Troy Ounce (Lopez Time Book 1)

by Phillip S. Power

  The blonde girl just smiled.

  “Not bad. Not correct, of course. You should both do a good search of the area, so that I can scrub this up. Do either of you want some slightly old chicken? I wouldn’t eat it, but there’s no telling what you’re into.”

  Troy smiled then, since it was a joke. Just because the woman was a demon, that didn't mean she couldn’t have a sense of humor. That kind of thing was important not to let go of. Especially if you were virtually a god.

  It was the kind of thing that even someone like he needed to keep in mind.

  “I’m good. Tran?”

  “Me too. Thanks for the offer. I guess I should stay here and let you go first, Lopez? I can’t smell anything of note at least.” She pretended to sniff, not really doing it at all.

  Without saying more, Troy moved back, and came at the place carefully. It meant hopping a few fences to do it correctly. That was probably interesting, since he hopped over the six-foot-high wooden fence in the back with ease. People didn’t normally do that, but he wasn’t hiding who he was. What he was, either.

  It did bug him that Darla had given away the line walker thing like that.

  She’d done it on purpose as well. It wouldn’t be about healing for Denise, either. She could have dropped a more subtle hint and gotten the healing done, really. That meant the demoness was messing with him on purpose. Possibly looking out for Tran. Making certain his partner was up on everything she might need to know in the future.

  That the greater demon was looking out for her… That didn't seem likely. Though it was possible that Darla was thinking of the detective as an asset. A thing that belonged to her, being from her area. That kind of thing wasn’t impossible, after all. Zack, his buddy, had hinted at things like that before. Troy really felt it himself, even as he looked around the place. All of the cops were his now, as well.

  Every single one of them.

  Because, sometime in the last months the city of Lincoln had become his home. There were a few other vampires in the area, he knew. None of them were able to challenge him for it, however. A few were old enough to try, being nearly a hundred or more. That didn't put them in the same range he was though, power wise. That was down to special training, but it worked out the same way, really. Not that he was going to demand anything of them. That wasn’t the police officer way.

  The trail around the house was remarkably sparse. It actually told him a lot, by the time he got back to the porch. Darla had out a black garbage bag, and was wearing a pair of thick yellow kitchen gloves. Bloody white birds were being packed away efficiently. Next to her, near where Tran stood, watching peacefully, was a dip in space. A point where people commonly came in and out of the lines.

  He couldn’t use it for that directly, but could have come into the space from the void there. It didn’t lead anyplace either, so wasn’t strictly speaking, a shortcut. He was decent with that sort of thing, as it turned out. Using bends and rips in space to functionally teleport. It wasn’t hard if you could see them, which he could.

  “You came in here?” He waved at the space, which got Darla to look up, the last of the birds being tied in the black plastic.

  “Right. Do you think that this…” She moved a dainty foot to show the blood circle. Then didn’t speak, since he was supposed to be getting what she meant. He did, so it worked out.

  “Nope. The scent is fairly fresh, or I wouldn’t be getting it. It leads to the street, meanders a bit, then heads back there. Almost to the end of the walk here. My guess is that someone pulled up, did their bloody business, then drove off. Probably from the passenger’s side. That probably means more than one person was involved. Most people don’t crawl across the seat if they’re driving.”

  It was very nearly all he was getting. Even the size of the vehicle was a little rough. Something big, but not huge. Not a delivery truck or anything like that. Maybe a van, or SUV.

  The Technician smiled at him then and waved.

  “That’s a place to start then. So, we’re getting together soon? Zack is out of town, school is nearly out for the summer and no one has planned to have me do anything at all, that I know of. I have some business things to take care of, but we could get together for some fun?”

  She was pretending to be flirty, but there was a darkness underneath that. A thing she let him see. A warning, or a plan for a real meeting.

  “That sounds interesting. I have a date tonight… We could get together and play board games tomorrow night?”

  She nodded, smiling.

  “Here. At seven. Call if something comes up. See you then!”

  Then she winked at Tran and walked inside, carrying the bag of birds in, but still wearing the heavy gloves.

  Denise didn't ask him if he needed anything else, just heading to the car, since clearly, they were finished, even if that hadn’t been the case. Dismissed came to mind, actually. That had been the point, no doubt. When they were packed back into their big gray car, and heading away, Denise sighed.

  “I’m not sure I got all of that. It was like a conversation going on in three parts.”

  Troy could see that one. After all, he’d gotten two of them.

  “Um… Okay. Recap then…” He paused, trying to make certain he had everything in order. “Darla isn’t certain if this is one of her own people doing it, but thinks it’s not. It could be a prank, or a threat. If it was real magic, then whoever did it is good. They used all the power, for some reason. At close range. If that’s the case, then she’ll probably figure it out.”

  “The rest of it? Or… Am I not supposed to have gotten that part?”

  There was more, but nothing that secret.

  “What part? The healing stuff? That isn’t a big deal. I can put some calls in tonight, if you want? The bit about me being a line walker? Well, that doesn’t mean a lot to you, does it? I’m hiding that right now, so don’t put it around? Apparently, someone in the government is up on that though, so it might be me wasting time. It’s probably a good enough plan anyway. You know teaching me not to be lazy and relying on fancy super powers for everything. That leads to people thinking they’re all that, which never ends well. The rest is… Well, like you said, three levels. I don’t know who the third one was for. It might be my subconscious mind, or even yours.”

  That got a soft snort.

  “I can’t see that happening. I’m not high on the food chain here, am I?”

  He nearly agreed, but stopped himself. Not just because it would be rude, either. It wasn’t true.

  “Aren’t you? As far as I know, there are what, a half dozen police organizations with any kind of supernatural squad in the country. The FBI has a new unit, I hear. There’s a group working out of Seattle, I think. One in Vancouver, Washington, that Tyler Gartner put together… The rest are basically one or two cops that are able to keep the idea that vampires and Shifters are real in mind. That means you’re one of like, three humans in the country that supernatural beings can go to for help with legal issues. Plus, when you find out about things, you don’t freak out. The shifters yesterday, for instance. You didn’t go for your gun, or act like little Morgan was going to eat your soul. Which he wouldn’t, even if he could. Shifters aren’t perfect beings, but they’re no worse than regular humans, either.” Slightly better in a fight, but not enough to be a problem for most people, day to day.

  “Good to know that I’m fucking special. This stuff is getting confusing. I was half afraid that I was going to call Gibson a cunt to her face. Not that she was. Half the people I’ve dealt with over the last decade were a lot worse than that. Here I was thinking that demons would be scary. It probably means she’s ten times more dangerous than I thought, right?”

  Troy nearly smiled then. After all, Detective Tran was being serious, not goofing around with the matter. Most really wouldn’t have seen Darla Gibson as a threat at all. It was hard for him to do that and he knew for a fact she could throw down on a level that most wouldn’t survive at al
l.

  “Probably more like a thousand times? Not that it matters. You did well back there. She’s setting something up, using you. It might or might not be helpful to you. We won’t get a choice, so I’ll look into finding some kind of healing for you. Later though. All my afternoon calls are to high school kids.” That had to be a sign of him being a perv, he didn't doubt.

  Avery was even cute, come to that.

  They rode in silence for a bit, Tran not bringing up the topic of her health again. In fact, when she spoke, it was about a strange topic.

  “So, we need to get with the Coalition of Nations again to make sure everything is getting planned out. Probably every few days until it happens. You should do that, having an in there already.”

  Troy could do that, of course.

  “Or you can do it? We should both be on a first name basis with Tyler. Calley and Ginger as well. Really, we need to make a point of inviting them both to the event. Some other people as well. Vampire side… Well, Bey and a few others. Eve, since this is her dad’s city… Um, Ed… Avery, which will bring in a bit of star power. Maybe Judy Swan? I don’t really know her, myself. Um… I mean, we’ve sort of slept together, but also not.”

  That got him looked at like he was an idiot.

  “Okay, I know who she is, since she’s on Red Rain. The succubus, Alicia Messer. Now, explain the rest to me?”

  He stopped, actually going dead for a bit, then just decided to tell her. She was either his partner or not.

  “A while back, like… ten years ago, Judy came to stay with my roommate Zack and I. I ended up sleeping with her, since, you get the idea, succubus. It’s what they do. Except that, even if she looked and acted just like her, it was actually Zack’s father, Xenses. He’s dead now. A real piece of work. He had another greater demon working with him. The Rotted. That one is more confusing. I’m almost certain that we were dating at one point. Ann, The Rotted? She’s Tyler’s mom, more or less.”

  Denise looked at him, after pulling the car into her parking space and stopping. It was a long and drawn out thing.

  Finally, she closed her eyes.

  “Your life is so messed up, because all those greater demons are in it? They draw weird things to them. Coincidences as well, or is it just supernatural stuff.”

  “Both. That probably really is a big part of it. Anyway, I’ve met Judy, after that, but we haven’t gotten that close. I do know her granddaughter. Kaitlyn. Also, a line walker. Which means that… Really, she’d be a good person to get in touch with as well. I can give you the number. If you can’t get an Alede to come to a party, well, then you need to practice. They do not make things like that hard. You’re cool with doing girls, right?” He smiled, but didn’t take it back.

  That kind were hard to resist.

  “That isn’t really my thing, no. Still, it has been a while since the divorce and dates have been thin on the ground, so I might be desperate enough to try something new. I didn’t really know you were that connected. I guess it makes sense, but…”

  Getting out of the car, he carried the camera with him. It was digital, but had really high resolution on it. That should make having gotten pictures worthwhile. He would run the basic idea past a few mages, if he had clear images to work from.

  That would probably mean running to Vancouver, but it could be done, if his date didn’t last too long that evening. It was tempting to just cancel out of it, since he might have something real to do. Not that Heidi didn’t seem like an interesting person. She should have some nifty looking bruising, if nothing else.

  “It isn’t really that I’m that connected over all. I just happen to know a few important people in a tiny community. They know other people, so I’ve met them in passing. That’s really all it is. Though…” It was strange, but he recalled something then. “This job? Avery Rome suggested the idea to me. My last relationship… Well, Barb is great. Really nice, for one of us. A vampire? The thing is, we’re really territorial. We also have control issues as part of our nature. That can still work, if one Vamp is a lot more powerful than the other. She’s a bit older than I am, and pretty important, but I came out being sort of high on that end of things as well. There was no way she could have put up with me being the one in charge. She knew me when I was just Troy the human, you know? It would be like knowing someone when they were a little kid, then having them grow up to be important. I wasn’t really able to let her do it either… So, I needed to leave the area.”

  That, or she would have had to be driven away.

  “She’s the Assistant Ambassador for Westfield, which is a big deal. That’s really what set this all in motion. Eve had talked to her dad about getting one of us in for a program like this. The rest is… Well, what you know, mostly.”

  Tran bustled a little, her behind wiggling roundly as she moved into the building. It was hard to tell if it was warm for her outside or not. The sun was bright and painful, but that was almost every day there. Even if it had been cloudy, he wouldn’t have been able to tell the temperature outside. Not that it mattered, most of the time.

  They weren’t in their tiny office for more than five minutes, Troy writing down all of the ideas he had on the chicken matter, when the Chief popped his head in the door. The man seemed really anxious. Then, they really had just been chatting with a greater demon. There was a strained expression on his face.

  “How did things go?”

  Troy looked up at him, then decided to act like it wasn’t a big deal.

  “It was clearly someone either doing or faking magic. The reason why is unknown. We have pictures and Miss Gibson doesn’t seem to know what’s going on. It could be a prank, but if it isn’t a close friend of hers, that probably won’t be the case. There was no sign of magic at the scene. The person or people came in a car. At least one of them was a female human or faking it well enough to fool me. On her period, so for two or three days that will be distinctive, if we can find her. The Mistress of Souls and the Line Walker are in a different reality, but that doesn’t mean that none of the other greater demons might not be punking her for a gag. It doesn’t seem directly dangerous, except for the part where someone is poking a lion with a stick, apparently for fun.”

  Taking a deep breath, the Chief sighed. It was a huge thing. It made him seem almost tired, if only for a moment.

  “That’s not great. Well, keep on top of it. If it’s greater demons…”

  Tran smiled then, seeming to mean it.

  “If it’s Greater Demons we drop it back in her lap and run away?”

  Roy Benson looked at the Detective, his eyes bleak.

  “If we can. If not, then we’ll probably all die.”

  Chapter six

  At five sharp that day, he was supposed to go home. They could have started later in the day, if they wanted, but Tran figured that nine to five was about right. They hadn’t stopped for lunch, since he didn't eat at all and Denise, chubby or not, didn’t whine about being hungry all the time. She should have probably gotten at least something. Troy needed to look out for her that way. Insist she eat and probably get some exercise.

  Which reminded him of some things. He’d called Morgan the bat shifter, as well as Tyler G. already. They hadn’t been in touch, but it seemed to have put a bit of fire under one of them. Ty was good that way, it seemed. The kid was a bit lazy seeming, considering he was being asked to put together a party, instead of living in the middle of an ocean, all alone for weeks or months.

  Still, that conversation had been short and mainly polite.

  Probably because there was a certain amount of fear involved in the whole thing. Morgan was a kid and Troy was the kind of person that liked, at least in theory, to drink kids’ blood.

  Troy went home, but figured that calling people from there would be fair game, even if he wasn’t being paid for the work. It was that or go to the gun range. Not that it wasn’t a good time, doing that. Putting little pieces of lead at the right place on a sheet of paper was, in fac
t, not that bad as far as having fun went. Being accurate took skill, even for a vampire. True, he was moving toward being able to pick exactly which centimeter inside the center of the target he wanted to hit, but that was interesting as well.

  It was both a hobby and filled time. That was a part of being dead that Troy hadn’t really expected. He’d been told all about the constant hunger and thirst. It was such a part of what he was that even thinking about it didn’t make sense. Drinking blood didn’t really help make it go away, even if that was what he wanted. More to the point, he needed a constant inflow of life energy. It manifested a lot like desire really, rather than a need to simply consume.

  That part was in there though. Just like he’d been promised. A big part of his training had been about how to deal with that kind of thing. There had also been a lot of meditation and even simple magic training. Zack had mentioned that it was the same kind that yogis used, more or less. There was a lot of visualization and holding a single idea while adding bits of power. If it actually worked, he didn’t know. It didn’t for him, in particular. Then, he hadn’t really worked on it, since he’d come back from his centuries in the deep nothing.

  That might make a difference.

  What he hadn’t been warned about was how hard it was to fill a whole day. The grind of work could only do so much. In between the worlds, he’d cleared his mind and just sat. It was a thing he could do, he decided. There was enough time for it. The same was true with finally learning to do some actual magic.

  Later though. After all, it was about time for other people to be getting around and he had a date to get to. He dressed for it, picking his nicest outfit. It was pretty sweet. He was a bit lean, but not so much that he seemed like a coat rack. At six-thirty Troy left for the restaurant. It was a mid-priced place. Nice enough really, but the kind of joint that you went to with your wife for date night, not to impress your first date with how much money you had. On the good side, Heidi had picked it and even if Troy was paying, he had the cash for it. Even inside his legit cop salary. He wasn’t rich, but dinner wasn’t going to be a big hardship for him.