by P. S. Power
Thanking him again, Zack walked into the Nexus point, relishing the relief of the blackness, the peace of it, his first really safe place. After a while, he stepped out, into the back of Candles and More.
It was dark and no one seemed to be there.
The clock said seven. It felt odd to him, since someone should be there keeping the doors open. He walked out into the mall itself, other places were open. So just their store, Embassy, remained closed. A young looking man ran the yogurt stand. It seemed to be the young Vampire from the other day, though he didn't feel totally certain of that. He walked in, to see if he knew anything, hoping the man would be willing to let him know what had happened while he'd been out.
“Mr. Hartley! You're alive! Good to see you. Man, we all thought you'd bought it. They found the guy that gave you the poison, Keane said he was one of the Chinese guys. They said you were given so much that it would have killed ten people straight off..... aaannnd you don't need to be talking to me. Here, let me call Claire. One mo, okay?”
He gave his name, Drake, and asked for Claire. The person on the other side of the phone must have been giving him problems, because he finally said loudly, “He's here! Mr. Hartley is standing right in front of me! He'd like to talk to Claire, So, please get her?”
He held his hand over the receiver and rolled his eyes.
“He's right here, here you go.” The phone came over the counter.
“Zack! We feared you dead! Master Yang called Dan last night and said it was touch and go. He didn't know if you'd live through a second dose of that root, but thought you wouldn't survive without it... Oh! We'll come get you. Don't move.” Claire spoke, her voice rapid and stressed.
Zack knew he could have gone home faster if he walked. As shaky as he felt, he could go through rifts, shortcuts or lines easily still. If damage had taken place, it didn't affect that part of him at all.
Having nothing else to do except wait, he talked to Drake, who while new to embassy duty had already been a Vampire for nearly fifty years. He spent a lot of his non-work hours playing video games online. He offered to make Zack something while he waited.
What he got seemed all right, but didn't come up to the normal standards for Frozen YoGurt. Zack didn't say anything, because it could be his perceptions that were damaged, not poor technique on Drake's part.
A group of people ran to the door. Vampires first by a long shot, just appearing there, it seemed to him. Merri next, which surprised him a little, her legs being shorter than everyone else. She sprinted nearly as fast as the younger Vampires did though. Hilda and Valerie ran in almost a dead heat. Lisa and Beth panted up as the crowd gathered, with another surprise. George Penbroke was following them, though he only jogged, still wearing a nice suit and loafers, which probably didn't allow him to run very fast, since the shoes wouldn't have provided very good traction.
Dan came in from the other direction. As did Rose and half the people from the food court. They all just collected at the door, as if waiting for something. He walked over slowly, trying to hide how tired and shaky he really felt and pulled the door open.
“Eh, yeah... Sorry about that, I had to take a little break. Apparently it's a rule that I can't just have a normal couple of days off or something?” Almost as if on cue, the crowd parted and let through about half of the people.
Hilda pushed her way to the front, but just looked at him, as if afraid her massive strength would crush him, so he hugged her instead. Claire and Merri shared a hug with him, alternating warm and cold. Val joined in, but given the crowd had to pull back quickly as worry caused her natural defense mechanisms to kick in, sending out ripples of pleasure and lust.
Lisa and Beth grabbed him in turn, Lisa crying.
Keane worked his way up and hugged him too. So did Nikki, who oddly enough had Troy in tow.
“Dude! What the hell? Who the heck tries to poison you? That's freaking insane! I'm so glad you're alive, man!” Clasping hands he performed a “bro-hug”, pulling him into a one armed hug, probably so no one would think he might be gay.
Troy turned to the crowd.
“Some jag-off tried to kill my friend. I'm not claiming I'm anyone special, not like most of you, but I'm not going to let that stand if I have a choice. We need to find this guy and bring him down.”
Claire, who'd moved back in and held him with one arm, while Merri clung to Zack on the other side, gestured to Keane and George with a single hand wave.
“Troy, you won't have to wait too long then. We already know who did it. His name is Tan-Kim, his people come from lands accessed only through the Nexus and two small portals in what's now called Mongolia. He apparently delivered the poison in a bottle of water. It's been tested by Wu-Li, he found the bottle, and the locals traced the scent of the man. He's been found and he confessed under a Mage's compulsion of truth. Now all that awaits him is his punishment.”
Giving the group a pensive look, Zack asked. “Did he mention why he did it? I mean, did I offend him somehow? Or strike him as evil, needing to be stopped?”
George Penbroke stepped up next to Claire and spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear, clearing his throat in a way that he knew would get the attention of those present. Stepping forward slightly, then pausing to make certain all attention focused on him before he spoke. Zack knew this because the man's inner self gave him a step by step explanation of what he did.
“He said only that he believed his family would be killed if he didn't do it. He firmly believed that this was the case at the time. This came out under full compulsion, so he couldn't hold anything back. He said six very powerful beings came to his home and took them all hostage. Then they tortured his son in front of him until he agreed to do what they wanted, which, according to him, involved only handing a good man a bottle of water when he needed it. He didn't even know about the poison, apparently, though he obviously suspected something.”
Keane took a turn.
“The only problem with this is that his family's been found, at home and perfectly fine. Tan-Kim just disappeared the other day and no one had seen him until he surfaced wandering the countryside near the quarantine zone last night. Some local Vampires who were using scent to search for him and brought him in.”
Not knowing what else to do, Zack thanked everyone, making a point of hugging anyone that seemed to want one before going home. Nessa patted him on the back when she got there, but Libby made up for it by hugging him twice and crying a little bit, though she tried to hide it.
No one could tell how shakily he moved out to the car, because he found himself surrounded by a wall of people. Hilda's giant inner self told him how afraid they all were that something else would happen and that he may have been permanently harmed by the poison, though no one wanted to tell him, except her. To her it seemed like he had a right to know, since he'd been the one attacked, the others disagreed with her though, wanting to protect him.
He redoubled his efforts to circulate his energy as instructed by Master Yang. If people were trying to kill him, he'd need to be in top form as soon as possible.
Chapter twenty-three
They made him eat before going to bed and woke him up to drink something every three or four hours. It tasted too sweet to his sleeping taste buds, though it made everyone else happy, so he did it, washing the taste away with water each time.
He dreamed of pain and discomfort, but it felt oddly detached to him. Still that didn't keep him from doing the energy exercises, even in his dreams. Several times he felt the bed move and someone climbing in next to him. He knew who it was each time, so he didn't bother waking up all the way. In the space between dreams he could work a bit, think and plan naturally. Like he did in the void.
When light started coming through the window, about eight or a little after, he started to climb out of bed and get ready for work. Hilda pointed out that he still had the day off and while he could get up, going to work would be out for the day – he'd promised Merri he'd take a day o
ff, after all. It was true, so he settled back, just lying there for a bit.
Merri brought him a tray with food on it and asked him to eat as much as possible, glaring at him a little, so he'd know she meant it seriously. She'd added some of those pastries, eggs, and fruit juice to the normal oatmeal. It seemed odd, because she normally didn't serve beverages with food. She told him that Master Dan had recommended they force liquids if they could, since he'd been almost fatally dehydrated. It would take a few days for him to be all right again.
“He also said...” The big woman sitting next to him on the bed started, only to have Merri look at him sharply and shake her head no at the large woman.
Hilda restarted and continued anyway, her head coming up and shoulders squaring, as if ready to fight over the issue.
“He also said that you may have some permanent damage. Wu-Li figured out that the poison was a very powerful nerve toxin. He doesn't know what may be affected, your muscles probably, and possibly your ability to feel things in your extremities. You may be weaker than normal for a while, and shaky. Tremors and shaking. He also said you need to eat, a lot, because you lost nearly fifteen pounds in a single day. Most of that's water, and will come back, but the rest, well... you have to eat.”
He took a bite of the rich pastry and then a sip of orange juice.
“Master Yang said something about that, the nerve damage. He thinks I may be able to heal it, or at least some of it, if I keep up the energy exercises I've been doing.”
Merri smiled, relieved, and kissed his cheek.
“So that's what that is? The ripples and spinning inside of you? They've been so much stronger since you came back...” Waving her hands she described the flow he attempted to hold pretty well.
Since she'd thought it to be due to the effects of poison a great cloud lifted from her suddenly. The idea of healing yourself, she told them, was a common one for her people. The method just took her a little by surprise.
After finishing the tray of food, with only a little help from Hilda, he got himself up and staggered toward the bathroom. The door opened and someone came in as he undressed to get in the shower. He figured it would be Hilda, since she hadn't gone to work yet, or possibly Merri – though given the size difference he didn't know if she'd have been much help, if he fell or something, but he felt all right, if a little tired still.
It turned out to be Betty. She explained that Hilda thought she'd be too big for the shower here and Merri had something baking that she didn't want to leave, lest it not come out perfectly.
She stripped and got in the shower with him, but then just stood back and let him do his own cleaning without interruption for a while. She did use a wash cloth on his back since, as her Shadow pointed out, no one can get their own back, not really.
He felt a bit amazed that she had managed to be so... professional during the whole thing and mentioned it to her. Not that he expected her to attack him or anything, but she stayed detached, even on the deeper level, which he found impressive.
“Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure Claire would be upset with me if I tried to seduce you. Vampires may not be very into sex on the whole, but they can get jealous like anyone else at times. It takes a while to get used to what they'll flip out about and what they'll just shrug at. It can be weird too. I mean, if you wanted to have sex with me, you could probably do it in front of Claire and she'd be fine with it, not even batting an eye type of thing. If I tried to get you to sleep with me though, that would be... different.”
She filled him in a little on Vampires in general while she helped him dress, being very careful not to give away much about Claire specifically. As her Human servant, she had to protect her from everything, even the others around them. Even her friends.
Vampires, she told him, weren't alive, but were actually Human beings with another entity inside of them giving them the semblance of life. In return they had to feed these beings blood in tribute. That's the way the old ones said it, at least. There also seemed to be a clear energy relationship, of course. The blood had to be Human and had to be fresh or it didn't work for them.
“The idea of the seductive Vampire is true enough, but people have parts of it wrong. Vampires don't want sex. Ever. They can perform and even do it well, but it's used to bind people to them, in trade for blood or to establish dominance. Almost a prison kind of thing, or like ancient Rome, you know. I can make you do this and you can't stop me, so I'm in charge? Luckily Claire doesn't play things that way. I mean, she suggested I have sex with Troy. It wasn't an order though, she just said it might prevent some problems. She almost sent me away after what happened, with me freaking out like that, but Val stepped in and smoothed things over somehow...”
As they stepped out of the room, Troy stood there waiting to use the bathroom. His Shadow self turned all the way around and asked what had been going on, causing Betty's response of, Nothing. It's not your concern.
Zack realized some tension still remained there. Wondering if he needed to do something about it, but didn't have an easy answer, so the issue got put on the back burner. Maybe Claire would know what to do about it, if anything needed to be done at all?
He'd put on some comfortable sweats that sat on the counter of the bathroom, with those funny shorts that stretched as underwear. They felt okay though, so he wore them.
He settled on the couch, at a loss as to what to do. Troy came out and looked at him then picked up the remote and said, “That's right, you haven't seen yet! What with everything and how busy you've been.” Pushing a button made the big screen television turn on.
“Ta-da! Cable! We even have the big package, so there are movies and music, pay per view, everything. If you want video games, the new console, top of the line, is over there. Just hit this button to switch to games.”
He showed him where the games were and how to switch back and forth.
Then he fired up a new game, one Zack had never seen, with very realistic graphics and a plot of sorts, that you followed as you played.
Merri brought a tray of pastries, cinnamon rolls with thick frosting, for Troy and himself to eat while they played. She looked at the screen in wonder.
“Where does the black mirror show? Or is it a window?” She walked up to it, blocking the screen. Troy protested, then hit pause. She stepped back in shock.
“Are you a wizard then, or Mage, to have frozen these beings in time?”
Zack explained the basic idea of computers, television and radio, since he figured she should know all of those things for what they were, being bound to run into them sooner or later here. Nodding as he spoke, her inner self told him that the idea seemed shaky to her. How could she see something that didn't exist, after all? Still the radiant part of her agreed that it looked interesting, even if she wasn't certain the 'black mirror' didn't show another place.
Troy saved the current game and fired up a new one, handing her the controls. They spent about an hour teaching her to work the controls and game. She seemed enraptured with the whole thing. Sniffing the air suddenly, she jumped up, leaving Troy to save her game as she rushed back to the kitchen.
More cinnamon rolls and some juice came out quickly, on trays for them. Red hair bobbed as she apologized profusely for not bringing fresh food, or something more savory, after the sweets earlier. Merri looked down at the floor, as if waiting for some kind of punishment for her lapse.
Troy looked at her in shock. Zack just turned and kissed her gently on the cheek and told her that she really didn't have to provide a dozen fresh and new meals for him a day, even if he had to eat more right now. Sandwiches and stuff would be fine, he assured her. For that matter he could get his own, though that meant pretty simple foods as he couldn't really cook. He could just open a can of something or make peanut butter and jelly.
The small woman wouldn't hear of that though and actually seemed scandalized, as if he'd suggested they make extra money by selling the other women on the street or in particularly seedy back a
lleys.
Hilda, he found, had taken off for work, driving away in her big truck while he'd showered with Betty. Which he understood, but would have liked better if she could have stayed.
Betty had disappeared, apparently to catch some sleep. Troy went to bed himself, explaining that he had to help set up the new bar arrangement at the club later that night. He threw off a peace hand sign, fingers spread, as he walked into his room, not looking back, though his Shadow told Zack that this should seem cool, as if he didn't care about the world, even though he did.
He played games for a while and started to feel a little lonely, even though Merri worked in the next room, having taken time off of work to stay with him.
The doorbell rang at about noon.
When Merri opened the door, Libby the bat-girl stood there holding magazines, and a box of chocolates.
“All right, I didn't know what to bring you, so food and reading material. I 'd have brought porn, but you know, I figured you'd be out in the living room most of the time. That could get awkward...” The smile she gave him showed how funny that sounded in her own mind.
To him it just made sense.
Merri let her in and had her sit on the sofa while going to grab some refreshments.
Not trying to be subtle, Libby sat next to Zack. So close that her leg brushed up against his and immediately put her arms around him squeezing him gently as if afraid of breaking him.
“Everyone was so worried about you! Nessa actually cried when we all thought you'd die. Anyway, I came to keep you company, if you want. Oooh, video games, can I play?”
Merri came in with what looked like small pot pies filled with a vegetable stew. As with everything she made, they were excellent. She looked at how Libby pressed against his side and kept finding excuses to touch him, even while the other woman watched.
“That one likes you...”
Libby looked up at her, a little guiltily.
“Are you thinking of applying to be a concubine then, or another wife? You'd have to be vetted by the others of course, and it would be best if things were to settle a little before you applied, but you seem an affable sort.” Saying that with a friendly voice, the small woman turned and left for the kitchen again.
