by P. S. Power
"Mistress, Lady Hally." No more was added, since, clearly, nothing much had happened at all. That reminded her to get with Eve later though, or, if possible, right then. The party wouldn't be over, but the set up might be.
That meant checking in at home, since Eve would try to stay there as much as possible. Who could blame her? She hated living with her mother in that run down trailer. So much so that she kept hinting to Rebekah that she'd be interested in becoming a Vampire like her. That didn't go over all that well though, since the woman wasn't that thrilled with being a Manthori. Keeley had to agree. They looked too different for the world they lived in and it would be a lot easier for Eve if she decided to go with one of the more normal looking types, like Lenore.
She was a bit high strung, but the woman would be a better choice that way, to be honest. The best option would be Bey though, if she really wanted to make that leap. It wasn't up to Keeley to set up however. Darla might have very different plans for her after all.
It took a bit to drive back, and Hally got dropped off on the way, so that she could get to wrapping things. It was the best way to hide the gifts after all, and they were a bit too expensive for the Yorks to not notice.
"How should I explain that to them? My mom and dad. They'll think I'm selling drugs or something." She was actually worried about that, as if Keeley couldn't just mention that it was alright and it would be.
Still, they had a real relationship too and Hally needed to honor that.
"Explain that you're performing a bit of arson for the cash. They were conmen for decades you know. I doubt that either of them will really judge you. Just make certain you explain that you won't be caught as well. Don't tell Steve. I don't want him thinking that crime is a good plan. After all, he has his music career to think of." That was her plan for him, but as her slave, it was what he'd be doing. He was getting pretty good already, not able to help it, since her minor suggestions caused him to practice all the time, and be very aware of what needed improvement. His grades had improved a lot as well, for the same reason.
The other girl made a face and shook her head no.
"I can't just tell them that. They'd blow up at me. I know they would."
"Try it. If they say you can't do it, then we can find something else for you to do to repay the debt. I'm guessing that it won't be half the issue you think it is. Now if you tell them that you want to go to an orgy, they'd flip out on you. But larceny or a few felonies? Not so much."
The girl didn't seem convinced at all, but telling them or not was up to her. Keeley managed to be gone from their driveway before they came out however, and back home inside ten minutes. It would have been faster, but there was a minor accident on the way, and she had to take a detour. It seemed real, but she watched closely, since it could be a trap. It wasn't though, so she managed to work her little ugly car in next to Bertha the rather pretty blue work van.
The others were actually in the kitchen, along with Clara the Hsreth, who was moving with a good bit more speed than she normally let anyone see. It was all oriented toward baking, and cooking at the moment, her arms and fingers actually blurring as she moved.
Eve explained, gesturing at the scene widely.
"Minor accident at Clara's shop, so she's borrowing the kitchen. The party is in three hours. The sprinkler system sprung a leak and sprayed all the food that she and her son had made. He's at their house doing the same thing, trying to make up for all of that." The catering company had actual employees too, but they weren't Hsreth and that meant, if anything were going to be done in time, they had to step up personally.
"Ah, alright. Need any help Clara?" She said the words gently, knowing that the woman would say no, even if it meant losing business due to the lack, but there was no concern coming from her at the moment.
"No, Mistress. This is coming along just fine. A minor setback. If I could borrow your van however to transfer it all? I can call for one, but..." She felt awkward asking for the loan. Sherry just waved at her.
"Of course you can. I'll drive you in fact. After all you and Glen have done for us, it's the least I can do." There was a real point there. Slaves or not, Clara and Glen Taggard had pretty much been putting Sherry's Floral design business on the map. Keeley had never asked them to at all. Part of that was simply that Sherry was actually good, and got the job done, even if time schedules were tight. Sure, she was also Keeley's mother, but that was only part of the whole thing.
It meant that they were fine though and didn't need her getting in the way, which would actually be what she was doing. She'd been learning to cook, but wasn't at Clara's level yet at all. Just standing in the room was a bit of a problem for the Hsreth, who kept looking at her, ready to stop what she was doing, and make food for her master, or anything else that was required. She didn't get a choice in the matter after all.
"Eve, let's go sit in the living room. I have some stuff to talk about anyway." She phrased it carefully, making it seem like it wasn't a big deal at all.
"Cool." The black haired girl was in jeans and a T-shirt that hugged her chest a bit too much. It was just old though, not an attempt on her part to look like she was advertising. She always was, true enough, but that wasn't the reason there. She didn't get a lot of new clothing, and what she had was basically what Darla had given her. Carefully, over the course of months, so as to not make the girl feel bad, or like she owed her anything. Not consciously at least. It was a trick of course, but a good one.
When they got into the other room, Keeley sat on the sofa, only to have the girl slide in next to her, grinning.
"So, is the news that you and a certain redheaded friend of ours are going to hook up? Or have you? I'm not into girls myself, but I have to say, you're both making me feel a little jealous." There was teasing to the words, but she went wide eyed went Keels shrugged.
"Nothing yet, but we probably will. She likes me well enough at least. This isn't about that though. I have a replacement for Barb. A greater Demon that I turned into one of my slaves. Fram. So don't be shocked if you see her running around. Well, him, but when I said 'replacement for Barb' I really meant it. He should be able to pass." She paused and touched her friend on the back of the hand, ready for the uncomfortable shock of the contact, but noting it wasn't that bad today. She'd mainly been working and avoiding her mother for a long while and it helped to make her life a lot better.
Keeley leaned in and kissed her suddenly, on a whim, which got the girl to do it back, using enough tongue that it was clear she wasn't all that surprised by it at all. It was interesting, but not what she'd come to do.
Eve however, didn't move away, putting her arms around her instead. After a few minutes she finally sat back.
"Well, I guess I could try a girl."
Keeley shrugged.
"Maybe later? Right now I just want you to know that I really like you. As a friend I mean. That's all tied up in sex for you though. We should work on that, but for the time being... I want to talk to you about what you have planned, as far as killing those men? Balthias, Fram and Elis will help you. I've already set that up." It was a bit like telling someone that they had a battle group to handle a school bully, but Eve actually looked away, scared and tense. It was why Keeley had made out with her first, to help her know she wasn't being pressured.
The problem wasn't that she didn't want it done though, not at all. There was a deeper issue.
"I know that Elis is supposed to kill them, but I was thinking. Maybe I should do it? Is that... Alright? I'm not saying I'm some badass or anything, but..." She really wanted to. The idea also terrified her more than she could say or would want to, if she had the words. Seeming weak wasn't high on her list of things to do.
"That's fine. The others will help with that then, if you want, and back you up, so that you don't get caught. The thing is, I think you should do it. Now. Today. The longer you wait, the harder it will be for you to get it done. There will always be a reason not to. That's fine as w
ell. If you don't want to be involved, we can do that, or if you change your mind about it." The men would still die, but Keeley would see to it then. Probably still ordering Elis to do it, since it was part of what needed to happen if he was ever going to redeem himself.
There was a long moment of utter silence, but finally she stood up and offered Keeley her right hand.
"Let's get it done, then. Before I chicken out and let even more little kids get raped. I took too long already."
Not hesitating Keeley called for Fram and Bal, asking that Elis be brought along. They were in the room about ten seconds later, with Eve staring at the Greater Demon that looked like her old cheerleading buddy. They hadn't been close, maybe, but as much as anyone could be with Xenses, they'd been friendly.
Keeley explained the plan, which had the others ready to go about a minute later. Bal had already tracked down all the men after all, having had months to work on it. Elis was ready to simply get it done. He didn't speak, but then she'd told him not to, unless it was actually needed. The very pale Vampire was still being punished after all. Even killing these men was part of that. It was a message to him, that said that harming her friend was very serious. It still worked though, if Eve did it.
After all, though different, it still said something, didn't it? That the girl wasn't prey anymore.
After they all left, Balthias taking Eve to get some weapons first, Keeley could only hope it all turned out. Oh, the men would die, but how her friend reacted to it was slightly uncertain.
Since it could break her. Or make her much stronger than she'd ever been.
Either way, they'd know in a few hours.
Chapter seven
It would have been nerve wracking, just waiting for Eve to come back and tell her how things went, except that Keeley decided not to worry about it. The boys wouldn't let her get hurt at all, and the worst thing that would happen would be that she had a bit of a meltdown after killing a few people.
To pass the time she decided to do some cooking and make a casserole for Gladys. After all, the woman had been traumatized, and was probably feeling a little lost and alone now, after the last of her family turned out to be an uber creep. That reminded her. As soon as she had that done and delivered, Keeley needed to see about making sure Bryce made a full confession, and then killed himself. It would be best if it happened on video, so that Roy and his people wouldn't be blamed for it. That or something that would look natural, like a heart attack or choking to death on some food.
It didn't take long to assemble everything, it was a simple recipe, so she made two, because a light snack seemed to be in order. It was tuna flavored, which wasn't her favorite, but was both cost effective, and good enough for now. Gladys loved the stuff though. Keeley pulled that from her memories, and used the woman's own recipe to make it, so it would be familiar.
While she waited the forty minutes it needed to cook, Keeley practiced drawing, and then absorbing energy into herself. It was a matter of practice now, and adaptation to the new technique. At least that made sense. Most Greater Demons learned it pretty slowly, but this particular trick didn't damage her at all, so it was just a matter of repetition and focus, not healing the entire time, which was good, since she still wasn't back to normal as far as energy went yet.
She actually managed to go and deliver the casserole while it was still warm, and sit with her and her friends for about half an hour. They didn't say a lot, but she could tell that none of them were overly shocked about the whole thing. Bryce had never been a good guy, always picking the absolute worst things to do as a child even. Killing the neighbor's dogs and cats, that kind of a thing. No one had ever caught him though, they assured her, or they could have gotten him help.
She felt a little bit mean when she spoke, but it was something that they needed to understand, so she did it anyway.
"You can't really help psychopaths. Doctors, medications, these things don't fix them at all. The best you can do is give them a set of rules and hope they see the value in following them. He chose not to, so I doubt that having had him committed or sent to therapy would have honestly done much for him. This isn't anyone's fault, it's most likely biology." That was close enough to the truth that the four woman and the Catholic priest that sat there with their plates of food all agreed with her at least.
They also didn't expect a sixteen year old girl to sit there with them all day, and thanked her for bringing food quickly, so she could escape. Most of them seemed to think it was special enough at least. One woman didn't, but she figured that Keeley was trying to get into Gladys's will or something. The others all knew that the woman didn't have enough for that to be very likely at all.
She passed out hugs, to some of the women. The priest, Father Donnelly, didn't allow that for himself, keeping well back, but extending his hand politely. He was a good man really. For all that some of his fellows in the church had done some rotten things, this man wasn't involved in it at all. His worst sin was overeating on occasion, and she hadn't really tempted him to that with the tuna casserole, since, like her, it wasn't his favorite.
"Thank you so much Keeley. We'll be seeing you for mass on Christmas Eve?" He tried to say it with enough expectation that she'd say yes, that she smiled at him.
"That is the plan. Of course I reserve the right to skip out if need be. A lot's been going on lately. I don't know what my mother has planned for instance." She actually didn't. It would probably be church, since Sherry wanted to be involved with other people and that was one way to do it. Darla wouldn't be coming, she didn't think, since her sister was hard enough to get around on Sundays for it, much less a holiday. Even one she didn't really care about. Of course, that was part of the reason for going, wasn't it? They didn't care about the religion, but attending the services made them look like normal people.
The man just looked a little sad, but seemed resigned to the whole thing.
"At least you didn't promise something you might not be delivering. Well, we'd love for you to be there. Please try."
She shrugged.
"Alright. I'll pass the word and see if I can work up a group." There were a few of them after all, that should be going. Roy and his wife, Karen, for instance, as well as Eve, since the Police Chief was her father. Really, that's who she should be living with, instead of her rather neglectful mom, but no one had mentioned it yet at all. Maria Gonzales and Becky Hoader would both want to go. Maybe Hally too.
It would be a whole thing.
Gary wouldn't want to, most likely. He was Gay, with a capital "G" on it, and the church frowned on him for it. That was another thing she needed to look in to. He hadn't been around in days. A few weeks before he'd started to rally a bit and go out again, after Darla killed the Durgs that had beaten his boyfriend Rob to death. They were all from Wilson High, so there was a giant fear in the city that someone was killing their children. It was true, after a fashion, but no one had demanded a curfew yet. Of course it was the middle of winter, so no one really stayed out that late. Keeley was almost certain that it would be coming.
She got back before anyone else did, Bertha being gone from the driveway already. That meant she had time to actually just sit and think for a while. There wasn't even homework to see about just then. She'd done it, and all the extra credit already, so it would be out of the way. The presents were wrapped and everything. Keeley had even looked in on all her people that day, more or less.
Well, not Deborah Forbes, but the woman was fine. They talked about twice a week. Keeley was working to get her a job at a major television network. It was going well. Honestly, she could have done it already, even starting without any contacts, but moving the woman around too fast would draw attention. She could get an offer from one of the big players, but not without a few more major stories and some exposure. Not if it was going to look natural, like she'd just gotten a big break, instead of someone pulling strings for her.
That reminded her of something, so she got her little prepai
d cell and dialed the number anyway.
"Debbie Forbes." It wasn't the way she always answered the phone, just the way she did it when she was mad at one of her honeys. They bickered a lot, and since it was a rather unconventional relationship, having a man and two women in it, things could escalate quickly at times. The clipped tone probably meant Keeley had interrupted a fight.
"Can you meet me tomorrow at Fritters? Bring a cameraman and just be happening to come by at one twenty or so. Don't ask how I know, but there will be a story, if you do. One that might just make the national news on a slow day, as a bit of ironic humor."
"Keeley?" She sounded baffled, but the second the name was said, there were some biting words from the background and a man and a woman started going at each other, making accusations about who was sleeping with whom, outside of the relationship. On the good side Deborah didn't seem to be directly involved in this part.
"That's me. So, you might want to covertly get things ready." She gave the time again and then waited while a spectacular screaming fit started. It was answered with a manly bellow. It was loud enough that when Deborah spoke, she sounded more than a bit angry.
"Sorry, it's been like this all day. I can't take much more of this. I love Linda and Justin, but this is... I don't think it's going to keep working." She whispered the words and then hung up the phone without saying goodbye. Probably because at least one of them had heard her, and hit the button to end the call, as if that would undo the words.
From her perspective it was a good thing. The others had their own lives and jobs and frankly, they were slowing her asset down. They were needy, and complained when she worked too hard, instead of supporting her. Yes, relationships were a two way street, but neither of them were actually ambitious enough to keep up with their girlfriend or content to sit back and play a supporting role either. It was a bit sad, but they would have had to go anyway. This way, when Keeley got things ready for her, Deborah could just leave and go off to New York, or Dallas, without any fuss.
