by P. S. Power
"No problem, as long as you're willing not to do that. I mean, I get the thing with Steve, on both sides, but we'll need to do something else to get him not to miss practice. Right now, if Keeley is going to be where he can reach her, he will go to her, when he can. I..." He went over to the phone himself, and dialed a number from memory.
After a few rings the phone picked up.
"Hello? Keeley here." The voice was calm, polite and normal for the girl. So at least she hadn't become a teeny-bopper in the last two days.
"Hey, Mistress of Souls. I have that right, don't I? You're a Greater Demon... and not a vapid waste of space that's messing up her own band's progress? I don't want to talk to the wrong person, if I get a choice, because I doubt that The Mistress of Souls we be nearly that stupid." He made his voice sharp, and waited for an explosion. It didn't come.
"What? I..."
"This is Ty, and you have our guitar player over there, busily trying to get laid. Well, stop stringing him the fuck along! You've known him for years, and you aren't some Human girl trying to friendzone him, right? So either order him to stop feeling like that, or sleep with him already. Either way, unless there's a real reason, don't let this happen again. I just nearly had my head torn off by a Vampire for reminding them that he didn't get much of a choice in how he responds to you. You know that too. Cut it the hell out." Now, there were about fifty things that could have happened, including him being kicked out of her band. Being taken as a slave might be out, but there were probably fifty ways for him to be made not alive anymore. Or at least not moving around. Possibly even over the phone.
Instead there was a long sigh, followed by a laugh. It didn't sound too mean.
"Right. Right. I'll see what I can do about that. Which one do you think I should go with? Ordering him to not love me, or taking the time to do him right now, before sending him over there?"
Tyler looked around the room, and saw that all three Vampires there were looking at him, hard. He took that to mean he needed to back up his band mate.
"Sleep with him, if you want my opinion. He's a good guy and deserves it. Don't take too long though? We're starting in an hour." Then he hung up, not waiting to say goodbye. He wasn't upset with the Demon or anything. Or trying to really push her around, which she probably knew. After all, he wasn't dead yet.
Then he laughed. He was totally deceased. It was just so easy to forget that. Everyone else in the room with him was. They were also looking at him like he was insane. He understood that. You didn't as a rule, talk to people like that. Pretty much anyone, Greater Demon or not.
So he tried to explain.
"Don't worry, she's going to handle it. I know, I should have gone with the faster one, but it isn't any fun to have people order you around when you don't get any kind of choice in the matter."
Scotty, red eyed and panicked sounding, sucked in air.
"You just basically ordered a Greater Demon to... Get fucked. To her own hearing. Coming from you directly..."
That got waved away.
"I know. That was rude. You're right. I'll have to apologize for it. I... Really, it's the slave thing. I can't stand it. I know I shouldn't do that kind of thing."
It was hard to pretend he didn't get their fear. It was the basic, primal, one that everyone that had ever existed had. That of not being. They were all dead, but they still had life to them. The ability to move, and think, to create, and to keep going in a world that was built for a very different kind of being. Those that had the force of life within them. So they still wanted to survive.
Goading an apex predator was kind of a poor way to get that done. So they were worried.
Instead of dealing with a thing that he couldn't fix anyway, he got his music notebook and keyboard around, and started working on a new tune. It started as a bit of random key hitting, using chords as a building block, tapping each of the keys individually. Then he added in the matching left hand, and started to hum along.
After about thirty minutes of that, Bekah started to sing. The words weren't the ones that he would have used, but it was perfect anyway. Oddly hinging on fear, change and the risk of loss.
At one hour exactly after the phone call had ended, a smiling and happy seeming Steve came in, not even bothering to seem annoyed with their Vampire boss for having yelled at him earlier.
"Keeley asked me to go out with her. Like a boyfriend? We... You know..."
Tyler shook his head.
"Good. Still, that's no excuse not to be here on time from now on. Schedule things out, right? This is big business and art, so... Yeah." He tried to mock glare, and broke after a bit, smiling. Then he started to play the little song again. On the second play through the singing started.
Oddly enough Jonas added in some background vocals for them. They weren't perfect. Close enough to get written down.
Tyler pointed at him with the yellow school pencil he was using.
"Can you go into harmony on the second verse? Up at the end, like this?" He sang the part, and let the guy do it for them. Then they did the whole thing again.
After that they had to hit the older songs. The ones that they hadn't even gotten down on a recording anywhere. Old, but only by a few weeks, comparatively.
That kept up until about midnight, when Steve, still happy and seeming to float a bit, went up to bed. Almost like there was a plan in place to avoid the tasty Human man, Eve and Marissa came in a few minutes later.
Eve, her dark shoulder length hair looking nearly perfect, smiled and waved at the room.
"Hey everyone. Calley and Ginger got locked down in the new embassy for the night. There was a fight earlier, so everyone is talking war now."
Tyler glanced over at her, and didn't ask what had happened. No one had called him in this time, he noticed.
She finally smiled at him.
"Don't worry too much. It was two of the very small groups that can't even reach each other normally. They might fight here, but there are only about ten of them, so it won't be much of a war. More like a rumble in the parking lot."
That meant he needed to call anyway, because otherwise he'd be a horrible boyfriend if he didn't. That... Felt a bit cold. A little like he was calculating out the cost benefit tally of the whole thing, instead of just wanting to check up on people. He liked his girlfriends, but he didn't love them. That didn't mean he was going to let them go too easily however. They were fun, and it was nice to have other people around. Plus, there was a lot to be said for having that kind of relationship, since it gave them all a bit of built in back-up for the little things.
He called Calley first, in case she managed to get some sleep.
Ginger was going to be up the whole night anyway, so he called her last. When he finally got to her, talking to half her staff first before they would pass the phone over, she made an annoyed sound. Not about him having to be transferred three times either.
"Well, I was planning on spending some time with you tonight. I suppose you could find someone there that way. For sex. Eve would do you." It was playful, but Eve nodded and spoke like she was part of the conversation.
"Sure, if you want me to, Ginger. We can both double team Marissa."
The Council member covered a smile, her hand covered with a black lace glove.
"That sounds lovely. Thank you for thinking of me. Is that all right with you however, Ginger? I wouldn't want to step on toes. I value your friendship and goodwill." She seemed serious about it. That made sense, really. The woman herself had told Tyler that you didn't take a Master Vampire lightly. Any of them.
It seemed she was living up to her word.
The voice in his ear seemed fine though, that way. It was hard at times to remember that the girl didn't really have a sex drive. Eve didn't either, come to that. At least he'd been told that. Even as American girls they just didn't seem to feel the same way about that kind of thing as they probably used to. That meant her flirting with him, which she normally managed to do when they
met, was about manipulating him using that kind of thing. Probably a lot more consciously than what a regular woman would have managed.
Ginger sighed, and sounded a little sad.
"What a good idea. Thanks Tyler, we needed to arrange entertainment for her anyway."
He rolled his eyes.
"We could sing. Or turn on the television? Marissa is a doll, and has been really polite. I doubt she'd insist on that kind of thing. Not that I'm saying no, but seriously, we shouldn't underestimate her. I'll see you in the morning? I have to work tomorrow night."
"Yup. Thanks for being understanding about this. This is... I'd say it was stupid, but both sides kind of have a real point. Conflicting world views, more than anything. It's a pain in the rear, but we'll get past it."
That was probably the truth, and while he wanted to get more information about the problem, everyone seemed to be trying to keep him from learning about it. In the end that probably meant that he needed to be suspicious of them all.
Almost like they were being cute about it, his band mates all started to sneak out of the room. It was noticed, but they went anyway, heading to their own bedrooms to hide. Ginger hung up after a while and Eve beamed at him.
"I get to be on top. Called it!" She said it like it was funny, but he shook his head.
"We'll take turns. We can use your room, Marissa? We should get some oil. I have some in my room." Mineral oil worked best for that. Vampires didn't lubricate themselves, so it was kind of needed, regardless of what you were doing with them.
Eve snorted a bit.
"Wait, you're really going to do it? I was just teasing you."
He made a face and sighed, then turned to Marissa.
"See how she is? Teasing us like that. But to answer the question, yep. Let's go." He wasn't particularly horny at the moment, but they were both attractive enough, and it had been a while since he'd done anything sexual.
It took a few hours, and while his right leg wasn't perfect yet, it was close enough that no one mentioned it. It was fun, and kind of interesting, since Marissa was very different than he would have thought. She wasn't just both genders, but was pretty free with what she was willing to do that way, and seemed to actually enjoy herself. They did some things that he'd never gotten to with a man for instance. It was, he realized, fun. The whole thing was, for him at any rate.
Then they cuddled for a while after it ended, until Eve dragged him away, laughing.
"I want to practice now. Fighting, not love making. Tyler is pretty good, actually. Slow, but he doesn't whine when he gets hit." That was all she shared with Marissa, who let them go, not all that interested in seeing what they were really getting up to.
Which was actually fighting. Just like she'd said.
For her it had to be like working in slow motion, but it was good to move again. It felt right, more than pleasurable. He tried out a variety of new moves, working out patterns to try and catch her off guard, even though she could see everything he was doing. It worked more often than not, because she let it, and didn't speed up to beat him with raw power. That one was a known thing. If she used her full powers, she would win, every time. The point was to use her skills though, and they pushed each other to do that as well as possible.
Finally she stepped back and looked around the back yard where they were standing.
"So, now that I have your interest, using two of your favorite things, I was thinking that we could get together? Make an alliance?"
Tyler snorted, "you mean be friends? I think I've heard of that before."
She gave him a look that was a bit stern for a second.
"Sure. If you want to label the awesome relationship we could have. Zack called and told me we should hook up. Not in a sex way either. I think... He wants me to help you with magic. He didn't know if The Rotted would be good with that. It could be dangerous, if she doesn't want it to happen."
"Ah. I asked. I didn't know you could teach me that kind of thing. That one really hadn't even occurred to me. She likes the idea, as long as we don't use too much energy? I can eat more and help offset it a bit, I guess. She said that won't be enough though, if I do too much?"
Eve seemed happy to hear it.
"You just asked her? That's hard core. I thought that we'd be sneaking around trying to hide it for months. Great. Want to start now?"
He nodded, not certain what it would really be all about.
"Do we need to make a circle, or learn a spell?"
"Nooo. This is Demon magic. It's done differently than that. At least the kind I'm going to teach you. It's a lot more like meditation. Actually, come over here and sit down. Cross legged. That isn't part of it, we might as well not be standing, is all."
She sank down onto the soft, well trimmed grass. It was a well cared for lawn, though so far he hadn't noticed anyone doing the work. He'd been around day and night too, but gone enough that he might have simply missed when it had taken place. It was about four inches long, and there were flowers planted around the edges. Toward the back there was a pond, too, near the little house that held the hot tub. So far he'd never used it, but that was going to change soon, he decided.
Not right then. He'd already seen Eve naked, and while it was worth doing again, magic seemed a lot cooler. Not knowing what to expect, he sat, if with less grace than a Vampire could pull off, and tried to pay attention.
"Demon Magic, the kind I know, is basically just holding an idea clearly and adding power to it. The first thing to learn is how to form a concept in your head. You don't need, or want to chant words, or even to see it in your head. Just know it. If a person can master that part, even a Human, they can learn to do magic that works. It's the base level interface with reality. Adding power makes it stronger, but the real magic is more than pure power." She had to describe it about five times before he got the idea.
Then she started in on exercises. They were interesting because they were hard, but they didn't seem all that magical to him. Then, this wasn't about doing anything, other than thinking. Probably in a way that wouldn't do anything to the world. That made sense, to him, on a deep level. You didn't want some newb going and controlling things by accident. That would end up being a mess.
Eve looked at him placidly.
"Start with the number three. Think about it for a bit. Now, think of it again, without saying the word in your head." That took a few tries, and he was still seeing it behind his eyes. Looking blue to him. Then she had him do it differently, hold the idea, without seeing that. Stripping away everything but the basic essence of that number.
Which got him to immediately start chanting the word in his mind.
Smiling he finally got it, about ten minutes later.
"There. I think I had it for, like ten seconds?"
Eve reached out and touched his leg. It was reassuring.
"Great! Now, practice that. Not just with three, but with everything you can. Hold the concept of cheese, or warmth, or an emotion. A warning on that one; if you do it right, even without adding power to it, you'll find that your mood changes. Like I said, the power itself makes it work better, but it isn't the magic. Holding the concept is. Even sigils and spells are all about getting you to keep a single idea in mind. You don't need them."
Then the slave driver that was kind of his friend now, had him do it again, with more and more abstract concepts. They kept at it until the sun started to get light, which had her standing.
"Don't stop. Try to hold the concept of concentrating and things like that. Don't add power to it. I know I haven't gone over how to do that yet, but you were warned not to. Anne said don't over-do it, right? I didn't work out training for that yet, starting with the idea that this was going to be a secret project from her. This is easier, but I'm not ready for it. So if anything starts to work too well, stop doing it, until we meet again. Are you free tonight?"
"Nope. Order night at the bookstore. Call it night after next?" That seemed like she was in on the real training
thing. Then, a bit surprising, she leaned down and kissed him. Okay, they'd done a lot of stuff earlier, but he'd figured it was just about entertaining Marissa and having some fun. For him, anyway.
That she bothered was nice of her. It was probably about manipulating him to her own ends. Tarsus had told him that she was basically a Greater Demon, so he had to be careful of that kind of thing with her, too. Why that would be he didn't know, but Greater Demons had said she was about as close as a non-Greater Demon could be to being one of them and not be. Zack had even sent her along to teach him magic, if he could learn it. Sure, that could have just been about him not wanting to waste his time and not caring if Eve did. So he kissed her back. She probably wouldn't care anyway.
Sex just wasn't a thing for her.
"I'll try to do that. Practice, I mean. Hold concepts as often as I can." He stood, and tried to hold the concept of the letter X. It was harder than it seemed like it should have been. When he thought about it, he kept noticing that he was seeing the shape behind his eyes.
"Later Ty. I need to go collect my new daytime cadre, before they crawl off to bed. That's the hard part, not letting them give in to bad habits for long enough to break the new good ones. Night after next. At midnight. Right here, unless I call to say otherwise. I want at least ten hours a day of practice between now, and then. Make sure to eat. I know it's hard, since it doesn't do anything for you directly, but I get the idea now. There's an open channel between you and The Rotted. You're able to basically be a battery for her, just like she's doing for you. If you can give her enough energy then it will make you worth keeping around, if she gets annoyed with you, later. So do it." Then she was gone. It wasn't like a bullet leaving a gun, because you could kind of see that, if you knew to watch. Especially if the bits of lead were coming right for you.
Ty had learned that one the hard way.
For a while he just sat, thinking of different things, trying to simply hold the knowing of them. The idea behind the words and visualizations. Even the feelings of a thing. Most of the time he had to think about whatever it was for a while, and then remove the other factors from the picture. It was a lot harder than it sounded like. Mainly thanks to how the visualizations kept coming back. It was worse than the words sounding in his head for him. Harder to get rid of.