Between (Alternate Places Book 2)

by Power, P. S.

  He didn't even have to think to understand that one, or wait for their Shadows to explain it.

  "It's a rule, in fact. Part of the agreement I signed with everyone. I can help anyone I want who's in need, without charge. I wouldn't make anyone have sex to pay a debt anyway. So, Patty, do you have a place here for another man?"

  "I do! I even have the paperwork started. Angela, would it be all right if Norris helped you with that? I need a word with Zack."

  For a moment, as she led him to the back, he wondered if she was going to yell at him for dumping a new person on her like that, but she turned and kissed him gently instead.

  "You're a very good man, do you know that Zack Hartley? Cerise and her people have been wondering if you could, or even would help another of our kind like you did Kaitlyn, and when it comes up, it wasn't due to our begging at all. Now, I know that this won't be to our regular standards, but let me give you a quick handjob? I have a conference call in ten minutes, and believe it or not, you're actually getting good enough at sex that it's hard to focus enough to listen to everyone at the same time. This won't take as long. Not if we hurry."

  She didn't wait, just reaching over to undo the front of his slacks, and loosening his belt. Her hand was warm when it touched him, and she used a bit more force than she normally did, both in speed and pressure. Not that she'd done this with him a lot, preferring things that were more involved most of the time.

  The sense of pleasure built, and she didn't change hands, even as she sped up, drawing the skin at the end over the tip on each stroke. She wasn't using lubricant, so she had to do it that way. When he started to orgasm, she leaned down and sucked on the tip, hard. Then swallowed so that there wouldn't be any clean up.

  It was a bit practical, rather than her trying to be sexy, since she didn't really have ten minutes, more like six. No one would care if her lip gloss needed a touch up on a conference call.

  Then, after kissing him firmly, she practically ran to the back office, so she wouldn't be late.

  It worked though, as a treatment, if not a cure, and he managed to get buttoned up and arrange his clothing before scurrying back to his own store. He really didn't want to have Felicia see him like that, if he could help it. That meant controlling his body a bit better, and more to the point, remembering to.

  Eventually, fielding transfers from the back of the candle shop, like he was supposed to be doing, Zack noticed Yasmine standing in the corner of the back room. Or at least an invisible nimbus of flame, without her normal Human form in the center of it. He nodded to her when they were alone. She didn't respond though.

  At noon two Trolleinkein, Hilda's friends, came to stand on either side of the Node for his work at Lesser Shia for the afternoon. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, though Zack had to work late in order to get caught up. Before going home, he took the girl, Felicia, into the line with him, to let her try working in the void.

  She had a harder time than Kaitlyn had at first, but he kept her there longer, helping her learn total focus in a single night, rather than over the course of months. By morning her ability to control her abilities seemed nearly perfect. Of course, to her mind and experience she'd been gone for a long time. About thirty years, totally dedicated to mental mastery.

  Felicia could hold herself together without problems though now. Better than most adult Alede ever learned to do. She needed to be tested and checked still, which seemed mainly to be about making the Alede government feel like they were part of the whole thing, so Zack decided to pass the buck to Norris, who seemed to have a knack for such things. At least he knew that starving a girl for two weeks was mean, which was better than some might have managed.

  Zack finally met up with Patty at her place again, to continue learning how to be Maria well enough to fool a Demon, at least for a while. She greeted him at the door with a kiss. Yasmine following him in. Once inside the Djin fully manifested, making sure that Patty knew she had come in as well.

  “Welcome Yasmine. I don't know how we are supposed to do this, what do you suggest?” She looked at Zack, Yasmine answered though.

  “Make the changes you came for, and do your work. I'll not speak of it, outside of this place, at least until it has succeeded or failed.” Her tone seemed flat, with the slightest hint of wryness. She smiled slightly then and continued.

  “There's very little that we of the Djin do not know, if we care to find out. It's been my job to watch you, Zachary Hartley, so I have.”

  Then she vanished again. Probably so they wouldn't feel self conscious about it all. She hovered in the corner of Patty's cream colored front room, waiting.

  They managed to get through the session all right, which meant that Maria could at least pretend to have sex with a woman wearing a strap-on dildo. Seeing that, Patricia cleared her throat.

  "That's better. Are you ready to try anal? I hate to rush you into this, but it could come up. If you were just pretending to be a Human, then you could always simply say no, or offer something else. Demons sometimes seem to have different conditions on such things. Both men and women of their kind might be forced into a bargain that requires it of them. The thing there is that they all know how to handle it." She seemed nervous.

  Maria didn't blame her at all, but knew that she could keep the pain at bay, even if it was horrible.

  "All right. I think I can manage without freaking out on you. Lube though. We need lubricant." Demons probably didn't use it, but that was too much for her. She was a virgin that way after all.

  That got a chuckle, which was back to sounding a little sexy and less clinical.

  "Always. At least with my Human friends. Here, roll over and get on all fours, so that you can thrust back."

  Maria, having had this happen when she was a child, knew to expect no more than a quick dab of something wet and then stabbing pain. Except that wasn't true, was it? Maria, hadn't even existed then. She needed to go into this with an open mind. It was hard, but she managed.

  She still jumped when Patty moved to the right spot for things to take place. Her ass, she decided, because Demons wouldn't be squeamish about things like that. Slowly after that, tentatively, Patricia used her fingers to get the needed lubricant in place. It felt...

  Actually, it wasn't too bad so far. Nothing was in her yet, however. Forcing herself to relax, Maria looked over her shoulder, her long hair having to be brushed to the side so she could see the other woman.

  "Try a finger? I'll try not to act like..." She was going to say a little girl but stopped herself. That wasn't something she even wanted to think about.

  "Sure... Here, then..."

  At first it really didn't feel like much, just a sense of tickling and movement. Then, after a bit, an in and out sensation that didn't hurt or anything.

  Without asking, the head of the strap on dildo was put against her, there was no force though, as if the woman couldn't believe it was working without Maria being tied down.

  The rest of the event wasn't perfectly pleasant to her, but it didn't really hurt that much either. It was more than just resting there as she was used though, because Patty insisted she participate, thrusting back, tightening inner muscles and moaning realistically.

  "Oh, yeah... Fuck me... Fuck my ass!" It was so false and over done that she couldn't take it. Even with it actually happening, Maria broke down laughing, falling onto her face for a bit, as the other woman moved back. Pulling out. That part hurt a little, she noticed.

  Her friend's eyes went big though, as she helped her clean up.

  "That wasn't bad. True, you need to do the last bit without falling over with mirth like that, but I think most men would be tolerably pleased with the rest of it. More than that. This gives you the basics, at least with a woman. We really need to have you service several men too, before you go into this. Just in case it comes up. Trust me, no Demoness looking like you will be a virgin."

  Instead of transforming however, they talked then and covered things Maria ha
dn't even thought about. Like how to walk in high heels, and what colors looked best on him when his coloration changed to the darker skin tones of 'Maria'. Noticing the slip, she corrected it. She was Maria. It was the only way this would work. All the time in this form, she had to remember to only be herself.

  Patricia helped her change form, so that she could leave as Zack, which was far more comfortable for him. As they kissed goodnight, Patty whispered in his ear.

  "We should try all of this with you in this form, too. You're a little bit prudish, in case you haven't noticed?"

  He laughed then.

  "So says the sex crazed fiend. I'm... not really ready for that. Besides, I have to go now." He hugged her again first. Next time he needed to remember to bring her some cash too. She was supposed to be his kept woman after all. She made enough to live on at her job, but that didn't include big shopping trips to Lesser Shia or anything. It was a good point. Really, a lot of the women around him could probably use some extra gold too. The men too, but he wasn't going to sleep with them. Not even if Maria did.

  It was weird, but that idea just seemed so much more reasonable when he'd been her. Now it seemed... Awkward. Like people would think less of him if that happened.

  That probably meant he was still a bigot and a homophobe then.

  Later that night Zack finally managed some time with Claire, alone. They cuddled on the sofa in his living room, which looked different again. The others had all gone to do something in the basement, which they didn't need him for. David and Nikki were there, but had moved as far away as they could, in different directions, without being out of the room.

  "I feel so... Empty inside. Like nothing that I'm doing actually matters or has impact on the world." It was hardly the going on about her lovely eyes that he had planned, but it was the truth.

  Her face went hard then, and she nodded firmly. Understanding, without needing to know more about what he meant.

  “I've seen it happen. Many times, in fact. The only cure I've found for it is to seek perfection in whatever it is you choose to do. After a while you begin to realize that life itself has no meaning, outside of what you choose for it to have. Find something that you can call your own, and pour everything into it, at least for a time. Maybe even find a couple of things that interest you? I think what's happening to you right now is that instead of choosing what you want to do, you keep getting pushed into taking actions for others. It's not a bad thing, but far from fulfilling.” She held him close for a while then, finally asking him what he thought he would choose to focus on.

  “I really don't know. I'll have it in a few days, though. I have a lot going on, which means a lot to choose from, right? Or I can go in a totally new direction. Stamp collecting, or shoe making, maybe? Or even dancing! Though, honestly, now that I think about it, I've been wanting to learn how to swim for a while, too. I guess I should pick one of those to start with and go from there.”

  He kissed her and lay on the sofa with her in his arms for a while, thinking.

  The next days and weeks he didn't let himself vary from perfect focus on whatever he did, even while playing video games with Troy. One night after a while, Zack having actually beaten him at a combat oriented game three times in a row, Troy paused the game and turned to him.

  “Um... I really like Hilda.” He said, his Shadow self seeming frightened to bring the topic up with Zack.

  “Yeah, she's great.” Zack looked at him smiling, then saw Troy shrink into himself a bit.

  “I mean, I really like her, like I want to ask her to be my girlfriend. But I don't know how you'll feel about that...” He turned his focus on Troy, which slightly unnerved him. It was too intense apparently.

  “Me? I can't see where that's my business, except that I know you both and don't want either of you to get hurt. You do know that her people don't actually have relationships, right? On the good side, she won't be angry with you if you occasionally have sex with other women. Or guys for that matter. But you have to know that she'll feel free to do the same and that's just her normal way. It's her whole culture, not just her. If you can work with that, I think that it's great for you to see her. She's one of the best people I've ever met and you're pretty great yourself...” He stopped there, not knowing what else to add suddenly.

  Troy punched him in the arm, but not hard.

  “Yeah, I know that, Claire told me and thinks that it can still work if I don't freak out about her occasionally having sex with someone else. So far so good, but she hasn't mentioned anything. I kind of thought you might, I don't know, be mad about it or something. I know that you two are close and I don't want you to think I'm stealing your girlfriend. Cause, you know, I could totally do that...” Troy's voice tried to sound serious, but the playful edge rang through.

  “Well, right now, don't steal away Libby, Claire or Merri and you're fine. I would be a little put out if you stole them away from me. The Alede, Val, Sarah and Kaitlyn, well you've already slept with all of them. Even Val's hot mom... Which is fine with me. I don't blame you at all. I'd be careful with Betty though. She's likely to be a Vampire before the year is out. I suggest you mend fences now, so she doesn't accidentally rip your arms off later. Just saying. Maryl... I simply refuse to sleep with Libby's aunt. Nothing against her, she's actually really sweet, it's just not happening though. That's not her hang up, or Libby's though, so you should probably ask her if she wants to get together sometime.” Pausing he decided not to mention Lisa, since there were strange forces at work there, between them and he didn't know what it meant yet. "As for Patty... Well, I think you should hold back there. She's definitely out of your league. In bed I mean. I doubt you could handle it. Seriously. At least have Kate standing by to heal you if you want to try it."

  Troy punched him again on the arm.

  “Yeah, those three. Those are the ones you really like, huh? Claire I can see, she's pretty hot in a really cute way. I can totally buy that she used to be an actress way back. Merri... She's pretty, if small. Of course, then everything on you will seem larger, so that's cool. Libby though, I mean, she's cool and all, but in the looks department... I don't want you to hit me or anything, but she's not exactly Val, or Sarah, or even Nikki, you know?” Troy inhaled and waited.

  Zack didn't have to think about that at all, he knew why he liked Libby.

  “That's it though. I like Libby because she's funny and nice and warm. She just lives her life with all that energy. If she's not as good looking as some of the other women around, well, you've noticed that we don't exactly live in a normal environment right? The Alede are all born that way and usually have to spread out way more than this, just to get enough energy to survive without calling attention to themselves. Claire and Nikki both were actually selected for their looks. Betty too. Modern Vampires have been doing that for hundreds of years more or less. Merri is normal for her people, really. Out of all of them though, Libby is the only one that I know for a fact I like just for her, not for her looks. The only thing influencing me there is her personality and mind. I guess it sounds stupid, but pretty isn't nearly as important to me as nice.” Tilting his head slightly, he waited for his roommate to say something.

  “Heh. I think you're a lot wiser than I am... It's a good point though.”

  Nikki came out of Troy's room, where she had a small chamber she rested in during the day, under Troy's bed.

  “Well, Zack's way older than you are, so it makes sense he'd have collected at least a little wisdom in there somewhere.” She came out dressed only in baby doll shorts and a loose silky top. The set matched, being a powdery light blue color. She headed straight to Zack and lifted her top up, flashing her breasts a little on purpose, mainly to tease Troy, who she'd made a point of not sleeping with, even though she lived with him in his bedroom. Zack saw that her nipple and aureoles were darker than he would have thought, given her light skin color.

  “Feeeeeed me.” She said, laughing a bit. “If you want. Otherwise I have to drive
over to the other house and get one of the Humans to part with some blood, unless you're up to it Troy?” She looked at him while holding her shirt up. “I only need a little, and it won't hurt. Really, it's only fair. I clean your room every day after all.”

  They laughed as Troy turned red. He knew he tended to be a slob and that his room had stayed clean for months, he just hadn't realized it had been Nikki the whole time, thinking maybe Merri had done it. Troy's Shadow spelled this out to him clearly.

  Zack though wanted to see if he really could feed a Vampire on pure energy, since she hadn't had any blood yet today, he figured that this would be a perfect time to test it.

  He raised his hand and placed it on her flat, cool stomach, feeling the muscles tense and shift a little as he grabbed energy from the universe itself and passed it through both himself and her in a circulating pattern. She didn't move, so he kept going for about five minutes. He pulled his hand away and asked how she felt.

  Letting the silky edge of fabric drop down she gave him a thoughtful look.

  “I feel... Really good! Like I just had more blood than I really should have, almost. Only without the bad parts. I feel the energy, no bloating though. I don't know how well it will hold me through the night, but I don't feel hungry at all right now. I guess we just wait to see now, huh?” She looked around the room.

  “Where are your guards? Outside?” Her tone seemed concerned.

  Pointing to the corner of the room, where Yasmine stood, he smiled.

  “She's great at that. I don't know how she can stand it though, doing nothing but watching me like that, but you can't knock her diligence.” He waved at the Djin, who didn't move.

  Nikki stared, but shook her head.

  "I can't see anything."

  "Me either." Troy added, clearly trying to make Yasmine out.

  Not knowing what to say, Zack just sat quietly for a while, letting the other two talk. After a while they turned the subject to Demon executions. He'd been called in on seven of them so far, he told them, with no new word about the Demon in his dead father's body.