Other Places 3: Detours

by P. S. Power

  "Eh, well, don't get us booted from the Guild. I'll be there. I can't talk for Jennifer. I'll put a call in and ask? She might not want to. For all I know she has another job already."

  "Fair enough if she does. In that case, remind her to visit. Talk to you then." It wasn't like he was planning to leave for the day or anything. Just a quick trip to shower at midnight.

  There was a grunt and a solid sound of hanging up, as if the man was miffed over something. That would probably be about Zack pushing him into honest labor. Since he was a career criminal, that wasn't a thing that he normally indulged in. It had to be annoying to the man.

  Then, as soon as the line went dead, he sighed and called the head of the Mage Guild, Maddy Morse. She was an old family friend, after all, and Zack had actually known her all his life. True, she hadn't known he was a Greater Demon, but then, neither had he, so it wasn't exactly like he'd be tricking her, was it? On the good side, he had her personal number, and didn't have to go through her four assistants first. It was nice, having friends.

  "Maddy Morse, what may I do for you?"

  "Hi Maddy, Zack Hartley here. I wanted to make sure that we were good?" It was abrupt, he knew, saying it that way, but he didn't stop, since apparently, it was all true. "This whole Greater Demon thing took me by surprise too, and I know that it can't be easy, having someone that you know turn out to be so... different. I'm still me though, which means, you know, I have demands?"

  That was said on purpose, since, once he bothered to think about it, he knew that she'd be easier to handle if taken slightly off guard.

  "I... Zack? Demands?"

  "Yep. First, I want you to line up some help for Lisa Wiese. She's back on the Wistra, and it's messing her up. She doesn't have to know that I mentioned it, but I swear, I'm not trying to steal her soul or enslave her. Or anyone else for that matter. She's a friend though, and gave me a job when I was just about starving to death. I owe her. I know she won't see it that way, but I do." He expected a rather long conversation then, about how betrayed Maddy felt, or maybe even how she couldn't talk to him, since there were injunctions or something, but there was a sigh instead.

  "I can do that. It's pretty clear she's overreacting a bit, in regards to you. Do you want me to talk to her about it? It isn't helping that Eric is feeding her head with tales about how dangerous Greater Demons all are." There was a gap and the tone of her voice shifted, just enough to show the hint of a bitter smile. "At least he's talking to her. That's an improvement."

  "Yeah. He's not off at that conference? I need to get in touch there today, since we have a node set up now. It's pretty nice, if I do say so myself. You should come and see it."

  "No, I was slated to go, but then an emergency came up, and we had to send the under secretary. I don't suppose you'd take me in now? I know that the way things happened a few weeks ago wasn't the most friendly thing in the world, letting you go like we did."

  "You mean that little thing where I was fired without warning, based on the prejudices of people that didn't even know me? That thing?" He grinned though, which took a touch of magic and some focus to make happen, since he really wasn't totally calm about the whole thing. "And worse, you all fired a sixteen year old girl for simply being in the wrong place, and knowing the wrong people? That was pretty low and you should make that up to her. Soon."

  There was a very long and drawn out sigh then.

  "I know. What do you suggest?"

  Zack already had an idea on that one at least, which didn't require lying, hedging or even making himself look too stupid, which were all nice things, most days.

  "An internship with the Guild. Yes, some will think that it means I'm putting an agent in place, but... Well, I am. Put her in as your aide, or you know, fifteenth adjunct whatever it is, and send her out on meet and greets with whoever is needed. She can build contacts and I'll handle the travel for her, as part of the deal, if she needs it at all? I'll run her over Guild law and all that, if you think it will help? I'd also like for her to get some magical training. She's great with wards, and taking down other people's work, and can do some credible shields, but she should learn healing too. Other things, as you see fit? You know the job better than I do, after all." That part was important. It was true, but as a Greater Demon, well, most of them kind of knew everything, or at least seemed to. By saying that he was trying to make himself seem a lot more normal.

  Just regular old Zack, the weird kid that Maddy used to watch sometimes when his grandparents went on vacation. The goofy and harmless skinny boy that definitely didn't kill people in their sleep or take over their souls. So, perfectly safe and even harmless. That wasn't true now, but he could fake it, for a while longer.

  "I...don't know if that will work, Zack. People will be a bit resistant to it. I don't know if Lisa..."

  He snorted, which was a fairly new thing for him. It was honest though, so he managed it.

  "I meant, and said, that she should work with you. If I'm going to get her in someplace, it needs to be high enough that it's worth doing. And yes, people will bitch about it. They would anyway, which is why you should be upfront about it all and remind them that the Guild owes a huge debt to me so far. I'm not counting it that way, but if it helps you manage your people, then by all means, claim away. If I didn't like Jen so much I'd see about getting her put in with Eric Weise. As it stands, you'll have to ask if he wants to take Hiram on."

  "Hiram Stone? The criminal?"

  That got a chuckle, from Mirror Him. He didn't take over though. He seldom did, anymore.

  "That's the one! Criminal, professional rules lawyer, and general pain in the ass. At least until you get to know him. Then, honestly, he isn't so bad. A few rough edges, but that has its uses in the real world. Not that I'm really suggesting that. It was my attempt at humor. So, is that agreeable to you? They're both starting here at four, so, if it is, you can tell them yourself, on your way to the conference." Or summit. Whatever they were calling it this week. He'd been heading that way, every few days, but for some strange reason, he'd thought that people would work things out a lot faster.

  After the attack on the New Mexico Nexus, which had been done by a splinter group of Vampires, things had managed to cool down a bit. Not enough that they were totally safe, it seemed. So they were responding by spending their time in a big meeting room, with nearly two hundred people there, half of them yelling at each other, and the rest trying to pretend they weren't cowering in fear.

  From the handset there was a long and slightly aged sounding exhalation. It wasn't a sigh really, but there was tiredness inside of it.

  "I suppose. It's really too good a bargain to pass up. Can you get to the Idaho Mage node before then? I can't make it any other way."

  That, was just a point. He moved fast, but almost no one else did. Not anyone who wasn't another of his own kind. Most of them didn't really help people much, though.

  He nearly said "deal" not even trying to be cute about it, but managed to hold his tongue in time. A little thrill of panic tore through him then. True, he'd have to feed magical power into the whole thing for it to really bind anyone, but even pretending to do that to the head of the Guild might cause a real war. One against him. A thing that, ultimately, the Mages wouldn't win.

  "Wonderful! I'll pick you up at about three-thirty?"

  The woman on the phone seemed pleased enough by that idea, but did clarify that he meant Pacific Time, which he did. After all, that's what he ran on, and while he could do the calculations, he didn't think about things that way, yet.

  It would have to change, since before, only two weeks ago, Lisa had done all that for him. Now he was going to have to work things out for himself. It was part of growing up, he guessed. Even for Baby Demons.

  Sooner or later, you had to stand on your own.

  Chapter two

  No one had their number yet, or shouldn't have, except Maddy, and whatever secretaries she'd given it to. Well, there was Lenore, which on
ce he thought about it, meant that a lot of people would have gotten it by the time they opened the front doors. She'd tell the higher ups in the Vampire organization, after all, which meant that...

  When the phone rang, a few seconds after he put it down, the voice was familiar.

  "Hartley and Co. Books and Cafe, this is Zack, how may I help you today?" The call had come into the front desk, but that didn't mean a lot. Everyone that worked there would know to get him if it was about node travel or an emergency, so it was the actual number given out. That meant even in his office, when it rang, he had to be ready for book questions too. It was part of the job, after all. True, the part that he'd made up, but that still counted.

  "Mr. Hartley? I don't know if you'd remember me. Marissa? We met a few months ago, when you'd injured your arm?" The voice was a bit manly for a woman, or girlish for a boy, but the case was simpler than that. It was a male that was also a female. Maybe a cross dresser, possibly a hermaphrodite.

  He didn't know, but it also wasn't his business.

  "Marissa! So good to hear from you. Is everything well?" Okay, so that was a little formal, while being too familiar, considering they'd only met the one time, for about fifteen minutes. Less than that. Still, she started it, after a fashion.

  "Ah, well, I find myself in a bit of a bind. It seems that I rather managed to get myself locked up... In a dungeon. It can't hold me forever, as you might know, but I'm having some trouble with the bars on the window here. I was hoping to get in touch with someone that might send aid? It's a bit of a bother, I know, and not dire, though I'm afraid a few people will have to die for this. I think that Gene set this up." There was a sound that seemed like someone trying to shatter stone with her fist, and not exactly succeeding. "So it might be best not to ask his help? I hear that you and Bey are quite close? A marvelous man. Perhaps he would be willing to render assistance?"

  Zack blinked, and then shrugged.

  "Um, hold on just a second?" He tried to sound pleasant at least, which carried, it seemed.

  "Certainly. I think I still have some charge left in this thing. Modern technology is so exciting. If it were even twenty years ago, I'd just be stuck here, trying to rip free of this cage of stone and steel. Now I can actually try to summon someone better suited to such things. It's an improvement. I know that I feel better about things, being able to let someone know there might be an issue."

  He set the phone down and jogged to the node. He didn't strictly need to use one now, since it wasn't that hard to make his own, but it would increase the amount he needed to eat, because doing magic burned energy, which could be a pain. It was part of why he had the cafe put in. So he could eat all the time.

  At the rent in space that could, with only a bit of mental effort, lead to anywhere, at least for him, he located the lady, seeing her in the nearly black space. It was tricky, but he managed to step in right beside her. There was no way out, of course, but after he finished blocking the three, rather fast, slapping gestures directed toward his head, Zack managed to build his own way back.

  "Hello! Let me know when you're ready and we'll leave."

  To her credit, the Vampire managed to stop trying to kill him in an impeccably girly fashion, and hugged him instead.

  "Mr. Hartley! You scared me. I didn't think that you'd come yourself. I was just hoping that you'd tell someone. I... don't think we can absorb more debt to you." She grinned, which was a thing he could feel, but not see. "Unless you wish to take up my offer to be a body slave to you? That might be interesting."

  Also complex.

  "Hop on three, like before?"

  He could have simply picked her up, even as skinny as she still was. Eating more food, which was his new mandatory hobby, meant his real strength was showing now. Before, even a few weeks prior, he'd struggled to lift even his own weight. He hadn't tested it recently, but Marissa was probably well under what he could do now. He wasn't certain, but he was willing to bet that small cars might be doable, if he balanced them properly. He felt good at least.

  Zack didn't wait, since, like it or not, the woman was in a prison and he was helping her escape. For all he knew it was totally legal by Vampire law too.

  Though, when she let her delicate and pale fingers touch his own, Zack picked up a lot of what the situation was really about. That plus nearly a thousand years of her personal history, and the fact that she was a real hermaphrodite, not just a man in a skirt.

  Mirror Him chortled.

  'There you go Zackie, a way for you to finally get your man love out into the open without it being too scary. If she has lady parts too, that means you aren't really playing for the other team, right?'

  The guy was normally a pain in the rear, so Zack ignored him. He was a Greater Demon, so if he wanted to do guys, he just could. More, he'd probably have to, just to get things done properly. Eventually.

  "One, two... Three"

  He'd had to focus on making a link to the node he wanted, but that was easier than doing it in a free hanging fashion. Yes, he could do that too, but this was faster. He stepped out into the back of his new place, and the Vampire next to him landed with a click on the stone floor.

  "Oh! This is refined. I'd heard from our Ambassador here, Lenore Hawthorn, that you were putting something together, but I'd thought it might be a bit simpler than this. After all, people pay for the service, not the trappings." Then, making sure to hide her fangs, she turned to face him. "So, do you want me from behind, or..."

  It was oddly tempting. After all, Mirror Him was sort of right in a way. Not that he was really into men, but Greater Demons weren't noted for caring about things like that at all. He could make any squeamishness go away with a few thoughts, if he wanted. How often did you get to even meet a hermaphrodite, though? Much less have one offer themselves to you.

  "Can we do that some other time? I mean, not as your payment, since I have something else in mind for that, but just for fun?"

  The woman blinked, which was fake, of course, but looked right anyway.

  "We might be able to arrange that. Here I'd figured that you'd be a bit set back by my nature." She smiled cutely, but it was enough that he managed to search through the thoughts that she'd dumped into his head, which explained a lot. More than he would have figured, to tell the truth.

  She not only didn't know that he was a Greater Demon, but hadn't been told that he and Lenore were dating either. She sort of thought that he and Bey were doing something, to tell the truth, even though she'd never really thought of the tiny Vampire killer as being into gentlemen particularly. The Human Line Walker was a prize however, so if Zack was, binding him to their cause that way might well be worth some mild emotional discomfort.

  It took more magic to clamp down on his feelings for a bit, since the embarrassment was suddenly all his.

  "Oh... Well, this could be awkward. Um, I'm seeing Lenore, so, you get that one, Vampire political arrangements. It's why I can't take you home with me. Plus, I won't keep slaves. It is a bit different if you're offering yourself, but it still wouldn't be slavery, you know? I mean, even if I took you up on it, it would be as friends."

  "It would?" She seemed curious, but not doubting at least. "So, you've entangled our Ambassador here? She's a woman of most promise. That doesn't truly mean I can't be with you too, however, even without bumping her from her position, as your first. I simply need to clear things with her. I'm certain it won't be a problem. Thank you for informing me before I mis-stepped, however. I don't need to make an enemy there. Especially since I hear she's close to the Human Line Walker?"

  Zack nodded, but then forced himself to sigh and look a bit embarrassed. It wasn't hard.

  "That's the other part of things that you might not have heard of? It turns out that I'm actually a Greater Demon. I didn't know about it, until a few weeks ago. Long after we last met to talk. I take it you've been out of touch?"

  It couldn't have been all that long, if she had the store number, could it? In fac
t, he knew the answer, he realized, but didn't take the question back. People, even Vampires, were more comfortable when they were allowed to tell their own story.

  "Those... Crumbs! They had to have hidden things from me on purpose. Probably so that I'd make a mistake, much like this. Now, here I am, in mortal debt to a Demon! Can you believe they'd do that to me? I mean, me? Not only shouldn't they dare to impose, but I'm the very picture of sweetness and serenity! I'll kill them!"

  She did smile then, at least, as if she got exactly what she'd said, and done it on purpose.

  Zack tilted his head side to side, thinking.

  "Well, you've been speaking out against the new set of rules as to feeding that Richard Swerlin is trying to get put in place, and some of them are rather for it. I'm behind it, myself." Zack made a face, then brushed at his button up the front all black sweater. "Well, I mean, I'm for it. Not orchestrating it from behind the scenes. You should change your vote though."

  That got a downcast look, rather than defiance, or even glaring.

  "Is that part of your price for my rescue then? I have to comply, but I truly think that this is a poor plan. Most can't afford to have harvested blood, no matter how tasty, and telling an entire people that has lived since before the time of man itself that they must now eat only from animals, is insulting. This might well lead to, if not a war, then conflict that lasts a very long time." She said it to the floor, as if examining the pattern in the stone.

  It looked almost as if she were shy. Then, she didn't scream or run away from him, so it was better than some reactions had been, wasn't it?