by P. S. Power
Before he could stand up all the way, Darla waved at him, in a fashion that meant, at least part of the time, that the exercise was done.
"Hmmm. Sloppy and slow. You were being too nice to her, by far. I get that she looks like a pretty girl, but all of us can do that, so don't let it influence you. What did you do with her?" If there was concern for her little sister, it didn't show in the steely voice of the iron haired woman. From the lines around her mouth looked like she was prone to frowning a lot, and her eyes seemed to be ready to squint at all times. Considering he'd never seen her as anything except a hot blonde cheerleader before, it was a real change up. The distortions she made in space looked the same, which was what clued him in as to who she was.
Shape shifting was so cool. He really needed to learn to do that, he decided.
Mirror Him chuckled, even if there was another Greater Demon in the room.
'Oohhh, right, then you can be the hot blonde and get all the boys. Good thinking Zack-o. It will let you get in touch with your feminine side.'
Zack shrugged and fired a single thought back, as he gingerly tried to put some weight on his healing leg. It supported it. He really thought that he'd like to try being a brunette. Maybe look a little like Keeley? That got a slight choking sound from MH, at least, rather than a sarcastic comment.
He smiled.
"Oh, I dumped her off in the Elth lands? I'm sort of surprised she isn't back yet. She had to heal her leg, but I figured she'd do that faster than I would mine." He could heal pretty quickly now, but it wasn't instant or anything. Keeley was simply better at magic, according to his mentor, who had been hers, too.
Darla cleared her throat.
"She likely did. She'll also be a good ten hours getting back, and have to stop to eat a few times. She's the Mistress of Souls, not the Line Walker. I guess she's about to learn what that means? Very good, Zack. You really were being too soft on her. If she'd been really trying, you'd be dead thrice right now, and your little Vampire friends here would be servicing Balthias."
That got the giant reddish creature to smile.
"Oh, spoils of war? I did catch them? What do you say Line Walker? We can teach them to defend you better next time?" He was kidding but Roland started to struggle a lot harder then.
Zack shook his head.
"Sorry, not right now. They need to get to work. It's their first night, so cool and nifty Demon sex is right out. We do have some well fed Alede around here that might want a go, since you look pretty novel and all that. You should ask. Normally I don't think they'd get anything from having sex with you, but if they have that taken care of for the day, which they do, they might just want a turn?"
It wasn't up to him to tell the being what to do, but some of his employees were kind of kinky. The Lesser Demon bowed a bit, and then, rather carefully and politely, set the two Vampires he was holding down.
"That would be fun. I take it that I should avoid being seen by the public?"
Zack shrugged and looked at the clock on the wall, which showed that it was nine-thirty. That meant that all the normal people, the real shoppers and Humans that weren't supposed to be around, were locked out for the night. At least in theory.
"Be a bit careful, just in case? Otherwise, I think you're fine as you are. Still, no matter how hard they beg, no sex in public. This is a reputable establishment. Or, well, so far at least. It's only the first day." It sounded funny, and like he was joking, but still had a ring of truth to it.
The giant red form moved off then, clearly eager to see if those succubi really wanted to spend some time with the likes of him.
Looking down at his clothing, he realized that he was a bit disheveled, which meant he needed to change, before midnight.
Darla nodded, as if she knew what he was thinking already.
"Appearances are important. So, how is your day going? Other than impromptu training sessions?"
He shrugged and spread his hands a bit, smiling.
"Busier than I thought it would be, to be honest. Only one person has tried to kill me so far. I'm still not making deals for line travel as hard as I should. I managed to eat enough. I should get a snack, would you like something? We have a real cafe, so, you know, you have to pay for it, but it's really high quality." You didn't offer another Greater Demon food. That was claiming you owned them.
In a way, he realized, that's what he did with his two little Vampires earlier. He'd fed them, so they'd know who the boss was. It made sense, at least that way. Those two were just standing there, not knowing what to do, and probably glad that they didn't have to service Balthias on their first day. They stared a bit, at Rebekah, who was carefully ignoring it. They didn't seem hostile about it, just curious.
Zack waved at her, and then, because she was very exotic, walked over and gave her a hug. It was a bit of a shock, but she hugged him back, and didn't seem scared or anything.
"Rebekah, these two are Rowan and Roland. They work here and will be your night time contacts, if you need rush deliveries arranged. Kids, this is Rebekah, she's a Manthori Vampire, in case you've never met one, so one of your people. She also runs the new blood collection concern. The stuff you had earlier? That's a big deal for your kind, so I suggest you get on her good side. Right now however, I need to get someone to show you the ropes here. Hopefully someone stayed on the floor and they didn't all run off to take a turn with Balthias." Everyone turned to look at him, as if what he said was important or something.
Then, three of them actually meant it, so he waved to the younger Vampires.
"If you two want to get with him for sex, you should make an appointment. Probably with Keeley, when she gets back in. I'm really a bit surprised she isn't yet, to tell the truth." He really was, but Darla moved forward and tapped the time distortion field she was wearing off. Why she'd bothered at all he didn't know, except, of course, he really did, when he thought about it.
She'd been trying to lock him in. To keep him from just running off. It hadn't worked at all, naturally, but probably would have with another Greater Demon, at least for a bit. That was an interesting thing to realize, so he filed it away for later.
His mentor patted him on the shoulder, in a matronly fashion.
"I can't stay. I have a meeting in a few minutes. Hence looking like this. The place looks good, Zachary. Tell Keeley that I'll see her Monday?" It was Friday, which meant Zack didn't have to feel bad about stranding his Aunt on a school night, at least.
"Sure. Is she staying with me this weekend?" It was a strange thing to say, but he realized, belatedly, that he'd picked it up from the contact with Darla. Not that Keeley needed a sitter, but that she actually wanted to spend time with him, being family.
He... Really he'd sort of thought that she didn't like him that much, and had simply been using him to get at Xenses, since she wanted to kill him. Not that it wasn't still part of the plan, but for some reason that he didn't understand, Darla thought he might just manage to survive now. Not totally, and it could be a trick, but it had definitely been part of what he picked up from her. He thought.
"I don't know? You should make the offer. Her mother is out of town, working, for a few days, and she doesn't have any plans."
That, he knew, was a lie. For one thing, Greater Demons always had plans. It was part of why they were different.
"I'll do that, if she drops back by here."
Then, pretty slowly, Darla opened a node point, not using the one right next to her, even though she could, which made an interesting bubble pattern in the air, to him at least, and with a pale blue flash stepped into it, vanishing.
That left Rebekah a little stranded for the time being, since he was willing to bet her buddy Balthias was busy. She was standing about three feet away, so reaching out a bit, he snagged her hand, holding it, like an old friend, or possibly a lover.
"All right, we have some fun things for you to do here tonight then. The whole Vampire Council is coming here in a few hours. Marissa, you
know her?" He waited, wondering if they'd met. It was possible, given everything, but the bone white and slightly cool to the touch woman shook her head.
"Not yet. I've met Harland and The Bey, but not her or The Wanderer. Is this an official action? They don't normally meet for minor things, not the whole group like you just said."
Zack tilted his head, but didn't bother lying.
"Well, it could be a trick to try and kill me, or possibly her. If so, then things could go differently than I have planned. If not, we should make sure you get introduced to everyone? Possibly with some samples of your new product on hand, and some promises to get the price down? Marissa mentioned that Gene, The Wanderer, has recently come over to your side in the new blood plan. She isn't, but I think you can point out that you personally don't take offense at that? She does the audits for your people, so you don't want to piss her off." She might also be able to take Rebekah in a straight up fight. Possibly without even really trying. The woman was only a few hundred years old, after all. It made a difference for her kind.
"That would be good. Nerve racking, but... I wish Keeley were here." She grinned at the other two Vampires, who didn't seem to really get everything yet, from their expressions. "I know, it's weird, since she's a Greater Demon, but she's really very sweet. Like... Zack is." She looked at him, her face fixed in a smile, since she'd called him by name, rather than using his title of Line Walker. Like he'd told her to.
He nodded.
"Except that I don't look as good in a dress. Yet. So, if you don't mind, let's see if we can find someone to show these two what to do, and then we can go and make the first introductions? I need to grab a snack, too." He walked then, pulling Rebekah by the hand gently, not letting go. He didn't even when he got to the front desk, to find Kaitlyn standing there, along with Hiram.
The man looked at him and shrugged.
"Jelly went home at nine. I wanted her to have a chance to get her school work done. I know that I don't make the schedules here..." He waited, his face not moving a lot. Tense, as if it had been a bad idea.
"That's fine. Actually, I'd like you two to take that on. Schedules and all the manager's duties? Kait is going off to school in the fall, so can't have the job full time, but she knows the computer system, and treating her like a kid isn't going to help, since she could shut the whole operation down in a couple of key strokes, I bet. It pays more, but part of that will be doing my line travel appointments, and all that too. Lisa was doing a lot of that for me, but..." He didn't explain and from the look on both of their faces didn't need to. "What do you say?"
Hiram sighed, but smiled a bit.
"So, you're serious about not letting me go back to a life of crime?"
"Well, a more controlled life of crime, maybe? Politics, or something a bit safer." The man had been a thief, and a con man, so he had the needed skills, Zack was willing to bet.
Kaitlyn actually went a little wide eyed.
"I get to be sort of in charge of something? This is an important job, too. I mean, this is kind of an embassy, so..." What she was thinking, Zack couldn't tell, but he was willing to bet it involved protecting herself from her own people more than anything else. Her governing body had tried to have her killed once already. Keeley had threatened them into stopping that, but dead was dead, and if they accidently put her name back on a list, that could go poorly for Kait. Plus, alive or not, she might well be black-balled from certain things in her own power structure. Not that a seventeen year old would have a big issue with that yet, but life for an Alede could be pretty long, and three hundred odd years was enough time to have things work out poorly for you that way. If you weren't careful.
Unless, of course, she was simply planning to take over. That was probably a good idea, since her current Governing Body was filled with jerks that killed kids, so they wouldn't challenge them later, if they were too strong. He'd have to mention the idea to her, if he got a chance.
They both nodded.
"Great! Okay, then, these two are Roland and Rowan, the night shift. This lovely lady whose hand I'm holding is Rebekah, who's important in the Vampire community, running their new blood harvesting concern. She also works for Keeley, The Mistress of Souls. As an employee, not a slave. She might be around in a bit, so if you see an incredibly hot teen girl with dark brown hair hanging around, don't hit on her, Hiram." He shrugged then. "Because, you know, she's my Aunt, and that would be creepy. Plus, she's only sixteen, so..."
The man chuckled, his slightly hard looking and decently lean face needing to either finish growing a beard or to shave. Right now he looked like he was ready for a weekend long bender.
"Yeah, because it's the age thing that would keep me from trying to sleep with a Greater Demon." He didn't grin about it at least.
Kaitlyn did.
"She's hot. I know her too, so I'll wave you off if you start to flirt with her too much. So, these two are working with us?" She looked at Rowan and Roland then, her face pleasant and... oddly professional.
"Yes, so, if you two could work out the training for them? They need to be back home by dawn, or a little before that, so... I guess I'll be picking you up and taking you home for a bit, until we can find you someplace closer than the camp? I'd let you stay at my place, but Marissa is planning on using it. Still in a pinch, I won't need my bed, so that might work."
No one said anything, so he walked toward the front of the store, having never let go of Rebekah's hand at all. He didn't then either, but did look at her, noticing that she was dressed a bit like Keeley had been, except that she had a band t-shirt on, that said "The All Vampire Band" on it, and had a picture of her own face, if as a stylized line drawing. That was pretty clever, he realized.
Plus, she was good. He knew that just from holding her hand. It was both real and a deflection that allowed her to walk the streets openly in most places. She looked like she did, not because she was scary and had an alternative lifestyle, but because she was a performer.
Mirror Him took over then, which was a thing he hadn't done in weeks.
"So, I was thinking that we should go in the back room and fuck, before we head over and meet Marissa? Just a quickie. Balthias shouldn't be the only one getting some tonight, right?"
It was blunt, and a bit crude, but the woman looked down at her hand and nodded.
"Let's. I want to avoid meeting the important people anyway. It's panic inducing. Where do you want to do it?"
Walking toward the node room, Mirror Him didn't pause at all, and spoke with a relaxed tone to his voice.
"The pussy is fine. I'm not trying to dominate you or anything, just have fun. I'd go with oral, but given the fang situation you've got going on, I think that should just be me doing that part for now. Not that Zack can't heal up the nicks and all that, but you know, that would be annoying."
She didn't mention the part where he was suddenly talking about himself in third person, but she did let him bend her over the desk in his office, which had nothing on it but a phone. Mirror Him, probably thinking he was being cute, took her jeans down, slightly roughly, and undid his own pants, and then positioned himself right at her opening, just before handing control back to Zack.
The idea, he knew, was that Zack was supposed to be left feeling awkward and like he needed MH to keep things together. Instead he ran his right hand under the back of Rebekah's shirt and moved into her. It wasn't as rough as all that, but MH had said a quickie, so there wasn't a lot of foreplay involved. Luckily, somehow, the girl was turned on enough that she was wet already. That made it all a lot easier on her.
It took about fifteen minutes, and just as she came, Keeley appeared at the office door. Almost as if she'd planned it. He felt a sudden hint of embarrassment, but then locked it down, and kept going, letting the exotic Vampire woman cry out, before having his own orgasm. Rebekah didn't even blink about seeing her there, and just stood up, adjusting her underwear. Zack... Smiled.
"Hey! Darla thought it would take you
all night to get back. I knew it wasn't that hard. So, are you staying the weekend? If so we should work out terms, so that it's all adult, and what not." That was an important Greater Demon thing too. This was his territory. She was in it. Visiting was fine, as long as she didn't harm his people and all that. Not that she would, but she couldn't take slaves here or anything. It was one of his rules.
"That sounds fun. You didn't ask if you could have sex with my Vampire." That was just a counter jab, he knew, trying to deflect from the future bargaining.
"You mean my second girlfriend here? I'm part of her harem of men, didn't you know that?" The words took a bit of lying, but were funny enough that Keeley just nodded.
"I had heard something about that. So, what do you want, for the privilege of my visiting you?"
He got his own clothing up, doing it right in front of her, noticing her eyes looking down a bit farther than was really polite. For a relative. Then he nodded.
The idea, according to the library of memories that hung in space around him, was to get her to think about sex. She'd been looking that way, he'd made it seemed like he was agreeing with her... Which might well distract a regular person a bit.
"No taking slaves, or killing my people. That's anyone in my territory, which is the whole city. Have sex with anyone you like, if it comes up. Pay for your food. Normal enough things really. Is that good with you?"
"Terms accepted." She didn't even say deal, but her power flared over him, trying to steal his will and lock him in as her slave anyway, though after a half minute she managed to pull back.
Looking panicked.
"Crap! I was not trying to do that Zack! I'm sorry. I..." Rebekah looked baffled, and he was a bit out of breath. He was almost certain that she'd tried not to take him as a slave, and he'd instinctually struggled as hard as he could, and still almost lost.