by P. S. Power
The Alede weren't violent, or even catty, as a rule, but the one time they'd go after each other, other than normal personal squabbles like anyone else, was if they felt their food was being poached. They were pretty good about holding that to other Alede, but it was really why he couldn't just have sex with all of them. Kaitlyn had, apparently, called "dibs" on him, and that meant she'd at least scream at any of the others that did anything with him that deprived her of energy.
Functionally, if he had it right, he could do her in the morning, and then all her friends, for the rest of the day, as long as the next time he had real energy, he had sex with her first. It was too complicated for him, and really, while as much of a horn-dog as anyone else his age, he knew it was probably better to go carefully with that kind of thing. Having the women, or eventually, men, bring in business was probably more important to him than getting his rocks off constantly. Or not. That remained to be seen. He wanted the book store to pull its own weight, and really wasn't doing that well with the travel side of things yet. The one thing he'd managed to do so far involved setting up a meeting for a teenage girl that would probably spend the whole time stammering, instead of presenting herself well.
That was his job though, wasn't it? Arranging for his friend to do well. How he was supposed to pull that off, he didn't know, except that as he thought about it, a lot of ideas actually came to him. From outside of himself. It was a powerful rush of information, since it was a pretty big field. He could control the girl's mind, or replace her with a doppelganger, meant to impress the people coming. Warning her would work too, if he did it right. Calling her first would just make her tense, but a bit of talking to her before he introduced everyone would give her an edge. Possibly.
Not that it was really important. Jen just had to show up, and manage to shake hands, so it wasn't a hard job for the day. It was mainly going to be about learning to use the register, since the computer system was hooked up to it and they had to use a code to get into the drawer. They were pretty simple things, but it took explaining to get the idea.
The rest of the day didn't go fast, for all that it was new and shiny to him. At about one, surprisingly, a man came in, who was barely human looking at all, being blocky and square seeming. He made his way directly to the cafe, so Zack didn't think about it, since the smell of the food was good enough, and it was just possible the man was there for free food, if he worked at the mall someplace. Zack hadn't met everyone, after all. So he didn't think about it for a few minutes.
Until Palma walked up and bowed to him.
"Sir? This is Lars Colson. He's an old colleague of mine, from a position I held some time ago." Then she stopped, clearly wondering how to get to the next part.
Zack didn't know what the man wanted, and didn't really feel like trying to read his mind at the moment. He could do that, but the man simply bowed, seeming nervous, but willing to speak, if with a thick accent.
"Line Walker, I would go to the lands of my people. It is far, far. Can go I to the place of these? Funds I have, and all will give, for this. I go home now, and need it not."
Zack noticed the case he had, which was a pretty normal looking briefcase, done in decently nice black leather. The man saw him looking and handed it over. Without even getting confirmation. Zack didn't bother to look, since it was clear what the man meant. He was leaving anyway, so was willing to pass all he had over for passage back home.
It might not be easy to get him there though, at least if the man was right.
Zack nodded, "let's do it? We can try at least. If you don't get there, I won't charge you."
It took all of three minutes. Most of that involved waiting with him at the almost abandoned node on the far side, so that they could make certain he was in the right place. It was in a light blue forest, and the place had two moons in the sky, along with the sun. Two regular moons, like the one outside his door at night.
It clearly wasn't Kansas.
The man had people out, about the time Zack was ready to go, but none of them seemed to want to talk to him. They were all of a type though. Stocky, but not short, and with slightly dusky skin. Human, at least as far as he could tell. Mainly dressed in loose trousers that looked homemade, and tunics. He thought that was what they were called at least.
Then, as the information hit him, he suddenly knew a whole lot about clothing, as useful as that no doubt would be. He even knew how to do the hand stitching that was used, and that it was different from the ones that most people would have used.
They didn't smile at him, or ask for him to stay and have a snack, so he waved and left. Just in time for the next fare to show up.
This was a small family, that really didn't have enough of anything to pay for it. The woman had a daughter with her and was clearly in charge of the small man that stood behind her, seeming shy. They all had an Asian cast to them, and wanted to go and see her father, who was dying. In Mainland China. The problem there wasn't that they couldn't afford a plane flight, but that the government wasn't wild about her going back there at all. She was sort of in exile, so the only way to get back in time would be to go around the rules a bit.
She bowed a lot, once they were in the back room, and got onto her knees, her hands going to his pant front instantly, right in front of her husband, who looked away, ashamed, and her daughter, who just seemed curious. Zack rolled his eyes, since he wasn't that cheap. He stood back and waved her up. The contact with her told him enough, at least. She was roughly a Human Mage, but not of the Western kind. Her father was a herbologist, like master Wu-Li, there at Westfield. Why he was dying...
Well, that was because he was old and didn't have access to the herbs he needed. The government had made certain he was cut off, suspecting what he was.
"Come with me." Zack didn't wait, and her face fell, with tears coming to her eyes, since it was also clear she had nothing else to pay him with, if not her body.
She just seemed baffled when he took her to Wu-Li and waved in her direction.
"Can we buy some supplies from you?"
The ancient Chinese man looked at him, and then her, and nodded.
"Perhaps you could aid me in collecting a few things in return?"
Zack sighed, but agreed. It wasn't as if the man wasn't a friend of his, after all. Still, he'd have to work out some kind of trade with the family, or else people would eventually try to take advantage of him. What that would be he didn't know. She needed his help, but had absolutely nothing that he wanted. Not at all.
Worse, even though he left them all in China, two hours later, he'd have to retrieve them in a few weeks. That would compound the cost, but they couldn't get out of China on their own, he didn't think.
It was a bit of a mess. On the good side he'd collected up a lot more herbs, including some expensive ones, than he needed. Enough to make that part worth while he thought.
Chapter four
Maddy Morse had three people with her, which he actually expected. He hadn't known that he would, but the instant he saw the two men and the woman she was with, he understood that it was her staff. Almost all the high officials, regardless of the group, tried to add extra people and luggage to their transports. Since he was doing this one for free, for the Summit, as part of a deal with Keeley, a lot of people had been doing that. At first he nearly balked at it, early on, but now he realized that it was letting people get used to working with him, as much as not. He'd rather have ten thousand people like that family from earlier, that couldn't pay really, than to have everyone refusing to work with him.
He'd just have to be a bit clever to justify things. That was all.
"Maddy! Are you all ready to go?" He was in the back of the Idaho Mage embassy, which meant, as it turned out, that the woman there was actually the Ambassador. She looked older, so probably wasn't a healing Mage. From the way the space rippled around her, he was going to bet some kind of combat specialty. She had several weapons on her, with one pointed directly at him, ready to fight.
; Like that would work?
She attacked, almost instantly, as the others jumped out of the way, screaming. At least Maddy yelled no, which was nice of her. Zack moved out of the way and simply walked in places the energy wasn't and slapped the woman. Hard, and right along the jaw, which knocked her out.
He actually had to hold back a lot, so the move wouldn't kill her. Then, without asking, he pulled the rest of the magics from her, as the two men stared at him. Like he was going to pull the woman's clothing off and rape her or something? Because that made sense. Clearly if he were going to do that, it would make more sense to rape one of them, so that no one would be willing to accidently back up their stupid friends again. Not even by mistake. He didn't say anything, until he had it all, then he stood up.
"Should we go? She's about to wake up. I trust that you'll have a handle on this before the next pick-up? Because I've got to tell you, this was annoying, and wasted time. A whole minute. Not that I'm actually that busy yet, but it could happen and really, you don't know that I'm not, or didn't, right?"
Maddy made a hard face, and seemed a little bitter, but one of the men, the younger one swallowed hard.
"I'm so sorry about that Line Walker. She... her family had a bad experience with a Greater Demon that plagued them for generations. One called The Reckoned? It's left her a bit... leery?"
He seemed upset, so Zack decided to let it go.
"Ah. That's not someone I know, yet. Well, let's go?"
That didn't take long, even with the three bags they had. They had to wait then, for Jen and Hiram to show up, if they were going to. Really, they needed chairs in the node room, for things like that. On the good side, he could easily get some snacks, and there was no reason they couldn't go and sit in the cafe. He suggested that, since it would have to be more comfortable.
That meant he was able to get to his new people, as they walked in the door, and on a whim, added Kait to the group.
"Kaitlyn will be training you on register and the computer system. She set it up, so that's efficient sounding. Jen, you, Kaitlyn, and I, have a meeting first. Important people, so remember to breathe and act professional. Don't let yourselves get flustered." Marissa walked in the front door, looking cleaned up, and wearing fresh clothing. It was a dress, along with tight looking boots. It was all in tan and a thing that was a bit short on her, because it belonged to Lenore. He'd seen her in it before. It was cuter on his girlfriend, but worked well enough on the Vampire elder.
"Here we go. Marissa! Over here!" It took a minute to get everyone around in the same place and longer to work them into the next room, but cutely enough Hiram and Madeline both came along too. He didn't mind, personally.
Zack gestured at each person in turn, starting with Jennifer and Kaitlyn.
"These are the people that I wanted you to meet. Particularly Jennifer. Maddy Morse is the head of the Mage Guild. Marissa is on the Vampire Council. You should all exchange numbers. Possibly with Hiram too, in case you ever need a good thief, though you didn't hear that from me."
He meant that last bit as a joke, but Maddy pulled the girls to the side and Marissa smiled hugely enough that her fangs showed a bit, even though they were hidden pretty well.
"Ah! I could perhaps, use one with those skills. Particularly a Mage. We should indeed exchange numbers."
That required some pens and papers, but everyone did it, including with him. Even the two men got all the numbers. The younger one seemed pretty interested in Jen. It was a bit strange, since Kait was right there, and pretty hard to ignore, but it was clear she was being ignored. Not as a game either. Some men would do that, paying attention to the less pretty girl in order to get close to the good looking one, but this man seemed very interested in Mage matters.
Maddy pointed.
"Jennifer? If you take a summer internship with my office, Bart will be your direct boss. I didn't know that we'd be meeting a member from the Vampire Council today. Is Marissa going with us to the summit?"
The lady herself covered a laugh with her right hand.
"Oh, my, no. I have some matters to see to here. I'm over-nighting with Zachery, and then, in the morning, will be off to my next audit. I hope that you and your people will support peace in this current issue? I didn't come to lobby you today, but since I'm here..." She laughed again, and so did the others, including Hiram.
Zack just nodded, since it made sense to him.
"Good plan. I'm fully supporting peace, if anyone asks."
Maddy nodded.
"That's our current plan as well. Peace is almost always the better option. It was nice to meet with you, Marissa. Please feel free to be in touch? If you can't reach me..." She smiled and winked at Jennifer. "Get with Miss Stone here? She should be able to pass messages for us, if I'm out of cell range."
They made pleasant sounding conversation, until he had to make the transfer to the Ettarian lands. That was nice enough, since they were kind people, in the main, the Ettarians, if tall and telepathic. The man that was waiting for them was young and blond, standing at about seven-four. There was a lot of bowing, and gesturing for the three he'd brought in to get on the funny looking shuttle. It slid, on a very smooth pathway, rather than on wheels. The whole thing was a pale cream color. Then, a lot of the Ettarian lands seemed to be that. It had to do with their technology, he knew.
After that, he let the others get to work, learning the ropes. He managed to sit down for a bit, and even get a light supper, which consisted of enough food for a family of four to gain about six pounds each. So light was a bit of a misnomer. That thought got him to smile. Right up until the phone rang at his desk. He was there, so answered on the first ring.
"Hartley and Co. Books, Zack speaking, how may I help you?"
The voice that came next, was both happy and familiar.
"Ah! Mr. Hartley! It is I, Bey. I hope that your day is being a pleasant one?"
Zack felt a bit surprised, since the man normally didn't call him. Not that he wasn't allowed, but the being was ancient and didn't trust phones in the main. Not enough to own one. That would mean that he was calling on business, not just to pass the time or anything like that. Bey didn't do things like that without a good reason.
"Not too bad, for a first day. It's actually been a bit busier than I thought it would be."
"Ah! Yes, I heard that you went on a daring rescue of young Marissa? Going into the place of her captivity and dueling with several of her captors to free her from their clutches, most bravely?" There was no hint of the man trying to tease him at all. So someone was telling him better stories than Zack knew about at least.
"Well, I went and got her and she really seemed like she couldn't get out on her own. There were no guards in the room, and no fighting, other than some blocking when I first went in, so that she didn't take my head off. That worked though. She's out and safe now. I don't suppose you know something about this? She was pretty certain that someone on the Council was responsible? She has no proof, just suspicions. I'd hate to have ruined a plan, but when the call came in..."
"There was no such plan to my knowledge. I was asked to help assure our mutual friend, Marissa, that we, her cohorts, were not behind this. To that end, would it be possible for us, the others and myself, to set up a meeting with her, do you think? We might need your assistance in this, to do it in a timely fashion. I dislike abusing your good will. We should speak of terms first? I know that you would do this for free, just to aid us, but we need to give something back." The voice stopped coming then, since there was simply, to the best of the man's knowledge, nothing that he needed.
It was close to true.
He had more money than he could count, but Darla had pointed out that it wasn't nearly as much as it might sound like. If he needed to deal with any of the others, he could need hundreds of millions even for simple things. As a token, true, but it could come up. Gold, jewels, magics from different sources, and sometimes people. If he wasn't going to do that last one, and incl
uded any sentient being as a person, which he did, it meant he needed to collect some of these other things.
The Vampires were wealthy, and strong, but short of demanding cash, they didn't have a whole lot for him to work with. Asking for millions just to move from place to place wasn't going to work either, was it? So that meant he'd need to be clever about it all.
"I could use a night crew for here. The employees will be paid for it, but need to be able to work with a wide assortment of people. Also, do you have any government contacts in China?" The man lived there after all, even if he looked more Middle Eastern than not. So it was just possible that he might know someone.
There was a brief pause.
"I do have some. To what end? Do you wish to meet with them?" There was a guarded hesitancy to the last bit.
Zack understood. He was willing to risk himself with Zack, and even some of his own people, but not his Human friends. The Line Walker was a Greater Demon after all. So that made it a good plan, really.
"That won't be needed. There's a Taoist healer, a Mage, that has been cut off from traveling, or getting stock, but won't leave his homeland. It would be good, if he could be... forgotten about? He's near death as we speak and might well die in the next days. I sent some medication along with his family, but it might be too late. Still, if not, it would be nice if he had access to what he needs. If his family could be allowed to visit normally, too?"
There was a sharp sound, which he understood was Bey clapping. Happily, Zack hoped.
"I will see to this, immediately, even if you cannot aid us in this effort. What else would you seek done?"
That was the hard part, since Bey always asked that, and Zack always ran out of things to ask for. Except, really, he had some things now, didn't he?
"On your next visit here, I'd like to formally introduce some of my people to you? Possibly the others on the Council, if they're around?"
"Ah?" That was all. Then the little being waited for him to respond. It was infuriating. Zack grinned and let himself not feel it.