by P. S. Power
It was getting bloody by the time Avery realized that it was her job to intercede. It honestly hadn’t seemed like that at first, because the Alede behind the counter just froze, not knowing what to do either. That neatly caused a wave of discomfort to run through her, as she picked up the heavier fellow with both hands and tossed him out into the hallway. A little less than gently, though he merely rolled with it and stood up.
Then, naturally, he bellowed loudly.
“You dare lay hands on Luther?” The words had a baffled ring to them, as if he was really asking a question, even as he tried to charge back in. Avery simply waited, since she knew how to fight. Almost every single day for three years she’d had intensive combat lessons after all. The first rule there was that she was supposed to use weapons before all else. Engaging hand to hand was a last resort. To that end, she grabbed at one of the book displays, got herself halfway behind it and threw it at the man as he charged in. Burying him in loose books and metal. All of it hitting so hard that he didn’t get back up again.
He moaned however, to prove he was still alive.
Then she moved a bit closer.
“Luther, is it? We don’t allow that kind of attack here. You’ll need to leave now. If you wish to come back later, I have to ask that you be on better behavior for this land and country. That means you don’t attack anyone, even if you perceive an insult. What you need to do is…” She really didn’t know, to be honest. Rules in different areas could be very different at times and he’d probably thought that he was just doing the right thing in the first place, attacking the other fellow. “What you do is come and talk to me, or whoever is running the transfers at the moment, then listen to our advice. We will not have violence here again like this from you. Is that understood?”
The big problem, Avery thought, was that Luther wasn’t really going to listen to her. He tried to stand up, his skin unbroken, but his bones bent in several places already.
His voice was ragged.
“I understand. Bitch. I… mistook the laws here. I shall go and seek to remove this stain from my spirit, returning only after I find such peace.”
It sounded fine, except the name calling, but he glared at the older man on the floor, as if he’d been in the wrong still. It changed the meaning of the whole thing by enough that Avery sighed and had to shake her head.
That idea flavored the otherwise well met words.
“No. The way around this is to merely accept that there is no need for violence. Not to take it out on someone else. If I hear about you harming this man, or anyone else in this land, without being attacked first or defending the life of another, then I won’t be able to help you, or your people, with line travel ever again.”
That was a bold thing to say, since Avery wasn’t actually certain she could tell who this man’s people might be at a glance. The odds were that a lot of them would be just like anyone else that might come in. The words did seem to get his attention however. Not that she figured it was going to help much.
His words tasted bitter.
“Fine. I shall… Moderate my own customs to those of this place, for now. Know this, creature, if I find you in my own place or under my own control, I shall not treat with you as easily.”
She nodded then.
“I’m Avery Rome. Dragon Shifter and line walker. I mean no insult, but if you must take it, please be certain that you address things to the correct person.” After all, she was fairly certain that in an all-out fight, this man wouldn’t last that long against her. He was strong, but only like a well-trained regular Human might be. Phillip, her friend from class, was already nearly as powerful, for instance.
The elderly fellow was already back on his feet and while his face was bloody, he seemed prepared to take the fight back to Luther already.
A thing that, angry or not, the heavier fellow seemed to understand.
At least he limped away, not muttering anything under his breath.
That meant Avery had to look at the mess and then sigh. After all, it had been her that had created it, so sticking anyone else with the repair and clean-up didn’t really sound reasonable. Interestingly, Felicia waved at it.
“Can you get one of the replacement racks from the back? We always keep a few extra on hand, for things like this. That…” She smiled, though it seemed tense and a little unhappy. Her pretty face wasn’t turned toward pleasant anyway. “Well, if Zack had been here we’d be taking a body away, most likely. I’ll get the first aid kit for Richard here. I’m so sorry that happened.” Her focus turned toward the older man, who, it was clear, was a friend of hers. Given that most of the Alede spent about half their time having relations with people that came in instead of tending the book store, that didn’t seem too farfetched. It was, it seemed, an easy way to make friends with people.
Fixing the mess she’d made took longer than making it had by far, but the traffic on the line was light for several hours, picking up suddenly at about six. A lot of that was taking very pretty snake like beings to their holy land. They didn’t walk, but carried no luggage and floated in the air, instead of slithering on the ground. They didn’t speak to her, but allowed her to touch them without fear. There was only excitement that they could make their mission happen within their lifetimes.
Then, at seven, they stopped coming to the stone ringed outdoor node they’d gathered at, allowing her to get back to the book store. Thankfully no one else had decided that it was a fighting arena, instead of a place to read and learn in an entertaining fashion. At least no more books needed to be cleaned up.
Steve York came through the open front area then, waving.
“I was thinking we could abuse the café here? The food is good and free. Not that we can’t afford to go out, but I only get half an hour for lunch. I mean, I could take longer, but if I do Gemma will probably wander off and leave the embassy unlocked and untended. That girl…” There was a hint of a frustrated growl under his breath.
It took Avery a few seconds to place the name to a face in her mind, but when it came the image of the pale blonde hit her. The woman was attractive, in a real way. Like a woman would be, untouched by magic or too great a pretense toward artificial face painting. Avery figured that she might be in that range herself, as far as such things went. Her look was different, being darker and with curly black hair, but many would find that Gemma was her equal that way.
The idea surprised her for a moment, since she normally figured herself as very plain. Her skin was flawless though, like most Shifters, and she wasn’t disfigured or lumpy in the wrong places. That had to count for something.
So Avery smiled at the Human man, pretending that he wasn’t truly annoyed with his coworker.
“Gemma… She’s the Mage that wishes to date you?” Avery turned, waving, to draw the red haired man toward the back of the shop, where Carla the Hsreth was busily working still. Her relief, Palma, also of the same race, wouldn’t be in for about two hours, she thought. Their schedule wasn’t in the back room like the others were.
Steve blinked as they moved to the back.
“Date me? Not that I’ve ever heard. I’m always shocked that I don’t wake up cursed after a shift with her. I swear… Mages can be pretty lazy. Worse, I had to leave her with the new kid. Vincent. He at least is pretending to work hard while the boss is around. Most of them… They get a bit hard to deal with when they find out that I’m just a regular Human.” He sounded a little miserable then, but didn’t mope about it really.
Avery walked to the counter, waving a bit at Carla, who smiled professionally at her, then beamed at Steve as if he’d come to visit her personally.
“Mr. York! So nice to see you here. What can I get for you today?”
“I’d love one of your beef wellington set-ups? This is an eating day for me. I only get two in a row this week, then have to press to five without food after that. Vampire training, you know.”
Apparently that was a thing that Carla was aware of, since
she whipped away, not even asking Avery if she wanted anything. She was hungry, nearly starving, but didn’t complain. After all, she’d eaten that day already. Several times. Waiting for a while wouldn’t harm her really.
Avery waved for the man to sit with her at one of the glass topped tables. Then she nodded, going back to their conversation from a few moments before.
“Gemma is kind of… In to you? I think that’s how Eve would put it. Not looking for marriage, but she seems to want to date you. That’s how I took what she said to me. She’d been pleased that I wasn’t dating you, the one time we met. Most people don’t ask things like that first thing, so it was different. Telling.”
Instead of running off to seal the conquest with the woman, he just snorted.
“Well! That’s pretty new to me. I honestly figured that she kind of hated me. Are you certain on all that?” There was a bit of a sly look then, as Carla bustled out, holding three trays filled with food. Two of them, which were heaped full, were placed in front of Avery.
She smiled then, and gave the curly haired, slightly round shaped, lady a grateful expression.
“Thanks. I’d thought I’d been forgotten for a bit there.”
The other woman patted her on the shoulder, a bit like her mother used to when she was a child.
“Never dear, don’t you worry on that score. I just had things waiting for you, knowing you’d need to eat soon. I hope you like it all? I can make something else.”
Glancing down at the array of things, she grinned. It was all a lot fancier than she would have asked for, to be honest. Some sandwiches would have sufficed, but she didn’t say that out loud, in case it might be insulting.
“This is incredible. I wouldn’t have thought to ask for anything this fancy for myself, but seeing it… Amazing.” She meant it, even if she felt like her words weren’t really expressing what she wanted to that well at the moment.
That part of her was a bit of a pain, most days. Worse, she kind of knew why it was happening. At first she thought that it was a Dragon thing, but the others she’d met had been pretty normal that way. They moved into and around the Human lands easily, conversing smoothly in most cases. Seeming nearly cool, as she’d heard the term used.
No, her difficulty was in how she’d been raised. Near the lands she lived in presently, even inside of them, but kept away from regular conversation. In short, she had all the interaction problems of The Gray still, even if she was starting to work past their reasons for them. They were stilted and uncomfortable with all outsiders, especially the unclean.
That made them seem slow to some, but it was really about how they were being snooty and horrible to most of the world, thinking themselves better than everyone around them. Now here she was, stuck, speaking in the fashion she grew up with as a child, mixed with the military style of battle camp. It had been all she’d known, which meant that was how she sounded now. A bit slow, awkward and using the wrong phrases for things all the time.
A part of her got that, for instance, her new Human lessons were classes, and not assigned duty stations. It was just hard to use the new words all the time. Steve however, managed everything a lot more smoothly than that. In fact, as he ate, slowly and with control, even if he must be near starving, he sighed. It was a bit of a contrived thing, but not one that was uncomfortable seeming.
“Lisa told me that you brought in the new guy? That’s different. Especially since he might even work out. As long as he doesn’t pick up too many bad habits from the others. I’m… The truth is, I’m not going to be on at the candle shop much longer. Eve and Ginger figure that I’m about ready to, you know, make the plunge and become a Vampire. I even have an offer to Sire me. From Lenore Hawthorne? Um, she’s the regional director for this area, the Western States. Also Zack’s girlfriend. Have you met her?” The words were polite seeming, but held a flavor of doubt to them, as if she might not have.
Avery smiled then.
“Yes. She was very kind seeming. I was able to help her with a small task, even. She got me free food. I’d guess we’re on good terms?” She winced then and shook her head. “I sound like an idiot half the time. It’s my upbringing, I think. You know, rather than me actually being slow? I’m going to maintain that I’m at least average, right until the Humans kick me out of their school for failure to learn fast enough.”
That got a low chuckle, which was buried in a bite of food.
“This is really good. Anyway, you can do that part of things. I did, so you can. Just do all the assignments and study the subject instead of floating through and it won’t be hard… Man, I sound old now, don’t I? I probably only did as well as all that in school because I was the slave of a Greater Demon at the time. I had orders to succeed. Not now, by the way. Tyler got me free.”
That was news to Avery. Both that a person could be freed from that state and that Steven York had once been a slave. Without speaking, she locked eyes with him and ate for a while, hoping that he’d go on, without her having to be rude and ask about it. After about ten seconds of that, he smiled and ducked his head.
“Um, you’re kind of indicating that you want to have sex with me. The prolonged eye contact there? You might want to pull back a little bit, if that isn’t the case. Given that you’re too young for me, we should probably avoid that one for the time being.”
Avery blinked, then made herself smile.
“Ah. I didn’t get that one. I’m not really too young for you, to be honest. One of us is really old, and that isn’t you. Still, that wasn’t my point. I thought I was just indicating that I wanted you to go on. Sorry. I hope that wasn’t offensive?” Her words were a bit meek then, but Steve didn’t punish her for it. Not even scolding her with words for being wonton.
“Right. So, I was a slave for years. To the Mistress of Souls. I kind of knew it, eventually. I mean, I’d gone from a normal kid with a crush on a few of my sister’s hot friends, and they are all hot, to suddenly taking up guitar and practicing every day for hours on end. I studied as well. Hard. I even took up daily running, and played sports in high school, which trust me, I’d had no interest in before. Keeley, I thought that I was in love with her, for a long time. Finally, once the whole Vampires being real thing came out, I got it. After learning what a Greater Demon was, I mean.” He ate for a bit, so they sat in silence, until he was ready to continue. “Then Tyler got me free. Without killing me. It’s one of his powers to do that. Even the Demons don’t mess with him now. Keeley… She isn’t evil, really, or, well, I mean, she is, but not for one of her people. Kind of like Zack? Or Darla. They’re sort of the goody-goods of the Greater Demon world, by the way. Milage may vary and past performance is not indicative of future gains. You get the idea?”
She did, since all of them had mentioned it to her. Everyone had so far.
“Don’t trust them. Even the ones that you like.”
There was a nod, as the fork was set down, half the food left on his plate.
“Exactly. It’s probably something to keep in mind with everyone, for the time being. Maybe forever. I was taken as a slave, not even knowing it was possible, at twelve years old. Keeley only did things that she thought were in my best interest, but what would have I been otherwise? I mean, I love music, but I wouldn’t have taken up an instrument at all if she hadn’t ordered me to. I run every day now, but would I have gotten in that habit otherwise? Even now, years after getting free, my life is still shaped by her. It’s a powerful thing. Hard to break free of.” Steve looked away then, his face a bit sad for some reason.
Avery sighed.
“I understand, a little. I wasn’t a slave as a child, just too young to know better. Even after learning about the evils of my people, everything I do is shaped by them, in some fashion. I hate it, but it’s so hard to let go of. Mainly because I don’t know how to do anything else. Worse, not all of it is bad. Like you and running or playing music. Those are good skills to have and hold on to. With me it’s things like cooking and
sewing. I know how to do other things, like fight and walk the lines, but… I constantly feel like I should be married and working to make my husband pleased with me.”
Instead of laughing at her, the man pushed his long red ponytail back and nodded.
“See, we have things in common even! Anyway, I’m planning on changing part of that, by becoming a Vampire in a week. It means dying, and new rules, but I can do that. It’s my choice, not Keeley’s. I think. After that I might not be around for a while. It depends how disciplined I really am. Eve keeps telling me that I can do better than she did. I don’t know about that. No one else has come all that close, even with the full training. She’s sort of special that way. All I can do is try.”
She nodded then, and smiled.
“You’ll do it. No matter how hard it is to change. No matter how long it takes. We both will. Now… I need to get back to work soon, so I should stuff food in my face, in a very unladylike fashion. What do you need, to become a Vampire? Is there anything I can do for you that will help?” She couldn’t think of even one thing, but oddly, Steve smiled at her.
“Possibly? I get off work at nine tonight. Zack normally takes me home from here, but he’s out of town… Which you know. I can’t pay you for the transfer though. This is my last real night here.” He seemed a bit sad about that for some reason.
Avery thought for a bit, mulling over everything she knew about Vampires. Then she nodded at him.
“I’ll be here all night. You should… See if Gemma wants to have sex with you? Eve mentioned that Vampires can have their sex drive returned, but this is the last chance she’ll have with you as a Human. You should at least make the offer. Even if you don’t like her that much.” There would be no other real chance that way, Avery didn’t believe.
