Out of the Woods (The Coalescence Book 1)

by P. S. Power

  “That was quick! We’re in the back of Candles and More, in my reality. I work out of here and the gift basket shop. So, how do you feel? Most people tend to be a bit out of it for a while, at first. You should pretend that you aren’t seeing things and act natural though, I think? Like this is what you expected.”

  Lisa, the Ambassador, walked out from a side office. She was more youthful seeming here. Attractive, as well as smiling. As if seeing someone new was perfectly normal. There was an idea that traveled between her and Zack, which was about attraction, love and a strong desire for pleasure. A thing that it felt like only Zack could provide her, but which he wasn’t allowed to any longer. She understood that the man had enslaved her before. She just couldn’t make herself care about that.

  It wasn’t mind reading, exactly. More like the field reading that Taman had done with him, he thought. It was more of a suggestion that he knew things, rather than instructions that were blasted directly into his mind. A lot of the world around him was like that suddenly. He wasn’t seeing things however, despite what Zack had just said. Will simply knew more about them. Constantly, and it was anything he focused on, but it wasn’t that distracting for him.

  So he smiled. The woman, who wasn’t the same one he’d met earlier, which was both a few hours before and thousands of years, also was the same lady. She did it back, being professional, since he was probably a client, instead of anything else. Zack, apparently brought people in constantly.

  “Hello! Did you have a good trip?” She made herself sound perky. Like she wanted to sell him things, and was willing to promise sex to get him to do that. At the same point, she wasn’t interested at all in doing that with him. Not until she looked at him for a bit. Then that idea slowly blossomed in her mind. That was based on his looks, however. Nothing else. She would have liked him better if he were a girl. The concept was both clear and a bit discordant, since she also wanted Zack that way more badly than almost anything in the world. Even after having beaten back the addiction to him.

  She still recalled what it was like after all.

  Before he could answer, which was slower than it should have been, since he didn’t know what to tell her exactly, Zack did it for him.

  “This is the new delivery guy. He can go from world to world, but doesn’t take people. So if you need goods done, or messages sent, Will is your man. Will Baker.”

  Instead of asking why he wasn’t as good as everyone else, the woman just smiled and stuck a hand out, like the other version of her had.

  “Wonderful! Good, I’ll get you on the schedule. Let me see. Do you need a W-2?”

  Zack smiled at that part, but didn’t bail him out at all.

  Chapter ten

  This particular Lisa didn’t actually expect him to start right that moment. No, she wanted him to be back in the morning, so that Zack could teach him the ropes. The thin man himself just seemed not to have a problem with that.

  “Normally we’d do some training right now, but I wasn’t kidding about what I told Eve. Do you need to sleep or anything though? I can give you a few hours, if you want. I don’t do that myself much anymore. Sleep.”

  Will understood the basic idea at least.

  “I could use a few days, actually. Four or five at least. I need to get back for a tour that I’m part of. The people going are kind of important, Counts and Ambassadors, that kind of person, so I really should be there if I can. I don’t want to mess with things here… Really, if the time difference is right, I have half a day or so here, then will need about a day to get that done. That’s a week there, but I can get in a bit early that way. Does any of this make sense?”

  Interestingly, both of them just seemed to think it really did.

  Lisa waved for him to follow her into her tiny office space. It had a desk, which was made of metal and something different. He could feel that it wasn’t what he was used to, but didn’t have a name for it yet. Zack followed along, but let him have the chair that Lisa waved to.

  “We need to work out a schedule then. How long do you need him for training, Zack?”

  “Off and on for the next month in his home time. I was told, by Riley, to keep him close for the most part for that. Not why, just that I should. From the sound of it, we shouldn’t have him going back to his world at all. I get the idea, that you have plans Will, but I’m sure that others can take care of this for you. Riley is a Trickster, but doing what he wants is kind of a good plan. That means being here for the first four days or so, right?”

  That was close, at a guess. The odds of the time difference being exactly eight days to one was small after all. Probably hard to tell, as well. He felt a bit bad over dropping his work on others, but the truth was, they probably didn’t need him in particular. Hopefully someone would work out what to do. That, or just be disappointed in him and wait for him to come back, so they could do it all later.

  “I understand. In that case I should get to work? What’s needed?” He figured it would be the first repayment for the training that he got, but Zack just put a hand on his shoulder.

  “First? I’ll run you through how to find different places. Picking the information up from people directly, then taking them with you from place to place. Lisa… Spread it around that he only takes messages and packages? Not people? It’s a thing. He can do it, but there are reasons not to let that be common knowledge.”

  She just made a note of that, rather than seeming disappointed.

  “That works. Half of the Lesser Shia trade doesn’t need anything living to be moved at all. There are some other things as well, if that’s all right? It can be kind of tiring, since there’s lifting and carrying involved sometimes.”

  That sounded fine to him, he had greater than regular strength now. Standing again, she waved him back down. After all, they were really making up a schedule for him. It was going to get hectic if he had to live at home, but it wasn’t that bad. He could come in to work once a week and always be about on time for a daily schedule. If he was in a different world it might not work however, which he didn't have to hint at.

  Zack did.

  “I was thinking, after the first bit here for training, that we’d set up a run for him. Hitting different main locations. Fifty or so places? Like a mail route?”

  That needed to be hashed out, it seemed, but Lisa understood the basic idea. After minutes of working, she tapped the paper in front of her.

  “I’ll draw that up. Will you be able to find everyplace we need? Zack could take you now, I guess?” She didn’t sound certain of that, and played with her hair as she looked at the man next to him. Flirting, trying to catch his interest. The thing there was that she already had it from Zack. It just wasn’t going to get her the fix of pleasure that she wanted.

  Which was a thing she knew. Totally and completely. It didn't mean part of her wasn’t willing to keep trying, waiting for the day that Zack weakened and gave in to her. Addicting her again to bliss.

  The ideas kind of bombarded Will, so he looked at Zack, who gave him a drifty and relaxed smile.

  “He’ll be able to find where the messages need to go. His training is going to be a bit different that way. More intense than what everyone else has had. Riley suggested it. I’ll be in and out for a while. First, the normal person training though.”

  That wasn’t too hard. He had to find places that Zack fed him, touching him on the arm and focusing on. It was just the concept of the new place he needed and that wasn’t difficult when the other man was doing it. Which he knew. After all, Zack was nearly pure focus when he wanted to be.

  So they traveled to a land called Australia, in the world they were in. There, without explaining what was going on to anyone else, Willum was set to taking people to very different locations. Most were still in the same world, which wasn’t hard at all.

  After the tenth one, Zack stopped him, smiling.

  “Good. This time, I’m going to give you a location. I’ve been to it before, but there’s n
o node there. I want you to go to it, taking a letter for me. First I need to go and get that, so… just wait here? Is that all right, Judith?”

  That was the lightly freckled, somewhat plain seeming woman who was working there with them. She spoke English, but had a different accent. In between taking random people to different locations, so he could get used to doing that with individuals who weren’t always going to be perfectly clear, Will had memorized how to fake that kind of thing. It was kind of why he was there after all. Learning everything he could.

  The woman smiled.

  “That would be fine. I can just sit here and try to get your new hire to marry me. You just take your time now… go on…” She was being nice, actually. It was clear that she was playing about the whole thing, and not even really planning to propose an engagement. That came off of her clearly.

  What she was planning to do was try to set up a friendship with the new man, so that she could use him for her own devices. Which was actually not that big of an issue. She wanted to see if she could get lower rates on messages being transported to other worlds.

  Not that she knew what those rates were to start with. She was game to find out, of course. As soon as Zack left, using the node in the center of the space, she waved for Willum to move over to her desk, which was off to the side of things.

  “So, this is the Australian complex. I’m a mage. Third in command here. My favorite color is teal and I’m fond of lamington’s. That’s a kind of cake.” She waited then, as if he were supposed to share things of equal value with her. It seemed fair, which was why she was doing it in the first place. Starting with small things, so that he’d feel like they were closer after half an hour or so. The idea was planned on her part, and from what Will had read, correct in how things sometimes worked.

  Then she could work on getting a good deal for the messages, which would mean she could charge people more, but still save them coin, then pocket the difference. It would, if she did it right, make her very important to a select group of individuals. Only from her one world, but that was better than being a glorified secretary until the next regime change.

  “I’m Will. From a different reality. I’m learning some magic as well, so there’s that. I… I kind of like brown, as far as colors go. Cake is good. I know how to bake, fairly well, personally. Can you describe the kind you like?”

  It sounded like it was rich, having a raspberry filling inside of it, as well as coconut on the outside with white frosting, made from fat and sugar. It was rather different than anything he’d heard about before, but it was easy to pick up what she meant from the concepts coming off of her. The bits behind the pictures and words her mind was using to explain reality to her.

  He nodded then, getting that she was worried that Zack would come back and talking about cake wasn’t going to get the very attractive man in front of her to like her in particular. Which was a bit odd, since talking about cake was relaxing. Almost anything else she could have been doing would have been more stressful to him at that point.

  She grinned though, changing the subject.

  “So, I hear that it takes hundreds of years to learn how to do this kind of thing. Special talent as well. Almost no one that’s tried has managed it. So, you’re kind of a rock star now, aren’t you?”

  That idea was interesting, since it carried layers of things with it. She meant a musician, but one that was revered and treated much like a king or ruler, without having any responsibility. Underneath that there was a sense of women throwing themselves at him over his new ability, even though that hadn’t been happening yet.

  The idea of doing that tempted her, but Judith kind of figured that having Will as her friend would work better, in the long run. He could have a lot of women if he wanted them. Friends were of less value, but more consistent in a person’s life. Except that she didn’t have time to waste, she didn’t think. In minutes, no more than hours, the new fellow would be gone, as far as she knew. Then she’d be left there, stuck. A secretary for the rest of her life.

  She was just about to boldly offer to use her mouth on him when Zack came back, dashing her hopes. That made her a bit miserable inside, but didn’t show on her face.

  In a way, it was a shame. Not that he needed to have sex with her, or anyone, at the moment. He could have done what she wanted, but the truth was, Kaitlyn and her Kyle form had left him good that way for a while. If it had been required he might have performed for the woman, but he wasn’t really cleaned up for that kind of thing. It hadn’t been bothering him, but it was probably a good idea, if he was allowed a chance.

  Still, the woman was just trying to get ahead, which wasn’t a bad thing. Her idea even kind of made sense, after a fashion.

  Zack passed him the letter, but stepped back, not touching him with his hand at all.

  “Can you take the location you need from the paper? The intent used in writing it?” He didn’t tell Will how to do it, so the whole thing took a while. The lesson was likely along the idea that he had to fend for himself, rather than the man being mean to him about it. It took about half an hour of him standing there, focusing intently, before he got the idea. Then it was simple to see. Until then it had been nearly impossible.

  “I have it.”

  “Great. There’s no node there, so open one of your own from the void, then come back here as directly as possible. How you do that is up to you. Try not to annoy anyone?”

  “Sure. Be right back, hopefully?” It was a trick after all.

  Though not one that caught him really. He made the correct hole in space, which had him standing before a tall, thin man with hair so gold it was nearly white. He had a golden crown on his head, which was very well decorated, along with fine shimmering clothing.

  The man spoke to him a bit sharply, in a language that he didn't know at all. Instead of pantomiming, he held out the simple letter, which was on brown paper, and bowed. That got it taken from his fingers, if carefully. Then, after a bit of inspection, the man held up a single hand. Moving to a low table, he sat on a shining pillow. It was a red, nearly metallic color, though the table was of a dark wood. It was polished, but not glossy. The work on it looked to be rather fine, however. It was made by a true craftsman. Then, without saying more, the fellow took a large bird feather, dipped it in ink and began to write a reply. It took a while, but only about ten minutes. Half of that was waiting for the return letter to dry.

  That was handed to him, then he was waved away. There was no smile involved or anything. It didn’t seem angry either. It was just dismissive. The trick however, that Zack had meant for him to fall into was that the hole to the void had wanted to close behind him when he’d come through. Will had just held it open, in a spot no larger than the tip of his finger, concentrating on it the entire time.

  Which meant that now, he was able to use it to follow the idea of where the letter wished to be delivered. That was not, interestingly, to Zack in Australia. It was to that same reality however. Back to the mall he’d come into there, in the first place.

  This time Willum didn't have to hold space to his will, since there was a real node close to where he needed to go. It caused him to step out in the back of a small food shop, but it was very close to the correct place. The back room he was in was tiny, compared to the other spaces that he’d used for it before. Even Australia had a larger room that way.

  Before he got two steps toward the front, a tiny woman, who was about four foot ten, with brown hair and rather entrancing multi-colored eyes came in, her face a bit concerned.

  “Ah! You startled me there. Which is rare, I assure you. We don’t normally serve the public back here, is there something I can help you with?” She spoke in English, so he did the same.

  Glad for the lessons that he’d had in it.

  “Delivery. This letter needs to go… That way?” He pointed to the front. There was a word on the thing, which the woman looked at. She didn’t try to take the letter however.

  “That�
�s different then. That says it’s for Leif. Our Ambassador here. I’ll take you to him, my lord?”

  She bowed, with a sweeping motion, her eyes looking at the red tile floor. That was a bit like a kind of focus stone, from the feel of it. Less glossy however. When they stood he tried to seem pleasant.

  “Please, call me Will. I’m the messenger, not the lord of anything.”

  She nodded, a bit somberly.

  “This way, Will.”

  They moved quickly, but it wasn’t difficult to keep up with her or anything. So a few moments later he was bowing in front of a man who had green hair and eyes. This one was dressed in a button up the front shirt, and dark trousers. The shoes were of an odd material and he had a belt on, of leather. He was an old man, but like Doris, the age he appeared to be was younger than that.

  The woman who had brought him to the correct man, which the letter told him to be right, once he paid attention, was older than that even. Neither were even close to the age of Doris, though, now that he considered it, the first man had been. Older even.

  Leif looked at him suspiciously, but bowed, getting one in return. He took the letter, as if it were a gift. Which was probably correct, since Will wasn’t being paid while taking lessons, he didn’t think. That had happened with Master Elis in his first year working with him, which was common enough that no one had remarked on it back home. Students and apprentices often didn’t get paid, past their upkeep and lessons.

  “This is a return missive from the king. Basically just saying he received the last message and while the human sent appeared abruptly, he was most courteous in his manners. Also, he suggests that we prepare for a new Ambassador to be sent. It seems I’m being replaced.” If that upset him, he didn’t show it at all.

  The tiny woman scowled, however.

  “Does it say by whom?”

  “Yes. The king’s youngest child, Prince Xan. I’d wondered why he’d been recalled all those months ago. Apparently to be trained for the duty. Before you feel too badly, it seems I’m being given a promotion. My own lands to govern. Small ones, but it’s a place to start, if I make good use of resources.”