by P. S. Power
The words probably should have had a lot more questions asked, but the Vampire, or more accurately, the Greater Vampire, simply shook her head a bit.
“That’s incredible. As far as I knew he only gives that to other Greater Demons. I know that it wasn’t offered to me at any rate.”
Avery focused, looking at Tarsus again. There was a lot to see there, but he was brilliantly organized, compared to most of the other beings. After a few moments, she nodded.
“No one suggested it to him. With me it was probably more or less a joke. He doubted that I could use it at all, but I think something about being a Dragon changed it for me. I won’t be able to do magic, since I’m mainly the opposite of that kind of thing. Or…”
That took more thinking, and Eve, being sweet in her own way, shook off seeing her ex and made a large vanilla frozen yogurt cup. That had a spoon placed in it and was pushed across the counter. Avery barely noticed she was eating it, researching as she was.
Finally, as red plastic scraped the waxed paper of the container bottom, she nodded.
“Thanks for that. I keep under-eating. It’s one of the reasons I sleep so much. Anyway, Dragons, especially the Queens, which really is just a name meaning big and possibly more fertile once I grow up, our skins protect us from magic of different kinds. I could in potential learn to make changes inside of me, which is how the shape changing works. A lot of things, like telepathy or fire magic, those aren’t going to work for me, no matter what I do. Not that I ever thought much about it before.”
There was an inhalation, as she hit the next part of things.
“As for Tarsus… When you think that you’re ready for it, go to him and he’ll give you the library. You might have to pay for it, but it won’t be that much. After all, everyone else gets it for free. It’s his version of a starter kit for people too slow to figure it all out for themselves. Not that it really is. He’s just so good with that kind of thing that it seems like the rest of us, including the Greater Demons, are a bit deficient.”
“Oh? Really… Well, I’ll get with my mentor on that then. I can see where it might not work as well for me. You’re able to filter it, since the magic doesn’t touch you, from it, but the information does? How does that work?”
Avery shook her head then, since there were a lot of ideas coming at her suddenly at the mention of that. Drawings, diagrams, printed pages and the thoughts and feelings of thousands of beings about the nature of Dragons and magic.
“I can’t tell. Not yet. It’s probably in here, but I can’t read a hundred books at once or… This is really strange. The time in the void helps. I can sort things that I don’t think most can. You should have that part too. All the line walkers probably have the ability.”
For a bit they stood there, watching each other. Then her Vampire friend, who had proclaimed herself Avery’s new mother, smiled at her.
“Sounds good. Thanks for the assist with Ben. I know he means well. He just doesn’t love me. Which is fair, since I never loved him. Vampires really can’t, you know? Still, he was my property, and then Linda took him. Stealing him from me in a way that I can never really undo.”
She projected a blank face, but inside, under her skin, Avery figured that she had to be seething over that part of things.
“We’re not that good about things like that. Sharing and letting go of what we think of as ours. Vampires, I mean. I don’t know about Dragons.”
She had to think for a moment and check the memories of other beings, including Greater Demons to understand what her thing was, that way. She wouldn’t have thought she had one, but there were two main traits that could be used against her.
One of them turned out to be keenly personal. Worse, everyone around her seemed to understand that about her. She was messed up about sex. True, the Greater Demons version of that kind of thing was so different that she might not be able to adapt to it, but other Dragons were more open about that kind of thing than she was. They really didn’t have sex drives, but enjoyed the closeness and could perform on demand if they fell in love or just enjoyed being with a person. Humans and a lot of other creatures had cycles for reproduction. Dragons could do so with a partner, any partner, whenever they chose.
Which meant that her father had sired her on purpose. What she couldn’t understand there was why. Except that, right there, in her new memories, his entire life up until about three years before, shone brightly. Telling her all about the man. It wasn’t all good.
That got set to the side, even though she was curious about it all. The name he’d given at the time had been Kevin Jones. His real name however, the one that he’d gotten when he was a child, about five hundred years before, had been John Hatter. He still used the first name in his real life.
When he wasn’t infiltrating hate groups, or going on secret missions for the Shifter Nation.
Avery nearly laughed then, but set it aside more firmly, looking at her own flaws. There were many, depending on who she asked internally. One of them was that she was slow. Ponderous, rather than stupid, thankfully. She was actually bright enough, as long as she had time to work things through. Not clever or creative at all though.
A thing which could be mimicked or even brought into being, with enough learning.
“Um, the Dragon thing is a weakness for shiny metals and gems. I’ve felt it myself, but hadn’t really considered it before. I do like that kind of thing. Not enough to be totally bought off by a box filled with tinsel or anything, though that really would be pretty.” She meant it, but faked a smile so that Eve would think she was kidding, at least a little.
No one wanted their biggest weaknesses being spread to the whole world. It was honestly possible that she could, say, be distracted from a fight by a handful of emeralds being scattered on the ground. Dragons had died to similar tricks in the past. Normally at the hands of Humans, which was kind of amazing. They were under-powered for that kind of thing. Taking on a giant Dragon. Very few Greater Demons would miss that trick either, so she needed to learn to get around it.
Eve glanced at the clock behind the counter. Avery had seen it often enough to get the idea, so looked at her watch, which said it was nearly three in the afternoon.
“Off to Pretty Plus then, for your costume fitting. Probably hours of slave labor, sewing for them, as well. That was the feeling from Kait anyway. Not that I blame her. I never learned how to do that either. Sew? I should get you to teach me, if we ever get a chance. It isn’t like I don’t have the time to learn.”
That was a good idea, since even Vampires needed clothing. Honestly, like her, Eve probably needed more than most would. Avery had been going through a lot of outfits in the last month or so at any rate.
“Yes! That will be fun. Make time for that. We should be able to make some clothing for Barbara and Troy. Not that they dress poorly, but Edom doesn’t need that kind of thing yet. Not unless we get really good. So we should start with them.”
That got a chuckle, as well as her being waved out of the store. She went, hurrying in case there really was a lot of work needed for either her own, or other’s, costumes. It turned out that Kaitlyn had a good eye for mostly see-through lingerie, so the outfit presented to her, which had a soft pink lace theme, with white thigh-high stockings and a nearly translucent bit of fabric over the most embarrassing places as well as three-inch-high heels in light pink, was perfect. It fit snuggly, but that was, the Alede all assured her, exactly what was desired.
Looking down at herself, she nearly balked at the idea. Avery was, functionally, standing there naked. She didn’t have any body hair, which meant that her lady parts were all exposed to the room. A space filled with nearly a dozen bodies. All of them women, most of whom were more than plump. Which meant that they had last minute alterations needed.
Avery didn’t change her outfit, but did hide it under her day to day clothing, so that the small bits of lace thread, silk and satin wouldn’t stick to her, making her costume all fuzzy. Her i
ncredibly embarrassing, far too Alede seeming outfit for the night. Only the words of Zack kept her going that way. She needed to be wearing it. Not for others, but to push herself so she wasn’t broken forever. That…
It wasn’t what he’d said, but his mind came up as she considered it, telling her that it was what he’d meant. Anything that could be used against her, would be. If nothing else, she had to give the world the idea that nothing bothered her, even if it wasn’t true.
“Thanks Kait. Micha. It’s lovely.” She didn't add the rest of it, just sitting down at one of the sewing machines, holding her right hand out for something to be placed in it. She had to change the thread on the bobbin and the upper spool to black for the lacy thing, then follow the sizing lines in blue chalk. That part was a mistake, since it wasn’t going to come off easily. The instant she was done, Avery pointed, feeling in charge for once.
“Put that on, in case we need more alterations. If we don’t then everyone not doing something start rubbing the chalk off of her. Use less next time. I can see it more clearly than you can, so it won’t take much at all.” Which was probably true for all of them.
The next outfit was clearly meant to be a witch, having a hat and a cape for the sexy black and purple portion of things under it. Not nearly as see-through as her own outfit was, she noticed. That almost had her commenting on it, but she understood the difference. This woman was going as a practitioner of magic, if a stylized and attractive one. Avery was going to be pretending to be an Alede. Even if her bosom wasn’t ample enough for that.
The problem was the long flowing cape, which was satin, shining and needed to be hemmed up in the back. It also, her new information assured her, needed to be lined inside. That had to be done in purple, which they didn’t have in the shining fabric that was needed. She froze for a moment, then realized that the purple lace would serve just as well. At least in color.
Without asking she used about twenty dollars’ worth of the stuff, then moved to the next outfit. Then several after that. She finally grouped people by outfit color, so she didn’t have to keep changing the thread as often, which made things a bit faster. By six they were all finished, with only Alede left standing there in the back room with her.
Valerie moved in behind her, leaned down and held her, her hands not exploring anyplace unwelcome. Which, for an Alede, was a high level of restraint. Something approaching true mastery of her own being. Which was probably why she was an Ambassador, sent out to work with beings of all kinds. That came from the thoughts of an elderly Alede, who found the ladies there more or less worthy of respect. A little bit stodgy, perhaps.
She grinned at that thought, but didn't speak about it.
“There. Now, does anyone need to go anywhere? I’m leaving for the Living Proof party at just before seven, which means picking people up for it before that. Micha, you’re in on that?” It was possible things could have changed, but the dark skinned woman, her black curly hair shining just a bit, nodded.
“Right. We need to do your makeup first. I think that Val needs to go to New Zealand… It’s more of a meeting for her than anything fun.”
That got the woman to look away, clearly wanting to go, but not wanting to ask for a free trip. Her daughter was right there and a line walker, so the idea was probably to guilt her into doing it. Avery just smiled, since it was clear that being able to give away that kind of thing would place people in her debt. Valarie Swanson would probably struggle for weeks or months to find a way to repay her for a free trip. Not that Avery wanted to make her struggle, but being seen as generous and kind wasn’t a bad thing for someone like her. It would help prevent people from thinking of her as a Greater Demon. Which she wasn’t at all.
Besides, other than their hoards of shiny things, Dragons weren’t known to be selfish, in particular.
“Um, we can go after I have my makeup on? I don’t really know how to do that kind of thing. Not well enough to be one of you.”
Micha laughed. It was calculated, sexy and reassuring at the same time.
“Don’t worry, I have that one. I help out my friends that way from time to time. Here, sit. It won’t take more than a few minutes.
That, it turned out meant half an hour by her watch. Still, at six-thirty-five she was in New Zealand, wearing her embarrassingly revealing costume. Which, oddly enough, fit in perfectly. The node room there was filled with incredibly attractive men and women, all of whom wore different kinds of outfits. Some, like Valerie, were in nice skirts, with jackets and unbuttoned shirts under that, to expose parts of their chests.
Many of the rest wore clothing like Avery had on, with the rest just being nude. Some of them were having sex, which she tried to ignore at first, but forced herself to at least notice, since Valerie was looking around openly.
Then the woman spun on her, and kissed her gently on the lips. It wasn’t just a peck or anything either. Avery was about to pull away, when the same elderly Alede in her head from before, who seemed very androgynous mentally, came forward, the information explaining what was going on.
Valerie was claiming, to the room, that Avery Rome was her property. Alede didn’t normally fight, not in any direct sense, but anyone wanting to take her friend would be assured that it would take more than just batting their eye lashes, since the Ambassador had gotten there first. There was a bit of groping then, which, it turned out, she was supposed to be doing back.
It wouldn’t take a lot, which was nice, since she wasn’t certain that she could pull off having sex yet. She didn’t know enough.
Except that, really, she did. Both in her own mind and the new data. It had been something she’d been told about as a girl, often enough. The Alede and even Human versions were all different, but in the main she could do what the others around her were, she realized. If it came up, which just then, it wouldn’t.
Standing back, she spoke out loud. It wasn’t shouted, since that kind of person, Alede, had hearing that was almost as good as Bat Shifters.
“You have my cell number?”
“I do, dear. You’re going to the party in Sparks now?” That was said with enough emphasis that it sounded special, and not like it was going to just be Tyler and a few of his friends.
“Right. I can come get you when you need though, so don’t hesitate to call.”
“Thank you, Avery. Also for the services you provided earlier. You made many people very happy.”
She was back in Vancouver, through the node and into the back of Yoghurt World, before she got that the woman had basically just claimed that she’d performed for a crowd, sexually. Embarrassment tried to creep up into her face, but she pushed that away. Mainly. After all, the Alede wouldn’t think less of her for that kind of thing. Which was why it had been implied. Letting the minds in that splendid marble and cushion covered room know that she was, in a way, powerful.
Not that the line walking part would be missed.
A few of her own friends were there already. Mark, Terra and Debbie. Just as she thought about that two more came in, all in costumes. Except that one of them wasn’t anyone that she knew at all. Barbara, standing behind the counter, armed with a very large basket of fun-sized candy bars, stiffened when she saw the glasses wearing lady walk in. The woman looked youthful, but was a Vampire, so that didn’t mean anything. Gene from the Council looked young, too.
Pushing her glasses up with one finger on the bridge of her nose, the woman, who was dressed as a fast food worker, complete with name tag and ball cap that said Burgerville, smiled at the lady behind the counter.
“Hi, Barb! I heard a rumor that my husband was going to be through here in a few minutes. Is it all right if I say hello to him, do you think?”
That got a darting glance at Avery, with the Vampire in glasses looking over at her as well, her eyes taking in the breasts and lower parts. That was fair, since the others were all staring as well. Mark actually looked away first. Terra, smiling and shaking her head, smirking for some reason.
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Barbara waved in her direction.
“This is Avery Rome. The Shifter line walker. I don’t know anything about Bey coming here like that… It isn’t on the schedule.”
She nodded, feeling conspicuous again, for the third time in about ten minutes. Debbie was staring at her chest, even though her own was larger that way. The others were all completely covered though.
“Bey is going to Tyler’s party. I didn’t know he was married.” She held out her right hand, by reflex, getting the new Vampire to take it back.
“A long time ago we got hitched. I should make a big deal about not being added as his plus one, but if line travel is involved, it would be too expensive. Still, I can offer you coupons for free food if you’ll take me.” She was joking, which Barb got and the Humans there, who were dressed as a variety of historical figures, and movie characters simply didn’t.
Avery thought for a moment, her face still, working things out. Maggie Sims was an ancient Vampire. Older than The Bey, Navid. Her name had once been Jasmin, Yasmeen, Transmorguire. It was she who’d sired Bey, in fact. So long ago that it was impossible to count the years. She wasn’t on the Council now, but had left it hundreds of years before, in order to have a bit of free time.
Which was spent working at the fast food place she was dressed for.
“Unlimited coupons for myself and my Human friends that are coming tonight?” She waved at the others, as Vince walked in from across the way. Alan was with him, though there was no sign of Link at all. “These others as well?”
The woman smiled then, her face cheery about it all.
“I can do that. You do know that not even a Dragon or teen boys can eat enough food to really make a dent in the profits, right? Or enough to pay for the travel there and back.” There was a hint of raw honesty in the words.
