by P. S. Power
Lenore shook her head, but did manage a real seeming smile.
“No. Most likely she’ll be put in as the second in a different location, if the need comes up. She’s still very young, regardless of how well she’s doing. Though Bey has suggested that she act as his assistant. He hasn’t had one in that position in five hundred years. Not in an official capacity.” She looked at the other woman blankly, as if passing a message about something.
It went right past Eve, though Linda nodded.
“I see. So, for one so young, that’s meaningful, isn’t it? Some special skill, or ability?”
Lenore looked around then let her chin come up.
“The power of The Bey line. Speed beyond what others enjoy. Her willingness to use it is greater than most. It’s an honor, of course, to be noticed so young, but also a fearsome thing. She is very much like our Bey.”
She was? That was news to her.
Eve could see it though, since the tiny man was adorable and sweeter than most of the other Vampires by far. More so than she was, but her willingness not to act like a moody brat might be making people think she was all gentle like that too? That, or Lenore was saying that she was a dangerous killer that even other Vampires needed to be afraid of. That was one of her goals in life, true, but it probably wasn’t true yet. Even with the shoes that Darla had given her to help her become faster, she needed more to be like Bey.
So for the time being she was going with the idea that Lenore was impressed with her sweet smile. She used it, but didn’t go too far over the top.
“So, I get the second shift, you the third, and Edom the fourth? Bey thinks we should wake him up for the day. Ed, that is. He can take it, but we might want to let him know tonight, not after he’s gone to bed today.” He was probably still up, but Lenore nodded anyway.
“That seems a good division of labor. Perhaps we should close down for the day?”
That would get them out of a lot of cleaning, but Eve shrugged. She could do that and the rest of it too. Lenore would be busy, but pulling a double there wasn’t that hard. Besides it would make her seem valuable and like she was worth keeping around.
“If you want? Or I can run the store front. Either way. I doubt we need to go into hiding yet.”
That got a smile, and Lenore vanished to the back, getting Linda to leave through the front, to do her part. Eve… Largely stood there. After about five minutes, hearing that her boss was on the phone, she started making calls of her own from the front. She had people to check in with too, after all.
Edom first, because he’d need an update anyway.
For his part though, he already knew it all and had been watching the news all night, at the club. T2LA would have closed hours before, but Troy, the manager there, knew that Vampires were real, and Ed had been there to check in the night before.
His voice was deep and resonant on the phone, touching places inside of her that once would have tingled to hear it. Now, there was nothing, since part of being her kind of Vamp meant losing interest in sex. She could still do it, but as far as she knew it would be a bit like shaking hands. Pleasant, perhaps, but nothing special. Not that she’d tried it, since she’d changed. That was probably a sign right there that she wasn’t the same that way anymore, wasn’t it? There was a time when it would have been the first thing she would have tried out. Making sure all the girl parts worked right. It had even been her plan, before she’d died. Now… It really just didn’t seem all that important.
“Eve? Have you heard about the little debacle that’s forming?” There was no particular concern to the words, as far as she could tell. Almost like he was talking about the weather.
“You mean the Swerlin stuff?”
“Yes. The others coming forward as well. Several in our local community have come out, and are submitting to tests. Allowing themselves to be observed as they die for the day, for instance. That’s fairly compelling. It isn’t just here, it’s everywhere. All over the country. Confined to the U.S. for now.”
She had not known that, of course.
“I see. That sounds… A bit like what we had going on here, last week, doesn’t it? Someone is compelling people to do it? Otherwise we’re looking at a bunch of Vampires that want to die. The Council won’t be happy about this, I’m willing to bet. Unless they’re actually behind it. Any sense of the public reaction yet?” They didn’t have a television there. Lenore didn’t really believe in them, being old and kind of curmudgeonly that way. Just like Eve had never seen her in a pair of blue jeans. Only skirts, and dresses.
There was a long pause from the other end of the line, and finally her maker sighed.
“Mixed. About half the people still don’t seem to believe it at all. The remainder is largely amazed, I think, rather than scared. On the good side Richard and the others have all been pointing out, very consistently, that we need the people and animals to be alive in order for things to work. That seems to be keeping the worst of things to a low roar. The religious people haven’t responded yet, but we know what they’re going to say. Demons, devils, and that a good burning is in order for anyone different.” He sounded like he was pretty certain of that. Not that Eve doubted it.
“Yep. That’s my guess. Well, I’m working things here, with Lenore. You have a job, at about three, checking on some different locations. Do you want me to add the club to that watch list?” She had to explain it then, but he didn’t seem too worried yet. It wasn’t like the place was called Club Owned By Vampires, or anything like that, was it?
They made the arrangements for that, and she let drop that Bey thought he needed to be up all day from then on. He wasn’t pleased to hear it, maybe, but also didn’t bother to argue the point with her. She got that part though. The sun hurt, and by being dead all day you could hide from it.
Even inside, on the bottom level of the mall, Eve could feel the thing searing her already. It was early still too, by noon that giant life giving orb would be like facing real torture. As far as anyone had told her that part never got better either. The New Vampires, the Human looking ones that didn’t have as many other powers didn’t feel it at all. That let them be up all day from the very start. Then, she was doing that too, so while it was a cool trick, it wasn’t one that couldn’t be beat. It would be nice not to suffer each day, but what was a little bit of horrible pain?
Ed had been getting by on only a few hours of rest per day for a long time, too. That was kind of impressive, really. It meant he was old and tough as all get out, really. Anyone willing to basically put up with being punished each day in order to stay awake and work as a public servant had to be. It was part of why very few Vampires screwed with the Council, Eve knew. All of their people tended to be kind of bad ass, and even if you were too, it didn’t pay to push people that had a group of other hard cases on speed dial.
“I’ll be in then. We need to make sure we have all our plans in order. Can you fill Lenore in?”
“Got it. I’ll do that now.”
Not that she needed to, since the other Vampire had been listening to them both. Eve had been ignoring her conversations, since she didn’t really need to know about it yet, but bits and pieces had been coming across. Their section head, Vaun, was on with her, and hadn’t heard much about what was going on yet either. He’d been on with Harland, the Manthori Vampire on the Council, and the man had told him very little of actual value. It sounded like no one knew anything more than they did yet, to be honest.
She spoke out loud, even though she was in the other room, just as soon as Ed hung up.
“You got all that, Lenore?”
The voice that spoke was directed at her, but said only one word, since she was on with someone else.
“Yes.”
So she tried calling The Mind Stealer back and was a bit surprised when the phone didn’t pick up. Instead an older man suddenly stood in front of her, stepping out of nothingness. He was very thin, wearing a rather battered trench coat, and had a five inch
long, thin and wispy, chin beard. It came to a point at the bottom and managed to look affable, rather than demonic and creepy. His eyes were a deep and brilliant green, and his face was covered with wrinkles.
She nearly jumped, on seeing him appear like he did, since it was either a sign of speed that she couldn’t beat at all, or of teleportation. Like Zack and Keeley did. Darla too, which meant it was probably a Greater Demon thing. Hanging up, she got a large cup and made up a peanut butter parfait, and handed it over.
“We can use my employee discount for it. Finias, The Mind Taker, isn’t it?”
The man smiled at her and accepted the treat, pulling a five dollar bill from his jacket pocket. Eve was playing fast and loose with the rules, she knew. Greater Demons weren’t supposed to feed others of their kind without charging them for it. Food from anyone else was always fair game, but she was making a point. Claiming that she was the equal to the being in front of her. On paper, or in a moral sense, at least. Not that she could beat him in a fight.
That he simply paid like that…
She blinked. It probably meant he was at least willing to play along with her. She noticed that for all he looked like a homeless person, he didn’t smell like one. No, his scent was rich and slightly earthy, but fresh. It reminded her of trees. Pine and cedar, but not in an overpowering way. He didn’t seem all that Human though, lacking the pink energy that existed in all of the beings she could feed on. He could fake it, no doubt, but wasn’t at the moment.
“So that I don’t decide on a delicious Finias snack, and have to be killed for it?”
The man, who hadn’t spoken yet, smiled at her and winked charmingly.
“I was rather more worried about the others around here. I was told that you are rather controlled for one of your kind? You called, about the Swerlin matter? It’s most interesting, but so far I have no particular news about it. I also haven’t been investigating in any concentrated fashion, simply checking with a few people, casually. I came to see if you wanted to start an open arrangement? We can meet and talk about what we find out?” There was no sense that he was trying to trap her into a bargain or anything. At the moment.
She grinned, not meaning it. Of all the Greater Demons she knew, this one was the scariest. Oh, Ann would kill her, and bring her back to life as a zombie, then kill her again, just for the laughs, but Finias could do more than that. If he could read minds, he could take them over as well. If it was as she suspected, then someone was doing exactly that. Probably using the Mages. She didn’t have any proof of that, but Warren and his Mage buddies, people that she’d killed a week before, had been doing that to everyone they thought they could get away with. Taking Vampires, other Mages, and some beings from other groups, for different reasons. Warren, who had been something like the third in command at the Mage embassy, had used that to rape her and his two bosses, over and over again.
She was kind of used to that sort of thing, so it wasn’t bugging her that much, but Lisa and poor Bob had been having a tough time of it for a few days as it hit them. Warren had been powerful enough, but really, it came down to the fact that no one actually expected a trusted coworker to basically ruffie them at work and do them up the ass. No one at the embassy had been on guard against that kind of thing, had they? It had never even occurred to her, and she kind of expected most guys to at least try and force her to do things with them. Warren had seemed so gay the whole time. It had caused her to let her guard down, even if that was stupid of her. Homosexual didn’t mean weak, after all.
She nodded though.
“Without any kind of… Thing, and you know what I mean, I can do that. That has to count for things you get from my mind, too, and only as it relates to this thing with Swerlin, or matters around it that are real, even if I’m not smart enough to see them. I mean, I want the info, but…” She floundered for a bit, trying to be clear about it all. That was important, with his kind.
The old looking man smiled.
“We can do that. I won’t fool or trick you, Eve of the Vampires. If we must ever go head to head, I will send you a note first, and openly proclaim things?”
“So I can get my affairs in order? Good plan. Thanks for thinking of me.” She smiled though, and the ancient Demon bowed a bit.
“An arrangement then? I’ll be back as I may. Not soon, most likely. Not in this form. I need to find some of the others and see what they’re trying to hide. Keeley was my prime suspect, given Richard’s involvement, but she honestly seems to be innocent in this.” He held out a hand, drawing her attention to his face, which affected a surprised look. “I know, I was shocked too. I was nearly certain it would be her.”
Then he ate for a bit, just standing there, while she rang him up and made sure he got to use her discount. It was really good, making a thing that would have normally taken most of the bill he’d handed over take less than twenty percent of it. That was probably because most of the people that worked there didn’t eat food, so all that was needed was to cover costs.
He tossed the cup and spoon when it was empty, used a napkin and then paused by the door. It was, she guessed, time for him to say something cryptic to her, or to give some kind of warning to keep her in her place. She was ready for it, as long as it didn’t make too big of a mess or blast her through a wall. She hoped so at any rate.
He just looked at her for a bit, and then shrugged, like Zack always did. It was on purpose, probably, meant to put her mind at ease.
“I suggest that you abuse your relationship with my daughter, Keeley, as far as learning to resist compulsion. I know that Zack recommended me, but that would require some greater sacrifice from you, in return. She’ll do roughly the same level of work, and won’t feel a need to be even half as greedy about it all. If you can’t figure it out on your own, that is. I think you might, if you apply yourself. It would be a foolish person that underestimates you, Eve Benson.”
Then he vanished, right from there, without moving.
It was an awesome trick. Not a thing that she could learn though, Eve didn’t think. Line walking was a big deal, and not a thing that Vampires did without vast amounts of deaths in secret ceremonies. That was the rumor that she’d heard.
Without waiting, she tried to call Keels then. The phone stayed cold under her touch, but there was no answer. That could mean anything, but wasn’t a great sign. She left a message, asking her buddy to get in touch when she had the time. It wouldn’t be happening before then, so asking for it was a waste of time and effort.
After that, she was able to clean up for a while, though the place was shining already. Then, not having anything to do, she called around to get estimates on a new counter top. It was a nice thing, an inch of solid marble, that was nearly solid white with a few lines of darker colors through it. The whole thing was in two pieces, she realized, and as she found on the phone, expensive. The cheapest one they could get would need to be cut still and would take nearly three weeks to be put in. Wincing she set that up, since there was no yelling from the back for her not to.
Then… She was kind of stuck for things to do. At nine-thirty she saw Lisa slowly come up to the front of her shop across the way. The red door had glass in the center, so she could see who it was, and the lights had just come on. The sign got flipped, but it was pretty clear that the woman wasn’t really having a high energy day.
Finding out you were a rape victim, and worse, that it had been done to you by someone you trusted and even liked, yeah, that could do it.
Eve tilted her head, and got back on the phone. It was a thing that she’d thought about, but hadn’t done anything with before that.
Marcus, a Mage that had been mind-controlled into raping a Vampire woman, Maggie Sims, using magic to do that portion of things, hadn’t been in since he’d been cleared of wrong doing. That made sense to her, since he’d been wrongly accused, after a fashion. The Vampires, and even Maggie, all seemed to be fine with that, as far as it went. If you were compelled to compel another
person, it wasn’t your fault, was it?
She was too, in regards to punishment for crimes done. The fatbeard was in the clear that way. Still, he was a freaking Mage, wasn’t he?
The phone rang in her hand.
“Hello?” The voice sounded exhausted, or like he’d been asleep. The lazy piece of crap.
She made herself smile and almost meant it.
“Hey Mark. I noticed that you weren’t over at Candles and More? Get your fat ass in here, or I’m going to find you and shove a frosty treat up your ass. I mean that, too. It sounds all kinky now, but… Well, okay, it would still be kind of kinky, still you get the idea. Cold and sticky. Get off your butt. You have half an hour to get in here.”
There was a sound that seemed like a shuddering intake of air instead of a solid and frightened gasp. Probably because he wasn’t really certain she meant it about the anal penetration with a frozen delight. She didn’t of course. She wasn’t a rapist, after all. It was what would scare her into complying though, so she figured that it might work for him.
His voice was baffled then, and youthful sounding. The man wasn’t old, she didn’t think. About twenty-five, give or take.
“I… Kind of thought that after I was cleared, I… No one said anything but…”
She cleared her throat at him, forcefully.
“Yeah. You aren’t being punished anymore. That would be stupid. The thing there is that both your Mage ambassadors have been raped, Mark. That’s hard to take if you aren’t used to it. Their third in command is dead, and that means they have a backup team of exactly one person to pull up the slack while they recover. Now, are you going to do your civic duty, or what? It isn’t like you’re horribly busy anyway. I’d go do it myself, but there’s a bit of a mess going on at the moment.”
“I saw. I was up all night, actually, but… Yeah. I’m coming. Half an hour?”
“Hurry. Thanks.”
She went back to work, happy that she’d thought of it. The guy was a geek, and a bit of a whiner, but apparently not the weakest Mage ever. More importantly he didn’t have a job, being a lotto winner he didn’t need one, which meant he had a lot of free time to use helping out. Technically speaking you weren’t supposed to rig the lottery using magic, not by the official rules, but it seemed like her little fatbeard had managed to do it within the rules somehow. So he was pretty much loaded.
