Dragon's Eye (Avery Rome Book 2)

by P. S. Power

It really didn’t seem to be the Vampire way at all, so she was reassured, when Bey was the one speaking first.

  “Luther Mandragon has met the final death? Attacking Miss Rome, who is a friend of this Council… Didn’t we see something about that earlier in the week?” That was spoken loudly enough that Avery could hear it from about ten feet away. Probably just for her benefit, since all the Vampires would have hearing that allowed for them to pick up whispers at those ranges.

  Another voice spoke then. It was strange and a bit sing-song. Female. A picture came to her, in her mind. It was of a woman who was nearly bald, had a very large nose and long, clawed fingers. Those were tipped in black, so they seemed like talons. They’d met before, but the name just didn’t come to mind.

  “Indeed, Bey. The man was spared after attacking a Human that belongs to The Line Walker. I believe that… Yes, we were to be cut off from such services, if he did not apologize. I take it that did not go well, then? Or is his passing considered enough?”

  Edom went a bit wide eyed, and turned to look at her, as if that were the real matter at hand.

  So she spoke.

  “Things must have been garbled as the message was passed. I told him that I, personally, would not work for his people if he attacked anyone at the store, or if he went after the Human man, Richard, again. It was never about all the line walkers. Then, when I found out that he was a Vampire, which I missed at first, I told Eve that as long as you were working to help fix things, we wouldn’t have to do even that. I’d kind of figured him as being one of the masters of his kind, from how he was acting. I meant no insult in killing him, if he were a friend of anyone there. He came for me though, so… He had to die then.” Avery had to lock down the quiver in her voice, but managed it, more or less.

  There was a sudden explosion then, a single clap, she thought. A very powerful one that had a dry tone to it.

  “Ah! Well then, this is handled properly. That is, if you’re satisfied, Miss Rome?” The voice was male, but she didn't get it at first. She thought it was Harland, the Manthori, but couldn’t prove that. “Do we owe you a payment for the difficulty? We could have managed him better, after all.”

  She shook her head then.

  “It wasn’t really any sort of problem. I did get my new clothes all bloody, but that was my fault. He was still alive when I took his head off, so blood splashed around. I can’t blame you for my poor skills that way, that wouldn’t be fair. I think that we’re good, between us? I don’t know what Luther’s people will say about it. Hopefully we won’t have a huge battle… If we must, can you ask them to meet me someplace where it won’t affect business or get innocent people killed when they die?”

  It wasn’t until after she spoke the words that she understood how that would sound. It was true, if they were the new kind of Vampire however. At least if Luther had been an example. Coming at her with a small blade had been foolish of him. A Human would have had a better chance, since they would have brought a gang of people and guns.

  Not that it would have worked that way either.

  Harland actually chuckled at the words though, with Bey chiming in a moment later.

  It was her acquaintance, Bey Transmorguire, who spoke, his voice pleasant and slightly high pitched to her ear.

  “Very well, Miss Rome. Avery, if that is not taking liberties with your title?”

  Edom smiled then, and winked at her, as if that were a good sign.

  “Yes, please call me Avery. All of you?”

  That got a collective sigh. Or a hiss. Edom was still calm however, so hopefully it wasn’t too familiar.

  A different voice went then, sounding young and piping. Male for all that.

  “Ah, well, if we’re still friends, I don’t suppose that you have the evening free? Several of us were invited to attend parties in different locations. We should make a showing, so as to not be thought too weak or rude, but some business came up in the last hours, so we’re all here for the time being. Our Council House.”

  Ed looked away then, and there was a slightly upset sound from the telephone. This one was female, though followed by Bey, fairly clearly.

  She just shrugged.

  “I have a party to be at myself, at seven, pacific time. Tyler Gartner and his family.” She didn't know what else to call them, but that seemed to be understood well enough.

  The younger voice went again then.

  “That’s one of the two prime locations. He’s the head of the Coalition of Nations, so at least one of us should be in attendance. The other is the grand fete of Finias The Mind Taker. A Greater Demon. I would understand if you wished to avoid that kind of attention.” That was all that was spoken on the matter, with not even a movement or a rustle heard then for a few moments.

  “Hmmm. Well… I had been planning to go to another reality to get some wine or other alcohol for Tyler’s party, as a gift. I don’t suppose I could trade the trip there and back home again for something like that, can I? For, let’s say, three of my friends from your Council? Something like that for The Mind Taker’s party as well. I don’t want to cause issues there, after all. Something nice though? I don’t know about that kind of thing, wines and spirits, so whatever you think is fitting to be coming from someone like me.”

  No one spoke for a while, but it was Bey who went first.

  “Your friends from the Vampire Council? Who might those be?”

  Edom was actually fighting not to smile then, and rather unhelpfully turned away.

  She was speechless for a moment.

  “Why, all of you? Unless you’re secretly plotting against me. In which case you should refuse to go, making sure I know all about it?” She didn’t think that would work, but there was clapping then.

  Harland sounded serious when he spoke.

  “We need to discuss that portion then, to see who will be allowed to attend. Any not going might be thought suspect. Is there a way for us to get around that, do you think? Perhaps a gift, or a letter with kind words, so you don’t assume us villains, if we are not? As far as I know, all here at the Council actually think highly of you and your efforts, Miss Rome.”

  “A letter would be fine for that. Also, if we need to take more, we can. Um, I don’t know how to handle the extra payment for that, if it’s needed. Can we… Marissa, are you there?” She was their Auditor, after all. She’d be up on things like how much line travel should cost.

  Her voice was a bit chill, at first.

  “Yes, Dear. What would you have of me?”

  “Um, could you handle that part for me? We don’t want to charge too much for this, being a holiday and for friends. If I don’t ever charge anything, Zack will be upset with me though.”

  That got a sudden inhalation.

  “I can do that! Very well. Thank you, Miss Rome. Would it be allowed for us to be picked up here in fifteen minutes for the first party? That of The Mind Stealer. He’s many hours ahead of us. On the nice part, his party will probably be several days long. Then at… Call it six-thirty for the one in Sparks?”

  “I can do that. A few minutes for me to change first, possibly. I still have blood all over me. I don’t want to look that sloppy. See you then. I should hurry…” She didn’t know how to get off the phone given the situation, but Edom waved her away.

  “Good thinking. Go and do that, while I finish this up here?”

  She ran, though it wasn’t strictly needed. Showering and changing into newly cleaned clothing, fresh from the wash not more than a few hours before, then applying a bit of lip gloss before heading to the node. That part, once she was inside the system, took barely any time at all.

  There was a shortcut in the back yard, which was only two small bits of walking from the mall, so the whole thing only took her a few minutes. It was a bit of a gray and miserable day, weather wise, but other than the rain sprinkling down, there was no problem. She used the node at Yoghurt World, since that was familiar and not the bookstore, where she might be roped into wor
king all night again, if she weren’t careful.

  Behind the counter, Eve was standing, since it was early in the day. The pretty Vampire was in an older t-shirt which looked worn, as well as faded blue jeans. That got Avery to grin.

  “Right! I put your washed and clean clothing in your bedroom. I need to go and take some friends of mine to a party now. Part of the Vampire Council. Then…”

  Eve didn’t even act shocked at the clearly false claim that she had friends, other than the ones that she knew about. In fact, she just nodded and moved to tap a piece of paper.

  “Kaitlyn Swanson requests you meet her in two hours at Pretty Plus. There’s a whole thing, and you need to be ready to do last minute sewing for a few people. Where are your friends from school meeting you?”

  Avery pointed down at her feet.

  “Here. They all know where it is, plus, I think Mark wants to ask you on a date. He’s young for you, but hard working and a good student. A woman could do worse, when looking for a husband.” She didn’t crack a smile at all, but Eve did, after a few moments.

  “Ha! You nearly got me there. I take it he just wants to hit this fine bit of undead flesh? Well, it isn’t like my dating life has been all that wonderful lately. He might just get lucky, if he actually bothers to ask. Anyway, I get the evening off for the party with you and the gang. Troy is stuck here, since he wants to avoid Finias… Bey opted out of that party for him.” She looked away, then shook her head. “Troy used to be his slave. He didn’t really know about it, but it was a real thing, for years. The Mind Taker isn’t a tool or anything, so when there was a shot for Troy to become a Vampire and be free, he let it happen.”

  Avery collected that bit of information up, then nodded, looking away.

  “Right. I have a lot to learn, don’t I?”

  “Yep! On the great side, it won’t be all that hard. Just take it one hour at a time. So, meet me here at just before seven?”

  “I will. Thanks, Eve. I might even get through all of this. You can coach me on how to do the Halloween rituals, right? I don’t know the words, or the invocations used.”

  That got her smiled at.

  “This will be incredibly easy that way. All you have to do is eat, talk to people and try not to get so wasted on drugs or alcohol that you have to pay for anything to be replaced. If you have to change, do it outside.”

  That was just common sense, really. Even in giant locations, like the school gym, turning into her full Dragon form would ruin it. That reminded her that she was going to have to do that soon. Change. It wasn’t a problem yet, but if she held off too long, then things inside of her would start to ache, until she did it. Eventually she’d be forced to, which meant finding a good spot for that kind of thing. Someplace out of the way, where no one would be left in fear of her.

  There were three Vampires standing in the all stone room when she got there. It was a thing of giant gray stone blocks, which was dry inside, but cool. Avery wasn’t harmed much by either heat or cold, so it didn’t bother her. She smiled at the beings there, recognizing them all. The bald lady bowed toward her, which got her to do it back.

  “Hello, Miss Rome. Thank you ever so much for coming at such scant notice. It wasn’t a bother, I hope?” It was hard to tell if she was actually concerned about that or not. Her face was very distracted seeming and her words tasted dusty and dry in the air. Not like a lie, which would be sour or bitter. Just as if she were going through the motions of life, without a lot of care about how things turned out.

  “Not at all.”

  Avery bowed to Harland, who was chalk white, had silver, white and cream colored hair and solid blood red eyes. Next to him was the small boy Vampire, Gene. He got a bow as well, since being rude wasn’t a great way to start things out. On the floor, next to them, was a very large crate, which the well dressed boy, who was in a fine blue suit, gestured to.

  “The finest of wines, as you requested. We’ll be certain to explain it’s from all of us.” He held his face still, as if it weren’t a joke, but Harland ruined it for him.

  Explaining it to her.

  “If you don’t attend, but send a very fine gift, it could be taken as an insult. If it’s also from the Vampire Council, then it will be seen as a kindly nod from you, without seeming to be upset about not being invited. An oversight, I’m certain.”

  Avery could see that part, once she knew it was possible at all.

  “Oh? Thank you then. I’m not upset in the slightest. I can’t see any reason for The Mind Taker to invite me in the first place, after all, so it isn’t an insult to be left out. I was shocked when Tyler and his friends asked me to theirs, to be honest. Who am I, after all?”

  Gene looked up at her cutely and offered his hand.

  “Indeed. Who are you? A Queen Dragon, line walker, first of her kind to walk amongst the children of man openly? Why, who would bother with such a being at all?”

  There was sarcasm in the words, but Harland and the bald woman both nodded, as if simply agreeing with the other Vampire.

  She just took the location from Gene, since he’d been to the mansion before, and followed the line halfway across the world. They waited for them all to be there, with her holding the large crate for them, before ringing the bell at the door. A very tiny woman answered it, wearing a shimmering dress that nearly glowed in a thousand colors. At least to her. Everyone else there probably thought of it as a shiny blue-green.

  They all looked down at the woman, who smiled up at them with sparkling eyes. Those were a normal enough green color, offsetting her pale skin.

  “Welcome, all of you! Please come in. There’s a place to the side for gifts… Your servant can settle that for us?” The tiny lady looked at her, which became odd after a moment, then slightly scared.

  There was an odd set of reactions, from the others, as well. Avery understood it being about her being referred to as a servant. The biggest issue was that she actually was there in that capacity, at the moment. She was their transportation, as well as the one dressed to lift and carry wooden crates. Her sweater wasn’t horrible, but the people inside were dressed for a very grand thing, while she was ready for Human school.

  “Over to the left?” That wasn’t, as it turned out, conveniently just inside the door, but was all the way across the very large interior space, instead. More than a few people watched her pass, their eyes judging her. She figured it was that, at least.

  Interestingly, one of them, a very pretty Greater Demon, who was dressed in a fine white robe, had blonde hair and a perfectly heart shaped face, waved at her.

  “Avery! Over here!” The Demon who was drinking the world in around her, grabbed another one by the arm, gently leading the lady over toward her as she walked to the table the gifts went on. The other one was dark haired, clearly sucking in energy from the world around her and also not The Rotted. It hadn’t really occurred to her before, but the girl Demon always tasted of death at the fringes. It was a subtle thing, but always there. Tyler did as well, only more so.

  The pretty blonde woman however, was familiar. As she got to the table, a small man who was about five feet tall, wearing a silver suit that felt as if it were made of the actual metal, turned into a very fine thread, gestured for her to set the box down.

  “Ma’am, or sir… This is from?”

  She nearly just said that it was from the Vampire Council, and left it at that. She felt watched and out of place suddenly, after walking across the whole room. Worse, she wasn’t an invited guest, which was probably going to cause problems if she didn’t leave soon.

  Rather than get to do that, Harland spoke from behind her.

  “This is a gift from the line walker, Avery Rome and the Council of Vampires. Please tell The Mind Taker that we hope he drinks it in the best of health.” There was no slurring to his words, which had to take talent and skill. Inside his mouth he had at least a hundred sharp seeming fang teeth.

  The two Greater Demon ladies got there about then,
the one in front, who was a bit larger than the other, though it was close, smiling at her.

  “Decided to crash the party? That’s a bold play. This is my sister, Keeley.” She didn’t add anything else, but didn’t really need to. Avery had already worked out who she was, by elimination. Zack was across the room, talking to an incredibly lovely Greater Demon, so it wasn’t him. It wasn’t Ann, since she tasted different. Besides, Allison actually felt the same, regardless of the shape she was in.

  “Oh? The Mistress of Souls? Nice to meet you, ma’am.” Avery bowed, since the servants had been doing that so far. Interestingly, the new Greater Demon did that back.

  “I’ve heard good things about you, Avery. May I call you that?” She reached out to touch her wrist, but missed the flesh there, just getting sleeve.

  That got a slightly strained sense from the woman, who looked to be about twenty or so, for a moment. Avery just pulled her sleeve up, since it was clearly important to the Demon. Like always, a sense of buzzing passed over her skin, then flowed back into the soft, fairly pale, fingers. She could see it this time, since the woman was trying to do something to her. More than the others ever had.

  Then, giving her a hard look, a wave of buzzing struck at her, washing off again. Then it happened a third time, pushing The Mistress of Souls back several steps. Staggering as a wash of silver and red flashed between them.

  Allison, turned then and shook her head.

  “Keeley… Trying to take one of my friends as a slave without asking might be a problem. Worse, she lives in Zack’s territory and works as a line walker at his shop.”

  What that was supposed to mean, she didn’t get, but the brunette explained then, her hand coming out again, to shake this time. Avery took it, not knowing what to expect. What she got was just a firm grip and a few pumping motions.

  “I just tried to take you as a slave. I also failed. So far very few beings have resisted that. None at the level that I just tried for. No one. Which means that you won’t be bossed around all that easily that way! Well, that’s fine. I hear we have friends in common? Rebekah the Manthori and Steve York?”