The Living and the Dead (Tyler G Book 3)

by P. S. Power

  Ty looked at the others and shook his head.

  "Would that help? He either has the information and will come to me, or not."

  That got vague nods, but Allison picked up her large box, which seemed too big for her to handle, and winked at him.

  "Would he though? I can see a few ways for you to do what you want. Some are harder than others to pull off, but if I can do that, Tarsus, The Librarian, can do the same. You might need to push at him a bit. He bargained with you for favors. It's up to him to pay that back, if you can get him to. Since you can be enough of a problem for him to be annoying, that seems reasonable. I wouldn't sit back and wait too long for him to fix things for you. Data is his skill. He knows more than you might assume. At this point he's probably entertaining six different things that might work, and still looking for the one that would fit you best. That kind of thing can be drawn out for decades however, and you aren't going to die, so it doesn't mean he hasn't paid off if he does it that way. Unless you set a time limit on when he had to finish by?"

  That got him to smile, even though it wasn't heartfelt, in particular. Calling to bug someone like The Librarian seemed a poor plan to him. So much so that he nearly decided not to bother. He just could live, or be un-living, like he was. It wasn't perfect, but it was safer, in a way. Then again, what did he have to lose in particular?

  Tarsus either played with him, or did his part in the game. Tyler was already dead after all, and had been for his entire life, even if he hadn't known it. That was both a gift, and a hollow thing, he was starting to understand. There had been a time, not long ago, when he hadn't even known what a Greater Demon was. Now, he knew several of them, and kind of wished he didn't.

  Sure, Zack had actually been fine, and he loved his mother, but Keeley was a fucking rapist, and The Storm had forced him to kill himself, so he wouldn't eat a little boy. For a moment he remembered the feeling of his head coming off, after hours of scraping at his neck with a sharp piece of stone. Worse, he'd kind of thought that God had helped him out there, getting that, and a trickle of water, for him.

  To protect the innocent kid.

  Instead that one had turned out to just be him, after a fashion. Using magic subconsciously. True, he could make up a story about how that was just how God rolled, using things like that to get his will done, but that just wasn't true.

  In a way, that was worse than not knowing if the deity was real at all, knowing that he didn't particularly care about his creations. If that was even how the whole thing had worked. Did God make it all happen?

  In the end it probably wouldn't matter for him anyway. Tyler was just him, not anyone important.

  "Fine. I'll give him a call and pester him about things. Just know, I'll tell him The Technician said I should if he asks why I'm bothering him like that."

  Eve gave a sound that was suspiciously evil in tone. A snort, mixed with a wicked laugh. The bright red haired chubby woman stood there, staring directly into the red Vampire eyes.

  "If it were me, I'd open with that one. 'Hi, Mr. Librarian, sir. Darla The Technician told me to call and bother you.' We're done here." That part was spoken directly to the feminist leader, not Ty. "From now on you'll only do things to actually fight for equality. For everyone. The real kind, not stupid first world problems. Do you understand?"

  "Yes. I love equality."

  "Good girl. Go do that now. Go." Everyone else had already left the space, as far as the other side went. The Vampires had captured three security guards, in yellow wind breakers that were too warm for that time of year, who had come to liberate the college students. They were nearly killed by the Vampires, but Bey had interceded for them, and simply used mind powers on them so they'd forget, and sent them on their way too. They were, after all, both just doing their jobs, and as he pointed out, very brave. Unlike the feminists who had thought nothing would be able to harm them due to their entitlement, the two men and one woman had known what they were doing, and had fully expected to die trying. So much so they hadn't even tried to call the police in, to save them from the same fate.

  They were sent on their way without issue. Totally unharmed.

  The tiny man seemed pleased enough by the whole thing. It showed in the way he clapped his hands together softly. Just once, but his face was polite and serene at the same time.

  "Ah, so, what is the plan now? I should get back to Washington, since I have a meeting there in the morning. Eve, your project in Nevada is nearly done? There is an operation developing, I fear, that your skills would suit."

  She nodded.

  "The younger kids will need a few more days, and I need to hang with Tyler here for a bit after that for his lessons. I'll have time for anything that comes up anyway, if it's needed? I think that Rebekah or Ginger could keep the younger ones going, and if need be I can just get Tyler to tag along with me. Right now... Well, Tyler and I are going to run back to Nevada. That was the deal, wasn't it?" She deadpanned the whole thing, then grinned, as if it were a joke.

  Zack however, nodded seriously.

  "It will be slow, if he doesn't use magic for it, but not that bad. I bet, with enough work, you can get to about a tenth of Eve's normal speed that way, Ty. That thing with Keeley was impressive enough, speed wise. It burned way too much power. You have limits that way, so need to fix that first thing. Do better than that."

  Bey, being polite, or possibly nosy, looked directly at The Line Walker, and seemed curious.

  "A thing with The Mistress of Souls? Do tell?"

  Before Zack could do that however, Skalla slapped her chest.

  "I, Skalla, saw this thing. Gartner of the Nations fought with this Demon. The one that looks like one of your weak and cowardly Human women, but was not. He moved like the wind itself, and struck her down. If not for his good will, I think he would have ended her at that moment, even if she is a monster, and he but a man. Then he aided her in taking some spies placed upon the fiend, who were killed and brought back as was done here this night. A most useful trick of magic." There was a bit of a bow toward Allison, and the girl returned a small smile. The large, well polished, wooden box gleamed under the auditorium lights.

  The Technician smiled. It was a bit creepy for her teen girl face.

  "That's about what happened. The spies were Zack's parents. His mother and his Human father. They were freed and allowed to leave." She sounded bland about the idea, but Bey smiled and clapped several times.

  "Ah! That is joyous then. Are we at war with The Mistress of Souls, Mr. Gartner? I would loath to incur her wrath. None have managed to stand against her, but if we must risk such, for honor or-"

  Zack cleared his throat.

  "Nope. They made up. After Ty won. The point is, that Ty here can actually make that run, if you have any patience at all, Eve. My guess is that it will take you about a day. Maybe less if you don't wimp out, Ty. Focus. I'll drop Skalla back at the new embassy complex. Then I'm headed back to the mall. Want to come with, Bey? It's free, since I'm headed there anyway."

  That got a smile and more clapping, as well as a happy nod, accepting the offer.

  Eve didn't even wait for Allison to leave, giving her a hug instead. Which was strange to him. Who hugged Greater Demons? They didn't even do that with each other that he'd seen. Well, he hugged his mother, but that was different.

  The Vampire came at him, and patted him on the shoulder.

  "Start the process, Ty. I'll walk with you. Do well though, since I really don't want to take a week on this."

  That was all the encouragement he got as they headed out. Then, as tightly and well as he could, starting with a time distortion concept mixed with one that would make it easier to think in that idea based fashion, they marched. He wrapped the idea around the Vampire, who walked with him at first, then smiled when she got it.

  "Niiiice. Okay, do better. We can go about twenty times this fast without using any energy. I'll try and do my part here." If that helped make things stronger, he didn't kn
ow, but he could feel that she was holding the same basic thing he was. It linked up after a bit, and they fell into lockstep. It was either really cool, or kind of creepy. Honestly he wasn't certain which at the moment, not being able to think that much.

  It felt right. Like they were really close and connected. More than lovers would be even.

  He let her do the directions, since he had no clue where they were going. They turned onto a freeway after a while and walked, the whole thing feeling very slow to him, down the gray, but smooth, asphalt, passing cars that weren't moving. Neither were their drivers. The only time he nearly lost it was when Eve grinned at him and pointed to a small red convertible.

  It had the top up, but through the window he could clearly see that the woman in the passenger's seat had her head on the lap of the driver. She wasn't resting either. It was nearly enough to throw him off, but he managed to regain the right sense of things, and ignore most of the world after that.

  The rest of the trip, which took a long time, and no time at all to his perception, was peaceful. They ended up on the front doorstep of the mansion, just about noon the next day, with Eve smiling hugely.

  "That, was not too shabby, for your first trip. You used a bit of magic, so we need to get you inside and eating to feed The Rotted to pay for it. She's here, by the way. In the kitchen, stealing your food, I bet. I would be if I was her. That's totally fair. You got a little sloppy at the end, magic wise. On the good side that trip didn't really hurt me, which is special and good. You're still too slow, but hey, what can we ask of the new kid, right?" She grinned, a disarming and pleasant thing, and went into the house like she lived there.

  Then she called out.

  "Hey everyone, I'm home! I need to run and get with my trainees. Is Bekah with them?"

  She tilted her head, and then looked at Tyler.

  "Thanks Anne. I'll go round them all up there then. Ty's doing well. You two should chat. Later." Then, like she was making fun of how very slow he really was, she turned and vanished into thin air, even though he was still standing there in slow time.

  Though, really, he was doing good anyway, for him. That trip had been nothing short of a miracle, really. One night and part of a day, walking on foot, to travel thousands of miles. It wasn't a thing he planned to make fun of. Still, showing off a little bit, he walked into the kitchen, moving at about full speed. Then he cut it all and stood there, wondering what it looked like.

  Not that impressive, since the girl that was there, looking nerdy and about the same age as Allison, if cuter and less slutty at the same time, jumped up from the table, which was laden with food.

  "There's my Pumpkin! I was worried for a bit last night, when the drain started. That wasn't too bad." He got a hug, which felt a little weird now, after the thing with Keeley and what she'd said at the time.

  Lucy made a face, clearly getting it all.

  "Wow. Bitchy of her. She must like you. Notice that she went for sex, rather than ripping your testicles off? True, she then had to ruin it, to make her little point, but that's part of her way, I think. She did have to be punished for that. Not too poorly done on your return volley. I could have gotten you money for killing her, if you'd just pressed things a bit. Then her sister would have brought her back though, so it was just as well you didn't waste the effort. Well, too late for that. Anyway, I'm going to have to leave for a bit, but I wanted to check in with you first. My guess is that The Storm will make another play for you soon. Probably one that's a bit more direct this time. That thing in the cave..." She shook her head, and ate part of a turkey. She used a fork and knife to do it, but the whole thing was in front of her.

  After a bit she sighed.

  "That was foolish. She might have destroyed you, but she can't steal you from me. Not that way. Even if you'd turned rogue and started to eat people, I could always bring you back. Even death won't really stop that."

  He sort of knew that, now. Beheading himself, at least mainly, and coming back from it, well, that had been a good sign. Ty wasn't going down too easily.

  Lucy nodded.

  "I... Don't think that even coming back to life would really do it. Not the way you'll have to. Still, being as free as you can be won't hurt. Besides, maybe I'm wrong? I mean, I'm not, but if you don't need me, I will let you go. Just know that I love you, honey. I'm so proud of you, too. Would you like something to eat? I have a lot of potatoes, and they're your food. I did the work fixing them though, so that should cover my part, don't you think?"

  "Yeah. Plus that whole thing where I'm not a Greater Demon, so those food rules won't apply."

  He smiled, and she waved a fork in the air.

  "Don't they though? Not with me, but you're my representative. If any of the others come over, or you go to their places, you need to handle things correctly. It's rude, otherwise. Trust me, you don't want to be rude to the relatives."

  That made sense to him. Not the whole avatar part, since he really liked to think of himself as an individual, not just an extension of his mom, but all the Greater Demons seemed to kind of think of him that way, so she might really have a point there.

  "I'll look into it. So, is there a plan here, as far as taking care of The Storm? I don't really want to kill her, but... Oh, no, wait. I'm totally fine with that. Not that I'm holding a grudge, but I'd love to have that part of things be done. It would kind of let me get on with my life."

  That got a simple seeming nod.

  "Wouldn't it? Probably. When she comes for you, you'll have a chance to take care of things. If she comes for me, that will probably be the end as well. Either one of us dies, or we manage to come to an accord." She kept eating the whole time, her face calm and a little bland.

  Then she quickly got him a plate and dished up the roasted potatoes that she had in a giant bowl. They had the skins on them, but were quartered, and smothered in spices and butter.

  They were good though, and made with enough care that he enjoyed the meal, even if it was a bit strange, eating a big plate of one thing like that. Lucy took a lot longer to consume things than he did, clearing the table, in fairly short order.

  In the end she stood, and waved at the mess. She was short at the moment, and looked like a skinny, classes wearing white girl. Her hair was light colored, and her glasses had turtle shell frames. Her little skirt let her knees show, but only just.

  "Clean this up for me? I really need to get going. I should be back in a week or so?"

  "Okay. Be good. As good as you can be, you know, being an evil Greater Demon. Try not to torture anyone that doesn't deserve it, I guess?" He let himself smile, as she laughed a bit.

  "No promises. Half the fun of being me is making people suffer. Of course they don't all deserve it. I know that you really want me to be good, and wholesome. I gave you that idea for over a decade and a half, so of course seeing me that way is the most comfortable for you, but it isn't reality." She gestured at the table, and shrugged. "The meal I had before this was three African natives that crossed me. Last night I raped a man. I looked very different, but I held him down and took him up the ass, just because he cut me off in traffic earlier in the day. I think that you're finally getting the idea. We're Demons, Honey. You've been around some confusing beings, I'll grant you that. But never forget what we are. We're sharks, not puppies. Forget that, and you will end up being worse than eaten."

  He nodded, since that kind of thing really seemed likely, from what bits and pieces he'd heard.

  It was kind of what Greater Demon meant. He just happened to know some of the nicer ones. Kinder seeming ones.

  "You really ate people, and raped a man for being a bad driver?" It was still hard to buy, but the little girl, looking adorable and innocent, nodded.

  "I've done worse than that. In the last few days. Even your girlfriend Keels has done things in the last month that would make your gorge rise if you knew about it. Zack... He's actually far too kind. Probably the worst Greater Demon I've ever seen that way. It'
s his real insanity, you know. Kindness has no place in our hearts."

  "And you love me? So, that's nuts, right?" He smiled.

  Lucy, the only parent he could remember ever having, nodded then.

  "Nutty as a fruitcake. I never claimed that I was sane however. Not directly. I do love you. It's a liability. A fairly safe one however, in that you would be very hard to destroy. Most hobbies aren't as powerful as you are."

  That he was just a hobby, even a beloved one, both made sense and was less than fun to hear.

  "Well, I'll try not to do that part then. Being destroyed. That sounds unpleasant, doesn't it?"

  "Oh, sure. Still you could do worse than being destroyed. Be careful, dear. Things are about to heat up, I believe."

  Then she left, waving at him over her shoulder. He didn't watch her leave in particular, but noticed something. He could feel her bending space as she left. It wasn't that familiar, and surely wasn't strong, but the raw concept was enough for him to feel what she was doing. To understand it even. That was, probably, a new power, if one that he'd learned, rather than some inborn thing.

  Then, as he cleaned up the kitchen, he noticed that he could feel other concepts in the air. Mainly as things changed. For instance, there was a Vampire in the house, upstairs, moving around. After a bit, he got that it had to be Marissa.

  "Um, hey, do you want something to drink? I could heat up some blood for you?"

  While he couldn't hear her words, he got a sense that she accepted that, and was coming, so he pulled a bottle from the fridge, and set it up to warm on the stove in a small pan of water. A bit later, not making any noise at all, the Vampire moved into the space. It was eerie, in a very neat way. Like she floated a bit, instead of just walking in.

  "I wasn't aware that you knew I was here. I hope you don't take my eavesdropping amiss?" She seemed worried about that. Like it was a real thing.

  "Nope. You can make up for it with sex, if you want? I think we kind of already have permission from Ginger for that." He smiled, and looked away, feeling slightly shy about it. They'd done things before, so it wasn't totally outside of what could possibly happen.