by Power, P. S.
Zack had another idea, and went to see Claire.
“I thought maybe you'd know how to fake transcripts and stuff, or bribe people. I don't even know who to offer the money to. Could you help, do you think?” He kissed her cool lips suddenly as if offering that as an inducement, even though he knew that she felt it as little more than pressure. Not even as warmth.
Laughing she sent him away to do some work, while she checked on some things and made some calls.
Kaitlyn had heard all this from the front desk and hugged him when he came in.
“For being sent into exile, this is almost exciting.” She told him.
He clapped her on the arm playfully.
“See, once you get into college, you can learn what exile really means and I won't have to explain this to you.” He dodged as she aimed a blow, slowly, so he could get out of the way, at his head. He laughed as he ran backwards, then went to the back room, trying to be professional, since people would be coming in soon, he knew, for their transfers.
Just before noon he heard a man's voice, deep, but soft. It was speaking urgently when he stepped back from taking someone to the Central Australian Nexus. Carrying from the front of the store.
“I need to speak to Hartley. This is a matter of great urgency. I can't explain it clearly, but if I don't get to Bogotá Columbia within six hours, many children will probably die.” The voice sounded low and came in slow waves. “I don't have the funds for passage, but I've heard that he's a being that will sometimes waive such things if the need is pressing. I fear this is such an occasion...”
Zack started walking up front and saw that the speaker looked familiar to him. The tall Vampire. The one that Claire and he went to help find information about a child from that... Zack stopped thinking about those things and approached quietly, but not so quietly that both of them didn't look over. Kate was behind the desk, looking at the tall, almost white colored in a true fashion, Vampire. Her eyes were serious, but she seemed about to tell him no. Not because she hated kids. No, it was just because she'd heard similar tales before, from people that had turned out to be lying, trying for free passage to different locations.
He had too, really, and ignored them.
The beast within the Vampire recoiled in shock, recognizing Zack from the last time they'd met. Outwardly though he showed no sign of recognition. He froze briefly, though Zack had learned over time that Vampires sometimes did this to show they weren't a threat, it not being stalking behavior for them after all.
He spoke fast, getting all at once how serious this situation really was. Dozens of children were being kept as hostage, and had been slated to die at nightfall, if their parents couldn't pay their ransoms. Most of the families were too poor to pay anything and the livestock that the wealthier ones could provide didn't enthuse the kidnappers at all. The government in the country it was happening in refused to pay money to kidnappers, unless the people kidnapped were government officials, so the kids were just going to die if no one did anything.
This man, a Vampire, was the only one that was even willing to try that might have some effect on what happened. Or at least he had been.
Zack focused briefly, letting time slow around him, seeking a deeper place in his mind than he normally went in this outer world. He knew it didn't allow him true super speed, but it did give him a lot more time to think and react to things and he could push his body harder in this state, pain not being an issue. Honestly, in that way, he realized, it was beyond what most Humans could do. By far. He'd just been comparing himself to the Vampires around him.
Slowly, almost ponderously, he spoke to the Vampire, knowing he had to be at least three hundred years old or so, possibly much older, since he could walk freely in daylight.
“I can offer you transportation. We have people that can go with you. Fighters and warriors that can help protect the children. I may be able to find them, if you have a picture of any of them, or can get one?” Tilting his head for affect, he waited.
It took a long time for the Vampire to answer, given that the Vampire thought first. Zack could follow most of it, how new people could get in the way, and he preferred to work alone, that he didn't know where in the city or countryside they were, meaning that he could be too late if he refused the help. The tall Vampire remembered how good this man had been at finding things, even finding a child he would have missed, while he still lived, and bodies buried deep in the floor.
That decided him, the thought of those bodies buried in the floor.
“Any help you can give would be mos...” Blinking and moving into accelerated speed the Vampire followed what the Line Walker did.
Which was calling out loudly.
“Claire, we need fighters, as many as possible. Child rescue in South America, lots of kids. Unknown number of hostage takers. No time to explain more.” As Zack spoke he spun on his heels and ran to the back of the store.
In three minutes a half dozen giant men, all Trolleinkein stood waiting. Each carrying a war paddle. Xan and Troy came in both in armor, carrying swords. Zack only knew who they were because of their inner Shadows, since their faces were completely covered with armor, a smooth shining plate that hugged the face at the nose and cheeks with no apparent eye or breathing holes. It gave them an inhuman appearance. Xan had a copper colored armor, similar to the gold ones that he had seen before from the Alfric. Troy's was a slightly iridescent blue.
To his surprise Riley, the Trickster, came running in, dressed in what looked to be a black military uniform. He had no weapons that Zack could see, but then, he didn't either, it probably didn't mean that much.
The tall Vampire outlined the situation and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket that had the pictures of several young children, all under twelve, on it.
“Can you work from this?” The paper was shoved quickly at Zach who took it and spun toward the Node without even normal hesitation.
He looked at the first picture and searched, then the second. Nothing. Focusing more deeply, almost too deeply, skirting the point where he had stopped breathing and his heart barely moved at all, he cast his mind through the Nexus again.
Nothing.
They were too far from any Node to find that way.
“I need to get closer. Everyone come on, single file line, one second spacing. Move now!” His voice sounded flat to his ears, he watched them move at him, slowly, realizing that they moved at the speed he told them, it was only his thoughts that made them look so slow.
His body felt sluggish as he moved, like it had suddenly been sunk in water or something thicker. He took them all through, to a wild Node in Central America, an isolated place Zack only hoped he could work from.
This time, when he looked at the paper again, he didn't look into the Node at all. That hadn't worked. Instead he cast his mind outward, seeking the face that matched the first image.
There, he felt it, the fear and exhaustion of the child. He found the boy's face and then the faces of those around him. Alive, but fearful.
It took time, almost too long he felt, for him to sink into himself. To turn himself into a ball wrapped around his innermost being, Then he found the kids again, and pulling back a little so that the bend in space wouldn't come out directly on top of them, he pushed through, fighting the rebound he knew would come, fighting it until he pushed through and set the shortcut solidly.
He'd pushed too far and he felt himself flung up and back in reaction, sailing through the air. His mind perceived it all in slow motion, so this flight that should have taken perhaps three seconds felt more like thirty. As he approached the ground, he tried to remember what he had been taught about falling. Rolling. Zack began to tuck into a ball as his feet almost hit the ground, to find that tall Vampire standing there, pushing on him gently, slowly absorbing the force of his fall.
Zack still hit the ground, making himself roll as he had planned, grateful for the help though. He would have survived the fall on his own, as far as he could
tell. This way though, he did it without any broken bones or major damage.
He bounded to his feet and ran back to the shortcut he'd forced open. It had held. It was a nice clean one too. Almost well enough done that if they marked out a circle on the ground, and a direction arrow, a regular person should be able to just walk into it. That would require it to be bigger though, for most people. Without being able to see it, the guesswork would have to be removed. Still, a careful person could do it with this one.
“From here I can pass you through, directly between the kids and the gunmen. They have guns, a lot of them. I'd say ten men visible, and who knows how many off somewhere else. They could have the kids surrounded, so be ready for that. I think that you,” He pointed at the Vampire. “Should go first, being the fastest here by far. Then...Xan are your and Troy's armor bullet proof?” He looked at the blank copper face.
“Aye. Proof to anything except what would go through about an inch of steel.”
“Then you two next. Xan you're faster than Human right? So we need you to try and hit the bad guys as fast as you can too. Troy, you stay back and guard the kids. Don't let anything happen to them if you can help it. Everyone else, do what you can, as fast and hard as you can.” He nodded to the big men. He knew they weren't fast, being slightly slower than he was, though they could shrug off small bullet wounds, which made them more valuable to this operation than Zack, he thought.
“Everyone hold hands. The second we're all through, we attack. Ready? One. Two. Three” He took the Vampire's hand and led him through, everyone running forward about fifteen feet, then they all let go, and the fight started.
The Vampire blurred and nearly vanished as he attacked, not the closest, but the most alert looking man. Xan followed him nearly as fast, which would have surprised Zack, if he had time to think about how fast they must have been moving to look like that given how much slower everything looked to him at the moment.
Troy moved slowly, but still faster than the big men, who waded forward directly, charging the armed men, carrying only funny shaped sticks. The things were huge and flat, almost like thick oars, rather than standard cave man style clubs. They were also deadly.
The first four of the men died before the others noticed anything had happened. Zack tightened a beam of pure black, almost tighter than he ever had before, and stabbed it through the middle of a man that tried to bring his weapon to bear on them. It flowed out in a perfectly straight line, darker to him than the night sky, on the rebound he pulled everything back. As hard as he could. It would have killed the man, stripping him of all life energy, except the he'd already exploded from the impact. It wasn't a huge thing, but his chest was a mess.
When he looked up, three of them had surrounded Troy, who fought using his sword, if not well, then at least well enough. Hard too. Even though they kept shooting him, he pressed toward them, hacking as well he could until they stopped.
Riley moved nearly as fast as the Vampire did as well, disappearing behind the building in front of them suddenly.
The big men took care of the rest remarkably fast. Soon everything went silent, except for the crying of children. Living children.
He looked around. Riley came jogging back, a grin on his dark face.
“Form a perimeter. We need to get the kids out of here quick, just in case anyone else is coming. Get them to hold hands...” It took far longer to get this together than he would have thought, since no one spoke whatever language the kids did. Finally they all went through the shortcut together, the longest train of people he had ever taken through. He didn't know why it worked, it just did. Everyone following along the person in front of them perfectly, no matter what they did, as long as the contact wasn't broken.
The kids milled for a bit, then sat down in a group, obviously thinking they were still hostages. Zack spoke to them on the Shadow level, helping them stay calm, and realize that these were the good guys, trying to help.
What came next, opening a rift to their home village, was nearly as hard as it had been to open the last one, though this time two of the big men used their bodies to hold him down, so instead of him flying through the air, they were all just sent sprawling. Birk and the other man just laughed about it, as if it had been great fun.
“All right, let's go then.” He told everyone.
He walked the line of kids into the village alone, going back once when one of the littlest ones had accidentally let go of the hand of the person in front of them, a child only slightly larger than they were.
The kids ran off as people gathered around. He simply stepped back through the shortcut when everyone seemed distracted.
Getting back from there seemed simple by comparison, though his body ached all over and he felt like someone had drained half the life out of him. Not that he was going to complain about that. All of those kids were alive. It was more than worth it.
When they were back, standing in the candle shop, no one spoke at first. Xan and Troy let their Armor vanish and their swords go home to where they were normally kept, wherever that was for them. Zack kept his own in his bedroom closet, personally. The Trolleinkein recounted the story in their own language, committing it to memory, for their story circles later, when they returned home.
The tall Vampire looked at them all and simply bowed to each in turn. Finally he said, to no one in particular. “This day would have ended very badly without you all. You have my thanks.” Then he left through the front of the shop, without saying another word.
Everyone else took that as a signal to leave as well, though they did it with a lot of talking and back slapping, thanks to the Trolleinkein and their boisterous manner.
He sat, thinking for a moment about what to do next.
Finally he got up and went into Lisa's office.
She wore a blue denim skirt, a black jacket and a light colored top underneath that looked a little retro seventies to Zack. He wouldn't have noticed it at all, except the lessons that he had gotten from Patty had covered basic fashions. Because women, even a Demon in a woman, were expected to know such things.
He locked the door, not thinking about it and she came out from around her desk, smiling. Her arms went around him for a while, and he held her in return. She pulled back from him slightly, then knelt down in front of him, looking a little nervous.
“It's been a while since I did this, with a man I mean, so I probably won't be very good.” She said as her hands worked his belt loose. It took a few seconds to get everything freed. Stroking him gently for a moment she hesitated, then slowly brought her lips to him, kissing the tip first, then sliding it into her mouth. After a few minutes she worked him a little faster, her head finally bobbing rapidly, with her pulling back to gasp every thirty seconds or so.
He backed away before he came in her mouth, and she finished him with her hand. Glad that he had been so perceptive.
Then he returned the favor, making sure that she had at least as much pleasure as she could handle, stopping only when she begged him to, unable to take any more.
After this, he stood up, smiling at her.
They kissed, sweetly, gently, and he held her, telling her what a good job she had done.
After a while he mentioned that he'd really just come in to talk, though this had been better than what he'd planned.
She turned red, still smiling.
Then he told her everything.
Chapter twenty-three
Beatrice sat across from him at the kitchen table. Sipping some tea that had been left for them by Merri, before she'd left the room so that they could talk in private. In the center of the table a three tiered stand had been placed, with an array of sweet rolls and desserts, in case they got hungry during their chat.
The Demoness had come with files, extensive amounts of data, that covered all of the major child related Demon activity in the world at present. While a few had been selected for printing, most of them were on a computer thumb drive that she assured him would work on
their household computer. She'd checked with Troy, her inner Demon told him.
Having been only vaguely aware that there were different kinds of computers, he had to take her word for it. Merri recognized the words that had been used though, having become pretty knowledgeable about such things over the last six months or so, even before they'd gotten one for the house. She was in the other room, just behind the wall. Holding her sword.
It wasn't so much that she didn't trust Demons, as that she wasn't going to let Zack be alone with anyone that might turn out to be their enemy in disguise. Not if she could help it.
Sliding the papers across the table, Beatrice, who'd changed her hair from dark and long to shorter and platinum blond, touched his hand for a moment, stopping him from looking inside the very thick folder.
“That's probably what you're actually looking for, from your description, but it isn't pretty. Not all of that's done by Demons remember. Some of it may be Arch-Demons, as you pointed out, but a lot of it is actually being done by Humans. We just know about it because someone involved has contracted with a Demon for something related.” She realized that she'd been touching him while she spoke and removed her hand quickly, as if to not offend him.
If he hadn't known that she was actually a Demon riding a body, a living body, but one in which the person that had originally been there had been removed, murdered really, Zack thought, it would have been simple to find her very attractive. Her looks were good, but not so good that she wouldn't have ever dated someone like him, he reasoned. Just cute enough to turn a few heads, without calling attention to herself past that. Everything about her tried to call attention to her Humanity.
He did know though, and couldn't forget it. Even if he didn't have a real reason to personally hate Demons now, he still held on to all the old feelings. Even while she helped him, possibly to save the world, he doubted her sincerity. It didn't feel fair to him, but he just couldn't help himself yet.