by P. S. Power
"Those are real points too, and not ones I haven't thought about. That isn't what I want though. I simply want you to meet a girl, later today. She's going to be an intern with the Mage Guild this summer. A friend of mine, and a possible contact for you, if you play your cards right. That won't be until four, so..." He didn't really know what she should do, to be honest.
Luckily, she did. It was probably why she got to be a council head, and he was just a store clerk and fancy fast transit point. Not that it wasn't working for him, but still, it lacked a certain refinement.
"I could, perhaps, wait at my own embassy?" She didn't ask for permission at least, which was good. He didn't want her to get confused and think she was owned, or something. The woman had high maintenance written all over her, after all.
"It would be a good place to make whatever calls you need from, I think. Yes. We should also get you together with Rebekah. She's a Manthori. The one doing all the new blood for people? She also has a band that's really good and is trying to get a recording contract, if you need someone to play events or anything like that. Even if you won't be swayed on the new rules, she's a good person to get to know. There's a big difference between insisting that a new service be made mandatory and being willing to admit it might be useful, from time to time."
That actually earned him a look that seemed pleased. Finally.
"Would that be possible? Perhaps you could walk me to the embassy, in order to protect me from attackers?" She didn't seem all that nervous, but took his arm, her tan skirt and jacket smudged lightly in places. She was also lacking in make-up, which probably meant that she'd want to see to that soon. Maybe not until after calling in her hit squad or anything, but then again, she might not do that at all. True, she'd been caught out and locked up, and there had been no food, but that was almost an accepted way of rigging a vote for the council she was on. Marissa certainly didn't know Gene was behind anything. It could have been anyone.
So having a little back-up wasn't a horrible plan, even for a short walk. He used, for the first time, the single wooden door that led to the mall proper. From the outside it looked like a utility closet should be behind it, which had been his choice. He didn't want people using that to get into his space by accident, after all. It might be a little hard to explain if the wrong people saw it.
Like the police.
There was no one out along the fake red brick walk area, and the benches were exactly where they always were, along with their huge concrete pots and fake ferns. It wasn't decorated very well, and really needed a water fountain to be put in, he decided. A nice big one, that people could get into and splash around in, making a mess. Like in the movies.
Marissa did her best to act like a proper lady, it was true. Zack had noticed it both times they'd met. That didn't mean stupid however, or incompetent. Her eyes and other senses strained to pick out any hint of attack from the area around her, and she seemed ready to let go of his arm and fight, if anything happened at all. Nothing did. It was so early that Candles and More hadn't even opened yet, though it should have, almost forty minutes before. The Yoghurt World was well lit though, but they didn't close, except for special events. The last time he'd seen it was when Bey had come for an investigation. Hopefully the Vampire on his arm didn't have that kind of reputation. The reason they'd closed before had been due to the entire local Vampire community going into hiding.
Lenore, Zack's very cute girlfriend, who looked about ready to work at a country fair in her light blue dress and white apron, actually managed not to look shocked when he walked up at least.
Then, even with the Vampire on his arm, she didn't seem to get who it was, until they were almost in front of her. On the good side that meant she really wasn't the jealous type, since he could get away with walking around with other girls. She'd always said that was the case, and he knew it was true, but it still felt funny to him. Of course that went two ways, so when she took other people to bed he couldn't say much.
"Marissa Constantine?" There was a baffled look and then a small bow to go with it. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Is it time for an accounting? I assure you that our books are in good order. Let me run and get those for you..." She did that very quickly, before either of them could say a word, and was back with a large black ledger not five seconds later. "Here, please, have a seat, or would you use my office?"
Zack had to search a bit, using the woman's own memories, but it was right there. She wasn't Bey Transmorguir, the killer of rogue Vampires. That was simply a fact. No, she was, more or less, their version of the IRS. When she came to town, people got audited.
Those that failed their audits, died.
The Vampire Council member bowed a bit, and let herself settle into one of the brightly colored yellow and orange booths. The vinyl barely made a sound at all, under her light frame.
"I'm not here for that yet, though I do have a date later this year for it? If you don't mind me looking now, that will save time. I'm sure they're in order. It's always so nice looking at your work, dear." The book was handed over, somberly, and the older woman didn't mention having just been in captivity. Apparently, work came first.
Even before eating.
"Do we have any blood left? Perhaps we could free a bottle up for Marissa? I'll pay for it." That seemed important for some reason, though it didn't leap to mind. It was correct anyway, he could tell, since his girlfriend didn't do what she normally might and try to give it to him for free. She normally would have tried to give him anything she could, after all.
She also didn't try to explain why that was, and took his card when it was handed over for the purchase.
"Would you like anything? I'm working on a new hazelnut and banana treat."
He nodded, since he really could use the extra calories. Really he'd need a bit more than that too, but he could wait a bit and not make a pig of himself.
Publically. He was totally going to do that the second he got alone, he decided. One thing that starvation for months had taught him, was that food was too important to miss out on. It seemed a pretty intuitive lesson, like most people would simply understand it, but until you nearly died from lack of it, he doubted most really could.
He shrugged.
"Could I get, oh, six of them? Just to try out, of course."
There was a thump, which was a single cool finger on the open ledger.
"Ah, yes, you have an open account here? Unlimited food for yourself and all mall employees? Does that count for the blood?" She addressed the last bit to Lenore, who actually gave her a small smile back and shrugged, which was probably very rude, normally, since it would be like her doing that to the Secretary of the Treasury. "It hasn't before and he paid today. That... would be a good idea. It's all in an effort to pay the debt we owe as an organization. I've been tempted to make twice daily deliveries down to the Trolleinkein embassy, to try and catch up." She clearly thought it was funny, but Zack knew that a lot of them really did need to eat more than they had been.
He nodded.
"We could get them to come and pick that up? So you won't have to leave the floor here. I figured they'd all be down here ten times a day, to tell the truth. Just like I figured they'd half live at the new cafe, since they get to eat there for free, too."
That got Marissa to murmur softly, but with a bit of focus, and he realized, magical energy flowing into it, Zack picked it up.
"You court them, as well?"
He... hadn't really been thinking of it that way. They were friends of his, or at least some of them were, and far from home. It was hard for them to get enough to eat, and he had access to nearly unlimited food, so of course he'd think of them. But, really, the idea wasn't a horrible one, was it? Courting them, as the Vampire had suggested.
So he nodded.
"Naturally." It made him sound wise, and since he'd just decided to actually make an effort, it wasn't even a lie. "The Mages too, if I can get Lisa to stop hating me. That's going to take some work."
There
were no follow up questions to that, since the woman was clearly lost in her numbers suddenly. It didn't take her long to go over the whole thing either, and at the end she tapped the black book with her right index finger.
"There are errors." She didn't sound mean, which was nice of her.
Lenore winced, as if she were about to be flogged.
"Bad ones?" Her eyebrows wrinkled upward, as if worried, but the auditor shook her head, being back to her normal girlish self.
"Not truly. You simply owe several people funds for work done, and have not paid them yet. A Jennifer Stone, and also a Hiram Stone? The first for shop tending, the second for wards on several local concerns? That should be seen to. It's important to pay our debts in a timely fashion, lest they be forgotten."
Lenore bowed, and didn't make any excuses, or even mention that the mass firing of people a few weeks before had gotten in the way of prompt payment.
So Zack did.
"Jennifer is the one I asked you to meet with, if she comes in later? Hiram is her uncle. They haven't been around for a while, since the Mage Guild let them go. It wasn't the best plan ever, on their part, but..."
His girlfriend made a face toward the still closed shop across the way, "it was truly so. Lisa, the Ambassador's Assistant found out that Zack is..." Then she went silent.
Because clearly she was under orders not to mention what he was to the woman. Probably others as well. It would take work to keep that hidden now however. Most of the Vampires already had heard, at least among the ones he talked to.
The elder Vampire growled lightly.
"So, who ordered you to not speak?" She rose, and looked ready to menace the other girl, who looked a bit younger, and was, by about seven hundred years.
Zack cleared his throat.
"My girlfriend."
That got everyone in the room to stop and look at him, as if he were insane, for about a tenth of a second. Then... A nicely warmed pint of blood was delivered, in a thick ceramic mug. It was enough that Marissa sat back down.
"I forgot myself, Mr. Hartley. Being captured and locked away with no food tends to make me... edgy." Then, like a good little girl trying not to slam the whole mug of blood at once, she started to drink. Her lips ended up with a red stain, but that was the only sign that what she'd been consuming wasn't tea or cider. Possibly a shake of some kind. A fancy one, in a big mug, but still, that wasn't a horrible idea.
It had a very refined sound to it, really, Zack thought.
Lenore didn't act shocked at all, and simply took the mug back, when it was offered, not speaking at all. Then she washed it before turning again, and finished making Zack his treats. Each was a tiny bit different, which had to do with the fact that she wanted to test the concoctions, like she'd mentioned, he was willing to bet.
Finally she spoke, her voice subdued.
"Are we at war then?"
The rather fussy seeming hermaphrodite shook her head, making the short light brown hair fly a bit.
"I think not. It was Vampires that took me, at least. I suspect Gene, of the Council, The Wanderer. I have no real proof, but he's recently changed his mind about the new blood rules. Before a week past he stood with me firmly, against it. Then he changed his mind, which isn't his normal way at all. It is, of course, a trick of some kind. People forget his cunning, behind his cherubic features. Regardless, those that subdued me were of our people, Lenore. No matter how that happened. So at worse we need only see to an execution. That or locking my fellow away for long enough that he recalls that it is not an enjoyable experience." She waved toward Zack then, her hand never pointing at him directly. "I called on the Line Walker, when I chanced to recall that I had a new speaking device. As luck would have it, I managed to call out. No other numbers answered, but Mr. Hartley was kind enough to come and retrieve me. Now I have to ask if that was part of a plan? Perhaps to indebt myself to you?" She looked down at the table, not at him.
"That wasn't a plan of mine, and I won't count it as a debt, past what we already agreed to? That way, if it was someone's plan, they'll have failed already. I do love messing with plotters like that. Or at least I think I do. It always made people seem cooler, when they did that on television." He smiled, which got one in return, from Lenore.
"Thank you, dear. Still, this does create a debt, which might be the reason? Who'd do such a thing? Given... Well, Bey asked me not to mention Zachary's nature to you, if you didn't bring it up first. Truly, I wouldn't have anyway, since almost everyone knows already, but that might not mean he's behind it, or if he is, that it was linked to other things. Not that he's incapable of planning ahead like that, but he guards Zack rather zealously. He might play with you, but not him, I don't think. He owes too much there, and Zack has been a true friend to him, which would be enough all on its own. I once saw him fight a hundred Vampires, for wronging a merchant that had offered him free apples, thinking he was starving." She had a worried look on her face, which for once didn't seem all that contrived.
The council woman nodded.
"I can see that for myself. Very few would come for me, even if begged. Mr. Hartley did it without even discussion of price. Then, what is being asked... Merely meeting a new contact? It doesn't seem like what your kind would do, does it? Is this a trick, perhaps?"
There was a soft chuckle from behind the counter then, as the six treats, all in large containers, came across the counter. Zack tried not to leap across the room at them, but he was a bit hungry. He sat quickly and started to eat without waiting, making a point to consider each of the dishes of frozen yogurt carefully. There would be a quiz, after all.
His girlfriend fixed the Vampire Council member with a very frank look.
"Truly? I don't think so. He is a Greater Demon, and his powers are vast, but his word has proved good so far. That may change, over time, or it might all be a trick, but that could be said of anyone, might it not? I think you can trust him not only as much as those on our own council, but more so. He seldom lies, in fact. I think he can now, however, is that right, Zachary?"
He grinned, but swallowed his food before speaking.
"Yep. I have to make myself sort of believe it, but it's a thing I can do. I don't bother most of the time. It's easier that way." For him at least, since it took less energy.
It was about then that he noticed a rather furtive and disheveled form trying to sneak into Candles and More. It was Lisa, and she seemed like she'd been up for days, at least. She looked over her shoulder and froze, when she noticed him watching her. For his part, he didn't do anything at all, except take another bite of his food. That wasn't a mistake, since anything he did then, including smile, or wave, would be taken as hostile by the woman.
Even sending her flowers, or a note, would have been a threat, to her rather worked up mind, just then. The best he could do was keep eating and look away, as if he weren't noticing her. Which, naturally, would seem like he was trying to spy on her, as far as she was concerned. That extreme paranoia was part of why he hadn't tried very hard to get in touch with her and smooth things over yet. She might not ever let it go either, but him trying to force her to do it wouldn't work at all. If anything happened it would have to be on her schedule, not his.
There was a bit of desperate scrabbling at the door, and the second she was inside her wards, she spun and started to chant, as if making the shields on the place even stronger was going to help anything? He could have simply gone in through the node, or even just forced through the shield, if he wanted. Not that he did. What he really wanted was for her not to hate him.
That... was going to take work.
So, he just sat, and ate, not bothering to make himself feel better about the situation at hand. The two with him actually glanced at the scene and then looked away, as if to not notice his pain. That was an old fashioned and polite thing to do, he guessed. It didn't help anything, but it was better than them trying to give him suggestions. Especially since theirs would probably involve Lisa bei
ng brainwashed, beaten or killed. Or, possibly, used as a juice box.
'Everyone loves them some Capri Sun, now in new bloody Lisa flavor.' Mirror Him quipped, lamely.
Zack rallied anyway, magic or not and managed a smile for the women with him.
"So, in a few hours I need to get off to pick up Maddy Morse, so that she can meet up with Jennifer, and then I'll get all of you where you need to go? Any ideas where that is yet, Marissa?"
There was a pause, and she looked at Lenore.
"It may take some time to figure that out. If I may use your telephone, dear? I might be stuck here for some time, I fear, since I don't know who I can trust at the moment. It's a bit of a bother. I don't suppose either of you know of a good hotel in the area?"
Lenore did, but then said something very strange.
"Perhaps you could stay at Zack's? He has a guest room for Bey, which has amusements and comfortable chairs. I can package up some blood for you? If you need to stay in town for a while."
She didn't make eye contact with Zack at all, but he shrugged. He really did have the room, and it was just sitting empty.
"That's a decent plan. Just make certain you don't drink from Troy, since he needs his energy for work. He bartends at the Tarran 2 LA, which is a dance club here in town. You guys own it."
That got a single, rather happy clap.
"Oh, I love dancing. We should all go."
Lenore smiled, as if it had been her idea all along.
Chapter three
When he managed to get back to his own store, about ten minutes later, since he really wasn't needed, in the middle of a growing Vampire spat, Zack didn't think, he noticed two things. The first was that there were actually several people on the main floor of the bookshop, and two sitting in the cafe. The other was that none of his sales people were available at all. The back sitting area was tightly closed off too, which meant that, in the short time that he'd been gone, both girls had managed to grab someone for sex.
It was a little hard not to be jealous.