
/> The phone clicked, being hung up. Troy walked to the back, holding a watch up, with the minutes ticking down. He let her see it. It was the kind that had a strap on it, that some men wore. This one was simple plastic however, not being the quality kind that her people would have stolen from the Humans.
That probably meant that the Vampire man was more honorable in some ways than her own people had been.
Eve snickered a bit and waved toward the front of the place.
“I’ll call the Council directly on the rest of it. I’m sure that Gene will be thrilled to hear from me.” She made a face and then took a very deep breath, letting most of it out. “He’s my special boyfriend. So secret that he still thinks he hates me…”
Avery had no context for that one. In any way. Instead of answering she just nodded.
“You should see if he’s open to marriage? I… I could call for you? If you don’t have anyone to do that for you?” It would be hard, but Eve was as close to her as anyone ever had been.
The Vampires all laughed then.
Edom though followed it up with a small bow.
“That would be lovely, I’m certain. Though as Eve’s father, that duty should probably fall to me. I’m her maker. The one that turned her into a Vampire?”
That made sense, given they worked in the same place. Plus, there was a line that ran from the man to the girl, even though it was clear Eve was about three or four times older than he was, inside. Outside they all looked youthful. In that way Troy was actually the eldest seeming.
It was apparent when she really looked at them all.
Troy saw the glances and shook his head a little.
“Not me. My maker is Bey, as it turns out. I’d be traveling with him, but managed to get some special training before I came over. Eve does that as a hobby. Training Humans to be kick-butt Vamps? It’s less fun than it sounds, but works pretty well.”
Eve shook her head then.
“For about half the people. Ben… That didn’t go as well.”
Troy nodded at that, but didn’t seem upset or anything.