Living Proof (Tyler G Book 2)

by P. S. Power

  When they stopped Steve smiled.

  "That's it! What we should call ourselves."

  The others stopped and nodded, Rebekah doing the speaking.

  "Living Proof? That... Isn't bad."

  The red headed boy shook his head.

  "No... The Steve York Experience. It just came to me. What do you think?" The guy seemed endearingly serious about it, but Scotty tilted his head, then promptly ignored him.

  "So, Living Proof? I can work with that. There's a certain amount of irony in that, don't you think? This is coming together really well. We should go over everything."

  That got a long drawn out sigh by Steve. It nearly sputtered at the end.

  "So, no to the awesomeness of the Steve York Experience? Darn. I was kind of hoping we could go with that. I mean if I have to save all my money, and can't buy expensive cars to impress women, I need something, don't I? My looks aren't going to be enough."

  Their Vampire leader looked at him and shook her head slowly. At first it seemed to Ty that she was going to be upset with the name thing, or even her new friend putting himself down, but her words were totally different.

  "Nope. We can put makeup on you and turn you from a six to a nine. Pretty easily, too. You have good bones. That and being in the band will be enough. If you need more than that, I suggest you work on your game. Really though, don't go crazy that way. We don't need you coming down with fifty different diseases. You are Human, so we need to protect you that way. I... Ty, can you get anything like that? I can't. Scotty either."

  "I was told that I couldn't. No extra copies of myself running around either. Kids are out for me."

  That got Steve looked at hard, like he was planning to impregnate women as soon as they all left the room or looked away for too long. It wasn't really fair, but it was funny.

  "What? Don't look at me, I believe in safe sex. I'll be careful. Just because I'd like to get me some, that doesn't mean I'll go crazy with it. Especially without a cool car. I should get something anyway, even if it isn't that nice. That probably means a job, until the cash comes in from this, if it does. I don't suppose you know of anything?" He looked at each of them, one by one.

  Tyler let his face become considering and then nodded.

  "I might. Something that pays pretty well, too. Working in a Candles and More. That's the Mage Embassy at Westfield. Other places too, I think. Like a chain? It's in Washington, but I bet I can get Zack to take you back and forth a few times a week for that. I'll ask?"

  Steve might not have gotten everything in the world that was going on, like the fact that he was the slave of The Mistress of Souls, but oddly enough he got that part.

  "Right! Zack. Oh, hey, you work at his bookstore? I should have thought of that. He has all those girls working there. Hot ones."

  Everyone got that bit, except Scotty, who looked at them like they were being strange.

  It was Rebekah who clued him in then.

  "The Line Walker. Zack Hartley. Hartley and Co. Books. The Mage Ambassador is his girlfriend, or lover. Something like that. So I can see you getting in there with trips back and forth, just to keep her happy. Good thinking, Ty. Ask first, since you don't need to be in debt to a Greater Demon."

  Scotty sputtered, and looked panicked then.

  "No, you fucking don't! Bad enough The Mistress of Souls is tangentially related to this group. If we were smart we'd all kill ourselves to get away from her. Having Two Greater Demons around is a death sentence." He seemed to mean it, from his tone, which was dark and suddenly rough.

  There was a knock from the front door then, even though it was late by that time. Midnight, at the very least. Getting up he jogged to the other room, with Rebekah right there with him.

  When they opened the door it was a girl. One in thick glasses, who looked cute enough, but also about thirteen. She was in a little schoolgirl outfit, even though it was out of season for that kind of thing.

  Her hair was dark, and long. Brown rather than black, but it was hard to tell that late at night. When she saw him her face lit up.

  "Tyler! I came to visit. I hope it's not too late?"

  He shrugged, getting it. She looked different, but the feeling was that of his mom. Lucy. He'd know her anywhere now, he bet. There was a link between them, that never went away. That he hadn't noticed it before was, probably, due to him being a moron.

  "Come on in? This is my friend Rebekah. Rebekah, this is my mother. Lucy. The Rotted?"

  The Vampire nodded then, and smiled, rather than trying to pull a gun.

  "Well, any mother of Ty's. Come on in? I'm sure everyone but Scotty will want to meet you."

  It was humorous, but not that much.

  Dangerous also came to mind. In fact, it filled his perception as they walked in.

  Chapter sixteen

  "Finally, a groupie!" Steve was far too pleased to see the girl that was Ty's mom for his comfort. Instead of instantly telling him he was wrong, Lucy, or Anne, if that was what she was called in this particular form, clapped like a little kid.

  "Steve York!" Then she shrieked like Elvis and The Beatles had both entered the building. There was even jumping up and down, as well as her throwing herself at the guy. Literally enough that he said "oof" softly.

  Rebekah smiled at the scene, and for some reason so did Scotty. He spoke first, looking at Tyler, like the new girl being there was all his fault. Luckily it was tolerably amusing to him, it seemed. Even when he got a hug too.

  Greater Demon data collection, no doubt.

  Ty didn't leave them hanging. Not for long.

  "This is my mother. Lucy. Um, the Greater Demon known as The Rotted. Don't freak out Scotty, I'm pretty sure she's just here to check up on me. Because, you know, she loves me."

  That got him hugged too, a bit less enthusiastically, which he was good with. There had been far too much grinding in the last two sets of hugs for him to put up with. Then, Steve had set the boundaries of that relationship, so it was all on him if he didn't like it.

  The Bat Vampire went very still, and stopped breathing even a little bit.

  Rebekah however waved to the sitting room.

  "Please, have a seat? We were just running some tunes. Do you need to speak with Ty alone? We can-" She didn't get to finish her words.

  "Nope. I just came to make sure you're all doing all right. I see that things have gotten interesting around here? You saw Gregor this morning?" That was spoken to Tyler directly, her face almost expressionless. "The Librarian is going for him. He thinks that he's The Void? Both The Line Walker and The Mistress of Souls swear that isn't the case. They have the Mind Taker and The Technician with them, since they're connected mouth to ass. It's pretty clear that those last two think that Gregor really is this Void, however. Are we throwing in against The Librarian then, Ty?"

  He shook his head, wondering what she'd picked up from him.

  "Nope. The Cleric isn't The Void. That's, um, the Archangel Michael? I met him earlier. He seemed nice. I was just delivering a letter."

  Rather than call him a liar she touched him again, and then, after a full minute with her warm pale hand on his pale cold arm, she tilted her head.

  "Tell me only the truth, son. Go over it all."

  He did, and it didn't take long. The story was a tiny bit different he realized, since he could have been fooled at any point. He just didn't think he was. That was enough, for the moment.

  "My job was just passing that letter, so it probably doesn't matter, one way or the other."

  His mom made a face, which was angry, upset and annoyed all at once. It wasn't the kind of thing that he was used to seeing there.

  "I see. Well, you can't lie to me, so either you're being used to fool me, or my take on reality has been skewed for thousands of years. I can't say that I'm happy about that, as you all might imagine. Pardon me for a moment? I need to make some connections."

  She started by pulling a cell phone, and dialing a number from memory. After a
few rings, the room quiet enough to hear it happening, a female voice answered.

  "Mistress of Souls? This is Anne, The Rotted."

  There was speech then, which he couldn't make out. It was just too soft for him.

  "I was just talking to Tyler, and he mentioned that Gregor is an Angel. Also a Michael came up in conversation. Do you know anything about this?" She didn't seem impressed by what was said. Frowning the whole time.

  Then, after a long time, she cleared her throat, and pushed her thick glasses up.

  "I understand. We're unable to keep such things in mind? So much for your type being the sane ones then, don't you think?" She laughed, but not for long. "I'll endeavor to keep this all in my head, if I can. You might wish to tell The Librarian all of this. Otherwise I think your boyfriend The Cleric isn't going to be long for this world."

  They chatted a bit then, about the party that was being held the next night, there at the mansion. He hadn't mentioned it, but his mom had it from all of them. That got Keeley invited, so he was going to need to get Zack too. Also his girlfriends, so they didn't feel left out. Maybe even Eve and Edom, as well as Lisa.

  He just knew too many people suddenly, he decided. It was a good thing. They were all so alive. Even the dead ones were. Without thinking about it, he whispered to Rebekah. Everyone could hear him though, including Keeley.

  "We should have a little concert. Just to test things out. Are we ready for that?"

  The ivory Vamp seemed happy at the idea.

  "I think so. We should go over things again a few times, and work out the order. It will be good practice for later. When we go on tour." She looked like she wanted to do that right then, but didn't want to be rude to Ty's mom. Not just because she was a Greater Demon either.

  Scotty still looked strained. It was an incredible tension around the eyes and mouth. His lips were white, and his eyes so wide it wasn't really funny. Ty could see that. To him the situation was just different. Lucy was his mom. To Scott she was a dangerous being that was scarier than a great white shark in the water. Maybe even worse than a herd of them. Though that might be a school. He wasn't really certain on that one. Dangerous and fear inducing, even to a supernatural creature with powers that would make most smart Humans feel about the same way.

  Lucy however, just wasn't that to him. Even if it was the wise way to feel about her, Ty just couldn't make himself do it. On some level, even though he kind of wanted to have Zack go down on him, he knew that the man would actually cut off his arm and eat it too, just to make a point. The Mistress of Souls was clearly willing to use them all for her own ends. Seeming like she wasn't would just be a trick for her and most of the other Greater Demons, no doubt.

  Probably his mom, too. The problem was that no amount of mental gymnastics got him to that point in his head. Even seeing her show up in a variety of shapes and sizes didn't do that for him. She was just... His mother. Even the part where she was keeping him alive using her own energy was part of that to his inner self. Sacrificing a part of herself for him, as if it were the most natural thing in the universe.

  Impulsively he moved in beside her and gave her a one armed hug. The girl looked up at him, then smiled sweetly after a bit.

  "I see that I should head out now, so you can all practice. I have really high hopes for you all. Until we meet again?" Then, very gracefully, she gave a small bow and headed for the front door. Ty went with her, in case something else was going on. Like she wanted to berate him for trafficking with Angels, but she just hugged him lightly, her glasses distorting her slightly oval face at the eyes.

  "Be careful. Make sure you eat enough. That and wear warm socks, when appropriate. Otherwise it will look wrong. If you need me I'm only a phone call away, honey." There was a motherly pat to go with the words.

  It was sweet, and exactly like what Lucy would have done with him. Perfectly, even if the body was different now.

  "I will. Don't worry. I should be back in Vancouver in a few days. Working for Zack? Bookstore stuff. So far this is..." He looked back at the door, and smiled. "It's really fun. Rebekah is nice. Steve and Scotty are great guys, too. They're all really talented. I keep waiting for them to realize I'm not good enough to be in a band with them, but so far they haven't kicked me out, so fingers crossed."

  That got a chuckle, and a last pat.

  "You'll do fine, Tyler. Almost everyone feels like that, from time to time. Like, no matter how good they are, they can't possibly be measuring up. Well, not me, or my kind, but the rest of you do that, unless you're mentally ill. Just keep doing your best and it will be enough."

  Then she pulled a Zack, and stepped to the right, vanishing without a trace.

  Right on the doorstep.

  Going back in, feeling a little unsettled by what had happened, he was surprised to see that everyone else was in the exact same position in the living room, where they'd been working the whole time.

  He looked at the Bat Shifter, and gave the brown haired man a single nod.

  "See, and here I'd figured you'd be driving off into the sunrise by now, trying to get away."

  Instead of claiming that hadn't occurred to him, Scotty made a hard, nearly mean, face.

  "And go where? Greater Demons at every turn. Angels too now? Or was that just code for something? I've never heard of that, outside of the old tales."

  The very pale female Vamp closed one eye then, and gave a nod.

  "I... Have. Keeley mentioned them. That there were some around, and that her people couldn't handle them, mentally. There was more to it than that, but I guess it keeps leaving my head, too. Like how Humans have to work to really understand that I exist? Steve, you have that, right?"

  The red headed younger looking kid gave a lazy smile, and a shrug her way.

  "Kind of. I mean, I know, on some level, that it's all true. There are Demons and Vampires and Shifters and all that. More things than I know about. Hsreth too. I mean, I've hung out with all those, more than once. Clara the Hsreth used to babysit me. Even if I was too old to need that kind of thing. Twelve or so. Anyway, I still feel the effect. If I go too long not being around some of you, I start to let go of the idea. I mean, I know that Rebekah is a Manthori. Even that it means more than just the looks, coming with extra mental abilities as often as not. Compulsion especially. But it can fade to the point where it really feels like a story, not something real." Picking up his guitar, which was plugged in, being electric, he turned the amp on, and strummed a few chords almost randomly. "So to me Rebekah is just some funny looking girl that I still kind of want to have sex with, who pretends to be a Vampire. Scotty is just a drummer with pretentions to being a Bat and Ty..."

  That got a laugh, and more music, this time played a bit more certainly.

  "Well, clearly you're a freaking wizard. Musically if nothing else. Those songs..."

  That got a clap from their personal school marm, the Vampire lady. Then she waved them into place.

  "Let's start with Living Proof? It can act as our introduction. We can go out with Among the Living. The rest... Well, any thoughts?"

  They all had some, and spent the rest of the night working on it. Steve faded first, and Rebekah last, except for him. That probably meant that it was up to him to get things set up for the party. Or so he figured. At nine though, the sun up high, several efficient looking people knocked on the front door. One of them, a woman who looked very familiar to Tyler, stood on the front stoop.

  At first, after opening the door, he actually thought that it was Palma. What clued him in was that next to the woman that was there, and a little behind her, was a man that seemed almost identical to her. A slightly heavier face, and no breasts, but both had curly hair, with the fellow having his in a ponytail. In the circular driveway there was a van, with a large truck behind it. The kind you shipped things in. A Ryder.

  The woman, who wasn't Palma, smiled at him.

  "Hello! I'm Clara, and this is Glen. Taggard. From Clara's Catering? Our friend
Keeley asked us to come and help set up for the party later. Is this the right place, sir?" She was very polite, acting like he was in charge, rather than at her disposal for work. Which was both nice and a good idea. Not that he wouldn't help, but he knew from working with Palma that her kind didn't need his help in the kitchen. That was kind of their thing. As in, a power they had. Anything related to the house was.

  "Hello! See, I was just about to go and get some chips and punch myself. This will work much better. I'm Tyler. Gartner. Call me Ty. I didn't know that we'd have Hsreth in on this. I'm at your disposal then, to clean, or run errands? I don't have a car here, but I can drive legally. Sweep or whatever you need? I know not to get in the way."

  That got a motherly smile from the woman, who looked about fifty, but moved with a smooth sense of energy at the same time.

  "Thank you Ty. This is a bit last minute, but it won't be the first time that we've had to set up with a time limit. Would it be all right for us to come in and see what we're dealing with? Keeley is a dear, but kind of suggested that we just throw those chips you mentioned out. That won't do however. We have a reputation to maintain, if nothing else."

  "Right. Come on in. What do you need to see first?"

  It was a combination of things, the first being the kitchen, which was a large space that clearly wasn't made for a house full of Vampires and dead people. The sink had a dish in it, from Steve's cereal, and the counter held an empty Pizza box. Otherwise it looked almost like it was pristine. Professional, too. The floor was a brick like ceramic, which should be easy to keep clean, and the stove, fridge and dishwasher were all silver colored metal.

  Clara nodded at it, then checked each thing there to make certain it was functional. Turning them on, and waiting for a moment, to make sure they did their actual jobs.

  "Very good." Clara didn't seem that impressed, but was satisfied enough.