by P. S. Power
"There is no wrong here. Though, would you be willing to help me with a small problem? There are a group of women, in a place called Toronto, who could use your council, I think. They aren't fighters, but keep making aggressive moves at different people. Human women. Could you go and talk to them? I can get you there and back, I think. The Line Walker owes me a few trips still."
There was a gasp, from everyone in the room except him.
Skalla's nipple went erect, though that probably wasn't a sign that she was turned on, since the hair on her arms stood up too. He could tell though because they flashed from under her top when she bowed toward him.
"This must be of great importance, to travel that way. I shall not fail. How many must I battle? What weapons will they have? I have my bow with me, but no magical creations to fight by my side. Could we get Human thunder throwers? The best of those are worth having, I think. Those that do not stop?"
It was an interesting line of thought, but he shook his head.
"Okay. They might be armed, but probably won't be. We'll have two of the top Vampire fighters with us, so that probably won't be a problem. I simply think that if you go there too, they might actually listen to us. Maybe not. They like powerful women however, and you seem to fit that description."
Skalla the Amazon slapped her own chest, above her breasts.
"Ho! It shall be done, great Gartner, of the Nations. I shall teach them as you say. I will go now, to prepare. When do we leave?"
"Um... Call it five? I need to meet Zack at my house for a thing at seven. There might be a side trip first. I should call and check on that. Can you be here in..." He had a clock, and it was later than he'd thought. "Call it half an hour?"
There was another chest slap, and she ran, barely making any sound at all as she did. Leaving the large package of tasty smelling meat right there.
"Ricard? Could you take the package out for me?" He didn't want to mention why, but if a group of school children came in for a tour right then, he'd probably have to run away to save them. From himself.
The blue furry guys were easier to deal with, and left a knife that was made of hyper strong plant fibers, in some kind of resin. It was kind of amazing, actually. He took the time to talk to them, and found that while they had accents, they were very understandable. They also had a plant based infrastructure, and grew everything they needed.
"We have seen this Human world, and wonder if, perhaps, they could use some of our knowledge? It would be freely given, as a gift? If this would not offend?" It was a question, though the words were nicely diplomatic at the same time.
"That would be great! I'm willing to bet that a lot of people here would be interested. We'll just have to announce it publically when you do that, so everyone knows about it. Otherwise the big companies might try to suppress the information." Especially since one of the plants they mentioned was basically a tree that harvested a lot of electricity, and could store it like a battery for use later. It would be handy to have a couple growing in the yard from the sound of it.
They didn't understand what he meant however, since it was kind of clear they didn't have or use money of any kind. If you needed something, it was gotten for you. If you didn't need it, then you didn't get it, because it would be a waste of resources. Tyler had left his notebook at the mansion, but took notes on a yellow legal pad that was on his desk. These people didn't have a name, but were fascinating anyway.
They left just before Skalla came back, carrying a large sword and wearing leather armor. He nearly mentioned that it wouldn't be needed again, then realized he didn't truly know that. He doubted that the Feminist would attack her, but if they did, she deserved to be armed.
Besides, she looked impressive that way. It just didn't seem all that comfortable.
When it was time to leave and he got up, she followed him, walking exactly three paces behind. Right up until they got out of the building, then she moved to the front.
"Where do we go? To your magic wagon?"
"Nope. I don't have one of those. I just walked here. It's only about four miles away, is that too far for you?" They had two hours, but he didn't know how well she could move.
It wasn't a problem. In fact, by moving close to her on her left, and wrapping the concept of the time distortion field around them, they got there at about five-fifteen. He knew that from the clock on the wall of the living room when he got in.
Scotty was there, twitching and looking annoyed, but he smiled up at Skalla.
"Hello. How are you doing?" It was a bit flirty, which given that Skalla was probably a three by most people's standards in looks, probably meant the man was really bored. Or horny. Both could be the case, since he was watching television. It was a rerun of a sit-com from the nineties. Even Tyler recognized it.
If the wild seeming woman was amazed by the moving picture window it didn't show on her face.
Tyler waved from one to the other.
"Skalla, this is Scotty. He plays in the same band I do. Making music. He does drums. He's also a Master Vampire. A good guy, if you're looking for a date. Scotty, this is Skalla, of The People. An Amazon. If you hurt her, I'll break your legs." He didn't really mean it, but the Vampire smiled a bit and nodded.
"Understood."
Then he started to chat her up, like they were in a bar, which was hilariously painful to listen to, even though the large and lean lady was giving as good as she was getting. It seemed. It was hard to tell. Ty had a funny feeling that if Scotty wasn't careful he was going to end up with a rather large wife, or whatever her culture's equivalence was.
Tyler wasn't his father though, so if that was the case, then it was fine with him. Scotty made enough money to support a wife. Even if she ate a lot. Kids might be a problem, but that wasn't his responsibility, so he didn't think about it. Instead he sighed, glad that he'd managed his new trick that well, putting the field around the large woman like he had. It had been intense, concentrating like he was, but once they got into it, she'd been nearly perfect without being told what to do. Quiet the whole time, and staying right next to him, perfectly.
For his part he left them alone. As long as they got into place at the right time, what happened that way wasn't his business. Later though, he needed to find out and write up what he could about Skalla's culture. The idea was suddenly very front and center to his mind.
Really, it wasn't just him that needed that data. Everyone did. Thinking about it, he had a good start to a book on the subject as well. Not an in-depth study on each group, but enough to get people started. For a second he wondered if that had been The Technician's plan all along.
"Tina! Darren!" There was no answer, but the sound of feet scurrying toward him gave them away. They'd been upstairs, doing something.
Probably nothing fun, since so far he hadn't been able to really help they do anything like that. Plus they both carried dusting rags. From the scared looks on their faces they seemed to think they were going to get in trouble for something. It was the expression they always had, so he didn't let himself read into it too much. Until he realized that these two had probably been put there as spies the whole time.
Blinking he realized that he missed that entirely before, but now that he was holding a concept of awareness, if imperfectly, he could see it. Why else would a Greater Demon show up on his doorstep like that? Goethe had no reason to trade the slaves either, and now that he thought about it, that had to be a set up the whole time. If not to place spies in his house, then to set a trap for one of the others. Why else bring them? None of the other Demons took their slaves around with them. Not even The Mistress of Souls. Her whole thing was having slaves, but she didn't do that.
That one was harder to figure out. The primary one that came to mind was Zack, but the guy didn't seem to have a lot of enemies amongst his own kind. He was loosely connected to Lucy, but Goethe wasn't after her, in particular. No, he'd been set after The Storm, by Keeley. She'd suggested that the other demon was coming fo
r him in some fashion. Except the mountain man looking guy wasn't a moron, and had probably figured that out, then used that as a way to get people close to her.
These two could have easily been keeping tabs on The Mistress of Souls, and had the added bonus of being immune to her power, already being enslaved themselves. More or less at least. From what he'd heard she might just be able to take a slave by brute force. It wouldn't work on him, since he'd just die if she tried, most likely. These two however...
He waved at them.
"Hey, we have a party later, at about seven. You two should find something nice to wear. You have those new clothes that Zack brought you?" Even if he hated them for selling him to a Greater Demon, their son had made sure they weren't in rags, without being asked.
That got a nod from both of them and a gentle murmur from Tina, who was in her late forties, he realized. She looked a bit younger than that, which was probably a side effect of all the healing she'd had over the years, to repair the damage that had been done to her.
Darren was in the same boat there. Really, they would have looked younger than that, if they weren't so haunted seeming.
"Yes, sir. We'll go do that now?"
"Good plan. I think we have a little over an hour and a half. I should get a snack." He was hungry, but that was kind of a constant thing. He might be able to get rid of that feeling by holding the right concept, he realized. Later. At that moment he had to set up something a bit more complicated than that.
It started with a phone call. The girl's voice on the other end sounded correct to him. Like Allison the slutty teen rapist. It wasn't her though, being the real, unrapey, Allison. The Technician.
"Hey." It was all she said, and held a feeling to it that she was chewing gum at the same time, even though there was no rude smacking sounds.
"Hi, Alli. This is Tyler. Can you be here in ten minutes? Emergency." He didn't say more at first, but then relented before she could speak. "I'm going to set up Keeley, and kick her ass. I figured that you might want to watch?"
"Sure! Be right over. See you then." It was kind of clear that she had other people with her. That was fine as long as they didn't attend. After all, teen guys would try to fight him, if they saw him going for Keeley. They probably couldn't help themselves.
The second call was to Zack, who he got to come too, though he didn't mention the impending fate of Keeley.
When he called her, he was a bit gruff.
"Mistress of Souls. This is Tyler Gartner. Get over here. Now. Don't ask questions. Don't speak. Just move your ass and be here inside five minutes. It's important. For you. There will be a cost for it, and you'll gladly pay. Do it now." He sounded mean, but he realized, she wasn't exactly on his good side at the moment. That he had a bad side was news to him, but there it was. All angry and ready to back up his ire with something other than strong words.
Zack got there first, but Allison, the teeny-bopping Technician came through the front door just after him, carrying a large and probably very heavy box. It sounded like that when she got the thing settled to the floor. It actually creaked a bit under the weight of the thing, even though there had been no particular thud. That was a sign of what kind of strength the tiny body had, which he filed away. Keeley would probably be similar.
Zack smiled at him, and seemed a bit tense, and Allison moved over to give him a hug. Probably to show she was a giant bitch, because she had to know how confused the whole thing with Keeley had left him. Worse, even if she looked too young, she managed to rub up against him in a way that would have been provocative, if he wasn't so scared. After all, he was probably about to stop being. It was stupid and senseless of him to even try it.
He was going to do it anyway.
Just like Keels had her limits, so did he. She'd crossed them, and even if it meant dying forever, he was willing to do it.
Oh, she hadn't been totally in the wrong, but she could have just told him off for telling her what to do with Steve. Sure, she didn't play by Human rules, but the thing there was that he didn't have to either.
The little girl let go of him, and let her mouth quirk a bit.
"Really? Well, I think you can do it. Use a burst of magic, but build the field first. She's good with that kind of thing, so expect her to get it, but if you can go in hard enough..." Glancing at the front door, she waved at him and mouth two words silently. "Do it."
Then she got Zack to move away, gesturing a bit wildly. Almost as if they'd been hurrying, the two parental slaves came down from their rooms, both dressed and groomed well enough for what the real plans were. The clothing was clean, and nice enough for a low end party, he guessed. Both were in black, with Tina in a slimming dress and Darren in a sports jacket, white shirt and tie.
Trying to do what he'd been told he set the whole thing up as he moved to the front door, doing that before the knock came. He could feel her there on the other side, he realized. Seeming a bit too tasty, but not like a real person. It was kind of clear Keeley was doing it in order to control him. Influence at any rate.
Just as he opened the door, he gave her a cool look. She'd come dressed up as a geeky twenty-something girl, complete with thick glasses. She was her, but looked more real now than before. A bit less like she was computer generated, and a little more like she was just used to having men give her everything she wanted for free, instead of opening a vein for her at first sight.
She smiled though, and it seemed real. Then, it would. She was a freaking Greater Demon, and like all of them had told him, they couldn't be trusted.
"You said you had something for me?"
That got him to nod.
"Um, yeah. Here..." Then, just like little trampy Allison the innocent non-rapist had told him to do, he surged magic into his speed, pushing it to a level that he'd never experienced himself. Then he slammed his right fist directly into her delicate and lovely nose. It broke and she flew backward. Then he cut the magic and started in on her, following her to the ground. She fought well, but he was better. She was strong, and did damage to him, including breaking things where she hit.
He did the same to her though, and in the end, about twenty seconds in, she gasped, and rolled to the side, then stared at the people through the door. The slaves.
Because clearly she got the idea well enough. Both Skalla and Scotty were there too, having been chatting in the front room. After a few moments though it was kind of clear what had happened, since Tina and Darren both moved toward Keeley, standing in front of her. Using their own bodies to guard her. From Ty.
He was about to mock them for it, and her for using them, but she was the one still on the ground, bleeding. He was on his feet and already starting to get better. It wasn't instant for him, but the bones had already started to pop back into place. No red liquid gushed from him either, so he looked better, he was willing to bet.
The girl looked up at him and smiled again, not wincing at her broken open lip.
"Or you could have pulled me aside and chatted about it? I get it, I went a little over the top. Sorry. Next time I'll just rip an arm off." She stood up, and then looked at the others.
"These two were a trap, of sorts, for me. Goethe wanted the information on me. Probably so he could set me up for something more adventurous. They're my slaves now. I..."
Tyler shook his head.
"No, they aren't. Get them free. Now. I swear if you try to bargain using them as a chip, Mistress of Souls..." Okay he had nothing, except a continuation of the beating and really, if she had a chance to work out it was coming, he didn't think that winning was in the cards for him.
She made a face, which was a bit bitter seeming.
"God. Rape a guy with threats of violence once, and they get all whiney on you. I was just going to say that I can tell them to go with you. That was all. What kind of person do you think I am?"
Tyler shrugged.
"The horribly evil kind? By definition, even if it doesn't always show?"
Instead of a
rguing the point, the battered looking Greater Demon laughed and stood up straight.
"Well, at least you can learn. Now, let's get to this. I have something to do later."
She looked at him like that might involve getting revenge, but he didn't really care at the moment. While he didn't feel good about the violence, he was ready to keep it going until she knew not to mess with Tyler G. anymore.
Given her nature he was afraid that might take a while.
Chapter eleven
If Keeley was upset over having her butt kicked, she didn't say anything about it or act like it was even a consideration. That wasn't going to be the truth though, he knew. It had been stupid, doing that. The monumental type of fuck up that generally led to the ending of a life. Ty had let his emotions get the better of him, and now he was, no doubt, going to end up paying for it. It was kind of like a bad movie that was being played on late night television. The kind that he used to watch when he was about fourteen.
He'd thought that he was being all clever, sacrificing sleep to do that at the time, but now he realized that even then he hadn't really needed to. Most of his life to that point had been illusion. Even now he was still running into things like that.
Things that should make sense that just didn't, or that he, for some reason, couldn't seem to set right inside his own mind.
The thing with Keeley was like that. He knew why he'd reacted of course. He'd been left confused and feeling powerless, and that didn't set well with anyone. She'd stripped him of any sense of self possession, and that was a thing that Tyler was in short supply of all the time. So he'd lashed out, and managed it a bit too effectively for his own good. While it was pretty clear to him that any of the Greater Demons could take him out if they wanted, the job that he'd done had actually been a bit too good.
He had, for some reason, really gotten the drop on one of them, and thus marked himself as a real potential threat. Perhaps not one that would be truly dangerous to any of them, but they had to all understand what he'd just done. He'd made a choice to attack a Greater Demon, and left her alive. So, again, it was like those old bad movies.