Mr. Hartley (Alternate Places Book 1)

by P. S. Power

  Zack merged his inner self with the apprentice, his inner self just skimming the other man's, finally getting a vague sense of what he needed to look for. Then he stared into the void through the Nexus point.

  “Got it. Get ready.” Zack took a step forward.

  “I wonder what it will be like, I've nev-”

  Then they entered the line.

  Chapter eleven

  “-ver done this before. Whoa....” Dan gasped as they stepped into the nexus room over three thousand miles away. To his credit he didn't stop to gawk, heading straight to the front instead.

  “Hello! Master? Master Yang? It's Dan, Master Wu-Li sent me?”

  “Up front!” He called. “Come up front and get Samsara now. Don't wait on an old man!” They jogged to the front counter. The set up, Zack noticed, held no resemblance at all to the Underwood mall. For one thing, people, beings, walked by in decent numbers, huge really, considering it was still night in Toronto.

  There were also a lot of new types of people in the crowds. He didn't have time to try and catalog them, but apparently being Human, or at least Human looking, didn't make a big difference at this location. That was good. He'd hate for the universe to be as boring as all that. Of course that meant that they didn't have that at Underwood because Humans were bigots or unpleasant, but it was interesting to know.

  Master Yang stood as an example of that. The man had large pointed ears that flopped over a bit at the ends. Plus a nose a little too long for a Human, strictly speaking. Also long white hairs on his head and face contrasting with the pale, yellow-gray skin beneath. His Shadow however looked perfectly Human, and smiled at him when he caught him looking.

  “You then, might be Mr. Hartley? The Nexus Walker who isn't a demon? I'm most pleased to make your acquaintance, sir! Most pleased! Here are your herbs, Dan. Three gold, of an ounce or better each, please. Yes, steep the price, but also hard to come by, no?” Dan produced four coins, telling them both that they were all a little light, but four should do. The strange being checked them with his teeth and pronounced them acceptable.

  As they turned to leave he stopped Zack with a hand on his arm. “Please, take my card. You never know when you may need the aid of one such as I, no?”

  Zack placed the card in his pocket and nodded, murmuring his thanks to the man. They went to the back room and stepped back through the Nexus to Wu-Li's shop.

  They started running almost immediately. Dan in the lead again, forcing Zack to scramble after him. His legs burned even faster this time, having barely recovered from the last sprint. Was Dan running so fast because the situation was so dire, or just because he thought Zack would be able to keep up? Either way Zack tried his best, just in case it turned out to be important.

  It took nearly two minutes to get to his house, because the apothecary shop added nearly an eighth of a mile to the trip, which meant Dan had to wait for him to catch up to get through the shortcut.

  Wu-Li had water boiling on the stove, in the one pot Troy and he shared, and shredded the root directly into the water using a rasp from his case. Most of the root ended up in the water, but the remainder got wrapped in what looked like wax paper and put away in the Master's case. Since even that bit must have been worth hundreds of dollars, he couldn't blame the man for being careful with it.

  “Don't use this pan again. The effects of Samsara root are... unpleasant. And not something to experience by accident. Indeed, you'll all most likely wish to leave the room while the treatment and its effects take place. We should move her to someplace that can be washed easily. Do you have a tub here?” Zack nodded and pointed vaguely toward the correct direction, when the old man finished speaking.

  Nikki agreed to go into the room with the drugged girl, protecting her clothing by the simple expedient of taking her dress off at the door and throwing it out. The door closed then. Nikki had been instructed to have her drink the full pot of tincture if she could get her to take it, since what was in the pot would fill only a small cup of undiluted beverage.

  “Now we wait,” Wu-Li sat upon the floor, his back ramrod straight. Dan copied him after a few moments.

  Claire and Valerie sat on opposites sides of the now vacant couch. Rather than move closer to the Succubus, Zack decided to sit in a fashion similar to the masters sitting on his floor. Having gone through the Nexus with both of them, it had become clear to him that Dan had reached true mastery some time ago, regardless of the fact he still thought of himself as an apprentice. Oh, he didn't know everything perhaps, but that would come with time, most likely. Dan had reached a point where he wouldn't die unless killed, for instance, and had mastered dozens of martial arts styles, armed and unarmed both.

  The sounds of retching and less pleasant noises came from the other room. It sounded awful to Zack. After an hour the sounds reached a crescendo and slowly tapered off after that. Two hours after it had begun, the sounds stopped.

  Suddenly the Succubus and Claire both perked up and looked at the bathroom door. A few moments later he heard the water running and then the shower being engaged.

  “Charli is talking and her heart sounds much better now. Nikki thinks we should find some clothing for her. She's washing her now. Um, she also thinks we should probably burn the towels in there after this. Nikki's not prone to exaggeration, I'm sorry to say, Zack.” A peaceful look came over her then.

  “I'd gladly trade towels and pots for a life. Those are just things, and not important comparatively... I'm tired... Did that even make sense?” Zack yawned. “How are we all getting home? I can take people to the mall or the club easily enough, but I don't know where Charli lives. Someone will have to give her a ride.... I don't know....”

  The lack of sleep and the events of the night suddenly hit him all at once and he felt his eyes close. When he opened them again people had packed up and stood by the door. He'd laid on the floor, curled on his side dozing. Zack made himself stand. A little woozy still. Enough so that he didn't even feel embarrassed about dozing off on everyone.

  “Right, who goes where?”

  Both Claire and Valerie had cars parked at the club. Betty volunteered to stay with Charli, as she'd seen her at the club many times, which gave her a plausible reason for having taken her from the place when she'd been drugged. Wu-Li and Dan needed to go back to the mall, where it turned out they both lived, in the back of their apothecary.

  So Betty would 'call' her roommate, Claire, to come get them and take them home. Claire would 'suggest' to Charli that nothing too bad happened and that she got lucky, but needed to be more careful in the future. Which, except for the whole Samsara thing, turned out to be pretty much true. That part, it was decided, could be written off as part of the being drugged initially.

  For all that he felt weak and woozy, it seemed somehow easier to take people through the various shortcuts right now. It took less focus for some reason. Probably a side effect of so many trips through the lines in short order. That or practice, outside of any energy driven or magical effect.

  It took nearly an hour for Claire to get back. Charli thanked him blearily and Betty thanked him too. Claire didn't come back in, just waiting in her car for them to come out.

  Feeling heavy, he crawled off to bed and slept without dreaming for ten wonderful hours.

  Then he dreamed for what seemed like forever. Dark things. Huge men. Pain. Fear. A giant Shadow.

  This finally shook him back to awareness about three in the afternoon. When he rolled over to get out of bed he found himself met by a pair of velvet eyes. He moved back toward the wall suddenly, hitting it with enough force that the crashing sound had definite overtones of creaking.

  Zack stood up on his narrow bed, sleep filled eyes finally making out Valerie's face.

  “I hope you don't mind. The door was unlocked so I just let myself in. I brought breakfast.” She swung up lithely. Whatever caused her to seem like sex personified had been toned down to a level that made her seem only like an incredibly hot,
very available woman. Something he could deal with mentally, thank goodness.

  “What? Okay. Let me wake up for a second here.” He walked off the bed, avoiding touching her as he leaped past, as if a giant spider stood there instead of a beautiful woman. He looked down at himself. Sweat pants and a t-shirt. At least Troy's nice clothes had managed to come off before he climbed into bed.

  Valerie watched him too closely, it seemed predatory to him, hungry. She followed him as he walked to the bathroom and smiled when he said she could make herself at home. He took time to brush his teeth and shave, finishing by splashing cold water on his face.

  When he walked into the living room, he saw that the small kitchen table had moved into the room, and that candles burned in the center of it. There were real plates, knives and forks, wine glasses with a red liquid in them and flowers between the candles. On one of the plates sat a cinnamon roll about the size of both of his fists put together.

  “In the glass is a sparkling cranberry. I was told that you don't drink by your lovely roommate before he left work last night. Troy, I think he said his name was? Very informative fellow. He also said you liked sweets, but hadn't had a lot of them lately. I hope my offering is acceptable.” The lilt of her voice managed to convey a lot less sex today than it had last night. “Shall we sit? We need to discuss last night and debts to be paid...” She gestured gracefully for him to sit. When she settled into the chair a sudden wave of sensuality came off of her, quickly reigned in.

  “First, I think you'll be happy to hear that our endeavor went well last night. Charli Walsh is safe at her mother's home and doing fine. We don't know that she'd have been harmed by the drugs in her system, but the heroic measures taken certainly helped to make sure nothing went wrong.” Waving at his food, indicating he could eat if he wanted, she continued.

  “Each group will have to deal with you on their own, since nothing had been planned or apportioned. As signatories to the treaty, all others present last night were required to give aid to our fellow, even though she doesn't know about it. Basically, if you work at the mall, we have to help you out if you're in danger and we know about it. Within reason. A Human trying to harm her illegally falls within the level of reasonable intervention.”

  Zack nodded. On reflection it did seem a little odd to him that everyone had instantly shot into action like that last night. Vampires and Succubi weren't superheroes by nature, not from what he could tell. Master Wu-Li and Master Dan made sense, as it related directly to the kind of work they did as apothecaries. He just hoped that the different groups wouldn't charge him too much.

  “I guess I should reimburse Master Wu-Li for his time. That Samsara root cost a lot too, like three ounces of gold I think. And Claire drove Charli home. Am I supposed to pay her for gas and time? Nikki did the actual hard part though, I mean, I wouldn't have wanted to be in that room from the sound of it. I hadn't even considered her hyper-acute senses... that had to be hard on her. So she should be paid for that, I guess. You and Norris helped get the guy. What do I even pay for that? I'm going to have to put in more hours at work, I think... Am I forgetting anyone?”

  The Succubi stopped and looked at him, a sweet smile on her lips.

  “No, Zack. We – Wu-Li, Claire, Norris, and I especially – were required to give aid if we could. It's you that we need to clear the books with. You kind of fill a special slot in the order of things here... You work at one of the embassies, but you aren't an ambassador or even beholden to the Mages for more than your work as a store clerk. If you got in trouble we'd all have to help you, but you aren't mandated to do anything at all for us. Loophole logic, but it's what the treaty says so no changing it now. If things were reversed and Charli had helped us with you, I'd be talking to her right now, or more likely Norris would be. Patty, my... 'boss', sent me to negotiate what our contingent needs to provide you for your efforts, since I told her we already had formed a... connection. It would be fair to spread the cost at least three ways though, don't you think?”

  Cost? Zack sat for a moment, buying time by taking a few bites of his cinnamon roll. It had thick frosting on the top, kind of like a cake. Cream cheese flavor hit the back of his tongue. Tasty, a bit too rich at first. He ate slowly, thinking about the interplay of flavors and textures until he noticed the woman looking at him anxiously. He carefully ignored her Shadow self, just in case, so he wouldn't be hit with an overwhelming wall of sex.

  “This is good, the cinnamon roll, I mean. Um. Really. What do you think would be fair, everything being considered?” There, when in doubt, throw the ball back into the other person's court. He waited to see her response.

  “Right. Well, technically speaking, no one would have signed off on using the Nexus in an emergency for a Human girl if we were dealing with Demons. Can we presume that you have no interest in souls or enslaving generations of anyone's families?” This got a nod and half-shrug from him, so she continued.

  “Good then. For our part, I have been authorized to open with this: we'll provide you with twenty-five thousand ounces of gold, in ready form, services from any employee at our Embassy for a time of twenty years and one 'boon' to be decided later. That's like owing you a favor. It can't cost anyone their life or cripple them though. Does that sound equitable to you?” This last came out sounding worried, as if she expected him to ask for far more.

  He took another bite of cinnamon roll. It really did hit all the right spots.

  “I guess I should make a counter offer now? Let's see. How about this. My Friend Hilda, the Trolleinkein? Do you know her?” Valerie nodded. “She says that your store has nice clothing, but that it's hard for her to go there, because of all the sex stuff coming from you guys. Do you think you could find a way for her to get clothing she likes without all that? That would be good.”

  She nodded, thoughtful for a moment.

  “That can be done, I think, without issue. I wasn't aware that this had been a problem for her or it would have been addressed already. In the interest of good relations if nothing else. Is there anything specifically that you'd like for yourself?”

  He looked down at his plate. “Is there another cinnamon roll?”

  Smiling she walked into his kitchen and came back with a box that held three more. Using the waxed paper provided by the bakery she eased another on to his plate.

  “So, are we good with what's on the table?” Her smile seemed genuine and lacked all but a subtle trace of sexiness. Zack figured that this actually took a lot of control for her and probably meant relaxed and focused on her part.

  He nodded. “I think so. You haven't even touched the food yet.”

  Chuckling she said, “I meant, twenty-five thousand in gold, services for twenty-years, a single boon, and clothing provided for Hilda the Trolleinkein. Are we good with that? Or is there more you'd like to add?”

  He shook his head at her. “Sorry, you misunderstood me. The clothes for Hilda. That's all...”

  Her sex vibes spiked suddenly, washing over him in waves. Her stare bore into him, with an almost sharp sensation.

  “I don't think I understand.... nope, I don't understand at all. Are you saying, that you don't want the gold and services or that we need to add more maybe? We can't just give Hilda some clothes for this!” Her eyebrows pulled forward. A movement that distinctly had no Human analog. They actually bulged toward him just a little bit.

  “Why not? I suppose you guys could get some candles from the store if you need them on occasion, if you don't already. That seems fair.” He continued to eat. “Plus, I got a second cinnamon roll. Oh, and don't show up in my bed anymore. Unless you're invited. The same for the rest of you. That was freaky. Call or something, like a normal person. I was having nightmares, where I was being raped so... Don't just walk in unless, you know, it's an emergency or something. Okay?”

  It took an hour of negotiation, and she finally got him to accept five thousand gold and 'services' for five years, he didn't have to actually use these, he hop
ed. She also insisted that he keep the boon as well. Since he couldn't know when a favor might be helpful and it would be signed off on by the national committee, which would be, she assured him, a much bigger deal than if it just came from their office alone.

  He signed something, just a sheet she'd written out by hand, saying that he accepted these things as payment for services rendered. She signed too and left two blank spots. One for her boss and one for his “signatory” he didn't know who that would be.

  As she packed up she turned to him and gave him a kiss. It had no impact other than a normal touch of lips on his, just a soft caress.

  “That's for being such a kind soul, Mr. Hartley. The world has few people as good, I think.” She left the plates and candles. The knives and forks too. He figured that to be a comment on the state of his house and the way he and Troy had been living.

  Since he had some money left and figured he might have some visitors soon he decided to try and do some shopping. He walked to Krogers and bought several bags worth of food, about as much as he could carry in a single trip.

  Then he worked out how to get to the local fabric store, a Jo-Ann's, where he picked up eight yards of a shiny cream colored fabric that would look good as the back drop for the new window display at the store. He blanched a little at the cost, but paid for it out of pocket and kept the receipt for Lisa.

  The fabric store turned out to be right next to a craft store called Michaels. He found those dried stalk looking things he'd envisioned for the back drop and some fake flowers that would brighten the whole thing up without looking tacky. At least he hoped that turned out to be the case. He didn't know if he had very good taste as far as such things went.

  He rounded this out with three big, wooden vases. Their dark color would stand out without detracting, he thought. Zack also found some big stone pieces that were actually plastic, but claimed to be fire proof. If he could get incense going, the stone would be a good thing to have under that to prevent fires.