On the Line (Alternate Places Book 3)

by P. S. Power

  First though, they needed to run the idea past a few people. Mainly Zack and Claire, but Merri and Val too, Kate told them all. Libby was important, but if they couldn't talk her into a party, then it just shouldn't happen at all.

  Part of Kate wanted to jump up and do it immediately, but she decided to listen to everyone else's ideas first. Some of them thought that inviting world leaders seemed a bit ambitious, but Troy just smiled.

  “Hey, I said we should invite them. The odds that they'll come are pretty small, but at least they'll know we cared enough to ask, right? Besides, I don't think we're allowed to have a party at Zack's anymore without giving this kind of stuff thought.

  “After all, if we just invited our immediate friends, we have a decent start on a who's-who list of important people. If we leave these people off, someone may be insulted. Even if it's honestly just us having a little get together.” He stroked his chin, clean shaved, now that he worked with Claire each day. She didn't mind facial hair as a rule, but felt that it didn't belong around food. Kate thought that the Vampire had made that rule up to get rid of the little goatee he'd been sporting at the time he started working with her. It really had made him seem a bit like he could be Satan. In a movie where he was the good guy hero, true, but given all the Demons around the place already, it probably wasn't a great look for him.

  They left from lunch a few minutes later, going back to their respective places of work or business. She grabbed Troy's arm and asked him to meet her later. He smiled... and said he wouldn't miss it. Perhaps the back of Frozen YoGurt at five or so, he suggested, giving her a meaningful look that could have meant anything. He might be meeting her to give her information... or to see if she wanted to have sex under the soft serve machine or, who knew what? She agreed to be there giving him a nod. The worst that happened, she figured, would be him trying to have sex with her under the large silver machinery and that would be... fun. So it seemed like a good idea to her.

  As long as Claire didn't catch them at it. Then they'd both probably die. At the very least they'd be put to cleaning her shop for several days. For a woman that didn't even eat regular food, she was really picky about what kind of things could be done around it.

  Back at Candles and More Kate locked herself in the office with Lisa, who looked shocked. At first. Then she smiled softly and asked what was going on, her legs inadvertently spreading in anticipation, and a slight hint of pheromone being released from the woman. Obviously already getting turned on, just by the pattern of the door being locked. Damn.

  Kate realized that Lisa really did have an addiction to pleasure. It sounded so innocuous. Almost stupid. After all, pleasure almost always seemed like a good thing, right? Too much though and it could keep you from doing anything else. Rats had been known to push levers that led to electrodes in their brains hooked to their pleasure centers, even forgoing food to do so. They'd do it until they died, if you let them. Humans were smarter, capable of realizing they needed to eat and sleep, at least part of the time, but that didn't mean unlimited access to pleasure was good for them. She wondered how much Zack had been hitting the poor woman with?

  Going for low key, Kate moved around the desk and hugged her gently. It wasn't romantic, or hinting at anything more than common connection between them. Bodies pressed together, but without the rubbing and slight grinding that most of her people would have added, alone with someone like they were at the moment. A normal enough greeting between them, having known each other, sometimes in traumatic situations, for over a year now. They were friends, but nothing more than that.

  Lisa clung to her, pushing her breasts into her, nipples going erect. In the whole time she'd known Lisa, she could count the number of times the woman had become obviously aroused in her presence on one hand. All of those except two involved other people being provocative or doing something so overtly sexual that it would take a saint not to notice.

  Letting go, she stood back casually, and watched as the other woman's body leaned forward toward her, a lot more than it needed to just to pay attention to Kate.

  “Some of us were talking at lunch and we thought it might be nice to have a party. But... Since half the people that we want to invite are on the list of dignitaries and world leaders we thought we should run everything past you first, and Claire, Zack, Merri and so on. We're actually thinking fairly low key, for all that we want some of our heavy hitter friends to get a chance to come. Understood, most of them probably won't, but, what do you think?”

  Lisa may have been thirty seconds from throwing herself at the girl, but that didn't seem to dull her mind much. Instead of telling her what an awful idea it was, she thought about it for a while first and seemed to give it some real thought. Even if she simply said no right then, that level of consideration heartened Kate. Even a few seconds of thought seemed like more than they could have really expected.

  “Um. Well. You know, I think it may be a good idea? We need to get with Claire though, her head is probably the sharpest when it comes to things like this... But right now, with all these interns to do all the work...” The blonde woman grinned at her from behind her desk, a hand moving to the front of her blouse, playing with a button. The top one, on her dark green blouse. Her pupils dilated enough for Kate to consciously notice it.

  That was a major thing. Normally people didn't do that just because someone cute was talking to them. There were little signs like that all the time, but this was a massive and sudden change from what Lisa was supposed to be. If an Alede had been doing things with her, instead of Zack, then she would have known what it meant.

  Honestly, she did know. It was just a thing her mind wanted to rebel against, even now. As she stood there, watching it, she fought for some other explanation. A reason for this to be happening that Kate just didn't have the breadth or scope to understand.

  Lisa looked at her hungrily, which really told Kaitlyn that something had gone very wrong here. Early on Kate, as both herself and Kyle, had thrown a lot of lust at the woman when Zack wasn't around to get after her for it. She was good looking and a bit hard to get, or at least she had been. Now she was using body language that said that she'd do pretty much whatever the younger looking woman wanted without hesitation.

  Now the only question left was Lisa's reason for doing this now. If it was just a realization how hot Kate looked, or that she was a fellow adult in every way that mattered, therefore available, well... good. The Alede wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth and it had driven her crazy for months that the other woman had resisted her charms.

  If it turned out to be addiction though...

  Then things were really going to go south fast. Worse than that, she couldn't see a way for it to be anything else.

  Kaitlyn knew she loved Zack, and would die for him. She almost had more than once already, after all. The same was true the other way around too, so it wasn't some kind of silly groupie thing, she didn't think. The man had earned her trust, hadn't he? But she also cared for Lisa and by the conventions of her culture, Zack should be responsible for her wellbeing. Now that she had a strong inkling that he'd addicted her like this, she was honor bound to do something about it.

  But what?

  That would be the real question. Still, she didn't have to freak out yet. First she needed to verify that this was an actual addiction and that Zack had done it. It might be that someone else had, after all. Any of the Alede could have managed it without even really trying, after all... There were a lot of them around Underwood, too.

  It could even be a trick by someone else, or some other group, designed to shake her faith in her friend. Possibly to get more important people to feel the same way, of course. No one would really care about her that way too much. They shouldn't, at any rate.

  “That's a good idea Lisa. I'll go do that, and of course, I'll talk to my mom about it too. She's good at this kind of stuff.” Kate walked around the desk and gave the woman a very innocent hug, trying to test her reactions.

>   It wasn't even an innocent Alede embrace. She did it like she was a slightly stuffy Mage girl, barely even touching her while it happened, her pheromones and energy locked down so tight that nothing leaked out from her. Lisa clung to her tightly and didn't let go for a long while, her left hand firmly in the middle of the girl's back, pulling her down, since the Mage sat in her office chair still. Her right hand found Kate's behind and cupped it gently, at first, then harder, groping it hungrily.

  Kate leaned in and kissed her, the woman returning it breathlessly. Breaking away, acting as if it were a coy move to build attention rather than an escape, she backed up. Smiling, so her friend would know that she wasn't upset or angry about his. Far from it. If it had been real, Kate would have been busily getting to second or even third base by now. It was tempting anyway. That was another danger for them here. Lisa wasn't in her right mind in certain ways, and taking advantage of her was wrong.

  If she wanted to do that, she needed to handle things differently.

  Kate looked at the other woman with lust in her eyes, “I need to go do this now, but we can... talk about this later?” Her voice promised a lot more than talking, she knew. It was needed at the moment, if she wasn't going to simply do her boss in the back office then and there. Otherwise the woman would feel bad about things, and probably strike out at her. That or run to some other Alede for a fix.

  She might do that last one anyway.

  Unlocking the door, she threw a glance over her shoulder and winked at Lisa, making sure the move was just saucy enough to keep her interested for a few minutes. Then jogged to the front where Jelly manned the front desk still, looking more than a little lost. The Mage girl smiled at her when she walked up, then faltered seeing the look on Kate's face. She might have been young, but the girl was no fool.

  “What's wrong?” She asked her voice going quiet.

  Given where Kate had come from, which it was clear she understood, Jelly seemed to think it was important. Not just about her not getting a raise or even Lisa's panties off. It could have just been that, of course, on any regular day. It just wasn't.

  The dark haired girl just shrugged and told her that it might be nothing. That was still possible after all.

  "Honestly it's probably nothing. I'm just a bit worried about Lisa. She seems a little under the weather."

  She wanted to give the other girl a heads up as to what might happen later, but she didn't know herself. If Zack had done this at all... did he even realize that he'd done it? He had the power, but Kaitlyn had actually gone to school in order to learn how to manage that kind of thing. And if he did, was it on purpose or just because he'd discovered something new and didn't realize what could happen?

  On top of that...

  Who could punish him if he had done it on purpose? Kate had seen him be melted into a pile of goo, have his head chopped off and come back not ten minutes later, almost as if nothing had happened. The worst pain that had ever been put on a Human, possibly ever, had already been heaped upon him for a time too great for Kate to even imagine and she had a lot of experience with decently long time scales now.

  Shaking her head she set off at a walk across the way, anger beginning to stir in her. It might not make sense yet, but she'd probably need it for whatever was about to happen. She didn't storm into the Frozen YoGurt, but she walked with enough purpose that Claire came out of the back office when she asked Troy to go get her, instead of inviting her in.

  Because the Vampire wanted enough room to properly fight her, if things were headed toward violence? It made sense, after a fashion, even if she didn't intend for that to be needed. No, she had to have Claire, if not on her side in all of this, then at least not actively working against her.

  “Claire... A word or two? In private?” Kate didn't look over at Troy when she spoke, but he cast out deep blue lines of concern for her and a smaller, lighter line that held concern for Claire. This got her attention pretty solidly. Not because Troy liked Claire. A lot of people did and he spent a lot of energy worrying about others in general. What got her to focus on him about this was that he felt concern, if slight concern, that she'd hurt Claire. That gave Kate pause and she stopped for a moment, not understanding the why of it. Straightening, trying to relax and look, if not happy, at least normal. She let the muscles around her eyes and mouth go slack for an instant, then firm them again with nothing more than a look of focused concentration.

  “Don't worry Troy, I'm not even sure if I'm mad yet, and I doubt it's going to be at Claire if it turns out to be anything... But Claire? I do need you right now.”

  The Vampire nodded and ushered her back into the office, a space about twice the size of Lisa's. One with a large wooden desk that Claire moved behind, and comfortable chairs arranged in front of it. Off to the side, not one, but four smaller desks, all empty right now, stood, the chairs behind them nice leather covered affairs as well, but smaller and clearly more functional. They had rollers, but didn't look like they would swivel. No one walking into this office would ever doubt where the boss sat. That was clearly part of the overall design of the space.

  Claire didn't pretend to be at ease, settling behind the large mahogany desk and leaning forward, giving Kate her full attention.

  Kate shook her head, not wanting to talk about this at all, still hoping that she was wrong.

  “Two things... First, we're planning a party. The interns and Troy. It looks like it's going to be political, so we need to put it together right. As a group we know too many people that are too high powered to not invite almost everyone at a certain level. Your leader Luthor, and Vaun and, given that, your boss, whoever that is. About the same in the Alede leadership, Mage, Trolleinkein, and Alfric as well as anyone else you can think of. Clyde certainly. Pretty much everyone from here should be invited... Life was so much easier back when it was just me and my friends from school, you know? Last week?” She struggled a bit to paste a smile on her lips, but managed it well enough. She hoped.

  Claire raised her eyebrows and started writing a list of names, not question the pronouncement that they would be having a party, and inviting world powers for some reason. She probably figured she could find a reason to cancel it later, Kate realized. The other woman put the pen down, not exactly in a dramatic fashion, but in one that clearly looked slightly rehearsed, like all her movements did when you knew to examine them closely enough. It wasn't just here, but all Vampires of a certain age that did things that way. The younger ones were all a little awkward though.

  It wasn't that they'd forgotten how to react yet, just that they were busily doing that. It showed in how they moved at times, their powers and supernatural nature slowly taking over. By the time they were about a hundred or so, all of them seemed completely different than real Humans did, most of the time. Then, with work, they all managed to bring things back around. Pretending not to be what they were, with greater or lesser success. Claire was decently into that part of things. She probably even fooled most people. Most of the time.

  “That's... not why you're... upset though, is it?” The Vampire asked softly, making eye contact, but not staring.

  Kate shook her head, making it a slow and controlled move that would be familiar to the Vampire woman in front of her, and explained what she suspected had happened with Lisa. Claire looked mildly concerned, but didn't say anything until she was finished.

  “Kaitlyn... I know, intellectually, that this is a big deal to you and your people... I'm not trying to diminish that, but... What, saying... if it's true, what do you propose to do about it? No one in the world can actually stop Zack, short of killing him, and even that may not be possible. Plus, I'd have to put my foot down there, since killing him would kill me as well... What do you propose? Sending him to his room without supper like a naughty child and giving him a thrashing?”

  Hesitantly Kate started to nod, “Yeah Claire. I think that's exactly what we have to do. At least in spirit. First, I need to get with an expert and make sure I'
m right about this. I don't want to go making accusations without proof. Still, when the time comes if I'm not just smoking crack here, I need you to back me. If Zack did this, he needs to learn that it's wrong and that someone will actually stand up to him. He's a good person, but power can corrupt anyone and he's going to have a long time for that to happen.”

  Claire carefully didn't commit to anything, Kate noticed, but didn't tell her that she was being a moron either. Which she would have if she didn't think what had been said didn't make some kind of sense. It was probably the part about checking things out first that did it. That really did sound pretty reasonable. What she seemed to be proposing was more along the lines of an intervention too. Wasn't it? That...

  Might not work either, she knew. Zack looked young, but was one of the oldest beings in existence. It made a difference in how you responded to other people and events. It was already happening with her and she was a mere fraction of his true age.

  Her next stop was to the Alede embassy. Not Beautiful Plus, and not to her mom, but the Alede Ambassador. Cornering Norris inside the door, she asked him to announce her officially. He looked surprised, but noted how she seethed under the surface, too. If any person in the world knew her moods and weaknesses by now, it would be Norris. The Alede that had sat with her for weeks at a time, doing nothing but looking for chinks in her emotional armor. He hurried off without asking questions.

  In Patty's office she asked Norris and the staff, to clear the store and get out of ear shot. It was close to being rude, for one of them. Past that, she knew, so she bothered to look over at the man and explain first.

  “If I'm wrong about this, then I'll take my lumps, but no one else should have to. I don't want to spread rumors... This... If I'm wrong, then I'll probably be sent into exile. If I'm right...” She told them, looking into Norris's eyes meaningfully, but knowing that the others, Val, Britney and Blaine would hear her nearly as well as the people in the room, even as they worked folding clothing and putting things on hangers. Secrets were hard to keep from their kind. It was a factor that a lot of people forgot when they took them to their beds.