Scales (Avery Rome Book 1)

by P. S. Power

  There was another container of ice cream, or frozen yogurt, if that was different, that she had to consume first, not wanting to be rude. The metal gave under her talons a bit more, which had the Vampire wincing, understanding some biological things rather keenly from the look on his face. Then, rather bravely, he suggested a plan for them all.

  “You could hold my arm, then I could take the others? To prevent damage to those more important than I?”

  The trick would be getting through the metal door, not the node. At least she’d taken Lars through several of the things with no issue. He was smaller than she was at the moment, but it wasn’t about size. Avery could feel that one. In fact, it made sense to her that in her largest form she could still do it, if there hadn’t been a building in the way. How she knew that wasn’t clear. It felt right though.

  The trick would be in not damaging things, since she’d want to use them later, if possible.

  Going inside, carefully, crawling and squeazing, the others not following until she was ready, Avery bent down, making a solid fist with her left hand, so that the Vampire could grab her thick glossy black arm. Vaughan did it, moving as she did. Not that he had a choice in the matter, since she picked him up off the ground first. It was less than dignified looking, but worked.

  Better, the man had focused intently on Toronto first. Getting what would be needed, without her having to ask about it. On the other side of the node, bent over as she was, they were attacked. The three Vampires, two men and a woman, hit her several times, very quickly. It was enough to push her back a bit, but a loud voice called out before they hurt her in particular. Vaughn was pulled out of the way, clinging to her arm, so he wouldn’t be hit by mistake.

  “Hold! This is Miss Rome, the line walker.” Bey sounded upset, for some reason.

  Avery looked at him, winking obviously. It seemed to work.

  “Hi. Resth come?” She meant that she was going to get the rest, but didn’t want to be attacked each time. Not by people who could punch her harder than bullets would hit. Thankfully the ones that had done it so far weren’t that powerful. Like had happened before, they seemed really sleepy and almost out of it. She could let that pass, she decided. The whole thing was probably confusing for them at the moment.

  The ancient Vampire bowed, holding it. That got the others to go after a bit. One of the men actually spoke, looking a bit chagrinned.

  “Eh… Sorry there, Miss. We were confused. Won’t happen again.”

  Bey stood then, his voice a bit harsh.

  “That is correct. We will understand if you do not wish to aid us further.” He glared at the others, which got them to seem very afraid. As if they were about to die for trying to protect themselves from a Death Serpent. That was insane, of course. They’d done the right thing, trying to save themselves.

  Avery understood, but couldn’t speak the words at the moment. Not really.

  She simply stepped back through, getting Gene first, since he was innocent and harmless looking. That might set minds at ease. Avery hoped so. The boy seemed pleased to hang off her arm, holding on for a moment after they were in place, next to Bey. Then he dropped lightly, as if it were all a game. The older Vampire stood there, guarding the node it seemed. From the others. Not that they weren’t all just standing back now, getting that she was a friend.

  It probably wasn’t the last time that kind of thing was going to happen. She looked like a Demon at the moment. Her wings were leathery and a bit scary seeming even to her. It did feel good to be able to move them. She didn’t notice it most of the time, but like with her barbed tail, she felt the lack of being able to adjust them in her base shape.

  When the kid dropped off her arm, he patted her leg, gently.

  “Thank you, Miss Rome.”

  Bey bowed again, along with the others.

  Then again as Marissa and Harland were brought in. When that was done, Bey glanced at the new comers, his face hard.

  “On her first trip, these three attacked. They did it not understanding the situation, but this is the second such mistake that our people have made in a few days’ time.” The words were spoken in a low, very aggrieved, tone.

  Marissa gasped.

  “Oh, my! That…” She made a face then, seeming like she was going to cry. It didn’t happen, but the effort was there. “What do we do? I fear the tension of the last days must have led to such errors. We cannot afford a war with the line walkers right now. Even being cut off…”

  That was a thing, she guessed. Avery shook her head though. In battle there were going to be mistakes. If they didn’t kill you, you moved on. That was the Shifter way. When you could survive almost anything, small mistakes were just that. Errors. Things to fix if possible. Nothing to worry over otherwise.

  The problem was that she couldn’t actually say that. Not well. Not at the moment. So, copying everyone else, Avery bowed, her wings and tail shifting around a lot as she did it. The others did it back. After that she left, using the node.

  Interestingly, Edom had a third container of yogurt for her, just waiting there in the back room. She winked, since that seemed to work for her, taking it carefully. Then she went outside with it. That was a good thing, since she dribbled enough of it down her face to make a mess. This way it was outside at least.

  The only issue with that was, even after sitting down, several people came to look at her. One of them, a boy that appeared to be about fifteen, actually used a funny shaped camera to capture her image. Avery didn’t know what to do, so she waved. Like a little child might. That got the boy to move closer, clearly not finding her that big of a threat.

  “Hello! I’m Chris.” He waited, as if she were going to be able to speak back. Interestingly Edom smiled at the kid, who was still taking her image.

  “This is Avery Rome. The new Shifter line walker from this world. She can’t speak very well in this form. Avery, this is Chris. He’s one of the Human line walkers from another world?”

  The boy, who had hair that was a mix of brown and blond, with green eyes moved a bit closer to her, putting the camera down a bit.

  “That’s me! So, you change shape? That’s fun. I can’t do that yet, myself. Zack can, but I haven’t learned that one yet. We should hang out. I know, you can come to dinner later? I think Merry is cooking. She’s brilliant at it. I can come and get you for that? In about two hours?” He sounded hopeful about the idea.

  Interestingly, though she was about to try and beg off, shaking her head since that was about what she could do, Edom smiled and patted her on the arm.

  “That sounds good. Can you return then? Things are busy here at the moment, but I’m sure that meeting her new people is important to her. I’ll find her something to wear.”

  Chris smiled at them both.

  “Perfect! I’ll be back then. Casual clothing is fine. I’m going dressed like this.” He had a button up shirt and black slacks on his thin frame. The shoes were designed for running though.

  Avery nodded, not being able to beg off at the moment. Edom had apparently decided that she needed to meet these new people. That kind of thing was hard for her, but it was just possible that the Vampire didn’t get that about her yet. After all, they didn’t know each other well. So far all he’d seen was her rushing to meet new people, probably without seeming put off by it at all.

  Which she really had been doing, she realized. That was about work though, so it was safer than meeting people who may not like her. All she could do was her best that way.

  She had to change first. Or, she didn’t have to, but was going to.

  Chris at least was a Human. He might like her better if she looked that way.

  Unless she was too ugly in any form. There was no help for that, if it turned out to be the case, so she’d just have to deal with it.

  Chapter sixteen

  Edom pulled out the stops in getting her clothing that would both fit and make her look nice. It meant going to talk to some of the Alede, since they
did clothing at Westfield as well. That part wasn’t as easy to handle as Avery would have figured, since the shop catered to larger women. Plump Humans who enjoyed colorful clothing that was sexy. Lacy underthings and that sort of arrangement. At least that was how Ed spoke of the place.

  Instead of dressing her up in a see through bit of fluff and silk, the succubi there raided their own clothing selections for her, actually running home in one case, to find something for her that would both fit and be tasteful enough for a meeting with important people. So she ended up with a nice red dress, along with help getting dressed up in what was brought in. No one insisted on makeup for her, which she found interesting, given how pretty the lady who walked in actually was.

  Kaitlyn.

  That part was really interesting, since it started with a hug, then escalated to the woman seeming far too happy to see her.

  “I’m a line walker, too! We’re like sisters now. We should get together and do stuff. What kind of things do you like?”

  That got Avery to feel slightly freaked out for a moment. Not because she minded sharing that about herself or that a succubus was a bit clingy and obviously aroused. At least her nipples were standing up in what was a decently warm room.

  Smiling, Avery shook her head. Not to try and deny the words, just in appreciation of what the woman was telling her.

  “Everyone keeps saying that line walkers are rare, but I keep running into them. Eve, Troy, Barbara, Zack, Chris and now you. That hardly seems like I’m needed at all, does it?” She felt slightly bad about that, but the girl went wide eyed then, her face a bit unbelieving.

  “Nope. It isn’t like that at all. There are Greater Demons as well, but the truth is that most people won’t work with them. Zack is about the only one of them that anyone can trust. So…”

  The woman was helping her into clothing, which Avery didn’t really need aid with. She’d been getting herself dressed for most of her life after all. Even dresses. This was a nice looking thing, but not too dissimilar to what she was used to seeing on other women. Red and a bit flashy, showing a lot of shoulder, but not much cleavage. That part was on purpose, since she didn’t have much that way. She was too lean over all for that.

  Stepping back Kaitlyn smiled at her.

  “You’re really cute. I’m not just saying that to get you into bed, either. Do you have a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend?”

  She nearly froze again, not having anyone like that at all. The closest she came to anything like that was probably Troy, who she was nearly certain had been at least polite to her twice. Possibly Edom. Even she didn’t think either of those were real.

  “No. I’m not really thinking about getting married. I… You know. I’m what I am.”

  For once someone didn’t take her to task for being bigoted, not seeing what she was getting at that way at all. Kaitlyn jumped to a completely different conclusion. One that was very far from Avery’s way of thinking.

  Nodding, the incredible looking Succubus stroked her arm a bit.

  “Good plan. No need to tie yourself down too young. Still, you can have a lot of fun without even dating. You said Chris invited you to this dinner? He’s adorable. Don’t tell him I said that. It’s true, but he’s also close to a thousand years old. Then we all are, more or less. It’s a line walker thing. Well, you know that one. My point here is that you should totally go out with him. He’s kind, cute and rich enough that no one will get after you for dating the wrong sort of guy.”

  Avery just nodded. It was probably true enough. Having a boyfriend might be nice, but she didn’t know how to go about forming that kind of relationship. Even having regular friends was foreign to her. Strange and alien.

  She shrugged then.

  “I pretty much don’t feel that way. You know, about anyone? Sex and that stuff?” It was true, but also clear that the woman looking at her just wouldn’t be getting that point.

  “Sorry? Why not?”

  It sounded almost like she was offended by the words. As if Avery had said that she didn’t like her, personally. That wasn’t it of course. She didn’t even hate sex, or the idea of it. She fully expected to do that kind of thing someday, if she ever got married. It just wasn’t the kind of thing that seemed impressive to her. She enjoyed hugs and that kind of thing though, which might be related.

  “I think it might be a Dragon thing? Anyway, we should change the topic before you start hitting me. I’ve been blown up, beaten by Vampires and shot in the last three days already. I don’t know what you’ll do to me that way, but I think avoiding that until at least next week would be good?” Not that the lady seemed ready to fight her.

  No, it seemed like a debate about the merits of physical contact was about to happen. Regardless of what Avery wanted to know about that kind of thing. It was graphic as far as language went, but the ultimate fact of the matter was that Avery just didn’t feel the same way that most people did. It was a bit sad, but on the good side left her with a lot more time to get things done.

  When Chris walked through the node, dressed similarly to what he’d been in earlier, if with a different colored shirt, Kaitlyn was clearly exasperated with her. Which was a bit unfair. Avery hadn’t said that sex was bad. She hadn’t even said that she wouldn’t do it with Kaitlyn or Chris. Just that she didn’t feel like she wanted to. She didn’t feel like going to meet strangers for dinner, but she was going to do that. It was the same kind of thing.

  That was just so alien to the poor woman that it was clearly going to be a problem in the long run. Which was a shame, since they knew some of the same people. They had things in common, like line walking. They’d also sat in the void for hundreds of years, giving them a shared experience.

  Chris had brushed his hair, seemed fresh faced and smiled warmly at Kaitlyn.

  “Kait! Are you coming too? I should have you over, since Don is staying at the mansion right now. I need to get my own place, but no one will let that happen until after I finish high school.” He looked at Avery, examining her closely for a bit. It was nearly uncomfortable, since there was a lot of focus in the examination. Not all of it was at her directly, looking up and around her for a bit.

  “Avery? You did say you could change shape. Neat, by the way. I think I said that? Practically everyone can do that, except for me. I need to get lessons. Anyway, it’s just going to be a small meal tonight. Zack, Troy, Don, you and me. Everyone else is actually out being useful. Even Merry just threw the meal together and left for the night. She nearly cried, since she’s worried that you’ll be offended by her doing it that way. I told her that you’re all hard though and not worried about things like that. It might be a more difficult sell, being dressed like this. You look fantastic.” He didn’t seem upset by that part of things.

  Kaitlyn pushed her nearly black hair out of her face. She wore glasses, but the lenses didn’t distort anything at all. Lines of energy ran in and out of her. A strong rose colored one went to Chris for instance. A much lighter one, in the same color, went to Avery. That was interesting, since she really would have figured that the Alede would be upset with her. The line tasted of friendliness though. Nice things that were warm and happy.

  She didn’t know what to do, but they were apparently allowed to leave then, going to the same node, in a different reality. That was both easy and subtle at the same time. It was a bit like just wanting to be in the right place. The one where Chris was going.

  The shop was similar to the one they’d just left, but behind the counter was Lenore Hawthorn, instead of Edom Freeman.

  “Hello!” She spoke brightly, as soon as she realized people were coming through into the front. The look she gave them was polite, but lingered on Avery.

  Chris waved at her.

  “This is Avery Rome. She’s from Eve’s world? Their new Shifter line walker. I’ve seen one of her other forms, when we first met earlier. She’s incredible. A Dragon?”

  The other Lenore moved around the counter, her right hand coming ou
t a bit mechanically.

  “So pleased to meet you, Avery. I’m Claire. Claire Hawthorn. Ambassador here. Just to catch you up, in case it hasn’t been mentioned, we’re secret here. Not out, as you are over there? It’s being considered, since it seems to be working for your people, but we haven’t committed that way as a collective. Eve Benson keeps suggesting it to us.” She seemed a bit annoyed by that fact.

  Wincing, Avery shook her head.

  “I’d hold off on that one, for now? We don’t know what’s going on, but it seems like the Humans are coming for us. Real attacks. Military style hit teams. They’ve gone after the Vampire Council twice in the last few days. Shifters as well. No Mages yet. Unless the murders we’ve been having count for that. Regular people from different groups being slaughtered by Human weapons. Not a lot, about eighteen so far I think. We don’t know it’s related for certain. I’m on the team to help find that out. Doing the line travel things, not investigation.”

  She half expected to be ignored or disbelieved, but the woman simply went slightly pale, nodding hugely after a moment.

  “That would be the issue we fear. Can you be spared for a meal here? Even a single line walker is precious.”

  Kaitlyn took Avery’s hand, moving forward a bit. Leaning in to give the Vampire a hug. Dragging them both into the thing.

  “She’s been handling most of the military side and combat side on her own. While Eve and Troy are off investigating things. We’ve been holding Barbara back, in case they go down in the fight. Hopefully it will be all right, but Avery still has to eat, so if it doesn’t take too long it will be a good idea. I’ll go back and watch things, just in case. Sorry Chris. Come by later and we can do something?”

  From the sound of the words it seemed like she was saying they could see a movie or play a game. From the surge of energy and intent that went down the line between them, it was kind of clear that she meant something else entirely. Adult things that Avery sort of knew about, but didn’t really, at the same time.