by P. S. Power
Instead she clapped.
“Fine. We should go and get Zack to take us shopping. Really, we should pick up Lyn and Bente for this, too. We used to get into so much fun and trouble, a few hundred years ago. I think you’ll fit right in with them, Eve.” She grabbed the cool hand and stood up, like she couldn’t wait to get out of the room and away from the uncomfortable topic.
Angels.
It sounded lame, but not impossible. That was to her though, and she was just a Vampire. It was interesting that Greater Demons couldn’t hold the idea in their heads though. Not as anything more than a story.
That had to be useful, somehow, didn’t it?
In the end, everything probably was, so she decided to keep that one, for later.
Chapter eighteen
The next six hours went in a fashion that was kind of dreamlike for Eve. It involved daylight trips to both Rome and Paris, as well as an interesting shop in South Africa. That was where she got most of her fairly normal seeming clothing. It wasn’t perfectly average, since the man that ran the shop used advanced materials in order to create clothing that was about twenty times stronger than normal, as well as being stain resistant.
Okay, so she’d look a bit boring in some of it, tan being the most common color, but just having things that wouldn’t be torn apart as easily made it worth going.
Bente tried, very hard, to suggest that Eve dress in couture fashions all the time. Even after hearing that Eve did regular duty as a glorified ice cream girl. It was both cute, and a bit insane, though apparently not the kind of crazy that would have her labeled that way by her fellows. In the end Eve put her foot down, and insisted that she needed more practical outfits, with only a few being designed to attract attention. Plus, that way she wouldn’t go broke, trying to dress for Yoghurt World.
Darla pointed out to her, several times, that it wasn’t very likely she could do that. Not even paying Bente’s clothing prices, which were top end.
Lyn mainly stood back and made jokes the whole time, not picking on Eve in particular, which was nice of her. She was just a Vampire after all. No one even mentioned that though, the entire time. That probably meant they were all really cool, or something like that. On the good side, she paid for everything, and even got a gift for each of the others while they were out, seeing things that might work for one of them, more than it did her. Darla got a great belt, that was made out of specially treated tree bark, for instance. It was strange, but once paired with anything dark colored it just fit the look.
For her present Bente got a nice bracelet, made of a fine web of interlaced rings, almost like chain mail, but so tiny they seemed like glinting cloth. It was silver, but the woman acted like it had been the finest thing she’d ever seen. That, Eve understood, was how you were supposed to act when you got a present. Really, they all did that part of things wonderfully, even though they most likely had everything they’d ever need.
It left her feeling like she was the one that had gotten something nice.
Lyn… Got a pair of pink running shoes.
The fashion Demon made a face at them, but the woman, who was wearing a killer red dress, put them on immediately, and jogged around a bit, like a kid that believed their new shoes would make them ten times faster than before. It was adorable, and kind of made her feel a bit better about the life that Zack must have had, growing up. Eve had never thought about it much, just assuming it was all horrible for him, all the time. There would have been at least a bit of humor, and very possibly some love though.
The fact that this Greater Demon was probably a better mom than her own had been was baffling to her, but she was happy for her buddy, so it worked out.
So, in all, by the time she got home with enough loot to make it hard to carry alone, but doing it anyway, she was set for another five or six years, as far as things to wear went. Or, given how things had been going in her current reality, about a year. Provided she didn’t mess up too much and have to burn half of it.
Not wanting to be one of those messy people, Eve spent about twenty minutes hanging it all up, before looking at the time, dashing to get a shower and then running, as fast as she could, to Westfield. It was nearly six, after all. She was on to work all day, as far as she knew. That was only fair, given she was begging for the evening off.
She was wearing one of her new outfits, which was, she realized, a little plain. It was a long sleeve tan shirt, that looked a bit heavy, and tan trousers, along with one of her new pairs of sneakers. While it was different, it was, she knew, not going to raise many eyebrows her way. That was fine, since her job was to keep the costumers happy, and she got to wear a nifty Yoghurt World apron over it all, for color. All she needed to finish the look was a pair of heavy framed glasses.
Then Maggie would see who the new queen of the nerds was.
Smiling, when she finally got in, still not really able to talk, after stressing herself on the run, she nearly ran into two people at the door. Lenore, who was standing just outside of the place, looking content at how it seemed, if not impressed, and Felicia.
Inside, still working away, stood David, who waved when he saw the collection standing there, waiting to enter.
Eve didn’t speak, until she could manage it without screaming. That was part of her plan, since it meant she didn’t seem half as wimpy as she felt after running.
“Hi all. Lenore, have you met Felicia before? She runs Sparks, Nevada, for the Council.” She gestured toward the slightly orange eyed brown haired woman. “Felicia, this is Lenore Hawthorn. She’s in charge of the western states region now.”
Lenore smiled, her face pleasant enough.
“Really? Then we’ll be working together. Wonderful. Why are you here?” The last bit came out sounding demanding and blunt, but Felicia just answered, since this was, more or less, her new boss.
It kind of made sense that she’d want to know why the person in charge of a given area was several states away. Apparently waiting for David to get off shift, if you didn’t know any better.
“Daylight training with The Snowflake. The Mistress of Souls took over Sparks, and is insisting that I learn to be up all day. So I get the best help available, and a veiled threat of being taken as a slave, if I can’t manage it. I have to admit though, it’s going better so far than I figured it would. This will be my fourth day straight, being awake. As soon as I’m done here, I’m heading right back home. My second is watching it for me right now. Doing a good job, too. Evan. I don’t want to be gone too long, or he’ll realize that they don’t really need me.”
Lenore looked away, like she was thinking, and then nodded.
“That’s a good plan then. Please ask Keeley to clear any future Vampire related things with me first? Not that I would have opposed you coming here, but there may be better ways of getting things done in the future. For instance, Eve could go and train several people at once, if she were on location there, without disrupting things there much at all. This way is slower, though perhaps that isn’t a bad thing, for the moment. I’ll call her later, to make sure we’re on the same page.”
Eve shook her head though.
“Probably not the best time for that. Some things have come up for her, that might make it less than optimal to ask anything of her right now. I can explain later.” She glanced at Felicia, who was kind of Keeley’s pet Vampire, she thought, and gestured for them to walk into the store. After all, all the bad guys knew about it, so why shouldn’t the Vampires, Shifters, and Alede in the place? Then they could tell everyone else all about it.
In the brighter lights of the shop, Felicia’s hair looked its normal dyed red. She was younger looking too, since that was a Vampire thing, at least for the women. Eve was actually the oldest looking girl Vampire around the place, she realized.
Lenore didn’t seem put out by her suggestion, so she led them into the back, but waited, since it made sense to fill them all in at once and Edom was coming. Ginger, too.
That woul
d leave Barb out, but Ed could fill her in later.
That meant sitting Lenore in the back, like a visiting dignitary, since she was now, and getting her some of the good Human blood, since it was what you offered someone like her.
When the mug was in her hand, she sipped it very slowly, savoring it. Felicia looked on, a bit hungrily, but Eve felt nothing in particular, even when the scent hit her nose. She had enough links. Or nearly. She had ten now, and needed to see if she could add more like that, long term. It had been a bit of work, but having the extra energy was worth it.
The new regional manager, or whatever she was called, started speaking after a bit, not asking Eve to explain, her voice conversational.
“I’m not technically taking over yet. Vaughn is heading to his new location in a few weeks, but Edom has control here, so I’m looking for things to do. I fear I’ve worked for so long, without a break being a real idea, that now that I have time, I don’t know what to do with myself. I suppose that means I should never try to retire, doesn’t it?”
Eve smiled, kind of getting the basic feeling, if not what it really meant, on a personal level.
“You know, if you really want a hard project, you should get with Cormack, and see about going with Ginger later today. The plan is for her to help train the new store employees there, as well as get the Yoghurt World side of things up to speed. It… We tried to do it, and Cormack might have it up and going already, but it was about as bad as you could imagine, when he took over. Well… No, really it was worse than that. There had been a Manthori gang that was robbing our Vampires as they lined up to buy their weekly blood. Right outside the shop. They even had the nerve to come in and try to badmouth our people there. That should be over. I should go and check on that, I guess.”
Felicia just stood there, and finally sat when invited by Lenore. Still, when Edom came in, not long after, Ginger following by about five minutes, both early, considering they weren’t expected until seven or so that day, Eve just started on the whole explanation, as far as she knew things.
Leaving out the part about The Ferryman, just talking about how Darla had gone missing, and was found now. Then how a whole lot of what had been happening around there for the whole year, or a lot longer than that most likely, was all about Keeley.
“So, as you can imagine, that’s going over well, in her world. It isn’t really our problem, and we might be able to smooth over some of the Vampire related things, now that it’s in the open. That was all about distracting everyone though, so they wouldn’t get what was going on as soon. By that I mean all the other Greater Demons. We are, as always, pretty much just the ones that have to pay for their amusements.” She also left off the shopping trip, not wanting Ed and Lenore to beat her for being that stupid. It really had been, she knew. Being tied to Greater Demons was about as stupid as you could get.
Ed seemed to think they’d be fine though, regardless of what happened to Keeley.
“We’re pretty connected with The Line Walker, here, but The Mistress of Souls isn’t part of our structure, even loosely.”
Eve and Lenore both looked at Felicia, though she just nodded.
“It will hurt in Sparks, if she goes down like that. Half of the local economic recovery for the whole area is due to her new businesses. Plus, if she gets pushed too hard, guess who’s going to end up her slave, to fight in whatever war the Demons bring?” Thumbs pushed toward her own chest, Felicia grimaced. “I should probably get back there, too. I don’t know what to do. Is it better to stay here and learn to be a day walker, or go back now, and make sure my people are all right?”
People were coming in the front, though the scent hadn’t hit her yet. It wasn’t until Zack spoke that she understood he was coming for a visit. His girlfriend was there, after all, so it made sense. Technically she was one of those too, but they hadn’t exactly been hanging out and fucking, had they? Like Darla had mentioned, she should take advantage of his soft heart that way before he realized he was an evil Demon.
It was nearly funny, though he came in with Bey, and the tiny man looked almost insanely worried for some reason. He walked into the space quickly, and found where she was standing, then hugged her, hard.
“Miss Benson! You live! The Council received a most distressing call early this morning, I was in Toronto, and called on Zackary to bring me here immediately, after hearing the message. You are well? Unharmed, and not much abused? The Greater Demon known as The Ferryman said that something had happened, but only requested your banking numbers, so that he could add funds to your account?” His eyes were a bit too wide, and close, given that he was still holding her as he spoke.
She didn’t make him let go.
“Yeah. Right. I was sort of glossing over that part. He was impersonating The Mind Taker, who as the story went, was busy impersonating The Technician. I figured that out when I went to check on Darla last night, because there had been reports that she was missing. I found her, in a Demon trap, and The Ferryman helped me get her out.” All of that was true, but Zack, being both brilliant, and even though she hadn’t noticed it before, clearly a brat, moved in and touched her arm, then stood back, laughing.
He did it until Bey dropped her, and everyone else was looking. Slightly concerned.
“That’s true. It’s absolutely within what happened. But, Eve, you killed him, in a fair fight. Then brought him back from the dead, using your own healing powers. Then forced him to help you get Darla out of the trap. That’s a bit of a better story than the one you told.” He looked at Bey and shrugged, his thin shoulders expressive, under the deep blue pullover sweater he was wearing that day. “It’s a better story than it sounds like, too. I won’t tell it all, so she can keep seeming mysterious and aloof. Let’s just say, don’t piss Eve off, apparently.” He slapped her on the back, like she’d made a home run, or the winning goal. Eve knew the difference, having cheered at various kinds of sporting events for years.
Everyone else was going to ask questions she bet, so she got ready for them, only to find Lenore nicely changing the subject.
“So, Ginger, I hear that you’re being sent in as a specialist to help Cormack, and his new people? That’s advanced. When I left you were just a child, now…” She grinned, but Felicia spoke, out of turn or not.
“Now she’s a master Vampire. I was planning to invite her to move to my territory, since we could use someone that powerful, but she’s already working with the new training program here, for the Council?”
Eve hadn’t mentioned that to anyone, but Bey beamed, and nodded like it had been well discussed already.
“We have heard such. The first group has already been selected for training, as well. That, was much faster than we’d expected. It will take four to five years of initial work?” He glanced at Eve first, then Ginger, including her in it, as if that were only natural. Which it was, since she was going to be sharing the work of running the whole thing.
Eve smiled at him, since he was her favorite. She wasn’t going to tell the others that, but it was true.
“Right. We won’t have to hold their hands constantly though. Weekly meetings for the first few years, while they go off on their own the rest of the time, and either show they’re willing to fight for this, or not. Things might become more intense, later on when they get closer to becoming one of us, but for now it won’t be that hard, I don’t think.”
He was on the Council, so it wouldn’t hurt for him to know the plan.
“Very good. And you, Ginger, you’re planning to reunite with your family? I know that Miss Benson wanted to make sure you could handle being around emotional Humans first, before you do that. How do you assess her abilities there, Eve?”
It was a big change, and Ginger looked shocked out of her gourd, but when she stared back at Eve, there was no fear in her blue eyes. No red either. It was a good sign that she was ready, wasn’t it?
“Well, I think we should send a few people with her, just in case there’s a melt down
from her family, but she’s not going to have a problem. It should be up to you though, Ginger. Do you want to do that, or not? Would it be easier for your family to know that you’re undead, than to not know at all?” She’d watched enough crime dramas to know that a lot of parents would rather be given the truth, rather than just have had a kid vanish one day. It wasn’t her call though.
The girl let her chin come up.
“Could I do that? Meet with them? I don’t want to scare them, but they aren’t stupid people. They’ll get that it’s better for me to be alive than not, and that moving around counts for that, at least enough. Lenore, will you go with me? And… Do you think Barb would? I’d love Cormack to as well, but he’s so busy right now. That Node location… It’s really a hard job.”
Bey clapped once.
“It will be as you request. I will attend as well, if that suits? As a representative of the Council, since we have to answer for your parent’s child being taken from them.”
Ginger nodded, a bit somberly.
“Yes, sir. That would be fine. Thank you. All of you. I never thought I could go home. I was told that couldn’t happen. Now, I don’t need to live with them, but I can visit maybe? Let them know I’m all right?”
Eve stood up, knowing that she should have tears in her eyes but not even being able to fake it. So she smiled instead.
“Great. I’m on front counter then? Unless you want to take the day off Ed? I think I can handle things here, as long as the world doesn’t melt down, in which case I can call? I have a date at nine, remember, but other than that, I’m free all day. Every day, mostly. Really, I need another hobby.”
She really expected Ed to laugh, since she was being silly, but Bey hugged her again, bowed to Lenore and Edom, then almost as if an afterthought, he did the same with Ginger.
“That is a good plan. Our local ambassador should be there as well. Lenore, dear, do you have the needed numbers for the telecommunications devices?” She didn’t, but Ginger did unless they’d changed, so she and Felicia took that bit of interplay as a good enough reason to get out of the room, so they wouldn’t disturb things. Eve resisted the urge to eavesdrop though, just happy that Ginger had a family that she cared enough for to want to reunite with.
