Other Places 1: Shortcuts

by P. S. Power

  Zack stared at the image and shook his head just a bit after a second.

  "You almost sounded reasonable until that last line. You and I both know that looks aren't the only thing in the world. Not even close."

  "Yeah, I know that. Why do you think I suggested banging the ugly chick? Are you not listening or something?"

  The best policy, he'd discovered over the years, was ignoring the brute in the mirror when he could. He'd threaten and bluster, trying to get his way and every now and then he was right, but day to day it was best to pretend he hadn't said anything at all.

  Zack really needed to do laundry soon, he realized, since he was running out of outfits already. The thing there was that he didn't know how Troy did it all. It took special care, he thought and some things, like silk, could be ruined if you made even a single mistake. It was nerve jangling to think about, so he didn't, just heading off to get the store open after grabbing a bagel and some juice. It was plain and a bit dry. Still, he had to run, having slept later than he liked.

  The morning was like the last week, pretty much identical, except for the fact that he had a decently clean and tidy store to start with. That meant pretty boring and slow, until Cyrus came in, looking more than a little edgy. Behind him was a woman, one about Zack's age, more or less, so about twenty-two or so. She had a cute nose that would have looked right on a person from Africa, but very short red hair and dark freckles with a light complexion. She was smallish, but not tiny, and carried herself with good energy. On her face were really thick glasses, the lenses almost a quarter of an inch of glass, which made her eyes look huge. She smiled when she saw him, walking over without pause or taking time to look around at all.

  Cyrus stopped to look at the little train and figurine village at least.

  "Hi. I'm Calley Hale. Bat shifter. I work down at our place here. Brand Village? Basically a knock off of The Gap, more or less. Anyway, none of us are any good at decorating things like you did with your window display, so I was wondering if you'd do ours for us? I can't really pay you, but I can get you some free clothes. Most of it's a bit more casual than what you're wearing." She seemed perky and upbeat. A bit bouncy, to tell the truth, but not like she was on drugs. It was more like she was just like that all the time.

  Cyrus tried to leave then, as if he didn't want to be there overly.

  The bat girl snorted and scampered over to grab his arm.

  "I was told to bring the snake here, so that you'd recognize one of us. I told central that it wasn't needed, but Jahn, our leader, Jahn Samson, didn't want to risk it. Anyway, are you the guy that saved those kids? Using the node?"

  "I did the node part, but Wu-Li saved Rebecca. The other kid just needed help finding his way home. So it wasn't so much saving, as picking him up for his parents." It was true, if not all of it, leaving out the part about what M.H. had said to the kid.

  The funny looking girl with her bristly hair bobbed a bit.

  "Awesome. Look, we have a high ranking moron that let his wife run off to Europe for a vacation, but her papers aren't really in order and she's about to be taken in. Could you possibly get her for us? I haven't met her, but I heard she's a stone bitch that doesn't deserve your help at all."

  That got the snake man to glare at her.

  "Stupid bat, why not tell him she has communicable diseases too while you're at it? Didn't mention her kids either." He moved through the air, like he was ready to strike, but that was probably what being nervous did to him, not an actual game plan. "The bitch has three children with her. A lot of us shifters don't have papers, so it can be a pain if we get caught out. Really, she had no call leaving her own territory like that, but it's too late to whine about it now."

  Zack smiled a little, looking at Calley, her eyes were a very deep black color, under the glasses.

  "So, she's a wolf?"

  The girl seemed shocked for a bit then reached out and took his arm. "No, Rabbit. Her kids too. We were told you have to be able to lift them, physically, and that you aren't very strong. They really aren't big. If you can lift me I think you can do her. The kids are younger, all under ten. Rabbits are always smaller people. Like Birds and Bats."

  The only good thing was that she'd managed to get them all to a node embassy in France, which should have been good enough, except that Interpol had decided that they were all terrorists. It would be funny, after they were all safely back home. Certainly three tiny kids weren't a big danger. On the good side it wasn't that hard to find her. The hard part was that Calley had been dead on about what the woman was like. She was in her mid-thirties, kind of cute, with three small, very frightened children with her.

  She was also a huge bitch. Exactly like everyone had mentioned, so it wasn't like he was going in without warning. It was still a bit hard to deal with in person.

  "You will not touch me! Or my children!" That nearly made sense, the woman having no clue who he really was, even when he explained. But even after Jahn Samson called her personally to assure her safety and promising that their governing body was paying for it, not her personally, she was still more than a little unpleasant. The man in the office space in France, who was a cat of some kind, according to M.H., looked about ready to try and shove the woman into the node himself. It wouldn't have worked, but it would have at least gotten her to pay attention to something else, other than her desire not be touched by someone as unclean as Zack. He knew that was the specific case, since she told him all about it. At length.

  The cat man shook his head and sighed, bowing low.

  "Your pardon, sir." He had a heavy French accent and a very annoyed expression on his face after about five minutes. "She is convinced that the ability to transform shape confers wisdom as well as superior character. It is a failing of some people with that ability. I apologize for her failings."

  That started five minutes of the woman scolding the fellow, which finally got Mirror Him to come out, a slight anger in his voice.

  "Listen, I'm going back to where I came from. If you and your kids want to come, then shut up and get in line. If not, I'm out of here. Good luck in prison. I hear the conditions in French facilities are notoriously bad. Most people that die in them do it from horrible infections and rot. How's that for unclean?" For M.H. it was practically polite conversation, even if the woman looked ready to burst something in her head. At least if the throbbing veins were any indication.

  After a bit Zack got it, M.H. was moderating what he wanted to say, because there were children present. It was almost human or something. The oldest child, a boy, who really wasn't big at all, took his sisters' hands and moved them closer to the node, or at least where he thought it was. He was off by about five feet and fifty degrees, but it was closer, which got Zack to take the kids through first, and then the woman, not letting her have a chance to fuss over it at all after that.

  Then he had to make three trips for luggage.

  He smiled at Calley and waved at them. "The kids are very well behaved."

  The bat girl looked bubbly and excited, her face shining slightly as if she'd been sweating. Cyrus had taken off for some reason, which was probably for the best. The woman started right in on complaining, since she was in Washington state, instead of a node closer to home. It would have taken about two minutes to get her almost home, but that wasn't happening. It might teach her that berating him worked. Then he'd be abused daily by every self-righteous bitch that decided she personally was the one that needed him to be her slave.

  If it wasn't for the fact that he very definitely didn't want her around any longer than needed, he would have insisted that she personally pay for her trip by scrubbing the main floor of the mall on hands and knees. As it was there was a rush to get her and the kids out the door. Calley looked strained before they even got five feet outside the door as he watched her through the window. It was really strange, because if he'd been asked an hour before he would have said that bats would have been the mean ones and rabbits would be timid and n
ice. It just went to show that every group could have jerks in it. Good people too, no doubt.

  An hour later he got a strange call, from a man with a very strong accent, he had to focus to understand him, since he sounded just a little Swedish and a lot something else. It was Jahn Samson, calling to see what Zack wanted for having rescued the poor woman and her children, who no doubt would have been horribly abused by the French authorities. That was what the guy said and everything.

  Zack had to agree that the mother probably would have been, since she couldn't even pretend to be polite for a few moments. Hopefully her husband was better than that. He nearly mentioned it when the man on the phone dropped in how grateful he was for the return of his family. It made him feel better about Calley at least, since she'd pointed out that the woman's husband had been stupid to let her go. Of course, he was probably bullied at home, wasn't he?

  Grinning he very nearly named a price that was incredibly high, just for having to put up with her, but the man sounded really grateful and humble. Plus he had to live with her all the time, which was punishment enough, most likely. Finally Zack just suggested that it would be a good start for the little dispute on the East coast to be reconciled well. If both sides were willing to actually try, maybe war could be avoided. Or not. He didn't even have a clue as to what the dispute really was. Maybe they had a good reason to be going after each other over there?

  That didn't seem to displease the man at all, and after he hung up, Zack wondered what would be next. Monsters needing to get their grandmothers free from the nursing home? Someone trying to get him to smuggle drugs for them?

  The only thing he knew for certain was that it would be something new and different. It seemed like it pretty much had to be in this place.

  Chapter ten

  Nothing happened for the rest of the day. A half dozen real costumers came in, but only two bought anything. The only new thing was that he had enough time to find a good holiday music channel on the sound system, which was alternating country hits with classic Christmas songs. It was early in the month yet, so it was probably enough. It wasn't perfect, but he hadn't gotten a chance to find a new set of music from the store, having not had a chance to really go try in days.

  It was only when he started walking out that anything changed at all. It wasn't a good thing either. There were a half dozen Vampires in front of Yoghurt World, facing off with Edom and the guy that had run off to the closet on Saturday morning. They weren't yelling or anything, but they had that air of violence that their kind could get from time to time. He was about to slink away, valuing his neck more than curiosity at the moment, when Edom helpfully waved to him.

  "Mr. Hartley!" He sounded relieved, which wasn't fair at all. Zack didn't need to be involved in whatever this was he decided. Even Mirror Him was whispering that he should ignore the dark man and escape into the night.

  It was clear the he needed help, and Zack didn't have enough friends to let any of them just be torn apart by an angry mob. Sighing he waved back, not able to guess what anyone wanted. Edom gestured to him.

  "This is the Line Walker, Zackary Hartley, of the Mage guild. It was he who brought The Bey." It wasn't an accusation, but most of the Vamps turned to glare at him, some with teeth showing.

  "Right..." one woman, who looked to be in her mid-thirties spoke softly, not sounding half as angry as she looked, her eyes well into red and teeth out, ready to bite him. "This boy can walk the lines without vast sacrifice or cost? I'll believe it when I see it."

  There was a general consensus then that he hadn't done that at all and that The Bey was there to slaughter their entire region. By himself. They kept calling him "The Bey" too, like it was a title, not a name. It was a bit confusing. Zack decided to ask about it, if he saw the man again. That idea distracted him for a few seconds as everyone else in the group moved to surround him, just a little.

  Edom looked cold and ready to fight them all, but the other man seemed slightly panicked, which meant it really wasn't a good situation.

  So rather than run away in fear, which wouldn't help, Zack smiled and spread his hands. Looking around he found the smallest and lightest looking of them, who was a tiny woman that couldn't have been five-two. She wasn't nearly as worked up as some of the others either, hanging to one side instead of getting in Ed's face.

  "You, I'll take you somewhere then. You all have to pay for the trip yourselves however. Come on."

  Zack walked into the yoghurt shop as if he had a right too, Edom shaking his head a little. It wasn't in negation of the idea, at least Zack didn't think so, in fact he seemed nearly pleased by it as he spoke, though a little derisive to the crowd.

  "This is a bad plan, but since you all insist, be ready to pay most dearly for the honor."

  The Vampire woman looked at him hard, but followed when he smiled and waved for her too, then waited for everyone else to get there and stare at him.

  "I'll have to pick you up to do this, which is why I picked you." He didn't explain the weight issue, it seemed rude somehow.

  He carried her to the node in Toronto first, and let her talk to the people there long enough to make certain she really knew where she was. Then he picked her up again and took her to France. That got her attention on a level he hadn't expected, a thing that caused her to go from excited to suddenly afraid of him for some reason. When they got back into the shop they started from, she bowed quickly and explained what had happened to everyone there.

  "I... Forgive me for doubting you." She knelt as if in supplication.

  All Zack could think of though was that she was kind of cute, down there like that, like she was ready to... He stopped and looked at the others, waving for her to get back up, actually lending a hand for it.

  "There. Now Mr. Edom and his associate here will be in touch with you over the next few days, to enlist your help in various projects. This is the discount rate, since I'm cool like that. Just this once though, so don't go bringing in all your friends looking for party tricks or anything."

  No one said anything to him about that, but didn't seem too ticked off either. Edom followed him as he left, but signaled for the others to stay with a movement of his head. It was a subtle thing, but they all got it well enough.

  "I need to speak with Mr. Hartley, in private. I trust that everyone is satisfied that The Bey isn't here for a true culling? It's still a dangerous situation for us all, so don't relax too much. I will be in touch with you. Soon."

  They walked in silence until Zack stopped in front of the rift in the parking lot. The night was clear again, and his breath showed as a moist fog in the air, drifting slowly in the air as it cooled, rising first, then sinking. The Vampire didn't do that at all, even when he spoke.

  "What do you wish for them to do?"

  Zack had thought that was clear and blinked a few times, his eyes watering in the cold.

  "Um, you know, help you with these bratty Vamp kids that need to be schooled. Spank them or whatever Bey wants. Kill them if need be. That's not up to me, just whatever you say is fine." It was a little rude, but he smiled and stepped through the rift, feeling more than a little tired already. It wasn't going through the node, but the stress before it. He'd managed not to seem like a complete coward, but it was freaking scary to have six Vampires looking at you like that. Like you were a combination of a pile of money and an all you can eat buffet. It was why he was dumping the payment on Edom like that.

  When he got in, to his surprise, Troy was gone. He'd left a note that said he was at the club, helping with renovations. That was the cover story for them staying closed after the attack. It wasn't that no one was coming out of fear, just that they'd decided to make it even better, since they were already doing work on the place. It meant Troy was getting paid, along with everyone else, since the whole staff had come in to work on it.

  Glancing at the mirror he noticed that his reflection was perfectly normal for once, not giving him a dirty look even. He was too skinny, which mad
e his face look hard and older than his actual years. He was only twenty-two after all, but he already had lines on the corners of his eyes. The reflection looked closer to thirty, he thought. His hair was too long and shaggy too. Like a well dressed hippy wannabe or maybe like he just didn't care about proper grooming.

  Just as he was about to microwave his tray of frozen dinner there was a knock on the door. Without thinking he opened it, half expecting it to be Eighties Hair or one of his friends. It was almost ten after all, and those crazy kids would be up and around. If so he was going to have to have a hard talk with them. The Bey seemed like he wanted a diplomatic and sensible resolution, but everyone else seemed to think that slaughtering these baby Vamps was the only way to handle it all. If they didn't at least pretend to fix themselves they were all going to end up dead.

  Dead-er?

  Whichever. When he opened the door though it wasn't one of them at all. It was Lisa. He grinned and gave her a hug impulsively, because she looked horrible. Tired, and like she'd been crying. That or having a horrible allergy attack.

  "What's wrong? I didn't even know you were back in town." The idea that they might be at war hit him then, which was less than fun. He'd only had his job for about a week, so fighting for these people seemed a bit much to ask really. "Come in, it's freezing out here."

  She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, and smelled slightly of travel, not reeking, but like a person that had sat all day on a plane with re-circulating air, stewing in her own juices. After a few seconds, just looking down she moved to the sofa and sat. The tears came almost instantly.

  "Deidre. She left me. It's the drugs... What am I going to do? She said she doesn't want me back, even if I stop using. That we just aren't right for each other... I love her..." That she didn't go to instantly using a spell to make it all work showed that she was a lot smarter than Zack had realized. Or wiser. His grandparents had taught him that using things like that never worked if you really loved someone. They'd end up feeling trapped and turning against you eventually anyway. He'd gotten that she was bright enough, other than her poor habits, so it might be the wisdom one.