Mr. Hartley (Alternate Places Book 1)

by P. S. Power

  Kaitlyn looked at him in awe. The fact that she'd gone someplace much harder to find than Lesser Shia that very day didn't matter to her, he could tell. She wanted in too.

  He turned to her and worded his reply carefully.

  “Kaitlyn, tomorrow you and I are going to go somewhere else first. If you survive it and don't go insane, I'll gladly take you to Lesser Shia and even give you money for shopping, all right?”

  She laughed and cheered a little, until she remembered what they'd done earlier in the day. Burying a body. Looking at him, she sobered and nodded her head. Around Zack, death or insanity seemed like real possibilities.

  At a few minutes to midnight, they all left to go to the mall, except Troy, Betty, and Val's mom.

  The food court held more people than he had ever seen there, all sitting in little clumps of solidarity. The largest definable group turned out to be the Alfric, having about twice as many people as he'd thought they did.

  The Vampires had six in their group, though Zack had only met four of them before.

  The Mages had four, only two of them Mages though. Lisa sat next to someone he'd never met, a middle aged man, whose balding head shone slightly in the overhead lights. He wasn't introduced to Zack or Kaitlyn.

  The Demons fielded four people as well, Devon and Beatrice he knew, and another man he'd seen at a distance in the food court a few times.

  The Trolleinkein had eight. The Alede four.

  The rest had fewer people.

  In all, there were a lot fewer people here than there'd been at that meeting they'd held to establish rules for and about his work and social life.

  They didn't seem to have anyone in charge specifically. Ghurian stepped to the front and spoke first, possibly because he was the oldest thing in the room.

  “We've seen signs of subtle attack, harassment, and outright assault on many here at this facility. Being what I am, I know that many, many more things have happened and gone unreported. I think, if we were to pool our resources and information completely, we may begin to build a better picture of what faces us. If none object, I'll begin.”

  He waited to see if anyone would object, since no one did, he spoke of several low level pieces of harassment that had taken place in the last three months. Including one attempted assault on his second, Rikesh. The attacker had been dispatched, as the intent to kill had been clear, though without reason as far as anyone could tell.

  The Trolleinkein talked of similar things at their home, including a fire bomb that had been thrown at a window. It missed going inside, but only by a narrow margin.

  Group after group spoke, all detailing similar happenings.

  The biggest single attack took place at Lesser Shia, and that one had a demon sighted at it. Though most of the others didn't, that wouldn't clear the Demons totally, since working through others was their normal procedure.

  The Demons spoke next, claiming that no attacks had taken place on their store or personnel, and that they knew only that their higher ups had declared themselves innocent of these acts.

  “I know that we of the Dth'lte'in, Demons as you call us, do not always inspire trust due to the acts of a few of our kind. Like most groups, we can't answer for each member in all things. Even I cannot claim that no Demon had a hand in this. Indeed, it sounds very likely. All I can say is that we, as a group, are not behind this, nor do I, personally, know of any sub-group of my kind that is.”

  He bowed slightly and sat down.

  While Zack couldn't find the lie in his words this time, that didn't mean the Demon had spoken the truth to them. Demons honestly believed what they said, no matter what else the world told them was truth. He'd noticed in the past, several times. They didn't differentiate lies from truth, as far as Zack knew. Not when they spoke them at least.

  Just success from failure.

  As even Humans, with their short life spans and shorter attention spans, were starting to learn, that kind of philosophy leads most often to horrors rather than efficiency. The Demons, as a race, seemed to have trouble recognizing that, as far as Zack could tell. They'd do whatever it took to win in the end, admitting defeat only if it cost them far more than any potential payoff ever could.

  More stories came in. Finally, with all eyes on him, the man sitting next to Lisa stood up and began recounting what had been happening to the Mages and particularly, Lisa and Zack. He glanced at both of them when he mentioned their names, nodding acknowledgment. He pointed out that, while Mr. Hartley did not belong to their guild specifically, as an employee, they would not tolerate attacks upon him lightly.

  None of the head people, Ambassadors, local Chiefs, or Managers mentioned him by name except the bald man sitting with their little group.

  When they'd all spoken their piece, Ghurian requested everyone else speak up if they had more information, or even a theory or guess, that they wished to share. Though he didn't show it outwardly, Zack thought Ghurian seemed shocked when his own second, Rikesh, stood and began to speak first.

  “Many of the most recent events seems to center on Mr. Hartley, who is an unknown being amongst us. Are we to believe that his coming now is unrelated to such things? In my time I've found few true coincidences, once the surface of the veil has been lifted. I don't accuse, but only caution that we may have allowed a tiger into our midst unaware.”

  He continued in this vein for some time, becoming angrier and more accusing with each sentence. By the end he had started actually screaming that Zack stood at the heart of this and should be eliminated for the safety of all. He even found fault with Zack's apparent lack of response, for would not an innocent man confront a false accusation with anger, instead of sitting and listening passively? No! He cried loudly, a crackle of energy rising in the air around him.

  Ghurian looked at Yasmine, who merely rose and moved to stand – quietly – in front of the raging Djinn. She didn't raise any power or react when the larger being struck her.

  His hand – actually, Zack saw, a part of his power – lashed out at her. She didn't move or respond, seeming unaffected by this blow. She merely gazed at him passively, until he relented.

  Finally, after standing and locking eyes with her for nearly a minute, he sat down suddenly. It seemed like almost everything had taken place on a level that all could see, except some of the energy attacks, which only a few seemed to notice.

  A dozen people started to climb to their feet, including Libby, who looked livid and glared at the now sitting accuser like she wanted to rip his eyes out. Zack hoped she wouldn't try, as the Djinn's eyes weren't real anyway and he might use it as an excuse to harm her. He had a strange feeling that the only ones in the room that could possibly take Rikesh in a fight were the other Djinn.

  Ghurian stood and pointed to a medium sized Alfric woman, who Zack barely recognized as working at the Italian Place most of the time. He'd never heard her speak before.

  “I am Mae.” She spoke haltingly, shyly, the words coming out of her as if with the greatest reluctance.

  “I was sent here by my King, five years ago, to watch Mr. Hartley when he arrived. It's within my abilities to see into the hearts of all beings, and know them for what they are, no matter what masks they wear outside for all to see. I have watched this man closely,” she pointed at Zack, so that no one would have doubt as to who she meant. “He is what he seems. The darkness within him is less than most I have seen, and far less than any that have neared his age. I cannot vouchsafe that no other being has influence over him, as I cannot for any other in this place. I can say though, that in himself, he would not be and is not, responsible for these actions. They are outside of what he would do.”

  She sat, huddled behind an elderly looking man who put a hand out to comfort her, looking only a little at her while he did so.

  Another Alfric, Glen, from Fried Things, stood and confirmed that Mae's character and abilities were beyond reproach. If she said Mr. Hartley could not or would not do such a thing, then that should be
taken as pure fact, not opinion. He then sat again, having spoken earlier as the head of the Alfric stationed here.

  To his surprise, the next person to speak turned out to be Hilda.

  “It's normal and wise to be wary of new things. This is a rule of my own people.” She looked over at where Rikesh sat and tilted her head at him in a single, respectful, nod.

  “But the evidence does not speak of Zack as the perpetrator, but as a victim of someone with unclean intentions. Zack doesn't have to be here. He owes no allegiance or debt to any of our groups, yet he's helped many of us, often without charge, especially for the most dangerous and difficult tasks. He stands before us, helping even the weakest without counting the cost of it. Even as he's attacked and maligned. It's good to be wary and watchful, but please do not mistake the giant in your midst for a boulder, simply because he raises you on his shoulders without complaint.”

  This had the quality of a prepared speech, but still took the room by surprise. She'd spoken clearly, without pause, and with great dignity. Most people didn't expect that out of her kind. Zack noticed many of the Shadows of people expressing variations of this as she sat, gently sinking in to her chair.

  Riley, the Brer, rose and spoke next, his southern accent gone completely.

  “My people have abilities that focus on the balance of nature and the Universe. We're called tricksters, because we often have to use guile to get the rest of you to do the right thing, so as to not unbalance the scales of reality so far that the whole thing spills over. These attacks, and they are attacks, no matter how subtle they seem or even how harmless they feel in the moment, are unbalancing. They're meant to destabilize and though I don't know the source, it's clear that we must work together to set this thing right, or else we'll all suffer and so will a great many others.”

  The tenor changed after that. No one else bothered defending or attacking Zack, though he caught Rikesh focusing all of his attention on him more than once, waves of anger coming off him.

  In the end, they'd collected and pooled a lot of data and showed that, over all, they knew almost nothing.

  As the meeting broke up, around two, Devon came over to him.

  “I know you're not a supporter of my kind and even know to some extent why this is. Amongst my people, what that individual did to you – one innocent of wrong that cannot make bargains for themselves – is forbidden. I can't right those actions. I have however, been authorized to give you this, a piece of information, that may aid you in some small way.” He looked at Zack seriously and without his normal charm being employed.

  “The Demon you seek is named Cruxias, a name used for over two thousand years and one we don't believe he'll easily drop, not just to hide from a Human. The body he possesses now has been seen working out of the Mid-West central node. Use this information as you see fit.”

  He'd spoken the last bit softly, nearly in Zack's ear, using the din of moving chairs and speaking voices to cover it.

  Zack looked at the Demon and tilted his head in acknowledgment, not saying anything.

  “You're a strange man, Mr. Hartley. I hope that strategy works out for you.”

  The Demon, not taking his eyes off of Zack, slowly backed away.

  Chapter thirty-eight

  When they got home, everyone, except Claire, expected him to go straight to bed. Instead, he told them he really needed to eat again. Merri didn't ask questions, she simply went to the kitchen and started making food for them all. Hilda also needed to eat, she told him.

  He went over to the beautiful giant and hugged her, not letting go for about a half minute. When he did release her he told her how wonderful she'd been.

  “You spoke perfectly! I can't speak that well, especially not in public. I mean, I know you're intelligent and all, but that... And in a second language as well? Amazing, Hilda! Truly wonderful.”

  Hilda looked away shyly and tried to down play it, but the others wouldn't let her, chiming in with their own agreement.

  Libby called Rikesh a jerk and quite a bit worse, though Zack waved this away, not dismissing her anger, but the cause of it.

  “He thought he saw a pattern and acted on it. People, even Djinn make mistakes, right? We won't help the situation by blaming him for doing what he thought was right at the time. If we let ourselves dislike him for it, then we just spread hate around and cause it to grow.” He walked over to Libby and put his hand on her shoulder, petting it lightly as Patty had shown him how to do in order to calm a person grown overexcited.

  “Thank you for caring about me though. Don't imagine that I missed that part of your feelings.”

  The food tasted great, even better than normal and he ate a lot of it. A week ago, even the day before, his stomach would have distended painfully if he had tried to eat that much at once.

  Courtney came out of Troy's room, smiling. “I smelled food, any left?”

  Merri had a plate ready for her, and brought it on a tray, as she had the others. The trays were all arranged nicely, with cloth napkins and good silver. He hadn't known they owned any real silverware, at least not the kind made out of the actual metal. It was almost refined dining that way, lack of a proper table aside.

  When Zack asked for seconds, people became suspicious and asked what the hunger and wakefulness were all about.

  He let Claire explain, which she did, proudly. She covered what they had done and what it meant in Vampire culture, which basically meant they were together forever now, no matter what. Like marriage she explained to Merri, who ran over and hugged her.

  “Now it's all becoming a real family! We just need to situate the others and...” She ran off to get a pad and paper and started writing something down.

  Holding his hand, Claire explained that he probably wouldn't need to sleep anymore, though he'd need to eat more to make up for it, and the fact that she wouldn't have to drink blood most of the time now, using his energy to keep her own inner beast happy and well satisfied.

  It took about half an hour, but everyone started to realize that this would give them all more time with him, if they wanted it, and give him more time to do things other than work without fighting for every moment of time.

  “Wait, so you told him to drink your blood and he just did it? Without being grossed out or saying no? Cool, it would make my grandmother from Transylvania proud. She's a Vampire Bat, which means she tries to frighten people by eating disgusting blood puddings and things like that, not that she's any different than the rest of us.” Libby cuddled in next to him sleepily.

  It seemed interesting, but not foreign to him, that he didn't feel sleepy. After all, for a long time Zack hadn't slept at all, or breathed for that matter. In the void you don't need things like that.

  He got Libby to bed, staying with her for a few minutes.

  Then, quietly, one by one, they all came to spend time with him. Mostly just laying alongside and holding him.

  Val wanted more, since she still fought to get enough energy to add to what Kaitlyn needed, so he complied, feeling a little awkward, since Libby slept not two feet away. Val promised to be quiet.

  As she did interesting things to him, he wondered what would happen if he tried increasing his energy, using breathing techniques, while having sex. After all, he had to be losing energy if Val could harvest it, so it made sense to him to at least try and keep his energy up, since he couldn't do that while he slept now.

  Val's body went tight, stiffening as she sat on top of him. She closed her eyes, but didn't say anything or try to stop, so he continued, pushing himself to pull a little more energy from the universe as they went on. Finally she started shaking, which got stronger and didn't stop.

  She pushed herself off him and rolled to the side, gasping loudly for several minutes. She took his hand and walked out to the living room, naked. He managed to grab some shorts first, since Val's Mom sat talking to Claire in the corner of the sofa.

  “What was that?” Val asked, dreamily.

  He exp
lained what he tried to do and why. Val nodded, then asked him to have sex with her mother.

  “Um, excuse me?” He said, baffled.

  She explained what had happened as far as she could tell.

  “We were doing fine, then suddenly this huge rush of energy rose up and pretty soon I was full! Topped off, I couldn't take any more, that's when I started shaking like that. I wanted to see if I could ride it. I couldn't take the pleasure though. I. Couldn't. Take. It! Me!”

  Zack decided that he really didn't want to have sex with every Alede in a three state area each night. Sex was fun, but he realized he had to establish some limits or this would spiral out of control. Fast most likely.

  "Um... Would it be all right if I tried to pass her some energy like you all did with Kaitlyn earlier? I think I can do that and, not to be a jerk, but I just don't have time to entertain every Alede that can afford an airline ticket to get here." Nope, he realized instantly, he still sounded like a tool. "Its... That's not..."

  Smiling and looking a little embarrassed, but getting what he meant, Courtney stood up and moved over to where he was, pulling her shirt up enough that the bottom of her lacy bra showed.

  "I feel like I'm seven again, but sure. Let's do it?"

  Zack made himself remember what had been done earlier, both with Kate and in bed, and when he thought he had it, reached out and touched the smooth, but firm flesh. It was warm, but thankfully no vast wash of lust hit him. Just a sense of desire. For energy.

  After a moment, she started to moan, then shake like Val had done. After another couple minutes of this, the spasms becoming harder and harder and she pushed his hand away sharply, spending slightly more time trying to recover than Val had.

  “My God! I've only been this full once before and that, well, a lot of people where involved over the course of a full day. This is wonderful! Val, do you know what this means? As long as he's willing to do that once every day or two, you're free. You don't have to live like we do any more.”