Date: 2014-01-18 05:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Fantasy; Urban Fantasy; Demons; Vampires; Harem; Magic; Paranormal
Description: Are you ready to read something that will change how you think about reality? Because here's what you've been looking for. What would you do if you found out that not only were you a Greater Demon, but that your insanity meant that almost everyone in the world would want you dead? Zack Hartley opened a book store. One with a little cafe in the back, and a very special travel agency on the side. One that take people absolutely anywhere. Now he just has to get his life together while everything else in his world falls apart. It will mean wrangling overly enthusiastic Succubi, Mages and Vampires,

Other Places: Book Three

Detours

P.S. Power

Orange Cat Publishing

Contents

- Chapter one
- Chapter two
- Chapter three
- Chapter four
- Chapter five
- Chapter six
- Chapter seven
- Chapter eight
- Chapter nine
- Chapter ten
- Chapter eleven
- Chapter twelve
- Chapter thirteen
- Chapter fourteen
- Chapter fifteen
- Chapter sixteen
- Chapter seventeen
- Chapter eighteen
- Chapter nineteen
- Chapter twenty
- Chapter twenty-one
- Chapter twenty-two

Chapter one

Zack was a bit amazed at how fast the work had gotten done on the new store. His new place. It had gone from being two empty store shells in the Westfield mall, to having polished hard wood floors, a nice front counter area, rows of solid wood bookshelves, and a small cafe in the back on the left hand side. There was more than that too, since on that same side, a bit more forward, was the "reading room" where people could take books they selected and lounge on comfy sofas or in nicely appointed leather chairs while they read.

If one of the Alede, or Zack supposed, other workers there, didn't lock the doors so they could have sex. That was the real purpose of the place after all. Technically there were two small rooms in there for that, having their own furniture. To him it seemed a bit overdone, but he hadn't had to do all the work, so wasn't going to whine about it.

Kaitlyn and some of her friends had done that part. He'd just paid for it all. The cafe had been put in place by a nice Hsreth woman, named Palma, who had come with a recommendation from Zack's Aunt, Keeley. She looked like all of her kind, sort of blocky, with naturally curly hair, and pale skin. Still, she was willing to work for room, board and only a few thousand dollars a month. That was really high, for a simple mall worker, but the woman was a three hundred year old master chef and baker, so it was probably a steal, as far as that went. True, it meant that Zack had to trade for a small house close to the mall for her to live in, but that hadn't been all that hard really. People were more than willing to help him set things like that up now, for some reason.

Even the ones that were clearly afraid of him. Especially them.

That part of things wasn't his favorite, if he was going to be honest with the world. No one wanted people to live in fear of them, did they?

Mirror Him, the voice that lived inside of his head laughed, and let his face show a bit in the shining brass molding along one of the shelves.

'Right. No one wants to be feared... except for half of humanity. That's a kind of power, if you aren't too much of a pussy to take it.' There was less sarcasm in the words than Zack was used to, as if the broken part of his mind was actually just making a point.

He was probably right, which was a scary thing to consider. Greater Demons were a lot of things, including strange, and about half the time, totally insane, like him. No one ever thought of them as wimps though. If he let that happen, well, the other Demons wouldn't make fun of him. They'd capitalize on it, and kill him, before he even noticed it being done.

That sent a small shiver of fear through his soul, but Zack focused, remembering what it felt like to be calm and collected, then added a sense of confidence to the mix, as well as a tiny touch of magic. He'd been learning to be careful there, not using more than was really needed. No one had told him that, but once he started paying attention, it just made sense. You shouldn't waste resources, if you could help it.

He didn't answer the voice in his head, or the reflection in the brass work, choosing to keep looking around closely instead. The books were on their shelves, all in the correct sections, and tightly packed enough that the place seemed to be real, not just a front for other things. They had a computer system set up too, with every title cataloged, as well as the ability to find and order things for pretty much anyone that wanted it.

The place smelled a bit, since there was a hint of plaster and dust in the air still, from some work being done earlier in the day. The new plants had been brought in though, and while they were all ones that could deal well in low light situations, they were also nice and green, giving the place a refined feeling, that wasn't scary or depressing at all. A lot of the shops at the mall had that kind of vibe going on, which, along with the horrible location, being near the middle of an industrial area, meant very few real customers ever came in.

Still, the whole place, other than being a sex hunting ground for the Alede, was really a front for his own operation. That took up nearly a third of the space too, and was off to the right, through the rather nice double wide wooden door there. The handles were more brass, and it was decorated with carvings of owls and pine cones. Okay, that was a bit generous, since it looked more like whoever had done it had started out doing very professional work and became brain damaged toward the bottom, but the fact was that it had been the other way around.

Zack had gotten decently good at it by the time he reached the top. He was already working on another version of it, but even Darla, his Greater Demon Mentor, had thought that very few people would care about his shoddy and inept work on that. That was a quote too. She wanted him to do his best, and so did he, but she was also practical. The truth was that only a few people out of every hundred would do more than glance at the thing, and half of them that did would think it was a stylized representation, or something.

Those that claimed to be interested in art generally tried to be open minded too, which made the whole thing a lot easier that way.

The door didn't make a sound as he entered at least, the hinges well fit and oiled, by him again, and the space on the other side was...

Pretty nice, and basically open. He had a little office in the back, but it was only about five by seven, and had a single tiny desk in it for answering the phone, if it came up. There were a few hooks on the walls for coats and things like that too. That, a soft looking office chair and a walk around phone. That was it for the place, so far. He'd need to personalize it with pictures, or some art.

The main area was done in marble, with a stone circle on the floor about halfway to the back. That was where the node was, as demonstrated by the cut green marble tile that sat in a sea of white that had soft green streaks in it. He'd picked it all out, and again, done the work on it himself, but it had been after the door, and gone a lot better.

That was mainly thanks to the vast storehouse of information in his head though. All of art, history and pretty much any skill that anyone had ever come up with. All he had to do was think about a subject for a bit, and the data would start to flow. It was harder to work with than it sounded, and he knew he wasn't really getting it all yet, but hey, for a Demon like him, that was pretty much what crazy meant.

Now all they had to do was sit around and wait for some customers.

Zack grinned, and headed out to the main area. Right now the floor staff was totally made up of women, for some reason, though that could change, if he wanted. Daily, if need be. The Alede were all going out as women at first, but if a lot of females came into the store, then they'd accommodate them by becoming a trove of good looking men.

Right now though it was Claudia and Kaitlyn holding the front, along with him and Palma in their own sections. He was, even though no one knew it yet, planning to work clean up, and on the floor, for the most part. All the stocking was done for the moment, but things came up at busy places. He was almost sure of it. Not that this one would have that kind of traffic, especially at first.

On the good side, they were going to be open twenty-four hours a day, since one of the things he got out of being him was the nifty ability to not need sleep. Not that he'd be there all the time, but if a call came in at four in the morning, there would be a body there to get in touch with him.

So far though, no one seemed ready to come in. Then again, the front was closed off, and the big steel safety gate was still down, making that hard for regular people that might want to give them a try. Kaitlyn waved to him, Claudia standing beside her, beaming. It was almost nine after all, so they stood ready to get things started. It was sort of exciting, after all. He'd never owned a business before.

Kaitlyn smiled at him, far too cutely for a real girl, her thick rimmed glasses looking out of place on her face. Like she was actually a top actress, just pretending to be a nerd girl for a role. Since that wasn't too far off, Zack let it go. At least she'd worn jeans and a nice sweater, rather than a mini skirt and come-fuck-me heels. Like the Alede next to her. She did look hot though. About as sexy as was manageable for a place like what they had.

Zack smiled back at them.

"All right! Palma, ready in the back?" He pitched his voice to be almost playful, since that was a thing he could do, if he worked at it. There was a brief pause, before the woman answered. It was, Zack knew, that she'd actually done an assessment of the whole cafe and eating area before responding. She was good at her job and took it seriously.

"The back stands ready!"

Then trying to be cute, he looked at the two girls. Well, one girl and one woman. They both looked young, but the fact was that Claudia was fifty-three, for all that she looked thirty years younger than that. Kaitlyn was seventeen though, and looked it.

"Ready in the front?"

The older one licked her lips, her mind going to things other than steel door activation switches, but Kaitlyn answered. Her words a bit loud so that Palma could hear her too.

"The front stands ready!"

Zack took a deep breath and then leaned in next to Kait, turning the brass key and holding it in place, since that was needed to work the door. There was a red and silver button too, which he pointed at.

"Ladies, if you'd do the honors?" That meant both of the incredibly good looking women pressing against him in order to get it done. Not that they had to do that at all, but asking a succubus to avoid contact was probably considered rude, he reflected, trying to ignore it without using any magic to get the job done.

Then, slowly and a bit laboriously, the heavy metal safety grate pulled up, spooling onto the roll at the top, stopping with a soft clank. The lights were already on, but they had some book displays that would actually move right out to the front, as well as signs on stands. Working as if they'd practiced the moves, that got done in about a minute, without any stress or dumping out of bestselling books at all.

Zack clapped, then spoke, not bothering to make himself lie. That was still hard for him, but could be done, with enough magic and make believe. Otherwise he still told the truth all the time.

"Good, now if you two remember to up sell, and remind people that Palma is one of the best at her job, we might even have a real customer or two someday." There was a smile that went with it, which turned to a soft chuckle when Kait made a tense face.

"Um, up-sell?"

Being a drop dead gorgeous succubus meant that a lot of them didn't have jobs at McDonald's when they were teens, but she'd worked in a coffee shop, so there was no excuse for her.

Zack nodded.

"You know, suggest that people buy things, especially if they go along with what they're getting at the time. You know, if they come in for a cookie, suggest a coffee or hot chocolate to go along with it. If they like mysteries, point out the new one that came in, that kind of thing. You know, like when you go to a fast food place and they ask if you want a drink with that?"

The older Alede nodded her pretty red head and gave him a look that was best described as saucy. At least he thought that was what she was going for. He still had to think about things like that, since he was a bit, stunted, in that regard.

Still, she followed it with a light smile, which he figured meant she wasn't being mean to him.

"I see, so, we tell them that we'll blow them, if they buy at least a hundred dollars worth of stuff?" She giggled a bit, as if it were a joke.

Zack shook his head.

"Nooo... That would be prostitution. Blow them and then suggest that you'll be their friend if they buy things? I'm sure you'll work it out. In the main though, I mean real sales, not, you know, using sex for everything. Not that you won't do that too, but it isn't what you get paid for."

That got the two women to stare at him a bit.

Finally, Kaitlyn pushed her plain glass, make-believe glasses up with a finger.

"We get paid too? I thought it was all about the free energy."

They were all standing in the front of the place, since there was literally no one visible in the mall yet, talking about everything for the entire world to hear. Then again, anyone with good enough ears knew their secrets already, and if they didn't, they would after Zack sent Kait around with coupons for books and a flyer letting everyone know that mall employees got free food there. Like the rest of the mall, it wasn't a real store, so he could do that.

If nothing else, if anyone ever came in, it would make them look busier.

"Yep, ten dollars an hour. Overtime and paid vacation too. Two weeks a year." It really wasn't a lot, considering either one of them could have made a thousand dollars an hour as a call girl, and still gotten their feeding done each day. It was probably how a lot of their kind got by, no doubt.

These two were a bit more industrious than that though.

Claudia touched his arm.

"Oh, time off? I don't suppose you'd set us up with free travel too? Or at least an employee discount?" She licked her lips, as if offering to pay for that with something other than cash, but Zack wasn't buying it.

Not that there was anything wrong with Claudia, but the fact was, given their group dynamics, he was basically already hooked up with Kait, since she'd asked him to have sex with her first. He hadn't yet, but probably would, eventually. It was hard for him to keep in mind, but Greater Demons did things like that. They didn't have the same rules that everyone else did, and even if he knew for a fact that the girl was also a boy, sometimes, that wasn't supposed to be a thing for him.

Darla had pointed that out, several times.

Still, there were rules, and if he didn't want his workers sniping at each other, even he had to follow them.

"Yes. To the discount. Though the payment for that will be in..." He had to scramble for a bit, since Kait was staring at him, her face a bit set, as if trying to not react, in case he mentioned the other woman performing sex acts for him. "Rewards for legitimate sales. In fact, each month, the highest seller gets to pick a destination and will get a round trip. You can use that for a weekend, or your two weeks, up to you. Non-transferable though, so you have to use your winnings yourself."

That got some smiles at least, though Kaitlyn looked to the back, and whispered.

"What about Palma? She isn't on the front floor, so that isn't fair, is it?"

Zack shrugged.

"She has a deal for room and board. That means she can get a trip whenever she wants one anyway. Good thinking though, you might want to remind her of that, since I'm pretty sure she didn't believe me when I mentioned it the other day." He looked around and then shrugged. "So, I'll leave how to do that to you two, though you need to set up something fair for the others too. We need some different races in here as well. That's half the point of this, right?"

It really was, he knew. The Shifters in particular had pointed out that he'd been, as the Dragon man had said, "The Mage Guild's Bitch", which wasn't great for business, as far as line walking and travel went, apparently. Not everyone hated them, but no one wanted to end up being in debt to both them and a Greater Demon, either. Not that he was charging all that much.

Mainly he was trading favors or goods that didn't cost the individual all that much, but would have value in other places. It was extra work, but let everyone feel good about it all.

He clapped once, thinking about needing different sorts of people, and went to the front desk, sitting behind it, while the girls puttered around in the front, trying to lure in any men that might pass by. Some of the women too, naturally. Once there he had to concentrate for a few seconds, in order to bring up the memory he needed, then he dialed the phone, which was a nice and rather tiny black thing, considering it wasn't a cell, and waited.

It picked up on the eighth ring, and the man on the other side of it sounded like he'd been sleeping. That was good, it would mean he was well rested for the day. Unless he'd just gotten into bed, of course.

"Yeah?" It wasn't inspired phone answering technique at all.

"Hiram! This is Zack. Zack Hartley? We just opened the new store, at the mall. You're scheduled for later today, along with Jen, for orientation. Four in the afternoon. I know she's at school right now, but set that part up with her, will you? I'm planning to send her and Kaitlyn around to all the embassies over the next few days, to build contacts. Really..." He stopped, thinking for a second then shrugged, even though the man wouldn't be able to see it. The tone would carry a bit though. "Well, I'll have more for both of you when you get in, I hope."

There was a long pause and then a grunt.

"Huh?" Then the sound of rustling, which, from the pattern it left in space, which he could feel, even over the phone, indicated there was another body in the bed with him. "I didn't know we were part of that. Is the Guild going to pitch a fit over it? I don't really want them kicking us out. They left Jelly with her membership for the work she did, which was nice of them. I figured that cunt Lisa would have us both stripped..."

Zack stopped him.

"Hey! Lisa isn't bad, Hiram. She's upset with me, not evil. Yes, she's wrong, but a lot of people don't like Greater Demons, so no need to call her names. I'm worried about her, which... probably means that I need to get with some people that I haven't been. Today. See, having you around is valuable already. So four o'clock for orientation? Bring Jen, if she'll come." It wasn't like he was going to order them to work for him. It would help with the diversity problem a bit though.

"Eh, well, don't get us booted from the Guild. I'll be there. I can't talk for Jennifer. I'll put a call in and ask? She might not want to. For all I know she has another job already."

"Fair enough if she does. In that case, remind her to visit. Talk to you then." It wasn't like he was planning to leave for the day or anything. Just a quick trip to shower at midnight.

There was a grunt and a solid sound of hanging up, as if the man was miffed over something. That would probably be about Zack pushing him into honest labor. Since he was a career criminal, that wasn't a thing that he normally indulged in. It had to be annoying to the man.

Then, as soon as the line went dead, he sighed and called the head of the Mage Guild, Maddy Morse. She was an old family friend, after all, and Zack had actually known her all his life. True, she hadn't known he was a Greater Demon, but then, neither had he, so it wasn't exactly like he'd be tricking her, was it? On the good side, he had her personal number, and didn't have to go through her four assistants first. It was nice, having friends.

"Maddy Morse, what may I do for you?"

"Hi Maddy, Zack Hartley here. I wanted to make sure that we were good?" It was abrupt, he knew, saying it that way, but he didn't stop, since apparently, it was all true. "This whole Greater Demon thing took me by surprise too, and I know that it can't be easy, having someone that you know turn out to be so... different. I'm still me though, which means, you know, I have demands?"

That was said on purpose, since, once he bothered to think about it, he knew that she'd be easier to handle if taken slightly off guard.

"I... Zack? Demands?"

"Yep. First, I want you to line up some help for Lisa Wiese. She's back on the Wistra, and it's messing her up. She doesn't have to know that I mentioned it, but I swear, I'm not trying to steal her soul or enslave her. Or anyone else for that matter. She's a friend though, and gave me a job when I was just about starving to death. I owe her. I know she won't see it that way, but I do." He expected a rather long conversation then, about how betrayed Maddy felt, or maybe even how she couldn't talk to him, since there were injunctions or something, but there was a sigh instead.

"I can do that. It's pretty clear she's overreacting a bit, in regards to you. Do you want me to talk to her about it? It isn't helping that Eric is feeding her head with tales about how dangerous Greater Demons all are." There was a gap and the tone of her voice shifted, just enough to show the hint of a bitter smile. "At least he's talking to her. That's an improvement."

"Yeah. He's not off at that conference? I need to get in touch there today, since we have a node set up now. It's pretty nice, if I do say so myself. You should come and see it."

"No, I was slated to go, but then an emergency came up, and we had to send the under secretary. I don't suppose you'd take me in now? I know that the way things happened a few weeks ago wasn't the most friendly thing in the world, letting you go like we did."

"You mean that little thing where I was fired without warning, based on the prejudices of people that didn't even know me? That thing?" He grinned though, which took a touch of magic and some focus to make happen, since he really wasn't totally calm about the whole thing. "And worse, you all fired a sixteen year old girl for simply being in the wrong place, and knowing the wrong people? That was pretty low and you should make that up to her. Soon."

There was a very long and drawn out sigh then.

"I know. What do you suggest?"

Zack already had an idea on that one at least, which didn't require lying, hedging or even making himself look too stupid, which were all nice things, most days.

"An internship with the Guild. Yes, some will think that it means I'm putting an agent in place, but... Well, I am. Put her in as your aide, or you know, fifteenth adjunct whatever it is, and send her out on meet and greets with whoever is needed. She can build contacts and I'll handle the travel for her, as part of the deal, if she needs it at all? I'll run her over Guild law and all that, if you think it will help? I'd also like for her to get some magical training. She's great with wards, and taking down other people's work, and can do some credible shields, but she should learn healing too. Other things, as you see fit? You know the job better than I do, after all." That part was important. It was true, but as a Greater Demon, well, most of them kind of knew everything, or at least seemed to. By saying that he was trying to make himself seem a lot more normal.

Just regular old Zack, the weird kid that Maddy used to watch sometimes when his grandparents went on vacation. The goofy and harmless skinny boy that definitely didn't kill people in their sleep or take over their souls. So, perfectly safe and even harmless. That wasn't true now, but he could fake it, for a while longer.

"I...don't know if that will work, Zack. People will be a bit resistant to it. I don't know if Lisa..."

He snorted, which was a fairly new thing for him. It was honest though, so he managed it.

"I meant, and said, that she should work with you. If I'm going to get her in someplace, it needs to be high enough that it's worth doing. And yes, people will bitch about it. They would anyway, which is why you should be upfront about it all and remind them that the Guild owes a huge debt to me so far. I'm not counting it that way, but if it helps you manage your people, then by all means, claim away. If I didn't like Jen so much I'd see about getting her put in with Eric Weise. As it stands, you'll have to ask if he wants to take Hiram on."

"Hiram Stone? The criminal?"

That got a chuckle, from Mirror Him. He didn't take over though. He seldom did, anymore.

"That's the one! Criminal, professional rules lawyer, and general pain in the ass. At least until you get to know him. Then, honestly, he isn't so bad. A few rough edges, but that has its uses in the real world. Not that I'm really suggesting that. It was my attempt at humor. So, is that agreeable to you? They're both starting here at four, so, if it is, you can tell them yourself, on your way to the conference." Or summit. Whatever they were calling it this week. He'd been heading that way, every few days, but for some strange reason, he'd thought that people would work things out a lot faster.

After the attack on the New Mexico Nexus, which had been done by a splinter group of Vampires, things had managed to cool down a bit. Not enough that they were totally safe, it seemed. So they were responding by spending their time in a big meeting room, with nearly two hundred people there, half of them yelling at each other, and the rest trying to pretend they weren't cowering in fear.

From the handset there was a long and slightly aged sounding exhalation. It wasn't a sigh really, but there was tiredness inside of it.

"I suppose. It's really too good a bargain to pass up. Can you get to the Idaho Mage node before then? I can't make it any other way."

That, was just a point. He moved fast, but almost no one else did. Not anyone who wasn't another of his own kind. Most of them didn't really help people much, though.

He nearly said "deal" not even trying to be cute about it, but managed to hold his tongue in time. A little thrill of panic tore through him then. True, he'd have to feed magical power into the whole thing for it to really bind anyone, but even pretending to do that to the head of the Guild might cause a real war. One against him. A thing that, ultimately, the Mages wouldn't win.

"Wonderful! I'll pick you up at about three-thirty?"

The woman on the phone seemed pleased enough by that idea, but did clarify that he meant Pacific Time, which he did. After all, that's what he ran on, and while he could do the calculations, he didn't think about things that way, yet.

It would have to change, since before, only two weeks ago, Lisa had done all that for him. Now he was going to have to work things out for himself. It was part of growing up, he guessed. Even for Baby Demons.

Sooner or later, you had to stand on your own.

Chapter two

No one had their number yet, or shouldn't have, except Maddy, and whatever secretaries she'd given it to. Well, there was Lenore, which once he thought about it, meant that a lot of people would have gotten it by the time they opened the front doors. She'd tell the higher ups in the Vampire organization, after all, which meant that...

When the phone rang, a few seconds after he put it down, the voice was familiar.

"Hartley and Co. Books and Cafe, this is Zack, how may I help you today?" The call had come into the front desk, but that didn't mean a lot. Everyone that worked there would know to get him if it was about node travel or an emergency, so it was the actual number given out. That meant even in his office, when it rang, he had to be ready for book questions too. It was part of the job, after all. True, the part that he'd made up, but that still counted.

"Mr. Hartley? I don't know if you'd remember me. Marissa? We met a few months ago, when you'd injured your arm?" The voice was a bit manly for a woman, or girlish for a boy, but the case was simpler than that. It was a male that was also a female. Maybe a cross dresser, possibly a hermaphrodite.

He didn't know, but it also wasn't his business.

"Marissa! So good to hear from you. Is everything well?" Okay, so that was a little formal, while being too familiar, considering they'd only met the one time, for about fifteen minutes. Less than that. Still, she started it, after a fashion.

"Ah, well, I find myself in a bit of a bind. It seems that I rather managed to get myself locked up... In a dungeon. It can't hold me forever, as you might know, but I'm having some trouble with the bars on the window here. I was hoping to get in touch with someone that might send aid? It's a bit of a bother, I know, and not dire, though I'm afraid a few people will have to die for this. I think that Gene set this up." There was a sound that seemed like someone trying to shatter stone with her fist, and not exactly succeeding. "So it might be best not to ask his help? I hear that you and Bey are quite close? A marvelous man. Perhaps he would be willing to render assistance?"

Zack blinked, and then shrugged.

"Um, hold on just a second?" He tried to sound pleasant at least, which carried, it seemed.

"Certainly. I think I still have some charge left in this thing. Modern technology is so exciting. If it were even twenty years ago, I'd just be stuck here, trying to rip free of this cage of stone and steel. Now I can actually try to summon someone better suited to such things. It's an improvement. I know that I feel better about things, being able to let someone know there might be an issue."

He set the phone down and jogged to the node. He didn't strictly need to use one now, since it wasn't that hard to make his own, but it would increase the amount he needed to eat, because doing magic burned energy, which could be a pain. It was part of why he had the cafe put in. So he could eat all the time.

At the rent in space that could, with only a bit of mental effort, lead to anywhere, at least for him, he located the lady, seeing her in the nearly black space. It was tricky, but he managed to step in right beside her. There was no way out, of course, but after he finished blocking the three, rather fast, slapping gestures directed toward his head, Zack managed to build his own way back.

"Hello! Let me know when you're ready and we'll leave."

To her credit, the Vampire managed to stop trying to kill him in an impeccably girly fashion, and hugged him instead.

"Mr. Hartley! You scared me. I didn't think that you'd come yourself. I was just hoping that you'd tell someone. I... don't think we can absorb more debt to you." She grinned, which was a thing he could feel, but not see. "Unless you wish to take up my offer to be a body slave to you? That might be interesting."

Also complex.

"Hop on three, like before?"

He could have simply picked her up, even as skinny as she still was. Eating more food, which was his new mandatory hobby, meant his real strength was showing now. Before, even a few weeks prior, he'd struggled to lift even his own weight. He hadn't tested it recently, but Marissa was probably well under what he could do now. He wasn't certain, but he was willing to bet that small cars might be doable, if he balanced them properly. He felt good at least.

Zack didn't wait, since, like it or not, the woman was in a prison and he was helping her escape. For all he knew it was totally legal by Vampire law too.

Though, when she let her delicate and pale fingers touch his own, Zack picked up a lot of what the situation was really about. That plus nearly a thousand years of her personal history, and the fact that she was a real hermaphrodite, not just a man in a skirt.

Mirror Him chortled.

'There you go Zackie, a way for you to finally get your man love out into the open without it being too scary. If she has lady parts too, that means you aren't really playing for the other team, right?'

The guy was normally a pain in the rear, so Zack ignored him. He was a Greater Demon, so if he wanted to do guys, he just could. More, he'd probably have to, just to get things done properly. Eventually.

"One, two... Three"

He'd had to focus on making a link to the node he wanted, but that was easier than doing it in a free hanging fashion. Yes, he could do that too, but this was faster. He stepped out into the back of his new place, and the Vampire next to him landed with a click on the stone floor.

"Oh! This is refined. I'd heard from our Ambassador here, Lenore Hawthorn, that you were putting something together, but I'd thought it might be a bit simpler than this. After all, people pay for the service, not the trappings." Then, making sure to hide her fangs, she turned to face him. "So, do you want me from behind, or..."

It was oddly tempting. After all, Mirror Him was sort of right in a way. Not that he was really into men, but Greater Demons weren't noted for caring about things like that at all. He could make any squeamishness go away with a few thoughts, if he wanted. How often did you get to even meet a hermaphrodite, though? Much less have one offer themselves to you.

"Can we do that some other time? I mean, not as your payment, since I have something else in mind for that, but just for fun?"

The woman blinked, which was fake, of course, but looked right anyway.

"We might be able to arrange that. Here I'd figured that you'd be a bit set back by my nature." She smiled cutely, but it was enough that he managed to search through the thoughts that she'd dumped into his head, which explained a lot. More than he would have figured, to tell the truth.

She not only didn't know that he was a Greater Demon, but hadn't been told that he and Lenore were dating either. She sort of thought that he and Bey were doing something, to tell the truth, even though she'd never really thought of the tiny Vampire killer as being into gentlemen particularly. The Human Line Walker was a prize however, so if Zack was, binding him to their cause that way might well be worth some mild emotional discomfort.

It took more magic to clamp down on his feelings for a bit, since the embarrassment was suddenly all his.

"Oh... Well, this could be awkward. Um, I'm seeing Lenore, so, you get that one, Vampire political arrangements. It's why I can't take you home with me. Plus, I won't keep slaves. It is a bit different if you're offering yourself, but it still wouldn't be slavery, you know? I mean, even if I took you up on it, it would be as friends."

"It would?" She seemed curious, but not doubting at least. "So, you've entangled our Ambassador here? She's a woman of most promise. That doesn't truly mean I can't be with you too, however, even without bumping her from her position, as your first. I simply need to clear things with her. I'm certain it won't be a problem. Thank you for informing me before I mis-stepped, however. I don't need to make an enemy there. Especially since I hear she's close to the Human Line Walker?"

Zack nodded, but then forced himself to sigh and look a bit embarrassed. It wasn't hard.

"That's the other part of things that you might not have heard of? It turns out that I'm actually a Greater Demon. I didn't know about it, until a few weeks ago. Long after we last met to talk. I take it you've been out of touch?"

It couldn't have been all that long, if she had the store number, could it? In fact, he knew the answer, he realized, but didn't take the question back. People, even Vampires, were more comfortable when they were allowed to tell their own story.

"Those... Crumbs! They had to have hidden things from me on purpose. Probably so that I'd make a mistake, much like this. Now, here I am, in mortal debt to a Demon! Can you believe they'd do that to me? I mean, me? Not only shouldn't they dare to impose, but I'm the very picture of sweetness and serenity! I'll kill them!"

She did smile then, at least, as if she got exactly what she'd said, and done it on purpose.

Zack tilted his head side to side, thinking.

"Well, you've been speaking out against the new set of rules as to feeding that Richard Swerlin is trying to get put in place, and some of them are rather for it. I'm behind it, myself." Zack made a face, then brushed at his button up the front all black sweater. "Well, I mean, I'm for it. Not orchestrating it from behind the scenes. You should change your vote though."

That got a downcast look, rather than defiance, or even glaring.

"Is that part of your price for my rescue then? I have to comply, but I truly think that this is a poor plan. Most can't afford to have harvested blood, no matter how tasty, and telling an entire people that has lived since before the time of man itself that they must now eat only from animals, is insulting. This might well lead to, if not a war, then conflict that lasts a very long time." She said it to the floor, as if examining the pattern in the stone.

It looked almost as if she were shy. Then, she didn't scream or run away from him, so it was better than some reactions had been, wasn't it?

"Those are real points too, and not ones I haven't thought about. That isn't what I want though. I simply want you to meet a girl, later today. She's going to be an intern with the Mage Guild this summer. A friend of mine, and a possible contact for you, if you play your cards right. That won't be until four, so..." He didn't really know what she should do, to be honest.

Luckily, she did. It was probably why she got to be a council head, and he was just a store clerk and fancy fast transit point. Not that it wasn't working for him, but still, it lacked a certain refinement.

"I could, perhaps, wait at my own embassy?" She didn't ask for permission at least, which was good. He didn't want her to get confused and think she was owned, or something. The woman had high maintenance written all over her, after all.

"It would be a good place to make whatever calls you need from, I think. Yes. We should also get you together with Rebekah. She's a Manthori. The one doing all the new blood for people? She also has a band that's really good and is trying to get a recording contract, if you need someone to play events or anything like that. Even if you won't be swayed on the new rules, she's a good person to get to know. There's a big difference between insisting that a new service be made mandatory and being willing to admit it might be useful, from time to time."

That actually earned him a look that seemed pleased. Finally.

"Would that be possible? Perhaps you could walk me to the embassy, in order to protect me from attackers?" She didn't seem all that nervous, but took his arm, her tan skirt and jacket smudged lightly in places. She was also lacking in make-up, which probably meant that she'd want to see to that soon. Maybe not until after calling in her hit squad or anything, but then again, she might not do that at all. True, she'd been caught out and locked up, and there had been no food, but that was almost an accepted way of rigging a vote for the council she was on. Marissa certainly didn't know Gene was behind anything. It could have been anyone.

So having a little back-up wasn't a horrible plan, even for a short walk. He used, for the first time, the single wooden door that led to the mall proper. From the outside it looked like a utility closet should be behind it, which had been his choice. He didn't want people using that to get into his space by accident, after all. It might be a little hard to explain if the wrong people saw it.

Like the police.

There was no one out along the fake red brick walk area, and the benches were exactly where they always were, along with their huge concrete pots and fake ferns. It wasn't decorated very well, and really needed a water fountain to be put in, he decided. A nice big one, that people could get into and splash around in, making a mess. Like in the movies.

Marissa did her best to act like a proper lady, it was true. Zack had noticed it both times they'd met. That didn't mean stupid however, or incompetent. Her eyes and other senses strained to pick out any hint of attack from the area around her, and she seemed ready to let go of his arm and fight, if anything happened at all. Nothing did. It was so early that Candles and More hadn't even opened yet, though it should have, almost forty minutes before. The Yoghurt World was well lit though, but they didn't close, except for special events. The last time he'd seen it was when Bey had come for an investigation. Hopefully the Vampire on his arm didn't have that kind of reputation. The reason they'd closed before had been due to the entire local Vampire community going into hiding.

Lenore, Zack's very cute girlfriend, who looked about ready to work at a country fair in her light blue dress and white apron, actually managed not to look shocked when he walked up at least.

Then, even with the Vampire on his arm, she didn't seem to get who it was, until they were almost in front of her. On the good side that meant she really wasn't the jealous type, since he could get away with walking around with other girls. She'd always said that was the case, and he knew it was true, but it still felt funny to him. Of course that went two ways, so when she took other people to bed he couldn't say much.

"Marissa Constantine?" There was a baffled look and then a small bow to go with it. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Is it time for an accounting? I assure you that our books are in good order. Let me run and get those for you..." She did that very quickly, before either of them could say a word, and was back with a large black ledger not five seconds later. "Here, please, have a seat, or would you use my office?"

Zack had to search a bit, using the woman's own memories, but it was right there. She wasn't Bey Transmorguir, the killer of rogue Vampires. That was simply a fact. No, she was, more or less, their version of the IRS. When she came to town, people got audited.

Those that failed their audits, died.

The Vampire Council member bowed a bit, and let herself settle into one of the brightly colored yellow and orange booths. The vinyl barely made a sound at all, under her light frame.

"I'm not here for that yet, though I do have a date later this year for it? If you don't mind me looking now, that will save time. I'm sure they're in order. It's always so nice looking at your work, dear." The book was handed over, somberly, and the older woman didn't mention having just been in captivity. Apparently, work came first.

Even before eating.

"Do we have any blood left? Perhaps we could free a bottle up for Marissa? I'll pay for it." That seemed important for some reason, though it didn't leap to mind. It was correct anyway, he could tell, since his girlfriend didn't do what she normally might and try to give it to him for free. She normally would have tried to give him anything she could, after all.

She also didn't try to explain why that was, and took his card when it was handed over for the purchase.

"Would you like anything? I'm working on a new hazelnut and banana treat."

He nodded, since he really could use the extra calories. Really he'd need a bit more than that too, but he could wait a bit and not make a pig of himself.

Publically. He was totally going to do that the second he got alone, he decided. One thing that starvation for months had taught him, was that food was too important to miss out on. It seemed a pretty intuitive lesson, like most people would simply understand it, but until you nearly died from lack of it, he doubted most really could.

He shrugged.

"Could I get, oh, six of them? Just to try out, of course."

There was a thump, which was a single cool finger on the open ledger.

"Ah, yes, you have an open account here? Unlimited food for yourself and all mall employees? Does that count for the blood?" She addressed the last bit to Lenore, who actually gave her a small smile back and shrugged, which was probably very rude, normally, since it would be like her doing that to the Secretary of the Treasury. "It hasn't before and he paid today. That... would be a good idea. It's all in an effort to pay the debt we owe as an organization. I've been tempted to make twice daily deliveries down to the Trolleinkein embassy, to try and catch up." She clearly thought it was funny, but Zack knew that a lot of them really did need to eat more than they had been.

He nodded.

"We could get them to come and pick that up? So you won't have to leave the floor here. I figured they'd all be down here ten times a day, to tell the truth. Just like I figured they'd half live at the new cafe, since they get to eat there for free, too."

That got Marissa to murmur softly, but with a bit of focus, and he realized, magical energy flowing into it, Zack picked it up.

"You court them, as well?"

He... hadn't really been thinking of it that way. They were friends of his, or at least some of them were, and far from home. It was hard for them to get enough to eat, and he had access to nearly unlimited food, so of course he'd think of them. But, really, the idea wasn't a horrible one, was it? Courting them, as the Vampire had suggested.

So he nodded.

"Naturally." It made him sound wise, and since he'd just decided to actually make an effort, it wasn't even a lie. "The Mages too, if I can get Lisa to stop hating me. That's going to take some work."

There were no follow up questions to that, since the woman was clearly lost in her numbers suddenly. It didn't take her long to go over the whole thing either, and at the end she tapped the black book with her right index finger.

"There are errors." She didn't sound mean, which was nice of her.

Lenore winced, as if she were about to be flogged.

"Bad ones?" Her eyebrows wrinkled upward, as if worried, but the auditor shook her head, being back to her normal girlish self.

"Not truly. You simply owe several people funds for work done, and have not paid them yet. A Jennifer Stone, and also a Hiram Stone? The first for shop tending, the second for wards on several local concerns? That should be seen to. It's important to pay our debts in a timely fashion, lest they be forgotten."

Lenore bowed, and didn't make any excuses, or even mention that the mass firing of people a few weeks before had gotten in the way of prompt payment.

So Zack did.

"Jennifer is the one I asked you to meet with, if she comes in later? Hiram is her uncle. They haven't been around for a while, since the Mage Guild let them go. It wasn't the best plan ever, on their part, but..."

His girlfriend made a face toward the still closed shop across the way, "it was truly so. Lisa, the Ambassador's Assistant found out that Zack is..." Then she went silent.

Because clearly she was under orders not to mention what he was to the woman. Probably others as well. It would take work to keep that hidden now however. Most of the Vampires already had heard, at least among the ones he talked to.

The elder Vampire growled lightly.

"So, who ordered you to not speak?" She rose, and looked ready to menace the other girl, who looked a bit younger, and was, by about seven hundred years.

Zack cleared his throat.

"My girlfriend."

That got everyone in the room to stop and look at him, as if he were insane, for about a tenth of a second. Then... A nicely warmed pint of blood was delivered, in a thick ceramic mug. It was enough that Marissa sat back down.

"I forgot myself, Mr. Hartley. Being captured and locked away with no food tends to make me... edgy." Then, like a good little girl trying not to slam the whole mug of blood at once, she started to drink. Her lips ended up with a red stain, but that was the only sign that what she'd been consuming wasn't tea or cider. Possibly a shake of some kind. A fancy one, in a big mug, but still, that wasn't a horrible idea.

It had a very refined sound to it, really, Zack thought.

Lenore didn't act shocked at all, and simply took the mug back, when it was offered, not speaking at all. Then she washed it before turning again, and finished making Zack his treats. Each was a tiny bit different, which had to do with the fact that she wanted to test the concoctions, like she'd mentioned, he was willing to bet.

Finally she spoke, her voice subdued.

"Are we at war then?"

The rather fussy seeming hermaphrodite shook her head, making the short light brown hair fly a bit.

"I think not. It was Vampires that took me, at least. I suspect Gene, of the Council, The Wanderer. I have no real proof, but he's recently changed his mind about the new blood rules. Before a week past he stood with me firmly, against it. Then he changed his mind, which isn't his normal way at all. It is, of course, a trick of some kind. People forget his cunning, behind his cherubic features. Regardless, those that subdued me were of our people, Lenore. No matter how that happened. So at worse we need only see to an execution. That or locking my fellow away for long enough that he recalls that it is not an enjoyable experience." She waved toward Zack then, her hand never pointing at him directly. "I called on the Line Walker, when I chanced to recall that I had a new speaking device. As luck would have it, I managed to call out. No other numbers answered, but Mr. Hartley was kind enough to come and retrieve me. Now I have to ask if that was part of a plan? Perhaps to indebt myself to you?" She looked down at the table, not at him.

"That wasn't a plan of mine, and I won't count it as a debt, past what we already agreed to? That way, if it was someone's plan, they'll have failed already. I do love messing with plotters like that. Or at least I think I do. It always made people seem cooler, when they did that on television." He smiled, which got one in return, from Lenore.

"Thank you, dear. Still, this does create a debt, which might be the reason? Who'd do such a thing? Given... Well, Bey asked me not to mention Zachary's nature to you, if you didn't bring it up first. Truly, I wouldn't have anyway, since almost everyone knows already, but that might not mean he's behind it, or if he is, that it was linked to other things. Not that he's incapable of planning ahead like that, but he guards Zack rather zealously. He might play with you, but not him, I don't think. He owes too much there, and Zack has been a true friend to him, which would be enough all on its own. I once saw him fight a hundred Vampires, for wronging a merchant that had offered him free apples, thinking he was starving." She had a worried look on her face, which for once didn't seem all that contrived.

The council woman nodded.

"I can see that for myself. Very few would come for me, even if begged. Mr. Hartley did it without even discussion of price. Then, what is being asked... Merely meeting a new contact? It doesn't seem like what your kind would do, does it? Is this a trick, perhaps?"

There was a soft chuckle from behind the counter then, as the six treats, all in large containers, came across the counter. Zack tried not to leap across the room at them, but he was a bit hungry. He sat quickly and started to eat without waiting, making a point to consider each of the dishes of frozen yogurt carefully. There would be a quiz, after all.

His girlfriend fixed the Vampire Council member with a very frank look.

"Truly? I don't think so. He is a Greater Demon, and his powers are vast, but his word has proved good so far. That may change, over time, or it might all be a trick, but that could be said of anyone, might it not? I think you can trust him not only as much as those on our own council, but more so. He seldom lies, in fact. I think he can now, however, is that right, Zachary?"

He grinned, but swallowed his food before speaking.

"Yep. I have to make myself sort of believe it, but it's a thing I can do. I don't bother most of the time. It's easier that way." For him at least, since it took less energy.

It was about then that he noticed a rather furtive and disheveled form trying to sneak into Candles and More. It was Lisa, and she seemed like she'd been up for days, at least. She looked over her shoulder and froze, when she noticed him watching her. For his part, he didn't do anything at all, except take another bite of his food. That wasn't a mistake, since anything he did then, including smile, or wave, would be taken as hostile by the woman.

Even sending her flowers, or a note, would have been a threat, to her rather worked up mind, just then. The best he could do was keep eating and look away, as if he weren't noticing her. Which, naturally, would seem like he was trying to spy on her, as far as she was concerned. That extreme paranoia was part of why he hadn't tried very hard to get in touch with her and smooth things over yet. She might not ever let it go either, but him trying to force her to do it wouldn't work at all. If anything happened it would have to be on her schedule, not his.

There was a bit of desperate scrabbling at the door, and the second she was inside her wards, she spun and started to chant, as if making the shields on the place even stronger was going to help anything? He could have simply gone in through the node, or even just forced through the shield, if he wanted. Not that he did. What he really wanted was for her not to hate him.

That... was going to take work.

So, he just sat, and ate, not bothering to make himself feel better about the situation at hand. The two with him actually glanced at the scene and then looked away, as if to not notice his pain. That was an old fashioned and polite thing to do, he guessed. It didn't help anything, but it was better than them trying to give him suggestions. Especially since theirs would probably involve Lisa being brainwashed, beaten or killed. Or, possibly, used as a juice box.

'Everyone loves them some Capri Sun, now in new bloody Lisa flavor.' Mirror Him quipped, lamely.

Zack rallied anyway, magic or not and managed a smile for the women with him.

"So, in a few hours I need to get off to pick up Maddy Morse, so that she can meet up with Jennifer, and then I'll get all of you where you need to go? Any ideas where that is yet, Marissa?"

There was a pause, and she looked at Lenore.

"It may take some time to figure that out. If I may use your telephone, dear? I might be stuck here for some time, I fear, since I don't know who I can trust at the moment. It's a bit of a bother. I don't suppose either of you know of a good hotel in the area?"

Lenore did, but then said something very strange.

"Perhaps you could stay at Zack's? He has a guest room for Bey, which has amusements and comfortable chairs. I can package up some blood for you? If you need to stay in town for a while."

She didn't make eye contact with Zack at all, but he shrugged. He really did have the room, and it was just sitting empty.

"That's a decent plan. Just make certain you don't drink from Troy, since he needs his energy for work. He bartends at the Tarran 2 LA, which is a dance club here in town. You guys own it."

That got a single, rather happy clap.

"Oh, I love dancing. We should all go."

Lenore smiled, as if it had been her idea all along.

Chapter three

When he managed to get back to his own store, about ten minutes later, since he really wasn't needed, in the middle of a growing Vampire spat, Zack didn't think, he noticed two things. The first was that there were actually several people on the main floor of the bookshop, and two sitting in the cafe. The other was that none of his sales people were available at all. The back sitting area was tightly closed off too, which meant that, in the short time that he'd been gone, both girls had managed to grab someone for sex.

It was a little hard not to be jealous.

Thinking about it, as he walked to stand behind the sales desk, just in case anyone needed him for anything, he realized how insane that was, and stopped it. After all, both women would, without comment, have sex with him. For that matter, he'd just left two women that would have. Given that he was a skinny, somewhat average looking guy, that wasn't too shabby, was it?

The people in the store were varied, for all that they all kept looking at the door to the sitting room. There were two men, a young one that seemed to be about eighteen or so, and looked about like Zack did, in a lot of ways. Young, average and with dark hair. Though, to be fair, the geek with his stack of books had about forty pounds of extra muscle and really only needed a better haircut and some good clothes to change a lot of things in his life.

Zack would look better if he did that too, but Darla had suggested he simply eat more for a while and not burn too much magic, which is what that kind of shape changing would take. Even building muscle the hard way still required that for his kind. Otherwise he'd tend to kind of stay the same, only changing slowly, over time, to meet his own expectations. That did remind him to change that though, and realize that his features were becoming more symmetrical. After all, no one really hated you for being slightly better looking than Joe Sixpack, did they?

The other man was older. Actually, old came to mind. Clearly human, like the younger one, and also clearly hoping for his own turn in the room with one of the women. He had solid gray hair, that was, given the way the space around it rippled a little, not part of him, and teeth that were too even and white for his age. That meant either really good dental care, of false teeth. Otherwise he seemed pretty normal, including the slightly sagging middle that came from too many rich meals, and not enough time in the gym.

That left the single woman in the place, who had rust red hair, thick black framed glasses and a twitchy demeanor that would have normally meant she was on drugs. Especially with her very thin frame. She had her arms covered, wearing a pull over shirt that was a rich purple, and while clearly a Bat shifter, not one of the two he'd ever met. She was the oldest one that he'd seen though, and looked to be in her early thirties, at a guess.

She glanced at the sitting area suddenly, shook a bit, since she was clearly getting a bit turned on by what she was hearing, and then pretended to be more interested in him for a bit. She even walked toward him, smiling. That became a bit more legitimate, if nervous, when she got closer to the desk.

"Hi! I heard that you might be hiring here?" She held out her hand, which was callused and hard, even though she was tiny, over all. Barely five foot and nearly as thin as he was. Her short hair looked military, but then, most shifters had to serve in their version of the armed forces, since it was how they made money, as a people. That she was willing to work with him...

Well, when he touched her palm with his own, much softer, hand, and the palms connected, several things became clear. The first was that she was actually under orders from their brass to try and get a job there. To spy on him.

She also didn't really realize that he was him at all, since she mentally expected a much more imposing figure, one that possibly had horns, or at least a tail. The woman, who was named Madeline Hale, was also Calley Hale's Aunt. Which wasn't that big of a stretch, since about half of all Bats were directly related to that family.

The last piece of information that Zack picked up was that she kind of wanted to have sex with him. Or one of the other men in the store. She would have settled for one of the Alede though, if need be, even if they were clearly women at the moment. Bats, as a rule, weren't picky that way.

So he smiled.

"We pay ten dollars an hour, under the table. You get two weeks off per year, and the chance to win wonderful prizes regularly, like node travel, if you have the highest sales each month. You can report back to your superiors, but if you have something really juicy, I expect you to let me know what it is first. Is that agreeable?" He smiled, and let her have her hand back, which was nearly yanked from his, though she hesitated a second later. It was just a response to his statement about her bosses, he thought.

Not even her being a massive anti-Demon bigot. Which, of course, she was. They all were. Even the people that liked him. It was a thing he'd been starting to pick up on, trying to read everyone like he had been. It took a lot of work, but did give him more information than he would have had otherwise.

She tilted her head cutely. Or at least it would have been that, if she could have held the move for about two seconds longer. Instead she managed to turn it into a nearly spastic twitch. It looked more drugged than anything else. That wasn't true thankfully. The woman in front of him didn't even drink coffee.

"Um." She looked at him as if that would be enough of a statement to get a job.

"I'll let you off the hook this time. I'm Zack Hartley, the Line Walker. Yes, I know that you were sent in to spy. I don't care, since everything I'm doing is above board right now. So, you're in!" He tried to seem happy about it, since, really, he kind of was. She was exotic, after all, and wasn't another Alede. It would help cut the unrealistically good looks of his staff by a good bit, which would be nice, he thought.

Though he did wait, wandering what the woman would manage to bring to the conversation. Hopefully it would be something, since otherwise this was about to get awkward.

She blushed, and then stammered at him a bit. It really wasn't the best interviewing technique, but he'd already told her she had the job, hadn't he?

"You're the Line Walker?"

"Why don't you try that without sounding doubtful?" He grinned at her and shook his head a bit. "But yes, that's me. I'm also a friend of your niece, Calley? Can you be back in today at four, for orientation? We have a team coming in. You'll have to work with a lot of different people though, so be ready for that. Mages, Alede, maybe even Humans. Is that all right? I notice that you're a bit scared of Greater Demons, but don't let that part worry you. Not with me." He made a face, and then sighed, which took some acting. "Now if you meet any others of my kind here, I suggest trying to stay away from them as much as possible. It can happen, since I know a few, and they might drop by. If a fight breaks out..." He shrugged.

Then he left a long pause, since the younger man was actually coming up to the front, with a stack of books. It wasn't a huge stack, but he had four of them, and it would be the first sale, as far as Zack knew.

"Well, if that happens, then run, obviously. You just work here."

"May I help you with that?" Zack smiled professionally, and rang the man up. He was clearly a bit disappointed to have missed either of the really good looking women that had been there when he walked in. It was plain from the way that he kept staring at the door to the sitting room.

Zack waved at it, after taking his money.

"They'll be out in a bit. You should wait. Maybe get a drink or something to eat at the cafe? It will be worth your time." He didn't say why, but the kid wouldn't have believed him anyway.

"I... guess." It sounded nearly defeated, but Zack could relate to that. There had been a long time when he hadn't been able to get with a woman at all, himself.

Mirror Him sighed loudly, his reflections showing in the polished marble of the counter top as Zack put the books into a nice, very heavy, paper bag with handles made of twine. The shop's name was printed on the side.

'Damn, you could at least screw them first, you know? Well, at least you have the Bat-girl here. That's good thinking. As far as I can tell, her kind doesn't say no. I bet you could nail her in the back room, if you wanted. I mean, right now. Probably in the ass. I bet she's freaky in bed. Or on the floor. Or the desk top... Or, you know, has a nice male relative for you, given how you swing both ways now. I was kidding, before, you know. Are you really going to make us do that Vampire? I mean, I get it, but I'm not much for the man parts, you know?'

He smiled and nodded. After all, it was MH that had kept calling him gay for years. Anytime he couldn't get a woman in fact. It would serve him right, having to service Marissa, just for being so homophobic.

'That's not fair, Zack. I just didn't want you to become some kind of little girl, that's all. Why don't you score with that nice Lenore again? Or, I don't know, go and make nice with Lisa? I bet you can wear her down and get some trim there, if you want a challenge. Maybe along with your new Bat friend here?'

Zack didn't answer, just watching the back of the young man who was headed toward the cafe. There were still people back there, two of them, but they seemed to be actually drinking coffee and looking at books. Madeline swallowed nervously and twitched at him, but then turned to look at the door where Kait was coming out, along with a man that looked like he could be her dad. At least the man seemed a bit ashamed of himself. She wasn't underage, but he was pushing fifty, at least, and looked it.

He also had a wedding ring on. He could have put that in a pocket, Zack thought, if nothing else.

Waving got them to both come over, the man looking like he expected to be arrested at any moment. Normally Zack would have been too embarrassed, given the fact that his friend had just been having sex with the man, but since she sort of needed to do that kind of thing, and he could kill off all feelings that didn't serve him at the moment, he did.

Then he looked at the man and gave a single slow nod.

"You might want to look at our bestsellers section. If you plan to be a regular here, I mean." They weren't selling sex, after all, but seriously, the man would be back. It had to be far too tempting for him not to be. "Kaitlyn, this is Madeline, she's going to be working with you. Later though. Right now, I think that young man in the back was trying to get your attention?" Or at least some female company. How Kait handled that was her business.

The man she'd been with blushed again, but she patted him on the back and rushed off to see to the new man, as if it were perfectly normal. Madeline just stood for a few seconds, waiting for something. Reviewing, Zack wondered if he'd missed anything, and realized that he sort of had. He hadn't gotten the woman to write down any of her contact information. Not that he didn't know it already. He was about to scramble for a job application form, when she turned and left, looking back at him strangely.

She'd be around at four, so he didn't worry. It was part of her job. Both of them, now. Really, she was probably going to go and report to Catherine Peterson, at her people's embassy. It was right next door, so they could listen in anyway. At least the Bat shifters could.

Claudia came back out, and her friend turned out to be a woman, surprisingly enough. A slightly overweight one, who seemed a bit flushed and moist. They got waved over and extorted too, with a suggestion that the Alede succubus see to the older man that was waiting for attention from the helpful staff. The woman looked at it happening, and shook her head a little.

"She's so lovely. Maybe next time we could all do something?" That was said with a bit of a downcast look, and without confidence at all. In fact it was so shy seeming that it was pretty clear the woman in front of him would have had sex with almost anyone that was willing to give her attention, he was willing to bet.

Zack smiled.

"Well, I can't promise anything, since she works for me here and that might be inappropriate, but we could go out?" It was a total change in what was on the table, but the woman, who was heavyset, busty and a bit heavy of feature through the face, which meant not that good looking, actually beamed at him, as if he'd said the right thing for once.

"That would be nice. Claudia said I should ask people here, if, you know, they wanted to do things. I thought she just meant for..." There was a much brighter bit of flushing then and not all of it was due to embarrassment.

He nodded.

"Yeah, that too, for a lot of them. Not all, but asking probably won't be a problem for anyone. Still, remember to shop too. And actually read the books, or what's the point in having them, right?"

That got a giggle, as if it were both a joke and actually funny, even if it was neither one, and the woman faded off, without even getting his number or anything. That probably meant she was too content, sexually, at the moment to be bothered with him. Not once assured that she might have a chance with someone else there.

The rest of the morning went a bit like that, with his two Alede being busy enough that he had to buy time for them to shower in the break room. He was planning to use the one at home for that, if he could, because it made sense, having a house. It made a lot more sense suddenly as to why they'd wanted one put in there though. It wasn't until noon that he managed to get Kaitlyn and Claudia out at the same time.

They both seemed...

Really happy. Almost as if they were on drugs. Sexy, sexy drugs.

"Lunch time, at least for me. We have people coming in at four and I have a pick-up and delivery to the Ettarian lands for that. New co-workers coming in for orientation. I want you both around for that, if possible, so make sure to time things correctly. Also, can one of you, at least, make sure to hold here for a bit? I'm going to have to eat in my office, so that I don't scare anyone." He watched both women, but Kait reached out and touched his arm gently. Just on the sleeve of his black sweater.

"We can do that. This is... A great first day. I wasn't even sure that we'd have sales, much less friends already. We'll make sure we're around for work too. We might want to bulk up the staff, at this rate." She seemed pleased enough with that, and gave him a look that seemed to indicate she was ready for a lot more of what she'd been doing, earlier.

Instead she got to run his lunch order back to Palma, who at least had some things ready for him. It was all very good, though off the menu of the Cafe, since it was only the first day and she'd flat out told him that she wanted to test some things out. Eating it all took about half an hour, and there was a lot more cramming of food into his face than he was comfortable with. On the good side, he wasn't hungry by the time he was done at all. He normally was and would be again soon, but it was like he was starting to catch up just a bit. Finally.

He went over to the shower area for a quick clean up, to find Claudia standing there nude, with a bit of glistening going down her thighs. She was, like all her kind, very attractive, but he managed to ignore her long enough to wash his hands and face. He'd managed, mainly by consuming the food so fast it couldn't fall on his front, to keep himself decently clean that way, but he still felt better after he got done. The succubus cocked her hips at him, pushing her pubic hair, which was red, he noticed, in his direction.

"Want a quickie?"

Zack was tempted, of course. It was what her kind did, after all. Not that having sex with him would do a lot for her. He wasn't food after all. He shook his head a little sadly, since it really would cause problems, with Kaitlyn, if he did that.

"Thanks, but I need to get back to work right now. Are you liking things so far?"

"Oh... It's not so bad. For a first day. Better than a woman's clothing store. At this rate we really are going to need to cycle the others through here. Especially if you're staying open all night. I have a few people lined up for that, but not for a few days. Is that all right? I probably won't need to sleep, if you need me here?"

He shrugged.

"I don't really know. Can I have you on call? I kind of think that nighttime will be my daily rush, really. So, it would be good to have someone around to actually man the store part of things. Palma gets nights off too, so we need someone to work in there. I can cook a little, but I've never done that kind of work. Well, it's a learning process, right?"

She smiled and turned back toward the shower, which didn't have a door on it, since the Alede all liked space, more than privacy. She started to wash again, a bit of steam coming from the red tile of the floor. Her pale behind was...

Zack smiled and left, before he got too interested. He really needed to get with his girlfriend, if things like that were going to keep happening.

'Or, you know, bang those hot chicks that work for you? They're freaking succubi, and you're their boss. If you don't do them each half a dozen times a week, they probably won't feel loved. I do agree, you should bang Kaitlyn there first. Or Kyle, since I know how you love the cock.' Then, almost as if he realized it was a mistake, MH, for about the tenth time in fifteen years, actually shut up.

That was smart, since Kyle, who was Kait's male form, was more than willing to oblige, and Zack, even though not into guys as a rule, could make himself interested, just to spite his alter ego, if he had to, now. Really, he'd probably do that anyway, just to make sure he wasn't all hung up about sex. It was hard to remember that being a Greater Demon meant he didn't have the same rules to play by as other people. He didn't even have to be a guy, if he didn't want to. Or at least that was a thing that he'd seen other Greater Demons manage to pull off. One of them at least.

His father.

He'd gotten close by pretending to be an Alede, and actually pulled it off so well that her own family hadn't known there was a difference. Judy Swan. Kaitlyn's Grandmother, even though half the time she went by Fargo, which was, he knew now, not an uncommon thing for Alede to do. They all had about a half dozen different identities lined up, since they lived a lot longer than Humans, and didn't age really. He'd noticed the name change at the time, but had met Valerie and Kait as Fargo, then Swanson.

It was strange and weird, but Hiram was Jennifer's Uncle and had the same last name, even though his sister was the girl's mom. That was a matrilineal thing, Zack knew. Lisa had explained it to him, once upon a time.

Thinking of her was too hard, at the moment, so he didn't and just worked the store again, running back to make certain his chef was taken care of and happy, which she seemed to really be, and then selling things to people that he subtly blackmailed into it, after they had sex. It was mainly older men, but some younger ones and a few women. He kind of thought that they were stealing customers from the plus sized women's clothing store across the way, in those cases. Hopefully not in a territory invading way.

The Alede weren't violent, or even catty, as a rule, but the one time they'd go after each other, other than normal personal squabbles like anyone else, was if they felt their food was being poached. They were pretty good about holding that to other Alede, but it was really why he couldn't just have sex with all of them. Kaitlyn had, apparently, called "dibs" on him, and that meant she'd at least scream at any of the others that did anything with him that deprived her of energy.

Functionally, if he had it right, he could do her in the morning, and then all her friends, for the rest of the day, as long as the next time he had real energy, he had sex with her first. It was too complicated for him, and really, while as much of a horn-dog as anyone else his age, he knew it was probably better to go carefully with that kind of thing. Having the women, or eventually, men, bring in business was probably more important to him than getting his rocks off constantly. Or not. That remained to be seen. He wanted the book store to pull its own weight, and really wasn't doing that well with the travel side of things yet. The one thing he'd managed to do so far involved setting up a meeting for a teenage girl that would probably spend the whole time stammering, instead of presenting herself well.

That was his job though, wasn't it? Arranging for his friend to do well. How he was supposed to pull that off, he didn't know, except that as he thought about it, a lot of ideas actually came to him. From outside of himself. It was a powerful rush of information, since it was a pretty big field. He could control the girl's mind, or replace her with a doppelganger, meant to impress the people coming. Warning her would work too, if he did it right. Calling her first would just make her tense, but a bit of talking to her before he introduced everyone would give her an edge. Possibly.

Not that it was really important. Jen just had to show up, and manage to shake hands, so it wasn't a hard job for the day. It was mainly going to be about learning to use the register, since the computer system was hooked up to it and they had to use a code to get into the drawer. They were pretty simple things, but it took explaining to get the idea.

The rest of the day didn't go fast, for all that it was new and shiny to him. At about one, surprisingly, a man came in, who was barely human looking at all, being blocky and square seeming. He made his way directly to the cafe, so Zack didn't think about it, since the smell of the food was good enough, and it was just possible the man was there for free food, if he worked at the mall someplace. Zack hadn't met everyone, after all. So he didn't think about it for a few minutes.

Until Palma walked up and bowed to him.

"Sir? This is Lars Colson. He's an old colleague of mine, from a position I held some time ago." Then she stopped, clearly wondering how to get to the next part.

Zack didn't know what the man wanted, and didn't really feel like trying to read his mind at the moment. He could do that, but the man simply bowed, seeming nervous, but willing to speak, if with a thick accent.

"Line Walker, I would go to the lands of my people. It is far, far. Can go I to the place of these? Funds I have, and all will give, for this. I go home now, and need it not."

Zack noticed the case he had, which was a pretty normal looking briefcase, done in decently nice black leather. The man saw him looking and handed it over. Without even getting confirmation. Zack didn't bother to look, since it was clear what the man meant. He was leaving anyway, so was willing to pass all he had over for passage back home.

It might not be easy to get him there though, at least if the man was right.

Zack nodded, "let's do it? We can try at least. If you don't get there, I won't charge you."

It took all of three minutes. Most of that involved waiting with him at the almost abandoned node on the far side, so that they could make certain he was in the right place. It was in a light blue forest, and the place had two moons in the sky, along with the sun. Two regular moons, like the one outside his door at night.

It clearly wasn't Kansas.

The man had people out, about the time Zack was ready to go, but none of them seemed to want to talk to him. They were all of a type though. Stocky, but not short, and with slightly dusky skin. Human, at least as far as he could tell. Mainly dressed in loose trousers that looked homemade, and tunics. He thought that was what they were called at least.

Then, as the information hit him, he suddenly knew a whole lot about clothing, as useful as that no doubt would be. He even knew how to do the hand stitching that was used, and that it was different from the ones that most people would have used.

They didn't smile at him, or ask for him to stay and have a snack, so he waved and left. Just in time for the next fare to show up.

This was a small family, that really didn't have enough of anything to pay for it. The woman had a daughter with her and was clearly in charge of the small man that stood behind her, seeming shy. They all had an Asian cast to them, and wanted to go and see her father, who was dying. In Mainland China. The problem there wasn't that they couldn't afford a plane flight, but that the government wasn't wild about her going back there at all. She was sort of in exile, so the only way to get back in time would be to go around the rules a bit.

She bowed a lot, once they were in the back room, and got onto her knees, her hands going to his pant front instantly, right in front of her husband, who looked away, ashamed, and her daughter, who just seemed curious. Zack rolled his eyes, since he wasn't that cheap. He stood back and waved her up. The contact with her told him enough, at least. She was roughly a Human Mage, but not of the Western kind. Her father was a herbologist, like master Wu-Li, there at Westfield. Why he was dying...

Well, that was because he was old and didn't have access to the herbs he needed. The government had made certain he was cut off, suspecting what he was.

"Come with me." Zack didn't wait, and her face fell, with tears coming to her eyes, since it was also clear she had nothing else to pay him with, if not her body.

She just seemed baffled when he took her to Wu-Li and waved in her direction.

"Can we buy some supplies from you?"

The ancient Chinese man looked at him, and then her, and nodded.

"Perhaps you could aid me in collecting a few things in return?"

Zack sighed, but agreed. It wasn't as if the man wasn't a friend of his, after all. Still, he'd have to work out some kind of trade with the family, or else people would eventually try to take advantage of him. What that would be he didn't know. She needed his help, but had absolutely nothing that he wanted. Not at all.

Worse, even though he left them all in China, two hours later, he'd have to retrieve them in a few weeks. That would compound the cost, but they couldn't get out of China on their own, he didn't think.

It was a bit of a mess. On the good side he'd collected up a lot more herbs, including some expensive ones, than he needed. Enough to make that part worth while he thought.

Chapter four

Maddy Morse had three people with her, which he actually expected. He hadn't known that he would, but the instant he saw the two men and the woman she was with, he understood that it was her staff. Almost all the high officials, regardless of the group, tried to add extra people and luggage to their transports. Since he was doing this one for free, for the Summit, as part of a deal with Keeley, a lot of people had been doing that. At first he nearly balked at it, early on, but now he realized that it was letting people get used to working with him, as much as not. He'd rather have ten thousand people like that family from earlier, that couldn't pay really, than to have everyone refusing to work with him.

He'd just have to be a bit clever to justify things. That was all.

"Maddy! Are you all ready to go?" He was in the back of the Idaho Mage embassy, which meant, as it turned out, that the woman there was actually the Ambassador. She looked older, so probably wasn't a healing Mage. From the way the space rippled around her, he was going to bet some kind of combat specialty. She had several weapons on her, with one pointed directly at him, ready to fight.

Like that would work?

She attacked, almost instantly, as the others jumped out of the way, screaming. At least Maddy yelled no, which was nice of her. Zack moved out of the way and simply walked in places the energy wasn't and slapped the woman. Hard, and right along the jaw, which knocked her out.

He actually had to hold back a lot, so the move wouldn't kill her. Then, without asking, he pulled the rest of the magics from her, as the two men stared at him. Like he was going to pull the woman's clothing off and rape her or something? Because that made sense. Clearly if he were going to do that, it would make more sense to rape one of them, so that no one would be willing to accidently back up their stupid friends again. Not even by mistake. He didn't say anything, until he had it all, then he stood up.

"Should we go? She's about to wake up. I trust that you'll have a handle on this before the next pick-up? Because I've got to tell you, this was annoying, and wasted time. A whole minute. Not that I'm actually that busy yet, but it could happen and really, you don't know that I'm not, or didn't, right?"

Maddy made a hard face, and seemed a little bitter, but one of the men, the younger one swallowed hard.

"I'm so sorry about that Line Walker. She... her family had a bad experience with a Greater Demon that plagued them for generations. One called The Reckoned? It's left her a bit... leery?"

He seemed upset, so Zack decided to let it go.

"Ah. That's not someone I know, yet. Well, let's go?"

That didn't take long, even with the three bags they had. They had to wait then, for Jen and Hiram to show up, if they were going to. Really, they needed chairs in the node room, for things like that. On the good side, he could easily get some snacks, and there was no reason they couldn't go and sit in the cafe. He suggested that, since it would have to be more comfortable.

That meant he was able to get to his new people, as they walked in the door, and on a whim, added Kait to the group.

"Kaitlyn will be training you on register and the computer system. She set it up, so that's efficient sounding. Jen, you, Kaitlyn, and I, have a meeting first. Important people, so remember to breathe and act professional. Don't let yourselves get flustered." Marissa walked in the front door, looking cleaned up, and wearing fresh clothing. It was a dress, along with tight looking boots. It was all in tan and a thing that was a bit short on her, because it belonged to Lenore. He'd seen her in it before. It was cuter on his girlfriend, but worked well enough on the Vampire elder.

"Here we go. Marissa! Over here!" It took a minute to get everyone around in the same place and longer to work them into the next room, but cutely enough Hiram and Madeline both came along too. He didn't mind, personally.

Zack gestured at each person in turn, starting with Jennifer and Kaitlyn.

"These are the people that I wanted you to meet. Particularly Jennifer. Maddy Morse is the head of the Mage Guild. Marissa is on the Vampire Council. You should all exchange numbers. Possibly with Hiram too, in case you ever need a good thief, though you didn't hear that from me."

He meant that last bit as a joke, but Maddy pulled the girls to the side and Marissa smiled hugely enough that her fangs showed a bit, even though they were hidden pretty well.

"Ah! I could perhaps, use one with those skills. Particularly a Mage. We should indeed exchange numbers."

That required some pens and papers, but everyone did it, including with him. Even the two men got all the numbers. The younger one seemed pretty interested in Jen. It was a bit strange, since Kait was right there, and pretty hard to ignore, but it was clear she was being ignored. Not as a game either. Some men would do that, paying attention to the less pretty girl in order to get close to the good looking one, but this man seemed very interested in Mage matters.

Maddy pointed.

"Jennifer? If you take a summer internship with my office, Bart will be your direct boss. I didn't know that we'd be meeting a member from the Vampire Council today. Is Marissa going with us to the summit?"

The lady herself covered a laugh with her right hand.

"Oh, my, no. I have some matters to see to here. I'm over-nighting with Zachery, and then, in the morning, will be off to my next audit. I hope that you and your people will support peace in this current issue? I didn't come to lobby you today, but since I'm here..." She laughed again, and so did the others, including Hiram.

Zack just nodded, since it made sense to him.

"Good plan. I'm fully supporting peace, if anyone asks."

Maddy nodded.

"That's our current plan as well. Peace is almost always the better option. It was nice to meet with you, Marissa. Please feel free to be in touch? If you can't reach me..." She smiled and winked at Jennifer. "Get with Miss Stone here? She should be able to pass messages for us, if I'm out of cell range."

They made pleasant sounding conversation, until he had to make the transfer to the Ettarian lands. That was nice enough, since they were kind people, in the main, the Ettarians, if tall and telepathic. The man that was waiting for them was young and blond, standing at about seven-four. There was a lot of bowing, and gesturing for the three he'd brought in to get on the funny looking shuttle. It slid, on a very smooth pathway, rather than on wheels. The whole thing was a pale cream color. Then, a lot of the Ettarian lands seemed to be that. It had to do with their technology, he knew.

After that, he let the others get to work, learning the ropes. He managed to sit down for a bit, and even get a light supper, which consisted of enough food for a family of four to gain about six pounds each. So light was a bit of a misnomer. That thought got him to smile. Right up until the phone rang at his desk. He was there, so answered on the first ring.

"Hartley and Co. Books, Zack speaking, how may I help you?"

The voice that came next, was both happy and familiar.

"Ah! Mr. Hartley! It is I, Bey. I hope that your day is being a pleasant one?"

Zack felt a bit surprised, since the man normally didn't call him. Not that he wasn't allowed, but the being was ancient and didn't trust phones in the main. Not enough to own one. That would mean that he was calling on business, not just to pass the time or anything like that. Bey didn't do things like that without a good reason.

"Not too bad, for a first day. It's actually been a bit busier than I thought it would be."

"Ah! Yes, I heard that you went on a daring rescue of young Marissa? Going into the place of her captivity and dueling with several of her captors to free her from their clutches, most bravely?" There was no hint of the man trying to tease him at all. So someone was telling him better stories than Zack knew about at least.

"Well, I went and got her and she really seemed like she couldn't get out on her own. There were no guards in the room, and no fighting, other than some blocking when I first went in, so that she didn't take my head off. That worked though. She's out and safe now. I don't suppose you know something about this? She was pretty certain that someone on the Council was responsible? She has no proof, just suspicions. I'd hate to have ruined a plan, but when the call came in..."

"There was no such plan to my knowledge. I was asked to help assure our mutual friend, Marissa, that we, her cohorts, were not behind this. To that end, would it be possible for us, the others and myself, to set up a meeting with her, do you think? We might need your assistance in this, to do it in a timely fashion. I dislike abusing your good will. We should speak of terms first? I know that you would do this for free, just to aid us, but we need to give something back." The voice stopped coming then, since there was simply, to the best of the man's knowledge, nothing that he needed.

It was close to true.

He had more money than he could count, but Darla had pointed out that it wasn't nearly as much as it might sound like. If he needed to deal with any of the others, he could need hundreds of millions even for simple things. As a token, true, but it could come up. Gold, jewels, magics from different sources, and sometimes people. If he wasn't going to do that last one, and included any sentient being as a person, which he did, it meant he needed to collect some of these other things.

The Vampires were wealthy, and strong, but short of demanding cash, they didn't have a whole lot for him to work with. Asking for millions just to move from place to place wasn't going to work either, was it? So that meant he'd need to be clever about it all.

"I could use a night crew for here. The employees will be paid for it, but need to be able to work with a wide assortment of people. Also, do you have any government contacts in China?" The man lived there after all, even if he looked more Middle Eastern than not. So it was just possible that he might know someone.

There was a brief pause.

"I do have some. To what end? Do you wish to meet with them?" There was a guarded hesitancy to the last bit.

Zack understood. He was willing to risk himself with Zack, and even some of his own people, but not his Human friends. The Line Walker was a Greater Demon after all. So that made it a good plan, really.

"That won't be needed. There's a Taoist healer, a Mage, that has been cut off from traveling, or getting stock, but won't leave his homeland. It would be good, if he could be... forgotten about? He's near death as we speak and might well die in the next days. I sent some medication along with his family, but it might be too late. Still, if not, it would be nice if he had access to what he needs. If his family could be allowed to visit normally, too?"

There was a sharp sound, which he understood was Bey clapping. Happily, Zack hoped.

"I will see to this, immediately, even if you cannot aid us in this effort. What else would you seek done?"

That was the hard part, since Bey always asked that, and Zack always ran out of things to ask for. Except, really, he had some things now, didn't he?

"On your next visit here, I'd like to formally introduce some of my people to you? Possibly the others on the Council, if they're around?"

"Ah?" That was all. Then the little being waited for him to respond. It was infuriating. Zack grinned and let himself not feel it.

"Jennifer Stone, and Kaitlyn Fargo. A Mage and an Alede. Both are going to be very important, I think. Well worth meeting now, when you can more easily make friends."

"I recall young Jennifer, having met her at our embassy there. The other is unknown to me, but if you recommend them to me, I shall hold them in the highest of esteem, rest assured. Now, would it be possible to come there this night? I know that seems rushed, but it is better in general to strike soon after such events, rather than wait for wounds to fester and rot."

Which was, no doubt, good advice. Also, most likely, a trap. Who it was meant for, Zack couldn't tell. Marissa wasn't in on any plots to get him, which was a thing he knew for a fact, but that didn't mean the others might not be. The rest of the Vampire Council. It would be foolish for them to try it, but that didn't mean, now that they knew he was a Greater Demon, and a very young one, that they might not test him. The time honored tradition was killing his kind, after all.

As shown by that Mage earlier.

Zack did something he normally wouldn't have, and tried very hard to believe what he said next.

"Let's do that. Can you all be waiting, at about midnight? Near a node would be good. Or several. Are you all in the same place right now even?"

That, helpfully, turned out not to be the case. It was a nice sign, but not anything certain. After all, the Vampires were known for being tricky. It was nearly their thing, when it got down to it. They were clever and planned things out on levels that were nearly... Demonic. He smiled then, only feeling slightly proud of them. It wouldn't do to underestimate his friends after all.

Bey had the node locations for all of them at least, and it wasn't hard to find Marissa. With a single phone call in fact, since she was sitting in the back of Yoghurt World. He walked down, because it wasn't far and he really wanted to see Lenore.

'You mean you really want to fuck Lenore? Not that she isn't a real wild child in the sack. I swear, this place is killing me. You're going to have to get us some soon, or I'm taking over and doing the first piece of trim I see. I swear it.'

Zack nodded. It was probably harder for MH than it was for him, since he'd been burying that sort of thing for several hours, so that he wouldn't make too many mistakes. It was easy enough for him to manage, but without that he would have probably slept with a lot of women that day already. Maybe all of them, if he could manage it physically.

Which, he could, he realized. It was strange, but he just wasn't the person that he'd always thought he was. It was amazing what a little food could do. That reminded him to try and catch another snack on the way out of the frozen yogurt place. It was getting late enough that, while Lenore was still there and several other Vampires had come in, no doubt on business, Edom, the assistant Ambassador was there too. So was his little friend, Barb.

She looked at him nervously, but managed to smile, which was better than his greetings from her lately. Since two weeks before when she'd found out he wasn't just a regular Human, to be specific.

"Barb! Looking awake and healthy, I see. So, when are we getting together for that date?" He was teasing her a little bit, since they technically had gone out once already. He hadn't slept with her, since that was literally the day he'd started seeing her mother. Lenore. It was hard to remember that, since the 'daughter' looked about six years older than the pale strawberry blonde woman. Her skin wasn't dark, but she had that blush of youth still, for a Vampire. Her dark hair offset her skin, but she didn't have that dry feeling that the oldest of her kind got. At least if Bey was any indication.

"Hey Zack. Yeah, I... You know, let's do that? It was pointed out to me that I've been a bit of a ditz lately, treating you differently than before. I mean, if you aren't the same person, or want to be treated differently, you'd just order me to, right?" She grinned at least.

He, for his part, rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Or, you know, I'd gently suggest it? Still, I am going to get all demanding right now, and ask for you to whip up some treats? Um..." He looked at the menu, and then shrugged, he got it all for free, didn't he? "One of everything on the menu. Try to do it well, since you know that Lenore will come and check your work."

That got the other woman, who was at a booth across the room, talking in a low tone to a man that looked huge for a Vampire, and had skin nearly as dark as Edom. His bald head and stark black beard made him look tough too. He was younger than the rest, clearly. Enough so that he kept raising his voice.

"I cannot allow that! They must be removed."

What the issue was, Zack didn't know, but he was willing to leave it alone, unless it turned out to be about his little Vampires. The ones that were at the old summer camp that Zack owned. Or at least Bey kept trying to give him. He didn't have the paperwork on it, but he sort of thought that such things weren't all that important to the very old. The words were said and that was good enough.

He was thinking of them, naturally enough, since two of them were sitting in the first booth, looking highly nervous. Watching him. Rowan and Roland. He nearly smiled, seeing they were both still alive and everything. It hadn't been, and probably still wasn't, certain at all that they would survive, but they'd lasted months. It was a good sign.

He didn't wave, since that would be a bit too cute, and he had a real mission. Instead he headed directly to the back, as Barb gave him a dirty look and muttered something about kiss-ups. Marissa wasn't alone in the back, sitting in conference with the local Police Chief, who was a Vampire that looked to be in her late forties... and was probably a whole lot older than that. Chief Sims. The woman stood up when he walked in, which was a first. The last time they'd met she'd barely noticed he was there, at first.

"Line Walker! I... Meant no disrespect." She looked down and then actually got to her knees, while Marissa hid a smile with her right hand. It was an affectation, but she still did it pretty well.

"I did warn you that he was here, Althea." She seemed amused, as the slightly older looking woman in her professional outfit, which was a dark blue, with a stark white blouse underneath, started to beg. For her life. For the lives of her people in the area. Including he noticed, a bit abstractly, the police department. He just waved at her.

"That's all right. I didn't hear you. This time. I'll be nice. Stand, please." Then he offered his hand to her, and nearly winced as her life hit him. It had been hard. Brutal on a level that he feared his own probably was, at least during that year and four months that Mirror Him still kept from his conscious mind. It was spread out more though, for this woman.

The voice in his head spoke to him, not bothering to try and reflect in anything.

'No, Zack... It was worse than what you think, by a lot. Still, you should punish her somehow. Spank her, or kill some of her people. She was just saying that you were a fool, and that they should kill you. You can't let that happen, even as talk. You shouldn't let it go. One sign of weakness, and her kind will swarm all over you. As in, taking you up the ass and then chopping your head off. This isn't some kind of a joke or game.' There was a slightly defeated tone to the voice, as if he thought Zack was just going to ignore him.

It was tempting to do just that, since he really wanted to be nice, but Vampires had rules about things like this.

When she got to her feet, he sighed, and let the space in front of his moving right hand warp incredibly, before letting himself move. It meant that, with his natural speed, the Police Chief nearly died, blood actually spraying away from her head a bit. It was nearly what Bey normally did to people, making their heads explode. That was a trick though, and required more force as well as a timed opening of the hand. Zack managed to pull the movement about a quarter of the way through, which merely sent her crashing into the reinforced cement of the back wall, buckling it outward a bit when she smacked into the white paint. She made a mess, too.

Blood was everywhere. She lived though and weakly tried to stand, not being able to do it yet, as the elder Vampire Marissa schooled her face.

"That, my dear, is why we do not mock Greater Demons, even when they don't seem to be present. Remember this, for the Line Walker is a delight compared to most of them. Are you taking her as your slave by your rules, or ours?"

The Greater Demon way would be to lock her in as a slave by magic, using a deal. The Vampire one would be easier, but less certain and involved beating the woman, then raping her, probably anally, and tossing her into a corner, at least figuratively, broken and unable to fight back. Technically, he knew, he should at least continue the beating, if nothing else. Not as a lesson for the Chief, but for the others there, including Marissa. It made him look weak, to their eyes, if he did less.

Instead he walked across the room, and turned the woman onto her stomach, forcing her legs under her, and head down, even as Edom, Barb and Lenore came in to watch what was going on. Barb at least, looked scared. Lenore looked rather pleased however, as if she thought he was honestly going to rape the woman, and that it was a good plan. He had to admit, he was making it seem a bit like that. Her head was still half caved in though, from where he hit her, and it was sort of gross. He killed that off, with a touch of magic, and then lifted her skirt and ripped her panties off. The pantyhose dangled a bit.

Then he spanked her, like a naughty child. While laughing. It was a credible impersonation of an insane person, too.

"I'm doing this to be nice. If you force the issue, Sims, I will take your behind and make my cock the size of my arm first. Not that I know how to do that yet, but I hear I'll be learning how soon. The point is, don't push me on this, understood? The Vampires are my friends, but that means not trying to kill me. Or us humiliating each other, more than needed. Stand up, when you can." He dropped her, letting her face hit the ground. It made a damp smacking sound.

Then he turned to Marissa, and bowed a bit.

"The rest of the Council has booked passage, coming here for a meeting with you tonight? Midnight, if that works for you? I can change that, if you need?"

The woman actually froze, then nodded stiffly.

"Would... I will need to take some precautions in case they have turned against me, for not supporting their current efforts. May I purchase such backing here, do you think? You have Trolls and Shifters, no?" This was said to Lenore, so Zack didn't correct the woman's language.

Calling Trolleinkein "Trolls" was a bit like calling a black American the n-word. Even with his screwed up home schooled education, Zack knew not to do that. Either one of them. Especially if you wanted them to work with you.

That part was up to her and her people however, Zack gestured to Barb, and walked out of the room as if he hadn't just backhanded a master Vampire into a wall and then strongly implied he was going to make her his bitch, in a prison fashion, if she didn't toe the line. The thing there was, if she didn't, he would. It was creepy and not what he wanted, but he really wanted to die a lot less, and letting her run around plotting against him was a poor plan. Really, Darla would probably spank him, for not killing the woman outright.

Maybe with some of that rape, just to show him how it was done. Not that she'd gone there yet, but it also hadn't come up like this.

Gesturing lightly to Barb, he moved to the table with Roland and Rowan, knowing that their names had been something different, once upon a time, before their last master got a hold of them. Mark and Cindy, or something. Not that he cared at the moment. One name really was about as good as another, as far as he was concerned. Plus they sort of matched that way.

"Hey all. How are you doing? Getting enough to eat? Keeping busy?" What did you ask young Vampires that had been taken as spoils of war, anyway?

Rowan tilted her head, holding it, trying to smile shyly. It looked off still, but she was only about forty years old, as a Vampire. So sixty or so, over all, given her looks. He didn't touch her to find out. Barb was better at that kind of thing, but had, he realized, a much better education. Lenore had schooled her people well, as far as blending in had gone. It made a difference.

"We were told to come here. That we were to be the slaves of a Greater Demon. That or die." She didn't seem truly happy about it, and Roland grimaced, hard.

Then he made a single soft grunting sound.

"I think we should run. Say, what happened back there? I heard noise, some talking, but didn't understand it all."

Zack nodded and smiled at the man, who he used to call eighties hair. He still had a mullet, which would have to go if he was going to be working in a book store. Both of them would need better clothing too. That night. They were wearing things he'd given them, still. It was probably all they owned. The things were clean, but looked lived in, and well worn already.

He leaned in a bit and faked a wink.

"The Police Chief suggested killing me. Idly, I think. So I gently introduced her head to the back wall of this place, and then threatened to do your Vampire dominance rape thing. I spanked her instead, because I'm cute that way, but... you get the idea?"

Rowan was clearly the smarter of the two, since she at least went wide eyed.

"You're the Greater Demon?"

Roland simply looked unbelieving, but that didn't matter, as long as they worked hard.

"Right in one. I knew I liked you. Okay, so, first I'm going to eat a bit, and then, while I do that, I'll explain that you aren't really slaves at all. Employees. You get paid and can even earn some vacation time. Have you two eaten today?"

Roland looked around and then, covertly, made a face. It wasn't pleasant, but showed that he didn't want to be beaten either.

"Goat. Earlier, before they drove us here a few hours ago."

That got him to wave to Barb, and without getting up, asked for two bloods to be passed over. He was paying for it, but the two in front of him needed to understand that coming to him was actually a good thing, not a punishment. Then, slowly, over the next half hour, as he ate, he made sure they knew that. Rowan at least, seemed to believe it.

"So... We aren't the lowest on the totem pole here? I sort of thought we were going to be killed."

"Nope. Or at least no lower than any of the other new people, which is everyone. It's a mixed group though, and I expect you all to get along, and be very polite. To everyone. They won't always deserve it either, so be ready for that. If it gets too bad, I'll handle it. For now, it's pretty much a real job. You stock books, make sales, and if you can earn a place there, work in the Cafe. That... Is probably worth doing. We have a Hsreth running it, but need a night shift. If you can make that cut, you're probably going to find yourselves looking at a very bright future indeed."

They didn't believe him, even after Chief Sims came out and visibly shied away from him. Her head wasn't healed all the way yet, but her skin was, so he didn't think the kids understood what had actually happened in there.

When they got to the book store, he started to show them around, but was interrupted the instant they got into the node room. A time distortion field slapped over them all, and a wall of death came toward them. Two Greater Demons, a Lesser Demon and a Manthori Vampire.

The leader, his mentor, pointed a single delicate finger.

"Get him!"

Then, they did.

Chapter five

The fight itself was fast, furious... and a lot more gentle than he would have expected, if he'd been asked a few minutes before. Darla, who was dressed like a business woman and looked completely different today, seeming to be in her late sixties and having a different set to her shoulders and a slightly different chin, held herself back totally, for one thing. Keeley looked like herself, but was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, instead of her normal clothing, which was generally dressier.

Balthias wasn't even blasting fear into the room, which meant that Roland and Rowan tackled him almost immediately. Or tried to, at least. They ended up being held by the nine foot tall red and brown horned Lesser Demon, but not harmed at all, even as they struggled. It was like an adult dealing with two slightly unruly children. That just left Rebekah, the bone white, and blood red eyed, Manthori, and Zack's Aunt, who looked like a sixteen year old runway model.

They did hit each other, but Keeley held back a lot and just wasn't as strong as he expected. Darla had mentioned that to him a few times, but then she'd also said that the other Greater Demon wasn't as good as he was at fighting. That... Wasn't exactly right.

Her technical skill was decent, and at least as good as his was. She just didn't have the speed and strength she needed to really hold her own with him. Not without using magic for it, which she wasn't doing. Probably to be nice. At first. About three minutes into things, as he hit her about six times in a row, right in the face, with Rebekah holding onto his back, ruining his aim, or trying to, she started to get faster. Zack could see the growing bulge in space around her body, flares of distortion showing where she was going to be moving next. It was pretty easy for him to match her though, since manipulating space was, ultimately, part of what he did.

He was also the Line Walker, and they were right next to a node. Smiling, he waited for her to leap toward him, a rather tight and well thrown kick coming around from his left, which he blocked with a knee. The female Demon's leg snapped under the strain of her own blow, and his own leg was thrown out from under him. Still, with a bit of pain control, focus and planning he managed to sort of hop forward, tackling the thin girl, and picking her up in one rather awkward movement. Then he dove, carrying both of them into the node. It was simple enough to pick a destination, so on the other side he let go of her and stepped, or rather hopped, backward.

Her right leg was broken from her own kick, the shin pushing out against the blue jean material, but he was pretty certain his left knee was too. As soon as he got back, he started to heal, wondering if Rebekah, or Balthias would keep fighting. If so, he was going to have to hit the Lesser Demon with the Vampire woman, because there were no weapons in the place, and technically he couldn't touch the creature at all. It was an effect that unreal things had, when interacting with Greater Demons. Ghosts, Lesser Demons and a whole host of other things simply couldn't stand contact with them. It was like a force field, nearly.

Before he could stand up all the way, Darla waved at him, in a fashion that meant, at least part of the time, that the exercise was done.

"Hmmm. Sloppy and slow. You were being too nice to her, by far. I get that she looks like a pretty girl, but all of us can do that, so don't let it influence you. What did you do with her?" If there was concern for her little sister, it didn't show in the steely voice of the iron haired woman. From the lines around her mouth looked like she was prone to frowning a lot, and her eyes seemed to be ready to squint at all times. Considering he'd never seen her as anything except a hot blonde cheerleader before, it was a real change up. The distortions she made in space looked the same, which was what clued him in as to who she was.

Shape shifting was so cool. He really needed to learn to do that, he decided.

Mirror Him chuckled, even if there was another Greater Demon in the room.

'Oohhh, right, then you can be the hot blonde and get all the boys. Good thinking Zack-o. It will let you get in touch with your feminine side.'

Zack shrugged and fired a single thought back, as he gingerly tried to put some weight on his healing leg. It supported it. He really thought that he'd like to try being a brunette. Maybe look a little like Keeley? That got a slight choking sound from MH, at least, rather than a sarcastic comment.

He smiled.

"Oh, I dumped her off in the Elth lands? I'm sort of surprised she isn't back yet. She had to heal her leg, but I figured she'd do that faster than I would mine." He could heal pretty quickly now, but it wasn't instant or anything. Keeley was simply better at magic, according to his mentor, who had been hers, too.

Darla cleared her throat.

"She likely did. She'll also be a good ten hours getting back, and have to stop to eat a few times. She's the Mistress of Souls, not the Line Walker. I guess she's about to learn what that means? Very good, Zack. You really were being too soft on her. If she'd been really trying, you'd be dead thrice right now, and your little Vampire friends here would be servicing Balthias."

That got the giant reddish creature to smile.

"Oh, spoils of war? I did catch them? What do you say Line Walker? We can teach them to defend you better next time?" He was kidding but Roland started to struggle a lot harder then.

Zack shook his head.

"Sorry, not right now. They need to get to work. It's their first night, so cool and nifty Demon sex is right out. We do have some well fed Alede around here that might want a go, since you look pretty novel and all that. You should ask. Normally I don't think they'd get anything from having sex with you, but if they have that taken care of for the day, which they do, they might just want a turn?"

It wasn't up to him to tell the being what to do, but some of his employees were kind of kinky. The Lesser Demon bowed a bit, and then, rather carefully and politely, set the two Vampires he was holding down.

"That would be fun. I take it that I should avoid being seen by the public?"

Zack shrugged and looked at the clock on the wall, which showed that it was nine-thirty. That meant that all the normal people, the real shoppers and Humans that weren't supposed to be around, were locked out for the night. At least in theory.

"Be a bit careful, just in case? Otherwise, I think you're fine as you are. Still, no matter how hard they beg, no sex in public. This is a reputable establishment. Or, well, so far at least. It's only the first day." It sounded funny, and like he was joking, but still had a ring of truth to it.

The giant red form moved off then, clearly eager to see if those succubi really wanted to spend some time with the likes of him.

Looking down at his clothing, he realized that he was a bit disheveled, which meant he needed to change, before midnight.

Darla nodded, as if she knew what he was thinking already.

"Appearances are important. So, how is your day going? Other than impromptu training sessions?"

He shrugged and spread his hands a bit, smiling.

"Busier than I thought it would be, to be honest. Only one person has tried to kill me so far. I'm still not making deals for line travel as hard as I should. I managed to eat enough. I should get a snack, would you like something? We have a real cafe, so, you know, you have to pay for it, but it's really high quality." You didn't offer another Greater Demon food. That was claiming you owned them.

In a way, he realized, that's what he did with his two little Vampires earlier. He'd fed them, so they'd know who the boss was. It made sense, at least that way. Those two were just standing there, not knowing what to do, and probably glad that they didn't have to service Balthias on their first day. They stared a bit, at Rebekah, who was carefully ignoring it. They didn't seem hostile about it, just curious.

Zack waved at her, and then, because she was very exotic, walked over and gave her a hug. It was a bit of a shock, but she hugged him back, and didn't seem scared or anything.

"Rebekah, these two are Rowan and Roland. They work here and will be your night time contacts, if you need rush deliveries arranged. Kids, this is Rebekah, she's a Manthori Vampire, in case you've never met one, so one of your people. She also runs the new blood collection concern. The stuff you had earlier? That's a big deal for your kind, so I suggest you get on her good side. Right now however, I need to get someone to show you the ropes here. Hopefully someone stayed on the floor and they didn't all run off to take a turn with Balthias." Everyone turned to look at him, as if what he said was important or something.

Then, three of them actually meant it, so he waved to the younger Vampires.

"If you two want to get with him for sex, you should make an appointment. Probably with Keeley, when she gets back in. I'm really a bit surprised she isn't yet, to tell the truth." He really was, but Darla moved forward and tapped the time distortion field she was wearing off. Why she'd bothered at all he didn't know, except, of course, he really did, when he thought about it.

She'd been trying to lock him in. To keep him from just running off. It hadn't worked at all, naturally, but probably would have with another Greater Demon, at least for a bit. That was an interesting thing to realize, so he filed it away for later.

His mentor patted him on the shoulder, in a matronly fashion.

"I can't stay. I have a meeting in a few minutes. Hence looking like this. The place looks good, Zachary. Tell Keeley that I'll see her Monday?" It was Friday, which meant Zack didn't have to feel bad about stranding his Aunt on a school night, at least.

"Sure. Is she staying with me this weekend?" It was a strange thing to say, but he realized, belatedly, that he'd picked it up from the contact with Darla. Not that Keeley needed a sitter, but that she actually wanted to spend time with him, being family.

He... Really he'd sort of thought that she didn't like him that much, and had simply been using him to get at Xenses, since she wanted to kill him. Not that it wasn't still part of the plan, but for some reason that he didn't understand, Darla thought he might just manage to survive now. Not totally, and it could be a trick, but it had definitely been part of what he picked up from her. He thought.

"I don't know? You should make the offer. Her mother is out of town, working, for a few days, and she doesn't have any plans."

That, he knew, was a lie. For one thing, Greater Demons always had plans. It was part of why they were different.

"I'll do that, if she drops back by here."

Then, pretty slowly, Darla opened a node point, not using the one right next to her, even though she could, which made an interesting bubble pattern in the air, to him at least, and with a pale blue flash stepped into it, vanishing.

That left Rebekah a little stranded for the time being, since he was willing to bet her buddy Balthias was busy. She was standing about three feet away, so reaching out a bit, he snagged her hand, holding it, like an old friend, or possibly a lover.

"All right, we have some fun things for you to do here tonight then. The whole Vampire Council is coming here in a few hours. Marissa, you know her?" He waited, wondering if they'd met. It was possible, given everything, but the bone white and slightly cool to the touch woman shook her head.

"Not yet. I've met Harland and The Bey, but not her or The Wanderer. Is this an official action? They don't normally meet for minor things, not the whole group like you just said."

Zack tilted his head, but didn't bother lying.

"Well, it could be a trick to try and kill me, or possibly her. If so, then things could go differently than I have planned. If not, we should make sure you get introduced to everyone? Possibly with some samples of your new product on hand, and some promises to get the price down? Marissa mentioned that Gene, The Wanderer, has recently come over to your side in the new blood plan. She isn't, but I think you can point out that you personally don't take offense at that? She does the audits for your people, so you don't want to piss her off." She might also be able to take Rebekah in a straight up fight. Possibly without even really trying. The woman was only a few hundred years old, after all. It made a difference for her kind.

"That would be good. Nerve racking, but... I wish Keeley were here." She grinned at the other two Vampires, who didn't seem to really get everything yet, from their expressions. "I know, it's weird, since she's a Greater Demon, but she's really very sweet. Like... Zack is." She looked at him, her face fixed in a smile, since she'd called him by name, rather than using his title of Line Walker. Like he'd told her to.

He nodded.

"Except that I don't look as good in a dress. Yet. So, if you don't mind, let's see if we can find someone to show these two what to do, and then we can go and make the first introductions? I need to grab a snack, too." He walked then, pulling Rebekah by the hand gently, not letting go. He didn't even when he got to the front desk, to find Kaitlyn standing there, along with Hiram.

The man looked at him and shrugged.

"Jelly went home at nine. I wanted her to have a chance to get her school work done. I know that I don't make the schedules here..." He waited, his face not moving a lot. Tense, as if it had been a bad idea.

"That's fine. Actually, I'd like you two to take that on. Schedules and all the manager's duties? Kait is going off to school in the fall, so can't have the job full time, but she knows the computer system, and treating her like a kid isn't going to help, since she could shut the whole operation down in a couple of key strokes, I bet. It pays more, but part of that will be doing my line travel appointments, and all that too. Lisa was doing a lot of that for me, but..." He didn't explain and from the look on both of their faces didn't need to. "What do you say?"

Hiram sighed, but smiled a bit.

"So, you're serious about not letting me go back to a life of crime?"

"Well, a more controlled life of crime, maybe? Politics, or something a bit safer." The man had been a thief, and a con man, so he had the needed skills, Zack was willing to bet.

Kaitlyn actually went a little wide eyed.

"I get to be sort of in charge of something? This is an important job, too. I mean, this is kind of an embassy, so..." What she was thinking, Zack couldn't tell, but he was willing to bet it involved protecting herself from her own people more than anything else. Her governing body had tried to have her killed once already. Keeley had threatened them into stopping that, but dead was dead, and if they accidently put her name back on a list, that could go poorly for Kait. Plus, alive or not, she might well be black-balled from certain things in her own power structure. Not that a seventeen year old would have a big issue with that yet, but life for an Alede could be pretty long, and three hundred odd years was enough time to have things work out poorly for you that way. If you weren't careful.

Unless, of course, she was simply planning to take over. That was probably a good idea, since her current Governing Body was filled with jerks that killed kids, so they wouldn't challenge them later, if they were too strong. He'd have to mention the idea to her, if he got a chance.

They both nodded.

"Great! Okay, then, these two are Roland and Rowan, the night shift. This lovely lady whose hand I'm holding is Rebekah, who's important in the Vampire community, running their new blood harvesting concern. She also works for Keeley, The Mistress of Souls. As an employee, not a slave. She might be around in a bit, so if you see an incredibly hot teen girl with dark brown hair hanging around, don't hit on her, Hiram." He shrugged then. "Because, you know, she's my Aunt, and that would be creepy. Plus, she's only sixteen, so..."

The man chuckled, his slightly hard looking and decently lean face needing to either finish growing a beard or to shave. Right now he looked like he was ready for a weekend long bender.

"Yeah, because it's the age thing that would keep me from trying to sleep with a Greater Demon." He didn't grin about it at least.

Kaitlyn did.

"She's hot. I know her too, so I'll wave you off if you start to flirt with her too much. So, these two are working with us?" She looked at Rowan and Roland then, her face pleasant and... oddly professional.

"Yes, so, if you two could work out the training for them? They need to be back home by dawn, or a little before that, so... I guess I'll be picking you up and taking you home for a bit, until we can find you someplace closer than the camp? I'd let you stay at my place, but Marissa is planning on using it. Still in a pinch, I won't need my bed, so that might work."

No one said anything, so he walked toward the front of the store, having never let go of Rebekah's hand at all. He didn't then either, but did look at her, noticing that she was dressed a bit like Keeley had been, except that she had a band t-shirt on, that said "The All Vampire Band" on it, and had a picture of her own face, if as a stylized line drawing. That was pretty clever, he realized.

Plus, she was good. He knew that just from holding her hand. It was both real and a deflection that allowed her to walk the streets openly in most places. She looked like she did, not because she was scary and had an alternative lifestyle, but because she was a performer.

Mirror Him took over then, which was a thing he hadn't done in weeks.

"So, I was thinking that we should go in the back room and fuck, before we head over and meet Marissa? Just a quickie. Balthias shouldn't be the only one getting some tonight, right?"

It was blunt, and a bit crude, but the woman looked down at her hand and nodded.

"Let's. I want to avoid meeting the important people anyway. It's panic inducing. Where do you want to do it?"

Walking toward the node room, Mirror Him didn't pause at all, and spoke with a relaxed tone to his voice.

"The pussy is fine. I'm not trying to dominate you or anything, just have fun. I'd go with oral, but given the fang situation you've got going on, I think that should just be me doing that part for now. Not that Zack can't heal up the nicks and all that, but you know, that would be annoying."

She didn't mention the part where he was suddenly talking about himself in third person, but she did let him bend her over the desk in his office, which had nothing on it but a phone. Mirror Him, probably thinking he was being cute, took her jeans down, slightly roughly, and undid his own pants, and then positioned himself right at her opening, just before handing control back to Zack.

The idea, he knew, was that Zack was supposed to be left feeling awkward and like he needed MH to keep things together. Instead he ran his right hand under the back of Rebekah's shirt and moved into her. It wasn't as rough as all that, but MH had said a quickie, so there wasn't a lot of foreplay involved. Luckily, somehow, the girl was turned on enough that she was wet already. That made it all a lot easier on her.

It took about fifteen minutes, and just as she came, Keeley appeared at the office door. Almost as if she'd planned it. He felt a sudden hint of embarrassment, but then locked it down, and kept going, letting the exotic Vampire woman cry out, before having his own orgasm. Rebekah didn't even blink about seeing her there, and just stood up, adjusting her underwear. Zack... Smiled.

"Hey! Darla thought it would take you all night to get back. I knew it wasn't that hard. So, are you staying the weekend? If so we should work out terms, so that it's all adult, and what not." That was an important Greater Demon thing too. This was his territory. She was in it. Visiting was fine, as long as she didn't harm his people and all that. Not that she would, but she couldn't take slaves here or anything. It was one of his rules.

"That sounds fun. You didn't ask if you could have sex with my Vampire." That was just a counter jab, he knew, trying to deflect from the future bargaining.

"You mean my second girlfriend here? I'm part of her harem of men, didn't you know that?" The words took a bit of lying, but were funny enough that Keeley just nodded.

"I had heard something about that. So, what do you want, for the privilege of my visiting you?"

He got his own clothing up, doing it right in front of her, noticing her eyes looking down a bit farther than was really polite. For a relative. Then he nodded.

The idea, according to the library of memories that hung in space around him, was to get her to think about sex. She'd been looking that way, he'd made it seemed like he was agreeing with her... Which might well distract a regular person a bit.

"No taking slaves, or killing my people. That's anyone in my territory, which is the whole city. Have sex with anyone you like, if it comes up. Pay for your food. Normal enough things really. Is that good with you?"

"Terms accepted." She didn't even say deal, but her power flared over him, trying to steal his will and lock him in as her slave anyway, though after a half minute she managed to pull back.

Looking panicked.

"Crap! I was not trying to do that Zack! I'm sorry. I..." Rebekah looked baffled, and he was a bit out of breath. He was almost certain that she'd tried not to take him as a slave, and he'd instinctually struggled as hard as he could, and still almost lost.

Zack focused, using everything he had, and pulled back his panic. She hadn't meant to do it, he was pretty sure, and she was young, so mistakes could happen. So there was no need for anger, but he had to show her that he wasn't someone to be played with either. It was a rule. A real one for their kind.

She looked blank suddenly, as if she got what he was thinking, or thought so at least.

She was wrong of course, since he'd just had sex and punishing her with that kind of thing was exactly the opposite of what that was for, anyway. It was supposed to be fun. Making it less than that was sort of evil.

He glared a little though, forcing himself to do it.

"That was way too close. You owe me for that. Big. Like, huge beyond measure."

She looked down and nodded.

"I know. What do you want me to do?"

"I should make you my slave for a while, but I don't do that. Still, agreeing to not take slaves and then trying for me, even by accident, is bad, Keeley. I should be trying to kill you right now. That... If Darla was here, she'd probably order me to do it. Or at least take a literal pound of flesh. You're going to have to make this right."

He didn't know what else to say and MH didn't come out to suggest freaky relative sex or anything, so there was no help there. Finally, after a minute, he nodded, an idea forming.

"Fine. At midnight I have the Vampire Council coming in. You and your people are going to stand with me for that. It might be a trap, to kill me, or Marissa, the Vampire. If so, you back me. That isn't the end of things. This is too big for me to let it go. How did that even happen, we worded things pretty carefully, didn't we?"

She looked away.

"I'm just that strong. I think, on some level, I was probably trying to take you. You left me in Underhill, Zack. That's huge. You took another Greater Demon through the lines, instantly, and left me in a place that was so far away it took me nearly a day to return. I get that it's only been an hour or so here, but time runs differently on the lines. So, yeah. I take responsibility for what I just did. I'll make it up to you."

He nodded, locking his emotions down totally.

"Good. Well, it won't help to walk around pointing fingers. Let's go and get something to eat, which you will pay for, like an adult, and then we'll set things up with Marissa and your people."

He went to the cafe, but it was closed, so took Rebekah by the hand, very deliberately, and walked to the frozen yogurt shop. That meant Keeley had to trail behind.

In shame.

Where she belonged. After all, she'd tried, and nearly succeeded, in stealing his free will and making him her slave, forever. The only way out of that was to die, he'd been told that by Darla. Yeah, a Greater Demon might find a way to do that and still live, but it was hard and Keeley could lock a person into place strongly enough to make struggling hard, even for one of them.

What she'd done, accident or not, was about as big of an insult as one Greater Demon could give to another. It was, pretty much, her indicating that she didn't take him seriously. Worse, he'd nearly lost. If that had happened... Well, then the best he could have hoped for was a survivable death.

He didn't stomp into the shop, but Edom and Barb both looked at him like he had. That, he realized probably had to do with him holding on to Rebekah's hand like he was. It wasn't outside of the Vampire dating rules, he didn't think.

After all, Lenore was older and had a more important position than the Manthori did, so it wasn't even a question, that way. Of course, the Vampire girl knew that what they were really responding to was the fact that they'd had sex. It wasn't a big deal, except that he'd flirted with Barb for months and never done it with her. Zack was owning it too, still holding the woman's hand like he was.

When Lenore came out, she simply smiled, which was false, but not phony looking. She wouldn't care if he had sex, he didn't think. Her main reason for being with him was to gain his good will, after all. It always had been. Not that she didn't like him, in her own way. She did.

It was simply that, in her mind, in the mind of any Vampire, the old and the powerful had sex when they wanted to. If you were very powerful, you could command it, and others had to obey. That Zack had clearly taken the head of the new blood concern and was openly flouting this in front of the woman's owner meant, to her mind, that he was simply indicating his rightful place. Above Keeley.

It was very different than what he was really doing, which was, he knew, actually seeking comfort.

Because even if it had been a mistake, or a game, he'd come very close to being made a slave to a Greater Demon.

Again.

And since he hadn't known he ever had before, that idea terrified him more than even magic could hide.

Chapter six

"Barkeep, make it a double." He had to force himself to pretend he was in a bar, actually seeing it overlaid on reality for an instant to get the words out. Just to try and be slightly funny. It was too much work, suddenly, but fortunately that came after the words were already out. Edom looked at him seriously, and fixed him with his eyes, carefully.

"Hard day?"

Then, as if playing a role himself, the man "poured" him a large, plain frozen yogurt. Zack took it, gratefully, and started to eat with a red plastic spoon, not answering at all, since he really didn't know what to think at the moment.

He'd been a slave to a Greater Demon. It made sense, after a fashion, since even Xenses had admitted to him that he'd made him do some pretty horrible things. That was, without a doubt, the easiest way to get it done. Even a child of nine would have to do what they were told, in that case. No matter how much it hurt them to do it. Or how much they wanted to fight.

Really, it had to be something like that, didn't it? It always had.

The only problem with that was, simply, that there was no way to break that kind of thing, unless he'd died. That probably meant that the Greater Demon Finias, his grandfather, had killed him. Carefully, and for his own good, of course.

That part he could deal with. Even if the man had smothered him with his own hands, locking painfully over his mouth and nose as he struggled for breath, not able to do it at all, his lungs searing from the pain... Yeah, he could let that pass without comment. It had to be done. Because the rest of it was so bad that even dying was better.

He remembered it.

Not all of it, but that part, his dying, the man, Finias, looking Mexican at the time, and smelling like pears. He'd explained what had to happen and why, and had given Zack a choice.

He could stay with Xenses, or die.

Even at ten, which was the age he'd been at the time, he'd asked the man to kill him. But then he'd woken up. At home, or at least with his grandparents, who took him in instantly.

There were touches of things in his mind then, little hints and bobbles of memories that threatened to break free, even as Mirror Him screamed in his head, trying to distract him. To protect him for one final time.

It didn't work.

He stood in front of the counter of a frozen yogurt shop, a plastic spoon shoveling frosty whiteness into his face mechanically, with everything that had ever been hidden from him pounding into his consciousness, as if it had happened not a day before.

For sixteen months, he'd feasted on Humans and other creatures. All of them begged him not to eat them, since they were alive at the time. Every single one. His mother... He'd been told that he'd eaten her legs and that she'd survived it, but in that moment he could hear the screaming, the begging, as his little teeth tore into her chewy flesh. He'd been ordered to do it, naturally, but he was so hungry...

It was so good.

That was the least part of things. By the time he got to the daily rapes, he almost didn't care. That Xenses hadn't raped him was a surprise, actually. He'd kind of been told, by the Demon himself, that he had. It was just that he'd been passed around to about twenty other things to do the work. So that he wouldn't blame Xenses later, most likely. It was insightful, on his part, he knew.

There were things so dark and evil that he wanted them to simply not be true. The monster had fed him babies. Tiny living ones. It started with Humans, but hadn't ended there at all.

This had all taken place in a silver and purple land, which he knew was what most of his kind saw when they walked the lines. He didn't. He avoided that place, and moved from one point to another. Now he finally understood why.

It took him a few moments, but he rallied enough to get Edom to refill his large cup, and start eating again, and then, slowly, as the memories finished, he made all his emotions go away. It would take time to deal with things and a lot of them he simply wasn't really going to be able to. If he'd been a Human, he would have gone mad, right then, without stopping to consider any alternatives. Nothing anyone could say would fix the damage.

Zack wasn't Human though. He was himself. A Greater Demon, but also the Line Walker. Also a book seller and a businessman. That meant, unlike most of the people he'd ever known, he had real options as to how to deal with things. At the moment, he decided to control himself, and tried for absolute calm. It burned magic at an incredible rate, his mind struggling against what his will insisted had to be done, so he kept eating, one thing after another, even as people stared at him. Keeley touched his arm, but pulled back, even though he didn't lash out at her.

She understood.

Zack... Smiled.

It wasn't a sinister thing, but as the memories came back, he felt Mirror Him slide back into place. Into the spot he belonged, as part of himself. The survivor. The fighter that had, in his most desperate hour, separated from the whole, in order to save them from the darkest things. The stuff that existed inside. He would, Zack thought, actually miss MH.

For a long time he'd been his best friend, after all. True, a slightly abrasive and abusive friend, but someone that was always there for him. Now, they were one. It had to happen, but it was going to be a little lonely for a time. There was no void however, inside, since Mirror Him was still there, just not separate.

He looked around at Keeley, and then moved back.

"Did you want to order something?"

"Certainly, a banana fudge swirl please?" She was watching him closely, but he didn't let that bother him, the world actually popping into focus suddenly. It was, he thought, the way it would have been, if he hadn't been shattered so early in life. He could tell so many different things now.

For instance, Barb was hanging back, and afraid of him, but actually liked him at the same time. She was a little jealous that he'd slept with Rebekah, but mainly just wanted him as a friend. A real one. Not that sex was out of the picture, since he could just toss her down and do that if he wanted, but she sort of hoped it wouldn't happen that way. She'd told him all of that, he realized. More than once. Just in code, asking for dates and flowers, instead of being made to have sex.

Edom realized that something had happened, and was readying himself to die. Fighting Keeley. Possibly Rebekah. He didn't know who'd kill him, but the moment felt right for it. It showed in how he squared his shoulders, even as he made the treat for the other Demon. The girl that looked so pretty and young and was something more terrifying than even he was.

It was a strange picture, since he was muscular and black and in a fight almost no one in the world would have bet on the stick thin white girl for the win, but he knew what would happen even given that. Out of all of them, the only one that was actually relaxed was Lenore. She knew that there wasn't going to be a battle, though she wondered...

Why Zack wasn't getting his own food. She gestured at the cup.

"Taste testing? How is the base product then?"

He actually understood what she was doing, which had to do with distraction. She couldn't eat her own things, so she needed others to do that for her, which had caused an obsession with getting it perfect, over the years. It very nearly was. Tastes varied though.

"Up the fat content, or add something that will mimic that, a thickener or something? We should work on that. Really, it's good. If we can do that though, it will be really high end." He smiled as Keeley took a bite of what she had, and then shook her head, ever so slightly.

"I disagree. It's perfect right now. That would make it too cloying. You should try it with the fudge, Zack, I think that will show a difference."

He did, and she was, naturally, correct. It wasn't about the taste, or the mouth feel, but him eating. It was an excuse to have him be given things constantly, for a time. He was using a lot of magic to keep his emotions in check, but that wasn't visible from the outside. Not really. Finally, after Barb started to help, and Lenore pulled out her notebook, to take what they were suggesting down, he remembered why he was actually there.

To introduce Rebekah. Not to stand there like a freak, having a meltdown.

Carrying the treat in his hand, which was no doubt rude, he waved to the Vampire woman and the Demon girl.

"This way." He knew that Marissa was still there, since he could feel the ripples in space around her, even as she held still. When he saw her, talking softly into a small black and gold cell phone, he waved. It was a small thing, done with a spoon in his hand, but she smiled back and kept talking.

"At midnight, yes..." She paused, and he focused his attention a bit, realizing something. His hearing wasn't anywhere near Vampire level, or Bat shifter, but he could tell what the other person was saying, based on the patterns that the sound made as it disrupted the universe. It was different, but he knew that Marissa was, very gently, being told to go soak her head, since no one wanted to sell mercenaries to her at the moment, because that might just start a war with the Vampires.

It was a point and the Kobold on the phone knew that. He recognized the voice as the blacksmith, from down the way.

That meant she was off the thing not two minutes later, trying hard not to seem panicked herself.

She glanced up at him, from where she sat on the nice dark brown leather sofa, and then looked over at Lenore, and Rebekah.

"I see you need the space?" Her nose twitched ever so slightly, picking up the scent of sex, and her mind made the leap. "Or not? I fear my local options for support in this evening's gathering are limited. I don't suppose you'd be willing to stand against the Council for me, dear? If they attack?" She was talking directly to Rebekah, but Lenore moved to the front and bowed, first to Keeley, and then Marissa.

"This woman is The Mistress of Souls, the Greater Demon. Rebekah is her second." She stopped, slightly wide eyed, but relaxed when Keeley nodded.

"That's right. We, along with the Lesser Demon Balthias, have been asked to help make certain that things go smoothly this evening? I hope that will put your mind at ease in this. The Line Walker contracted us for it."

That wasn't what she was there for, exactly, since the goal was to make certain he lived, but it was close enough.

"Correct." He lied, easily and as if it were simply the truth, without trying at all. He took a few more bites of food first, but then, ten seconds later, the taste of fudge in his mouth, continued. "I'll test each one as they come in, after making certain I'm not walking into an ambush. If I am, well, then you'll need some new council members. If not, I'll bring them here, one by one. If they're going to be a threat to you, I'll handle that before we get in." Unless, of course, they had a really good reason. Then he might change his mind.

He didn't say that. Or even want to.

It was... Different. It probably meant, in some very real ways, he was a worse person now than he had been even an hour before. Part of him wanted to blame Keeley, but that wasn't true. She'd set the chain off, but that... Well, it wasn't bad, just uncomfortable for him. She probably did it on purpose. She knew enough about him to understand that trying to take him could do that. In fact, when Darla had lightly flirted with it once, to test him and see if he was one of them or not, Keeley had nearly freaked out.

Then, at the time, he didn't have any way to cope with things, except Mirror Him, and taking that away would have broken him for a long time. He couldn't afford six months of gibbering right then either, since too many things wanted him dead.

So now, after he had some small ability to handle things, she'd done it herself? It made sense. Of course, waiting six years would have too. She was probably trying to turn him against Xenses, since Darla would have told her how he'd made an agreement with the Demon to try and act like a family. The caveat there had been that, if he couldn't handle his memories, when he regained them, that things might well change.

Having a record of his entire history in her head, she'd figured that he'd lash out about now, and demand Xenses dead, no doubt. Really, knowing what had happened, how much he'd been hurt, and how he'd asked to die, at the end, he sort of felt like doing that.

It would be stupid though. Moronic, on an unforgivable level. Getting involved in Keeley and Darla's battle wasn't a long term survival scenario for him at all. At the moment he had something in place that, while it didn't protect him, did give him some time to think and plan. In order to live long enough to really have a chance it was just possible that he might well need to make peace with his father. The real one.

The other two parents, well, his grandmother had gotten that much right. They'd sold him. To a Demon. Oh, it had been a trick to take them as slaves in the end, but they'd done it. They'd also paid for it, over and over again. Right now, if he'd heard correctly, they'd been taken by the Greater Demon Goethe. Hopefully they were well, because he wasn't running off to fight some unknown power for them.

Then, eating the last spoon of chocolate from the bottom of his container, he swallowed and gave a single nod.

"Keeley, The Mistress of Souls, and her people will hold a position here. We can frame things up nicely, with Balthias behind you. It will look good. Of course, if anyone comes, they'll be friendlies, so try and make sure he isn't spewing fear all over the place, please?" He smiled, the trickle of magic still being needed constantly, to keep him from acting crazed. The memories were still all there, but he was a tiny bit displeased with his Aunt for having dumped this on him like she had. It might be a good plan from her perspective, but it was less of one from his.

Really, if he'd been more knowledgeable and stronger, he would have killed her, he decided. Not because he didn't like her. No, that was silly. She was, after a fashion, as much as a Greater Demon could be, his friend. She was also a vast danger to him. Her power was... Fantastic, he realized. If he lived to be a thousand, chances were he'd never be able to grab another of their kind like she nearly had him. Like she had, others. The Demon Fram, for instance, was still hers to call on and command.

Not that they needed him there that night. Zack doubted they needed any of them, really.

Except that he'd already told Keeley she could stay for a sleepover. Not that they slept. She was still going to dress up in lazy PJ's and have a pillow fight with him and Rebekah, later. Maybe Marissa too. He'd definitely ask.

It occurred to Zack then, what it meant to have Mirror Him as part of his own personality. Well, on the good side, he'd probably have more sex. He still needed to be careful there, so that no one else got hurt.

It wasn't late yet, so he moved to the node and looked at all the positions that the others had promised to be at. Bey was in Toronto, since he had a house there, though he didn't tell many about that. As far as the world knew he lived full time in China, but that was just because when he went most places, the Vampires fled, and he was, in his own way, kind enough not to want everyone to be fearful all the time. Oh, he was a killer and didn't feel anything in particular about doing it, but he tried to be good, regardless of that. It was the action that counted, in the end. That seemed to be his entire life map.

It was something for a person as young as Zack to keep in mind. He didn't have to feel fear, anger or hate, or anything he didn't want to, but what he did still impacted the world around him. It sent ripples through space and time, and that, in the end, was his responsibility too.

Quickly enough he checked the others. The Wanderer, who looked like a tiny boy, possibly being ten or so when he died, was alone, like Bey had been. Harland had three Manthori with him, in the place he was, but when Zack focused to listen to them, they were speaking about the summit meeting, and how to arrange transport for their Ambassador, so that the Classics wouldn't be the only type of Vampire represented there.

That might have been a trick, but if so, it was well done. The four men in that room didn't even act like anyone would be listening to them at all.

Still, he went to get Bey first, just stepping through without warning, ready to block, if he had to. If an attack came.

"Friend Zachary! You have come to retrieve me, and in such a timely fashion! Is all well? I do hope that Lady Marissa isn't too convinced that I have turned against her? I truly know of no such plotting and would have discouraged it, if I had word."

Zack put his hand out, smiling, and the tiny man, with his large nose and big ears, returned the gesture with a smile, even though they didn't normally do that kind of thing. His entire life crashed into him, with each moment being recorded. It was a lot longer than anything he'd encountered before, and it took effort not to let the strain of the other man's years show. Thousands. Even Bey himself didn't know how many, to be truthful.

He'd started out as a rug maker, which was a good job at the time, only to be sold to a passing merchant one day by his father, who, after all, had many children to feed. Bey, who'd been "Waveed" back then, was then used harshly for a long time, until he ran away. Then... Well, in the end, he met a woman, who was a Vampire, and that story stretched on for a much longer time than would be expected. Really, as far as the little man knew, she was still alive somewhere. His one true love. One day he'd go and seek her, he knew.

The thing was, he really didn't have a clue as to any particular plotting. He had gotten Lenore not to mention Zack to her in particular, but that was actually so Marissa wouldn't worry too much, being already very concerned about owing the Line Walker as a mere Human. As a Greater Demon she might ruin them all, trying to repay things that, Bey was beginning to understand, Zack didn't really care about at all. It was, as the man himself had said about him once. Zachary only took value in his own work, and cared not for petty things.

It was a bit of a pretty way to think about it, but was true enough. He just didn't.

"She's a bit worked up. I worked up a guard for her, after a fashion. The Mistress of Souls and her people? Keeley... She and I are fighting right now, a bit. She doesn't know it yet, though. Or, she knows why, but not how much she'll have to pay for it. When you meet, she'll know I said this to you, so, don't be surprised if she winces a bit. It won't be about you. She likes you." Zack sighed as the man looked at him, true bafflement showing. "Not that I'm not her favorite nephew. Still, I'm sure we'll have some hard words over things."

"Do you need the aid of the Vampires in this? I will stand with you, even if it means I perish from the Earth." There was a solemn intonation to the words, and it was really clear that he meant it. If Zack had to fight Keeley, Bey was on his side. No matter what. It was nice to know, really. More, he was offering to bring their entire kind into the mix, if needed.

"Thanks. It won't come to that. She just... Well, you know how I have another person in my head?"

The man nodded, his face going blank.

"Well, that person held some of the most horrible memories that a person could have, away from the rest of me. She set things in motion, so that it's fixed now. It wasn't a kindness. Needed to her way of thinking, but she didn't do it to aid me, just herself. I'll..." He froze for a bit and realized that really, he was fine. It was hard to think, but at the same time, things that had been broken were healing. What would happen at the end, well, he knew that now, didn't he? The pattern was clear.

"I'll be good actually. Sane. Soon, I think. Or at least much closer than I've been since I was nine or so. Right now it's very rough however. I'm using magic to hold things in check." He tapped his head lightly with a single finger. "In here."

Bey made a face, as if he didn't know how to respond at all.

"Line Walker... Should I send her flowers and laurel wreaths for her brow, or the head of her pet in a box?"

"Neither. Maybe a strongly worded letter, if I can't think of anything else to do? This will work out." Or he'd die, but saying things like that was foolish, no matter what he felt inside at the moment. If he did lose and fail, then it wouldn't matter, and if not, then he'd look worse than weak, but wrong, and like he didn't have faith in himself.

He put his arm out to the man.

"A small hop, on three?"

There was a gentle nod, and it happened perfectly, getting them back to Yoghurt World instantly. As he'd suggested, Balthias was standing behind them all, and Marissa was in the center of Rebekah and Keeley, both of whom were armed, with swords. It looked pretty good, and upon seeing it, Bey clapped a few times. Because he was, as always, pleased to see others doing well.

"Wonderful! That is very impressive!" He bowed to Keeley first. "Mistress of Souls. The Line Walker mentioned you'd be here. You are well?" He didn't glare at her, but seemed mildly disapproving.

She got that without even reading his mind, it was clear.

Then she nodded, once, not commenting on it.

"Bey Transmorguir. I see you aren't plotting against Marissa?"

"Ah? You can tell that using Demon magics? That is a most clever trick. Then, none thinks your kind less than clever, do they?" For all that they might be taken wrongly, the words were polite enough sounding.

Keeley bowed back slightly.

"Not this time. It's simply that if you'd been working against her, the Line Walker would have killed you. I'm very glad that wasn't needed. You're one of my favorite Vampires, you know."

If Bey was shocked by the news it didn't show at all, so Zack nodded.

"Mine too. So, let me grab a quick bite to eat and then see about the others?"

Keeley had already set that up, and had a caramel and peanut dish coming for him. A large one. It was clear that she was trying to make up to him at least. It wasn't nearly enough, but it was better than killing him, so he tried to accept it for the time being. It took half a minute to finish it, going carefully so he wouldn't make a mess, and then he was off to get The Wanderer.

The being was alone, and the door to the room they were in was locked. That could have meant a lot of things, but he didn't start or jump when Zack came through, just moving his head slightly to track him.

"Line Walker. It is time then?" The words seemed sad, and very final, but nothing in the room moved at all. He put out his hand, for the boy to take, which caused another crash of memories. It was different this time.

Bey lived his immortal life seeking peace. Through death and violence, but it was still his goal, in the end. Gene sought new things. Experiences that he'd never had before, sensations that were just a bit different than what he'd known.

He fully expected to die, it was apparent. Right then and there. Not that he had anything to do with Marissa being taken and held. No, it was that he'd spoken against the plan for the new blood system, and figured that Zack was behind it, if in secret. The easiest thing to do, in this case would be to assure the elder Vampire didn't make it to the meeting at all. Or anything else, ever again. He doubted he'd win, if it came to a fight, either.

Gene was small, being a boy when he died, but strong and fast, which against a being like the Line Walker didn't mean that much. He'd go into the line and probably simply not be anymore. There was no courting of death in him, but if it came, he was satisfied with his life and how he'd lived it.

Zack nodded a bit, taking it as the second lesson of the night then. Bey had showed him that actions counted more than feelings, and Gene taught him that it was important to live a good life and actually experience things. It would be too easy to hide away, suppressing everything he felt all the time, especially now.

Not that he wasn't going to keep doing that, but he needed to let himself love and enjoy things, and even on occasion, feel negative emotions, as long as they didn't control him.

"It is. When we get into the room, you'll be met by the Mistress of Souls, the Lesser Demon Balthias, Rebekah the Manthori, who runs the blood concern? Marissa and Bey. Try not to jump them instantly. It's all for show. Are you ready?" The boy touched his arm lightly and made ready to do it, still not believing that he was going to survive the next moment.

He jumped though, and didn't act shocked when they got in, or even when Barb walked up, and handed Zack more food. This time it was an actual sandwich, from the food court. An Italian meatball sub.

He smiled.

"One more then. So far so good." He didn't explain that, gesturing at Keeley instead. "This is the Mistress of Souls, the one secretly behind the new rules for your people. Keeley, he recently changed his opinion, throwing in with you, so, no need to kill him or anything."

She stepped forward and smiled, putting her hand down to shake. Then, after they did it, she stepped away just as smoothly.

"Excellent. Now I just need to sit down and try to convince Marissa here that it's economically feasible. I have some plans that will get the price down. That will still leave a lot of work as to getting the Vampire population on board, but, as they say, one step at a time. It isn't like we can't go slowly, over a few decades."

If watching him eat was annoying, no one mentioned it at all, meaning he was able to do that quickly and then go wash up in the restroom, since careful or not, he managed to get red sauce all over his hands. Then, looking into the last room, ready to be attacked, he walked through the node, ending up in Idaho, which wasn't that far away at all.

Harland jumped, but was alone. He bowed, going lower than he needed to, and making a small flourish with his right hand.

"Line Walker."

Zack put his hand out, trying not to seem wary, but there were no councilmen left to be part of the plotting. It pretty much meant that he was the one, or would, in a story. He was totally innocent however, and it showed clearly.

Titling his head a little, Zack spoke, his words sounding nicely firm.

"You have people you wish to get into place at the summit? I've already taken the Vampire ambassadors, but if you wish to trade something for it?"

Manthori Vampires tended to have the strongest psychic abilities of all the different types. That meant the man picked up on the fact that his mind had been rather neatly read, and also that he didn't pretend to be shocked about it. He had to be powerful that way himself after all, or he wouldn't be their leader. They didn't fight with fists for the position after all.

"Would you be open to a trade of information?"

"Possibly, what do you have?"

"I have a man, one of my people, who came to me recently, begging aid. He claims to know where there are some twenty Human children being kept as sex slaves, and seeks help in retrieving them. It has been said that you have some interest in granting such aid?"

Zack looked at the man, as if he were stupid, since even he could see that wasn't a real trade at all. It was, ultimately, more work, wasn't it?

Still, what you did each day counted, right?

"If you put together a group to get them back, and help find their families, I'll get your man into place to do it. In exchange, I'll take your people to the summit tonight."

It wasn't lost on Harland what that meant, it seemed, since a small tear came to his eye.

It was fake, Zack knew, but the effort was appreciated.

Chapter seven

For the next four hours, Zack ran. Sometimes literally. The first moments, taking about ten minutes, went easily enough for him. All he had to do was move Harland to Westfield, and make certain everyone knew not to kill him, then move his chosen ambassador to the summit.

After that, things got strange. For him at least.

To start with, he needed to make a call. That meant, for him at least, going to his store, since he didn't own a cell phone, and everyone else was standing around arguing. It was a soft thing, with Bey clasping his hands, as if worried, and Marissa glaring at Gene, who was, as he proclaimed, innocent in her captivity. Harland watched Keeley, and occasionally Balthias, as if wondering when they were all going to die.

It was probably a fair question, since she was standing there watching all of them like they were food, and she was a hungry lion. Tasty little Vampire treats that she couldn't wait to get her paws on.

His Vampires.

"Back to the book store then. Keeley, Balthias, would you both come with me? Rebekah..." He looked at her and then the much older beings of her kind that sat around the space. "Maybe you could stay and answer questions about your new projects? Let me know if we need Richard Swerlin for this, too. We can probably arrange a meeting." Not that he knew that for certain, but it was night and the man was a Vampire. One old enough to not need sleep, so he was probably available for this group of people.

The chalk white woman smiled at him, as if he wasn't planning to leave her with what had to be the four most powerful people in her Vampire centric world. Then, she worked with Keeley day in and out, so maybe it was just a relief for her? The Demon girl was trying. For him at least.

"That would be good. I can wait in the other room with the embassy staff?" She asked at least, and looked, oddly enough, at Harland, not any of the others. He smiled, showing rows of shiny white fangs that made his face look like a true horror, and happy at the same time.

"I think we can do that, Miss Rebekah. Thank you, Line Walker." He turned to the others, very ponderously then and bowed slightly. "I know it takes from the moment, so please, forgive me Marissa, but I have need of a combat group. The Line Walker has agreed to aid us in the recovery of some Human children. One of my people has requested it."

That would have normally started a long discussion, he was sure, but Zack waved his right hand.

"Twenty plus kids being kept as sex slaves. I'll get the people into place, and it probably won't take that many, but we need to get the children to someplace safe on the other side of this. I'll be ready in... Call it an hour?" He didn't know, but made himself sound very certain, as if he had a real plan.

Keeley stared at him, but didn't say anything, though Bey did.

"Ah! Very good. I shall assemble a team. Lenore, dear, would you arrange that? Perhaps the Denver group would aid in this, since they have worked with the Line Walker before? I will go myself."

Zack shook his head.

"Not needed. We should probably have a small group of people that can fake being friendly. One for each child? You four need to work on figuring out who took one of your members. If a combat group and I can't handle this alone, then we deserve to die." Then, as if he was important or something, and everything would be taken care of, he walked out.

At the front counter of the place Barb smiled and handed him a large chocolate caramel thing with extra whipped cream. Lenore followed him and touched his shoulder.

"Are you well, Zack?"

He smiled, ate a few bites of the treat and shook his head.

"No. I'll live however. Let's get through this first? I could use that team." Then, a bit coldly, he walked away. It was mean of him, and not what he should have done, for best interaction with his girlfriend, but he also had to convince everyone there that he wasn't just vapid Zack now. Especially Keeley. The rest of the people were more likely to think of him as a person, or an equal. She just wanted to use him for her own projects, and that had to end.

He waved at Edom as Lenore moved to the phone, getting the man to follow along.

As they walked, quickly, down the red brick central area of the mall, he spoke, his voice low and a bit steely.

"I'm taking people in and out. The rest of this needs to be done by your people. If you'd run this for us, it might help your career. Don't go in. I want you to handle the organization of the thing with the man Harland mentioned. Are you in?" He made it a question, though really, Edom wasn't going to say no, was he?

"Do you have a number for this man?"

He did, pulled directly from the head Manthori's mind even. He marched into the back of his store, eating from the paper cup in his hands the whole time. The frosty thing was good, if poorly made. The ingredients were well made, but Barb had sort of slapped the thing together, which probably meant she was secretly freaking out. There were too many high ranking and powerful people around and for a fairly young Vampire like herself, being only about fifty years dead, that wasn't a good thing.

Anyone in that room might rape her, or simply kill her out of hand, after all. Even Rebekah might, as far as she knew. It was bad enough having Edom and Lenore around all the time, and they were her people. Bey was basically the baby Vampire boogie-man, for goodness sake. He was the threat that came during the day and killed you, if you didn't learn fast enough, or wouldn't behave. It was a huge thing that the girl hadn't lost control of bodily functions with them all there.

It was probably good for her. Unpleasant, but it would eventually be important for her to be known to the higher ups.

He signaled Edom to go directly back to his little office, and pointed at the chair, so that the man would sit. As that happened, he picked up the small black phone and dialed, then put the thing to his own ear.

"Hello?" The voice was spooky deep, meaning a large person, since there was a hollow tone to it. People that were faking a deep voice like that always sounded strained and fake. This man, whoever he was, didn't need to bother with that.

"John?" It was just polite small talk, since that was the name of the man he was calling.

"Yeah? Who's this?"

Not wanting a ten minute conversation about what a nice guy he was, and only there to help, Zack lied. It was a new enough thing that he almost added magic to it, before he realized he didn't need to.

"This is Edom's secretary. He's the one the Council has tasked with seeing to the project you mentioned? Please hold." Then, smiling he handed the hand unit over. It didn't have a cord, and the black man didn't smile, taking the whole thing seriously.

"This is Edom. What's needed?"

The conversation was short, and after about three minutes, Edom looked at him and nodded.

"We have the Line Walker contracted to get us into place. A full strike team as well. It doesn't sound like we'll need them all, does it?" There was a pause. "Yes... The Line Walker. The Council traded this with him for other work. We aren't supposed to mention it, but this, saving these children, is his payment."

There was a deep voice from the other end, and finally Edom smiled, though he kept it grim.

"Perhaps. Do you have a map?"

That turned out to be needed, since the children were being kept on a small island twenty miles off the coast of Cuba. In international waters, so no one had real control of the situation. That meant, oddly enough, that what they were doing, taking in a strike team, wasn't even illegal at all. It was a first, as far as Zack knew. Useful.

John the Manthori was actually at the Florida Nexus, which was a place that Zack had been before, pretty often even. He glanced into the node, and saw the nearly seven foot tall white being easily, though he was in the other room. That place was basically like a real embassy, or an office building, rather than a store. That was a shame, since he needed to keep eating. It meant that he was going to have to raid the cafe. Luckily there was a baked goods tray that had been left on the counter for him. At least Zack had seen it and assumed it was for him.

He was going to eat it at least, and just had to hope that Palma wouldn't get too mad about it.

The operation itself seemed to take forever to put together, right until the armed and armored troops from Denver were in place, and ready to go. The hardest part was that Zack needed to create a node point using his own energy, on the island. What he wanted was a permanent one, if possible. There was a technique for doing that in the library of memories that Tarsus had given him a few weeks before. All he needed to do for it to work... was kill about ten thousand virgins. Violently while they writhed in pain would work best as to the needed energy release.

He smiled, and analyzed what was needed, which honestly just required him to make a point, which he could already do, and tie it into the lines, so that space itself would feed into it. There was a time component, but he could set that without too many problems. If he wanted he could make it last for a few hundred years, for about the cost of that tray of food he needed to go and munch. He sort of understood that most Greater Demons just wouldn't have been able to do it. He was special, that way.

It got done, and then he assembled everyone in Denver, since it was faster that way. John was, as he'd noticed, vast. Not just tall and thin, but thick and powerful looking. It probably meant he could have cleared the island himself without any problem, but what he'd needed the whole time was a way to get there and people to help with the kids on the other side of the event itself. He'd actually contacted Harland's secretary in hopes of getting funds to pay for a boat, planning to do it all himself.

Still, faced with a Greater Demon or not, the being knew what had to be done and had a plan. The Vampire hit team didn't like all of it, since, as the Hispanic woman that spoke pointed out, it left them with almost nothing to do. They had all those weapons, and it was a shame not to use them.

John nodded, but grumbled at her, his voice actually quite pleasant.

"We have twenty Vampires of good age, ready to face five drug using Human men of no particular power or combat ability. I do not think we need to frighten the children. I'd like to take these men alive, if allowed?" That got addressed to Edom, who nodded.

It did make sense, after all.

"To see if they have useful information, as to your work?"

"Indeed, sir."

"All right. Line Walker, we'll move when you allow it." That was him being polite and not making it seem like Zack had asked him to arrange the whole thing. It was smart, as far as career building went.

He just moved to the node, the back room of the Denver node actually being carpeted. It was nice enough, but not great for heavy traffic. In years past that hadn't been a thing really, but in the last months business had picked up there, hadn't it? Thanks to him. Martinez, the woman, touched his arm, ready to go first.

"So... Demon? And here I was planning on inviting you over for dinner." She grinned, meaning that she wanted to eat him, and not in a way he ever would have found pleasant in particular. He wasn't into biting. It was an issue with Lenore, too. Vampires always got bitey during sex, apparently. It was one reason why he'd done Rebekah face down. Mirror Him had considered that, apparently. He knew it now.

She had short hair and was cute, but in a slightly butch way. Now that he was picking up information from people he touched, he got that she didn't just look like the woman he recognized from the movies, normally playing a female marine, or space marine to be exact, but she actually was that person.

Zack smiled.

"Well, my blood won't help you, but we can still get together and chat sometime?" He didn't particularly want to think about sex at the moment, but a small part of him, one that probably once belonged to Mirror Him, was wondering if she did anal on the first date. Odds were, he knew, that she would, at least for him. The thought took magic to suppress however, since a cascade of pain tried to fill Zack's mind then, the old memories wanting to flood into place again.

It was still taking a lot of energy to hold things together. It didn't seem right, but he was using nearly as much to do that, suppress some emotions, as it had taken to make a semi-permanent node point where one hadn't existed at all an hour before.

"Ready to move?" He changed topics smoothly enough, and she nodded.

"Like before? Jump on three?"

"Exactly."

They were faster this time, and didn't all have to cram into a tiny space, being in a clearing that had decent cover thanks to shrubbery. Right outside the single story building that the kids were being kept in.

Zack did twenty-two transfers, which took two and a half minutes, and then stood there with five armed and black clad Vampires while John, Martinez and the rest went in, and silently brought the five unconscious men out of the building. Two women too. All adult, though it was pretty easy to see that the ladies had been prisoners. They didn't have chains, but their eyes were dead.

He walked over to where the people had been sat on the ground, and touched each of them, before they could wake. It was sickening, of course.

"The women have both been treated for years with burundanga, which is basically scopolamine. They won't recover at this point. They'll do what they're told however. The men..." He walked up to one of them, and thought about things for a second. He was evil, and had raped children daily, just for fun.

It wasn't that he was a dedicated pedophile. He wasn't overly attracted to kids, and had also used the women for sex, but he loved making people miserable, and hurting them.

He also didn't know anything of use about other operations. Not like two of the other men, who were, in their own ways, even worse.

"This one has nothing to tell us." The rest though, all had a bit of information. So he kept going. "These two have some, mainly about things happening in Europe and these two..." He had to keep himself from slapping them, but managed, if barely. They were the ones that were nicely dressed and had on shoes that didn't fit island living. Of course. Shiny things that were out of place. "These two are CIA operatives, here to arrange kids for delivery to politicians in the States."

He had to fight a shocked and betrayed feeling, even though he knew what he said was true, but all of the Vampires simply nodded. As if that was simply a known and accepted thing. Politicians could be pretty awful people, at times.

Martinez glanced at John, "so, where do you want the kids?"

That turned out, was in several places, since the little ones, and they were all under ten, had been taken from three different continents. That meant Zack had to deliver them to nodes in France, the U.S. and, as strange as it seemed, North Korea. It was delicate, doing that without all the kids freaking out, and they didn't manage it all that well, since not all of them were totally shattered yet, having been taken within the last few weeks.

Still, by five in the morning, Zack was back home, at his real house, so he could get something to eat and shower. It took a lot of scrubbing and more magic, but by six he was almost clean again and felt that way. Inside. When he came out of the bathroom, he found Troy, his best friend and roommate sitting on the sofa, playing a video game. It seemed so normal, after the day before. Good and wholesome.

He pointed at the screen, which was a new thing, and about fifty inches wide.

"Macros Connection. It's pretty decent. You play as a spy, going on special operations missions." Pausing the game, since it would be rude otherwise, he smiled. "How did the first day go in the mines?"

Zack made himself not feel tired, since sleep wasn't happening, and removed any hint of depression from his being.

"Not horrible, as far as that went. I think I'll avoid games about things like that for a while though." He waved at the screen. "I'm making pancakes and eggs, do you want some? We have some real maple syrup."

His roomie blinked. "We do? Wow. I don't think I've ever had that. Sure, that sounds better than the bowl of bran flakes I had planned for later."

There was an affable acceptance to Troy, that Zack could see now was due to his tie with Finias. In part. He'd started out a nice guy, but had been given orders to treat Zack well. He didn't know about that, which was a thing that Zack was going to leave him. It was bad enough being a slave. Worrying about it wasn't going to help him.

He got to work on the food, setting things up first, even as hunger gnawed at his middle. That meant carefully cracking two dozen eggs, and getting both of his new griddles out, as well as the large, and very deep, cast iron skillet. As he worked, Troy walked in, his face happy, holding up two slips of paper, as if they were real prizes.

"I know that you're pretty busy, but I managed to get these. We had a raffle for them at work. The gods of luck are with me this week it seems. Tickets to see a private show from the All Vampire Band. Edom arranged it. They're really good." He shook his head and then shrugged a bit. "I don't know if they're real Vampires or not. The front woman, Rebekah, she doesn't look like it. Red contacts and too many fake teeth. Bleached skin. Still, I wouldn't kick her out of bed, you know? That's tonight."

Zack nodded, but figured that the whole thing had been thrown together in the last hour or two before Troy left the club for the evening. Probably by Keeley. It felt like the kind of things she'd do. The flow of food didn't get interrupted, but he smiled.

"Thanks for thinking of me. I'm in. She's a Manthori Vampire, so, yeah, real. Say, any news on Stocky the Bunny Boiler?" She was a crazy girl, as in legitimately having mental problems, who had been stalking Troy after a one night stand... for about a month. It would have been funny, if not for the fact that she was so aggressive about it. If she'd been a bit more sane, Zack would have just suggested that his friend date her for a while and see where it went. She wasn't hot, being a bit chubby, but not ugly or anything.

Of course, if she'd been sane at all, she wouldn't stand around outside the club telling all the hot women that Troy the bartender had syphilis. Not if she wanted a shot with him any time in the future. That was why Zack was getting invited to the club, he was willing to bet. Not that he wouldn't have been otherwise, but taking a girl would probably assure some action. The thing there was that no women really wanted anything to do with Troy that week, just in case they had to deal with Stocky. Plus, even the hint that he had diseases was going to put a lot of people off.

His friend grunted and looked away.

"She keyed my car. Worse, she keyed Edom's too. It's one thing to go after my economically priced future rust bucket, but have you seen what Ed drives? It's worth more than this house."

Zack winced.

"Damn... It's a fiberglass body too, not just a new paint job. I don't know what that will cost to fix, but it's more than a few thousand dollars, I bet."

Troy nodded, his face looking miserable.

"It's all my fault, too. I should have known that she was off, and not gone there. Now my life is being ruined. I could get fired over this. I mean, she's starting to impact business and Edom isn't going to let her keep on doing things like that, is he?" The hint there, no doubt, was that they, he and Zack, should do something about her before Edom had her killed.

Short of killing her themselves though, what was there to do? Cure her? There were ways to do that, but from what he could tell from the memories being dropped into his head, all of them would take a lot more effort than they were worth. The simplest thing to do would be to make a deal with her and order her to fix it herself. He didn't take slaves though and wasn't starting, just to save a vandal. Still, it did give him an idea.

He went to the phone and dialed a number from memory. That part of being a Greater Demon was pretty sweet, once he had enough to eat. It meant that, on the second ring, when Keeley picked up her cell, he was holding the phone with the side of his head, flipping pancakes, but it still worked, more or less.

"Mistress of Souls." He intoned it, so she'd get that he wasn't all that pleased with her still.

"Line Walker. Am I still allowed to visit?"

He nearly told her no, after what she'd done, but instead relented.

"Breakfast in about seven minutes. I'll make more." She already knew she had to pay, so he wasn't reminding her again. It was an insult to feed her without asking her to pay, but that had already been taken care of in advance. She'd remember.

They both hung up, and he managed to get the kitchen phone back on the hook without letting anything burn and started more eggs, and some bacon to go with it, if they were going to have guests. There was a knock on the door about the time the pink strips of meat were starting to sizzle, and Troy went to answer it.

It was funny, listening to him do it.

"Hey, Keeley! Finally come to spend some time with me? Come in. Zack, Keeley's here! We're going to go to my room..." He was kidding, since they always flirted back and forth when they met, politely enough given that the girl was actually too young for him.

Except that this time she took him by the hand and started to walk off, trying to avoid Zack. That wasn't going to happen though.

"Could you set the table Troy? Keeley." He didn't know what to say, but dished the food up and then broke out several packages of store bought Danish, and set them on a large tray. It was clear that he'd need the calories to get through the day and Keeley had a tendency to under eat, if Xenses could be trusted.

His roommate looked at the temptingly hot young woman with her dark hair, nice bust line and perfect features and sighed.

"Well, duty calls, I guess. So, Keeley, what brings you to our neck of the woods? I thought you were down in Arizona?"

She waved at Zack.

"Visiting you two! You know I can't resist. Darla is busy all weekend with meetings, so she asked me to spend some time with Zack and make sure our brother doesn't bother him."

Troy actually knew all about that, and made a face. The last person he'd managed to get into bed had looked like a famous actress, and pretended to be her, but had actually been a Greater Demon. A dude too. For him that wasn't happy news.

Keeley patted his arm slightly, answering without needed him to speak about it all.

"Don't worry, with Greater Demons gender doesn't matter. Now, what's this I hear about a stalker? It sounds fascinating..."

Zack let her deflect from anything important while he served food, then sat down and started eating some eggs and pancakes, along with melted butter and real syrup. He let the others serve themselves.

Troy went over the whole story again, including the bits about how Xenses and he got busy, along with Stocky, who'd given her name as Ann, at the time, which had gotten him into a big mess. He ended with the cars being damaged, which got a gentle nod from the Demon.

"Well, you could get a restraining order. It won't do much, but then you can call the police in to remove her. It won't really protect you. Have you considered a gun? You should arm yourself anyway, given the life you lead. All those undead, I mean, and shape shifters, just hanging around." There was an almost subliminal shudder along with the words.

She was leading him, it was clear, away from the thought of her in particular, being a Greater Demon. Like anyone would ever forget that?

Zack blinked, but worked it out well enough. Troy, while not a ten, was a nice solid seven and a half and paid a lot of attention to her. She actually liked him. As in, wanted to date the man, eventually. Maybe at least. That meant not being associated with Xenses, who was about five seconds away from being a traumatic movie moment shower scene for his friend. Crying as he tried to scrub the stain away.

Keeley wanted to prove that she, at least, was a real girl.

He kept eating and burning magic so he wouldn't freak out. Bun after iced bun went into his face, so fast he barely tasted anything at all.

When the last of it was done, he just got more and pushed a filled tray in front of the girl. She'd taken very little compared to what she really needed, trying to fool Troy, on a subconscious level. That wouldn't do at all.

He looked at his buddy and then waved at her, explaining it all.

"Little miss Greater Demon has the hots for you. She's trying to work you around to not thinking of her as what she really is, at least. She's a girl, so, you know, as soon as she turns eighteen or so, you should totally look into that. Or if you just decide to say screw it and forget the law. For right now, Keeley, why don't you get on his good side by taking care of his stalker problem for him? It's why I called you over, as you no doubt have already worked out. I don't care how you do it." Because, he realized, as cold as it sounded, he really didn't.

The crazy chick wasn't his problem. He just didn't want her to work out where he lived, and firebomb the place, because that was an actual possibility. Someone had done that to the Tarran 2 LA about three months before, which meant the idea was still out there. That had been Vampires, but you could look up how to make a Molotov cocktail online, even if you were a nut job.

His Aunt made a face and then sighed.

"So, you aren't going to just forgive me?" She tried to make it sound cute.

Zack shook his head.

"No. As it stands, I'm working very hard right now not to kill you, Keeley. If you ever try anything like that again with me, ever, I'll have to destroy you, if I can. I actually like you, so you get a second chance. There won't be a third."

He waited, since the words could start a fight to the death, right there. Instead she nodded.

"I see." Then she turned to Troy. "What would you like done with this situation then?"

It changed the topic at least, even if that didn't fix what was wrong with him.

Chapter eight

It was tempting to try and micro-manage things with Keeley, but that would be a waste of time and effort, Zack realized. She wasn't going to just kill the crazy girl, and that was probably all he needed to know about it. As long as the whole thing didn't come back to bother him later, it was no longer his concern. So, after he cleaned up, he left Troy and the girl to chat about things, which was mainly about the man feeling that something was really going to happen.

If it wasn't finished by noon, he'd be surprised.

Zack went into the mall the slow way, which meant walking across the street, when there was a lull in traffic. It was only eight when he left, so, on a Saturday, that meant he didn't have to wait too long for a window to open up. He used the rift that was right next to his neighbor's slippery elm, the broken and slightly raised sidewalk showing where the gap was nicely. It took no time at all for him to twist a bit and slip through. Anyone could do it, if they hit the direction right. He'd seen it happen, a few times.

Westfield mall was a mess, of course, from his rather unique perspective. From the outside it was a little out of place, but anyone that could sense what was going on could make out all the problems instantly. It had nine nodes in it, but some of them were on the second level, and one could only be reached underground. There was no room there either, since he was pretty certain that no one else had ever done anything with it. The place had a basement, of sorts, but not in that area.

The structure itself warped a bit in places too. It wasn't old, but it also wouldn't last long, not without constant attention from the building management. It wasn't his problem, as long as things were seen to. They also had a bit of a police problem it seemed, since there was a bald and rather surly looking Detective sitting in an old American model car, glaring at the back door of Candles and More. McKenzie. The man used to come in and try to get Zack to sell him drugs, but now he seemed to have shifted to Lisa as his target. That, or he just really had a hard on for candles this morning. Or seedy looking lesbians?

Zack didn't let the man notice him, just walking to the side door and going directly into the mall, using the building as cover. The place was dead inside, like it should be at this time of day, and no one stopped him as he headed to the book store. The problem, he noticed, when he got in, was that the back room had two young Vampires in it. Roland and Rowan. This was the book store back room too, which meant they were in the way of the other employees. Not that anyone was there yet. Well, Palma, but she was doing prep for her section, not watching things up front.

Rolling his eyes, Zack picked the Vampires up and used the node to open directly into his bedroom. They had to share his bed, but they'd live, he decided. It was better than the floor, at any rate.

Then he grabbed a snack from his Hsreth employee, who was pleased that he'd enjoyed the food she'd left him, not put out at all, apparently liking the fact that her work was being appreciated and needed. After he finished, Zack went to straighten the store. Clearly, either he needed to stay there more himself, or they were going to have to fix the schedule a bit. It had to be poor form to leave it unattended, but open, like that.

The place was big, and even though it had only been a single day, needed to be tidied. The crew hadn't done a great job, the day before, as far as that went. He grabbed a dust mop from the supply closet and did the entire floor, then started arranging the book shelves. He was only about halfway through when the first of the customers started in. It was a man, who looked to be in his thirties and from the round glasses and slightly pockmarked face, was either really there for books, or had heard that the women there were so easy that even someone like him should give it a shot.

Of course it was only Zack there at the moment, and he wasn't going to do the guy.

Especially since, he realized, the man was a Greater Demon, not a Human at all. He looked at books, but the distortion he left in space was telling. He had hundreds of tiny bubbles that boiled and distorted things around him constantly.

Zack waved, when he looked up.

"Mind Taker. To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit?" Finias waved back, picking up a book, as if he were really there shopping. He walked over almost instantly, his face smiling.

"Line Walker! I heard that you had a new concern and decided to look in. How are things going?" There was no weight to the words, but given that the man was probably the best Telepath on the planet, or at least close, Zack had no illusion that he didn't know all about the events of the prior day.

"Well, Keeley still lives, but I'm not happy with her. I'm burning magic to hold things together right now, hence the flat affect. Business is decent, for the first days. I know, I need to charge more." He faked a smile and let his mind go blank. Little hints of what he was thinking would get out anyway, but he hadn't learned to shield his mind yet.

He could. Most Greater Demons did, according to the memories. It was one of the things they used as a sign that someone was growing up.

Finias nodded, not even bothering to pretend he wasn't up on things.

"I understand. Well, I'm glad that you're trying to be understanding. Keeley is very young still. Younger than you are, which is a thing to remember, even if she has passed the First Crucible already. She erred, and that's created a problem between the two of you. She... You know that Xenses killed her human father, don't you?"

He did now. No one had mentioned that however, before.

Zack shook his head, slowly.

"I don't want to be mean, but that isn't my problem. I like Keeley, but it's pretty clear right now that my best option is to not go around starting fights with anyone, especially when I can just stand back and let others work it out. That's selfish of me, but everyone expects me to simply die soon. I'm not planning to do that. It's why I didn't try to kill Keeley last night, when she set off the reaction in me. But..." He looked at the man, who'd made himself entirely plain, for the moment, and not like a male model at all. "This might be crazy, but I think if I did it right, I might be able to do it. Probably not, but one time in ten? Maybe as much as half the time?" He meant kill his Aunt, naturally.

The other Demon cleared his throat, but then nodded.

"Or leave her someplace so far away that she might have trouble navigating back? You're a lot stronger than she is, Zachary. Physically. Magically speaking it goes the other way around. It's a bit of a shame that we're all pains in the ass, our kind. If you two could work together, you'd probably end up being unbeatable, if you live long enough. Well, that isn't off the table yet. I agree however, you should hold to your deal with Xenses. It has the highest chance of you living, and will let you deal with both sides of our conflict."

It was what he'd been thinking. Of course, as MH had often said, he'd be best off running so far and fast that no one could catch him. That meant not really having a life, so he let the idea go. There was a cost for everything and no matter who you were, in the end, the cost of living was death.

The man in front of him actually bought the book in his hands, which had to do with quantum reality, of all things, and turned to leave, stopping short, and then walking back.

"I nearly forgot. Gregor, The Cleric, is having a small get together next week and asked if I'd pass along an invitation? It's in Rome, naturally. The Vatican. The girls aren't going to be there, but Xenses might. It would be a chance for you to show that you're a bit more open minded than your Aunts? If you want to, I mean." There was an amused expression to go with the words.

"Sure. What time and day?"

"Friday, at seven, Vatican time. In the evening, of course. Fancy dress, but these things normally have eclectic styles. You should get with Bente and see if she'll make something for you? Impeccable taste, that Demon."

He nodded. It made sense, all the way around.

Or nearly did. Finias had always seemed a bit more supportive of his daughters than his son, as far as Zack knew. Then, he'd gotten that mainly from what those two had said, didn't he? After the other Greater Demon left, going into the lines outside of the store, Zack got back to work, trying to hold things in and keep his mind still.

Not to stop anyone from knowing anything about him, it wasn't that. No, he just didn't want to think for a while. It was... relaxing.

That lasted until about nine-thirty, when Hiram powered into the store, looking a bit wide eyed. Looking around he managed to calm down a bit and then moved over to Zack.

"I overslept. Out celebrating. Did I beat Kait in?"

He had, but it wasn't much of an accomplishment, since she was both an Alede, who were known to work pretty much when they chose, if they felt like it, and right behind him. At least she got in no more than a minute later. Along with four large boxes of donuts.

Hiram shook his head, but managed to grin.

"Damn, you win. I should have thought of that one. Kiss up."

The succubus shrugged, right after putting the pastel pink boxes down on the counter.

"Hey, it would be easier if he'd sleep with me, but since he won't I have to do it the hard way. Quiet night?"

He didn't go into it all, but mentioned the time gap, since the young Vampires were always going to fall asleep when light came. Maybe a bit earlier than that, depending on how they measured when dawn was. That meant getting someone in each day at about five or six. Earlier in the summer.

Kaitlyn nodded.

"You'll have Eve in for that though, right? She can take the early shift. I mean, I will too, as long as I can still..." She glanced at the back room and then, oddly, Hiram.

Zack nearly said no, but then just didn't. He needed floor coverage and if that meant selling poor Hiram to the sex fiends, he would. It was hard to remember at times, but he was a Greater Demon.

The thought made him feel like he should growl or something. Possibly roar. Mighty him, and all that.

"Good, you two work that out, while I finish straightening the place up. Try to keep that done, at all times. Otherwise I'll whine and complain at you."

They both nodded, as if he were actually serious about that, but, he realized, as far as they knew, he was. Zack always told the truth, after all, as far as they knew. He could have made some jokes, using that, at their expense, but being known as honest wasn't that bad of a thing, really, so he decided to try and run with it for a while. Lying was useful, but as long as he didn't have to shout out everything he knew now, he could manage, he thought. It left him feeling more comfortable anyway.

With those two on the job, and more to the point, no one calling or coming in for hours, he managed to get the place pretty clean and tidy again. Then he had a quick meal, which was mainly breakfast again, and was even washed up when the morning rush started. Most of their customers were men, and to start with kept trying to vie for Kaitlyn's attention, naturally. Hiram worked the front desk, and was at least as good about suggesting to people that purchasing things was a good idea, on the way out, as Zack was. In fact, better. The man didn't care if what he was doing was a little too close to demanding payment, after all. He had a sales contest to win.

At eleven they had four Alede, all looking like women, coming over to take a turn, since men really were coming just to see them, even after only one day of being open. Even Valerie took a few turns, since she was in charge of the women's clothing store across the way. Pretty Plus: Passions. The sign almost screamed that the place was run by her kind, now that he knew what to look for.

She stopped by him on the way out, a young man that looked a bit too young to be getting lucky trailing after her. She wasn't human, but that would have to be watched. Zack didn't want the police to raid the place or anything.

"Zack, thank you so much for letting us all come and play. May I call again?"

"Sure. I may even have some friends for you, later in the day? Not that I have any plans, but if people are going to be coming for that kind of thing..."

She laughed, and then kissed his cheek.

"Oh, if it isn't a bother, my mother was thinking about coming in and seeing what damage that Demon did to her reputation? Is that acceptable?" The contact was enough for him to understand what she meant, which was her asking if he'd kill the woman or not for showing up, blaming her somehow for what Xenses had done.

"She's still in Australia? I can pick her up when she's ready. Do you have the number for here?"

That got a shocked, but pleased look. The Alede were actually pretty good about accepting that he'd just do things, since they often got nice gifts from people.

"She is! What would you like as for payment?" Her chest was pushed toward him even more aggressively than normal, and managed to brush his arm this time. The undercurrent of fear, tinged with panic, didn't really help though. It left him feeling bad, or would have, if he hadn't already been locking all his negative emotions down.

Smiling he shrugged, trying to let his narrow frame make it seem cute.

"Well, you know... You already paid. I'm pretty sure that last bit didn't count as your mother being picked up, so you can use your Christmas present for it. Just have her call and we'll set that up. Kaitlyn is on scheduling for that sort of thing. Hiram too. You know him, right?"

She didn't, but the idea was, of course, that she should, so he introduced them and then ran to help an older woman who wanted a cookbook. She was just a regular person, it seemed, and her only desire was to get a book that was about fifteen years out of date, for a friend of hers.

"This is too last minute, but she's hinted about wanting this thing for nearly twenty years and her husband just hasn't gotten the job done. I didn't think you'd have it either, but this was about the last place I could ask for it at." Being that they were new and all. Of course that also meant that they didn't have any books that were more than a few months old.

The computer did let him know that there was a copy of the thing, unused, at a bookstore in Topeka, Kansas. It was cheating, but he used the node and more magic than the book would ever have been worth, to pick it up, pretending he was just checking the back room for it. He had to rush, and technically stole it from the other bookstore. He'd dropped cash by the register, but no one would understand what it was for, he didn't think.

"Is this the one?" He hoped so, otherwise he was going to look pretty stupid, but it was a full color, and totally illustrated master's guide to making cupcakes. That couldn't have too many copycats in the world, Zack figured.

"Oh! Oh! That's it! You found it!" She didn't jump up and down or grab him, which meant that Hiram was allowed to ring it up. They did charge full price for it though. After all, they were a business, not a charity.

Then, after another snack, a tiny and twitchy Bat woman came into the store. This time it wasn't Madeline, though she was due in soon, but rather her niece, Calley. From the look on her face she wasn't coming to score with an Alede, either. Or him.

"Line Walker... A word, if that's all right?" She was very serious sounding, which, given the fact that, even after finding out he wasn't Human she'd always called him Zack, at least to his face, probably meant she'd been asked to get him to do something that he wouldn't like.

"Sure. What's up?" There was no reason to take his slightly down mood out on her. After all, he was planning on sleeping with her, eventually. If nothing else she was decently friendly and had a tight looking body. All the Bats did. Including her Aunt. Of course, Calley wasn't his employee. Not that he wouldn't sleep with people just because of that. After all, Demon. He made his own rules, or would, as soon as he worked out what that was supposed to really mean.

"Jahn Samson called, or rather, he had people call for him, since he's at the summit? His little girl, Frieda, the youngest? She's got an earache and needs some drops for it. The Ettarians have a perfectly suitable substitution, but that won't do for his wife. She insists that you bring the medicine right away. Or, rather, she's demanding it, and no one else can get it there in time to help. I wouldn't blame you for telling her to jam it up her ass, but... Well, my job is to get this done. So, do you want anything I can get you?" She snapped her fingers and smiled, "I know! You can take that bitch of a Rabbit as your slave and then I won't have to deal with her again. At least make her do a porn shoot with Humans or something. She's such a bigot I bet she'd kill herself first. Either way, I win." The words came fast, and too freely for an Assistant Ambassador. At least if she wanted to keep her job.

"That sounds like a plan. Still, the girl needs something. Can you get the meds? I'll deliver those directly. A million, cash. Out of her personal budget. I don't care if she has the funds or not, she can make payments. I'm just getting sick of being mistreated by her. Hey, speaking of Vampires, I need to get my night shift outfitted. Roland and Rowan? Have you met yet?" Not that there was time, but it was a good distraction, since her eyes were huge looking behind her glasses. It was kind of cute, really. Like a cartoon lemur.

"Nooo, not yet. We can do that, as part of this. A million from her personal funds? Ouch. Still, I was just suggesting how to push her into suicide, so I can't really talk. Can I mention the porn thing as a secondary option? I'm pretty sure that our leaders don't have that kind of money sitting around. In fact, I know it, since all our governmental funds are held in common trust. Probably to stop things like this from happening." She grinned though, clearly far too happy to be needling the wife of her top boss.

He nearly relented, not wanting to have to put that together, but he realized that it either wouldn't happen, or if it did, he could use the threat of it as leverage to get the woman to behave.

"All right. Do that." Then he held out his hand, which had the woman dig for a small paper sack that was sort of hidden under the clipboard she was holding. As if anyone would miss what that meant? Then, just to make it all happen, he took her along, so that she could deliver the medicine herself, at least to the tall and decently handsome Ettarian man that was waiting by the node.

'Line Walker. I see my message was understood? It's always a bit hard to know for certain, using a booster. I tried to contact the Westfield Ambassador, but I think I missed and got another location. Still, as long as the horrible little rat woman shuts up, it was worth it.' He blinked slowly after sending the thoughts, and Zack nodded back that he understood, responding in the same way.

'This is Calley Hale. She's sweet, but still has to go and deliver the medicine. Can you get her there? I'll be back to get her in an hour, if that's enough time?'

'It will be done, Line Walker.'

The man couldn't communicate with Calley directly, so some explanations were in order. The Bat girl cringed, but didn't explain why that was. Not at first. Finally, just before Zack left, she touched his arm.

"For those clothes?" There was a lifted brow and a desperate tone to the words, but he shook his head.

"Heck no. That's just payment for your people putting a spy in my place of business. We'll call this transfer an investment in your future. You owe me though. Big time."

She made a face, but was already there, so left with the tall, very blond, Ettarian man.

Really, if all went well, he'd have enough time for a long lunch and then be able to pick her back up. If it didn't, well, he was going to eat anyway.

It killed time and was a chore, but a needed one for someone like him. How the rest of them managed, he didn't know. How he'd done it for years without pain... Well, he did know that one. Mirror Him had protected him from anything that would let him remember what he was, including hunger. Now that things were integrated, he recalled having done it, daily.

Lunch was several chickens, since he needed more protein in his diet, and a lot of buttered bread. It was fresh and crusty, but also made a mess of his desk. That meant he had to clean up before getting his Bat girl back. That she was his now was a bit strange, but it was the plan, wasn't it? It explained why he was pressing her to be around Jahn, and his wife. Being the one that got the job done and who, after he horribly worried the Rabbit shifter that was being a problem for a while, the Bat woman that nobly sacrificed her own virtue, taking the bitchy Rabbit's place in porn. Literally sacrificing her tender ass to protect the evil harridan. If that didn't boost her up the ranks of their power structure, Zack would have to think a lot less of them.

Unless they ponied up the cash. In that case, he'd let it go and simply figure that the message would be well enough delivered.

Calley was, helpfully enough, waiting for him, when he got back to the summit, along with three Vampires, and a Cellephant. The last was a very Human looking person, who was actually part reptile, appearances aside. Before he could say anything at all, Calley did, gesturing to the assembled individuals.

"Line Walker, these people asked me to request your aid? The Vampires here need more blood, and while they can pay for it, they can't actually afford the line travel fee to get it here. Which, since you charge a million for a tiny bottle of ear medication, makes sense. This lady also has a food issue, and requests both a trip to her home caves and return here, so that she might harvest some fungus to eat?"

The reptile woman, who looked a little yellow, in the right light, hissed, her heavy frame shifting under her robe. That was, Zack guessed, due to her tail twitching. Agitated for some reason.

"Is for supplement. The light here, is too much. Use to dark, am I." There was a slight hiss to the words, but one of the Vampires, who looked to be pretty old, and had been when he was turned, nodded.

"That is a thing that I have felt as well. They do much with light here. It is spectacular, and a true feat, but hard on the eyes."

Zack could see that. The very walls glowed in places, after all. It gave things a very futuristic feeling. Like something from a science fiction movie. Looking around for a few seconds, he nodded.

"I'll see to those things. The blood will be delivered shortly. I'll contact the needed people as soon as I get in. Ma'am? If you'd like to come with us? We can go to those caves directly?" It took a bit to organize, and then longer, since the Vampires wanted to know what the blood shipments were going to cost them.

In the end, after far too long standing there chatting about the idea, they worked out that one case of delivered blood would be worth approximately ten million dollars to them, given the shipment method. They didn't have that kind of money, not for things like that, so he traded them other things. They owed him information mainly, and some back up, if he ever had a war or minor skirmish he wanted seen to. It never hurt to have friends, so he memorized all their information and got Calley back to the mall, before taking a trip through several miles of subterranean caves. It was a lot more impressive than he would have figured, since there was an entire underground world to look at. They didn't see anyone, but he could feel the beings watching them.

It was interesting.

The mushrooms weren't really, being the thready portion that normally existed in the soil, as far as surface dwellers like him were concerned. The good part, no doubt. At least the reptile woman next to him, who he realized after a while was projecting the image of a Human at him pretty hard, seemed to think so. She kept sneaking bites as she worked, and looked at him guiltily, as if he'd have a problem with that.

As they walked out of the cave complex, she stopped and made a move that felt like a shrug, even though it was more of a bobbing at the knees.

"There are medicinal fungus that we have, that no one on the surface does. Would this be a trade worth your time, for your efforts here today?"

He didn't know, but nodded. If nothing else he could let Master Wu-Li and his Apprentice try them out.

"It would. We can arrange a time to pick those up, after the Summit? I know you must be anxious to get back to the rooms full of shouting and ego displays."

There was a long hiss, a thing that didn't sound happy at all.

"They do say that Greater Demons know everything, even if they are not there. You have the correct idea however. Why they do not simply listen to those saying 'let us not fight' and go home, I cannot tell."

Zack knew though, when he thought about it.

People lived in separate worlds, without understanding that they did. Their minds were all geared toward their own concerns, and even most of the others, the cousin races, had similar things going on. They were selfish and vain, petty and distorted reality to try and make it fit what they wanted, rather than what was. Even Greater Demons did that, he knew. He certainly did.

Of course, he was still at least a little bit crazy, wasn't he? For his kind, that meant ignoring reality in favor of what they wanted to exist. He could do that with the best of them, he didn't doubt. The trick there, if he wanted to survive, would be in finding out when he was doing it and where. If he could manage it, he might even, sometime in the far future, become sane.

That didn't get explained, since the Cellephant couldn't get that she was just as crazy as the rest of them. Very few managed to take that last step. Other people were crazy, and did the wrong thing, but the blinders were firmly on, when it came to themselves, right?

He just took her back to the summit and acted like he didn't understand people either. There was a time when he really wouldn't have gotten it at all. The day before, in fact.

Now...

Well, things weren't any more comfortable, but he was starting to make sense of the world around him. Little things were falling into place, that he hadn't known about before. Rules and even morals, seemed different, and like they were, part of the time, simply meant to control people.

He could opt out though, Zack knew.

If it was in his own interest.

The trick there would be in doing that, but making his own interests also be the best thing for those around him, at the same time.

That part, no doubt, would be a bit harder.

Chapter nine

Two hours later, Zack was back in his book store, watching people trickle in, mainly to head off to the back with different hot women. It was a bit more like a whore house than a place to find information and stories, but that was the Alede way, after all. He could get after them for it, if he wanted, but that wouldn't change them. Not really. They were, in the end, what they always were.

Succubi.

So, he and Madeline actually worked in the store, which meant, when the virtual explosion happened, he was right there to witness the thing.

"Fuck you! I'll kill you!" The voice was far too girlish to be taken seriously, at first, until Zack noticed the bubbling space around the tiny female form. The adult man that she was about to kill, well he seemed to miss that part all together.

How another Greater Demon had managed to work into his shop without being seen, he didn't really know, but he got the basic idea rapidly enough. She was, if she was a female at all, which he knew might be in doubt, tiny and very cute. Not hot, really, but like a thirteen year old girl that was real, and wearing glasses for more than just show. Her skin was flawless, and her bust line was modest, really. An A cup, if Zack had that kind of thing right.

Of course the Human man, who looked to be pushing forty, had no business grabbing her ass in a book store at all, which was why, clearly, he was about to die. Zack was of two minds on the issue. On the one hand, even with his emotions being well and truly shut down, he didn't really want a body cluttering up his space. It would mean police involvement, and after batting their Chief around the day before, that might not go to well. Or, well, it probably would, after he went to the station and anally raped the woman into submission, but it would still be a pain to deal with.

On the other, no matter how old the Demon actually was, she looked like a little girl. A slightly nerdy one. Cute, in a wholesome way, but not like she was at the store trawling for a good time. Not in any way, shape or form. She didn't even have visible make-up on.

The man jumped back, his hands going out defensively, a smile coming across his lips.

"Oops, sorry, I thought you were someone else." It was so clear he didn't really mean it that Zack just walked up and pointed at the man, who had tattoos on his knuckles in blue ink. Prison tats. Even someone that had lived as sheltered a life as he had got that one.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave, now." It was, he decided, all the warning he was going to give the man. After all, he was being a creep.

That meant two things, first the little girl looking Greater Demon crossed her arms and nodded, as if vindicated, and the man...

Started doing his own cussing.

"Fuck that bitch. What are you going to do, call the cops? If I want to grab a little tail, no punk ass like you is going to tell me not to." He was gearing up to start a fight, so Zack shrugged.

And hit the man, right in the solar plexus. Then, as he gasped, since something had clearly broken deep inside from the impact, Zack locked his right hand and arm behind the man, and walked him carefully backward toward the node, going through the carved owl door. The little girl followed along, as if she knew exactly what was happening, and when he got to the node, ready to step through with the other man, she took his arm and hopped a bit, so that they all ended up in the purple land with two moons.

The man still wasn't able to stand up straight, but the girl, who had nice black hair, and slightly Asian features, whistled a bit.

"This is not too shabby. I don't think I've ever been here myself, before. Macrovian lands?" Her voice was clear, but less worked up now.

Zack looked at her, feeling a little bit blank.

"You know, I've never tried to find out. It's a good place to hide bodies though. There are some predators here that appreciate the extra meat, I think. Do you want to just leave him or should we kill him first, do you think? Or, you said you were going to?" It was cold, and sounded that way, but whoever this girl was, Zack didn't think he really wanted to fight her. After all, she walked around looking like a child. No one weak did that.

Not if they could help it. It marked you as a target, as the pervy man next to them was showing pretty clearly.

The girl seemed happy enough to be asked. Like Zack was being particularly polite to her.

"Well," she said cutely, clearly trying to sell the act, which had to be for Zack, since the other man wasn't paying proper attention to detail yet. "I could give him what he wants, and service him."

Zack didn't particularly want to see her do that, he decided, since it would possibly be very different than what the man wanted at all, but everything inside him screamed that he needed to not get in her way. That, given everything, would be a mistake.

Instead he shrugged.

"He did mention liking punks. Do you think he secretly wants to be treated that way?"

The man groaned a little, especially when the tiny female thing that he'd tried to feel up pushed him down, face first into the loamy, deep purple soil. Then, mightily, the kid sighed.

"I don't have the right equipment for that, I'm afraid. Do you want to do it?" She reached out and touched the front of his pants, her hand rubbing a little, as if to start something.

The only thing he was certain of about her at that moment was that she wasn't Xenses. The ripples in space were all wrong for that. She was, also, incredibly old.

Zack shook his head.

"No. I'm dealing with some things right now and that wouldn't help at all. Really, if you want to play that way with me, you'll need to look about ten years older yourself. Stay a female too, for now?" He grinned though and snorted a bit. "On the good side, it really isn't you, it's me. What can I say, I'm young and delicate that way." He glanced at her as she pushed her wire frame glasses up. They were big, but did distort her eyes a little as they moved, meaning real lenses. Considering she could have had perfect vision if she wanted, that showed dedication to the role, didn't it?

He spread his hands a bit.

"Oh, I'm Zack. Hartley. Called the Line Walker, by some." He didn't know if she'd give a name or anything, but the tiny form actually curtsied a bit, holding her skirt out a little.

"Ann. No last name. Like Madonna, only not a dried up old scant with several venereal diseases. I've been called many things, but right now most know me as The Rotted. I have a gift with things once dead. I came to see if you wanted anything. Well, here, let me show you my trick, since you already showed me yours." She touched the front of his trousers again, but then kicked the downed man hard. It was a stomp, really, and her little shoe struck right over his heart, on the back, stopping it.

With a few more gasps, the man died.

"This part will take a bit. It always does. We could hurry it up, but it messes the body up and the dead don't heal easily, without using magic, and I really don't want to bother with this one. He should have kept his greasy paws to himself. Or at least asked if I wanted the attention. It's not like I would have said no." There was a giggle with the words, and she twisted her right foot, the tiny tennis shoe, which was red over the toes and orange for the rest of it, as if she hadn't just killed the creep in front of them.

After a bit she leaned in, her hand touching the dead head, lightly. Zack got the flow of power, but not exactly how it was being done. It was a complex thing that spoke of vast learning, at least compared to what he understood about the universe.

After a second, there was a deep breath from the man, who still had his face in the soil. Then without any fanfare at all, he stood up, and looked around.

"Where am I?"

The girl waved up at him, using only the tips of her fingers. Then she gestured around at the purple world they were in. Land, really, Zack thought. It was part of the world that he'd always known, just a very different part of it. One with two moons. Because, sure, that had been covered in home school, hadn't it?

"He has to do whatever I tell him to now. I have to add power though, every few days, or he'll stop working. He's smart, not like a zombie or anything. Pretty neat, huh?" She asked it as if expecting him to praise her for the effort.

So he nodded.

"Yeah. That's actually really good. Complex. So, what do you think I need?"

The girl looked at him suddenly, her face going angry, but she didn't snap at him, just pulling the power out of the man, and then, as Zack watched, his remaining life force, which showed where she got her name from. The decay that came was hard and fast. Wet too. There was no turning to dust for the guy, just a damp pool on the ground. Even the bones went with it.

Then she giggled again, because that seemed sane and healthy. Which was no doubt her point. With a name like The Rotted, she probably wasn't on the good guys' side of things, was she? No, this little Demon went to market, and her basket of sanity was all empty.

She grinned, clearly having been reading his mind.

"Oh, you're one to talk, Line Walker. The pot is definitely speaking out of turn there, to a good kettle like myself, too." Ann didn't really move much then, just waving at him. As if that meant anything at all. Then she reached for the front of his pants again, rubbing. It wasn't all that fun at all, he realized, even as he started to respond a tiny bit.

It wasn't her looks either, but the fact that she was staring in his eyes, looking for signs of discomfort. As if teasing him were a game?

Or a test.

He kept everything locked down, including his biological functions, then, even as she kept after him. Since she clearly was a perv, too.

She nodded.

"You get bored after a while, and try new things. It will happen to you too, sooner or later. Probably sooner, since you're about as apathetic as one of us ever gets. Even the goody-goods tend to have more emotional range. I don't mean what you're shutting out right now either, just you, all the time. You should work on that, because right now you seem a little bland. If you have to be a crazy piece of shit, at least be an interesting one, right? Anyway, you asked a question. What do I think you need?"

There was a long pause, and she moved closer to him, her tiny hands touching his hips on either side.

"Protection, bitch. Here, grab my belt loop and follow me around..." Shaking her head she let her eyes roll, playfully. "No, sorry, seriously, you need friends. The ones you have aren't treating you right at all. Look at the Mistress of Souls... Trying to make you her slave like that! Notice how when I come to chat, I show you neat tricks and offer to suck you off, even if you don't want to right now. What does she do for you? Tries to make you think she was going to enslave you, so that you remember all that horrible stuff. She didn't even try to really make it right after that, did she? 'I know, I've been bad. I'll make it up to you.' She won't even let her mom bang you, so what do you think she's going to pay you with? You don't do slaves, or, clearly, kids, so what does she have? You don't even care about money that much. She should have offered you her ass, but no, Polly Priss there is too good for that, isn't she? You can have my ass though, if you want. Or, I can do yours, if that's your thing. I'll even look older for you. I am, you know. Old. Ancient and dry, like the dust of the desert. But what I think you need are some real friends." She stepped back then, smiling. "What do you say? Me love you long time..."

She pushed her glasses back up then. It was disturbing, but that was, no doubt, part of her charm.

"Well, I'm not turning friends away this week. What does that mean to you? Being someone's friend?" Because he wasn't making any deals bargains with The Rotted, if he had a choice. It just wasn't happening.

"Oh, you know, sleep-overs, and doing each other's nails and hair. Dishing about boys. Or girls. Or if you want, livestock, since I don't judge like some people might. If you get into minor trouble, I'll give you advice, and maybe even the other way around. You can help me out, if I need quick travel places, and I'll help you with any dead you need brought back. That kind of thing. It will be all sweet and nice, don't you think?" The scary part was that she actually sounded sincere.

Like she really meant it.

"All right. We can be friends, but no tricks, or using it to spy. At least for anyone else. I mean, we can't really help that kind of thing, for ourselves, can we? But no setting me up for bad things, and if you want to have sex you have to look at least twenty. Probably stay a woman for now too. Are you, by the way?" He meant a girl, but didn't have to explain that, since Greater Demons, even the crazy ones, tended to be smart, didn't they?

"I am! This is wonderful! I really thought you were going to act all superior to me, since you've been hanging around with The Technician and her little sis. That girl always takes things so seriously. I mean, she's been your mentor for what, three weeks, and I bet you haven't gotten a break at all yet, have you? It's all, 'you need to be ready at any time' and 'you're too broken to live, they'll kill you if they have a chance.' Am I right? You're young and should be out doing things, not sitting in a room, being lectured about how little time you have left. Plus, I have it on good authority that almost half of us, the ones on the other side from the snooty bitch brigade? Only some of us even particularly want you dead, so how's that for awesome?"

"Better than I'd feared?"

"Like you have fear? It's good though. Most of us think that you have a lot of promise, Zack. I may call you that, right? Since we're friends? I'll call you Zack, and you can call me Snookums. We'll be ever so close. Say, do you want to get together later and fuck? Or we can catch the Mistress of Souls and take turns using her? She sort of deserves it, for hurting my new friend like she did."

She really did. Zack didn't even have to fake thinking that, though he wasn't going to rape anyone. Not even her. For one thing, she was under age. Not that Ann would care about that, but he did. It was an issue in his world. A thing that he needed to reconsider, at least with Greater Demons. If he was one day going to have to have naughty dolphin sex with some hung over male shifter, in order to get his shipment of Kit-Kats or whatever it would turn out to be, then he probably needed to not worry about age that much. Not past sixteen or so anyway.

The girl shrugged, listening in openly.

"Fine, fine. You should at least write her a stern letter, like you told that old Vampire man. Make sure she knows not to mess with you again. That, or take off one of her arms. She'll grow it back, but if you time it right, she'll be caught out, having to force herself to do it at the wrong time, messing up her plans. Or a leg, but that's actually easier to fake, so you should go with something more visible. Say, I don't suppose, being pals like we are now, if you'd take me back with you? I can do it myself, but it would be a pain, and you're so much faster than I am at this. Xenses may be a pain in the ass, if you let him, but he sure knows how to make a Line Walker. I mean the pain in the ass part literally. He has this trick that he likes to do where he makes himself grow huge, and then..." She stopped and shrugged. "Well, I can't recommend it. So, ride me home?"

That image was ridiculous, but he was tempted to jump on her little back anyway. She giggled at the idea too, and took his arm when he offered it, jumping at the right time to end up back in the node room of his place. Then without waiting for him to go over what they'd said to each other, she bowed to him, her face pleased.

"I'll look different when next we meet. Thank you, for the wonderful outing, sir. I look forward to the next." Then, the air in front of her making five distinct bubbles, she stepped in a twisting fashion, going between them and backwards at the same time. He could track that, and even do it himself, he knew.

It was just a bit awkward and clumsy for him to bother with.

A lot of the Greater Demons were like that, in regards to the lines. The inroads, as they called them. Each did it in a different way, and most of them wasted vast amounts of energy doing it. True, he was wasting energy keeping his mind together at the moment and it wasn't being nearly as efficient as he could be, so maybe he wasn't one to talk? He was covering the mess up, and controlling himself, but that wasn't going to fix anything, was it?

Worse, the bad guys kept coming and treating him a lot more nicely than anyone said they should be. Why seek him out as a friend? Even as a trick? Killing him, or trapping him into doing their bidding, he could see, but just to visit and make nice? That didn't make any sense at all, did it?

Of course, if they were all insane, that might be the reason right there, right? Shaking his head, he decided that a snack was in order. A large one. It meant going to see if Palma had anything around, but of course she did, since the woman was a miracle worker. All her kind were, in the kitchen. With homemaking in general, he knew. It was all there in the library that floated around with him.

That got him thinking, as he moved toward the food, walking past people in the bookstore. Was there a way to fix his mind? Before, people, mainly Finias and Darla, had said that it probably couldn't be done at all, but the instant he remembered everything, Mirror Him had clicked back into place. On his own. That was the part that wasn't supposed to work, wasn't it? It had anyway, and now he was fighting the pain of things, but was sane. Or... Well, possibly not that. He wasn't understanding things like the others did after all, was he?

Still, it was all a bit confusing, wasn't it? Keeley had tried to break his mind, so that he wouldn't side with Xenses... That made some sense, after a fashion. To her it would be better if he went insane or died, rather than going over to the other side.

Except that action pushed him toward the end she didn't want, didn't it? It was such a huge thing, to him at least, that Zack could actually consider letting Xenses get away with all that he'd done to him as a child, because...

But Keeley wasn't some airheaded school girl that made mistakes like that. Anyone would have guessed at that effect, especially if they had access to his mind.

Darla hadn't told him that she was planning a business weekend before either... Not that she wouldn't spring that kind of thing on him, but Ann had said some interesting things about her and one that was clearly right was the fact that Darla sat around telling him how he was going to die at any moment. She also checked on him daily, only hadn't, in the last bit. Not even a phone call? From his own personal Greater Demon Council mother hen?

Finias... Had come to him in a form that Zack had never seen before, and invited him to a party at Gregor's. In Rome, with all the other side? As far as the memories told him The Cleric was actually one of the least likely of all Demons to hang out with that crowd of people, wasn't he? Even Darla was more likely to do that.

It was almost as if someone was screwing with him on purpose.

Not bothering to call first, Zack moved out of the Cafe, without even eating anything, and hurried to the marble floored node room. Then he forced a bubble to open up on Darla's doorstep, in Arizona. He didn't knock, just feeling with his mind, noticing that there were several people inside. One of them at least felt like his mentor.

Another was just as clearly Keeley.

They came to the door, moving at normal speeds, since there were regular people in there with them too. So he knocked. That was normal and polite, after all.

It was Darla, looking blonde, pretty and young, who smiled at him when the door opened.

"Zack! There you are. I thought you said that you were going to be busy all weekend? I got your note."

Even to his slow and insane brain, things started to click into place. He looked at the two girls in front of him, and then, very carefully, opened six node rifts at once. He let his left hand come up, a bit dramatically, holding the palm toward the floor. It wasn't needed, but it gave him a good reason to have a hand almost ready, if a battle started. He didn't think anyone else could do that, but Keeley went wide eyed and moved slightly closer, her face going scared.

"Zack? I..." Pulling the door shut, so that she and her sister were outside, the girl whispered. "Balthias, attend me please?" Which got the giant red and slightly brown horned being to show up, holding a coffee table. Before anyone could say anything he tried to hit Zack with it, really hard.

He dodged, warping space a bit so that the whole thing seemed to be in slow motion. To him at least.

Then he ignored the being, as Keeley stopped him from trying it again.

"That won't work. I saw Balthias at Westfield last night too. Rebekah, you, and Darla as an old woman?"

Darla made a face and looked at the six nodes that he was still holding open, with no visible strain.

"We were here the whole time. You sent a note, on the computer, saying that you planned to be so busy that you doubted you had time for training for two days? You promised to eat and be good about practicing what you could." She pulled something from her pocket and waved it at him, but it only glowed, a light pink color that came out of a crystal on what seemed to be a copper box. Keeley did the same and so did she.

"Which confirms that we're all us, to me, I can't think of anything that would do much more right now. We have people here... This has to be dealt with however." She started to reach out, to touch him, but pulled back at the last second, as if he was going to strike her or something. Then she dove in, her hand latching onto his left arm. Not hard, but her entire life sprang into being for him, as she took his in return. She was older than he'd thought, and had a darker past than he would have imagined.

She made a face, which twisted into near rage, not him. Zack managed to stay calm and collected.

"Keeley..." She moved back and waved at him, her face being driven into blankness. The other girl moved in, but did so slowly. Then she did the same passing her much shorter and happier life to him in exchange for his own. She'd done that before, the other way around at least, but it was the first time he'd seen what she had to offer.

In the game of I'll show you mine, he was definitely winning that day, he thought. At least with Keeley. Her life wasn't perfect, but it had only a few really bad things to it. The death of her father, as Finias had mentioned, at the hands of Xenses...

Except what were the odds that the strange and somewhat dated looking man in his store had been the Mind Taker?

The dark haired and too good looking girl took a deep breath. It sounded shocked, but wasn't, he knew. She had better control than that. The pattern in space that she put out, the way that he'd been secretly identifying Greater Demons, that was hers, but it had been on fake Keeley too.

"You remember it all? Well, you seem to be handling it, better than I figured you would too. It's taking a lot of energy to manage, isn't it?"

He nodded.

"Yeah, I've been eating enough, so it's doable, but I have to figure out how to repair the damage. On the good side I'm practically sane. On the bad, all the crazy Demons want to be my BFF." He was about to whine a bit about it, when a head popped out of the cream and gold colored door. Darla had a nice house, but the girl the face belonged to wasn't anyone he recognized, for a moment.

"Becky? Hi! How are you doing?" He made himself cheery, since the girl wasn't a bad person at all. She looked different now, but that was because she'd lost about thirty pounds since they'd last met. That plus some really well done make-up took her from a solid seven, to a low nine. Or it might. He couldn't see her body yet, being hidden behind the door. It was a good face though.

"Zack? Hey! Come in. Eve and Hally are here too. We were just wondering what we should do tonight. Guys, it's Zack!" She seemed pleased enough at least, with him being there. Darla smiled too, but Keeley gave him a hard look, as if to warn him that not everyone in the room knew all about what they were.

Because he was too stupid to figure that out? Or, too honest to hide it?

She didn't get to say, since he was actually sort of tackled then, with Hally hugging him closely enough that he felt loved, even if he didn't understand the response. Eve moved in next, though they hadn't really met, in more than passing. When Becky did it, he picked up more about her life at least. For instance, she was The Technician's slave. It was how she'd gotten into such good shape so fast. She didn't know it, since the trick that got her into place had been pretty subtle, but she was trapped anyway. The process had probably seemed almost magical to the young lady, since Darla had only suggested she might enjoy exercise and not need to eat as much, now. It hadn't been overt or anything, so it was probably hard for her to see how it had happened, even if it had really just been diet and hard exercise.

Zack hugged her back, feeling her body a bit more than was probably proper, given their single meeting. She was toned, and symmetrical. Given that she'd been a bit chubby in the past, it was a major change.

Darla looked at him as if he weren't bringing trouble to her doorstep and winked at the others.

"Keels and I need to chat with Zack for a few minutes. Something has come up. Eve, you and Becky should go work out. I'm planning a big dinner tonight and you'll want to be able to have some." It sounded pretty rude, but no one called her on it.

The funny thing there, was that while the other two girls walked away, Hally, the cuddly redhead, stayed behind. She was pretending that, for some reason, she was part of the group needed for the discussion or something.

Zack looked at her and shrugged. She knew what he was already, and the others as well, so why not? Maybe she'd have a good idea or two?

"Someone has been appearing to me as people that I know, except it hasn't been them. Shape changing to fool me, for some reason. One of them, a Greater Demon, tried to make me a slave, while pretending to be Keeley. I think, at least. It could have been her, and this could be an act now, but it makes a bit more sense the other way around. I hate not knowing. I don't suppose you'd be able to vouch for them? Rebekah and Balthias too?" He looked at her closely, as the others moved all the way inside.

She didn't answer right away, clearly bothering to think, rather than shout about how he was insane or stupid.

"I was with everyone last night. All night, except when people went to the bathroom. I fell asleep about midnight though, so I can't say for certain, after that. Rebekah was with me when I woke up this morning. Everyone else was gone. Then Becky came over, and she doesn't know about things? So Bal and Rebekah left, even though Becky knows her. Not that she's real though. Just that she's in a band and had some work done."

Zack nodded, and then leaned in a bit, taking her hand. The girl's life was sweet and simple compared to most. She knew some things, now, but in the main she was about as pure as anyone he'd ever met. It could all be faked, of course.

Probably not.

It was just so hard to trust anyone suddenly, thanks to the confusion of the last few days.

Which was, almost certainly, the point of the whole thing. Leaving him too confused to know which way to jump. The only thing he didn't understand then, was why?

Darla patted his shoulder, but didn't offer any answers at all.

Keeley just kept her distance, seeming more than a little wary.

Chapter ten

Zack went over everything since the last time Darla claimed she'd been with him, two nights before, at his house. He ended on the tale of Ann The Rotted, which got the older Demon to nod.

"I have memories of her that fit that image at least, which of course, means nothing at the moment. It's not a bad trick, inserting people like that. I wouldn't have thought that it would take place with quite so many Greater Demons at once, but it seems pretty well done, given who the players most likely are." She glanced at Hally and explained, which practically screamed to him that she meant if for Zack, but didn't want to risk insulting him at the moment.

"The Adversaries, of course. The insane Greater Demons. Normally they can't coordinate things like this by themselves for very long. That means that someone is controlling them, or at least making them play nice for a while. The only thing there is that Ann might have just shown up on her own. She's... Strange that way. Like Fram. Insane, but in a decently likable way. If it was her and she offered to be friends, Zack should take it seriously. If it wasn't, then..." She reached out, and patted Hally a bit. "Well, in that case, I'm betting that they've all scattered by now. After all, in about ten minutes we're going to go and start laying down some Demon traps at your mall, Zack. The more of them we catch the fewer will be reborn as something worse."

He'd gotten the story on that part at least. There was, roughly, a balance to the world, and the Demons in it. If one died, the next one to come along would tend to be like it had been. So if it was angry and insane, the next would at least be an agent of chaos. If it was good and orderly, the same thing would happen. Not always in the same way, not being a clone or anything, which was the danger, since the truly batshit Demons tended to live for a good long while, making trouble the whole time, and that meant, over time that there were some pretty dangerous things out there. The good died young, and cycled faster.

Hence trapping the enemies when possible. It meant that they could be taken out of play, at least for a while, without risking something even worse taking their place. True, eventually they'd escape, or be released, but in the mean time they were out of the loop and not causing too many problems.

Keeley was going of course, she said, but then shrugged.

"I can't really help."

Hally made a face.

"Because of that mentoring thing?"

Zack smiled at her, since she had that one right, without even being told. Clearly someone already had been getting the little cutie up to speed. He reached out and touched her again anyway, just to make certain she was still showing up as herself, and not some freaky doppelganger. She was just what she seemed still. The girl was simply smarter than she pretended to be, and had a good reason to pay attention. Greater Demons had already had a lot of results in her life. Not always positive ones.

Darla ran off, but her sister stayed and shook her head.

"Yep. I hate that thing, since really, in a case like this we should be moving in with about everyone that will go. If I were Xenses, or whoever is behind this, I'd be waiting for us there, ready to kill us all. In fact, even if we can't help directly, I'm going to make some calls. People should go... and look at your new shop. It will be like a party. You can hold as many of those as you want." She rose to do it and wasn't wrong, but Zack held out his right hand, getting her to stop.

"Nope. This is my problem. I'll handle it." It sounded good and even bold and brave, but he had no clue what he was going to be doing really. He did have a distraction for her though. "You, however, should get the real Rebekah around, along with her band. The fake her, and you, no doubt, promised to play at the Tarran 2 LA tonight in a special closed show. There are tickets, and everything. If they don't show, they'll look bad. Claiming that they didn't know about it isn't really going to work for most people, not this time."

That changed the mood a bit, which meant that he and Darla were able to carry several large cloth sacks full of magical gear to his shop, about three minutes later, without a pesky little sister tagging along to get killed. Darla had to help him, to an extent, being his nanny or whatever, but they were forced to go it alone, for the most part. The place was empty of Greater Demons anyway. It was like they'd all decided not to like him suddenly. Jerks.

Darla snorted, a bit derisively.

"Naturally. They couldn't make it that easy on us, could they? It wasn't even a trap for me, or Keeley, which would have been a good one. She's still too stupid to run away when confronted with overwhelming force all the time. That probably means that it really was, and is, about you. Which means that I'm not leaving your side for a while. It's a pain in the ass, you know that, Zack?" She grinned though and patted his arm gently, as if to reassure him.

Since he wasn't totally convinced she was really her, it didn't help that much, but he nodded, still carrying the bag of potent magical machines. That was The Technician's main skill, making things like that. On the good side that probably meant she was either really her, or had mugged the real Darla and stolen her things. Since that would have made a mess at her house, it was probably the first one.

He hoped.

"Well, that's going to make going to the bathroom later a bit awkward, isn't it?" He looked around the main section of the mall, which had a few people in it still, but no Greater Demons, other than them.

"Yep, it sure is. Well, you'll live and I don't really care, so there's that. Let's call Keels in then. So... I wonder who you had sex with, if it wasn't Rebekah? Fifty bucks says it was your dad." She watched him carefully, as if expecting him to suddenly do something weird.

Of course, she also had to be wondering if he was really himself, didn't she? He even seemed different, his mind being more unified than it had been. It could have been because he was faking it, right?

"No bet. I hope it wasn't, but if so, that doesn't count. I mean, I didn't know, right? For properly creepy sex it's no fair making yourself look like a hot Vampire woman."

"Sure, we can play make-believe like that if it leaves you feeling better. Or you can simply choose not to care. Either way."

He laughed and shook his head a bit, making himself do it.

"Fine. I won't care about things like that then. So, Aunty, how about you get on your knees and prove you don't care yourself?" He was kidding, but started to kill off that part of himself that would feel it was awkward, just in case she called his bluff.

She nodded. That was just the kind of being she was.

"Or I can grow a cock and you can do that? We'll have to try that soon too. I mean that, too. I left Keeley far too squeamish about things like that, so now if she ends up being gang raped later in the day, it's going to actually disrupt her thinking for a while. It was a mistake, but I really thought I had more time. No one goes through to being an adult in a few months like that. Even she didn't really. Well, you can see that one."

Which he could. They'd even talked about it before.

Then, as if testing him, she dropped to her knees in front of him, and started to reach for the front of his black slacks. He shrugged.

"I get the point. Here." If she was shocked by him starting to undo his pants she didn't show it, but the people in the mall's main hallway were starting to stare a bit. That was probably because they were prudes. After a few seconds she jumped up, her voice sounding cute and girlish.

"Ha! I knew you were a pervert."

He nodded and smiled about it, faking a jovial tone.

"Yep, you caught me. So, should we go make that call?"

Linking arms with him, she led the way, pulling him subtly toward his own store. There was no need to talk about things, since, it was clear, they both were going to be pushing at each other for a long time, neither being truly certain who the other was. It was either that or she'd simply meant what she said about sex, and not having prepped Keeley enough for the world they lived in.

The truth was, he just didn't care at the moment.

What he needed to do was get something to eat and then...

Really, that was all. He could even probably take off for the evening soon, unless some line work came in. If all his new little Greater Demon friends were going to just take off like that, there probably wasn't a lot for him to do.

Palma had food waiting for him, which he took to the back office, with Darla buying some for herself. She paid full price, and didn't even ask about the family discount. That was polite of her, really.

The food was rich enough, and filling, but nothing he hadn't had before, so he just ate, keeping his senses open and trying to pay attention to the world. It probably made him seem paranoid, but Darla didn't call him on it. Instead she just ate for a long time, and looked around herself.

"This is a good space. Are you planning on more than one? Different node locations, and all that? You should diversify too. Maybe go into business doing something else as well. Three dimensional fabrication looks promising."

He blinked at her and then nodded, getting what she was trying to do. Zack didn't know much about three-D printing, did he? So if he suddenly spouted off reams of information about the subject, he'd look strange. On the other hand, she was his mentor, so it was part of her job to introduce new ideas to him. That subject probably really was the next big thing, so she was also doing her job, at the same time. It was brilliant.

"We need a better way to test and see if people are themselves. I should learn to change shape too. Everyone else around here seems to be able to, and that's leaving me at a disadvantage. I..." It was whiny, but he said it anyway, really feeling it suddenly. "I'm not handling this very well, am I? I'm, I don't know, tired of it already. Three whole weeks in and the whole thing seems like too much. I can't let my guard down, since if I do, then my brain will try to collapse. I can't just do my job, because dumb-asses are coming in on the first day and pretending to be other people. What am I supposed to do?"

He waved his fork a little. It was real silverware. Stainless steel, since real silver was asking for it to be stolen. The point was that Palma had suggested that food eaten with plastic was always less tasty, no matter what the flavor was like. It was a psychological point, but a real one.

"I mean, I know what I need to do, which is to keep going, and not let this garbage get to me, but is this normal? Tricks like this in the first weeks? I expected people to try and kill me, and pretty much just brush that off when it happens. I mean, it's the tradition, right? The rest of this, well, you neglected to warn me about it." He put down the eating tool and held up his fingers, one at a time. "I mean, don't take candy from strangers, check. Look both ways when crossing the street, got it. Everyone will try to kill me for about a hundred years... But the rest of this you sort of left off. I suppose I should have guessed at complicated plotting, but this seems a little over the top. Why not just kill me? I'm decent with the inroads, but that's hardly something worth doing this over. Is it?"

The pretty blonde shook her head, making her hair, which had just a tiny bit of curl to it, bob a little. Her skin was flawless, which was a sign that she wasn't a Human, if nothing else. Women didn't look like that. Not real ones. Even beauty queens had the occasional blemish, unless they hid it under make-up. Even then you could see tiny bits of roughness in places. She looked like an Alede, really, which was too much for most occasions.

"Seriously? No. It isn't normal at all. My take on this is that something really major is going to happen soon, and that they're using you, and Keeley, as distractions. That really will only affect Finias and I. Maybe Gregor. Since he's in charge of North America, more or less. Not that we aren't worth distracting, but it seems like a bit much for just us. Honestly... I think they're courting you. Both of you, over to their side of things. You make more sense that way, but Keeley is too strong to play with. It's one way that you know she didn't really try to take you last night. If the real Mistress of Souls had tried that, you'd be her slave right now. That or dead. Once that starts, there's no pulling back for our kind, which means whoever tried it simply failed with you, Zack. The Mistress of Souls wouldn't have. If she tried that, your only hope would be killing her before she could order you to do anything. That's always her first move, ordering people to freeze, so keep that in mind."

That had a ring of both firsthand knowledge and truth to it, but he didn't ask about the story. She'd tell him or not, when she was ready.

"I make sense, because of how messed up and insane I am?"

"Right. Keeley is perfectly normal that way, but you don't see reality correctly at all, Zack. On the good side, you do manage to try really hard and not make the same mistakes over and over. This latest thing, the integration of your alternate personality and yourself, that's helpful, but it isn't enough really. No one is meant to be exposed to the Lines for as long as you were, at such a young age. That plus being enslaved like you were, well, it broke you, as you know. You were steps away from becoming Xenses' unstoppable weapon. Really, I'm not at all certain he failed in that. The only thing there is that you don't work for him, but yourself." She dimpled at him, which was charming enough, he supposed. Not that he really felt it. He understood the attempt at least.

"Ah, it's my chiseled abs and rugged good looks making you think that, right? I get that from women all the time." He glanced down at his sticklike body, then pretended to flex for her. The muscles did stand up, and so did the veins, since he didn't have any body fat to speak of. He was just small all over.

She smiled, "yeah, except that you can probably lift a car by yourself, if you can balance it right, and you innately understand how to do that, don't you? You dodged Balthias in a full attack, and didn't even take him as a serious threat. On the lines no one can touch you. Not even Tarsus, I don't think. Really, that's why no one has seriously tried to kill you yet, I'm willing to bet. Doing that would just be too dangerous. Plus, if they, or we, can use you, it would be worth putting up with you being an airhead half the time."

That last was a jab, meant to distract him. It was so obvious he rolled his eyes and didn't comment. Instead he kept eating.

When he finished, he cleaned up, and waited on Darla, not knowing what they were supposed to do next. It was about five in the afternoon, and he had that thing later, if Keeley could get the band together in time. Really, if she hadn't been the one trying to enslave him, he should probably help get them, and their gear, into town. It would make for a nice peace offering. She'd seemed a bit scared of him earlier. Or, well, not fearful, since she wouldn't bother with that, but like she expected him to actually attack her. Or follow Ann's suggestion and blow one of her arms off? It was actually not a horrible idea. Not at the moment, since she might not have really done anything. In fact he decided to go with that for the time being, and claim she was innocent.

Later, when she really did piss him off, then it would be a great thing to keep in mind. Like a spanking for a naughty little Demon girl.

Darla stacked her plates up, and looked at him blankly for a bit. Then she stood up, stretched to the ceiling and tried to kick him in the knee. He moved back, getting the idea that they were going to be practicing then. Without a time field even. That part was a sign of something, wasn't it? Darla, the fake one, had an amulet for making a bubble of time. It hadn't held him in at all. He'd wondered if that would work on most of them, and mentioned it, while trying to hit her several times.

She grunted, since the last one landed.

"Yes. A closed time loop is probably the most popular kind of demon trap. Not a lot of people can just ignore that sort of thi-" The sound of her jaw smacking shut was too loud to make out what else she tried to say.

Zack was willing to bet it had been, thing. After all, he was smart that way. They kept fighting, using a lot more skill than he had earlier in the day. She was better at it than he was, but that was a marginal enough thing really. Neither of them bothered to feel pain at all, and both healed fast enough they didn't need to stop, even when things broke.

It wasn't until she jumped back, and called out that things got interesting though.

"All right, stop. Not bad." She walked over to one of the tan cloth bags they'd brought and pulled one of the traps. "This is pretty much what we just talked about. A time loop." Pushing a raised projection, she slid it along in its brass looking housing. There were decorations on the outside, and indeed, as she tossed it to him, Zack felt time trying to close around him. He grabbed the box, as her voice went deep and slow. The thing clearly working as intended. "Try... to... break ... free..."

Zack just stepped out of the field and slid the lever the other way.

"Like that? The time bubble popped, so that means it worked, right?'"

She nodded.

"Exactly like that. All right then, we have three more types of these things with us. Don't be a little pussy. If you can just walk out of one of my traps, you can do them all."

The first one was more interesting, but didn't take any longer for him to defeat, since essentially Zack just stepped around the field and turned it off. The third was better that way, since it transported him to an unreal space that had no links to his normal reality at all. The trick there was that, instead of trying to just go home, or even onto the Nexus, he needed to find a different unreal space to move out of. It took almost five minutes for him to get back.

Which still had his mentor smiling.

"That's really good. This last one is barely worth trying at all, since it doesn't use space or time to wrap a body up at all. That's your strong area, after all. This causes a person to become trapped in their own mind. Not in a creative and movie like way either. Just trapped in darkness and stillness that are nearly impossible to break. Boring, but it should work on you. Here." She tossed it to him, as if pretending that it wasn't turned on. He didn't grab for it, moving well out of the way, given the warning he had, but the field, which seemed like a black cloud, came out of the silver sphere and wrapped him up anyway. It was hardly fair, but the thing was billed as a trap, so what did he expect?

It was a lot harder to get out of that, since he couldn't think. Or, to be more fair, he had an overwhelming perception that he wasn't able to think anything. That was clear, or at least vaguely something he noticed. After all, if that wasn't the case, how could he have gotten the idea in the first place? Not that knowing about that freed him.

Finally, in order to get out of the thing's grasp, he had to open a node and leave the room, all together. That worked, even if he only went to the node in the back of Candles and More. It hadn't been on purpose, but it had happened anyway. He felt bad for a few seconds, and wondered if he should try to sneak out, but knew that wasn't really going to work. Mainly because Lisa was standing there, looking like she needed a shower, and smelling like it too, gasping at him.

He waved, not knowing what the correct response was. How did you bargain with crazy hatred? With love and concern?

"Hey." She didn't respond, so he went on. "Sorry about this, my mentor, um, you know, Greater Demon school? Sort of, at least, she locked me in a demon trap, and I accidently got out by coming here. Probably because it's home, at least as far as me really using the Nexus goes, you know? I'll leave. I didn't want to worry you..."

She stood there breathing hard, but didn't pull her silver anti-demon knife. That was good, since it wouldn't have worked on him anyway. She'd done a good job on the one she had, but it was for Lesser Demons. So Balthias and his friends would have been in trouble if she wanted to take them on, but it would just be a stabby tool, if used on him. Not that he was going to let her do that.

"Zack." The words were hollow sounding. Like she was near collapse. "I... I guess you've finally come to make me your slave?"

He made himself blink at her.

"Noooo.... I'm not really certain where you keep getting that idea from, Lisa. I don't have any slaves at all. Not to be mean about it, but why would I want you that way in particular? I mean, you're great and all, sure, but so are a lot of people. This is America anyway, so you know, land of the free? We literally have rules against that kind of thing you know." It wasn't like he hadn't told people this before, but the slightly shaking woman still didn't believe him, it was clear.

"You made Deidre leave me, so you could have me to yourself." She'd said something like that before, so at least he had an answer ready. Her voice was barely a whisper now, as if she actually knew it just wasn't true. That was kind of a positive thing, he decided, so shook his head at her, slowly.

"No, I really didn't. Lisa, again, not trying to be mean, but I actually liked her. At the time probably a bit better than you, for all we only met the once. You kept acting ashamed of her, and drove her away. I didn't know I was a Demon at all back then, anyway. If I had, well, I probably would have gotten you help sooner. She still might have left, but if you're going to be off blowing guys in alleys for drugs, you can't really expect your girlfriend to put up with it, can you?"

She looked down, her face scared and a bit red. Embarrassed.

"You know about that? How... did you tell her?"

"Nope. You had dirt on your knees though, and smelled like it. I'm pretty sure she got what it meant at the time, too, by the way. Now, I actually made a suggestion to Maddy Morse that you get help soon. She agreed. Why are you here alone? You should be off at a retreat or something. Maybe with Apprentice Dan, going through another round of Samsara root? I know Wu-Li and he have some, I gave it to them, just in case you needed it." He spread his arms a bit then tapped his chest with both hands. "Which, by the way, means that I'm incredibly cool and a good friend, since you've been acting like a freak about me for weeks. I'm still me. Just a little different." As if that made sense? He didn't want to scare her though. Not now that she'd said more than two words to him without screaming or acting like her life was about to end.

She just stood and looked away, her hair a rather stringy and dirty blonde at the moment. She was a bit older looking, about forty. That was the drugs. When they'd first met she'd looked a lot closer to thirty something. That probably meant she'd stopped practicing any sort of healing magic at all, since people that did that didn't age very fast, if at all. It was in his memories that even regular Humans that tried it lived longer, and with more energy. It was just the nature of healing.

"They told me I had to go and get clean. I said no, and they fired me. I'm just here to get my things. I... This job is my life. I know that's stupid, but I've really tried to do it well and now... Deidre, my job, even you, all gone."

How he suddenly rated being included he didn't know, but suspected it had something to do with her desperately grasping at anything, and boom, in her hour of need, there he was. He moved forward, touching her arm lightly, which was a thing she didn't get at all. Mages didn't work that way, and hadn't realized the Greater Demons did. Her life poured into him, and he took it all and then nodded. It was strange, since in recent times he'd been far more central to her life than anyone else. Like he was actually important to her.

"Good. Not that you have nothing, which isn't true at all, but that they fired you." He grinned as she glared at him, showing something other than fear, which was nice.

"Excuse me?"

"Sure. This time, I mean. Think about it, Lisa, that means they cared enough to bother with you. They didn't fire you and then suggest you see about fixing yourself, but did it the other way around, and only when nothing else would work. It probably tore Bob's heart out to have to do to that. Well, Greater Demon here, so guess what, you are getting help and going to that retreat. I know that doesn't get your job back, but right now, you know, maybe this isn't the best place for you to be anyway?"

"You aren't the boss of me." She said it cutely, or tried to. It came out sounding like misery had taken up full time residence in her soul.

Zack had never had a brother or sister, or even a close cousin to play with as a child, but he had seen television sit-coms a time or two. Or a few thousand. He got that one and knew exactly how to answer.

"Am too. Literally, by the way. This is my territory, so all of you are mine to protect. Didn't you know that? I'm sure it was in the instruction booklet I passed out last week... Oh, wait, you didn't get one, since you were too busy having your special little melt down. Come on, let's get your things, and set that up. I need to get back to my shop, or Darla will think she doesn't have to teach me anymore."

Bob Millhouse, the Mage Ambassador for the area, was in the front of the shop, trying to not look at Lisa. He wasn't afraid of Zack at least, and just seemed a bit surprised when they came out together. Zack raised his hands, since Lisa had to carry her own armloads of junk, the accumulated clutter of several years. She was barely managing it, but since an attack might come at any moment...

"Hi Bob. I'm collecting my Lisa up now. She's going to rehab, or magic camp, or something, and then still has her job here. You're good with that, right? I mean, as long as she stops acting like a freak and actually gets and stays clean?" Then he stopped, distracting the man on purpose. It wouldn't be enough to really derail him, since the man was competent, but it would make it seem less like Zack had just ordered him to take the problem child back.

Which he had.

"Wait, do Mage kids get to go to magic camp? I never got to go, myself. Is it only for the geeky ones?"

Bob looked at him and then tilted his head.

"Well, I always liked it, so probably. Now, our Lisa, is going to a retreat?"

"That's the plan. She agreed to it and everything, on the condition that we don't run her through the mall naked. Oh, wait, no... That was on the condition that you and I don't do that? Sorry, I think I got confused." He smiled and so did the other two, if weakly. "No, seriously, she's going. Please let her keep her job, if she does."

The man, who looked younger than his assistant by ten years, at the moment, sighed.

"Sure. I don't suppose I can get you to come in a couple of days a week, while she's gone? Eric Weise won't love it, but frankly, I don't care. If nothing else, think of all the free, or at least really cheap, node travel we can get." He was clearly kidding, so Zack smiled.

"I'll watch the store, but I suggest you get a real Guild member in for the rest of things. You should get Jennifer Stone for that. She's going to be interning with Maddy this summer, you know. She already has contacts on the Vampire High Council, too. Plus she knows how to balance the till. So, a win all the way around." He let his face look bland for a bit, and then glanced at the store, which was in need of a good scrubbing down and arranging already, even if he had only been gone for a few weeks. "I was serious about the store part. I'll try to be in Monday for that?"

Bob nodded.

"I'll run all that by the people at the top, but I think we can at least use Jennifer, part time. That's good thinking. Oh, say, not to be a pest or anything, but have you been in touch with your grandparents? They've both called after you here, but didn't have a number to reach you, otherwise."

Zack froze for a bit, and then shook his head.

"Not at all. I guess I need to get on that soon? Maybe go and visit?"

It wasn't that he hadn't thought about them at all, as much as just assuming he'd been disowned and disavowed when Lisa had freaked out on him and the Mage world seemed to suddenly hate him. That probably wasn't right, and he at least needed to let them have a chance at telling him to buzz off on their own, didn't he? That sounded like the polite thing to do, considering they'd changed their entire lives for over a decade so that he'd be protected from the world.

That, was not going to be fun, he didn't think.

No matter how it went.

Chapter eleven

It went more slowly than he would have liked, since Darla might have been a little worried about him, vanishing like he had, but they managed to get back to the book store a few minutes later, to find his mentor staring at the clock. It was pointed, and done on purpose he knew, as if she were timing him or something.

"A bit slow. Not horribly done otherwise. Plus you collected a woman as a prize? And here you told me you were a bit socially awkward. Way to go!" She smiled and actually held her hand out to Lisa, who clearly didn't get that the attractive blonde girl simply wasn't what she seemed.

She shook back at least.

"Lisa Weise." She made solid enough eye contact, and even a bit unkempt and shaking held to a professional enough air, really. Zack patted her on the back.

"This cheerleading powerhouse in front of you is my friend, Darla. She's in charge of me for the time being, so, you get the idea, don't freak out and make me look bad, but she's a Greater Demon. Now, very carefully, don't wipe your hand off on your pants leg..."

He waited, and Lisa managed not to, her skin clearly crawling a bit since he'd mentioned not doing something like that.

Darla laughed.

"That's a bit mean, Zack. So, this is Lisa? Well, good to see you've come around to at least tolerating our mutual friend here. Are you off to a retreat tonight then?"

Zack interrupted, sighing.

"No time really. She'll have to stay with us, which isn't perfect for her. Unless I can get master Wu-Li to help her out again? Samsara root... I don't know if that will work again. I think it might be too hard on her system, since she just had a round of it within half a year." He didn't mention that relapsing that soon was stupid, since everyone knew that. Small children that had never even heard of Wistra would have gotten that one.

His mentor made a face and then patted the woman on the back too. Supportively, since clearly she was backing him up in whatever she thought he had in mind.

"All right. We move as a group, so let's go take a shower? It should be safe enough to go to your house for now."

He nodded.

"Right, I need to get Roland and Rowan in here too. We should get some blood for them, since they should be waking up any minute. I don't want them to push too hard that way yet, since they're young still." Not babies, but they'd try to snack on Troy and whatever guests he had, if there wasn't something else to eat right away. That wouldn't kill anyone, unless they went overboard, of course. His roommate just needed his own energy for work, that was all.

It meant that he had to take everyone down to Yoghurt World, where there was still a Vampire Council meeting going on in the back. That was a bit of a shock, since they couldn't possibly have that much to chat about really. There it was though, with Gene making suggestions about war preparations, just in case they failed to make peace.

"We should be making overtures to the Trolls." The tiny boy looking ancient Vampire said the word simply and without any venom behind it at least.

Zack heard him from the other room and sighed, then popped his head into the back room.

"I know, how about you start by not calling them that? They hate it. Like a racial slur. If you're the ones that start treating them right, they're going to be a lot more likely to throw in with you." Then, as the four Vampires stared at him, with Marissa looking a bit red-eyed from either hunger or anger, he pulled back and waved to Edom, who was there to relieve Lenore for a few hours it seemed.

Zack had to focus to pick that up from him, but it was the same thing as touching him. After all, space didn't exist, did it? Not really. Time either, for that matter. It was part of what Darla had just been showing him, though she didn't say that out loud. He supposed there was going to be a test on it anyway, later.

"Hi! Could I get a basket of blood to go please, and... How about one for the back room? My treat." He pulled out his card, taking it from the leather wallet that Lenore had gotten him, since his old habit of just stuffing things in his pockets seemed to rankle her, on a deep level. It was too disorganized.

The dark skinned Vampire smiled.

"Coming right up." He bowed a bit, and was clever enough to realize that anyone with him might well be important. Or at least might be someday. "Lisa. I hear that you're going to be away for a bit? Let me know if you need anything to make that easier. We're all here for you."

Then he bowed to Darla, his face pleased enough looking. She was pretty and Ed wasn't adverse to that in women, it seemed.

Zack had to think pretty hard about it, but he realized that Edom had never actually met even a fake copy of his mentor. Still, he should have gotten the too perfect features as being fake, right?

"This is The Technician. My mentor. We should speak later, if we get a chance. Since there are things going on that you need to know about. For right now..." Honestly, Zack didn't know what to tell him at all. Anyone that could fake being him, or one of the others, was simply too much for the Vampires to handle. Even getting him to call Zack might just make problems. "For right now, you must be getting excited about the show later. I know I am. Troy is getting me in. I don't suppose you have an extra ticket or two I could purchase? For Darla and Lisa?"

The man worked the whole time, efficiently, starting to warm four servings of blood, taken from the small mini-fridge in the closet. Lenore refused to keep it up front, even if it was doing as much business in sales as the dairy products did. Especially at night.

"I think that might be arranged." A nice wicker basket, one that was deep brown, and held six glass bottles that were hidden from view by pristine white cotton napkins that were wrapped around each of them. It was passed over the counter, carefully, with the Vampire using both hands the whole time. The charges for all ten drinks had been processed and went through, though Zack had to sign for it, since his card required that for anything over five hundred dollars. It was a safety feature, in case his identity was ever stolen.

Because clearly, no one that would take over his identity would ever bother to fake his signature. Still, it was what the bank wanted and didn't cost him anything to do, so he went along with it. It would probably seem funny, his spending a thousand dollars at a yogurt place, but as long as he didn't complain about it, no one else would. That was the modern system after all.

Edom didn't have any tickets on him, but simply called the club to have them put on the door list. It was a normal enough thing that no one would question it, Zack didn't think.

The man was a bit tense, but didn't ask for them to stay, only smiling politely and bowing to The Technician as she left. Zack was his buddy after all, so it wouldn't be needed there, but the other Greater Demon could do anything at all. Including killing him and the council in back, which would probably send the entire Vampire world into centuries of war. They needed their leadership, even more than most groups.

It was a thing to be avoided, as far as he was concerned.

Zack didn't stop reading minds as they left, so he picked up that Lisa was both attracted to, and repelled by, Darla, on a personal level, and was a bit worried that she was going to be taken off and killed, for having insulted him so often over the last weeks. She'd kind of known it wasn't right, but it made so much sense, didn't it? If Zack was trying to set her up to be his slave, then her failures were all explained away in an instant. It wouldn't be that she was a waste of space, or a moron that had overreached and made a thousand bad choices. No, it was him. Even before he'd walked in probably. Except that it didn't make any sense.

She knew that too, Zack could tell.

If a Greater Demon really wanted anything from her, the plan wouldn't take half a year to come to fruition, would it? That left her having screwed everything up, which was hard to swallow. Deirdre was gone, and wouldn't come back... she'd debased and demeaned herself, and eventually lost the one thing in the world that she'd thought she had a handle on. All on her own? Even beaten down and with nothing, the remaining Wistra in her system cried out that she was just one or two steps from taking it all back. It told her that she could regain it all, and that it wasn't her fault.

Except, naturally, that wasn't the case.

Zack took them to his house the long way, walking out into the parking lot, since no one would expect that, he didn't think. It meant boosting Darla through the natural rift there, but she just pretended to be hugging him for a few seconds, as if anyone would care about that. No one would notice it happening, after all. Not Humans at least. Not even the Police officer that was watching the back door of the candle shop again.

He was big, as in about six-two and a little heavy, but like a biker, not a couch potato. His shaved head was offset by his prison beard look, and unless he'd changed his ways since the last time the two had met, he was probably in need of a shower and a tooth brushing session. He didn't even bother to look over at them as they vanished into thin air.

The man was one of those people that simply couldn't wrap his mind around reality not being what he always had been taught. If he'd learned that his own police Chief was a Vampire, if she showed her fangs and ran around the local school track holding him in her arms for an hour, the guy still would have blocked it all out.

So, naturally, when he'd noticed that another Detective had come to the mall, thinking things were funny, and then backed off suddenly, he'd assumed it had to do with a payoff. Because it just couldn't be that there was nothing going on, could it?

That reminded Zack of something. As he got to the front door of his small, rather plain looking, white house, he spoke softly.

"I need to write up that role playing game guide. Barb and I were planning to do it, mainly as a joke, but I think it might just be a good idea."

Darla smiled at him, and helped steady Lisa, who was at least not pulling away or making frightened animal noises. That was an improvement over what she'd done before. With Zack.

Enough of one that he wondered if it was really her, for about the tenth time.

It was dark outside, but just past dusk, so the Vampires on his bed were still there, sleeping. They didn't really die during the day, after all, just went into a state that seemed a bit like it. Their hearts slowing and their energy use going way down.

It clicked, as to why that was, suddenly.

During the day, their Human energy sources would be up and active, needing to power themselves. At night they'd slow down and sleep, making it so that the drain of having an undead attached to them wouldn't be as taxing. If there was only one energy source, it would show a lot, but by spreading that out over ten or more people, things would probably not show much at all.

When the Vampires got old though, they didn't need as much energy to keep going, even as their powers increased, so they could stay up all day, without damaging anyone they fed from.

It was a bit different than the hunter/prey model that he'd always assumed was going on. It was clearly designed to be cooperative and make some people capable of staying up all night to protect against something.

"Lisa, you should get the first shower. I'll start warming up a snack for our friends. Then I'll make something for dinner." He hoped that she'd be able to eat at least. He and Darla had to.

The blonde girl took Lisa by the hand.

"I'll take care of that part. Make something with protein in it? I want a good dessert, too." She'd pay for it, so being a bit demanding was probably fair. If a hassle, since Zack had really been planning to just open up six family sized cans of ravioli. Then serve a few boxed cakes.

His mentor intended him to actually cook, since it was one of the things she insisted he learn to do for himself. He could, now, and was just being lazy.

Taking a few moments to focus, he increased his personal sense of energy and got rid of the feelings of tiredness that had crept in. It made a huge difference. Now, instead of feeling like he couldn't breathe, what with all the Greater Demons screwing with his life, he just felt slightly annoyed. It was better that way, he decided.

So he laid down three kinds of steaks, made some biscuits and started a big pot of water for potatoes, so he could mash them. Then he laid out a tray with cookies on it, which were all from a bakery, so at least not just something that Nabisco was providing. Not that his mentor was too good for that. She just wanted to make his life harder in the moment. On the good side, it was actually about teaching him, not just being a pain in the rear, he thought. She generally didn't do things just to be bitchy, as far as he could tell.

It was nearly like she actually liked him, or something. She didn't though, he was certain. She wouldn't let herself feel anything like that, in case he died in the next weeks, months or years. Or... Well, that might not be the truth. He had to think about it for a bit, but she could just turn those feelings off, after he bought it, if that happened. So she could afford to be a little nice to him now, and not hate the sight of him, if that made bothering to spend time with him less annoying for her.

Poor thing, having to put up with a crazy little demon kid like himself. Zack smiled, and got back to work, peeling the golden potatoes and then slicing them with knife work that was a lot more confident and quick that he would have credited himself with being able to learn, even a few months before hand.

There was a sound that was suspiciously like giggling, then, a few moments later, the toilet flushed. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Lisa had been holding drugs and that they'd just gone away. Probably after a covert strip search. It had to be that, since there was no sound of crying from the Human, or angry muttering. In fact, she seemed happy, if what he was getting was correct. Probably because the hot cheerleader was climbing into the shower with her. It made for an awkward visual, but he didn't block it out, just getting the kids' blood ready for them.

Rowan came out first, being about ten years older than the other Vampire in the house. She yawned, which was cute, and her red eyes looked at the bottles on the stove, in their bath of warm water, instead of at him.

"I don't suppose you have some to share? If not, I need to go hunting."

Zack waved at the pot.

"One for you, and one for Roland. There are four more in the fridge, and it should last a few days. If I'm not here when you wake up, make sure you both have some each day, first thing. Breakfast is the most important meal, after all." He made it sound funny, or tried to, and it worked well enough for the woman, who was still in the same clothing from the day before.

From the months before.

That wasn't going to work, he decided.

"I'm going to put you and Roland in early, so you can get new clothing from the mall. I'll send you with cash. Can you be in charge of that? Get stuff from the Chasm, since they'll be open late. Grab a full wardrobe change for each of you? If you have time. You'll need to be in to spell Madeline for the night. The Bat Shifter spy that works for us?"

She kept staring at the blood, her eyes locked on it, as if she wasn't allowed to touch it until told to. He pulled it from the water, and dried it off with one of his many kitchen towels, then popped the top for her and passing it carefully. She drank then, without being ordered to, which meant that Roland was there just in time for Zack to repeat the whole thing and pass the second one over, which was perfect, since that meant he could use the small pot for gravy.

The shower scene didn't take that long, really, and Lisa came out looking cleaner, if in the same clothing as before. It was probably an oversight, but his ex-boss didn't have a spare set of things at his house for some reason. Luckily, even if it was going to cost him money, Darla was willing to outfit the woman. That meant, since she was serious about not leaving Zack alone and he was still cooking, that they had to wait.

It was a bit of a time crunch then, since Rowan and her angry seeming cohort needed to be sent off to work, and Zack had to eat and not let anything burn. Darla would make fun of him if the food wasn't perfect. Then make him do it again, until it was.

So, that meant Zack had to think for a bit, managing to do it hard enough that an idea came from the memories that Tarsus had given him, seeming to hit him from outside of himself, from the right, in this case. As if they existed in a matrix of information for real. It was something he'd noticed before, but hadn't spent any real time thinking about. If he could locate the things in space, that meant he might figure out how they were organized.

For now though he picked up on two things. One was how, and more importantly, why, he didn't have to jump when going through the lines. It was because of his personal intent guiding where he was going.

The second thing was that, about four thousand years before, Tarsus had figured out that very same thing, and that if a node was held open for a being that couldn't travel on their own, with the terminus placed closely on the other side, so they didn't get lost, then that intent could be held inside the body of another person. Meaning he didn't have to physically carry them through the line himself. Or even a node point. Oh, it would take a bit of magic, but as long as he used enough discipline, that wouldn't be too big of a burden.

As soon as the biscuits were out of the oven and on the cooling rack, just before the potatoes were done, as the meat still sizzled, Zack formed a node, linked it to the shop, and gestured at it. Then, using a bit more power, he made it glow a nice deep purple, so they could actually see it.

"That will take you to the store. Remember to... Crud. One second." He ran then, grabbing some cash from his room, and handed it over. It was enough for the two of them to get what they needed, he thought. If not, well, they could go again, in a few days.

Zack muttered that, and stuffed the cash into Rowan's hand.

"Roland, listen to her. She's in charge." That made sense, being that Zack liked her better, if only slightly. Eighties hair had his moments, after all. Mainly highly annoying ones, but that wasn't completely without its charms. Then, thinking about what Darla had to be doing to put up with him, Zack made himself really believe it, while holding the node open.

His mentor watched carefully as they went into the glowing expanse, the node room visible on the other side, if you paid close enough attention. He had to work to place his intention inside of each of them, but it was clear they both made it, at least to him. Then he dashed across the room back to his potatoes, since they needed to be drained already.

Lisa sat at the table, nibbling a tiny almond cookie, her face blank. After a while she sighed.

"You really are a Greater Demon, aren't you?" As if there had been doubt inside of her, which there wasn't.

He nodded, but kept working right along, not wanting to lose time later, redoing it all.

"That's the claim at least. If it comes up, I'm also supposedly one of the evil insane ones." It was true enough, but Darla laughed, as if he were kidding.

"Except that you're also possibly the nicest of us, Zack. Even Keeley is harder inside. That isn't horrible, but you have to remember, you are evil. You have to be, or the others will kill you. When it comes time, don't let them see you as weak."

Zack snorted, spinning in place, and moving in the shortest line possible to get to the butter in the fridge. He should have taken it out to warm already, but hadn't, being distracted by his freaking bizarre life.

"That was for your benefit, Lisa. I already know that I have to be evil. Well, at least I'm still not taking slaves or raping anyone. For now. That probably means I'm going to have to kill a bunch of people to make my points, instead. I guess I could offer people a choice? Part with some tail, or die?" On the good side he was so far removed from feeling much at the moment that the idea barely impacted him.

His old boss and current... He didn't know what she was. Future asset? Pet? Girlfriend? Zack shrugged a little and watched her work things out. It poured off of her, so he was able to track it before she spoke.

"So... In order to stay alive, you have to be a monster, or at least make everyone think you are?"

His mentor looked at her and smiled.

"Close enough. Only, you see, by our standards, Zack isn't strictly sane. That was probably done to him, not how he was born, which means that..." She stopped, and went so still it was almost as if a Vampire had taken her place. "Of course. It's a bit convoluted, but it makes sense, doesn't it?"

She looked at him, as if he were supposed to have worked it all out at the same time.

Which, somehow, he actually had. That was impressive, for him.

"The Adversaries are trying to change the balance of power? If they can create more insane Demons, then..."

Darla popped a whole cookie in her mouth, crunching it quickly as if making a point.

"If that's the case, then Xenses and his team might well have been trying to do something completely different than I thought, in regards to you. They put you on the lines, turned you into both victim and predator when you were too young to do anything except adapt, in order to bolster their ranks... Well, it explains why they don't want you dead. If they do that, whoever comes next will probably be on our side." She included Lisa in that, as if it made sense.

The Mage wasn't stupid, if you subtracted the things with the drugs at least.

"So, your side, our side, I guess, won't they want to kill him?"

Zack felt a flash of panic, then made a point of melting some butter in the microwave, doing it carefully so it wouldn't splatter too much. He added some herbs to it, in an attempt to make it seem like he was planning the whole thing and not just covering for the fact that he'd forgotten earlier.

The pretty blonde girl nodded, slowly. Her face was actually too happy seeming.

"Except that, so far, they aren't doing that either. It means that, either we were fooled the whole time, in which case they'll try for you now, Zack, or they had a good handle on the whole thing and are using us to draw someone out? As bait, perhaps?"

He didn't say anything for a long time, just setting the table, and finally, once it was all ready, and still warm sat and dished up his own food first. That was the polite thing to do. Then he did a small plate for Lisa, since she was... His. At least as far as any Greater Demon went.

Changing the topic, he waved at Darla.

"So, you had sex with her in the shower? You didn't ask permission."

His mentor actually seemed pretty happy about his mentioning that, for some reason.

"I did. Have sex with her. What do you want in trade?"

Zack didn't need anything, but shrugged, and tried to not be a jerk about it all. By their rules, if what he knew of them was correct, having sex with Lisa, who was a person he was claiming as his property, if not personal slave, was a small enough thing. It wasn't even worth money, since the woman had clearly consented on her own. With a Greater Demon too, which was probably a good thing, really, since Lisa had issues there.

"Eve." He took a bite and swallowed politely, while she glared a bit at him. She didn't say no though and let him finish speaking before starting to hit him or even negotiate. "For the morning shift this summer, at my store? I'll try to get her in part time with the Vampires too. That's the point, right? She's scouting them, to see if she wants to join up? I can make some decent introductions." He took another bite, and didn't add sex with the girl in.

Not that he was being polite or too noble for that, she was hot, and old enough, or would be legal by then, so it wasn't a problem. He just already had that kind of permission.

Which Darla knew.

"All right. You still have to ask her, and she can say no, however."

Lisa was watching them, her face a bit bitchy looking, as she glared between them.

"I think that I choose who I have sex with. Thank you."

Darla nodded.

"Yes, that's right. What... Zack basically just told me that if I tried to do anything with you, without his permission, that he'd fight me. In a way it was a sign that you're protected, not just from me, but all Greater Demons. Lesser ones too, I imagine. True, it isn't going to stop some of them from trying, if you come on their radar, but a lot won't want to face him, not over some Human woman. I know it seems rude, but, well, the fact is, you don't want to be a slave, and he's putting himself on the line to make sure that won't happen."

It was a bit more well thought out than he'd been thinking of, but close enough.

His old boss and current... He still needed to call her something. Friend, he supposed, would have to work. She looked at him, her face going a bit red. Her thoughts were embarrassed though, not really angry.

"So, I'm what, your property? A vassal? How is that different than being a slave."

He ate for a bit, pouring melted butter from his second gravy boat into a biscuit, then letting it soak in for a few seconds.

"Well, you can say no. Go where you want and do what you choose to. Sure, today I'm being pushy with you, but just because I'm your friend, really. That's all. If I can help you, I will. Then, later, if someone else needs help, maybe you'll do that, passing things along?"

Darla smiled at him, then, after eating some meat for a while, started humming under her breath. It resonated through the air and outside of her mind, meaning she was doing it on purpose, so that he'd pick up on it.

Kumbaya. Meaning he was being a touchy-feely hippie, no doubt. Zack smiled and didn't let any hint of annoyance show at all.

After all, he was doing exactly that, and knew it.

In a very real way, Lisa was his property, and while Darla got that, and understood it on a fundamental level, Lisa would have a tiny problem with it, if she figured it out. So, Zack did what all good Demons would have in a case like that.

Lied his behind off.

Chapter twelve

One of the great things about Mirror Him having become part of him so fully, Zack decided, was that now when he wanted to make internally snarky remarks, they were directed at himself only about half as much as before. Instead he snarked at everyone else.

The show at the club wasn't starting until eleven, which meant that they had hours to kill before then. That, according to Darla, meant time for him to do some baking, while running Lisa and her around on errands.

It wasn't enough that the woman have clean clothing, after all. No, she needed to be outfitted in Milan. That meant going to the stores directly, without being noticed, since walking with a Human would take too much time. Or a Mage, which was different, but close enough that it didn't mean anything at all. While getting back in time for the five cakes, all large sheet things, to be made correctly. Then he had to put out five kinds of frosting for them, because his mentor wanted variety.

It wasn't until she demanded that he go to an all night Wal-Mart, in Carolina, for some raspberries, that he understood what she was really doing. He had cakes after all, and while it was true that working on things like that wasn't a horrible plan in general, he already had the skills needed down, pretty well. Most bakeries would have hired him.

The plan though was to keep him too busy to think about what had been said earlier. Not because he was too stupid to work out part of what it meant, but because he couldn't block his thoughts yet. It was, he realized very clearly, an attempt to keep him so annoyed with her over the busy work that he wouldn't bother considering anything else.

So, instead of doing that, he tried to work on mental shielding, while he baked and felt distinctly refreshed, and not annoyed at all. After all, being moody wouldn't make the cakes any better, would it?

It was hard work. Not because shielding in the main was hard. There were thousands of ways to do it that could work. Simply distracting yourself, as he was doing, was enough to keep people from casually taking your thoughts, according to the info he had. It was simply that he needed to be better than that. He needed to be able to prevent anyone from just stripping his mind bare, or get good enough that it would be really hard for them to manage at least.

It probably wasn't possible for him to beat, say Finias, if the man was actually going to force the issue. Tarsus either, simply due to how good he was at everything. But Darla, or Xenses was doable, he thought. With practice. Keeley too, for now, though after she grew up a bit, that might end up being harder. True, Darla could make a machine that did it, and he might fail then, or Xenses might manage to torture information out of him, since he was particularly good at things like that, but just read his mind?

That might well be stopped.

So, between his opening a node to a Wal-Mart in a different state and sneaking them all into place, and going off at irregular intervals to Italy, Zack managed to build a rather complicated, but not at all delicate, mental shield. Constructed carefully, out of time itself. It wasn't unique, since it was actually copied from the design of a magical device that Darla had made a few hundred years before, but he managed it in about five minutes, which wasn't that bad. It was probably too hard for most people to do, but it worked into his special area of skill. So for him it was nearly simple.

Darla didn't even notice it at first, until she started talking to him, after coming back from his bedroom with Lisa, who looked...

Hot. Really nice, actually.

True the dress had cost ten times too much, and her make-up was hiding more than a few break out spots on her face, but overall it really worked for her. She was tiny now, from all the drug use, and had probably never been all that huge, so she kind of fit that too thin model look that was still popular. Her hair had been styled too, though it was short enough that it just looked like her normal hair, but a bit puffier.

"Nice. You'd get all the girls, if not for the fact that you'll be watched like a hawk all night. On the good side, you look good enough that when I walk in with both of you on my arms no one will think I'm gay." He grinned. "Unless the press is there. I've heard some rumors to that end."

He really had. Then, he was also linked with Judy Swan, the actress, even if they'd never actually met. That reminded him that the woman hadn't called yet, which, probably wasn't that big of a deal. She might be having second thoughts, or just be busy still. Or, and it was just possible, she might have set something up at work, since he had people for that now. No one had called him at home, so he decided it either hadn't taken place, or it would happen in the morning sometime.

Darla looked at him and then reached out and patted Lisa on the behind. Oh, she was pretending to smooth a wrinkle there, but that wasn't the case at all. Lisa would think it was about her, and the other girl wanting her again, or maybe that she wanted to claim her as property, since they'd had sex.

Zack knew that it was meant to get his attention, and that she wasn't trying to goad him really, just distract him enough that she could get him thinking. Which he was, but, if his new shielding was holding, she couldn't hear at all. His thoughts, the instant they left his brain, would end up going instantly into a fifth dimensional place with no room for anything heavier than that. There they'd dissipate, slowly, over the course of nano-seconds.

But it got her to stare, and finally arch and eyebrow.

"Not too poorly done. The Smith's wall?" That referenced a Greater Demon that worked in metals, most of the time. One of the better ones, but not one that Zack had met. The information was all there though, in, or rather around, his head. His "wall" was a complex mental construct that used imagery, magical power and flow patterns to make a nearly impenetrable mental space.

That was a technique that he'd rejected almost instantly, because while not that hard, and pretty effective, it was prone to collapse if a powerful enough person tried to rip into a given brain.

He looked at her blankly, and was tempted to pretend not to understand her. Luckily, he managed to resist that, since making her mad over stupid things wouldn't help at all.

"The Technician's time displacement." He waited, but it didn't take long at all for her to start probing at him, mentally. He could feel it, after all, but no thoughts escaped, since, as was the point, they weren't there to read.

She gave a low whistle, and a half snort, which wasn't all that ladylike.

"Well, better than I thought! It's stable too. Are you planning to let the cakes cool, while we're gone? We need to leave soon, since we might have to wait in line."

It was the plan, since frosting them before that would be foolish. Of course he had to turn a lot of raspberries into a strained filling first and then change, but it wouldn't take long.

"Call it ten minutes?"

She nodded, but looked at his clothing, as if she didn't think it was good enough for the club. It was true enough, but he wasn't going to slop red syrupy goop all over his good clothing, was he? Troy would have his head, if he did. For a straight guy he was pretty fussy when it came to clothing and looking good.

It meant being five minutes later than he'd said, and even that required him to move at speeds that would have made Bey clap in joy to see. Not that they were late or anything. The club hadn't even opened the doors, and there was a very long line that wound back and forth, blocking them from going in. Darla just took her small hand bag, and walked up to the front, even as a few people grumbled at her for cutting in line. Lisa seemed nervous about it, but no one tried to really stop them. At the door they were met with a large and very powerfully built bouncer.

Kevin.

He winked at Zack, actually recognizing him. The man might not know a Greater Demon from a hole in the ground, or that his employment had him dealing directly with Vampires on literally a daily basis, but he recognized a friend when he saw one.

"Mr. Hartley!" He said it loudly enough that the people behind them went silent, so they could listen, rather than complaining about them being there. "Are these your friends, Darla and Lisa? Edom put you on the list, and you have tickets waiting inside. We haven't opened the doors yet. Let me call in about that?" He touched the black piece at his ear, but didn't turn it on, as if asking for actual permission.

Which was about killing time, no doubt, so that whatever was needed could be set up.

Before the man could say anything at all, or tap the little button that would turn things on, there was a bit of a commotion, as a black limo drove up. It certainly looked important, but the nicely dressed people inside weren't the band, but other Vampires.

The Council to be exact, except for Bey, who managed to stroll up and stand next to him, wearing a tuxedo. He looked a bit funny, and was very short, but no one noticed him there at all.

Kevin looked baffled, getting that something wasn't exactly correct suddenly, and froze in place, not moving.

Darla patted his arm at least, which looked like she was trying to flirt their way in, as far as the crowd went. She leaned in and whispered to the man, her voice to soft to hear.

"These people are very important, and friends of Edom's. You should call in that they've arrived."

Zack watched as Marissa and Gene were so totally overshadowed by Harland that no one noticed that someone that looked ten was about to take their spot in a night club. They were all dressed up very finely, in real suits and ties. Except Marissa, who was in a short skirt with fishnet stockings. That and a very nice looking blouse. He was dressed in a nice purple jacket with a black silk shirt himself, and looked like most of the people around them, but suddenly felt a little underdressed.

Of course if he'd tried to pull the black tie look off, he'd have seemed like he was going to the prom. These people just looked...

Real. Like they belonged and were clearly who everyone was waiting for.

Kevin tried to call it in, but got someone inside that wasn't Edom, it seemed.

"I was told that these people are very important? I... No, I haven't checked. They came in a limo, I..." He made a bit of a face and rolled his eyes. Then he addressed Harland. "Sorry, my shift manager wants me to check the list, may I have your names?"

Marissa moved in and touched the large and obviously nervous, man's arm, and smiled. Prettily even, with no hint to her eyes that she wanted to drink his blood in particular at all.

"I am Marissa. With me are Gene, Harland and Bey. We were invited by Lenore Hawthorn?"

Which meant absolutely nothing to Kevin, who only worked at the club, not anything that Lenore was involved in at all. They also weren't on the list, since Edom probably didn't even know they were going to come. It would have been tense, really, if Zack had been bothering to feel anything like that at all. Instead he just looked at the man and winked.

Then he raised his voice, hoping that he'd be heard by someone with extra-sensitive hearing.

"The Council is here, so should be seen to. Quickly." He didn't make it a question, and less than a second later, a familiar face was at the door, opening it from the inside.

Rebekah.

It meant that someone was listening at least. She looked enough like Harland that Kevin got the idea. Or an idea.

"Oh, you're with the band! Right! I should have known that. Duh. Sorry, let me..." He tapped his ear. "With the band. Friends of Rebekah... right, up front would be good. Thanks Doug."

Then he gestured, smiling hugely.

"There we go. Sorry about the mix up there. Are you all sitting together?" He looked at the group, and then landed on Gene, who really did seem far too young, at least for a normal night. It was clear he didn't know what to do, but Zack gestured to them all, since otherwise things would probably seem rude.

"That's right. They're with us and of course the other way around. At least for the evening. Hi, Rebekah." She was nervous, and ready to run away, since dying wasn't on her plan for the night and there were too many important and dangerous people being bugged at the moment, but she managed a smile, and reached out to take his hand.

"Zack! So good of you to come. I'd heard you might, but Troy didn't know when you'd get here. He said to tell you that they had someone get sick, so he has to work the bar? We have non-alcoholic drinks for everyone in this group." Which meant blood.

Or, he hoped, some Sprite, since Human blood was a bit too expensive for someone that didn't need it to survive. Zack knew he could drink it, and probably even make himself enjoy it, but at a hundred dollars a glass, he didn't think he really wanted to try.

Lisa wasn't having any either. Or booze. Not in her condition.

"That sounds good. Shall we go in? Early seating, so I don't know if things are ready inside, or not."

On the way past he patted Kevin on the shoulder and leaned in.

"Collectively they own the club, so... You know, if you see any of them again, keep that in mind? No one is supposed to know that though." It wasn't exactly true, but it should get about the right response from the man, if asked about it. Inside, about ten feet into the decently large space, Edom moved over to them, flowing smoothly, and pretending not to have just been running.

"Welcome! We have seats for you up front, please, if you will, come with me." He didn't seem panicked, outwardly. Inside his mind raced and he kept imagining Bey making his head explode for him. That or Gene setting him on fire, which was apparently a thing the kid could do with his mind. Not that he was really a child at all. Looks aside. It was important to keep reminding himself of that sort of thing.

Rebekah bowed, and took Zack's hand again, as if to reassure herself.

It was pretty clear, from her thoughts, that she hadn't been the one that he'd had sex with. On the good side, it was pretty certain that she wanted to, so at least there was that. It meant that, when Troy looked over he went a little wide eyed, before he waved. Jealous that Zack was hooking up with the celebrity.

"Zack! Darla!" He glanced at the group and waved again. "Bey!" It was odd, but it meant that everyone in their group of high powered Vampires ended up going over to the bar, with Edom looking at Troy as if he'd gone insane.

Troy however seemed pretty happy to have visitors.

"I got stuck working, last minute. Can I get you folks anything in particular? We'll also have someone come around, if you don't know what you want yet, but things can get confusing once the place gets packed. We can do most mix drinks, soda, or, um, blood?" He whispered the last bit, but Bey clapped.

"Ah, truly you are an excellent host, young Edom. We have fed, this night, but perhaps something small would do? Just for the flavor?" Then he bowed suddenly and touched his hand to his chest. "Forgive me Troy! I am remiss in my introductions. You, of course, are an old friend of both the Line Walker, Zachary, and The Technician, Darla Gibson. You know also the Mage Ambassador's assistant, Lisa Weise?"

Troy looked at her and blinked.

"I do! Hey Lisa. I didn't recognize you at first, you look... Good." It was flirty enough in tone that he didn't get glared at for the words at least.

Bey continued, as if introducing people to Troy, the bartender, made perfect sense. Which it did, actually. The Council had just driven up and joined them, and while they knew who he was on sight, Darla was probably new to most of them. At least in her current form. Bey was making certain that his fellows had that information, without actually groveling in supplication.

The others were introduced, as if to Troy directly, and Marissa took the time to take his hand and make eyes at him. It didn't seem all that out of place.

So they ended up getting blood for the Vampires, but not too much, since it would be a waste, and cola's for the rest of them. The only strange thing there was that Gene took one of those too. Asking for a cherry in it. That was enough to get Zack to try and check him, to make certain he was really who he'd claimed, but he was. He just knew that sitting there with anything except a child's drink might arouse suspicion. He had, clearly, done this before.

Then, since it was the way of all public performances of note, they had to wait and make small talk for a long time. It made him glad he had the drink. They couldn't speak about anything important, since people were being let in. First to the eight tables in the front, like what they were gathered around, and then to the rows of chairs behind them. At the very back the public was being let in, in a first come, first serve fashion. Just as the doors were closed he felt someone pressing on his arm, trying to get him to move over.

Keeley. She had a chair, so he scooted a bit, because his anger at her hadn't been fair at all. She hadn't hurt him, or tried to. Which meant, as far as things like that went, she was his friend, and needed to be treated like that. She also looked older, if still like herself. Nearly thirty, holding some crows-feet at the corner of her eyes, and more make-up than she really needed. She was in a nice blue dress that had a deep neck and had enough cleavage showing that he could have guessed at the color of her nipples, if she'd sneezed.

Instead she took his arm and cuddled close enough that he wondered if she were her, or the fake her from earlier. They weren't particularly close that way. Yet. Even if she looked older. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek then, and whispered into his ear.

"Nice shielding. I wasn't even sure it was you at first." Which didn't reassure him at all. Anyone could say that. Sure Keeley might, but she wouldn't be so chummy either, would she?

Then again, thirty year old her, trying to seem like she worked with a band as a manager, just might. He wasn't great looking, but wasn't horrible either, and could be the personal boy-toy of someone like her. Especially if she was pretending to have had a few drinks already?

Then something hit him. She'd been hitting on Troy earlier, or at least being nicer than she had to be... But that was the fake one.

And the only Greater Demon that Troy was all that close to was actually... Xenses. He blinked and then shook his head a bit. It made sense, but wasn't certain. The trick there was that, whoever it had been, that Keeley had set up plans to deal with Stocky the Bunny Boiler, hadn't she? If it was him, Xenses, then the poor girl was probably going to be in for a hard time, shortly. Because she'd be needed out of the way, if the act had been going to last. What that meant for her was anyone's guess, if it was actually The Defiler that had taken her.

He winced a bit, which pulled at Keeley's arm, getting her to lean in again.

"Is everything all right?"

It took effort, but he separated a strand, a single thought, and routed it around the halo of time that was catching them all. It was just a repeat of what he'd been thinking, but she cuddled into him, her left breast pushing against his arm.

Then a single thought came back at him.

'I'm so sorry. There's nothing we can do about that now. The poor girl. I hope he just killed her.'

That sounded harsh and horrible, but Zack knew what Xenses thought of as a good idea to do to friends and family, so he got that it was probably just correct. The best case here was that she was simply dead already and that it had been fast and painless.

Though, most likely, it hadn't been.

He locked that down and didn't speak, since the room lights dimmed and the band walked onto the stage. There was no curtain, but people cheered anyway, and the first song started seconds later. It was eerie, but good, and had people swaying and tapping along after the first chorus.

The people in the back danced, since they were standing anyway.

The Vampires all had different reactions. Harland seemed to be pleased, smiling up at the stage, since there was also another Manthori represented, on bass. A man that wasn't all that tall, but who was very good at his job. On electric guitar was a woman that looked to be about thirty, had silver hair and eyes that were violet in color. She had fangs, but the presentation was more like Lenore or Edom. A classic. Just one that was so unique she stood out. The last person, who was on drums...

Zack had to search out what kind of Vampire they were, since the person looked pretty normal, but at the same time was split, carrying a shadow with them, like a shifter. A Bat shifter, except that the hair was short and brown and the man, while frenetic, was clearly a blood drinker.

He hadn't really known that any of them could do that. Change shape. In his memories he worked it out. It was what happened when a shifter made the transition. They became different than all the others, but also both things at once.

They also needed to eat a lot more than the regular kind did. Probably why this man had gotten a job with Rebekah. She owned and ran the new blood centers, which meant being her friend might well pay off, for a person like him.

The music wasn't just good, but had impact. It wasn't great for dancing, and people swayed more than anything, but they listened too, trying to make sense of all they heard, the bridges between things being simple and complex at the same time. After the first three songs, Rebekah bowed to the audience and then again, to the tables in the front.

"We have the Vampire Council here with us tonight, so why don't we all give them a big hand and warm Vancouver Washington welcome?"

People didn't just clap, they yelled too. Oh, they didn't think there was a real Vampire in the room, or at least most wouldn't, but they were entranced by the exotic bone white and red eyed woman that they were more than willing to assume it was all part of the show. Who wouldn't?

Then she leaned forward and blew a kiss to the back row.

Whispering, she said a single word.

"Homeward." That got screaming too, meaning it was something that people had probably heard before. It seemed that the novelty band had a following already? That was neat, but not that unexpected. Not if The Mistress of Souls was their manager.

If he ever decided to become a performer of some kind she was the one that he'd go to first for that, himself. Just like he'd get with Darla for business things. Of course that mainly had to do with the fact that really, when it came to high powered people in the world, he only knew about ten or twelve, really. At least to talk to. There was more than that, if he counted all the different leaders that he'd met, but they didn't really have a lot of pull if say, he wanted to start a modeling agency. Not that he did, but it was interesting to try and work out how he'd get that done.

Probably by talking to Bente, since she knew people in the fashion industry and then roping in a few Alede to work with him for a couple of years. As long as they didn't get too famous, they'd be fine, really. Judy Swan was actually going to be in trouble, in about twenty years, once it was clear she just didn't age like a Human would. Of course, all she had to do was live for a few decades, maybe three, as her male self, and then she could go back into the world as a woman that just looked like that old actress. Models though, especially the mainstream ones that didn't become too famous didn't seem to have very long careers and wouldn't be that memorable, no matter how good they looked.

From there, he had to imagine that women would come to him, as long as he started out strongly enough, and so would people that needed a pretty face to make their product line sell. It wasn't exactly what he wanted to do, but Zack found the idea oddly intriguing suddenly. After all, Darla was right, in that he needed to have more than one thing going on at any given time, and he'd have to learn more about business at some point anyway.

Shrugging to himself he decided to give it a try. It might not work, but everyone needed a hobby, right?

Rebekah kept singing and he stayed engaged the whole time, even standing to dance along with Darla, Keeley and Bey during one song near the end, which he guessed was the bands signature piece. It was good, but no better than some of the others.

Then the music stopped and the Vampire girl on the stage held up the mic.

"Thank you all so much for coming to listen to us tonight! We love you all!"

That got a lot of cheering, and the band left, but wasn't called back for an encore, since the chairs were taken to the side as soon as people stood up, and the regular music started. The lights dimmed and colored ones started moving on the walls, and the large gas flames were lit. Those were, thankfully, out of reach for most people.

Inside ten minutes the club went from music hall to dance place, and the doors were opened to the rest of the public. Not everyone got in, but it was free enough that way that people bothered trying to come from time to time, just on the off chance that they'd be allowed to rub shoulders with the pretty and popular.

It was actually amazing, but Zack had always been let in, he realized. Even before, when he'd only been Troy's roommate. Back then his friend had only been a regular bartender too, not the assistant bar manager. It probably meant that the policies there were too loose that way, if someone like him could just walk in off the street. It worked for them anyway, and the place was almost oppressively bouncy after a few minutes.

Rebekah came out, along with her band, and was set upon almost instantly by people wanting autographs, even as they all tried to get to the council members. While not trying to simply bat their fans out of the way. It was a bit funny, if you realized what was going on. Keeley squeezed his arm, drunkenly, and then stood up.

"Here I go! Back to the trenches. We should get together later? I'll bring Rebekah..." It wasn't slurred, but still didn't sound like the girl he knew. Not much at least.

That probably meant she wanted to talk, but that could have been done without the attempted cloak and dagger thing, simply by calling, or even just showing up. Which meant...

She was selling her act for other people. He glanced around, and saw a nicely dressed, but out of place, man and his entourage moving toward the band, who Keels joined instantly, her drunken form bobbing just slightly in the sea of people.

Next to him, Darla smiled.

"She wants something from you. The only problem there is that she doesn't have anything you want. I wonder what she'll pull out of her sleeve to get your help?"

He didn't know, and frankly, didn't really care.

Zack sort of wanted to get home, take care of the cakes he'd made and then go and see to his workers at the store. They were all new, after all, and who knew what work might have come in for him? It wasn't that he didn't want to be helpful, especially if it would smooth things over between them, but most of what needed fixing was inside himself, not her at all.

Being a jerk wasn't going to work, so Zack smiled and tried to mean it.

After all, he could always say no.

Or try to, at least.

Chapter thirteen

There was no getting out of decorating the cakes he'd made, because he had a Greater Demon attached to his hip, and she clearly had a hankering for some chocolate goodness. With raspberry filling. Zack could eat that, with about the same gusto that he'd have consumed Brussels sprouts. They were food, after a fashion, and on the mentally approved list in his head, not being made of Human flesh or anything sentient at all, but that was about all it had to recommend itself. Still, he had more than one kind made up, and the others all had different flavors, so at least there was that.

That meant, when three o'clock came around and he was safely neglecting his real work, being stuck on baby demon cooking class time at home, that Keeley, Rebekah and Darla were all in his living room chatting away merrily, just as he finished up. It was a bit annoying, since, fair or not, he wasn't up to having guests at the moment. Or, rather, he was, but the people that presented themselves weren't who he really needed to see.

Not at all.

That wasn't their fault at all, but to his mind, true or not, he was sort of dating, or at least sleeping with, Rebekah, and Keeley was likely to try and make a grab for his freedom at any moment. It was probably what whoever had done that had originally intended. Still, it meant that he had to stay ready to strike out at Keels, just in case this wasn't really her.

Without waiting, suppressing how he really felt, and all the memories and thoughts of Mirror Him front and center in his mind, he walked out and grinned.

"Hey, Keeley. If I give you some cake, do I get anal off of you finally?" He winced and shook his head. "I'm sorry. We haven't even done anything yet. I meant oral. Anything else would be pushing things to fast, wouldn't it?"

That was the kind of thing that Mirror Him would have said, but apparently, when he got annoyed, that part came on just a bit stronger than was strictly needed. The reactions from the women didn't help a lot at all. Two were old and worldly enough not to be shocked by some mildly creepy speech and Keeley was able to lock her emotions down enough that she didn't blush or seem upset, at any rate. Still, he could tell, somehow, that she wasn't all that pleased for him to be saying that.

Maybe she didn't like cake? Or had heard about the raspberry filled chocolate monster that Darla had wanted? He looked at her directly, which would have made anyone normal uneasy, but she just sighed.

"So, what they did to you has turned you into a sleazy asshole? I was afraid that might happen." She actually seemed sad as she shook her head. Rebekah just covered a smile with her left hand.

Zack snorted himself.

"Probably. Mirror Him was never all that PC, so that's working into my system now, too. Still..." He was planning to add something nice then, about how he'd only been kidding, but even though true, he stopped himself and changed the topic. "I do have cake. You two can pay for it. Then, after you say what you want, you can go. I can't really trust you right now. I'm barely able to believe that Darla is actually herself and that this isn't just another trick, so... yeah."

That got a fake wince from Keeley. It looked real, but he wasn't all that fooled.

"I don't want to make your life harder Zack, but I was hoping that we could trade some work? The Cleric was asked by The Librarian to arrange for a rather massive transport of goods from the Hireesie lands to Greece. Since we're known to be close, and going through Darla would have been an insult to you, Gregor asked me to arrange it? It's probably just grunt work, but could be important. It's so hard to know with Tarsus. I can't say that he's my favorite person of all time." She left it at that, and smiled, her face looking slightly... prim.

Zack clapped once, copying what Bey always did when he was most pleased.

"Ah! Good. Excellent. So we can trade that anal sex for the work?" Again, he was kidding, but Darla gave him a very dark look then and shook her head.

"No. The level of effort required sounds high. You should ask for more than that. Years of sexual service at least. Keeley is decent at shape changing, so she should be entertaining that way, if nothing else." There was a deathly seriousness to the tone, and the teen girl looked at him as if he were a monster. Since she was still pretty innocent, at least in that way. As hard as it was to believe, given the world they lived in.

She let her eyes narrow a bit, instead.

"I don't think so. Now stop teasing me and pick something real. Remember, I'm just brokering this for other people..."

Darla took over then, which was good, as far as joking went.

"He set a fair payment plan for it Keels. Not everyone is going to let you off that easily you know. He doesn't need cash, and you don't have much that will help him right now. You asked for his help and he offered you terms that don't even cost you anything. Not really. You have an unlimited supply of sex after all, so it's simply a bit of work time being spent. You should consider it."

That was down to Darla trying to get Keeley used to not being shocked by things like that. Even if she wasn't strictly speaking, her mentor anymore. Zack slowly nodded. He was supposed to be nice and all that too, wasn't he? That meant being helpful, and what Keeley needed was to let go of her hang ups. Fast. Before they got her into too much trouble. That got Keeley to wince at least, her face going hard.

She wasn't really trapped of course, but she probably didn't really have anything he needed, did she?

Not at the moment. Zack shrugged.

"Fine, one favor, of the same scope, to be addressed later. Only if you help with the project though. You can refuse what I ask of you when the time comes, but if you do you have to act as a sex slave for ten years, doing whatever I want without question. With whoever I want." Then he grinned, knowing that she wouldn't like what he was going to add next. It wasn't kind of him, but that bit that used to be MH almost glowed inside. "On top of that, regardless, I get a fair chance to nail your mom. Only if she agrees, but as often as she wants to do it."

The last time that issue had come up, Keeley had offered to rip his balls off. She'd meant it and Zack got the idea, since he was, clearly, a bit of a perv. Who hit on their own Aunt like that? It nearly made him feel all gross inside, but he fought that down. In the Greater Demon world, you couldn't afford to let anyone see you as weak.

She actually growled at him, which given her lovely face, and the fact that she didn't want to push him into a physical confrontation came out seeming both menacing and cute at the same time.

"Five million cash, three rather nice magical implements out of my collection, and I'll help you with this task, if you need it." She glared, but it was at Darla, not him.

The blonde girl just shrugged and laughed at her, but didn't add anything at all.

The reality was though, that he didn't care. About anything. His emotions were too tied up and while he did feel mild amusement, his inner self actually wanted to let her off the hook, more or less. It was only what Darla had said earlier, about her being left open in that area that got him to persist. Not that it was his job to fix things for her, but she had way too big of a gap in her Demon skills. If he could work that out, as insane as he clearly still was, then Xenses would.

The Defiler would probably take her off guard and rape her over and again, given that, before she had defenses to handle that sort of thing at all. At least if he could work out a way around her ability to take slaves at will. Things were far too dangerous for her to be broken, even for a few decades.

"Ten million, a favor, and I get anal on alternating Tuesdays. Giving, not receiving. Though we can try that too, if you're feeling kinky?" He tried not to smile, teasing her or not, and Darla interjected again.

"Every Tuesday. Set a time frame though Keels, or you'll end up getting busy and forget, which will put you in breech. Then you'll have to fight him, or end up in an even more onerous position to make up for it. It's important to pay off your debts after all." There was a lesson in it for him, he knew, since she wasn't really Keeley's mentor. Not anymore.

Keeley glared, angrily this time.

"Stop it Darla, I know what you're doing. I don't have to make a deal like that. You aren't going to trick me into it either."

That got her sister to stop at least, and stare for a bit.

"I'm not trying to, Keels." She sounded almost sincere and everything. It wasn't that funny though. "You aren't really ready to be an adult, and I don't have the right to keep teaching you. This is something you need to fix. If you seem reluctant to do something simple like this, then every single payment you're asked for, for years, will be in this general area. You know it's true. It's a lot better for you to spend your first times with someone nice like Zack, rather than ending up stuck with one of the others. Do you think that Finias will be kinder to you that way? He... Might, but given everything that would be even harder for you."

Zack got that one, because yuck, her dad. Except that they were Greater Demons and even for the good ones, if you could call them that at all, things like family didn't matter in the same way as it did for Humans. Still, he'd grown up with the same rules that she had, and got the idea. They just couldn't afford to let that kind of thing influence them. Not with half the Greater Demon world gunning for them. Or at least her.

They all seemed to actually like Zack, for some reason. It was a trick, or a temporary thing, no doubt, but as hard as it was making his life, at the moment, that part was helpful.

He grinned, tired of the game they were playing and not even wanting sex at all. That had been locked down for nearly a day already, since too many of his new memories were involved that way.

"All right, ten million, a favor that's comparable to the task at hand, and you have to have sex with at least ten people in the next month. None of them have to be me, but at least one Greater Demon." He waited, and, shockingly, Darla nodded.

"That sounds more than fair Keeley. You should take it."

He was willing to let the sex stuff go, himself, but they talked for a while longer, with Darla pushing both the cash portion and the sex part up, as Keeley argued them down, ending up with eleven million, and only having to have sex with five different people. One of them being a Greater Demon.

Given everything, since he figured that Keeley might want to annoy him, he had to figure that Troy was about to get lucky. That was fine. She was underage for him, but could change shape to an appearance that he wouldn't know about at all. Or, Zack knew, he might be wrong. She did not seem happy though, even if it was clear to him that Darla was trying to help out, not be mean. It just seemed like that, if you filtered things through Human morality.

They weren't Human, which was the point. Not at all.

When she left the Demon girl practically stormed out the front door, acting a good bit more immature than she had any right to, since she was supposed to be both an adult and sane. After they left, with Rebekah being jerked through the node roughly, outside the closed front door, Darla moved in and gave him a big hug. It was different, since she normally hadn't been doing things like that.

"That was so good, Zack! You didn't even bargain like a hippie. At this rate you might even be a productive member of the community some day. Still, we can't just leave it there, can we? Let me grow a cock, and we can have sex. You have some oil for that?" She grinned, but as far as he could tell she was pushing him for the same reason that she'd been after Keeley. He had issues there too, didn't he?

It was probably why Mirror Him had always teased him about being gay, so he'd shy away from those memories. It wasn't a bad plan, come to think of it. Neither was what Darla suggested, though he still wasn't really into the idea. It was like the raspberry filled chocolate cake, he guessed. A thing that he could force himself to do, but wouldn't like. Not without magic being used to change his mind.

"Nope. We can use vegetable oil, I suppose. Keep the penis modest though, will you? I don't want to get all stretched out. Plus, if you do me, I want to do you, too. Going second, so if you get too rough, you know you'll be getting the same in return." He managed not to sound scared at least. Even if the idea did freak him out a bit.

She giggled. It wasn't real, but it came with a pat on the back.

"Good. That would take a few hours, but it's completely fair to negotiate for things like that. Instead, you should probably scout out this delivery that Tarsus asked for. It's strange that he didn't come to you directly for it. Or that he isn't just doing it himself. It could be a trap, since Gregor won't be as wary about substitutions as the rest of us are at the moment. Not that he's easy to fool. We should eat something first."

"Cake. I already have some, after all. Then I need to check people at work and see what my schedule is for the day. Where's Lisa?" He found her with his mind, lying down on his bed, but not sleeping. She was still too wired by the Wistra for that.

They ate in silence for a while, and at four Zack just stood, his face relaxed. After all, he was either about to be jumped by a bunch of super powerful and insane beings, or he wasn't. If that happened and they wanted him dead, odds are he would be. If, on the other hand, Darla was correct, then Xenses and friends would probably want him alive and well. It made sense to him not to get involved in other people's messes at least, which meant, as long as no one pushed him to do anything too hard, he could be taken off the playing field.

Of course, some of them, like Tarsus, would probably figure that out and decide that a dead Zack could open up a spot for a nice, new and totally sane version of him to come into the world. In that case the good guys, as they liked to think of themselves, would probably be the ones killing him.

The sad part there was that poor Darla was stuck in the middle, either way. Sure, she'd only taken the job as a way to use him as bait, so that she and Keeley could kill Xenses, but other than that she'd done a decent enough job, hadn't she? He knew all those useful fighting tricks because of her, and had cooking skills now.

Why, as soon as they moved on to dressmaking, he'd be set.

"I need to go and visit with Bente soon." He spoke without warning, but Darla was too old to be taken off guard.

"Well, she is pretty, so that would be a good person to have sex with. Or did you mean for a new wardrobe?"

Zack shrugged.

"I was thinking I'd start a modeling agency. Just as a lark. She probably has connections in that world and I have some that might help." He waited for her to either praise him or suggest that he was a moron and it wouldn't work, but she just nodded.

"It's a plan. Do you want to go now?"

That got a head shake.

"Nope. I need you to stay here with Lisa, since she's practically your new girlfriend, while I go and set up... Things. I know, the bad guys are after me, and so are the good ones, but the fact is, if they're going to kill me, they will. I appreciate you holding my hand all night, but right now I need to stand on my own feet, or no one will respect me. Not that they will anyway, but you understand the psychology of that kind of thing, right? I can act tough, or weak, but neither thing changes the situation. I'll be..." He wanted to say that he'd be all right, but the truth was he had no way to know that at all. The best he could do was give a rough time schedule for his day, so he didn't bother. "Let's plan for lunch at noon? Here?"

She looked at him, but with something approaching respect, rather than anything else.

"Fine then. Stay ready, and if it comes to a fight, stick to your real talents, and run. Doing anything else for the time being is foolish."

They were both silent for a while, and he went to change clothes, just doing it in the slightly dark room, as Lisa looked on. It wasn't as if he weren't wearing cute underwear, and he was, he knew, the wrong gender for the woman to really be interested in. Even if she still had a crush on him. That was less physical and more mental anyway. It would make it harder for her when they had sex, but...

He smiled and kept changing clothing, putting on rather standard looking black socks, slacks and shiny shoes that were comfortable and had textured soles to them, in case he needed to be on his feet a lot.

From his bed, which was a king sized thing that Lenore had gotten him, and had a nice gold and red bedspread on it that shone, even in the near dark, Lisa spoke, her voice trembling a little.

"What am I going to do, Zack? Everything is ruined and I have nothing, do I?"

It was clear she was crying, but he kept putting his shirt on. It was blue, and he had a tie to go with it, which was a real one. That was just black, so he could look the part of working in a book store as a manager, rather than seem like he was ready for television. Then, after he arranged himself, he moved to the bed and laid down next to Lisa, working his arm under her neck. That wouldn't be comfortable for long. After about ten minutes he patted her head a bit, and kissed her, first on the cheek, but then the lips. She did it back, more out of reflex than desire. He could tell that without even getting her mildly panicked thoughts.

"Now, I need to get off to work, unless you want to have sex? If you remember, the last time you came and cried like this I did mention that it was a time honored guy tradition." It was a distraction, and she winced, turning away a little, as if having said that meant she were about to be raped by a Demon or something.

"I... All right." She didn't mean it, but said the words anyway. Because, clearly, she owed him and if he wanted to use her that way, he should be allowed to. She didn't have any value at all, otherwise. Not inside her own head. Not at the moment.

Worse, the idea made him go hard, even blocking out his emotions at the moment.

"Good. That's the spirit. We'll do that later? Probably after you get back from your retreat. I don't want you blaming the drugs for wanting my sweet, sweet body." He chuckled then, since, at best, he looked like a too skinny scarecrow, rather than a sex symbol.

"Okay. I... Thanks, Zack. I know you don't have to do any of this. I..."

She didn't finish the thought, but it was pretty clear anyway. She just didn't know what to do.

Luckily he did, and got up, ignoring the tightness at the front of his pants. He really did have things to do, after all.

"Off I go then. I'll be back in a few hours, if the Mage Guild doesn't send someone for you. If so, have Darla check them out first? Make sure they really have your best interests at heart and all that?"

"Right. Oh, Zack, the summit. Do you have people working on that? Maybe I should go and check..."

"Nope. I'll handle that. For now, just try to rest for a while." Then he left, since he was oddly annoyed by the whole situation suddenly.

After all, she was messing things up, and not even putting out for him. Okay, she'd offered but, for some reason, he suddenly wanted sex a lot more than he used to.

Which was part of what Mirror Him had always been. That left him sad for a moment. Not because he didn't like sex, but because, in a strange and probably codependent way, he missed the voice in his head a bit.

He walked to work, but had to go in the back door, since the mall was in lock-down. No one had called about anything, so it was strange. Roland came when he pounded on the door, and the front of the place had the steel gate drawn tight already. Looking through it, he noticed that almost everyplace along the way did.

Zack looked at the man, and his Vampire lady friend and sighed.

"Crap. Someone managed to start a war?"

Rowan looked freaked, but at least had on nicer clothing than before. It all fit, for instance, and while it was pretty casual, it was unstained and new. So did Roland, though Zack didn't care as much about that.

"There was an attack, Zack. On New York. No one knows who did it. Bombs and things like that? It's on the mainstream press. The Ettarian Ambassador told us all. So we locked up. Is that right? People might have attacked us, here, since, you know, we're Vampires and the last thing like that was sort of our people? It could be terrorists too, but..." She was scared. It didn't show a lot outwardly, but inside it sort of did. Zack needed to find out more about it. To that end he opened a node to his house and pushed both of the Vamps through, with instructions to guard Darla and Lisa. At least until they fell asleep for the day.

Then he very nearly moved off to the City, since a late night attack wouldn't have a lot of news in particular, yet. Instead he went to the node room and used it as a looking glass, to see what he could find out. That... Wasn't great. The events were small, but in four locations, and three of them seemed strange to him, since space warped in the area, just a tiny bit.

Zack didn't understand it at first, but finally worked out that the bombs that had gone off, mainly on the rooftops of high rise buildings, had nuclear material involved, which was spreading over the whole area. It wasn't a horrible plan, if messing with the economy was the purpose. New York was central to that, after all. Nine-Eleven had shown that one, to any group that was willing to pay attention.

That meant it almost certainly wasn't Vampires doing it. They actually cared about things like the population, since they wanted a large and healthy food source. Sick people didn't get fed on, and radiation made Humans sick, if they didn't just die outright. They might execute some of them, or torture them, to make a point, but just poisoning the well? No, that didn't seem correct, did it?

The problem, for him, was that there was a node in the city. A Nexus complex. One of the largest in the Human world, at least as to how many groups were there. He sighed, and looked again, noting that the blasts weren't that close, but that some of the radioactive dust was headed that way.

He wondered what to do for a moment, until the phone rang. At first he figured that it would be someone he knew, but it was actually the Vampire Ambassador... from there. Speak of the devil, Zack thought.

"We... Request aid. I cannot reach our embassy there, but if the Line Walker is available, I will pay to have my people removed from this location." There was a tension to the words, but also something like defeat. "I have children among them. My own. I do not know what kind of attack we are under, but if it grows, I'd not have them perish."

Zack was silent for a moment, and then shrugged.

"Fine, half of what you own. You can pick which half, but don't cheat me. That will work for getting everyone in the complex out however, if you can spread the word and get things ready there? I'll be in... Half an hour from now. There's a cloud of radioactive particles heading your way. Dirty nukes."

"Fuck. Are you certain?" The man sounded angry at least, instead of just defeated. It was probably better that way. Anger led to action, after all. He just had to manage that part.

"Pretty much. I can get people to their embassies, if they have a place to go. We need to avoid major cities..." Because that only made sense. If it was a terrorist action and he were in charge, they wouldn't try for only one place, would they? No, he'd hit at least three, and try for more, if he had the supplies.

Really, he needed a television, he decided. For once the cable news channels might actually be useful. Normally they just distorted reality too much to be useful, even to him.

"I will have all that wish to come ready, in half an hour. For half of all I own." If that was too much, the man didn't complain. It probably meant he was poor, or something. Zack was actually fine with that. Half of ten dollars was still half of the whole, and he could sell that as being a good enough sacrifice for his services, right? Really, it was probably too much, but he was supposed to gouge a bit during emergencies. It was what people did.

Just as he set the phone down, he got another call. This one from Los Angeles.

"We've been hit here too!" There was no attempt at saying hello, just that. "This is Erin Probest, I was with one of my lovers and saw it happening! What do we do? I... Help!"

"All right, Erin. Where are you? Are you near a node?"

"What? No... Wait, who is this?" Since she'd called him that seemed a bit odd, but he got the idea, she'd slammed some buttons down, and didn't know who she'd connected with. From the tone of voice, even when panicked, she was probably an Alede. She sounded sexy at least.

"Zack Hartley. Get to your embassy and... Get all your people there, if you can. I'll set up retrieval from here. You can do modeling, right?"

"Um, sure... I used too, but... bombs?"

"Exactly. Let me check, but assume that there will be more attacks and radiation. That's what hit New York. I'm evacuating there first. Can you set that up? Getting people ready to leave? Everyone too, not just your people." Zack meant all the non-Human's, but there was no time to say that, since she just gasped.

"You're that Greater Demon, aren't you? The Line Walker?"

"Right. So, have everyone ready in an hour and please have them know where they're going? We don't have room for everyone here."

She made a sound that was even more freaked out then and slammed the phone down. Whatever that meant. Zack set the black hand piece down on his desk, only to have the thing ring again. He was worried that it was Chicago being hit too, but the voice on the other end didn't sound all that worked up.

"Hello? Zack?" It was oddly familiar, but no one he recognized off the top of his head. Except that, after a moment, he worked it out.

It was his own voice. Since, by some odd turn of fate or coincidence he looked like Xenses used to, that probably told him who was on the phone. Dear old, monstrous, dad.

"Xenses?"

"Exactly! I wasn't sure you'd take my call, but I saw the news and wanted to make certain you were all right? We do have an agreement in place still, don't we? I wasn't sure if it would hold, after I woke your memories like I did earlier."

Which explained that part of things, if nothing else. It also meant he hadn't done his father from behind, just some other Greater Demon. That was, he decided, good enough.

"For now. I'm not happy about it all, and I might still change my mind, but I'm holding things together. Say, you don't know anything about these attacks do you?"

There was a brief silence, but after a few breaths, a soft chuckle.

"Not at all. I could see about finding out? If you have anything to trade for it?"

Zack wanted to be scared himself now, but he laughed instead. After all, what else did he have?

"Information for information? If you can find out who's behind this, I'll try to find out what Keeley and Darla are up to, in regards to killing you. They'll probably figure it out and then change their plans, mind, but some news is better than nothing." It didn't sound like a great bargain to him, but the voice on the phone made a considering sound.

"Agreed. Information for information. Try to be timely with it?"

"Agreed. I'll call and ask right now. Then I need to be off to get people out of the attack zones. This is pretty messed up, you know that?"

The man on the other end of the line chuckled, sounding very happy.

"I know! Isn't it great? Here I thought today was going to be all boring, too. Well, it's always something. Tootles. I'll get back to you as soon as I know something."

Zack hung up, not waiting for him to say anything else. After all, the less he had to deal with the Demon, the more likely it was that he'd survive, in the end.

Then he got to work, since people needed his help.

Chapter fourteen

It was, of course, an unmitigated mess. The only saving grace, as the day stretched into morning across the nation was that there was only one bomb in L.A. and nothing else went off at all. He still ended up moving hundreds of people all over the world, and, for some reason, had twenty Alede in his bookstore by nine in the morning. The problem there was that they hadn't all eaten, and just getting them blood from Rebekah wasn't going to work at all. Erin Probest had called up all her friends in the city, so they'd literally run to be gotten out. They hadn't gotten with anyone else, but thankfully, after a fashion, the Vampires had, so there was that. It made them look good, even if the Alede were paying him for L.A.

They were nervous, which meant that all of them, man, woman, boy and girl, were spewing sexual energy out into the air. It was so thick it was cloying. Worse, they didn't have a homeland at all, which meant that going to a relatively safe node was nearly as good as they could manage on short notice. For a bit he was at a loss, to tell the truth. What was he supposed to do with them all? Palma came in, and made food for them, but that, he was certain, wasn't going to really help.

At about ten thankfully, Valerie came in, which got him to open the front of his shop up and chase her down. Foolishly, she didn't try to run, but rather bravely turned to talk to him. He gave her a serious look.

Then Zack waved at his place.

"We have twenty of your people, evacuated from L.A. I should just send them over to your store?"

She sighed, and then nodded.

"That sounds right. How did they get out? I thought that all the planes were grounded?"

"Oh, I was called in by one of them. She's paying for it all. Modeling work? I'm starting an agency, I think, so looking for talent. She'll still get paid, of course. Really, if you have anyone else that's looking for that kind of work, let me know? After you take these away, and feed them." He didn't add in please, since that would have seemed a little desperate.

Val seemed very serious though and leaned in to him, touching him on the arm, lightly. It was actually less flirtatious than she normally was. Desperate and edgy, for once. That was actually refreshing, to tell the truth.

"Is this the Vampires?"

Zack actually had some news on that one, at least, "I don't think so. Really, I'm guessing that it's some kind of Human group right now. Regular old terrorism. I'm having that checked out and will let everyone know what I find. For now... Really, we need to open up the mall, and, I don't know, hold a candlelight vigil for the people attacked, tonight? Something like that. We need flags on all the stores too. I... really, I'll pass the word on that one, since you're going to have your hands full with this lot for a bit."

Then he walked away, calling out to the Alede in his place. Not all of whom left right away. Some were actually reading books and a few sat in the Cafe. The rest scurried away like he had super cooties or something. Though, tellingly enough, Erin stayed, her pretty face almost too good looking for what they'd need.

"I guess I'm your slave now? Master..." She didn't kneel at least, which was good. They were right out in the open, and if she did that, it was both going to be hard for him to deal with, and really hard to tell her no.

"Um, no. That isn't my thing. Slaves. I might be able to get you some modeling work? So, stay ready for that. Part time, no doubt. I want to go into plus sized women, eventually, since the current skinny look is hurting too many girls. For right now, why don't you go and help Valerie, the Alede Ambassador? If you see Kaitlyn, or Kyle, send them over here please? We have a lot to do, and a lot of directions to go in. For instance, we need to get things opened up. I really doubt that we're at risk here, and hiding behind closed doors makes it look like we're scared."

Of course, most people were.

On the good side, some of them addressed that by acting very brave and tough, which was pretty nifty, all things considered. Zack took a deep breath and started at the far end of the Mall, tapping on the front of the Vampire embassy, first. Lenore and Edom were both there, as well as Bey. The rest of the council wasn't, but that made sense. Being in one place would leave them all vulnerable to attack, a single bomb possibly taking them in a few moments. This way only about a quarter of their power base could be taken out.

It was why they weren't at the summit after all, right?

Lenore opened the door, looking around like she was expecting attack.

"Zack? Do you need something to eat, or..."

Bey walked from the back, carrying his distinctive warping of space along with him. For his part, Edom just started making treats, pushing a rather hastily made thing toward him, over the counter, with a long handled red plastic spoon.

Zack took it and then shrugged.

"We need to get things open. I can't prove it yet, but this seems to be a Human action, against their own kind. It's stupid, but not our problem that way. We have an investigation going. The, um, Greater Demons do. So, I'll share that information, if we find anything? We should give away free food. I'll pay for it. Can you put out a sign? Say something about America and standing together. There's a vigil for the fallen later tonight, in the parking lot."

Bey looked at him as if he'd lost it, but Edom started nodding.

"Right. Good plan. I was in the country on nine-eleven, and that really worked then. People will want to get together." It was, clearly, enough for the other two, since Lenore didn't wait for orders to come in, just opening things up, and then, oddly, going to the phone. After dialing, she spoke loudly.

"Vaughn? We need to open things up. Everything. All offices, if possible..." Then she explained what Zack had said and who the information had come from.

He left, going to Mage Embassy, since it was directly across the way. Bob was in the back, answering the phones with his wife, so Zack had to use his front door key. That he still carried it all the time probably meant he was holding on to the past too much, but he'd noticed that they hadn't changed the locks, either. Of course, locks wouldn't stop him, if he was coming in, would they? It was probably a money saving thing then.

They both looked up at him, as if they were going to be eaten at first, but then Evelyn smiled. Her hair had started to grow back and while she looked like a thin teen boy, she was clearly not dying anymore. That was good, since Wu-Li hadn't been certain they'd gotten to her in time.

"Mr. Hartley? Have you come to help out?" Then she answered the phone, "Embassy... no, we don't know. No one..." She looked desperate, and Bob gave him a slightly darker look.

So, while they were on the phones, he spoke anyway. Going over the whole spiel he'd given the Vampires not three minutes before. Then he dialed Jennifer. It was a school day, but he found her at home.

It was her mother that answered, sounding like she was in shock, really.

"Get down to the Candles and More. Bring friends. Um, you know, protection spells for all, and that kind of thing? Get with Bob. Here..." He passed the phone over and left, not telling the man who was on the other end.

After that he went from store to store, finding people ready to fight, but no one actually attacking him, which was nice. The three Kobolds all offered to go and fight the terrorists themselves, which Zack didn't take off the table.

"If I can find them, we might need to go in. Can you all stay ready for that? I'll try to let you know beforehand." He sounded serious, because he simply was. Not that he was in charge of North America.

No, that Greater Demon was Gregor.

Which meant giving him a call as soon as he got near his own store again. The instant the phone picked up and older male voice spoke, sounding gentle and a bit saintly.

"Cleric? This is Zack Hartley?"

"Line Walker. Are you calling in the debt I owe you?"

Zack blinked, and smiled a bit. "That would be poor timing, wouldn't it? No, I was just checking in to see what you might need done? You're in charge of America, and I live here, so, you know, marching orders and all that?" It wasn't how things normally happened, but he was young and stupid, right? There was a soft hiss from over the phone.

"Thank you, Line Walker. If only all that lived in this land were as dedicated. Do be careful however. Too much of this kind of thing and the others will leave you in charge. For now, I could use some help, sending emissaries to different locations? This seems to be the followers of Radical Islam again. That or my own people making it seem like that. Would you be available to aid in their transportation?"

"Right. I just need their locations and where they need to go. I should also get some people back from the Ettarian Summit." It felt like a lot, but Zack didn't bother worrying about it. In the end he only had to do what he could. "Oh, I, um, have Xenses out looking to find who did this. So there may be some news coming in that way. If we can locate anyone, do you want in on the takedown? We should get with Richard Swerlin too." Because he was part of the official U.S. Government. That made things like that practically his job.

"Xenses? What price does this come at?"

"Information about what The Technician and The Mistress of Souls have planned for him. I already have it, since I called up Darla and told her all about the agreement. I even mentioned that would be what I was doing to all sides. I'm sure that means there will be eighty-seven levels of traps involved and no one showing up, but that isn't my problem. Not at the moment." Not at all.

There was a low sound that he realized after a bit was a creepy priest style chuckle.

"Very well. Please share that with me, if it's allowable, once you have the data? I would, indeed, be available for that clean-up work. Mr. Swerlin as well, you say? He's one of your Vampires, isn't he?"

Zack was about to explain the nuances of the situation, but then shrugged, almost as if without meaning to at all.

"Yes. I'll set that up. I'll see to your list of people."

Which didn't take long at all. Really, as long as he wasn't all that polite about things, he could do the transfers faster than the phone calls. There was a strange situation that arose, at the mall and even the other places he went that day. About half of the people were running around, working frantically and seeming ready to fight or run, and the rest barely caring at all.

The Elth and Hsreth for instance, didn't think much of the distant attacks at all. They spoke to him, but that was only to ask if he wanted food. Which he didn't need. Merry and Conrad listened to him carefully however, and rather cutely marched out of their Chinese food place in the food court, holding large bronze knives.

Conrad explained, looking up at Zack, dressed in his normal cooking outfit, complete with white apron. He looked very tiny, standing there. Perfect though, like his sister. It was almost as if they were simply standing a good ways off, rather than being physically small.

"We will go and fight these beings of terror, at your command. We owe you our lives." He spoke so proudly that Zack knew he'd be offended if he said they weren't needed.

"Good. For now though, we should feed everyone that comes in. Set up a buffet in the middle and let people know that it's free? I'll cover it, so it won't be a loss for anyone." Not that a lot of people were eating yet. People were still too tense. Some did come into the Mall though, since people had collected in the parking lot, to hold signs. Most just said; God Bless America.

It didn't hurt that Edom and Lenore had taken treats out and handed people some flags to wave.

For most of the day, he played delivery boy. It wasn't that big of a deal, but he certainly got to practice his people skills. No one was all that unpleasant though, until Calley came in, along with Catherine, her boss. The Shifter Ambassador.

Zack saw the moment coming, as if in slow motion, with the feline woman moving to the front, her right fist clenched halfway, showing she was predisposed to being aggressive for some reason. Calley was looking down, her face red, and eyes wide behind her thick glasses. It normally would have been fine, dealing with the attitude that was no doubt coming, since, he realized, it was mainly due to fear on the cat woman's part. Fear of losing too much, or, in this case, her assistant being more effective than she was. He got that from her before the lady managed to get ten feet into his book store.

Her face set, she marched over, seeming prepared to harm him, if he didn't give in to her demands.

Unfortunately, or maybe to her benefit, he wasn't having any of it for the time being.

"Hold it Catherine. Don't speak. Just don't do it. If you manage to hold your tongue, and leave me a written list of what you need, and who goes where, I'll let you pay it back with clothing for my employees here, from your shop. If you start trying to attack me, even verbally, I'll kill you where you stand, and suggest Calley replace you. I don't want to be mean, since I actually like you, but so far you have not been making that easy. Pick one, and let me know which it is." He stood looking at her as her mouth worked. She started to speak, and a squeak managed to get free, which sounded both scared and annoyed at the same time, but then she walked to the front desk and started writing on a pad that was kept for phone messages.

Taking a deep breath, he managed to fake a smile for the woman, and did a good enough job of it that Calley at least smiled back.

"Thanks. She's really just terrified that you'll make her do porn with Humans. She isn't really that bigoted and has even dated Human guys before, but she doesn't exactly want it on the web for everyone to see, either. Say, did Jahn and his wife send those funds along, yet? They were supposed to. It might make things awkward today if they haven't. One of the things that's needed is getting him from the summit. We should leave his wife and kids." She looked around and then shrugged, her small shoulders going higher than a human would have managed, nearly to her ears. "I mean that too. Just to protect them. We don't really know who's targeting who yet, so it seems like a good idea. A leader must be seen as brave, but his children don't."

She had a point. It was just one that he wasn't going to concern himself with. Catherine came back with the list, and other than line five, which said, quite clearly, "fuck you, Demon" the rest was doable. Zack pointed at that one and smiled.

"Agreed then. Later tonight?" He was joking, but she blanched, as he showed the thing to Calley. She actually went wide eyed again.

"Um, Catherine, why would you offer that? You should have at least specified positions and all that. Wow. Zack, you don't like it rough, do you?"

It was sort of cute, how innocent she was pretending to be about it all.

"Not really. Don't worry Catherine. I won't break you. Good thinking, coming up with that. It will help us grow closer."

She just looked worried, and started to turn when he laughed.

"I'm kidding. I'd go into how I actually do like it rough or something, but we sort of have an emergency right now, so, you know, implied playful banter... You turn red and manage not to say anything and... I let you off the hook. Only this time. If you offer again I'm taking you up on it. My libido is really kicking into overdrive. If I wasn't so busy I'd be dragging you both off to the back room about now. I mean that, too."

Personally, he was going to blame Mirror Him for that part of things. It was all too new to him and he wasn't used to feeling things that strongly yet. It would work out, he didn't doubt. Eventually.

Still, the list wasn't that bad, and most of it was doable. He didn't know how to find the Shifter's world headquarters, but hopefully Jahn Samson would know.

That and eating was all he had to do for the rest of the day, until seven, when it got dark. Then he and everyone else he could find, took small candles outside and joined nearly a thousand others. It was Bey that got up to speak to them all, since he looked old enough to be listened to.

"Thank you all for coming. Tonight we should share our good wishes and send our best thoughts to those that are in need, after the attacks today. Tomorrow we should all band together and find those that have done this, and ensure they cannot do so a second time. Please join us in a moment of silence." It was simple, but no one spoke, for nearly five minutes.

Then, almost as if it were planned, people started to sing.

"God bless America..." It wasn't a horrible voice that did it, but still got him to look across the way, since the man that spoke was standing next to Stocky the Bunny Boiler and looked an awful lot like how Zack used to. Enough that they'd still be confused for each other, no doubt.

Xenses, no doubt.

Working his way over, he was a bit shocked by what happened. Not that everyone started to sing, no, that was Human nature. It was that, as he got closer, the fact that Stocky double B... hugged him. Then, without changing outwardly at all, the world started to roil around her a bit. Showing that she'd been something different than he'd thought, from across the way. The pattern was vaguely familiar too.

"Rotted?" he didn't make a big deal out of it, but she smiled.

"Yes. Call me Ann though, since we're friends. This is so wonderful. Xen enlisted my help a few months ago, to keep tabs on your house man, Troy. It was my idea to sleep with him, but I got a twofer there, since Xenses was visiting. He looked so pretty at the time, too." She waved at him, her face a bit blank suddenly. "Not that you're horrid now, but I did like the old look better."

She linked arms with him, which was a little too close for him.

Zack tried to make his voice calm and reasonable anyway.

"So, you didn't kill her? I was worried about that, after what you said to Troy earlier. That thing, trying to take me, it threw me off. It might be a bit outside of the bargain we made, too."

Xenses didn't ask what he was talking about, getting it all already. That was one of the nice things about speaking with Greater Demons, no doubt. They understood what you meant more often than not.

"I'd say that I helped you. True, not in a way that's comfortable, but you're even stronger now, with your two halves merged. Yes, I'm sorry about tricking you into it. On the good side, you won't be taken by anyone too easily, as a slave, which is excellent. Don't go up against that bitch Keeley, if you can help it. Just as a guide, imagine what I did but about fifty times stronger?" There was a look that seemed a bit sinister then, as he scanned the crowd. There were a lot of people, and they hadn't finished the song yet.

Zack nodded, "I figured it was something like that. A loophole in the exact words we used. So, Keeley and Darla are expecting you to show up on the fifteenth, in Johannesburg. Where exactly, they didn't say. It's a trick of course, but as far as I can tell, they aren't particularly tracking me. That could be wrong, so, consider yourself warned?"

That got him slapped on the shoulder in a way that was a bit too friendly, considering everything in the past.

"Thanks. I'll make it worth their while. Or, at least give them a chance to set that up. Now, I'd like to leave Ann here with you? She gets along with most of your friends all right, and mentioned that you two are dating? That's pretty fast work, but what else should the world expect from my son?"

Stocky looked at him and smiled hugely.

Zack just nodded back, getting the woman to seem happy enough.

"After a fashion, I suppose. Mainly friends. Still, you can't stay like this." He meant the current face, which had her simply... Shift. The body wasn't that different, but her features altered enough that she wasn't the same girl, after about a minute. Then she turned a nice and even tan.

"Better? I have to say, you're kind of picky, aren't you? Can't be a little girl, can't be the one stalking your friend. I suppose you'll insist that I stay female too? Tsk." She was teasing, at least.

Zack nodded.

"Yep. For now, anyway. Say, were you Rebekah in that little play, the other day?" He didn't know that at all, but she nodded, cuddling closer to him.

Next to him Xenses seemed to be ignoring them, or perhaps listening to something that Zack just couldn't hear. Then he waved lightly.

"I'm out then. Another attack in L.A. Oh, hey, here..." There was a touch on his hand and a thread sprang out at him, with a lot more force than was needed for him to pick up on it. It nearly slapped into his mind, rather than just being presented.

It had the faces and names of the people involved in the plotting and the attacks. All of them, which was nearly forty people.

Then, without waiting at all, the crazy and no doubt evil, Greater Demon Xenses, vanished. It was slow, and almost ponderously done, but he managed to get onto the lines and leave, without anyone doing more than blinking once.

Ann held his hand, and then kissed him gently on the cheek.

"We should get married, don't you think? We can't have kids, but we could adopt? Or, I know, I can raise one from the dead? That will be fine, I think. Or would you like to get a dog instead? This is so much fun." She didn't try to drag him off at least.

Sighing, Zack looked over at Lenore, who saw him, but didn't seem too put out by the new girl on his arm.

"I have a girlfriend. Over there? We're friends, that was what we agreed to, right?"

She nodded, her face decently cute, if still a little round. Like a real girl, instead of a computer generated model, like Keeley.

"Indeed it was. Still, you like me, and I know your rules now, so it seems right. You can bring your other women and men too. I like Troy. We can take him to bed with us tonight?"

Zack didn't say no, since Ann was clearly insane, or trying to make him think she was, but was also being annoying, not evil. He didn't want to push her too hard that way, so ignored her.

"We should go in, I need to get in touch with some people, since I have some people to kill, it seems. After I check things out, I mean. I don't just go around doing things like that. Killing. There's a good reason for it." His voice was light and lightly airy, but not that playful.

He meant it, but didn't want the crowd to think he was a terrorist.

The Demoness cuddled his arm a bit more, rubbing her chest against him, and chuckled.

"Well, so much for me making you think I was really going to insist on instant wedding bells. What's the project? More to the point, can you kill them in a way that will allow me to resurrect them, so we can do it all over again? That's always more fun. For me. Not so much for them, but hey, if they wanted a vote in the matter, they shouldn't tick off people like us."

He looked at her, feeling a little blank at first, but letting a small smile come to his lips after a while.

"You know, I think we can probably manage that. I need to get a team together, but I doubt anyone will insist that we treat these particular people all that nicely. Not even Gregor. These are Christians, but not the good kind."

"There's a good kind? You mean dead, right?" She wrinkled her nose then, since it was clear that not all Demons were big fans of the religions.

"Not yet. You know those jerks that go to people's funerals and hold signs saying 'God hates Fags'? It's them. Their leader has been trying to find a way to start a holy war for years, and planted evidence to make this look related to Islam. I personally find that annoying, since it's going to play merry havoc with the economy of the Human world. Just when I finally became wealthy, too."

It sounded self-serving and petty, but as reasons went seemed to work well enough, since Ann just started walking with him. He moved over and gestured to Edom and Lenore, which had Bey coming along with them, even if he'd been leading things. Zack smiled and waved him back.

"You should stay here and help these people in their fear and grief. We just need to do a few little things. It won't take long."

Not really.

Inside he contacted Gregor first, his voice relaxed. After he explained the situation the generally kind seeming Greater Demon actually growled.

"Oh, him. I know the one, and his family. They consider themselves the true elect. That never works out well, in the end. I've tried to steer the faithful away from that kind of thing, but every few hundred years someone comes along and manages to get a small group to think that they're the chosen few." There was a very long and drawn out sigh. "So, I can go and deal with them, now."

Zack shrugged, but cleared his throat.

"I was thinking more along the lines of having them killed, brought back, and then confessing on live television, only to die by their own hands, publically? We can play with that idea, if you want. The Rotted volunteered for that last part. Not wild about religious people, I think... Just in general."

There was a strange silence then, and the man finally made a sound that seemed like something was stuck in his craw.

"You have Xenses and the Rotted working on this? Who else?"

"Um, well, you, me, Ann, I was going to ask Darla if she wanted to come along too? Lenore, my girlfriend. Don't listen to The Rotted, we aren't really dating, her and I. Just friends, at least by the agreement we made the other day. Edom the Vampire, Richard Swerlin, the politician... That's about all. Did you want anyone included? We could invite the President, since I'm sure he wants in on this, but I don't think he'll be allowed to go." He was being a bit of a smart ass and knew it, but the man on the phone just seemed to take it all in stride then.

Like it was normal. That wasn't the case, since most things like this were just ignored by their kind.

"Very well. I'll be there shortly. I agree, however, that we should elicit a full confession from them, before allowing them the rescue of death. They killed far too many of my people this day. I thank you for your aid, Line Walker." Then he hung up, probably so that Zack wouldn't have to figure out what to say after that.

If so, it was really pretty nice of the man, because Zack didn't have a clue at all.

Turning to the others he made the next phone call. After that, well, it would be time to see to some very bad people.

Ones that even God couldn't love, he didn't think.

Chapter fifteen

The church wasn't much of one, as far as impressive trappings went. It was a slightly blue tinted gray color, with white trim, and a nice, but not huge, sign out front. It just had their name on it, but didn't explain that the hate group, and that was their true nature, was made up mainly of one family. Forty members strong and often in the press, but only for their egregious behavior.

Zack opened a node to the front of the building, and just had people walk through. It was a bit harder to do the Demons with them, but not all that much. It was mainly that all of them, to a person, tried to struggle and do the work themselves. The problem there was that they wanted to do it wrong. They all started trying to spray power around, sloppily ripping into space, instead of simply walking through the neatly provided gap he made.

Really, if he could train people to focus on where they were going, and made the rift glow a bit, anyone should be able to use them, without the extra work on his part. It was something to consider, but later, after the events of the day.

Keeley had come too, inviting herself along, since Darla had decided to be a pain, and tell her about Ann. The Mistress of Souls didn't seem to trust her at all. They'd never met or anything, but just the fact that the crazy Demon saw things a bit differently was enough, it seemed. As if insanity for their kind meant particularly bad? None of them were actually sweetness and light after all. He was pretty close to the best there, and that was mainly because he was so new to it all that he hadn't been forced into being dark and evil all the time just to survive.

It would come, in time. That was in the memories that Tarsus had given him too. They all went bad, eventually. Oh, it varied as to how much damage they did, but that was it. He could cannibalize nuns and babies in front of Gregor and the man probably wouldn't do more than suggest a good wine to go with. White, most likely. Something dry, to cut the salty taste that all westerners had? That this knowledge was in his collection of information wasn't comforting at all, so he let it go and smiled.

"We should knock?" They looked like a strange group, really. Teens and their chaperone, who seemed like a Catholic priest, at the moment. He was dressed like one and everything, since he'd come from work. Actually, a lot of them had.

Apparently, powerful didn't mean you got to be all that lazy, did it? Even Keeley had come from school, where they were holding a rally all night, so that people wouldn't have to be alone. It was nice.

He didn't wait, for all that he asked what he should do. There were at least ten people inside. That was easy to see, and there was also a dirty bomb, in the basement. The radiation warped space a little. He cast that idea out to the others, and then realized that, if he focused enough and added some power to it, Lenore and Edom would get the idea too.

'Ten people inside. Eight women and girls, one boy of about fifteen and their leader. Also a bomb in the basement. I'll go in first. Everyone else stay back a way.'

That got a mixed response, since crazy or not, Ann backed off, just walking toward the rainbow colored house across the street that had a Gay Alliance sign in the yard. Edom held his ground for a moment, but was pulled away by Keeley, with Lenore being led by Darla.

Richard Swerlin stood up straighter, not having gotten the message, so Zack sent it again, just for him. Then the man... Nodded.

"This is my job. I'll go."

He wasn't wrong, Zack realized. These people had attacked America and he was, Vampire or not, a member of the House of Representatives. It was literally his job to help protect the land they were in. Mainly by making laws and taking bribes, or however it was done, but Zack had no real doubt that anyone that knew what was going on would have done something similar.

Plus, undead, and with super powers.

Gregor came too, actually moving in front of them, pasting a smile on his face. He knocked firmly, which, after a moment, had an eyeball pressed to the peephole in the door. As if the cameras weren't enough?

They opened the door, and the man that did it, his blue eyes rimed with aged yellowed and slightly bloodshot whites, sneered. Because that was how you treated guests, wasn't it?

"I think you have the wrong place, heathens. This is a house of the Lord and only the elect may pass within. State your business and be gone. This is a dark day for the whole world, but the light is coming!"

Zack looked at the man, and then nodded. He could see the sense in it, after all. From the perspective of an insane and deluded bigot, what he was saying was just fact. They were unclean, not being him. God was, of course, on his side, because, naturally, his reading of the bible entitled him to act as he did. It was right there in the word, after all.

He popped his head around the other Greater Demon a bit, so that the old and wrinkled corpse of a man could see him clearly.

Then he waved a bit.

"Hi! I'm Zack, this is Gregor, who's also called The Cleric, and this other gentleman is Congressman Richard Swerlin. You know the name, since I'm pretty sure you've preached against him a time or two. Anyway, I was wondering if we could help you out of the bind you've gotten into here?" He said it sweetly enough that bigoted hate fiend or not the man paused.

"Say what? I... Is this about our protests? God really does hate fags, boy. You can't be saved, but you should know that. God hates all your kind. The sodomite, the perverse, the Satanist... The Catholic. Those papists are the worst of the lot. I don't have time for games, right now." He sounded bitter and angry, but only half as much as the few times Zack had heard him on television. He walked forward, and slammed his palm against the door as the man tried to slam it, realizing that something was actually wrong and that they weren't there to leave a religious pamphlet.

The door was made of heavy metal, and had very sturdy hinges. Like what smart drug lords used on crack houses. He could see that as they flew off, the whole thing pressing into the old man, who was falling. Only to be caught by Gregor.

After all, they wanted the man to be presentable for his public confession later.

Zack decided to do it the easy way, and reached out, to help the man stand up. On contact he saw it all...

Oh, you'd think the guy was probably a closeted homosexual or child molester, but he really wasn't. Other things though, including guilty as sin.

Zack looked at the man and waved his hand a bit.

"Check him for me, so that we both can confirm this?" The man tried to scramble back, but Richard, being kind and gentle about it, moved to his side, the mighty crash causing people in the back room to run and look.

The Cleric touched his cheek, which was almost a soft caress, rather than the grab that Zack had used, and then laughed.

"I understand. Well. You'll be confessing to that soon."

Zack nodded, but didn't really care, though the people in the back, a few of whom had guns, seemed to want to know what they were talking about. He spoke, but only so that Richard would know what was happening.

"They're all cannibals. I mean, I normally wouldn't cast stones there, since I've had more than my share of the other, other white meat in my time, but there it is. They also planted those bombs, and plan to do more, in time. You know, making the sinners pay. The unclean. So, people that don't eat their friends, I guess?"

The politician made a face, and then sighed.

"I could forgive an unusual diet, perhaps, or even deaths to feed yourselves, but not wholesale contamination of my own food. Even if it wasn't my job to protect people. Which, as it turns out, it is." He started to move and was shot once, which didn't do much to him.

Zack slowed the happenings and paid attention, finding the rifts in space where no bullets would be flying. The people were too packed in for that kind of thing, and were, no doubt, about to die at the hands of the government representative. Except that Gregor was getting there first.

Calling out he cautioned them, since there were rules to this kind of thing.

"Disarm them! I'll check the device in the basement." Which he did by simply running to the door which was just outside the kitchen. There were stairs leading down, which were just made of painted wood. It was well worn, but not untidy. When he got to the bottom he found a woman, who was clearly at least her own Aunt, as far as bloodlines went, from the way her features were arranged, and looked too much like the church leader's. She rather desperately scrambled for the bomb, which was just sitting on a sturdy looking shop style work bench. It was a lot like the one in his own garage that Darla had made him build, as his first project. His was nicer, and painted, but this one wasn't horrible.

You just did better work with a Demon riding your behind.

"Don't bother." Zack pushed the space in front of him, and walked sedately, which probably made it seem like he was using blurring levels of speed to the woman. He was on her fast enough that she clearly hadn't had a chance to do much, and then he pulled her back, gently.

The contact showed a few things, such as her ugliness not being due to inbreeding, which had just been him being mean, it seemed. She was one of the organization's four bomb builders however. They would have done more, but it was harder to steal medical waste than it sounded like it should be. Then, for best effect, they'd needed to powder it, which took a lot of work, to do it safely.

She felt rather proud of that part, since they'd managed it without anyone getting sick at all.

Zack could see it. The images in her thoughts were complex, but efficient. They'd learned a lot, in order to be the best terrorists they could be. Then, they were smart, as a group. Ten of them had law degrees, since suing people for "infringing their rights" was how they made money for their hate campaign projects. It showed in the quality of all they did.

"Calm now. I can't let you set that off. Not yet. You'll need to do that later. After you confess." He was holding her by the back of her neck, which meant choking off the blood to her brain, since his hand wasn't all that big. Only partially, since he couldn't reach around to both arteries at once. That meant, when he went back up the stairs, they were all still alive. Unarmed and not conscious, sure, but breathing.

He didn't wait, just running to the front door and calling out.

"Got em! Come on in!" He didn't yell, which meant that the Vampires were there first, but only just by a few feet. The others dashed over quickly enough, though Ann was smiling, her face both the second darkest in the group and a bit manic.

"Did any of them live?"

He nodded, and then waved them inside, "yes. We need to find the rest of them, but we have the leader and one of the bomb makers here. I..." He looked at Keeley and then Ann, ignoring the rest of them for a bit. "I think we should leave Festus here alive. Maybe let Keeley take him over and then make him offer himself to people in prison?"

That didn't go over too well, since people were waking up, including the man himself.

"Heathens! Devils!"

Ann nodded at the man and moved in close, her face shining happily.

"Closer... Keep going... Devils and..." She looked at him, and the man grimaced his head clearly having met with a solid object while Zack was out of the room. It didn't make him bleed, much. It was hidden by his hair too, so he was going to guess that it was either Richard or the floor that had done it. Gregor wouldn't have made a mess like that.

Then again, he might be a little bit pissed that the religion he'd invented to control people was being used so poorly. If so, that was probably fair. No one wanted their work being taken over and claimed by evil people, did they?

Festus, the bigot hate leader, made a face and turned a nifty color of red about then. In part, Zack figured it was that Ann was choking him, but it could have been his rage. It was hard to tell.

"Come on... Devils and...." She led again, smiling, and then let the man go suddenly.

"Fags! Devils and fags... sodomites, all of you!"

Zack looked around the room then and finally settled on Darla.

"Does a blowjob count as sodomy? Because I've done that. On purpose, I mean. Or does rape count? I mean, when people are doing you in prison, will that taint your soul, or just the rapists?" Normally that would have been a real philosophical debate, but he was just making conversation. The man on the ground didn't answer, but Keeley raised her right hand slightly, which was out of place and kind of cute.

"I've never done anything like that. So, do I get into heaven? I even go to church regularly." She didn't mean it but the man finally spoke, shaking his head weakly.

"Only the elect will be allowed behind the pearly gates. Only the elect! Only those that have followed my words and leadership are holy enough to be in the presence of God Almighty! Praise the Lord!" He seemed a bit desperate, but then he'd worked the bible around to allow himself and his family to eat human flesh, so he probably had to be.

Keeley took him over, stealing his will after a few seconds, and then set to the others, only to find that Ann was helping. She killed the younger five and after a few moments brought them back, leaving them at least as under her control.

Edom and Lenore looked on blankly, but Richard sighed.

"I have some contacts. They'll confess to what they've done? All of it? As well as forget that we were here?"

Zack didn't know for certain, but the two women agreed, and didn't even ask to be paid for their work. For his part, he waited, and then set things up, so that the family and their bomb would make it to Washington D.C. After all, if they confessed, no one would believe it, but if they did that, on television and then set off a small nuclear device, that would pretty much seal the deal in the minds of most.

They were guilty, so it seemed fair to him.

The rest of the family was still out, on their holy mission of death and slaughter of the infidel. They wouldn't take long for him to find. The trick would be making them all seem like they'd killed themselves. It didn't take long for the division of labor to be set, and it was decided, in the end, that he and Gregor would take care of that part, while Keeley and Ann handled the press portions with the Vampires.

He had to get everyone into place, but it really didn't take long, and then they started hunting, since the others needed to die before the family's little event in D.C.

Zack waved to his new partner for the day and smiled.

"We can work from the Nexus at Westfield? I should be able to find them all from there, and spy on them. Then we'll take care of things?"

"Excellent, Line Walker. Then I must see to fixing the damage done, as best I can. Radiation is such a problem. Humans never think long term though. Why bother, if you'll leave a mess for others, and not yourself?"

Zack shrugged and opened a direct entry point into the node room of his shop. He made it glow again, going with faint purple.

"Don't fight it, just want to be in the store. No... Don't add any power, I already took care of that." The man still struggled for a bit, but then seemed to trust him and stepped through, easily enough. It worked pretty well, he decided. The other Demon didn't even scream at him for making it an order.

He came in right behind the man and then cleared his throat, gently.

"Sorry, I'm not trying to snap. It's just that everyone always makes a big deal out of this, when it's really easy."

"Which is why you are the Line Walker. I imagine that The Rotted would say the same about reanimating the dead, and that the Mistress of Souls baffles over how the rest of us fight and struggle to do what she does with but a thought. I have had long conversations with Tarsus about how simple it is to gather information from all sources, you know. Well, each to their own talent." He smiled, seeming peaceful and calm, but didn't bother to share what he, personally, found to be all that easy.

Zack, being clever, didn't ask. It was probably in his memories, if he bothered to check. That library at least.

Working fast, he located the two that still had bombs first, and simply killed them, outright. It lacked in elegance, but he simply made their heads explode with a single rapid punch each, using Bey's trick. It really wasn't just hitting them, naturally. You drove a fist inside their heads, and then, once inside, you rapidly opened your hand so fast that the pressure caused nothing but a shower of red mist and bone particles.

Of course when Bey did it, he always managed to get out of the way of that part of things, which Zack didn't manage half as well. He had a fine coating of red all over his right hand side, and his clothing was probably ruined.

Then, being careful, he wrote a note using pages from the bibles they had with them, and carefully tossed the bodies out of the windows of their hotel rooms. Each one just said, 'Bomb in hotel room.' Along with the room numbers. He was helpful that way.

Gregor did the rest, probably thinking that Zack's idea of what looked like suicide was a bit warped, after that. At least he wasn't insisting that them being tossed out of a window counted as them jumping. The older Demon seemed to think he might, or at least kept acting as if he expected an argument.

It still wasn't pretty, since they were forced to list their sins first, and write them down, in notes that begged forgiveness. Since, to a person, they had to put in things about munching people that they'd kidnapped from around the country, that had to be hard. Then they slashed their wrists.

With a bit of help.

Even not being the one doing it, Zack managed to find that he ended the day, or night now, it being about three in the morning when they finished, covered in blood. Gregor wasn't, his black outfit being free of anything like that at all.

Maybe that was his ability? His special talent? If so, it was kind of cool.

Standing in the back of the store again, the head of North America for their kind... bowed. Zack did it back, making sure he did it right.

"Thank you, Line Walker. If the need arises, in the coming days, may I seek your assistance in this matter further?" There was a sly look to his eyes. A thing that was hard to trust.

Zack hedged then.

"If I deem it needed, and agree to what is being done of my own free will, then yes. I may insist on making a trade with you for something however. Right now... Actually, I should change and shower, then eat and go see about that shipment for Tarsus. Keeley said that you asked her to do it? Is it a trap, do you think?" That was blunt, but the other man didn't act hurt by the question.

"I think so. Tarsus doesn't need aid in doing much at all. Technically he's set this up so that he has a reason to engage The Mistress of Souls, rather than yourself. You are, I believe, just the end of the chain. What did you ask of her for the work?"

Zack shrugged.

"Some cash, a favor. Oh, and she has to start sleeping around. You should drop her a note, actually, since at least one of those people needs to be a Greater Demon."

That got a chuckle.

"I think I understand. She's younger than you are, after all, so don't think too harshly of her. What Tarsus was thinking, putting her forward at such a young age, for her testing... I really just believed that he wanted to kill her, at the time, but then he held his hand very carefully at the end. It probably means that he's at least part of the current problem we've been having. The less ordered of our kind have been too well disciplined for a while now. Working together and behaving themselves, nearly. To what end, I don't know."

Zack didn't react at all, but that had the ring of truth to it, didn't it? Tarsus was one of the most powerful, and clearly close to the top in access to knowledge, if not the most informed being ever. Of course, that didn't mean much to him at the moment, he decided. It was sort of like the reason why he was trying to tolerate Xenses, even after the horrors that had been done to him at the being's hands.

If the man had been, well, a man, Zack would have gotten a gun and shot him in the head, then buried the body somewhere. Even if it meant spending the rest of his life being some large inmates bitch, he would have done it. No questions asked, no defense even bothered being given.

The thing was, if he tried that now, on his own or even with Darla and Keeley's help, he was simply dead. Worse, it wouldn't even impact the Demon at all. There wouldn't be regret, or hard feelings, just Xenses moving on to the next thing, not impacted at all.

Tarsus naturally, was so far beyond that it wasn't humorous. If he was behind anything at all, even Zack being raped and tortured like he had been, the only thing he could do was grin and hope he didn't want a blowjob before he took a shower, after the painful anal. It was that simple. If he was going to be used from that quarter, it was just going to happen. Zack doubted he could even escape the creature by dying, if he was on the radar at all. So the best thing for him to do there was to not play the game. If possible.

That shouldn't be too hard at least. Tarsus didn't seem to have any plans for him at all.

Apparently it was Keeley on the menu, not him. If that held, at least. Of course, being that he was stupid and too good to survive, he needed to find a way to warn her, if she didn't already know. It really shouldn't be his job, but there it was, him with the information, and her not having it at all.

That meant...

Well, he'd need to guard his thoughts a lot better, for one thing. The little trick he was using, warping time to swallow what went on inside his mind needed several layers more just to be safe. Different things, with at least one of them being truly new, if he could manage it. Everything in the data he had, Tarsus would too.

Probably a lot more.

Then he'd have to find a way to get Keeley alone, and in a place so far away that even Tarsus would have problems finding them. Long enough to talk. Even if he wasn't believed. His job wasn't to convince her of anything, after all. Just let her know the score. Or, more accurately, his job was to sell books, and collect a power base.

The thing there was that he wasn't sane, and this kind of thing showed it. No reasonable being would go against Tarsus, after all. Would they? Not just for some girl that was at best a bit creepy, and a tease. She got the power to change shape and the first thing she did was make herself into a woman so hot that she nearly didn't seem real? That was fine, if your goal was getting people into bed, like the Alede, but she was, as far as Zack could tell, still a virgin. Or at least she faked it pretty well.

He thought as he walked to the node, stripping naked, very carefully, and then setting his soiled and bloody clothing on the bank of a river, very far away. It was near a waterfall, but that was too strong to use as a shower. Instead he made himself remember what it felt like to be warm and scrubbed for a long time, using handfuls of pebbles from the bottom of the river, with a little sand mixed in, to make certain he was clean.

Then, he just waited to dry. Leaving the clothing, he went back home then, directly to his own bedroom, to find Lisa there, sleeping. Since waking up with a mildly damp naked man next to her would probably not help at the moment, he just dressed, in the dark, wearing casual clothing, because he had work to do, he didn't doubt. Lifting and toting. Carrying and shifting things around. So jeans, a light shirt that he thought was a plain blue, and running shoes.

After that he spent an hour in the kitchen, making food and eating it, until he didn't want anymore. That took a lot, since without meaning to, he'd been burning through energy the whole time, suppressing the rage he felt. That and the fear. He was making his fifth round of waffles when Troy came in, his face a bit sad.

Zack blinked. Right, massive terrorist attacks. He'd stopped thinking about it.

"Zack... D.C. It was hit by a dirty nuke. An hour ago. I was at work, no one came in really, so... You know, we were just hanging out, really. Some of us don't have a lot of people, and you weren't around. Barb and I, Kevin... You know. The gang from work. It doesn't sound as bad, but yeah. Another bomb."

Zack, being a nice person, on some level, he knew, pulled a clean plate out and put a round of waffles on it for his friend.

"We should watch some television soon. There's a punch line here. Some of us, Edom, Lenore and some of my, um, relatives? Took care of things. The Terrorists?"

It took a second, but Troy nodded.

"You should have come and gotten us. We would have helped. Everyone would have." There was venom in the words, but it wasn't a thing that he would have ever doubted from Troy. Or Barb. Even Kevin the bouncer. They all would have handled things, if they could have.

"I know. An oversight on my part. As it was poor Edom and Lenore ended up just standing there. Richard Swerlin went in with us too. Today should have some interesting confessions at least. I don't want to give it away, but I bet you'll love it, after a fashion."

No one could love all that death, but there was something satisfying about people that claimed to be the holiest, being shown to be the worst imaginable. They always were, in the end, weren't they? It was probably due to the fact that people that pretended to religion had the most to hide to begin with. That wasn't to say that some just believed, but it was a system that was too easy to abuse, and, he suddenly understood, humanity, as a whole, was even more insane than he was.

Religion without proof was just one sign of that.

They wanted the comfort, but too many of them allowed that to become a reason to hate, or even despise, other people that were, in the end, no worse than they were.

It didn't leave him any better off, so he just sat for a while, with his friend, and ate waffles. Then he needed to see to some things.

A lot of them.

Chapter sixteen

It was tempting to just camp out on the sofa, the new one that had magically appeared one day a few weeks before, which was a tasteful burgundy color, if that was possible when there was that much of it, but he really had things to do. One of them was getting a no doubt exhausted Rowan and Roland from the store. Then he had to find someone to watch Lisa, and obviously, get off to see about making that delivery that he'd agreed to, for Keeley.

It didn't take long, at least, and Lisa was ready to be gone from his house, which meant finding out where the needed retreat was, and signing her in before heading to the Hireesie lands to find out what it was that Tarsus wanted moved. It sounded simple enough, and was mainly just dotting t's and slashing i's, until he saw what he was supposed to get into place.

It was his fault, of course, for being stupid and not finding out before hand. Anyone else would have checked that part out. Then again, no one in the world would have really expected to take four giant statues, each the size of a small house, from the Hireesie lands to Greece. The bird people seemed excited to see him, and knew exactly why he was there, at least, since Tarsus, or an agent of his at any rate, a dwarf woman named Grettle, was standing by to help him with it.

After a fashion.

She, at least, was very sweet, and so really were the brightly colored bird people. They pretty much looked human, but had feathers instead of hair and big noses. Not so much so that they couldn't pass in Human lands, as long as they either covered their hair, or like Rebekah did, wore a shirt proclaiming they were the bird people. Then no one would believe it and probably leave them alone.

The tiny and thick bodied woman clasped her hands in front of her stomach, her hair a blonde, mixed with gray or silver. It was hard enough to tell that the honest answer was probably a bit of both. Then she waved up at the statues.

"These two will need to go in first, we have limited space on the grounds for them, so it will be hard to move them, if we do it wrong. Can you take two at once? I don't know if that's the best plan, but I was assured that wouldn't be a problem, for one such as you?" She sounded doubtful, but not in a mean way, just like she was pretty certain that if he dropped her statues, he'd end up minus a few parts himself.

That made sense. Not that they were hers, but her people took their work a lot more seriously than Humans did. It was what made them a different species. At least that was what he thought the case was. She had a look about her eyes that fit for it. Rounder than was normal, at least where he was from. She was cute, regardless, and not old looking at all, with pretty green eyes. Also a dress that made her form underneath a thing to guess at, more rather than less.

She caught him looking and nodded.

"I'm not wed, if you're interested?"

Zack nodded.

"For sex at least, if that's a thing for your people? You're very attractive. Still, I'd better impress you with my ability to move things, if we're going to be talking like that. Don't you think? Me standing around for two days and then admitting that I have no clue as to what to do won't work at all." He ignored her then, even though she spoke, which was probably rude, but she didn't stab him, so hopefully he hadn't been all that mean, in the way he sounded.

The truth was, he could take or leave her. He just didn't want to insult her, after what she'd said.

Hopefully that wasn't the same as agreeing to get married in her world. Actually, checking with the info he had, he knew it wasn't. She'd been offering herself, and he'd set the limits, for now. She could say yes, or no, but that was all.

Good. He didn't want to go around saying the wrong thing all the time.

There was however, nothing in his memories, either personal or planted, that told him what to do in a case like this. It was clear that he wasn't picking the things up and carrying them, and they weren't moving on their own, not physically. So, Tarsus had set him up to fail? That or just to get him out of the way for a while. Zack didn't love that one, but shrugged and thought about the problem for a while. It was all he could do.

The problem, really, wasn't one... for him. Most Demons would have tried to fire energy at the things, lifting them up, and carrying them through the lines while spraying reality with so much energy it threatened to buckle. Or more to the point, they would have tried to do that and simply failed, collapsing in starvation when they got about a minute into the project.

He, however, could just work out how to shift the spaces around, and make the space they were in one with where they needed to be. It would be a bit delicate, since getting things wrong would take extra work, but...

"I can move them all at once. I need to see the location first however. Can you take me there?"

"Not at all. I was told it wouldn't be needed and that you could find it from my thoughts?" She looked at him as if scared suddenly, which made no sense. He was still him after all, and hadn't changed in the few seconds he'd been with her. Nearly minutes now. Why, they were practically married already, given everything.

He snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Of course, I let myself get distracted. That's... Here, hold my hand?" She did it, and didn't even understand that he was using that to get into her head. She just thought he was being a bit fresh with her. Not that she didn't think that was fine enough, since he was, clearly, a giant. That might mean he was giant all over, which was diverting, to her way of thinking.

It was hard not to laugh, really.

Zack found the location, which the woman knew well, working there all the time, and even living not a half mile away from where the new statues were going. They weren't wonderful in subject matter, but were well done, being rather rounded men, hunching over. Naked. It was done tastefully, so nothing dangled or was exposed too much, but they were each different as to race.

The idea was that they'd guard the four directions, their white stone forms a warning for anyone trying to sneak up. Basically, it said that Tarsus was watching.

Not getting his own damned statues in place, however.

Zack was careful, but didn't even use much of his own energy, just overlapping space and sliding the one part of reality out of the way, with everything where it was supposed to go. It worked, and now that he had it down, he realized that it would sort of work for any large thing moved in a similar fashion. It really was hard work, and he needed to get a snack or twelve inside him, but it was done.

Grettle gaped at him, but he just kept hold of her hand and moved to show her that it was done.

"I... The statue there? It should change with that one?"

Zack did it, laughing for a while as he did.

"There, now, Tarsus, if we aren't going to get busy, how about you share a bit as to what's going on?" He doubted that she was really the Demon himself, but there was a surprise then, as the small woman unfolded, almost instantly, into the rather sour and patrician form that he'd met once before. It was an impressive change, given the growth required. If it was real, and not an illusion.

"Indeed. That took you less time than I figured. Rather, I meant it as a lesson, to teach you that some things are beyond your abilities, but I gather I need to do something else, next time? At this rate we'll need a new name for you soon. The Mover perhaps?"

Zack suppressed anything inside of him that would even approach an emotion, then he looked at the other man, and smiled, not meaning it at all.

"It's probably a bit early for things like that. So, I noticed that you seem to be making a move to take over all the Greater Demons? Not alone, clearly, since even you would have problems keeping us all in line. So, what is it, a move by the top five or six most powerful and ancient of you? Using the craziest and the stupid of us to line things up, so that you can knock us down like pins in a row?" He held up his hand, and made a fake face, wrinkling his nose. "Or, you know, the overly complex version of that. I get that I won't understand it or why, so, you know, keep it simple for the new kid?"

The Greater Demon smiled, and then snapped his fingers.

"I know, we can call you The Pain in the Rear. That fits too." It was actually teasing, rather than harsh or bitter. "Good guess. Not right, at all, but at least you figured out that something might be going on and tried to find out what it was. The Mistress of Souls has been sitting back and plotting against Xenses, of all things, as if she doesn't need to simply find him, and enslave him again? Her mistake before was simply not eating enough. Perhaps you could coach her on that? Clever girl, but not half so much as she wants to believe. You, on the other hand are the opposite, I think. Oh, no more or less intelligent, being about the same, over all. The truth is, we all are, our kind. You need to use your mind more, perhaps, but there is a distinct lack of ego, as far as that goes. It's refreshing, to be honest."

That didn't tell Zack anything useful at all, which, naturally, was the point. He didn't even bother arguing about it, since that wasn't going to work. Tarsus stared at him, or rather past him, for a bit, looking at things above and behind his head.

"You've been accessing the information? Integrating it too. You should look into the realms of thought, soon. Your mind is about to destroy itself, if you don't fix it. What that fool was thinking, pushing you like that..." He grinned, which was a bit wry, really. "Well, I won't lie to you this time, Line Walker, he was doing what I told him to. Still, since you aren't gibbering in a corner, and have worked out some of what it is that we're attempting to do, changing the balance of power in the world, then perhaps you might make the effort? Also, clearly, learn to shield your inner self better. I do like the idea of attempting something so new and original that I won't be able to just get around it. That's the spirit, as they say."

He wanted to say something witty, but then just shrugged.

"All right, you've confused me enough that I doubt I'll easily work out what it is you're really up to. I guess, what I need to know, right now, is if this is geared toward me, personally, or if we should just fight to the death right now? My death, obviously, but maybe I can make you feel sad about it for half a second or something. If I really work at it, I mean?"

If he'd been feeling fear, the sense of his skin trying to crawl away from the man in front of him would have made a lot more sense. As it was, Zack wondered if it would be an attack, or even just his life being flayed bare, and laid open to the other Demon. Instead he got the man rubbing at his lips. Trying to hide a smile.

"Nothing like that. I am going to seek the end of the Mistress of Souls however. Would you be a good man and let her know that? She has some months to prepare, but if she fails, in the tasks to come, I will kill her. I know that you and The Technician have been making some efforts to ready her, but she's still not going to make it, without doing more."

Zack blinked, which was just to buy time, and tried to access the memories that floated around him, which had the man in front of him smiling, and even clapping his hands a few times, pleased.

"That's it... Work it out..."

"The Second Crucible?"

"Exactly. The first to show that a Greater Demon can stand against all that would seek to end them, having them named adult. The Second, to show they have the power to rule, and will do so with ability. It isn't dangerous, in itself, but if she fails, she still dies. Incentive, after a fashion." He waved a little and then looked at his statues again. "That was really impressive. I can't do that. I doubt even having seen it done that I'd manage even a quarter of that."

Again he clapped, and then patted Zack on the arm.

"So, you get the idea? Put the fear of... Well, me, into her. Do it the way you planned, please. Hide your mind well and take her someplace where even I might lose track of you both. Be certain to make her pay for the information dearly however. Don't just play around with sex either. It will have to be something that she'd never part with. Give that one a few years to get over being an American and she'll be doing things in combinations that will make the rest of us seem like prudes. Well, not really, but hyperbole, you understand."

Zack didn't bother to nod or even agree.

"Which... you nearly have to be lying to me, don't you? Except that leads to a thousand levels of me knowing that you know and so on? So, you told me the truth... But not all of it? Keeley is in danger, and you're really testing her, because... Well, she does have all that sanity going for her, right? Her power is pretty good, too. Maybe it's worth the risk, grooming her so young. That or killing her.... Which is pretty much what you just said. Sorry for being slow here. That makes sense, but you know, Greater Demons..."

The Librarian let his chin drop, like he was indicating yes, without confirming it.

"A bunch of liars, all." Then the Greater Demon started walking, heading between two of the statues, the one that looked like a chubby Asian man hunched down, and the African one. They were about thirty meters away from one another now. It left plenty of room. "So, dating several women, are you? No men? Not even Troy Lopez? It's pretty clear that you love him, so you should consider it. At least get The Rotted to look like him and try the idea out. You're too young not to experiment. He's going to be a Vampire, I think I recall?"

Zack ignored the first part, but nodded, letting the ancient being think whatever he wanted, as if that was going to work? The man knew more about him than he did.

"That seems to be the eventual plan. I can't say that I blame him, like he said, a liquid protein diet isn't a lot to ask for, in exchange for eternal life, youth and power. I'd probably do that, if I wasn't, you know, already set that way. That or become a healing Mage. They live nearly as long. Look at my Grandmother. She barely looks thirty."

Tarsus nodded.

"Of course, you know that she isn't truly related to you, by blood. Her son was not your father. You should visit her soon. Today. I will warn you of something first, so that you do not attack in the wrong place." There was an annoying pause then, as the man waited for him to do something more interesting than stand and wait himself.

Zack didn't.

Tarsus finally grunted, seeming almost amused.

"I'm your Great Grandfather. Finias is my son, but I have a daughter as well. She goes by Lyn, now. She is of good heart, but her true nature is not known by those around her. When you go to her, you might now recognize what she truly is. You two have much to speak of, I believe."

Zack snorted.

"Um, excuse me, but that would mean we are related by blood? You just said we weren't. You also just told me that our kind is a bunch of liars."

That got the man to agree, immediately.

"Yes. All true. I promise you however, Zachary, I do not play that kind of game with you. I won't, with those left insane. The others are, of course, fair game. So, send my love? We don't talk, since she rather blames me for what happened to you as a child."

Tarsus put his hand on Zack's shoulder, gently.

"Which is correct. I should have prevented that misbegotten fool from ever having access to you. This plan, well, you'll figure it out, I'm certain. I don't want to take all the fun from your life. Anyway, visit your grandparents. All of them. Don't forget to warn Keeley however. Several months, but that's all. As an adult, Darla is not allowed to do more than make suggestions in this. Finias either."

"But I can?" He wasn't an adult, by their standards.

Tarsus made a sound that was a bit choked sounding.

"Well, yes, you can... if she's going to listen to a crazy child that can't even be bothered to check out what he's making deals for first. I mean, that isn't who I'd pick for a helper, but I'm sure you could manage it, if you wanted. Really, you shouldn't have to. It's enough that you're learning and trying new things, isn't it? Why, hardly anyone is even trying to kill you. You practically have a charmed life, for one of us. So far."

Then the man just stood there, waiting. Not moving or anything, and not suggesting that he leave, but also not looking at him with a horribly sour expression or anything.

"Right, so, I'll be going? Unless you need a piano moved, too?"

That got a clap. It was familiar.

"Ah! I don't need help with that, but I bet that Bente would love a visit too soon. Lovely girl. Well, goodbye, Line Walker."

"Librarian."

Taking off as fast as he could wasn't meant to impress the man with his skill. Especially since Tarsus had already worked out how to not freak out when he was pretending to be Grettle when Zack moved him earlier. The rest of the Demons had, except for The Cleric, after he coached him. It was probably related to that, then. Not the man already knowing how to do it.

Except that there was no way of knowing that.

Taking a deep breath, Zack decided that what his day needed, was a lot more food, some honest and normal work, like cashiering, and just possibly some time to sit and sift through the thoughts in his head, trying to find a way not to mentally fall apart.

What he was going to do though...

Actually it was that. He could make some calls, and set up meetings, like a real person. It was still early in the day, back home, and he didn't have to sleep, so... Yeah, that worked, didn't it? For one thing he needed some time to process things. Tarsus was lying to him, right? Lyn, his Grandmother, the woman that had taught him Mage law and how to eat with chopsticks properly, wasn't a Demon. She was a healer. A member in good standing of the Mage Guild.

Not that it would be impossible to hide things like that from people. Even a spouse, but... She couldn't be. Which meant...

Zack had no clue. Even what he was supposed to tell Keeley might be a game of some kind. Even if the being really was his great grandfather, which was possible, since all Greater Demons sort of had to be related. There were five hundred and twenty of them at the moment, and only the men could have children, and that only with Human women, he thought. Possibly Mage women, or some of the other groups, since they were practically the same thing. It made their family trees a lot different than most peoples, but it meant that such a relationship was probably more common than not. Everyone would be someone's cousin or uncle, or whatever.

He went to the cafe and sat out in the open, since there were people there, but not that many. If he looked like a pig, well, he'd tell everyone that he was training for eating competitions. Some of those people stayed skinny, mainly by training to stretch their stomachs with large amounts of water, but he was willing to bet that out of a thousand people, only about twenty would know that off the top of their heads.

So, he sat there eating some really nice sandwiches and seasoned fries, when Kaitlyn came back and sat next to him, taking one of them and munching it without asking. Because, to her way of thinking, he was one of her people.

"Hey." Her voice was less than bright and cheery, but not exhausted sounding either. "So, am I modeling with your new agency too? You didn't invite me."

Zack shook his head.

"Nope. It's off to college for you, and that would be too much exposure. No porn either, except for fun, naturally. Get a degree in something real, so that you can be ready to take over your people's governing body. You have the brain for it, so that isn't a problem. They're already scared of you, too, being the crazy wench that hangs with all the Greater Demons. We need to revamp that school system and stop them from slaughtering children. Unless they need it, I mean." Eating then, taking a big bite of lettuce and bread, with just enough cheese and meat for it to work perfectly, he stared at her.

Her nipples perked right on up, visibly, through her shirt. She was an Alede. It was what they did when they got happy. Or sad. Or even angry, he thought. Zack had never checked, but it made a certain kind of sense.

Kait looked away though, her fake glasses drooping a bit.

"You'll help me do that? I mean for real? I was thinking about it... I mean, it will take a lifetime, but maybe, if I have help? I could work here and make contacts, and, you know, friends. Then, after college, maybe I can get a job in the government, and work my way up? I don't have a great idea of how that's done yet. I mean, yes, sleep with the right people, but everyone knows that." She wasn't kidding, so didn't seem like it.

He thought for a bit and ate, without looking at her directly.

"It's a good enough starter plan. Yes, I'll help. They were going to kill you at that school, and did kill some of your friends. We won't let that stand. Not if we can help it." Zack waited a beat, then pretended to be shocked. "Oh, wait, we can do something about it! I nearly forgot, Greater Demon here... Gee, I'd hate to be them, wouldn't you? Then again, if they were smart, they'd be afraid of you, too. Anyone not seeing that is a fool."

After a bit she looked around and made a face, her foot moving out under the table, finding his leg. She just made contact, and didn't rub it with her foot or anything. It was low key, really, since a handjob was basically the Alede way of patting a person on the arm. She knew that too, and that he did, so this was just her trying to be his friend, in a way that he'd be able to handle.

"Hey, did you see that thing on television? Those evil funeral crashers were behind the bombings. I should have known it. They also told the world that they're all cannibals too, and set off a bomb, killing them all. Hopefully the government here won't insist on going to war with...Who would they attack for insane Christians attacking like that? Rome?"

Zack shook his head, "that's too powerful a target. My guess is that they'd go after Canada. Possibly Switzerland. That would be a mistake though, since any of those targets would put them against The Cleric, I think. Maybe not. Human wars are pretty common, after all."

"Yeah." She shrugged, and stretched, her breasts showing nicely as she arched backward. "Well, I can't fix that, not today and probably not ever. What I can do is go and make sure all our customers are being serviced. Oh, right, Judy Swan called. Grandma, so she asked me to make sure you were really willing to pick her up. Australia Nexus at seven tonight, our time?"

"Got it."

That left nearly eight hours, which meant he could straighten all the shelves and sweep... Except that when he looked it was clear that had already been done, and pretty well. Which meant he had very little to do unless he was going to offer to have sex with the bald undercover police detective that walked in. He wasn't subtle at all, swaggering around as if he owned the place. He was decent sized, but a little soft around the edges. From the folds in his ear lobes he was a bit too far gone into heart disease to last much longer, which was a shame, since he was a young man really. Forty-one, Zack knew, picking it up from him casually.

He waved, gesturing for the man to come over, which he pretended to ignore.

"Detective! Detective McKenzie! Over here!" The man winced, but didn't walk out, looking pissed, as he stomped over. He literally did it too, like a little kid with too much stubborn, and not enough spankings in his history.

Zack blinked at the colorful thought, and realized that it was Mirror Him thinking that, after a fashion. He was still there after all. Half of the whole picture now.

Not waiting for speech he waved at the man again.

"Good to see you! Are you looking for a book? Some of the best sellers don't look to bad, and we have some older ones too... you can read, right?" He rolled his eyes, and then crossed his eyes a bit. "Sorry, old habit, not thinking like that. Of course you can, or you wouldn't be able to fake your reports. Now, what's going on? You didn't come to get my phone number." Zack made himself blush and pretended to bat his eyes then, "did you? I have a girlfriend, but as long as you brush your teeth and put on some fresh clothing, I guess I could give that a try. I get to be the man though. You definitely seem like the kind that would want to be on the bottom anyway, right?"

"Fuck you, queer." The detective squared his shoulders and pushed at Zack's chest with a finger. The game was a simple one. Normally, the police did things like that trying to hurt a person enough so that they'd move away, which was fleeing arrest, in the paperwork. Or they'd bat at the offending hand, which was written up as assault.

The problem here was that Detective McKenzie was playing outside of his weight category by far too much and simply didn't know it. Another finger jab came in, as they stood at the front of the store. It was noticed, by two people. One of them was Kait, who looked worried, the other was a man walking down the central hallway. The physical plant manager. He turned and stared at the back of the Detective's head, which meant Zack looked at him and smiled, shaking his head a bit. That worked, thankfully. Otherwise there would have been a flaming Detective torch in his store. The Djin gave a single nod back and moved away, calmly.

"What, you think this is funny? I hear you're running girls out of this place. Prostitution is illegal, I could take you in right now."

Except of course, he couldn't. For one thing, there was no prostitution going on. Giving sex away to willing people wasn't illegal, or even wrong. The other thing was that Zack was getting just about everything the man had been thinking, which pretty much meant that he was desperate to find out why his friend Detective Baconni was after them all hard and heavy one day and had just given up the next. Literally not caring about it at all, suddenly.

It was simple really, since Bey had used his Vampire persuasion ability to get him not to think there was anything to Vampires at all. No one had bothered with McKenzie yet, other than making certain he never saw anything too good.

Which meant he didn't have anything on Zack at all. He knew it, too.

Not that lack of evidence was going to stop him. He'd come ready this time, with a baggy of crack to drop in Zack's pocket, if he could make up a reason to search him. Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but for some reason he couldn't understand, the skinny geek hadn't responded to his provocation tactics at all. Yet. The next trick would be to spray spit in his face, and then pretend Zack took a swing when he tried to wipe his eyes.

There were a thousand ways, after all, if the police wanted a man.

Instead Zack nodded.

"That isn't what's going on here, but clearly, it isn't normal, either. Would you like to really see what is? I can prove it all to you, but knowing about it... You might not be able to understand. Some people can't."

Thinking that he'd just won some kind of minor victory, the man smiled himself.

"Try me. You might be surprised."

One of them would be, at any rate.

Chapter seventeen

It was tempting, Zack realized, to simply get rid of the problem the easy way. After all, the man next to him, Terry McKenzie, was unpleasant to be around, overly aggressive, and smelled bad. Dumping his dead body a few hundred thousand miles away would have taken a lot less time than doing almost anything else would. Worse, at the moment, he was actually busy, trying not to let his mind fly apart.

It took focus to keep himself from simply acting and taking that easy and simple way out of things. Real discipline too. In fact, he had to search through the memories he had for a way to manage it all. There was a lot of information in there, but finally it was something pretty simple that caught his attention. What he wanted to do was to acknowledge the problem and hold it fresh in his mind, while relaxing and not letting the emotional content make any connections. If he did that long enough, he wouldn't develop new pathways for it.

Or, with time, he could remove any old ones.

For him that meant using magic, like he was, but bringing those old and horrible thoughts to the surface in a concentrated fashion, while removing all their damaging power. Simple, but different than what he'd been doing, which, naturally, was mainly hiding from what was there. That was what Mirror Him had decided to do, all those years ago, and that part of him had kept that up, even after they integrated. Now though, he had the ability to really make the pain go away.

In theory.

He worked on that, starting slowly, as he waved the Detective along to the node room. The man actually was aware enough to look at the door to it, with all its owls and books on either side.

"Yeah, this fits. So..." He looked around the almost empty store, just in time to see Claudia come in, holding hands with a man that looked to be about old enough to be her grandfather. He tried to spin, in order to follow her, but Zack moved forward.

Holding the thought of being repeatedly sodomized in his mind, as if it were happening at that moment, while using all the magic he could to strip any emotion from the scenes that came at all. It was no worse, mentally, than what he'd been living, but meant that he was slightly annoyed with the man next to him, for being that easily distracted. If one of them had a right to that sort of thing in the moment, it was him, darn it.

"This way, we need to make a phone call first, I think."

That got the man to glare at him, mainly by the virtue of not knowing what was going on and being too impatient to wait, or slow to figure it all out. He was bright enough to follow along and not make a grab for Zack, even as he looked around the marble floored node room. It was a nice space after all, but so out of place that even a regular person had to notice it.

The man seemed almost relieved when they got to Zack's plain and white walled office. It was almost boring, compared to the rest of his life. Familiar to the man, most likely, since it was like all new work spaces everywhere in the Western world. Lacking any imprint of being owned at all. Crisp and clean, but not really interesting yet. No pictures of cats with funny captions, or of his wife or kids. He was young still, so he could get by with some pictures of his friends, possibly climbing a mountain or something?

Zack gestured at the phone.

"Dial nine to get out. Can you call your Chief of Police directly?" The answer was no, Zack knew, but he was making a point. McKenzie didn't have that number, off the top of his head, and wouldn't need it day to day. He'd met the woman, and talked to her hundreds of times, but he had a boss that he went through, and when she wanted to hear from him, she called him in to stand in front of her desk, like a naughty school boy.

"What? Why would you..." He looked around, but the words just didn't make any sense to him. Not really. To his mind that meant it was a trick, or trap. That or Zack claiming that he knew the woman.

The idea that there was some kind of insider corruption made sense to him, so he nodded.

"I can probably get a call through, if I use the right channels. Why?"

"Because, I'm going to blow your mind, and I want you to hear that what I'm saying is real, from someone you trust. Go ahead and get that all started. I'm going to run and get a snack, from the cafe, do you want anything? A coffee?" He wasn't offering treats, since the man needed to watch his weight, at least a bit. If Zack had to put up with him, the man was at least going to survive another year or to.

That was a point, as well.

"Or tea. I'll get you tea. You like that now." It was a strange way of putting it, and the man looked at him as if he were an asshole and picked up the phone to dial.

"You going to make a run for it?"

Zack nodded.

"Yep, this is all a clever ruse to distract you from the absolutely nothing you actually have on me. Please, call Chief Sims and I'll get you something. This will take a while. Try to be open minded."

Then he jogged to the door, just so the man would have to wonder if he really was taking off. Ten minutes later he came back in with a mug of mint tea, plain, and having eaten about six thousand calories without stopping. They still had to wait for the woman to pick up, since it was early in the day for her, and she was going to be a tiny bit slow still. Vampires were like that, and she was old, but only about Edom's age. It showed, around the edges.

Zack managed to hit the right buttons to put the thing on speaker though, well before the woman bothered to answer.

"Althea Sims. You have something for me, McKenzie?" There was a tired and slightly annoyed sound to the voice that came over the device, but the Detective spoke anyway, sounding just a bit servile. People were, with their bosses.

"Yes, ma'am. Possibly. I'm at Westfield Mall, and a man here asked me to get in touch with you? Name is..." He looked at Zack, his eyes a little vapid and blank seeming.

The man didn't know who he was even. Great.

"Chief Sims? This is Zack Hartley, The Line Walker?"

"Ack!" There was a panicked gulp that came over the line, and the bald man next to him made a face. "Sir! I, what can I do for you? We, what can we do for you?"

That got a slow reaction from the man next to him, at least, who seemed to be understanding that at least something strange was going on there. Plus, Zack had gone, rather suddenly, from someone to attempt to provoke, into a person called sir, by his highest direct boss. It was out of place, which meant there was no way for the Detective to really understand anything yet, but that was the plan.

Zack explained it all, out loud.

"McKenzie here has been being a bit of a nuisance, for the last month or two. Nothing too bad, and, really, he's trying to do the right thing, to his own way of thinking, but today he came into my store and accused me of... What was that again Detective?" Zack looked at him and actually waited, while silence filled the air.

"Running a prostitution ring?" At least he managed to sound uncertain of himself this time.

There was a gasp from over the phone and the Chief spoke, her voice soft.

"I... Please, let me deal with the man? I know I have no right to ask, given our last meeting, but I beg of you... He's one of my people, I... What do you require of me?" It was far from an inspired speech, but Zack didn't care that much, since he was too focused on thinking about far worse things than whatever she had in mind. At the moment it was the cannibalism of babies. Living ones. Of course, she probably expected to be raped with an armed sized penis. Which it was clear, she was willing to take, in order to protect the jerk standing next to him. It was pretty brave of her, really. Respectable.

"Nothing much. I'm going to take McKenzie on a trip with me for a few hours, or weeks, and when he comes back, I'd like you to make certain he gets a medical check-up." He paused and looked at the man, smiling. "That sounds bad, doesn't it? He has a heart condition, a preexisting one, and it needs to be taken care of, that's all. He doesn't have the right mental character to really handle things, but he needs to learn what's actually in the world around him. So, just to start things off, would you tell him about yourself, Althea?"

"I... You mean what I am? He won't believe me. He can't. We've checked him for the capability. Nicole, the local Proctor did."

Zack looked at the other man and rolled his eyes.

"I don't know, I think, with enough proof, he can do it. So, go ahead. We'll head out from here, through the node, after that's done."

There was another sound then, that seemed terrified, but that one at least was only about the cost of what he was planning to do. As she pointed out, the man was one of hers, and if Zack had to handle this, the way he planned, it wouldn't be cheap. Surprisingly she didn't just offer to kill the man herself.

Instead she spoke, almost gently.

"Detective McKenzie, Terry... The world is a very different place than you know. Really, in most cases, it's different than you can know. You simply can't handle the truth. Not normally." There was a long intake of breath from the woman, before she went on. It sounded like she'd given the basic speech before, at least. "Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of sparing you that knowledge now, since you've managed to come to the attention of The Line Walker. You'll need to do what he says, and try as hard as you can to believe what you see. It might not be enough."

Zack nearly prompted her to get on with it, but she managed after another breath.

"I'm a Vampire. A real one. I don't expect you to simply trust in that, but you're about to see things that few ever do. Remember it, and try to accept that you aren't insane. Can you do that for me?"

Without waiting, Zack hung up on her, since the man next to him just seemed confused, which was about perfect really. If they waited too long he'd start to make up reasons for why things were being said. The people around him all being liars, most likely, since it was the simplest answer. The easiest for a man like him to believe, even if it was wrong.

"Good, this way. Quickly then!"

Making the node glow a gentle purple color, and linking directly to a place in a far off land with purple foliage and two moons in the sky, one a small and irregular yellow thing, the Detective was pushed through, a little roughly. It took work to make it all happen while still holding his mind in the right state for his other work, but he managed it, well enough. Following the man through, he waited while he gaped.

The Detective looked around at least.

"Some kind of virtual reality?"

"Nope. You're actually here. Your boss is really a Vampire, and Cheetos really do stain your fingers orange. Now, I want you to stay here, and not wander off too far, since I have things to do today. I'll be back in about six hours or so..." It was mean, but he had no real love for the man and that would be about enough time for him to start making sense of things.

Except that, instead of gaping open mouthed in wonder, like a good little boy, the large bald man pulled a pistol and pointed it at him. Because that made sense.

"You've drugged me! I'm in fear for my life!" Then, even as he stood in a very different world, the man started shooting.

Zack simply stepped out of the way, tracking the rifts in space where the bullets weren't going to be and staying in them, while the man waved the thing around with one hand. It wasn't the way he'd been trained to fire, but he was so worked up that he did it anyway, which didn't work too well at all. Then, because it was something that everyone did, the man threw the weapon at Zack when he was done. At least he'd done that one, himself, before.

Smiling he shook his head.

"No. Not drugged. This is just what it seems. So, hang out here and wait for me?" Not giving him time to think, Zack just stepped back through the line, into the store. It would take about four hours for the Detective to acclimate to his new surroundings. Then he'd need to go someplace else and keep doing that until he learned that the world wasn't what it seemed.

The man just wasn't up to the task though, so he might go insane, rather than figure things out.

Either way, Zack won.

Then, finally, he started making phone calls, since that's what real world grown-ups did, wasn't it? The first one he made was to his grandparents, since they needed to be dealt with. One way or the other. Hopefully without half the drama as a certain cop had created that morning.

He did it from his office, since, well, he had it and no one was there to see him seem like a twenty-two year old goofball, which was a bit how he felt.

The voice on the phone was familiar at least.

"Hello, Brad Hartley here, how can I help you?" He sounded normal enough at least. Young, healthy and not beaten down by the world at all. Given what had happened over the years he certainly had a right to that, if he wanted, or to simply scream at Zack, for being what he was.

Not that he'd ever had a choice in the matter.

"Hi, Grandpa. I thought I should call, and maybe set up a meeting soon? I know that you've probably heard some things about me, and..." He tapered off, not really knowing what else to add. This could go so wrong, so fast. He braced himself for screaming, or even for the phone to be slammed down suddenly, in fear.

"Zack? We have been hearing some things, actually. Word is that you're a Greater Demon? Since that can't be true, I gather there's a story behind it that might be interesting?"

"Um... Well, it's a story, all right. Do you two have some time free later today? Or soon at least. I'm trying to get everything taken care of and not forget anyone, but it's actually sort of hard. I need to get a day planner. That or carry an assistant around with me." It was an idea, but he could also just remember stuff, if he applied himself. That would work too.

"I... Think we should both be around for dinner tonight? We could go out? There's a nice looking Thai place that just opened down the street from us?"

Zack tilted his head and then sighed.

"I can get take-out? That might work better. I'm pretty busy, believe it or not. Can we do that at about eight? I know it's late for you guys, but I have to get Judy Swan from Australia."

"Oh? How is she doing?" They'd met, if Xenses faking it counted that way. The thing there was that, for most people, it really did. They couldn't tell the difference and letting them know about it would just mess with their heads.

"Good, I think. Well, I'll be there, at eight. See ya." He didn't hang up first, since his grandfather was the kind of person to always say something, just as he did.

"Are you bringing a friend? I know that your grandmother has been wondering if you were still dating Lenore?"

"We are still dating, but I don't know if she can come tonight. There were those attacks yesterday, and while it wasn't the Vampires, there... Well, I can tell you later? It's part of that same story, more or less."

"Great, see you then."

The next call came moments after he switched to a new set of horrible memory types. Mainly him harming innocent people. There was a sense of guilt that wanted to grow, but he didn't let it. That was the point, after all. If he kept at it, then soon, all of those memories would be there, in his head, but without power over him. When that was done, if he managed it, he'd be integrated, more or less.

It was about one in the afternoon, so he called Keeley, knowing that she'd be at school. Really he was hoping to be dropped to voice message, but he actually got her, personally.

"Zack?" There was a bell, and the sound of a lot of people moving. "I'm just out of school. Do you need me? I can be there in about... Call it five minutes?"

He wasn't ready for that. Not at all. Tarsus had given him instructions, and he was either being a pain in the ass, making problems for him just because it was funny, or had set doing things in a particular way, because he'd been serious. Or it was supposed to help him learn a lesson. Zack really just wasn't ready yet.

"Would you be free at about midnight? I'd like to get together." He left it there, since it was pretty clear that he wasn't hinting at a booty call. Not that far in advance. She sighed, as if put upon.

"I can do that. Have you attempted that job Tarsus wanted?" Attempted. Which meant, unlike him, she'd probably checked the whole thing out, and understood that moving those statues would be a pain in the rear.

"Done. It only took a few minutes. This is about something different. Wear comfortable shoes? I'm thinking moonlit picnic." He was kidding, but too flat affected for it to show in his voice.

"I guess. Midnight, my time?"

That would give him an extra hour, so he nodded.

"Agreed. See you later!"

Then he headed to the Ettarian Summit, mainly to check on people, and make arrangements for transport, doing a few right then, since people wanted to check in back home. It was a lot of work, but it really did seem like no one wanted to go to war, in particular, for all they kept hinting at it, trying to get what they wanted.

That meant he worked right up to six, when he went home, showered quickly and ate a lot more canned food and things from boxes than was probably allowable while he was in special baby Demon training. It meant he was there when Darla came, and started talking without preamble.

"I'd like you to..." Then she just stopped, and watched him, her eyes glazing over solidly. "Okay, so you're dealing with those memories already. That's the plan for tonight. I don't know what everyone was always going on about, this mentoring stuff just isn't that hard." She winked at him, as if trying to be funny.

Zack let himself smile. It wasn't real, but he tried to really sell it.

"I can't stay anyway. I have a pick-up at seven, the real Judy Swan, then a meeting, with my grandparents. After that I have a date with Keeley, later." Then he had time, but he wanted to actually go over his store and possibly just sit and think for a while. Clearly, if he was going to do that, he'd need to make time for it.

That, he realized, was what almost everyone probably did, all the time. They didn't leave themselves open all the time like he'd been trying to do, which meant they got to vacation and rest a few hours a day. Things like that.

Not that it was a real problem for him yet, but he needed to take his girlfriend out soon. Maybe have sex. If he was ready for it again, at least. That reminded him to switch the kind of memories playing in his head, and to hold them, while removing the emotional content again.

Darla snorted.

"A date with Keeley? Sounds fun. Did you realize that what Tarsus asked for was nearly impossible and decide to renegotiate with her? You should have clarified what the task was. That was stupid. Now you could be facing anything."

He rolled his eyes, knowing that they were all right and that he'd messed that one up a good bit.

"It was giant statues. Four of them, moved from the Hireesie lands to one of his houses. I take your meaning though. In fact, he mentioned that to me too, after I'd finished. I..."

Honestly, he had no reason not to share with Darla, did he? Tarsus had suggested that he be a bit mysterious with Keeley and make an event of the information, including trading for the information a lot more intensely than he'd ever done before. That would be hard, since he had no clue what to ask of her. Just that it should be something she wouldn't want to do. Or a thing she wouldn't want to part with.

"Okay, I don't know if this was the truth, but it's what he told me." Then Zack shared everything, as the blonde girl, who was wearing a slightly fuzzy blue sweater and black slacks, just nodded along. Finally she grinned.

"Damn. That's really impressive. I haven't even been given the Second Crucible yet. It's pretty much the first thing that happens when you're about to be recruited into upper management. I guess I can see it. It's like you said, her powers mean that she'll either end up dead, or in control, one way or the other, eventually. Really, I'm a bit shocked that they didn't just kill her, outright, but that could simply be that Tarsus is worried that if they try, they might eventually fail. Making her an enemy now, and letting her live, would be a mistake." She grinned and touched his arm, leaving her hand there for a while. It was warm, but not sexual, thank goodness.

Zack wasn't ready for that yet. It would be... Hours at least. Then he'd be ready for it.

Smiling he started to say something about that, when she went on.

"The Librarian seems to actually like you, Zack. He's always been a lot less friendly with me, and acts like he hates Keeley, practically. I was just assuming that he thought you were going to die soon, but that isn't it. Not that you can't be killed pretty easily, but that no one seems to really want to."

After thinking for a bit, rather than simply responding he could see that.

"All hail the fast transit point?"

The girl that stood next to him, the Greater Demon that hadn't been a girl for many centuries rather, let one eye close and held the move.

"All hail the fast transit point." Then she nodded once. "That pretty much sums the thing up. Ooooh, I know what you need to ask Keeley for. It's horribly mean, but if Tarsus wasn't just blowing smoke up our collective behinds, it might even help her."

Then, naturally, she didn't say anything at all, since she was his mentor, and expected him to figure things like that out for himself. That meant putting himself into her shoes, and trying to work through her day to day life. Keeley's, that was.

There were a few things that she might not want to part with really. Her mother, of course, but trying to demand that would just have her fighting him. Oh, he could probably barter for the right to date the woman, eventually, and might make the effort, since she was friendly and cute, but that would actually create more problems than it solved.

Going after any of her slaves would be... Doable, but they'd still be owned by her. Worse, he'd have Balthias, or possibly Elis, walking around then. She had some others too, a human family and a couple of Hsreth, but he wasn't really interested in slaves. That only left two things that Keeley would value all that much, didn't it?

He nodded, "well, three things, but you're already my mentor, and not hers to give. If I want to steal your affections from her, I'll have to do it the old fashioned way, by plying you with sweets and telling you that you have pretty eyes. Which you do. I have some of that cake left too, which you should help yourself to. You can pay me in sex later? It will help draw us together and reassure you that I'm not a prude." That was bold, but she tilted her head side to side, and then smiled.

"Agreed. Mediocre sex, since they're day old cakes now. Only once per cake too, not unlimited amounts. Otherwise you'd never get any work done, because I'm awesome in bed. Normally at least."

Zack could work with that.

"Agreed, on those terms. I would point out though that Keeley never offers to have sex with you, does she? That should help show how much better being my friend can be. Or am I wrong?"

"Nope, you've connected with reality solidly there. Now, the other two? You were about to tell me your brilliant plan to make poor Keeley suffer?" She looked interested, but did that over her shoulder, as she headed to the kitchen. There was cake in the offing, after all. They really did have to eat a lot, in order to keep going, plus, they had a bargain set up.

"That leaves Hally, her Human girlfriend, and Rebekah, her Vampire employee. Honestly, the emotional impact would be greatest with Hally, but she's too young for me. I'm willing to relax the age thing, if I have to, but I won't hurt an innocent girl just to push Keeley around. That means I should try to get her Vampire woman, right?" He nodded, mainly to himself, thinking slowly. That was due to the fact that he was holding fifteen horrible memories at once though, and not letting himself feel anything about them, which had to be reinforced with magic.

Darla kept moving, getting a fork and one of the large covered trays. The cake had butter cream frosting and was white, all the way through. She moved it to the table and started to eat without comment. After a bit she looked at him, her fork still moving, indicating he could finish his thought, if he wanted.

Zack shrugged.

"It will be hard for her to do that, since Rebekah isn't her slave, just a friend really. It will work, right?" He didn't know, but remembered Keeley once fighting, possibly to the death, against a Greater Demon that had already been kicking her ass, just to save Lenore, who she hardly knew at all. It might create a problem there too.

The cake eating machine that had once been Darla shrugged, and kept feeding herself. It was decently impressive, seeing someone else do things like that. It was a double layer full sheet cake, with large amounts of rich frosting and she was about halfway through it already. It was also nearly seven, so he didn't sit himself. He did grab his new coat though. Lenore had given it to him for Christmas. It was black and soft, with black buttons, and looked like something sailors would have worn in the fifties.

It was just a style thing, since he shouldn't get too cold at all, anywhere he was going.

When he came back into the kitchen, after getting ready, Darla stood up, then moved in and gave him a hug. It was a lot friendlier than she'd bothered with before, really.

"You're doing pretty well, Zack. Keep going. I know that things have been tough, the last bit, but that only gets worse, over time, so don't puss out now." Then she slapped him on the arm. Hard enough that he stumbled sideways a little. "Now, go and have fun. You take things too seriously. I blame myself for that, but it's my job. You're the one that's supposed to see to that part for yourself. Get to it." There was a tiny laugh with the words, but her eyes were made to look slightly questioning, as if she knew something that he didn't. Since that was just real, he decided to try and pay attention to what she was saying.

"Fun. Right. I'll get to that then." He turned, and ended up making a full circle, facing her again immediately. "Right, I have a question. Finias' sister, what's her name again?"

He was crazy, so could forget things, if he wanted. He thought that was part of the package at least. There was a chance that the Greater Demon just didn't exist at all, he knew.

Darla tilted her head, honestly baffled, it seemed.

"Magda? I haven't even heard of her in years, why?"

Zack waved and then set up a node, linked directly to Australia, seeing a familiar and very cute blond through it. "It's just something Tarsus said, that's all. I need to look into some things."

Then he stepped through, getting a gasp from the room he suddenly entered.

Chapter eighteen

"Oh. My. God. You actually came? The Line Walker?" The attractive, and decently famous actress in front of him bowed. It was very out of place, considering she was in casual tan slacks and hiking boots, with three bags, all of them being green ruck sacks. No back packs.

Then she dropped to her knees.

He'd seen that one before, since it was a response that some Alede had, when they felt scared enough of a person. It was the fastest way to offer themselves. Basically getting ready to service the person without even stripping their clothing off. Zack got it, he was the Greater Demon and she was... Just her, at least in her own mind.

"Hi, Judy. Would you like to go now? I..." Offering his right hand, he helped her get up, which she did lightly. Then, not having anything else, he did what he always had, and fell back on the truth. "That's really tempting, but I have a pretty tight schedule tonight. Plus, I think I'm sort of dating your granddaughter. We aren't having sex, yet, but it's enough that if I did something with you right now, it would create problems for her. Plus some other things, but you don't really need to know about those. So be good, or Kaitlyn will yell at us." After all, getting the idea, he made himself relive a host of things that had involved being made to suck a lot of people off. The choking sensations nearly made him gag, even years later.

It took a lot to move around that one.

"Really? Why aren't you having sex? Kaitlyn is very good looking. Or shouldn't I ask?"

Zack shrugged and took two of the heavy bags from her, leaving her with one. She was in pretty good shape, he was willing to bet. Alede worked out, if they were smart, since a toned body made the sex more fun.

"Timing, mainly. I went from having no luck with women at all for years, to suddenly having more offers than I can actually manage. I don't have your people's needs, or coping skills, so that, along with being busy... You know, with the bombings?"

She went wide eyed then.

"Yeah, those. I nearly didn't come today. I hear that there won't be any more? Those horrible Christians that did it killed themselves. I knew they were bad people, because of what they did, but that..." She shuddered. "All those people dead. It makes no sense."

It did though. They were deluded into thinking they were special. The elect. Better than other people, based on who they were and what they believed. It went against what their own holy works said, but people had a never ending supply of rationalizations that way, it seemed to him. In that way it was kind of clear that Gregor's plan was a bust. He should have scrapped it, a long time before, but it was most likely just too late for that. Now it was just going to have to run its course.

Zack made the node point glow, using just a touch of personal energy, and then focused his own intent, inside her body. Gesturing he waited for her to walk through. She seemed a little nervous, but it wasn't as if it felt like anything. Following along, he kept going when they got into the room, and then walked her out into his store.

"This is my place here. Feel free to browse, Kaitlyn is..." He half expected her to be off having sex, but she really only needed that twice a day or so to be really well fed on sexual energy. She'd taken care of that, and more, by the time she'd been there for two hours. As it was, even with people worried about attacks, they'd had plenty of customers in looking for something other than fresh pastries or magazines.

That meant the girl with her thick rimmed windowpaned glasses ran up and hugged the woman almost instantly.

"Judy! Judy Fargo, how wonderful to see you! Valerie and I have set it up for you to stay with us." Because the seventeen year old with her dark curly hair, running up on the twenty-something looking woman yelling grandma, wasn't going to really work in public, was it?

He had a bit of the same problem, with his grandparents, which reminded him. Moving in, he gave Kaitlyn a hug first, then Judy, since he was familiar with her, after all, if not the other way around. She did it back, but Kait took his hand and didn't let go, rather possessively. Alede marked out their territory pretty firmly that way.

Judy smiled.

"He mentioned that you two were dating? Really seeing each other? That's a catch. We should talk about that?" There was no worried tone to her voice, but Zack understood.

"Yeah, she's a lot more experienced than I am... Plus it isn't like you people do monogamous, right?" Then he winked, borrowing a thing that Keeley did all the time, that made her seem a bit like a joke. "Oh, you mean the Greater Demon thing?" That got whispered, but he chuckled and let go of her hand. "That's probably a point. One you should consider carefully, before doing anything, Kaitlyn. I need to get going, since I'm supposed to get take out."

Then, leaving the two women alone, he took off, leaving from his node room. The idea that he had one was... Kind of neat. New still though. Sighing, he stepped lightly, and waved at Detective McKenzie.

"Next stop, Ettarian lands. Don't talk to anyone, unless spoken to. They're nice people, but there's a Summit on to stop a war. Try not to mess that up." Then he left him there, not mentioning ever coming back. The place looked very different, since it was far more futuristic, and like a spaceport, rather than a strange forest. That was the point, as far as Zack was concerned. The man tried to mutter something, but if it was about food or water, well, the Ettarians would help him out there. They were really great that way, helping anyone that came along, really.

Then he used cash to get a lot of Thai food, from the place his grandfather suggested, and just walked in the cold Wisconsin air, the snow on the ground making his feet slip a little. He knew where he was going, and it really wasn't far, only being about six blocks. So, a mile, give or take, if he wasn't going to use any shortcuts. It was tempting, since the very first time he ever even tried that was only about half a mile from where he was at the moment. Of course, if he did that, he'd be at his grandparent's home in a few moments and he still wasn't due in for ten minutes. If he walked quickly, avoiding being seen, that was just about the right amount of time.

Okay, so a walking ten minute mile normally would have attracted attention, but it was night time and very cold out. Bitterly so, he noticed. Most people wouldn't be out looking at anyone else, given that. So he puffed away, leaving a trial of white water vapor in the air behind him, headed through areas that were nearly the same as the last time he'd been there, years before. It was mainly residential, and a decently nice area, really. About half of the houses had gates on them, and a few full walls, which was why he'd never thought it was all that big of a deal that his family's place did too.

Now it seemed odd, since only six of the large houses had that, and most of the area looked a bit smaller than it used to. Still, wall or not, the one he wanted was open at the front, letting him walk right in, without having to buzz the house. Unlocked at least. That meant he was able to ring the bell, just about perfectly on time. Not that he had a watch, but he was nervous enough about everything to have kept track.

When the door opened, it was his grandmother, who seemed just like she always had to him. Like a Mage, as far as energy went, with the normal and perfectly healthy circulation of a Human, not the constant drawing inward of a Demon. That could be faked though, he knew. Even he'd managed it, so an older Demon certainly could have.

There was no way to tell, really. Not that it was all that important. It hit him, pretty solidly, that it was just the truth. If Lyn was like him, then he'd deal, but she was still the person he'd always known and loved. If Tarsus was lying to him, in order to cast doubt, or even just keep him on his toes, well, that was what the guy liked to do, wasn't it? That and collect data. It might even be linked, in a way that Zack hadn't put together yet.

The small dark haired Japanese woman gave him a hug, then moved, so that he could take his shoes off. She'd always insisted on that bit of her own cultural heritage. There were little slippers for him to borrow too, since that was the polite way of doing things. He used his old spot, the nice dress shoes sliding into place, out of long term habit.

"Zack... I've heard some troubling things. Are you..." She stopped, and simply looked at him closely.

He nodded.

"Yeah, a Greater Demon. You?" It was said in a way that could have been him asking if she was well, or that might have gotten a small laugh, as if he were making a joke. She just made a hard face, flashing her disapproval at him. It was a very Japanese thing to do, he knew.

"Finias?"

He shook his head, and started into the house then, with her walking along beside him.

"Tarsus mentioned it. He sends his love." He locked down everything then, and stopped even bothering to hold any memories at all, since it took a lot of work to bury the shock he felt. Still, he'd been right, the few moments before, hadn't he? She was still herself, even if he knew more about her now.

She sighed, "I see. Well, all good things must come to an end. Your grandfather, well, I never mentioned that part of things to him. At first... well, he's an open minded man, but there are limits. After we adopted your father, Darren, it seemed a little late. In truth, I never planned to tell him at all. He has more than enough reason to hate our kind now. After what Xenses did to you... I nearly killed him. Xen." She gave him a hard look, which looked like the same one she used when he'd once said he didn't really want to study math, while she was teaching him. "He got away. So I guarded you, as best I could, without letting the secret out." She didn't bother lowering her voice at all, so Brad, who'd been setting the table for them heard.

"Secrets? Do you mean the one for your Christmas cake, because that's pretty much just sponge cake with whipped cream and fresh strawberries in layers. I don't know if that really counts as a grand mystery. Though, if you don't want me to share that..."

She started to speak, "I'm-"

Zack cut her off, laughing.

"Right, right, not going to share. Anyway, I don't want to dump things on you both, but here, food. We should sit, since, well, I do have news and not all of it is exactly good. For instance, that new Thai place doesn't have peanut chicken. Can you imagine that? I was sort of sad." He smiled and passed the white paper bags over, so that the food could be shifted into serving dishes. They might eat restaurant food at home, on rare occasion, but it had never, not even once in his life, been served directly from a carton to a plate. Not in the house he was in at the moment.

His grandmother did that, carefully not looking at him, since it was pretty clear he wasn't going to out her. That she'd figured he would was a bit disturbing, actually. It wasn't like he'd suddenly turned into a jerk, after all. Okay, a bit of a perv, that one was true, but even Mirror Him had always been kind to Lyn. Or Magda, as it turned out. Though it was pretty certain to him that she'd been locked into solid hiding the entire time, so no part of him had even suspected her secret at all.

They didn't say grace or anything, which was nice, since going directly from that to the subject at hand would be far too much to ask.

They all just ate, with his grandfather's young looking face looking at him expectantly, but not demanding answers. Yet.

He finally sighed.

"So, it turns out that a Greater Demon named Xenses managed to get mom pregnant. It's how they breed new little Demons, so, you know, me. They're still alive, my parents. Um... It's hard to explain, but the basic idea is that they were enslaved to Xenses, after they gave me over to him though. Not that they could have stopped him, but that was the order of things. I was made a slave too, back then, and forced to... That time I couldn't remember? That created Mirror Him? Well, I did things... Which aren't appropriate to talk about at the table, and things were done to me. It was bad enough that... Yeah, bad." They were eating and he couldn't name anything without making that hard to continue doing. As it was, they'd both slowed way down.

That could have been the shocking Greater Demon admission, at least for his grandfather.

"So, anyway, I have an agreement in place with him, Xenses, so that my people, friends and family, won't be hurt. That goes away if you attack him, but otherwise it should hold." He pointed at a nice china serving dish. "Could you pass that one too, please?"

His grandmother did, so that was normal. She was sitting across from him, with Brad to the right. He just sat quietly, his face having fallen a good bit, as things were worked out.

"So, when you were taken, they turned you into a slave? Your parents, Darren and Tina, I mean?"

It was like he couldn't bear to face the reality of things, but he wasn't a regular Human, so it was simple denial, not inability to understand reality.

"No, that was Xenses. The Defiler, in case it ever comes up. I get the much niftier name of The Line Walker. That one kind of stuck. It should play better in the bible belt, don't you think?"

No one commented, the joke, as it was, falling flat. Lyn sighed and shook her head a bit, looking at her husband.

"I have something to tell you, Bradley." There was depth to the whole thing, and a bit of sadness, because it was pretty clear that her love just wasn't going to handle that kind of thing well at all. He hadn't screamed, or thrown Zack out for being evil, but there was no need to push him that hard either. Zack focused a bit and sent that single thought at her, which simply had her shaking her head.

Then she spoke out loud.

"No, Zachary, I must. It is past time by far. Bradley, I'm a Greater Demon, too. I always was. I'm not lying or playing a game with you right now either. I love you and will always do so, but it's time for you to know this. It might become important, over the next years."

Brad looked at her and smiled, weakly, as if hoping it was a joke, and that possibly, it all was. Some ultimate and unfunny prank, meant to cause him grief, just to be goofy. Like those awful television programs. Zack could see him thinking things through, or feel it, more to the point, and knew the moment that it sank in. It felt like betrayal.

"How? Why bother? I've put so much of my life into you. Both of you... I..." What he was about to do, Zack knew, was have a meltdown.

Lyn swallowed and looked away, shyly, as if trying to avoid the confrontation that hadn't been needed. She could have kept her mouth shut, he knew and probably lasted a few hundred more years, without the topic even coming up. At least unless the others found her, or told on her, just to make her life hard. Like Tarsus had, which was probably what he'd planned all along.

Lyn knew that too.

Steeling himself, Zack sat up and then sighed, holding his face with both hands.

"If we're telling the truth, there's one more thing you should know, grandpa. I..." He looked past his fingers as the other man stared, it being pretty clear that even one more straw might just break his back. "I'm... black. In my soul. African I mean, not a black Mage or anything. Inside though, I'm all about the hood." It came out sad, deadpanned and like he fully expected to be cast out because of his admission. Really, it was about the best acting he'd ever done.

Brad gave him a dry look, but rallied a lot. Which was the point.

"I think I always knew that about you, Zack." He didn't smile, exactly, but did manage to sit up a good bit and not seem ready to fold in on himself. "Here I thought you were going to say that you were gay. Not that I care about that, even if I am from a different time. Most Mages aren't worried about that."

Zack snorted, "tell that to Eric Weise. He treats his daughter like garbage over her being a lesbian. If I wasn't so busy, I'd be calling that man every day and chewing him out over that. Not that it would help."

That got both of the other people to nod, interestingly enough. Lyn explained.

"Eric... He's been around for a while. It can be hard for the older people to adapt all the time. It was why he had to fake his death, even at the height of his fame. Back when he was Harry Houdini? That really isn't a great excuse. I'm old and I don't care about things like that." She grinned, looking at him closely.

He waved the glance away.

"Right. Well, no boyfriends to bring home for Thanksgiving, yet. I'll let you know if that changes. Right now, well, really, I just came to touch base. Make sure you know that I'm eating enough and have a new job." He was going to leave it there, but his grandfather, most likely looking to change the subject from the topic of Demons, glommed on to that one.

"You left the Guild Embassy?" He said it as if feeling slightly hurt, as if his not working for the Mage Guild was him turning his back on the family business. Which, made sense. Brad had been a representative for a long time with them, before he retired.

Which had been because of Zack. That and all the problems he'd had after he got back to the real world.

"Oh, well, they sort of fired me. Lisa freaked out and was acting like I was going to make her my personal slave, so Eric Weise pressured the board to force me out. Then they dropped the job of letting me go on poor Bob Millhouse. I hadn't even thought of that before, but they literally set him up to insult a Greater Demon, not knowing what would happen at all. That's pretty cold, isn't it? He should lodge a complaint. I'll run that past him the next time we get together. I'm supposed to go in soon and work the store for him, since he apparently can't manage dusting or doing the ordering. Lisa is back to a retreat. I got her booked in this morning. Wistra?" He didn't know if they'd have heard of it, since it wasn't a common street drug, but Brad winced.

"Right, you mentioned that before. It can be hard to break free from. Well, it's good she's getting help. So, if you aren't there, what are you doing? Working with the Vampires?" That last line was strained, if only a bit. It wasn't that his grandfather was a bigot, as much as that he feared for his tasty grandson. It was an old habit, after all, and not one that would be easily broken.

"I started a bookstore. It has a little cafe and a node transfer business next door. That's the real business, but I'm taking them all seriously. I'm also planning a modeling agency. That's just for business experience. I have some Alede that owe me some favors, and was going to get with Bente soon and see if she had any tips or contacts I could trade for. Something low key?"

Lyn looked at her husband then and then Zack.

"I haven't seen her for nearly a century. We used to go around together, Bente and I. The Fashion Demon. The Pristine, if she's ever over to visit. Well, if I'm not going to be allowed my privacy, I suppose I should see to that soon then. The Technician as well. We used to get up to some antics. For instance, one time Darlene, Bennie and myself replaced the Statue of Liberty with a robot that terrorized New York for five days. Then we got the papers to write the whole thing off as ergot mold poisoning. Needless to say, I've calmed down a bit, since then."

Zack wanted to be surprised, but there really weren't that many of them, Greater Demons. Probably fewer that were worth hanging around with, good side or bad.

"I was just with her, Darla. The Technician. Different name now, but same person. She got roped into being my mentor?"

That got a pleased smile from his grandmother, who let her eyebrows raise a bit.

"That's something then. Most of the time the insane Greater Demons don't get that kind of thing. Is this a new policy? I had Tarsus, myself, as would be expected, but it wasn't really the same thing, back then. A sort of prototype program. I'm not like you are however."

Zack shrugged as his grandfather made a face. No one at the table would doubt he was nutty, even if he was doing better now. Still, it wasn't polite to just say it out loud, was it?

"I think she just wants me for my body? Honestly, Keeley got her to do it. I don't know why that is. It's probably a mistake, but it really is helping, I think. If nothing else I can cook better now." He was about to ask why they hadn't taught him that, as a child, when he realized that it probably had something to do with the idea that he hadn't been all that together really. Innocent and trusting, but not able to focus all the time. Cooking and baking took that, though.

Focus.

Lyn tapped two of her fingers together, the index ones from each hand, the rest on the table. After a bit she let her mouth tighten and looked a bit mean.

"Yes. The Mistress of Souls. She does seem to have a bit of interest in you, doesn't she? Is it romantic, do you think? Or something more sinister?"

"That second one. She plans to use me as bait to kill Xenses. Since I have an agreement with him, that pretty much says I'll give him a chance to make things up with me, I can't really help her that way. It's part of why Darla took me on too, I bet. Actually, I know that one, since everyone told me all about it pretty clearly. The only difference really is that everyone thought I'd be dead by now, when it turns out that no one seems to really care much about me, one way or the other. So for now I'm pretty much just working with anyone that shows up and trying not to step on too many toes on purpose."

Brad nodded.

"Well, she seems nice, that Mistress of Souls. For a..." He stopped, and looked at both the people with him, then went on. "For a teenage girl. I hear she really isn't very old?"

"Right. Sixteen, I think. Still, I have a date with her at midnight, her time, so should get ready for that."

Neither called him on the age thing at least. Lyn giggled though, hiding the move behind her right hand, like a young girl. It looked phony. It was, but she always did it that way, as if making it seem like an affectation on purpose.

"Well, you two should have fun. Are you taking her somewhere nice?"

He actually had someplace lined up, in his head, hidden behind the shielding there.

"The dumpster behind Denny's. I was thinking we'd go freegan? You know, get what we can from what others waste? Girls love that kind of thing, don't they? Being down with mother nature and all that?"

The real point, which they both managed to catch on to, was that he simply wasn't planning to tell anyone about the destination at all. Or even think about it again. He really needed to get back to setting things to right in his mind, then setting things up so that it would be really hard for anyone to just take information from him, at least that evening. It meant several different types of mental shielding, layered to make it harder to pull things from his thoughts. After that, well, he had even more to set up. Like a nice basket, and a blanket to sit on? Some wine and candles?

It might not be a real date, but he could at least make it pleasant, right? It was good practice, doing things like that, all the time.

They finished eating and wouldn't hear of him helping to clean up at all. Then his grandmother went to her bag, which was in the hallway and got out a ten dollar bill.

"For the food you brought."

Zack understood.

Before, she'd just been his Grandma Lyn. A person that had been there for as long as he could remember, and who'd taken care of him. Family. She still was all of that, but also a Greater Demon to him now, which meant that he had to treat her that way, or it would require them to fight. Or at least have him not being invited to holiday meals. It would be a mistake, to think that she wouldn't react to him differently now. She almost had to, since there was always a chance that he'd do the same to her, and that could be, catastrophic, if they weren't careful.

"Thanks, both of you. We should get together soon, again." It was the kind of thing that you said, so he did it, feeling weird now, and a bit unwelcome. It was like the world around him had changed, in the last few days.

Maybe even before that? He'd been gone for years after all, and everyone said you couldn't go home again. That seemed right, since this just wasn't that for him, anymore. He passed out hugs and handshakes, and left before nine, meaning he had plenty of time to set up what he needed.

It was, well, nice, after a fashion. Nothing that he would have expected, but here he was, with a life and everything. Oh, it wasn't perfect, but that was fine, for now. All he really had to do was solidify the connections he needed with everyone and to see to his daily work. For a while at any rate.

After he did that thing with Keeley.

It felt wrong, somehow, that part of things. Like he was being set up. That was probably the case too. Tarsus was more than capable of putting in traps too subtle for him to even see, he didn't doubt. Even using the truth to make that happen. Really, that meant he needed to be careful, and not let anything take him by surprise. Otherwise, his life might well end that night.

It was a strange idea, and one that tickled at the back of his mind. Not that there were dangers in the world, but that this one was close to home and had been arranged very carefully. He just couldn't see what it was, clearly. Not yet.

That, he knew, had to do with him being insane.

He actually had the information, but was refusing to understand it, because he didn't like what it meant. It should have been enough for him to move past things, but it just wasn't. Even knowing the thing existed, that there was a trap, didn't make it any clearer.

Zack focused and worked his way back to his house, not going into work, and then sat on the sofa, all alone. That meant Roland and Rowan had left somehow, hopefully just catching a ride with Troy, since the club wasn't open that night, Zack was willing to bet. It would probably be used as a meeting place for the council.

So for several glorious hours, he just snacked, sat, and worked, and when the time came, managed to have a credible looking picnic ready to go. An adult one too, not just corn chips and juiceboxes. Then he opened a node and terminated it at the end of Keeley Thomson's door, in Arizona. Walking through, he knocked, to find her standing on the other side, her face serious, and a bit frightened looking.

At first he thought she was someone else, who didn't know how to play the role right, but it really wasn't that, he didn't think. She was, for some reason, simply afraid of him.

It didn't make sense at all, but he reached out and took her hand, and she returned the move.

Then, after a moment of conversation, he led her into a new node, one that led to a place so far away that not even The Librarian had ever heard of it.

Chapter nineteen

Keeley looked around, her eyes not quite comprehending for a few moments. Zack could see that. Literally, in fact, since from their position, which looked like a nice grass covered hill, with a single strange tree behind them, the world below seemed like a blur of colors. On the right was a red glow and on the left it was blue.

In the middle though, instead of a rainbow of lovely flavors, there was a muddle of browns and light blues, with a few hints of green and tan, all of which slowly shifted. No fine definition could be worked out, which made sense, given that they were seeing pretty close to everything, all at once. It was how the Earth looked, from here.

The pretty dark haired girl stared, then had to just shake her head, and looked behind them at the tree. It was kind of bare, but small buds of green showed. In form it was a bit like an oak, but out here, so far away from where that kind of thing really grew, it wasn't that. The world below gave the only glow, which kind of gave the impression of a darkened movie theater. More or less.

Zack put down the blanket he'd brought, being careful not to crush the insects that crawled in the grass. They weren't really ants, naturally, having far too many legs for one thing, which made them a bit more like centipedes, but they were still living things, and given the hardship of living where they were, they were special.

Then he slowly unpacked the wicker basket, as he gestured for Keeley to sit next to him, smiling. No thoughts got in or out of his head, and the girl was nearly the same, though he did catch a small hint of wonder from her. She winced a bit when he got the candles out and used a bic lighter to make the flame. At first he thought it was about the brass candle holders being too much, or the plastic lighter being too tacky, but when he poured the wine, which was champagne, she did it again. The glasses were real and nice looking, and even the correct ones for the beverage at hand, so it wasn't about him not putting on a good show at all. He'd even packed in real glass plates, and the food was, well, he'd made it, so probably just functional, but there was a bit of work behind it all.

Slowly he set things up, as she turned her attention to him, not speaking at all, or asking why Zack had brought her all the way out there. If it were the other way around, there would have been a game of twenty questions going on by then. Of course, she might have already figured everything out, given who she was. Being sane and all that, compared to him.

"This is really lovely." She murmured the words, and actually took the food, without insisting on paying for it first. That was fine, since she could just drop a check with him later. Or trade for it, if that was her plan. Greater Demons normally just offered a bit of cash that way, his thing with Darla earlier aside. After all, even good food was just food.

Zack smiled and waved his free hand at the world below.

"It's the beginning and end of the world. Technically, I suppose, this thing behind us is the world tree. I guess the rest does sort of look like a rainbow bridge, if you squint hard enough? I figured that out here no one would spy on us, too easily." That was the idea at least. He still scanned around for a bit, but certainly couldn't find anything larger than a bug glancing at them. They could be the spies, of course, but he'd picked the location sort of carefully, so they should have some time.

Keeley sipped at her glass, then ate, not really looking at him. After a while she sighed, which was a soft thing, and made eye contact.

"This is a good place. Thank you, for trying to make my first time special. I was worried that it would be a bit more... Well, being raped in an alley came to mind. This is great. Something to remember. Pleasantly." She winced again, which was realistic enough, even if the action didn't fool him. "So, what would you like to do first? We should finish eating, but I don't have a plan otherwise."

Zack probably should have blinked, or at least denied that was what they were there for, but he smiled a bit and took a sip of the bubbly pale liquid in his glass, to cover. After all, while he'd said that she had to do a Greater Demon, he hadn't said it would need to be him. But Darla was right on that one, and had told Keeley that Zack was about the best she could hope for, that way, hadn't she? She was too young to just ask him to be the one, so was pretending that he was putting himself forward for the job.

He could work with that.

"We can go by the numbers, I suppose. Since it's your first time." With him at least. If she and Hally hadn't been at least doing some hand things under the covers at their sleepovers, he'd be shocked and amazed.

They didn't talk until the food was done, and he packed everything up, except the candles, which hadn't burned down too far, moving in next to her then. Wondering the whole time if she was really her. It seemed right, but that could be faked. It was going to be annoying if he had sex with her and she turned out to be Tarsus. Or worse, his grandmother. The only thing there was that he was nearly certain that, Greater Demon or not, Lyn wouldn't do that to him. That left almost all the rest of their kind, sure, but he could put up with that.

Really, if he had to, he could make himself not care even about her, now. It had gone fairly quickly, the burying of his trauma, once he got the idea. The worst of it, at least. There were gaps and cracks left, and maybe even whole portions of things he hadn't thought about at all. He was pretty well on toward healing however, as far as that went.

Enough so that the idea that he was kissing his Aunt didn't really matter to him. Oh, random strains of banjo music tried to play in the back of his mind, but he silenced that well enough.

Keeley was just the right amount of tentative and vulnerable to leave him feeling old and wise, without bothering to say no at any point. They actually did a lot more than he would have, on a first date with a virgin if she'd been a Human girl. That would have been some kissing probably, with a bit of heavy petting over the clothing.

She got introduced to just about every single position, including a few that weren't even in the Kama Sutra, since they were both physically capable of things that regular people weren't. He started out being gentle with her, but made sure she knew what it was like to be roughly handled as well, using each part of her in a variety of ways. She seemed to understand that he was teaching her, and not just being a jerk, so made herself enjoy what was going on. Or at least pretended to. Given her abilities, she should have actually done it, but that part didn't leak out from her shielding.

At the end, when they'd exhausted everything he knew how to do, and had tried a few things that would have killed most people, he laid next to her, letting her dark brown hair cover part of his chest as he held her close.

Then he grinned, "so... was it good for you?" Chuckling he kissed her cheek gently, and wrapped his arms around her slender middle. "Fair warning, the only correct answer is yes. It's best if you play it up a bit. I mean, I understand that you were just going through the motions, but it's important that you never let on to that. It would also be appropriate, after that, for you to tell me about how incredible I am and how you were now ruined for all other men. Unless it was really dismal, and the person you were with knows it, then just pretend you came instantly and want to do it again, soon." He thought for a second and then shrugged. "Which won't work if they can't perform. In that case, I suppose the idea is to act like that was the plan all along? There's no good way to fix that, I don't think."

She giggled and moved closer to him, letter her cheek rest on his for a long while.

"It really was nice. I guess that's a good enough sign that you aren't Xenses at least. Who are you?"

He got that one. It was pretty central to his thoughts at the moment, after all.

"I'm Zack. Nice to meet you?" Reaching out he stroked her flat stomach just a bit, then moved up to her left breast, which responded, growing tight. The nipple was a nice pink color, and she'd healed fast enough that the light biting he'd done earlier hadn't left a mark at all. Zack played with her a bit, thinking about making himself hard again, if she was willing to give him the chance.

Then, without asking, he moved down her body with some gentle kisses, just to see what she'd do. The answer was a lot more friendly than she strictly had to be, given the rules of their agreement. In fact, she didn't even have to pick him as one of the five people, according to that. When they were finished, being a good bit less adventurous or rough, this time, and she spasmed on him, since they could match up that way a lot more easily than most people could have, using just a touch of magic to make it happen, he winked at her.

"So, I'm Zack and you are..."

It was her turn to be playful, then.

"Keeley. I guess that one would go both ways, wouldn't it? So, do you think this counts as having sex with a Greater Demon? I don't want to cheat you, on our bargain."

He thought about it for a bit, but then nodded.

"It does. I can't see any way that you haven't met both the letter and the spirit of the agreement that way. Still, I told Gregor to send you a note or something, suggesting you and he get busy soon, so you might want to do that too. He's probably way better than I am, after all. I'm a little surprised." He looked at her, noticing that she was still breathing just a tiny bit hard, though there was no sweat on her anywhere. He was damp, a bit, even though he'd made a point the whole time of not doing that too much. There was no need to be gross about it. The area they were in was nice and cool, without being cold really. It was always a constant twilight here, so it stayed a steady fifty degrees, or so.

"Oh? I guess. He seems nice enough at least. I could turn into a little boy for him or something?" She seemed to mean it, without any irony at all.

Zack had to just make a face, twisting his mouth a bit.

"I... Don't honestly know. A lot of Catholic priests do that kind of thing, but he seems to frown on it. I'd go in as yourself and see if that will do. Or ask before hand, politely. You should know that already. I mean, I'm the insane one here that doesn't get things. I still don't understand how this is a trap for me, for instance. I mean, I know that Tarsus set it up to be one, but how... I'm not really certain."

She moved back, still naked, and gave him a skeptical look.

"A trap? How do you mean? Can you lay it all out for me? You have information that I don't."

He propped himself up and then slowly started to climb back into his clothes. That got her to do the same, if more cutely.

"Really, I think the trap is in this; I have information that you need, but I'm supposed to make you trade for it, taking what you hold most dear in exchange. That part was pretty much spelled out to me too. Before you ask, he also said it wasn't supposed to be any stupid bantering about sex at all, since he expects you to be sort of slutty, after you have a few people under your belt." Zack grinned and spread his hands. "He was nicer than that about it, but it was pretty much what he meant. Given that there's no risk at all for you to do that, as long as you protect your local reputation, that's probably a good idea. Not having sex as a social tradition is all about controlling people, after all. Mainly so that men will know if their child is theirs or not. Which you know."

He felt like he should have lost her in there, but the girl just brushed her hair back and smiled about it all.

"Darla basically told me the same thing, about fifty times. I was raised in America and so... You know, repressed culture and all that?"

"Yeah, I hear you there. We're certainly in a different world now, aren't we?" He looked out at everything and then back at her, pointing out that they actually were. Literally. In a different world. Or, well, theirs was in that mess somewhere, but the point remained.

As Greater Demons they simply couldn't play by the same rules that they'd both been taught as children. Not if they wanted to survive.

She got that, obviously. Otherwise she wouldn't have shown up and done everything they had. After a moment, she glared at him, and finally spoke, as if he were being dense on purpose.

"So, what is it that you want to trade for? What do you have for me first?"

He spread his hands, since that, he feared was half of the trap, wasn't it?

"Well, I have information about something to come for you. You need to know it, and it's worth... Well, a lot more than you'd think, without me giving it away. The thing there is that you'll have to trade for it blind, and since I'm supposed to get a vast thing from you for it, you almost have to refuse. Except that, you shouldn't. Also..." It clicked then, so he let himself wince, getting what his part of the trap really was.

That meant he went silent for a bit, even as the low rumble of the world being destroyed off to the right came at him constantly. It wasn't a fast process, so the tone was low frequency, but powerful. One wave every ten seconds or so. Shaking his head, he revised his plans and wondered if he was really going to die, trying to do this. It was actually possible, he knew.

The smart thing would be for him to just trade something smaller than he'd planned, but then, later, Keeley might not respect him, thinking that he was too nice, or easy to push around. She wasn't that kind of being now, but in ten years? A thousand? He had to plan for that, didn't he?

Shaking his head, Zack continued.

"So, don't try to enslave me or kill me, but I need to go big with this, I think. Sorry about that, but it really has to happen. You need this, so go along with it."

She made a face, which was dark and grumpy, as if he were being slow just to mess with her.

"You already had my ass, so, what do you want? All my money? Darla?" She said it slowly, as the real idea started to dawn on her. What was really important to her.

"Xenses? You want to save him, don't you? To make me let go of my revenge plot... I won't do it! That's too much. No. He killed my father. I will destroy him. If you try to protect him, I'll remove you... Deal?"

Two things happened then. The first was that he was almost certain that everyone that had mentioned the idea had been correct. If Keeley tried to take him, he was simply going to be taken, no matter how hard he fought. The second was that links like that, the slavery of the Greater Demons, broke as a person died. He'd done it himself, after all. With the help of Finias.

That was the important part, he decided. He'd died, and that broke the link, but the old and powerful Greater Demon had brought him back. Saving him. It was a form of healing magic, so slowing time as The Mistress of Souls turned him into her bitch, he reviewed that as well as he could. Healing another wasn't so different from doing that to yourself, he realized. The location was simply different.

He was actually pretty good with that kind of thing. Space wasn't actually real, after all.

Then, just as the link was formed, before she could order him to not move, Zack stepped in and punched her. It was fast, nearly enough for the move to rip her lower jaw off under the impact. That distracted her and made speaking hard enough that she couldn't manage it yet. Then as she scrambled away, with her new, but still sort of free, slave coming at her, he leapt in and broke her neck.

Killing her.

It took longer for her to die than most, he guessed, since she tried to fight against it, healing as well as she could, restarting her heart, her pure terror pouring out into the world. It took three more solid death blows to get the job done, but he felt the link shatter, finally, and was free again for real.

Then, because she was a ditz, not evil, he started trying to save her. She was dead, and truly so, but there was time left, if he got to work. Up to a day, or possibly two, for someone like her. That meant he had time to experiment, and get it right.

It was hard, and while he had her pretty much fixed an hour later, she still needed a lot more work. Rebuilding her face had to come last, and while it burned up his own magic, it also took mass from her, which meant, as soon as he could, finding food for her and bringing it in.

Really he expected her to be gone when he returned, having run off in fear, but she was just sitting and healing. She drank the cream he'd gotten, holding it herself, as he did the same, eating just as much of the hoard as she was. It hadn't seemed like much, but he'd done some damage to the girl, and even trying to help her fix it had cost him a lot. He'd drained about half the magic he had, at a guess, doing it.

So he ate, and made her do the same as she rebuilt herself. Her face became warped and raw looking, but finally pretty, after ten hours or so, with both of them sitting there, and him making five more trips for food, just stealing it from warehouses around the world, moving in palates of things at once.

When she was healthy again, enough to pause in her eating, she looked at him and shook her head.

"Crap. Well that didn't work. I still won't let Xenses go, even if you have an agreement with him. You shouldn't let him get away either. I know what he did to you, and had done. You do too now. How can you bear to be around him at all?"

He finished the stick of unsalted butter in his hand and used a napkin from the picnic to wipe his mouth. It was a red cloth thing, and matched the blanket.

"That wasn't what I was going to ask for. Not at all. Ever. The agreement I made with him is just that I'll try to act like family and give him a chance to do the same. There are even provisions for me not being involved in your and Darla's vendetta. Besides, that isn't the most important thing to you, is it? I mean, a big deal, but it wouldn't get much for me, really."

She looked away, then took a stick of butter herself, eating it slowly, as if it were an ice cream bar. It was gross, he realized, even as he took another one of his own. He needed the calories too, so did it, making himself enjoy it.

"That is the most important thing to me. What else do I have? You even took all my slaves from me. That's going to make going home interesting. Darla probably thinks that you killed me. Which, oops, you did." She waved down at her body then and shuddered a little. "That isn't fun, by the way. You brought me back, so, I guess there's that. I've been planning to let some of my people go eventually anyway. Now I can. I'll need to get Steve York again, or else he'll start slacking off on his music practice. I guess I can let the rest go. Elis has learned his lesson, I think. Bal... Well, he's been good, and I think I've treated him well enough that he won't come at me for revenge. If he tries, then I'll just take him again." She seemed thoughtful, rather than angry though. As if it all didn't really matter to her.

Zack nodded.

"Really? I want your mother, Hally and Rebekah. All three of them."

She looked at him, not moving at all for a long time, then tried to both grab him again, taking him as a slave, and block at the same time, so he couldn't stop her from talking. The only problem there was that he'd actually figured she'd do that, so had gotten ready for her.

This time he hit from an unexpected direction, trying to take her at the same time, as if in a battle of wills. Then he feinted at her jaw, and moved around behind her, slipping sideways in space, falling and moving in a circle around her at the same time. Technically it was a move that couldn't exist. It took magic and energy to get it done, but he was able to kill her again, with repeated blows to the back of the head, not being taken first this time, having managed to buy some time by trying for her in the same way.

Then there was more healing, more eating, and, three hours later, another death, as he had to kill her again. Wash and repeat, he thought, as he coaxed her back to life for the third time in less than a day. He was tempted to fuse her lips together at first, just so she'd have to listen, but he didn't. Instead he just gave her more food, and shook his head.

"At least I get what the trap was, now. So, the point here is that Tarsus is a prick. Got it. Also, clearly, adult or not, you really aren't all that. Not in a fight. So, the terms? You really, really, need to know what I do, and can't beat me in a fight right now. I think the point is that you have to make a huge sacrifice for this. I mean, like a lesson or something. A hard one, clearly. I'll tell you what I know, for those three. Unlimited rights to them. I won't take them as slaves, since I don't do that, but you'll have to give up any rights there. I'll own them, outright. Their businesses and work too. They don't get a choice in the matter, either. You have to do it. Sell them, against their will." He wanted to take it all back, since that was pretty much real slavery, even if he didn't make a deal with them personally. Still, the point was that she had to sell them, not that he had to make them be real slaves. They could live however they wanted, as far as that went. Just like all his people.

Really, it just meant that they'd have his protection, which, given everything, was probably also the point. Tarsus planned to do something really hard to Keeley, and right now those people were collateral damage waiting to happen. The idea that The Librarian had set the whole thing up that way suddenly made sense. Or at least that it had happened. All of Keeley's people were being removed from the scene, weren't they? In a few months, even Darla's friend Eve would be away from them, safe, with him.

It was complex, but made sense didn't it?

Especially if the Second Crucible wasn't just for Keeley, but for Darla too. She'd said that she'd never been taken on that way, since it was a thing that only the would be leadership went through...

So he waited, to see if they were going to fight again.

This time, Keeley... cried at him.

"I... I love them. They're my friends, I can't do that to them. What if this is a trick and you're lying to me? I can't risk them." She sobbed, so Zack moved in and awkwardly held her.

It was what you did, when girls cried.

She stopped not too long after, and didn't try to kill him or run, just sitting there.

"I don't know what to do. I have to do it, don't I? If you're lying to me... Well, I can't do much to you, can I? You could just kill me and take them all, so that's a sign, I suppose. If you wanted them that badly. Are you really just taking them because I love them? To hurt me?"

Zack tilted his head.

"I can't prove this right now, not until you agree to it and possibly not even then, but while it's clear that taking them because you love them is part of the point, I don't think that even Tarsus is doing it to hurt you. The opposite, in fact. I guess I'm going to have to ask you to trust me in this? That isn't the normal way of our kind, but I don't have anything else to give you, unless you trade for it." That last line wanted to come out like a question, but he held on and made it sound almost confident. Nearly at least.

She held him then, and after a long time, she sighed, silent tears making the front of his shirt wet as he sat and watched the world begin and end.

"I agree, on those terms, but if what you have to tell me isn't important enough, then it's automatically off. I get to decide if it is, too." She didn't smile about her wording, since she could just claim it wasn't enough, and take her people back, no matter what he said, which was her point, he knew. It wasn't even clever at all, just a last desperate attempt to get around what it seemed he, or at least The Librarian, wanted.

Zack nodded.

"I understand what you're doing. I agree, on those terms, as well, with the caveat that you have to be fair and honest, to your own way of thinking, in your judgment of the information I give you."He shrugged and then let his hand touch hers, gently. "Plus or minus ten percent on the honesty?"

She smiled, clearly feeling better about it all, suddenly. It was enough that very little in the world would be enough to force her hand then, and Zack would hold to his bargains. Even the crazies of their kind almost always did. Doing otherwise was an invitation to have everyone turn on you, if you did it too often.

"Agreed." She put out her hand, to shake, which Zack took, ready to kill her again, if even the wrong sort of tingle started to happen, but nothing did at all.

"I too, agree, on those terms, as I understand them."

Then he took a breath, and didn't make her wait at all.

"Tarsus and possibly some of the others, are going to put you through the Second Crucible in a few months time. No adult Greater Demon may help you prepare for it. I suggested myself, but he looked at me like I was offering to smear grape jelly on your butt, not do anything useful, so that might not be the greatest idea. I'm here for you anyway, if you need lifting and toting done? Also, and this is the important part, if you fail, Tarsus will kill you. As in for real and always dead. My understanding is that this isn't some kind of trial by combat or anything, but leadership exercises? Still, it's pretty possible that everyone you know will be at risk, which is why, I think, they all have to stay with me. I can't prove that last part, but it seems to fit."

After a moment, the pretty girl with her slightly too pink face, since it was still healing from the damage he'd done, if only a bit, cursed at him.

Then stood and bowed.

"As we agreed then, Line Walker. Those I love that were specified, are yours, to do with as you please."

He nodded. Then, after making sure they weren't littering or killing any bugs, or taking them back with them to a place they might not survive in easily, they left, going to Keeley's home.

To his new people.

Chapter twenty

Zack didn't know what to expect, considering all the recently freed beings around the Mistress of Souls, but the actual result on the ground was sort of impressive. Everyone, including Darla, Hally and Eve, as well as a boy that Zack had seen before, but hadn't properly met, named Gary, were with Sheri. Keeley's hot mom. Now his person to look after.

Balthias was there, standing at the back, next to the Greater Demon Fram. That one, at least, would have to know he was free. He looked like a cheerleader, one with long black hair, but was a male, none the less. Zack recognized him, since he'd been there when Keeley had taken him. Rebekah was there too, along with Elis, who waved at him, his face hard. The Hsreth were around too, but working to make people food, in the kitchen. It was sort of their default mode, as a species. They made the house nice, when they were feeling stressed.

Darla moved first, hugging her sister hard.

"We all thought you were dead. What happened?"

He was still trying to figure out how to say it all when Keeley started speaking her voice a bit wry.

"I had a disagreement with The Line Walker, and tried to take him as a slave. He killed me." She looked at everyone else and then made a silly face, just as a middle aged Hsreth, who seemed like a slightly blocky Human woman with curly hair, walked from the kitchen, carrying a tray. "Actually he did it several times, and kept bringing me back. So, good news, everyone! You're free! That was the plan anyway, so isn't a big deal. True, I was going to wait longer with you, Fram, but you get the idea? Don't try to pick fights with people if you don't have to? I should have learned that one, too, apparently. On the other side, I traded some of you to Zack, in order to get at information, so you belong to him now."

It was strange, who seemed scared or shocked by hearing that.

Eve just nodded, as if she were going to be one of them traded away, and actually walked over to him, her face not totally displeased.

"Well, can I still do that Vampire thing? Or, I mean, what do you have planned for me?"

Zack gave her a hug, since, why not? She was cute, in a slightly Latino way. Hence being on the cheerleading squad. Darla made a hard face at her sister as if it were actually what had happened. Eve wasn't Keeley's to bargain away like that though, but it still made sense for him to take her, if he could.

"You're still on that internship, but I can get you some introductions to people. Important ones. I've set things up with Edom, the Assistant Ambassador at Westfield to watch you, so you can observe him and his people part time. It will be part time with him, mainly in the evenings, and mornings in the book store I own. A lot of work, but also a great place to meet people."

That got Gary to make a face.

"I won't let you just force her to be your slave. I'll..." It was clear he didn't know what to do, so he tried to hit Zack in the nose. It was going to miss, after Zack moved a bit, but Eve was in the wrong place, and about to be hit instead, so he caught the large fist in the air and held it gently, about an inch from the back of the short haired girl's head.

"Understood, no slaves. Everyone heard that right? Gary isn't going to allow that, so you can all rest easy." He looked at the fist and moved to the side still holding it. The kid was nice looking, in good shape, and gay, but smart enough. Recently coming off of a fairly severe depression though. "You can come and check things out to make sure, all right? I..." He had to think fast, but there was enough time to get things done, he thought. "I have a summer camp. You and Hally can work there, as councilors, this summer? Not everyone will be Human, including some of the campers, so, you know, it isn't that boring. It pays pretty well and everything. You can teach the kids martial arts and hiking skills, right?"

Hally smiled and clapped, a bit like Bey always did.

"Ooh! I can do hiking too? I know how... Which sounds stupid, doesn't it? Everyone can walk, but, I know what to take and how to dress. My family goes, sometimes."

Zack actually felt pleased, since that was a reasonable thing for a decently innocent teen girl to be doing. Eve was a little older, and would be eighteen that summer, but Hally was young, even for her years.

Balthias grumbled at him, starting to spread terror, since it was his nature and no one could really stop him, at the moment. Zack responded by not letting himself feel it, which was clearly what the rest of them were doing too.

"Who else, was traded into servitude then, Mistress of Souls? Our initial bargain was that I would, at your will, be released. Have I been sold to this being, The Walker of Lines?"

She smiled a bit sadly.

"No. You're truly free, to go and live as you will. I suggest doing it far away from me, at least for a while, since, if the information I got was correct and it seems to be, I'm being put to the Second Crucible soon."

Fram pursed his pretty lips and whistled.

"Damn... They really are going to kill you, aren't they Keels? So, is that why you're trading us all away? To get us out of the field of fire? Good idea. Well, I'm out of here then, as soon as the meeting is over. Anyone that wants can come with me? If you aren't going with The Line Walker here? Not that it isn't tempting." There was a pause and a slightly cocked hip then. "I don't suppose you have room in your bed for me too?"

Darla laughed then, at least.

"Back off, Bold. If you mess with my mentee, you mess with me. Besides, you'd be too much of a bad influence on him." She smiled, as if happy about it all, and then moved across the room to pat him on the shoulder. There was a combination of protectiveness and worry to the move and a single thought that passed to him, with enough energy that he couldn't ignore it.

Lie.

"So, Zack, you made a deal for who? All the kids, Sheri and the Vampires? Or were the Hsreth involved too?"

Keeley winced, since most of them stared at her, as if feeling betrayed.

He got the general idea though.

"Mainly, I..." He looked at the older woman, who seemed closed off, rather than happy or sad. Like she feared her lot in life was being set for her, but that noting that could cause problems. The man that stood behind her, who was also one of her people, a Hsreth, seemed a little scared, and let it show. Zack bowed to them both. "The bargain there, for the two of you is one of limited protection? You can stay at your business here, and if the need comes up, I'll get you and yours out of harm's way. At least as to what Keeley has coming and limited natural disasters. If you need money or anything, just ask. That sort of thing?"

The Hsreth both bowed, and then moved back, without saying they understood.

"The rest of you, plus Becky Hoader, are part of the agreement." He left that vague, but didn't leave Elis out. He wasn't that great of a guy, but the Manthori Vampire wasn't evil either, just entitled. It was different.

Gary groaned a bit then. At first he thought it was that he didn't want Becky around, but there was nothing in his memories that indicated that should be the case.

"We have a road trip planned, for this summer? If we're all working that's going to be a bust, isn't it?"

Zack thought for a bit, and then looked at Darla, who didn't seem all that happy with the idea either, losing the trip.

"Why? We can set the schedules up any way we want. Just... Sheri, Hally and Rebekah are going to have to come and live with me part time. I'll need a new house too. You can help me look for one, Sheri? Eve has a place set up already, but the rest of you will need to have your own places. So, several houses." He counted it up, and wondered if Lenore would be willing to help too? She was good at things like that.

So was Xenses, if it came down to it. Really, though it was hard to admit, as per their arrangement, Zack should probably ask about it, if the man ever showed back up. He'd need something to trade, but decided to go with cash.

People started talking then, and to his surprise, no major fights broke out. Eve was willing to move that day, but Keeley pointed out that they had months left in the school year. Hally lived at home, with her parents, who, she assured him, several times, wouldn't just let her move to a different state. Especially with a boy she'd only just met.

He could, actually, see that one.

"But you still need to have a room and we'll have to work something out so that you commute a lot, or it won't seem real to the beings that are coming. That's the important part. You're all under my protection. Not Keeley's, and not Darla's. Mine. It has to be real too, or it won't count. So, I guess, as mean as it might sound, I own you all. Or if you want, you own me. Either way, just believe it and act on it, all the time." That got Darla to take over, agreeing with him at least.

"The Second Crucible... It's different and we can't know what's coming, really. Zack is right though. All of you should go with him, as soon as possible. Tonight, if you can."

He shrugged and then rolled his eyes at her.

"Darla isn't totally wrong, since there are some bargains made here, but we have a few days. Just remember, you belong to me, and not these two. Right, Darla?" It was him being mean, because they weren't really trading people at all, and here he was basically demanding she really give them over, but she, a bit grudgingly, agreed.

"Yes."

That said, he looked around and figured that everyone would simply leave, or maybe go and talk in small groups. Instead, they all just went silent, until Fram moved forward, toward Keeley, and kissed her on the cheek.

"So, I can get through the school year here, so that Barb won't just be missing again. What do you want to trade for it?" That started them on a rather boring conversation, which let him wave to Sheri and Rebekah. Hally moved toward Keeley, which made sense, given that she was, more or less, her girlfriend. She seemed worried. Probably because there was no Human way to really understand what had just happened to her.

Darla moved over as well, her face grim, but she didn't interfere at all. There was a series of significant glances between the women, however, that lasted a good fifteen seconds.

Zack tried to look professional, like a doctor or lawyer, not some book store clerk. Reaching out he shook first Sheri's hand and then his Vampire woman's. Both were thinking very different things.

Sheri figured that Keeley had traded her away to get her freedom, which simply wasn't correct at all. It was a thing that she'd been warned might happen however, by Finias. Either Keeley stealing her free will, or someone else moving in to do it, in order to use her as leverage against the girl. That she hadn't been killed or sent away before probably meant the girl really loved her though, right?

She felt a strong desire to go and clean, suddenly, since she had some issues with OCD. It meant she was a good housekeeper. She also had her flower business, which was doing well, thanks to Clara and her son, and their very famous catering business. That was probably over now, since they had no reason to work with her. Except for the fact that she did good work, of course.

Rebekah just looked at him, wondering if he was going to beat her. Then rape her, naturally, since it was how people showed dominance among her people. It was, he knew, something that Eve should be warned about before she went that way. Troy too, since it was in his future plans.

Zack gestured at them.

"Basically this means that we can expand the businesses a lot, since we can get you to pretty much anywhere you need to go, as long as it's scheduled ahead of time. I mean, you both have to sleep with me too, since, you get the idea, hormones, but you don't have to do anything you don't want to that way." He grinned. "Notice how I'm just pretending that you want to have sex with me? I'm clever that way. Now you'll have to be all curious and want to try me out..."

It was playful but answered all their real questions. Sheri though, felt a bit uprooted.

"Where are we going to live? I don't really know anyplace else."

He rolled his eyes.

"Vancouver, Washington. You used to live there, didn't you? So you should know the area and everything. It's a good place. Lots of shopping."

That got him slapped on the arm, but he let it go, since it was more flirty than combative. Rebekah took a sharp breath over it, even as he ignored what Sheri had done.

"I can keep my business?"

Darla explained what he did, with node travel, and that meant Zack was left alone for a while. The strange thing there was that Elis floated over, his face a bit grim.

"So, can I go back to my old troop, or not?" The clear idea in his relatively unshielded mind was that he wasn't allowed, but Zack didn't want him, personally, so it seemed like a great idea to him.

"Yes. I'll take you..." He looked around and then at the clock on the wall. It was only about five in the afternoon, since where they'd been time had elapsed, but not evenly, compared to other places. He guessed that here they'd been gone closer to three days, rather than a little over one. "Now, if you want? I should let people make plans. Darla, can I give you some cards to hand out? I have some with me..." It had the store number on it as well as his home phone.

Sheri, Hally and Rebekah each got one from him, personally, which should have told them all something, though only Balthias seemed to get what it really meant. It was cute, but the giant, white horned beast, with his red leathery skin and large tusk like fangs, waved him over just before he was going to open the node back to his store for himself and Elis.

"A word, if you will, Line Walker." There was no anger in the voice or attempt to cast out too much fear, as far as Zack could tell. He was still locking that down pretty hard, so it might have been happening, but no one else was fleeing for their lives, which meant it was probably pretty well under control.

"Sure, over here?" That took them by the front door, which meant that Eve walked with them, her face neutral enough. She didn't back off, even when Balthias made little motions at her.

After a bit he gave up, her refusal to act enough to hold him at bay.

"I am not a being such as you, Line Walker, nor would I make threats that I cannot back. These people are my friends however, and as dear to me as any ever have been. Even The Mistress of Souls. I would not see them harmed." He didn't glower, which given his heavy brow ridge and how far down he needed to look in order to see the rest of them, had to be taking effort.

"I agree. If needed, for their protection, may I call on you? It shouldn't be needed, but it never hurts to have a back-up plan in place."

The thing who had been trying to threaten Zack, without actually dying or being locked away, managed to smile then. As if he'd been taken off guard. What did he think Zack was going to do, whisk them all off to be tortured for the rest of their lives?

"Acceptable. I will also, potentially, be available as a guard for those children at your enslavement camp? If you should choose to consider hiring me for that purpose."

Eve pushed at the Lesser Demon, as if she didn't get that he was free now, and might just kill her for it, if he got annoyed. Not that Zack would let that happen, but Balthias wasn't forbidden from trying. Not like he had been even a few days prior.

"Come on Bal, he didn't mean that kind of camp. Just like, you know, toasting stuff over a fire and little kids singing annoying songs. If there was guarding needed it would be the other way around, to make certain that no one got in, to hurt them. Or, you know, rape them or anything, like at regular summer camps." She glanced at Zack, as if looking for back-up on that one, clearly not really knowing that his camp wouldn't have that kind of thing.

"Good points. You two can help me work on that side of things? I've never done this before, after all. Definitely no rape. Or killing, in general. That's why the camp was shut down last time. One of the kids held another under water until he died for some reason. No one ever knew why. Having someone around to prevent that kind of thing would be a good idea." It might not be a giant and evil looking Lesser Demon, but then again, if he worked cheaply enough...

The being bowed a bit and went over to Keeley, carefully not staring at Darla's back. Zack didn't know the story there, but while the Lesser Demon might want to take Keels to bed, Darla was going to die, if she wasn't careful, around the creature. At least if his facial expression meant anything. Still, if that was the case, he was smart enough to bide his time.

That left him standing with Elis and Eve at the door, and she, clearly, was still hanging with him. Instead of telling her to go away, he looked into her brown eyes, and nodded.

"When do you need to be home by? Should you call or something? It's what, Thursday?" He tried to count it up, but she shook her head.

"Friday. Good plan though, let me call my dad. One sec." She had a cell, which meant it made sense to use it there, where she wouldn't have roaming charges. If that was a thing. He remembered it from commercials, but even that had been a while.

"Hey, It's Eve. So... I was kind of sold to a Greater Demon and won't be home. Um... The Line Walker? Uh... Okay?" She held the phone out, for him to take. "My dad wants to talk to you?"

Zack sighed, but then did it, since it was going to happen, one way or the other.

"Hello?"

"Line Walker? This is Chief Roy Benson. I hear that you've taken my daughter? I'm a good friend of The Technician, so you may want to think twice about that." He actually sounded threatening, which Zack decided to think of as mildly cute.

"Don't worry, it's with her blessing and really just about social climbing for Eve and some of her friends. I'll have her back to you by Monday, for school. Though she's moving in with me for the summer. It's a pretty safe place for her to be. Here, in town, less so. If you're the Police Chief and not fire captain or what have you, then you might want to get with Darla on that. Soon, really." She was walking over right then, so he moved his head, in a way he hoped meant that she should talk to the guy on the phone, before he came at Zack with a side arm.

That could get awkward, pretty fast.

Darla took the cell from his ear and smiled, her face looking fresh and happy again.

"Roy! So good to hear from you. Yes, we should talk, soon. Eve is the property of the Line Walker now. That means he'll protect her, with his life, if need be. There's a situation, and we need to get your personnel ready as soon as possible too, just in case. Right now I believe that Eve is going to do some forward scouting and make certain that Zack has cleaned up his man cave enough for females to stay in." She stopped talking and listened for a bit, then slowly let out about half of a breath. "Honestly, Roy? If it comes down to it and anything ever happens to me, or Keeley, you should go to Zack. He's perhaps the kindest of our people. That alone is why I'm letting Eve go to him, instead of taking you all, and fleeing my own territory. That or forcing Keeley to move on and find her own, which would probably be for the best."

They spoke for a bit, and then Eve got the phone back and had to chat for a while. Darla looked at him and then held his arm, as if trying to keep him from going.

"I really should push her out. Her mother will be seen to, and she's an adult now."

That made sense, but he tried to pull up what tiny bit of information he could about the Second Crucible. It was remarkably scant. That meant The Librarian was hiding things from him, he was willing to bet.

"Except that, and I can't prove this, but I think you're getting the Second Crucible too, at the same time. That was probably decided when you screwed up and helped me and Gregor go and find those terrorists the other day. The Cleric warned me that if I kept doing things like that people would eventually try to put me in charge, too. It was just a matter of time though, right? Keeley they pretty much have to prove out, given that she could end up with an army of Greater and Lesser Demons, if given enough time, but you've actually done stuff. Been useful and helpful. Foolish of you, no doubt."

It would have been nice if she would have at least acted surprised by what he'd said, but she just nodded, as if she'd already worked that out, which clearly, she had, hence her basically giving away her people to him. It was a lot of work for him, so he should get something for his time and effort. That would be the people, no doubt?

He formed a node for them all, and waited for Eve to get off the phone, then made the thing glow a nice purple color. It was on the front stoop, so he waved at it.

"You two just walk through. It will take you to the node room in my shop. We should hurry, before the neighbors notice. I'll talk to you later, Darla?" They were supposed to meet up for that mediocre sex, after all.

"Probably in a few days. Things are going to be a bit out of sorts here for a while. Remember to get Eve back in time. You should have everyone up, soon. You weren't wrong in what you were thinking about this." She hadn't read his mind, just listened to him, which was nice.

People hadn't always paid that much attention to what he'd said, in his life.

"I know. Be safe and get ready. I can't really help, but that doesn't get you out of being my mentor. I'm almost certain of that. Maybe you could farm that out? Like tutoring? Get someone else in to do all the hard work for you?" He was teasing, but she shook her head, making her hair move a bit.

"Nope. The rules are clear on that. The mentor has to stick with their brat." She smiled. "Vice-versa, too. Technically you can help, not being an adult. I'll find something useful for you to do, if it comes up. It could all still be a trick too. But, go, I think the neighbors are coming home, and the amorphous glow there is kind of showy."

The others walked through and he guided them, placing a sense of intent inside of each. Eve, at least, needed to learn to do that on her own. Elis was going away, so he wouldn't need anything like that.

It was faster this way, rather than boosting people through, and not all that hard, for him at least. Elis needed to go to a specific house in Toronto, which was well away from the Nexus there, but easy enough to find from his memories, so Zack set it up before the being could turn his white and chalky form around. Rebekah had the same teeth, the same fresh blood red eyes that held no other color to them and the same pale white hair.

Only on her it worked, making her seem exotic and merely intimidating, but in a sexy way. On Elis it just looked wrong. It wasn't a great reason to dislike someone, but it was enough of one for the moment. That meant he could point to the node, which was glowing and smile at the man though.

"There you go. Home sweet home." It really was too, though the Vampire seemed skeptical, as if it might be a one way trip into a volcano, instead of what was promised.

True, that was a thing he could have done, but even The Mistress of Souls had felt he'd been punished enough for his crime. That had been using his Vampire powers to take over the mind of the girl next to him, and having sex with her. To Keeley that was rape. Elis thought of it as an advanced seduction technique. They were clearly of two different mindsets on the matter, but the Vampire had still been punished for it.

He hesitated, so Zack moved in and pushed him, hard, then closed the connection, not needing it himself. Then he clapped his hands, once.

"There! Or, I didn't ask, but he was being punished by Keeley for hurting you. Are you good with how it all turned out, or... I mean, we can kill him, I guess? To me it seems like he hasn't changed, if that's important to you?"

She waved it away as if that just didn't matter at all. Then she spun a bit, looking around.

"Not a bad place here. This is in Washington State? That was... I could get used to traveling like that. We could go off to Hawaii tomorrow, and work on our tans." She looked at him as if she were serious about that.

Like they'd have that kind of time?

He didn't explain that just walking out the owl door into the store proper and waving at things.

"Cafe in the back. You eat for free there. Don't get fat, even if Palma tries to push food on you. If you're a few years from being a Vampire it's going to be worth it to stay trim. In the long run. This front section is where you'll be working. With Kaitlyn, who's up front here for once, with Hiram. They're co-managers, so make sure you bring them treats and all that." He mentioned that as they got to the front desk, where they both stood, watching them approach. Then, after a few seconds, Kaitlyn squealed and came around the desk, hugging him.

"You're alive! Good, we have a bunch of stuff lined up for tomorrow. We didn't know when you'd be back. What were you doing?"

"Mainly killing and resurrecting The Mistress of Souls until she listened to reason. We're good now, so it won't be a problem. This is one of my new people. Eve. Technically you are too, but you probably guessed that one already." Kait had a deal with Keeley, but it was only to have sex on demand, mainly with other people. That was practically a gift, every time the other girl called.

"Eve!" She got a hug too, and it lingered a lot longer than was normally polite. The girl just did it back, looking a little baffled.

"Hello, extremely good looking person I don't know."

He was about to introduce her, but the Alede smiled.

"Yes you do, you just don't know me in this form. I'm also Kyle? We've done it, like, half a dozen times?"

Eve blinked, and then just hugged her back a bit harder.

"Oh, hi! Okay, Keeley mentioned that part to me. So you work here too? I'm not really going to be in until this summer, or, I don't know, maybe on weekends?" She looked at Zack who made a considering face.

"That's not a horrible idea. She might be part time down at Yoghurt World or Candles and More too, part time. I'll check that."

The girl looked at him, but tried not to seem upset by what sounded like a vast amount of work having come from her opening her mouth.

Zack put his arm around her gently and gave a light hug.

"Don't worry, it's cooler than it sounds, contact wise. We still have to ask too. They may not need you. If that's the case, well, there's always lots to do around here. Don't worry, you won't be bored."

She at least tried to look eager, even if she didn't feel that way.

It was a good thing. A hopeful one.

That, he decided, was going to be his theme for the time being.

Hope.

Chapter twenty-one

Of course, before he did anything else, Zack sort of needed to see if he could find Detective McKenzie. The plan had been for him to get to go to a bunch of places, but life, as it often did, had gotten in the way. That meant, no doubt, hours, or even days of searching, looking for the man...

Except that when Zack stepped through, along with Eve, who'd come just for the heck of it, the man was sitting almost exactly where he'd left him. About fifteen feet away, up against a white wall that looked a bit like it might be made of plastic. When the man saw him, he jumped to his feet, his face having not been shaved for days, and the fellow dearly needing a bath.

The idea, most likely, was to charge him, possibly to do some real damage. At least he bellowed and started to pull his right hand back, stopping only when Eve took a step toward him, aggressively.

"I wouldn't try it. If you do, I will mess you up." As threats went it really should have gotten no more than a smile from the man, but it was pretty clear that Zack, and therefore Eve, weren't his first intended victims. Someone had beaten him pretty soundly already.

From the different sizes of the wounds, it was three different people, all at different times, and at least one of them had been tiny. Those fist imprints looked to be the freshest.

"I'll kill you!" He moved again, so Zack slowly pulled the not overly large cheerleader out of the way, gently, to protect the man. He limped as he covered the distance between them, which meant that it took a lot longer than it should have. "Kill you!"

The fight, well, Zack actually felt bad about it. The whole thing was sad, since the man clearly thought that he'd been drugged and was being held captive. By Zack, too, so he couldn't even just take the fellow home and have him committed, or sent out to find the real kidnappers. To his mind, it was Zack.

Which, he reflected, was actually right. He had done that, hadn't he?

Still, the man barely managed to slap at him and didn't have a firearm, meaning that someone else had taken it, most likely. His spare and throwaway weapons too. It really was a bit like fighting a handicapped child, which left him feeling like he was doing something wrong.

After knocking him to the ground, hard, Zack decided to give him one more chance to fix himself. If he couldn't, or wouldn't, then... Well, Zack could just toss him into the middle of the ocean, and let him drown. Or into an underground lava pit. Either would work. It wasn't what he wanted to do though.

"Detective, I need to ask you some questions. Please answer honestly. Or, really, lie convincingly enough. Either will work for me in this." He waited, and the man glared, but did it from the ground, not even sitting up yet. "Great. Are Vampires real?"

He'd been told it was true, by an authority figure. At least one person that had beaten him was one too. The warping on the man was faint, but clear enough to show that he'd been hit several times by one. Zack waited, feeling hopeful, but the man disappointed. It was very sad. Enough so that he had to fight the feeling back, so he wouldn't just give in and let the man go.

"That horse crap again? There's no such thing as Vampires, Elves, or Fairies, unless we're talking about your boyfriend, of course." The last bit was said to Eve, who rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide how she felt.

"Great, so stupid and a homophobe? Listen dickweed, when someone suggests that you try to lie, that means they're probably trying to help you. So, Vampires are real, right? It isn't hard. Say it... It begins with a 'Y'..." She looked both bitter and hopeful for a few seconds, then threw her hands out when the man muttered something that sounded a lot more like "fucking cunt" than "why, yes, Vampires, I know them well."

She turned to Zack and shook her head.

"I tried. Well, let's kill him and get rid of the body. We need to pick that carefully, so there won't be traces. Maybe we could find a landfill first? March him out at night and cap him there?" She grimaced, seeming to mean it. "I... don't have a gun on me. I left mine at home, hidden so that it wouldn't be taken away." Her fingers snapped, the sound making McKenzie twitch, violently. "I know, let's find out where bigfoot lives and leave him there for a few decades. I bet that changes his mind."

Zack froze for a few seconds, and then realized that he'd actually been there before. The trip he needed to make would be an interesting one, but he thought he might be able to do it. Of course it was dumping his problems on the Trolleinkein, but they could use him as a teddy bear, or a child's toy. Then, when he was ready, Zack could get a message to come pick him up.

"All right. We'll do that."

Eve smiled, and looked shocked.

"Wait, Bigfoot is real? How awesome is that? Can I meet one? Should we take something to trade with them? That's a thing. I read about it online."

That, actually, was a good point. A nice big load of exotic foods might work. As a people the ones he knew needed to eat a lot, and had trouble getting enough. It might work, anyway. The thing there was, as soon as they marched the rather troubled and slightly seedy looking Police Detective out of the book store, he stopped and blinked, looking around as if he wasn't half insane or drugged to the gills.

"Wait..." There was a general stopping of forward motion, and Eve actually stopped walking, turning to look at him. Ready to fight, if she had to.

That part was fun to watch, Zack decided. Oh, the girl wasn't some great martial arts master, and wouldn't be able to take even an injured and disoriented man in a fight, not unless she was well armed, but that wouldn't stop her from trying really hard, if it came to it. It would almost be worth letting it happen, just to see the results. Except that he knew them already.

If anything started, McKenzie would die, right then and there. Eve was one of his people now. Technically so was the Detective, living inside his territory, as he did, but that didn't mean he'd be allowed to get away with being a moron. Not forever.

The man actually surprised him then.

"I don't... want to live with Bigfoot." He sounded slightly confused, and a little sad at the idea.

Zack slowed and turned, well out of the fellows arm's reach. Then he nodded, trying to get the man to show something, anything, approaching thought. Crumbs would be enough, if he'd just do it and not stubbornly refuse to see reality.

"Really? So you can admit that Bigfoot might be real enough that you don't want to live with him? Or, in this case, them?" He didn't coach the man however, since that time had passed. He wasn't an imbecile, just mentally crippled. Unable to really know what was around him.

But if he was willing to pretend hard enough, it could still work.

It was pretty much how Troy got through the day, after all, and he was making it work for himself pretty well.

The Detective grunted.

"Everyone knows that Bigfoot is real. It's just the other stuff that doesn't make sense. Vampires? Elves?"

Eve pushed the man, getting one of the lone real shoppers, a woman with a pink stroller and several bags from different shops, to glare at her, as if the girl were being mean. Which she was, a little.

"Right, but can you make yourself believe? Zack isn't saying you have to be perfect, just willing not to make problems. I think. Is that right?" She looked over at him, giving the Detective enough time to try and push her back, or run off, if he wanted. That didn't happen, but it was still too big of a gap, if she was going to be a Vampire someday. They fought often enough that letting her guard down wasn't going to work in the long term.

"That's right. Can you pretend well enough to get along with people you think of as delusional? Harmless, really..." It was so far from true that he had to use magic and a lot of focus not to smile about it, but Zack schooled his face in time to seem earnest, and not like a clown.

A freaky, scary clown.

"Um... If it means I don't end up abandoned in the woods with Bigfoot? I guess... This isn't real." He was definite on that point. He knew what reality was. The man was simply wrong. Most people were though, and no matter what they did, couldn't really change that about themselves. It was enough if he could just learn to avoid them all.

That might not work in the long run, but it was worth a shot. After all, like he'd just been thinking, McKenzie was one of his people. Geography was a thing too, after all.

"All right, come this way then. Eve, take the rear and don't let him run off? We're headed to the yogurt shop."

That didn't take long, since it was only about fifty meters away, if on the other side of the main hallway. The place was brightly lit up, and both Edom and Lenore were there, since it was just about shift change. It was strange, but his girlfriend actually ran around the counter and held him, much like Kaitlyn had done.

She gushed less, seeming a bit less surprised to see him.

"Zack! With new friends too? I missed you. You've been gone for days..." There were a hundred questions in the words, buried inside them, which he could feel pouring out of the Vampire woman. His Vampire woman. Zack kissed her, gently.

When the soft and rather friendly thing was done, he moved back smoothly.

"The Mistress of Souls got scared and tried to enslave me, so I had to kill her a few times. Think of it as a Greater Demon spanking. She's alive now and we've smoothed things over, more or less. Eve here is one of my new people. I got her from The Technician. Edom, she's the one I mentioned working with you this summer? She'll be around on weekends too, in order to work mornings. If you want her, that is. She's researching Vampires to see if she really wants to be one, so..." He turned and shrugged at the girl, then looked at Ed. "So, if she doesn't behave, rape and beat her and throw her crying into the corner? That's what happens to little Vampires that don't mind, right?" It was out then, but Eve didn't shy away, just nodding, as if that was just part of the price of doing business.

"I'll mind, sir."

Edom smiled hugely then.

"Good. I was a bit worried about that, to tell the truth. The Line Walker is a good friend of mine, but he might not want you hurt. We'll keep that to a minimum, if we can, but I'll teach you what to really expect, so be ready for that." He turned and stared at Zack, his face a bit more serious. "Will she be living with me?"

"No, or at least not unless you think that's needed. We already have plans for her to stay with Troy and me. You know, since they're both planning to sign up with your team?"

Lenore smiled and moved in, taking Eve's hands as if they were old friends.

"Lovely! We can use you on the weekends for now. Starting at six in the morning, Saturday and Sunday. Do you have church services to attend to?" She said it as if that were the normal thing to ask, not something strange or bizarre.

It got an even stranger response.

"Yeah, Keeley, Hally, Darla and I have been going. Catholic. I'm not really into it, but she, Keels, says that we should at least make an appearance and be involved in things like that. Like, you know, a cover? My parents go too. Dad and step-mother. They're... Um, friends of Darla's?" She looked at Zack, clearly not knowing what was polite to say really.

"The Technician. It's not a horrible idea, but she can miss for now. In the summer we'll go. Hally and Sheri will be up here too." He smiled a bit, and locked eyes with Lenore. "Rebekah the Manthori, too. I traded The Mistress of Souls for them. Some information that she needed. So the new blood supplies will be easier to get, I bet. None of them are slaves, so, you get the picture, get ready to do some courting. Sheri has a flower business. She's Keeley's mother. Still young and cute too, so you might ask if she wants to sign up with you too. Immortality is kind of a good door prize."

Lenore took that news in stride, as if trading in mothers just made sense in her world. Maybe it did? She lit up and didn't let go of Eve's hand. She finally looked at the slightly reeking Detective, clearly getting who he was.

"Are you delivering him for disposal?"

Like he'd need help with that?

"Nope, he's agreed to pretend that Vampires and Shifters are real, and to that end, will be sent back to the Chief. Hopefully this works, since... Well, I hate to waste things. Anyway, I'm going to leave him here. Will you order some food for him? I'm going to see if Eve can get in to the candle shop part time too. If she goes your route, then having contacts there won't hurt."

"That's true." Lenore let Eve's hand go, looking at her very directly. "They need aid, and we have good relations with them, in this area. It might seem a small thing, tidying a store, but that might well be enough to make lifelong friends there, if you make the effort. You should try."

There was nodding all the way around, and the girl followed him over to the shop across the way, which was dark, and said it was closed, even though there was a sign in the front. It wasn't as bad as when he'd first started working there, but the whole place was dusty and the floor was in dire need of several sweepings and some mopping. It was, in short, a mess.

The wind chimes that he'd put up, once upon a time were still there though, and made a merry sound when he went in. Eve turned and wrinkled her nose up at them.

"That's going to get old, I bet. I wonder whose brainstorm that was?"

Zack grinned and patted her on the back, since he had a right to, being literally the boss of her.

"Mine. And yes, it could get old. If they ever had enough traffic through here for you to get annoyed by it. That really isn't a big problem. Bob! Are you back there?" Zack could feel that he was, but announcing yourself was generally considered polite, so he did it. This time.

There was a slight shuffle, the sound of papers being moved around, and probably hidden, the squeak of an office chair moving back and then a decently youthful head popped out from around the corner of the office in the back.

"Hello?" He sounded a bit surprised, as if he'd been so absorbed in his work that he hadn't heard them come in at all.

"Hey, Bob!" Zack waved, as if he were a kid, or an old friend, visiting. The man smiled, but it had a professional air to it, rather than that of old comrades. Then, really, Zack didn't know him all that well, did he?

He had saved the man's wife once, or at least helped to do it, which apparently carried some weight still.

"Zack! I mean, Line Walker. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

It wasn't hard to explain at least.

"Weekend help. She can work evenings, and if she doesn't work hard, Edom from across the way will beat her." Zack looked over, to see the dark skinned man nodded. "Literally. You have to pay her, ten dollars an hour, and she isn't up on guild law, but she can clean and do that sort of thing. She can start tomorrow?"

Bob Millhouse looked at her and nodded, clearly willing to take just about anyone just then.

"We can use the help, Miss."

"Eve. Eve Benson. I have transportation here, but I live in Arizona for now, until this summer. Let me get you my cell number? Just in case you need me at some other time." She wrote it down, not having cards for that yet.

They were handy, so Zack decided to get her some. After they were done, she had to run back to Edom and do the same thing, since he was her new friend. That was how she put it, which got a smile from the man.

On the way out, Eve following right behind him, he cleared his throat.

"He might be your new friend, and it's a good thing to work toward, but he really will beat you if you don't work hard. Probably rape you too. It's a dominance thing with Vampires, and not personal, but it can happen. If you do what you're told all the time, you can avoid that. And should. If you want to have sex with him, you should just ask. He's your boss and from a different time, so that kind of thing is just sort of expected." He hadn't thought about it before, but it was true. As little as fifty years before, even in America, that had pretty much been the rule, right? He was a lot older than that.

"No worries. It isn't like I haven't done that one before. He's good looking too, and a nice dresser. I've been with worse. I've been raped by it too, so... Yeah."

They walked, and Zack didn't let himself feel bad about the abuse the girl had lived through as a child. There had been a lot of it, and while not as intense or ultimately as major as what he'd gone through, it had done similar things to both of them. She wasn't sane, that was. Strong, and willing to fight still, so not broken totally, but she wasn't the sweet and positive girl that she should have been either. She was good looking, fit and smart, which should have left her being the queen of her little world, or at least the princess.

Instead she hung out with Greater Demons and Vampires and was considering becoming one of the undead, just to gain enough power that most people couldn't harm her.

It was sad.

Which was a thing that Zack couldn't afford to feel anymore. Not even for a girl that deserved better than that. The best he could do for her was get her the opportunities she needed to become something more than she was. Eve would have to earn it, since very little of true value was just handed to you. There was always work to be done.

He simply lifted her through the rift in the parking lot, which ended with them being right across the street from his little house. It had been repainted, not long before, and was white with rust colored trim, but seemed fresh and new, compared to the yellow one on the right hand side, or the two story white and gray one on the other side. It occurred to him that he really didn't know his neighbors at all.

Well, he could take them some cookies, later.

For the time being, he needed to get Eve settled and then either go and get her clothing and toiletries, or buy her some. Probably that second one, since she was going to be coming and going for a while, before she really moved. Troy was sleeping still, from the sound of things, and had a guest with him, who was moving around.

There was also a person in the living room.

One that looked like him.

Zack sighed, but before he could speak, the man on the new sofa jumped up and hugged the girl next to him.

"Eve! So wonderful to see you again! I see you're taking up with a better class of person now? Excellent." There was a grab at her butt, which the girl just accepted, though when the embrace ended she stood back, and examined the man in front of her.

"You look like Zack, but not exactly. A little older, a bit more muscle. So, some kind of shape changer? We've met before, so, a Greater Demon? I know you aren't Keeley or Darla, and Fram wouldn't have grabbed me like that... Barb?"

The Demon in front of her leaned in and kissed her cheek.

"Right in one! Perfect. Or, more to the point, I'm Xenses. Darla and Keeley are my sisters, and Zack here is my son. Is The Technician coming over in the next few minutes then? She'll likely die, if that happens, since I have a bargain of mutual assistance with The Rotted, who's in the other room. Molesting your boyfriend in his sleep, I think. She made herself look pretty for him, so I doubt he'll complain."

Zack rolled his eyes, but didn't correct the man. Troy wasn't his boyfriend, but that was too fine a point for most of the Greater Demons. Really, since even the sane ones thought that, it was probably the truth, and he was in denial about it, but it was a comfortable one for him, so he decided to run with it. For the moment at least.

Eve made a face at Xenses and crossed her arms.

"You killed Keeley's dad! Why did you do that?"

"He was a jerk and didn't deserve to live. I did her a favor. One that a goody-good like her couldn't have done for herself. Did she thank me though? Get down on her knees and give me a hummer of gratitude? Nooo... The bitch tried to make me a slave and killed me."

The girl didn't seem intimidated or impressed, which was sort of interesting, since Xenses might just try to kill her too. Or he might have, normally, but couldn't now, without breaking his word to Zack. Eve was his, and that meant off limits. Really, he needed to try and get Troy too. He was enslaved to Finias, so it would be tricky and probably require that one of them die. The Greater Demon, by choice, since the older man would soak that better than the Human.

Still the girl didn't step back or anything.

"Fine, I'll give you that she didn't need him around, but tossing her his head? That was cold. Why?"

"Duh, Eve, so that she'd know he was really gone. It was why you had to kill your mother yourself. Same thing, really. I was going to do that for you, before I left, but my bitch of a sister drove me off first. I always liked you best, you know. Out of the whole gang. So strong and well formed. Not like that Hally girl. I suppose you took her in too, Zack? It's a trick you know, to protect them all."

The Greater Demon that looked like him shook his head and then hugged Eve again.

"Hey, we should get together and fuck soon. If I can work out the rights for that with Zack I mean. I wanted to do you before, but, you know, Barb lacked the right equipment and it would have given everything away if I'd suddenly shown up as Japanese dick-girl. That could be fun too though."

There was a moment of stillness, but instead of screaming at the man, Eve brushed at her black hair and seemed almost pleased.

"Sure. Just sex. No armed sized super penises or anything. Just regular sized things. Lube too. No dry anal. I'm probably in for enough of that with the Vampires."

That got a laugh, from Xenses.

"Too true. They do love the back hole that way. I suggest you lube it before going off to work with them each day. An ounce of prevent prevents tearing, after all. That Mage Ambassador, Bob, you should nail him too. His second as well, when she gets back in a few months. She's Zack's bitch, but doesn't know it yet. Likes girls, so you can get some more experience that way. It can't hurt to have a Mage in your pocket, if you aren't going to be a Greater Demon. Now, all this sexy talk is making me horny, and I have some things to talk to my son about. Boring stuff, so, you might want to do something more fun? I know, why don't you go in and wake Troy up. You and Ann can double team him? I'd do it, but, you know, busy."

She snorted a tiny bit, as if the Demon hadn't been serious. Still, when Zack pointed at the correct door, she went, her face bemused. Hopefully The Rotted wasn't in the shape of an eleven year old girl. Or worse for Troy, boy. Given the rather manly sounding voice from the room, one that wasn't his roommates, it wasn't a child at least.

Xenses sat back down and patted the sofa next to him, as if that was going to happen? Moving across the room, he settled onto the arm of one of the new comfy chairs, so that he was nearly standing, and ready to fight.

The Demon looked at him with almost no expression at all.

"Is that any way to treat family? I thought we had an agreement in place?"

"Oh, we do. Notice how we aren't fighting to the death, and how I haven't fled for my life and remaining sanity? Besides, have you met the rest of our family? I spent half of the last week at the end of the world, killing Keeley over and over again. She's practically my favorite Greater Demon, too."

That got too much insight, too fast for comfort.

"Oh? You fucked her? Good for you! Was that while she was dead or before? It won't do her any good if she can't remember it."

Zack wondered if the being in front of him knew what he was saying at all, and how it sounded. Was it for affect? Or did he just think that way? It was hard to tell, and in the end, might not make any difference at all.

"Alive, and of her own free will, thanks. We had a thing in place, so..." He didn't describe it, since the whole thing would seem too weak and soft to the man, no doubt.

Xenses seemed happy about it however.

"Still, it's a start. She's so weak, and picky, right now. She won't survive long if she doesn't toughen up. Not like you. You're nearly as strong as a real adult. It's why I came, today."

"To try and rape me? Because that might not go well for you, if you try it. Though the thing where you look like your old self is a nice touch. I need a new look soon. I think that I subconsciously mirrored that, without realizing it, as I grew. Not that it's a horrible look, but I was thinking that I might try out being, oh, an eight or so, for a while? Just to see what different reactions I get?"

There was awkward sounding cough from the other man, and a slow shake of the head.

"No. The time for that kind of thing is past. I did it right the first time, and in the end, you fixed the errors that were left in. There is nothing, that anyone can do to you, ever, that you can't just move past now. That was the real point you know. Even the fact that you became insane is only a happy side effect. Possibly what Tarsus had in mind, as a test, but you're the first one of us that it's worked with, so I doubt it's going to be a major theme going into the future."

"Good, because it's creepy to do that to little kids. There are worse things in the universe, but not a lot of them."

This got waved away, as if Xenses was bored with the idea already. He was The Defiler, and while he had his reasons, which seemed to be involved in the idea of making people "strong", it was also clear that he was so far gone into his own insanity that a little chat with Zack wouldn't be changing anything.

"Posh and tish, Zack. That isn't why I've come, anyway." Then, naturally, he stopped talking. Because everyone did at that point in the conversation, didn't they?

Zack tilted his head, trying not to even guess as to what the being wanted from him.

Xenses let out a long his of air.

"I know where your parents are, Zachary. I want to give them to you, as a gift."

Zack...

Laughed.

Chapter twenty-two

"With the Greater Demon Goethe? Enslaved to him, picked up shortly after Keeley severed that link by killing you?" He stared at the being, who looked so much like he did at the moment, and decided he was really going to work on fixing his face and body soon. Vain or not.

That would mean having to learn at least the basics of shape changing, but he had that information inside his store of data, and it didn't seem that hard, but time consuming. He could start by building some muscle, and work from there.

Xenses however, gave him a look that said Zack was being an asshole. Coming from almost anyone else it might have hurt, but he really didn't care that much, given their history together.

"I would have thought that you'd have gone for them automatically, once you knew. I mean, they aren't that bad. I re-grew your mother's legs, just after you ate them, so that you could do it again, but Finias took you first, and broke the link. By killing you. A little kid. How's that for cold? Still, she's your mother. Where's your heart, Zackie?"

He knew the answer to that one, and smiled, letting it seem dark and a bit like he was about to start throwing down with the Greater Demon that was, clearly, goading him.

"Buried, exactly like you wanted, so long ago. I remember what they did. What you did too, but at least you can argue that you were trying to do something good. You were wrong, and sick, but you believed it. They sold me for power though. For magic. They knew that other people had it, and couldn't stand that they were just normal. So they sold me, their only son, to a Demon, trying for more. My mother didn't even realize that I wasn't Darren's son, did she? She truly was just sending her little child to suffer at the hands of a monster." He let a bit of venom come into his voice, since he actually felt it.

The other Greater Demon grabbed at his chest, a bit too dramatically for the situation, really.

"Ouch! Wounded. You really think I'm a monster?"

Zack didn't back away from it, just nodding.

"We all are. You personally however, are even worse than most of us, as far as I'm concerned. The thing there is, that you're a monster. An insane Greater Demon that can't see why what you're doing is wrong. I know that, and blaming you for being what you are is foolish. It wasn't a choice for you, just a state of being. They knew better! They were supposed to be my parents, and protect me! Oh, it might not have worked, going up against you, but they should have tried, at least enough not to just hand me over for a few promises and kisses!" Zack turned a lovely color of red, and was actually yelling, by the last line.

The other man didn't stand though, even if he had been called names.

Instead he sat and spoke in a reasonable voice.

"That's sensible then. I hadn't looked at it that way before. It's a very Human way of thinking, isn't it? Or maybe not. I'd assumed that you'd do the Human thing and run to them, battling Goethe and taking them, or more likely, dying thrice. He's tough, after all. Old too. Instead you're just sitting back, sensibly, and not even bothering with them?" He smiled and pumped his fist a bit, over his head. "I'm the greatest! I did that for you. I made you strong enough that no one will ever hurt you again. It worked!"

Zack had to consider that, and after a few seconds, nodded.

"I suppose it did, after a fashion. It's still a poor plan, but I know you can't change. Not easily. Maybe, someday, I can show you a better way? Right now I don't have one for you."

Xenses grinned at him.

"But we, you and I, are good? Tell me that we're good, and I can go, happy enough, for now. I never wanted you to hate me, Zack. I just wanted you to have a chance to live. To be truly free, too. You are, and you do. I don't expect you to thank me for it, not yet, but maybe, when you've gotten some time to look around at reality and understand that seeing it clearly all the time isn't the best way to be, possibly then, you'll forgive me?"

Maybe. Not likely, but he could try. After all, you didn't pick your family. Then again, you didn't have to let them get away with things like that either. The fact was, almost certainly, that Xenses wasn't capable of changing. Not really. That meant the only thing he could do about the being was destroy him. Or trap him somewhere.

That was against their agreement, so he wouldn't. After all, he was far too young to break his word. That kind of thing would linger, after all.

Just then, almost as if on purpose there was a sound of female moaning from Troy's room. Eve, it sounded like, with some manly grunting and the soft sound of flesh slapping against more of the same. He didn't let it distract him, but the conversation was just about over, anyway.

The resolution they'd come to was about the best one they could, really.

"Keeley and Darla are still planning to kill you, if they can." His voice was conversational again, so there was that, if nothing else. Zack didn't feel all that worked up about it really.

Xenses stood, and looked over at the door the sounds were coming from.

"Oh, they'll get over it, in time. That, or kill me. I'm pretty good at not dying. We all are, when it comes down to it. The problem with those two is that they haven't really learned to live. So, what was the secret that Keels traded her own mother for? Where the g-spot is?"

Zack suddenly got something that he'd totally missed before, and it made him cringe. Mirror Him, who was a part of his personality now, was really the reflection of Xenses. They had the same horrible sense of humor and everything. Finias had said so, but Zack had thought he meant the face and body, not the mind.

He nodded.

"We covered that one. A lot of other things too, but no, if you want to know, you'll have to trade for it. It isn't as big of a deal for you, so I won't ask for all your people or anything, but be ready to trade big."

The evil, and yet familiar, Demon seemed interested at least.

"What do you want?"

Zack actually had nothing, to tell the truth. He didn't need anything at all. It was, he knew, a good thing. A position of ultimate power, really. If he was the one that had things others wanted or needed, then they had to do what he wanted, not the other way around. It left him scrambling though, in the moment. Finally he hit on something.

"For two years, you need to leave Keeley and Darla alone and do your best to get your friends and other Greater Demons to do the same. Within reason, I mean. No suggesting that they go after them, that kind of thing. I don't expect you to battle everyone that's going to drop over on their own, or anything stupid like that."

There was a long and drawn out silence.

"Six months."

Zack shrugged.

"A year and six months. This is big enough, I think."

"A year?" Xenses looked ready to keep going, but Zack nodded. It would either be enough for them, or not. It didn't protect anyone really, since the girls might go after him anyway, but there was an equal chance that Keeley and Darla would lose, if they tried it. He could handle it if they died, but it wasn't what he wanted, even if they were a couple of pains in the ass, sometimes.

"A year. Tarsus told me that he plans to start the Second Crucible for Keeley in a few months. He'll kill her if she fails. I think the plan is to do Darla at the same time, but there was no death threat involved there."

The other being laughed.

"Oh... that is perfect! Wonderful, really. Well, good for them. So a truce between us all then? For a year. They won't be doing anything as foolish as warring with me, not if that's going on. I need to go and see to getting some people ready. The Second Crucible? No wonder they gave you all their people. If they're smart they'll sign over everything to you, since otherwise they'll probably lose it all anyway. Well, not my concern. Tootles, Zack. I'll be by for dinner in a few weeks?"

That was new, him saying things like that. Zack took a breath, but managed a nod.

"Right. Call first, I'm actually working a lot lately."

"No problem. Ann? I need to leave now. Are you staying?" His voice rose and the noise from inside the room stopped. A few moments later a good looking and muscular Hispanic man came to the door. Nude. It was Troy, except with more muscle.

"Yep. I think I'll stay, for a few weeks. You don't mind, do you Zack, sweetie?" It was creepy, coming from the image of his best friend.

"If you look different and follow my rules, then yes."

"What rules?"

"No killing, or torture, or making my life too hard. That goes for all my people, too, not just me."

"Oh." The Troy looking Demon seemed to be considering thing and then agreed. "We can do that. I'll set up in your room? I need to get back to things..." Then, distracted, the naked and enthused man turned and went back to the room, where the noises resumed, a bit more intensely than before.

Zack rolled his eyes, and wondered how he'd managed to get himself into situations like this. Xenses stood and moved over to him, then patted his shoulder, in an almost fatherly manner and went to the front door.

"I'm very proud of you, do you know that?"

He hadn't and still didn't, since Greater Demons had a sketchy relationship with the truth at times. Still, it was a nice thing to say.

"See you later. In a week or two."

"See you then, son."

The Greater Demon left, a node opening and his presence stepping onto the line. He moved away quickly enough then, but it wasn't much compared to what Zack did, normally.

Then Zack decided to leave himself, or would in a bit, actually just walking down the street, not taking any shortcuts at all. There was a newspaper box, where he could get a real estate listing. People were coming and he had a lot to do, but, he realized, things were actually going pretty well for him.

He hadn't thought that would ever happen, especially after learning what he really was, but, at least for now, things were good, and Zack was in a place where he could do pretty much whatever he wanted. Most people never had that much freedom, did they?

Oh, his life wasn't perfect and he had things to keep working on. Barb the Vampire, for instance, still acted like he was going to beat her, almost every time they met, and that should be dealt with, because he considered her a friend. One of his people too.

The Ettarian Summit needed to be seen to as well, but that could be managed, he decided. A bit of pressure in the right places would help a lot.

The Vampires needed more guidance, but they had the right idea, just poor execution so far. The banked blood, the new kind that Rebekah was providing, which didn't taste too horrible to even consider, was going to have to come down in price, but with his help, they could do that.

He smiled and looked into the mirror on the wall, to his right.

It was hard to tell, but for the briefest of moments it seemed to come alive and smile back at him.

Then it spoke.

"I did say you could do it. Not that I want to be one of those jerks that always says I told you so... But..."

Then the image just became him again.

Normal, complete and whole, the way he was supposed to be.

Zack walked out, into the cool evening air, and smiled. Things were, possibly for the first time ever, right in his world.

It was, he decided, a good thing.

One of the very best.

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