Scales (Avery Rome Book 1)

by P. S. Power

  Don was taking an angry bite at the time, so managed to nearly shoot beef gravy though his nose as he sputtered about the idea. It looked like it probably hurt a bit, from the carrying on he did about it for ten seconds or so. Then the red energy coming from that part of his pale face, the pain, just stopped flowing. That allowed his body to go still.

  Avery just looked over at Chris, working out what she was supposed to really be doing about the words that had just been said. It seemed like a joke to her, except not funny to anyone involved. It probably wasn’t teasing. Not in a mean way that was aimed at her. Possibly Don.

  Given her life it made for a difficult issue, she realized. Avery didn’t have anyone in the world to suggest that she do that kind of thing. Get married or start a family. As an unclean being she’d always assumed that she shouldn’t do that. Especially with a mere Human.

  Now, after everything, she was starting to see that maybe that kind of thinking wasn’t needed. That she might actually be all right, doing normal things like that. Getting married. Taking care of a man and eventually having children.

  “We could at least discuss it?” She glanced at Chris, who, unlike his brother, simply smiled at her.

  Chapter seventeen

  Avery knew that she wasn’t the most worldly person ever, but she was pretty certain that Chris was about as interested in getting married to her as she was in having a nail put through her hand. That had happened to her once, in her first year at battle camp. She recalled the incident as being a bit less than comfortable. The look on his face told her that Chris felt just about like that in regard to her at the moment. On the great side, the boy wasn’t upset with Zack for having teased his brother that way, if it was making fun of him at all, really. At least he seemed kind enough about it all as he walked her back to her own reality.

  That meant they were in the back of Yoghurt World minutes later, with him patting her shoulder like people did when they wanted you to know they weren’t really interested in you.

  Still, the point hadn’t been about having a date with him, it had been about making contacts with others that could do similar things to what she could now. That had been accomplished. Perfectly, in fact. Now she even had an idea about what was going to be needed of her that day. Not that she, personally had any real power over the whole thing. There was supposed to be an investigation. She wasn’t in charge of that. Really, for all she thought of the group as being the working team, no one had ever told her that was a fact.

  What she did have was a job that she was, at least in theory, going to be paid for. Getting the team around while they investigated. To that end she needed to get in touch with Bey, her employer and see what he thought should be done.

  Edom was gone when she got back in. Barbara being there instead, fielding calls as Avery walked out into the front of the store. She was still dressed up for dinner in her nice red dress. The one that Kaitlyn had gotten her, at least. She probably needed to return it, but for the time being it was on her body, so was hers. She smiled at the idea, but didn’t count on getting to keep it. At least it wasn’t ruined so far. No gravy stains or smears of dairy products from the creamy rich dessert that had been served along with the simple cobbler.

  Avery didn’t do anything but walk into the space when Barb spoke rapidly, then held her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone, looking over.

  “Hey! We have messages for you. Gene from the council called. They need a pickup for a specialist from South America. We can’t legally bring him in on a plane… So have to be willing to pay for it, if he isn’t coming in on slow boat. Then we had Jahn Samson? He’s requesting a meeting with you as soon as possible. Lisa from across the way came in, with a general request for any of the line walkers to help move some of her people around as well. No one else has been in yet. Or even contacted us. Eve and Troy are AWOL. Edom is out right now, or I’d do it, but I’m actually on duty here. I can’t leave during an emergency.”

  Avery got the acronym. Absent-With-Out-Leave. It wasn’t the official Shifter term for that kind of situation, but it was one used casually in training to mean the same idea. The thing there was that the two Vampires weren’t gone without orders. They’d been set to doing important things. That they hadn’t called in was strange, but not impossible. They were probably trying to find out what was actually going on, instead of going to nice, if slightly awkward dinners in different realities.

  “I’ll see if I can find them. First I should… This is hard. Do I get with my President or Bey, who’s paying me?” If that was still going to be part of things.

  The Vampire looked at her funny for a bit, then faked a shrug. It was a bit annoyed seeming.

  “Honestly? Get with your own people first. We can set up a time for the South America pick up? You’ll want the man to be at a node, right? So I can start on getting that ready, if you want? Call in to places though, since going to a meeting just to sit around talking about how to best have meetings isn’t the smartest use of your talents at the moment. Or anyone’s. That kind of thing makes me so glad I became a Vampire instead of going into business.”

  It was sound thinking, if not that helpful.

  After all, she still needed to get to a phone of her own, which was a thing she didn’t have. To that end she jogged down the mall’s main hallway to Brand Village. It was closed for the night, being late enough for that to be normal, but the door was open on the front. The metal grate was left up enough for her to crawl under, laying on the floor. Thankfully that was clean, so her borrowed clothing didn’t get all dusty. That would be annoying.

  Standing, brushing her front anyway, even if it was still tidy, she called out.

  “Hello? Um… It’s me. Avery.” She felt ridiculous doing that, but walking into a place with armed people that were expecting an attack was insane. So you called out, to make certain everyone was prepared to hold their fire. It had been part of the training she’d gotten. Even if you felt like an idiot, you did it.

  A voice from the back called out.

  “Here! In the office. Come on back.” It was familiar, after a fashion. Mr. Hobson. Keeber, Avery recalled him liking to be called. The Bear who’s flag she’d helped to steal.

  When she got to the back of the place, she found him sitting behind Catherine Peterson’s nice desk, using the phone. He was listening, instead of speaking.

  After a bit he nodded at her, speaking at the same time.

  “Thanks, Viv. I’ll see if that can be set up at all. Probably in the next week or two? Can you call mom? Someone just came in…. Rome. Our line walker? This could be important, yeah. Talk later.”

  He hung up, his face a bit stressed seeming.

  “My sister. She works for the government, so was called in, but her job is in allocations, which isn’t that needed for the moment. Not unless we get a call to deploy. Anyway, can I help you with anything?”

  There was no one else there at the moment, just them.

  “A phone? I need to get in touch with Jahn Samson. He called for me. Apparently they want me there, but I have other things to get to as well, so I need to check in?”

  It was late, but apparently the President never slept. At least not when there was an ongoing attack situation that might lead to a massive war. Surprisingly, Jahn was available to take her calls without a lot of delay.

  She didn’t get that really. It didn’t make sense, but it happened without hesitation.

  “Ms. Rome? Are you available tomorrow morning? We need Tyler Gartner brought in from Sparks. It’s incredibly short notice… Normally the Line Walker would see to that, but apparently he’s out of touch right now?”

  What was going on that way she didn’t really know, but the idea that it would relate to where the others were made sense. Probably finding out who was really behind things. That wasn’t her part in the situation however. No, her job was taking people to where they needed to be.

  “What time?”

  There was a soft sigh from the man o
n the other end of the line.

  “Would nine a.m. our time be possible for you? Tyler doesn’t sleep, but people here are going to need to soon. Most of us have been going non-stop since the first event at the restaurant. We need to make sure everyone has a chance to rest or they’ll drop on us.”

  So would she. It made sense to her that they didn’t need to stay up constantly.

  She thought for a few seconds, then spoke without thinking at all. It was a bad habit, nearly horrible but the words were about right.

  “I’ll need Lang, to investigate the problem we were having. Those people are still dead. It might be related to this or not. I guess we could replace her? I don’t know what’s allowed that way.” Or needed. She was the van driver, more or less. Her job was to move people around, not tell them what to do.

  The man on the phone coughed at her. It sounded strained, but not really annoyed in particular.

  Instead of telling her to get with the current situation and stop being a pain, the President hissed.

  “That’s… A very good thing to consider. You have full discretion to pick anyone you need for that. At least from our people. Try not to take anyone directly required for the current problem. Other than that, carte-blanch. Keep me informed on that score? Do you need me to call Tyler for you?”

  She had to get the number, from President Samson, but decided that doing it herself made more sense. After all, she could go in earlier if she had to, or later if needed. If Avery knew beforehand though, it would require her to make that change. If the President did it there might be four calls to get things together which she could handle in one.

  Possibly.

  Still, she also got the number for the Vampires so that she could try to find Bey. She failed in that, connecting with Harland instead. The tall white Vampire man spoke quickly, his words crisp, considering he had all those sharp fang teeth in his mouth. It had to show real skill, now that she thought about it.

  “Miss Rome? Are you calling to see about the request that was put forward earlier? I believe we’re rather willing to deal, in order to have our asset brought in…”

  She nodded a little, Keeber looking over at her, listening in openly.

  “Barbara, the Assistant Ambassador here at Westfield, the Vampire… Um, she’s handling that part. Getting things around for that. I’ll do the work, so she can protect her duty post. We should be able to get that person to you as soon as they’re at a node. I’m… trying to find Bey. There’s that investigation we had going on. Lang can’t be part of that now. Probably the same for Bey? Can I have someone else for that? President Samson just said I could pick someone, for the Shifters.”

  “I see. The investigation into the civilians being killed from the varied peoples? That might be important. Do the same, on the Vampire side. Select whomever you need. If they won’t aid you, kill the first one, so that the rest know you’re to be obeyed. We don’t have time for shirkers at the moment. I’ll back what you do that way.”

  It was different sounding. Enough so that the Bear Shifter went wide eyed. He didn’t speak at all, just watching her carefully. Probably waiting to see what Avery would do.

  Harland let her go almost instantly, being polite, but harried sounding. They all understood that part of things. That left getting in touch with Lisa, who was at her store, Avery thought. Walking down to her made as much sense as calling.

  “Thanks, Mr. Hobson. I’m going to check with the Mage Ambassador here, then work for a bit. After that… I’ll be at Edom’s house, sleeping. In case anyone needs me? There was a phone there, so that should work.”

  There was a slow nod from the fuzzy face. At a guess it was pensive, rather than agreeing with anything in general. The beard was brown in several colors, being bushy enough to change the shape of the entire head. It made the whole picture seem larger than life. Also kind of rectangular. It was impressive. Most of the men around her now didn’t wear facial hair. Growing up they almost all had. The Gray men all did that, once they were married.

  The thought made her frown a bit, but she managed to get her face under control pretty rapidly. She thought so at least. The man behind the desk seemed to take it the wrong way, however.

  On the good side, he didn’t appear to take it personally.

  “I’ll try to make sure that isn’t needed. Sleep is important. That and food. Make sure you get enough of both? We don’t know how long this is going to take. This whole cluster of destruction the Humans are pushing on us? I’m not that certain we should leave you with the Vampires. Not in a bigoted kind of way, but we’re family, you know? We should be the ones looking out for you.” He locked eyes with her for a few seconds, but didn’t press in after that. The statement, clearly heartfelt, lingered in the air for a bit.

  Avery let herself smile. It wasn’t true of course. This Bear was no more her family than The Gray were now. At least he was willing to claim her, which was better than her real family was doing. That didn’t make them kin. She didn’t have any of that left. Not anymore.

  “I’m off to see if I can find a Mage or two then. Oh… I should call Tyler Gartner first. I…” She had the number, written on her pad, which was being carried in her hand at the moment. Along with her other clothing. The remains of the stuff that had been blown up earlier. Looking at it she winced. “This job is being really hard on my clothing. I don’t suppose I could run a line of credit here? I’m supposed to have money coming in, but I haven’t been paid for anything yet.” If that wasn’t all a joke.

  If it was, getting anything on credit would be a horrible idea.

  The Bear in front of her nodded, his face going bright.

  “I can set that up. Here let’s get you some things for now… If we hurry you can actually have some sleep tonight. After you call Ty. He’s a good guy. Helped my sister out of a jam a few years back. She should have been off to an island for twenty years, but it was set up so she only had to do two weeks.”

  Avery did that first, since knowing her schedule in advance was going to be important for the time being. It already had been. The numbers went into the desk phone easily enough, making little clacking noises and beeps as it was done. Then, after three rings, a male voice answered the device.

  A familiar one.

  “Scotty here. What can I help you with this fine evening?”

  Avery smiled, since they’d actually met. In her current world that practically meant they were buddies now.

  “Hi! This is Avery Rome? We met the other day? I don’t know if you’ll remember me?”

  “I do! Calling for that present? I can have those shiny coins sent right over. Or you can come and get them? We’re just starting for the evening here. Too many Vampires not to stay up late… You understand the idea. We can all be up all day, but nights are still easier for us. Less painful.” There was noise in the background, but no roaring sounds that would mean walking or dancing.

  Not that Avery expected anyone there to be doing that kind of thing. It was hard to tell who was there just from their breathing. Some people could probably manage that, but she was a Dragon, not a Bat or even a Wolf. That reminded her not to yell over the device. Vampires all had great hearing, too.

  “Sounds fun. I have to get to bed soon though, myself. I’m actually calling to set up a transport for Ty Gartner in the morning. To the Shifter headquarters in Colorado? Is he available? Or… His secretary?” She didn’t know how that was done, but the man was important.

  Everyone seemed to think so.

  There was a bit of clicking, fingers on the device at the other end, then a woman speaking rapidly. It took her a few seconds to pick up that it was Calley Hale, however.

  “Hey! Is this a special Tyler only trip, or can I go along too? I need to make a showing there, given everything. My second is capable of watching things here in Sparks for a bit. If I don’t do anything during all of this… Well, then I don’t deserve to hold a position of power. Not even the one I have.”

  Things ti
cked a bit slowly for her, but she worked out what would be needed. Mainly that she was going to have to write everything down. Also that she’d promised to pick the woman up at two for a trip and had totally failed to do so.

  Then, not having any idea why, she lied to the woman.

  “You’re on the investigation into the recent murders with me. We need to find a good Vampire as well. Someone to take over for Bey, since he’s busy right now. Scotty? I was told that anyone I picked would gladly help out. By Harland?” His words had been a bit different than that, but there was a murmur from a bit away from the phone.

  It didn’t sound happy about the announcement, but the words agreed to come along. That was good enough for her for the moment.

  That just left Lars and Eric. If they couldn’t come along on their own. It was something to check on, she decided.

  Calley even sounded interested in the idea, which probably showed that she wasn’t totally up on the situation. Given the latest events, no one was going to care much about some regular people being killed like they had been. Avery did, but even for her it was mainly about making sure she was doing her part.

  The Bat woman sounded confident, though.

  “Great. So you can meet us here at… Wait, when is Tyler supposed to be there?”

  A nice tenor answered from behind where Scotty and Calley were standing in that far away room.

  “Nine, if possible? I’d like to get there a little earlier, if I can? Also, having a trip home would be great. I was going to run the whole thing, but that’s work.” There was a chuckle then, which sounded gentle, rather than lazy. “If it isn’t a problem? I can’t have the Coalition pay directly for it, since we don’t have a real budget. Would she be open to trading for it? What does she need?”

  That was a really good question. The problem was that she didn’t know. That probably meant that she didn’t need much of anything at all. Not at the moment. Before she could ask what the man was willing to trade with her, another voice spoke up. This one was different. Female, but slightly mushy around the edges. Crisp through the rest of it, which reminded Avery of Harland.