by P. S. Power
Mirror Him rolled his eyes at the little man and then crossed them while sticking his tongue out.
"Not that I think Zack should say no, but is this the time to try and pressure the guy into marrying your little sister? He's a bit of a fruit loop you know, or at least I am. I can tell you this, Merry's a peach, but Zack ain't marrying nobody for a long time, not until we get some things solved. It wouldn't be fair, and might just get her killed." He fixed the Elth with a solid look but didn't frown. "Now if you just want to help her get laid, I can see to that. Send her by whenever she wants and we can lock the doors and try to make baby Elth. Tell her to bring lube, and plenty of it, since given the relative sizes, it's going to be a tight fit."
That was crude enough, but Conrad laughed.
"Shadow, do not vex my attempts to arrange this. I will however think on your offer. If Merry falls with child, the tradition here is for the man to take the lady as his wife, is it not?"
Mirror Him seemed to be thinking for a bit and then shook his head. He didn't deny the idea though.
"For some. That's the kind of sappy thing Zack would eat up, so it's worth taking a shot on. He'll probably insist on a condom, and that would make it less likely."
They both kept plotting against him for a bit, so he got up and ordered that burger for Conrad and one for Merry, in case she woke up. Then on a whim, one for him, since he was pretty hungry himself, even if it wasn't lunch time yet.
The person that brought it, about fifteen minutes later, was Hildegard, who smiled at him and passed the food over, but didn't stay to chat. She actually seemed to be busy, rushing around carrying several deliveries at once for people.
That was good, since it beat awkward situations and being left sitting around, like he was doing. The phone wasn't even ringing yet.
Zack sighed, since that probably meant things were about to get truly wild, didn't it?
Not knowing what was about to come, he went and started to plan a new window display for the store. After all, they'd open again eventually, wouldn't they?
Chapter eight
He was wrong and the most interesting thing that happened all day was Judy coming back, complete with sixteen boxes of pastries and four large shopping bags of loot, which turned out to not even be for her. It took a bunch of trips to get it all into the back room at Candles and More, but it still wasn't enough to kill more than ten minutes or so, and most of that was him chatting with Judy about her day.
"I love Paris. It has a sense of age and majesty about it, at least in the right places. Plus it's so easy to get a quick energy boost. I had that taken care of in the first half hour and my new friend didn't even insist on following me around like a puppy dog, which is surprisingly common here. Your friend Troy has been good that way, I have to admit. It makes it a lot easier to deal with people, in my line of work. The last thing I need is a chat board detailing all the men and women that I sleep with. Two a day adds up fast." She said it like that was totally normal, and Zack just nodded along, since, he was almost certain, for her it really was.
"That would be tough, especially if there are diminishing returns on the energy each time you fed on someone. Or harvested, I guess, you don't really feed on people, right?" He thought that was the case, but he didn't know for certain, having never been an Alede.
Judy smiled and seemed pleased that he was paying attention, if nothing else, touching his arm gently.
"Yes, and yes. We just take energy that's already being expended by the act of procreation, which would be wasted otherwise, and we do have to space feedings out that way. People can have sex several times a day, but on the second or third go it's not even worth the effort anymore for one of us. Not for that. We enjoy the act too, a lot more than most Humans, so we have a reason to do it anyway, but it pays to not exhaust people. Hence spreading things out and making sure you don't attach yourself to anyone that will demand being exclusive. That never works."
He realized that he knew more now about her kind than he'd learned in months so far and decided to pay attention. After all, who knew what the test would be on later? Oh, there would be one, and it would probably end up with him looking insane, but at least he could be informed at the same time.
Looking at the large pink and powder blue boxes, Zack realized that when he'd asked for enough to share with everyone, she'd taken that to mean the entire Mall, not just the people there. Counting things up, he thought he got it. There weren't sixteen Embassies that had people that ate things like that, he didn't think, some having particular diets and all that, but some ate a lot more than others...
"So, we should get Hildegard in to take things around with you. You're willing? You should get the credit for this after all. You did the actual work."
There was no verbal response, but she didn't seem adverse to a little more walking and once she understood who Hildegard was, she made the call herself, taking the things around with the muscular and heavy boned girl as if it had always been the plan. Zack sat and realized, after about five minutes, that he was literally just twiddling his thumbs. It wasn't even twelve-thirty yet. He ate some very nice pastries, but had nothing else left to do overly.
So he tried to call Rebekah, not knowing if she was old enough to be up that time of day. More to the point, he called Keeley, since he didn't have the Vampire girl's number on hand.
"Hello Zack." She sounded bright and chipper. Happy to hear from him and didn't wait for him to speak at all. "I have those numbers for you. I'd also like you to get in touch with Richard Swerlin. I think he might have some work for you. I told him that we'd get a good rate for travel for him and his people, if you're amenable to that? It's to stop a war after all, and since our side in this is in stopping such things for the moment, it seems reasonable." She sounded like that was the case at least. Perfectly so. It was almost a little too persuasive. It got Zack to think about what she'd said in the past about making sure to charge people enough. "We" aside, she counted for that, didn't she?
"Um, what are you planning to trade for this? For that matter, why not just do it yourself?" He actually managed to sound suspicious, which was good, since he was trying to at the moment. It normally didn't work.
"Well, believe it or not, you have rather more pull with the Vampires and several other groups than the Mistress of Souls. I could go in and perhaps gain compliance through fear, or with a show of force. You can do it because people respect you, even if they do think you might be one of my people. The Line Walker is not overly harsh in his dealings with anyone, and gives aid without massive payment being expected. Half of those you've helped are still waiting for you to demand their souls you know. Each time you request something less than that, they sigh with relief and think more highly of you." There was a bit of speech on the other side, which he couldn't quite make out. "As for what I'll trade... Nothing for the travel itself, but if you aid Richard in negotiating a peace agreement, I'll trade you four million dollars, one favor to be named later, as long as it isn't beyond the value of the work I'm having done, by my own estimation, and I won't hunt you down for trying to sleep with my mother."
Zack thought it sounded fair enough, but knew that MH wouldn't like the last bit.
"How about... Four million, one favor, as you said, and you don't hunt me down or kill me after Mirror Him bangs your mom? She really seems to want the attention and I don't get a lot of choice in that kind of thing you know. It's probably fair not to want that to happen, but I can't promise it to you. She's kind of hot."
That got a dark laugh that nearly sounded mean, which wasn't what he was used to at all.
"Oh... No. Let your other half know that if he touches her with more than a goodnight kiss, I'm taking your testes. I'll leave you alive, but she's off limits." Then her voice lightened a good bit. "The rest is good though? I can count on you?"
Zack sighed, since he was really just starting to get to use those and would miss them.
"I'll try. I don't expect you to pay for anythi
ng if it doesn't work. It's a bit unfair to hold me hostage to a madman's whims, if you want my opinion."
"Sure it is, but he won't do anything, because he knows that I'll do it, and his job is to protect you. Wonderful. I'll set everything up, let me get those numbers for you. Do you have a pen?"
She was off the phone two minutes later and Mirror Him was actually silent even as he started to dial the number to reach Rebekah, who had her own cell phone. They were practically friends, so it would be easier to talk to her, he figured.
She was very easy about it all, and relaxed, indicating that she would love a trip to visit with Jonas soon, if he had the time.
"Well, after work today then? Which will be... Probably a few hours, call it around six, so I can eat first? That will be later your time. Is that too late?"
There was a low and happy sound from the other end of the phone.
"Um, no, sir. Vampires. We'll be up all night. I'll need a trip back, in the morning? I know that might not be possible..."
"Why not? Hopefully it doesn't take too much walking."
They set a time, for it so he knew what to do, and she was going to be at Keeley's, instead of her own place, since he had no clue where that was. On the good part she had a picture of her honey, and he was going to be at the office, which was literally the outer portion of Representative Swerlin's.
That was the next call, and he got a bit of a surprise when it picked up.
"Representative Richard Swerlin's office. How may I direct your call?"
"Oh... Well, first, could I speak with Jonas Carver, please? I guess that should be the place to start."
"Oh? Speaking. What can I do for you?"
"Um... this is an interesting thing to explain. Rebekah, the Vampire? She's hired me to take her to see you later tonight, at about six, call it six-thirty or a little later just to be safe, Pacific time. Oh, this is Zack Hartley. The Line Walker? Anyway, that's a thing, so try not to skip out, and you know, have some plans ready if she hasn't told you about it. If that's the case, then I probably ruined the surprise." He didn't apologize, it not having been a thing mentioned either. "For the rest of it, I think I need to chat with Mr. Swerlin? Just to arrange some things."
All he could hope was that his words didn't sound sinister in any way. The last thing he wanted to do was tick off either a Vampire or a politician by seeming like he was doing something... Really, he had no clue what that would be.
"I can see if he's available. One moment?"
"Sure. I'll hold." Hopefully it wouldn't become one of those three hour ordeals, with music playing and hope slowly fading as you realized that no matter how long you waited, they probably weren't really going to help you at all.
"Richard Swerlin here. Mr. Hartley?"
"Hi. Um, I was kind of hired by Keeley Thomson to help stop this war thing that people seem to want? Or, to tell the truth, I haven't met anyone that's really calling for it yet. But I think the point is that I'm supposed to be useful or something. I'm not sure how, but I can take you around to visit or whatever, run errands, or even talk to people myself, if that might help?"
The man actually sucked in air fast enough that Zack heard it, all the way across the country.
"I... see. I think. That's... How much does that run?"
"For the travel? She's not paying me for that part. To actually be useful in stopping the war, if I am at all? I'll get four million dollars. Plus a favor and she promised to not hunt me down for trying to sleep with her mother, though I lose my balls if I do it. I think that last bit is actually separate from the rest."
"Ah. Well, I won't turn down the help. This situation is dicey and trying to juggle this and my day job is harder than it sounds like. When would you be available for a meeting?"
That one at least was easy, and made him seem good, since he already planned to be there later. The man sounded impressed, but then, he was a politician. He probably seemed like that on demand.
Then things went back to being very boring after that for about forty minutes, until people started to get in touch with him. First it was Lisa, who said she'd be in about five, if that was all right, followed by Jennifer, saying about the same thing.
Then he got an honest to goodness call about candles from a woman that did decorative holiday wreaths and was planning a spring time version, as well as one themed for the Fourth of July. It was early in the year for it, but it made Zack happy to hear from the older woman anyway.
"Let's make an appointment and we'll go over the catalogs. We're closed right now. The whole Mall is. There was a fire in the food court. As soon as we open though, we should get on that. Wholesale again." It wasn't like they were a real store and if she could supplement her income with handicrafts, didn't he need to help her out?
"Oh, thank you so much! It's a great help to me. The people at church are being so kind about buying them too. Let me get you my number."
That one left him feeling better, even if it was work, after a fashion.
Then the phones stopped ringing and nothing happened at all for hours. He chatted with Conrad, but Merry was still sleeping her ordeal off, and Elis didn't add a lot to things. His blood came however, but Lenore had to scurry right back to her Embassy, smiling the whole time, as if she were being naughty even bringing the stuff over at all. As if it were really about seeing Zack. She did make a point of hugging him, before hurrying back. It was nice, but had a feeling of obligation to it that seemed out of place. She had to know that she could do whatever she wanted, or not, especially at work.
That seemed the real point too. She was acting shy, because Conrad and Elis were there, even given that neither of them so much as glanced over at her while she did it. The back room just wasn't much on privacy.
She whispered to him though, her lips near his left ear.
"Remember, after work?"
"Right." He hadn't forgotten. Hopefully it wouldn't be rude for him to have dinner sitting in the Vampire Embassy.
She smiled sweetly as she left and then he only had to wait a little while longer for Lisa to come in, actually showing up early for once. She was already talking on the phone, even as she pounded on the back door to be let in. She had a key, but that would have required getting it out, which would be a pain, in the rain that was pouring down outside.
"Hey all." She covered the phone to speak, but then looked baffled, clearly listening to someone. "I don't know. He's right here, let me check? It... right. Still, we have to be there."
She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders a bit, the nice jacket she wore, which looked like real leather, but wasn't, had droplets of rain on the slick tan outer coating.
"OK..." She blew air out, her cheeks puffing, like she was getting ready to play a trumpet. "There's a big meeting, being held in the Ettarian lands. We need to send Maggie, but it's... Well, let's just say that if the Mages are going to be represented, we need you. They have a Node, but it isn't a fast trip going overland. It would take about six months otherwise. We think it was picked so that the organizers could control who would be there. It's in a few days, so we don't even have time for a power raising ceremony." She looked at him and didn't ask if he'd do it, which he would have anyway, since it was important.
Instead he nodded, realizing that he'd already sort of been hired for that, hadn't he?
"Right. I'm getting everyone that wants to go in, if I can. Leadership first. That's going through you and Bob, as well as Representative Swerlin's office. People shouldn't call there until tomorrow, since his aide has a date tonight. It's already arranged and covered payment wise, since this is really important. I'll give you his number so you can coordinate with him?"
She let her mouth hang open, which looked kind of tempting for a moment, even if he was being a bit of a perv.
"I... Ms. Morse, did you get all that?" She walked away, chatting the whole time, seeming happier. Perhaps excited was a better word? Zack didn't get that, since it was likely to be a lot of work, and not just
for him. He had no clue how many groups would be represented, or where the Ettarian lands were at all, for instance. He figured that they'd need to get everyone in for it.
On the very good side Merry woke up, as in all the way, and actually stood, stretching cutely, her tiny form nearly perfect looking, if too small for him. Without a word Conrad stood too and bowed to Elis, who climbed to his own feet.
The tiny man spoke with great certainty.
"I can do the rest of this, if your charge allows? Merry and I both are well and should return to our place. If you have need of us, Line Walker, call and do not hesitate. We shall come and stand our duty." Then they both walked out as if they'd just been there for a short visit. Elis looked around, blinking, and then stretched himself.
"So, that's done. Thankfully. It's a lot harder to do that kind of thing than it seems. So, I guess I just hang out here until I'm called for?" He sounded hopeful, his bright red eyes shining a bit, but Zack had to shake his head.
"Nope. I'm heading to Keeley's in a bit, after I eat, so should return you. Thanks, by the way. I know you didn't get a choice, but you probably saved Merry's life, making sure she was so well cared for." He meant it, but the chalk white Vampire snorted at him anyway.
"If it wasn't me, it would have been you. Glad I could help anyway. It beats sitting in my room or re-cleaning the gutters on the house for the eightieth time. They're clean. We're in Arizona, and trust me, they barely collect dust at the best of times. The food here was better too. I normally get goat and alpaca. Not that those are horrible, if you have to drink animal, but the energy value of Human is so much higher." He shook his head a bit and then stretched again, his wiry muscles standing out cleanly from his flesh.
"The Mistress of Souls is not a big fan of mine, personally. The others get treated well really, Balthias and her Hsreth. Those last two are practically free, to tell the truth. She actually asks them to do things. Unlike me." He looked away though, before Zack could ask why and shook his head. "It was a bit of a ... miscalculation on my part, I guess. We, my old coven, were told that Eve belonged to The Technician, so when we took her I used a bit of mental persuasion to get her to sleep with me, not really thinking anything of it. I mean, after all, look at me. I don't get girls otherwise. Instead of thinking it an advanced pick-up technique, the Mistress of Souls decided that it was rape, and worse, the rape of her personal friend." He shuddered a bit, which seemed real, no matter how old he was. "She took me. A Manthori. That's supposed to be impossible you know? Even Greater Demons can't do that, except her. It didn't even take her much time. She did it without a real bargain or anything, just..." He snapped his fingers to show what he meant.
