by P. S. Power
The man nodded.
"Indeed. Not that Eve is a Greater Demon, strictly speaking. Close enough however to not wish to annoy her if I have another option. I have no particular problem with her, myself, by the way. Her power is interesting, but not a threat to me. You should use caution there, however. I think you would be hard pressed, if she turned on you at this point in your existence. Can you do this?"
"Possibly. Who's setting this up? Can you prove that to me? I'm betting it's going to be asked about."
"I'm Tarsus, The Librarian. I'm in the guise of Gregor, the Cleric, at the moment. He's in great trouble, with me. Which is why I need to connect with them all." He left the paper, and started to turn away, as if it was finished.
"Excuse me, but while I'm willing to do this, or at least try, what do I get out of it?"
The man smiled, as if those words pleased him for some reason.
"Ah! Excellent. What would you like? Power? Money? Love?"
He stopped and shook his head.
"Three large favors, that I get to pick, but that you can suggest. That way you can steer me toward things that won't be too hard for you, or annoying."
"I can say no, however, and let you pick again?"
"That sounds about right. I'm not trying to enslave anyone, or getting anyone killed or anything. To you these will probably be pretty medium favors, but I want to be able to tell my mom that I went big on it." It was the truth, and for some reason got a cool smile.
"See to setting those meetings up, and I'll do it. This is actually large enough that for the first time in history, at least the modern portion of it, I won't even haggle over the idea. That should drive you to greater effort. After all, I invented haggling. Back in ancient Babylon."
Then the Greater Demon walked out, saying nothing more.
He grinned and shook his head.
"Right, like you can't pick up a phone? I'm not buying it, Mister Demon. Not even the tiniest bit. Can you say trick?" No one did, but he was still probably right.
Chapter five
Palma came in first, through the back door, having a key for it, since she was a trusted and hard working employee. Ty noticed that he didn't have anything like that. Then again, he'd worked there less than a month, so it might just be that Zack wasn't that into trusting him so far. Plus, they were open almost all the time, twenty-four hours a day. If they really did close the doors, it was only in emergencies.
The Hsreth woman was blocky, dressed in white and seemed to be of nebulous age. Her hair was medium colored and curly. Other than that Ty couldn't have really recognized her as not being Human. There were probably perks to being one of her people, but it seemed rude to just walk up and ask about things like that. Especially if you didn't know them very well.
"Hi Palma! I'm off to see about getting Vivian, the Bear Shifter that got in trouble a few weeks ago? At six. I... I don't want to bug you." It was a bit lame, but he really didn't.
The woman beamed at him, and then shook her head warmly. It seemed that way to him. Like a mother or grandmother might have done with a child.
"What do you need? Help controlling her? That kind is strong and hard to hurt, but between us we should be able to do it. Or... Is she to be put to death? I can see that, but I'm not certain I would be the best for that sort of task. Perhaps one of the Vampires? You're close to that Ginger, aren't you? A powerful master of her kind."
He needed to be very careful saying things to people there, he realized. Not for the first time, but that was a very strange place to jump to. That he'd go to Palma to wrangle a Bear... She didn't seem to think that part was outside of what was polite to request however, which was interesting.
"I was thinking of snacks? She's been on that rock for two weeks, and might want something sweet, or with meat in it? I need to make sure she has clothes too, in case she's in a prison jumpsuit or whatever. I should go and just buy some donuts, but, you know, I don't have money really yet."
The woman, who hadn't seemed upset before, perked up anyway. She even brought her hands together.
"Ah! That's far more like it. Fine treatment for her, isn't it? She attacked one of our people here, and was given no more than a swat for her troubles. Now you seek to ply her with fine foods and raiment's? Either that is a show of great faith that she will not do it again, or you have a plan to do more to her?"
It did sound a bit light, when put that way.
"I don't have anything planned. I should try to come up with a bit more, shouldn't I? Well, if I think of anything I guess I'll bring it up? We're supposed to leave at six."
The woman nodded, and spoke as she started to walk away.
"How many are going?"
He had to count that out on his fingers, but wasn't certain that it was right, which he told her. That got him waved at as she almost flew from the front of the darkened cafe.
There wasn't much time left, so he figured that she'd come up with a few things that were on hand. Maybe not. Instead, at ten till it was time to leave, just as Zack walked in, looking like he'd been in a fight, his hair messed up, and half his face swollen, she came out with a stack of boxes.
Ty ignored her, running to his friend instead.
"Are you all right? I..." He didn't know what to say, to be honest. The man was a Greater Demon, so anything that could hurt him would probably just kill Tyler.
Zack smiled at him, not even wincing.
"Nothing broken. I'll be healed before people start coming in. Sorry I'm so late. The place looks perfect. You even did the walls in the node space." He moved in to pat Ty on the shoulder, only to have him move back a few steps.
"Sorry. A guy came in last night. He looked like one at least. He claimed to be The Librarian, but told me he was pretending to be Gregor, The Cleric? Anyway, he had a job for me, but I don't know if I'm supposed to hide it from you or not? There might be secrets involved. Other people's. I have no clue how to get it all done, because what are the odds that it isn't a trap or trick? Probably for the other people he wanted me to get in touch with, rather than me."
His boss touched the side of his face as Palma looked on.
"That sounds about right. The best idea is to actually get in touch with Tarsus and make sure he was himself first. If he was, then you can probably do what he asked. He isn't perfect, but he's sane, and no more evil than say, Darla or Keeley. Not that you should pal around with them in particular. If you get the choice. You probably won't, since you know too many people in common with them." He shrugged, which was clearly playful, and designed to show off his body a bit. "Remember, they would toss you to the wolves if it suited them. They'd eat your corpse alive without even feeling bad about it, just to annoy Anne, if it ever came up."
"And you wouldn't?"
That got the man to straighten a bit, as a suddenly frightened looking Palma came over holding stuff for him that smelled incredible. It was in large purple boxes, but not all of it was sweetly scented. There was meat in there, as well as veggies. Maple too.
The Greater Demon did something he'd never done before, and bowed. It was different, but seemed very formal.
"If it was required at the moment, I would. I'd cheat you, steal from you, rape you, beat you past what even you could take, which is a lot, if it was needed to do what I had to at the moment. Then I'd go on my way, and never think about it again if I didn't want to. It's probably going to be the hardest lesson you ever learn about Greater Demons. We can be nice. Kind and even good, but only for as long as it serves us. It's always, and only, about what we need to get done at the moment. This won't be the last time I tell you that, Tyler. It's because I do like you, but if you don't learn that lesson, I will cut off your arm and eat it in front of you, just to help you internalize it all. Understood? Doing anything less for you is to lose a resource. One that is only partially mine in the first place. That means you might just be in for similar treatment from some of the others, and as far as I know, I'm the nice one."
It was the
kind of speech that was important, and pressing, since he liked his limbs, but also didn't feel real. That was probably the point.
"I'll do my best? I'd rather avoid that kind of thing. I don't know if limbs would regrow, after all." He got his teeth back, but that might be different.
"They will. Dying isn't a thing you can easily manage, but I'd rather avoid that one if we can? You look kind of stringy and tough. Like you'd get stuck in my teeth? Don't forget, Ty. If I have to teach you that lesson, I really will. You have to be careful, of everyone. All the time." Then, as if the idea might not sink in that he was serious, Zack heaved a great sigh and shook his head sadly. It was a mock thing, but not the kind that anyone should have bought in particular.
It was so clear to Tyler that he was probably going to end up with his arm being lobbed off and eaten that he wondered which one it would end up being for a moment. Probably his right, since that was his masturbation hand. Not that he'd had time for anything like that lately. No sex either, since he was just that busy.
Then the Demon waved over his shoulder and walked away, into his office off to the side. The node room anyway. Palma pushed the stack of boxes, which was four high, on him and huffed a little bit.
"You play dangerous games here, Tyler Gartner. I know I can't warn you away, since that was taken from you before you had a choice in the matter, years past. Don't take that warning lightly. Most who deal with Greater Demons, even the best of them, which I assure you, is The Line Walker and his friends, do not survive. If they do, it tends to be accomplished with only the best of luck or skill. I have seen men, women and beings ten times more powerful than yourself die by their own hand, before allowing one of Zack's people to close with them. More than once. Take heed of that."
Then she scuttled off. It looked like she was bustling at a normal enough pace, but it was, he realized, faster than that. He just couldn't figure out how it was done.
He left through the front of the store, so that he could get there a few minutes early. They were meeting at Pretty Plus, if Valerie was there yet. That was a thing that he'd noticed. The Alede had a very strange relationship with time. Part of the time they'd be early, and ready for whatever was to come, and the rest they'd be up to several hours late, and just play it off as if it weren't important in the slightest.
It was rare for one of them to be on time for anything, but this one came out with two others, all of them dressed up like they were going mountaineering. Hiking boots on their feet, lumberjack shirts, and suspicious bulges in their blue jeans. Being there when she was supposed to be was probably part of why she was the Ambassador.
The bulges weren't in the front either, though the two good looking men had that going on too, he didn't doubt. One of them had brown going on up top, the other had darker hair. That one was Robert. The one behind Valerie on the left looked a tiny bit familiar, but wasn't a person that he'd met before. He was nice looking, and had decent muscle, with a manly jaw line and a bit of a five o'clock shadow going on. He was pretty, but not as good looking at Robert was that way.
Tilting his head, he hazarded a guess.
"Um, Kaitlyn? Is that you?" He was afraid for a moment that he was wrong, but the guy just reached out and took the top two boxes.
"Kyle, obviously. This is my guy form, which most wouldn't have gotten, so good job! I'm pulling guard duty today, just in case that Bear isn't done with the attacks. So I decided on getting some extra muscle going. Mom was going to go alone, with just you, but this will look better. Like we aren't wimps all the time. That's the theory anyway."
The young man said this as Rupert, Calley, and Ang all came in, two of them smiling. Ang just looked stoic, but not unfriendly. That's how he always was.
Calley moved in and gave Kyle a hug.
"Ohhh... We should get together later? You're my favorite Alede. Anyway, you do look more like a pretty team of lumberjacks than a guard detail, but I bet that will be enough. There's food too? Awesome! I was going to beg for a trip past a donut shop. We should head out. Do you need anything first? Anyone?" She looked around at all of them, but it was Val who snapped her fingers, and ran to get a Pretty Plus bag.
"Clothes for Vivian. I think these will work. I hope I got the right colors for her." There was a moment of indecision, like they should stop and discuss that kind of thing.
Ty nearly giggled over it.
"We should go. I'm sure they'll be fine. You mentioned a van?" He glanced at Rupert, who brushed at his beard, then scratched under his own chin, answering slowly.
"Yeah. We should get going. Calley's driving."
The van was white, and new seeming, or at least very well cared for. It had the air of something official, though the plates were just regular ones. The kind that anyone might have, not just government officials. The inside was sparkling however, as if it had been spiffed up and polished that morning for them. It had a very slight scent of something orange and clean. There was enough room inside for several more people, even after he loaded three of the light purple boxes in there, next to the bags of clothing that Valerie had brought along. That was all in the far back, though thankfully there was also coffee and water up front.
It was, he didn't doubt, because the Alede Ambassador was coming along with them. She was a VIP, so doing that was the right thing to do. It was the kind of thing that pretty much had to be done, if you didn't want to give insult in a case like that. Really, they probably should have had one of the others driving so that the woman could be cuddled and reassured by Calley while they rode. If they stopped anywhere Ty decided to take her aside and see if that was possible.
Not that Val seemed that worked up, or like she needed to get laid instantly. All three of the Alede seemed really locked on and focused, actually. Sitting side by side in the front seat. Close together, since it was really made for two people, but it had enough belts for them to do it, so he hadn't insist on anything else happening that way.
He ended up on the right hand side, next to Rupert, since Ang was up front, holding a handgun in his lap. In case they were attacked, obviously. Since, again, letting the Alede Ambassador die was a poor plan for the day. Rupert had a weapon too, and looked at him with a slow grin that made his large and bushy brown beard shift. It was kind of cute, actually. He had really nice and warm eyes. Brown, and a bit entrancing.
The man also had a wonderfully deep voice. Bass, and a bit rumbling.
"I'm supposed to guard you for the trip. So if anything happens, stay behind me."
Ty nodded, then thought for a moment, and shook his head.
"Honestly... That doesn't make sense, does it? You should guard the others and stay behind me. I..." It was so new to him that it kind of shook him inside to say the words out loud. In the end he didn't really. "I pretty much can't die, I guess. So that seems right. I'm also not bullet proof, so it isn't a perfect plan that way. We should probably avoid problems, and if they happen, run and hide?" That made him sound brave, but he decided not to care about that sort of thing. If anyone wanted to think he was a coward, they were welcome to the idea.
The fact was, when he considered it for a while that he really just wasn't, which was why the idea didn't bug him that much. When things happened, he tended to be a bit too tough and manly, when you got down to it. Taking on five Vampires at once, and gun wielding women and men like he had.
Now it sort of made sense, but at the time it had been pretty much asking to die.
Opening the box on his lap, he saw that there was a variety of things inside it. Mainly sandwiches in this one, with some savory wrapped meat pastries to the right hand side. Being selective he took a single veggie one on whole wheat bread, and passed the box to the man next to him.
"Here. We should all eat." That got a nod from Kait at least. Kyle, her boy form. He was cute, but not as much as the nerdy book girl he was used to. Not that the desire to do them both wasn't pretty strong. It was good that he'd picked not to consider the Alede that way really. How anyone even
thought around them most days he didn't know. It was all he could do not to give in to everything they wanted all the time when they were women, and he had an actual plan for dealing with them.
Just say no.
Rupert rumbled then, and smiled again.
"Thanks. I get pretty hungry most of the time. Most Shifters do. We should pull over so Calley can get something."
That kind of made sense, given how much she moved most of the time. She had to pretty much just be burning calories like she was doing light aerobics constantly. Given that she was, essentially, doing that all the time. Ty liked the energy, but the woman never stopped. Not even when she slept, he was willing to bet. Motion was simply part of her for some reason. Bats weren't like that. Not the real ones. At least Ty thought that was the case. It occurred to him that he wasn't exactly an expert on the topic. Other than knowing that a quarter of all mammal species were bats, a tidbit that he'd picked up from a documentary once, and that they could fly, he didn't know much in that direction.
He looked out the window for a second, then glanced toward the front, looking at the controls. The thing was an automatic, and pretty standard. If anything they were a little closer together than normal, because Calley was able to drive the thing. She wasn't a huge person, so that made sense.
"I can drive this. I learned how to do both automatic and standard. Mom insisted before I took the test for it. No car, but I can drive pretty well for all that. I have my license with me, if you want?" It came out sounding bored, rather than like he was bragging about his skills to impress Calley, which was actually what he was doing. Not that being able to drive stick was some kind of super power, but he did want her to know that, in a pinch, he was sort of competent.
She nodded, her face beaming like she actually got what he meant.
"Really? Cool beans. I'm up for this trip, so we have to actually stop for me to eat, so save me some. I'll keep that in mind for the next trip. Really, we should have gotten you a side arm. Oversight on my part. We should go and practice first, so you know how to handle it. In a couple of days?"
