Demon Bait (Keeley Thomson) Read online

  One of their own was out, had run for a government position and won, and no one had even tried to burn him alive yet. If the Humans could do that, then they might someday be able to see them for who and what they really were. If that happened... Well, on that day, it wouldn't pay to have killed their girlfriends and husbands, and being able to point to how good they all were might just save on some problems.

  Keeley had to agree there. Not that everyone would be able to understand that Vampires were real. Even after most learned to tolerate the idea, there would be those that lived in a protected world of delusion, totally ignoring that things were ever anything other than what they seemed. Gary and Hally both knew that such things existed and had been around them for months, and still had to kind of reassure themselves almost every day that they weren't slowly going insane.

  Felicia used the phone like an old pro, putting in seven digits, hanging up covertly, and holding the button down so that no dial tone sounded. Then, rather cutely, she started speaking, to no one.

  "Hey, Tim? Could you come get me? My piece of junk broke down. You will? Thanks... Oh, out on the nine? I'm just past that house, the white and brown one? No... It used to be white and yellow. The new people here painted. Yeah... I can meet you at my car."

  She pretended to listen and then made a face, for Keeley's benefit. Her long hair was something that had come from a bottle as far as color went, but it worked for her. The roots were darker, being a deep brown.

  After a bit of silence she pretended to agree, and rolled her eyes.

  "Yeah, I can do that. I'm probably just out of gas. You can bring some? Thanks." Then holding her finger perfectly and using her body to block what was going on, she hung up, and turned around a bit too fast for a Human being. It looked wrong, and made it seem like she was on drugs.

  "Thanks again. Sorry about being a bother like this."

  "Not at all a problem. Oh, I'm Keeley. Are you sure you can't stay for dinner? Not trying to seem desperate, but I'm new, as you guessed, and haven't met too many people yet." The woman looked at her, and really only saw a thin girl that seemed like she wanted a friend. One pretty enough to possibly be of use, some day.

  Keeley pulled it from her mind without much work.

  "I... Can't tonight. Tim is coming for me. Maybe we could get together soon? I work during the day, but I should be free tomorrow night? We could get together and do something then, if you want? I know some cool people I could bring. A little square, but not too bad, as long as you don't mind guys trying to look down your top all night. Chris and Evan." That was about half her people and were the two that looked anywhere close to young enough to be out with them. The fun part was that the woman was actually just trying to be nice, and introduce her to some people that, as she'd put it, weren't too bad, really.

  "Great! Where should I meet you? I don't know the area too well. Here, let me get you my number." It was clear that the woman didn't particularly want to be saddled with a kid she didn't know, but she also, for some reason, felt sorry for her. Keeley could use that. After all, one of the first things she needed to do in the area was gain a foothold. Not that it was going to be all that difficult. Not with the local leaders just walking up to her door like they were.

  It would have amazed her that it had happened, except that it was part of what made Greater Demons what they were. The universe organized around them. The things they needed, the right people, even coincidences, often seemed to simply be drawn to them, no matter where they went. If she'd moved to the center of a desert, then eventually someone important would stop by. Here it was easier, not being that far away from town. The interesting part wasn't that it had happened, but that it hadn't been going on in Arizona. That was going to be thanks to Darla, she supposed. Here Keeley was on her own, and didn't have a stronger, older and more attractive big sister around to cover for her. It was one of the reasons that Greater Demons all led their own lives. So that they could benefit from that effect.

  She didn't wink at the woman, but made herself seem a little desperate for attention. A lonely school girl with no one to love her, or care about how she felt. She didn't say the words, and pulled back from it enough that it was pretty clear she didn't really expect Felecia to ever see her again, seeming just a bit sad about it. Not on the surface, but in her body language. The woman got the idea, but pretended not to, since that's what everyone did.

  "So, if something comes up, you can give me a call? I should be here... In the evening."

  Then she, reluctantly, let the Vampire walk alone into the dark night. It was pitch black where they were, clouds having come in and no street lamps being that far away from everything else. It meant that in the inky blackness, the woman vanished. Not making even a hint of a sound.

  Keeley was careful not to say anything however, since she'd be heard a long way off. There weren't a lot of competing sounds to cover it after all. Instead she just ate her meal, which hadn't even gotten cold yet. It was decent, if she did say so herself. Really, she could do better, if she tried, which indicated that she should. Darla had said that more than once. If you knew that you had room to improve something, you should make a point of trying to do it.

  That being said, she remade the meal, adding more side courses and making some muffins for dessert. It wasn't the best use of time ever, perhaps, but it meant that, when another knock came on the door, two hours later, she had food ready again. This time she felt them coming. Three of them. All Greater Demons, and on the inroads.

  She even recognized them all, or at least thought she did. That could be faked, by the right beings, so Keeley focused, and using as little magic as she could, reached into the space that wasn't there to her left and pulled a high powered handgun into reality. This particular one was a forty-four, and had a lot of kick when fired, which meant she needed to be careful about re-aiming each time she shot someone with it. It was tempting to get a sword for her other hand, but she'd need that one to open the door, unless whoever it was helpfully kicked her door down for her. Since there was a momentary flare of magic, three times in a row, followed by a gentle and polite sounding knock, she just drew energy from the universe through the top of her head, and tried to hold as much of it as possible. It was a complicated pattern and not a thing she really had mastery of, but then, most things weren't.

  There was no attempt to hide the hand cannon from the three rather gentle looking beings in front of her when she opened the door. At least they seemed to be who she'd thought, which was a good, but definitely not certain, sign. Gregor, The Cleric, had been the one trying to get her attention. He looked old, but still vigorous, and wore a Catholic priest's black top, complete with white collar. He had round gold framed glasses on and silver hair. That, she noticed, seemed to be thinning on top.

  Next him stood Tarsus, looking old and sour again. Thinner and more like a Roman patrician than anything else. He had a long nose, and dark hair, but enough lines on his face to indicate that he was the kind of person that didn't like fun. He even put little frown lines by the side of his mouth, just to cement the idea in the minds of anyone seeing him in public. It worked, after a fashion. The goal was to make people feel afraid of attack, without being blatant about it. She certainly got that sense of things off of him.

  He was in a nice gray suit with a black shirt and matching tie. It was a bit too trendy to match his face. She didn't smile at him or anything like that. Just because they were working together, that didn't mean they were friends. Actually, since what he wanted her to do would probably end in her death, really that was kind of the opposite of that.

  Behind both of the other men, looking a bit shorter, and so old and worn that he had a permanent stoop, was Finias. The Mind Taker. Her dear old bio-dad. Smiling, she waved at him, wondering what the plan was for the evening.

  "Librarian, Cleric, Mind Taker. Would you all like to come in? I just made some food. You can pay me for it." It was the traditional thing to say, and oddly enough, they all seemed
pretty pleased to hear it. In unguarded moments she still felt horribly rude saying that to people. Failure to do that though would have probably ended in her own death, so she made sure to never forget.

  Gregor clapped his hands together, and then took a deep breath, smelling the air. He held his chin up and smiled at her in a way that seemed genuinely pleased about everything. She wondered for a moment if Zack would be like him, when he grew up. A bit strange, for one of them, but kind enough that she tended to forgive that part of things.

  "That sounds delightful, Mistress of Souls. I think we'd all love to join you." There was, if not a bunch of nodding, then at least a mass of bodies moving into her little house. Tarsus looked around blandly, but Finias seemed pleased by the look of things.

  "Not bad at all, for a first home. Your own territory, too? At only sixteen. That's very impressive, don't you think, Tarsus?"

  Grumpily, the older Demon moved toward the table that was just off of the kitchen area, finding it without having to think about placement, since it was visible from the front door. After he sat, waiting, he spoke, his words as sour as his face.

  "You passed the Second Crucible. I was rather shocked to hear about it, to be honest. I at least thought that you'd take them all as part of your Greater Demon army. They all assured me you were most amenable, for one of us. You didn't even threaten to kill them. That's normally the very first move that the children take, when asked to fix things like that. It always makes it harder, but there is a certain logic to it. You're too young to have a continent to oversee, so I imagine that we'll keep you on as an errand girl. Could you pick up my dry cleaning? I have a good place that does a wonderful job, but it's a bit of a commute. It's in the Elth lands?" He smirked, because he wasn't serious.

  The Elth didn't do dry cleaning. That was just ridiculous. They did do wonders with magically imbued armor however. She'd met enough of them to pick that up on her own.

  She loaded the table with food, glad that she'd over prepared a bit, and made certain that each of the others had a full plate to get them started. Loading her own, she settled into her chair, without speaking. Just waiting for someone to say something that wasn't meant to get a laugh.

  That turned out to be Gregor, who did smile about it, but that was all.

  "I have word that Darla is also doing well, in her own efforts. That would be amazing, wouldn't it? If both girls managed to pass, in the same short time span? People will think we've rigged the testing for them. I swear we didn't by the way. By all rights what happened here should have been a bloody mess, at the very least. The Vile behaved... Well, if I didn't know any better, I'd say he was smitten. My sources told me that you treated him in a manner that made him feel very welcome. The Lover complained a little, but only because Vile got a date with you, and she didn't."

  That got the others to look at him, but not in shock. Finias just nodded at her, gesturing with a piece of soft buttered bread. It was white with a thick golden crust on it. Flaky and perfect. That reminded her to keep eating, since it made her hungry to consider.

  Her father winked at her, which seemed less creepy than normal, given how old he seemed at the moment.

  "The Cartographer was none too pleased, however. I hear you made quite a bit of work for him? After suggesting that The Lover's inability to enter the lines properly was the real problem. He is the one to hit that way, however. After all, he loves his work, so asking him to do more of it isn't going to cause a long term feud. He did let slip that the others might have created a larger problem?"

  Keeley ate some potato salad, which really needed to age first, but wasn't going to get the chance. When she finished her bite she looked at the man directly.

  "The Rage and The Chaotic seem to have either been guided or pushed into this otherwise petty difficulty that should have been easily remedied already. I'm planning to send a note, or possibly go visit them both in the next few days and see if they won't see reason." She dead panned the words, and for about ten seconds kept her face bland and still, as Gregor blinked at her. Then she let a grin slip into place.

  "Or, you know, I can let you three handle it? Though, The Rage... Would he take offense if I sent a present or two his way? I don't know if it will help, but I really don't want any hard feelings there. The same with The Chaotic. It might not do anything, but you know, when in doubt, send gifts." No one said that as a rule, she didn't believe, but it suddenly made a lot of sense to her.

  Tarsus gave her a funny enough look that the other two men were watching him, instead of the fresh and annoying girl like they should have been. That pretty much meant it was on purpose, since she really doubted anyone like him would make that kind of mistake by accident. Some things just didn't happen.

  "That might work. It needs to be grand and expensive, as well as suiting his needs of the moment. That will take some research however. The Chaotic is more... Tractable, that way. I'd also suggest not just ringing the doorbell when time comes to deliver it. Yes... That could be of benefit, eventually. If you build a good framework with the others, then most won't be nearly as likely to kill you, when anger flares. It will in time. That's a rule, after all. There is always betrayal, and pettiness to make our lives harder than they should be." It seemed a little bland when he said it, and like he'd really have rather tried to hit her in the jaw than give her advice, no matter how little it cost him.

  Which was part of his act, in the moment. She was young, and untried, or barely so, and he was the ancient being that was responsible for her. Though, technically, he wasn't anymore. In fact, he was less responsible for her than for anyone not on the ruling council.

  "You know... That reminds me, what do we call our governing body? Does it have a name? It isn't in the memories you gave me, Tarsus. That seems..." She stopped, getting the idea. The Void. Yes, Tarsus, The Librarian could make things hard to find if he wanted, or even leave them out, but there were gaps in the knowledge that she'd been given. Things that even the man himself didn't know. That the name of the governing group wasn't there probably meant that, whoever this Void was, he was actively working to remove the idea from all of their minds. Which had to be annoying to Tarsus. It bugged her a little, and her area of endeavor wasn't defined as all information, from all sources.

  For him it had to be like Alzheimer's.

  Which would be why the others were simply giving him a funny look, rather than answering.

  So she ate, until Gregor spoke again, about five minutes later.

  "This is very good, Keeley. Thank you, for providing it."

  "Not a problem. So the topic seems to have been derailed. I think we were on gifts for The Rage and Chaotic? Anyone have a starting point? Tarsus, you suggested others too? Who first? I don't want to leave anyone out." That would be bad. Or, depending on what took place, not important in any way.

  Some insane Demons would attack and kill over an imagined slight, and others would just not even care for one reason or another. Insane didn't just mean evil all the time. Just like being sane didn't mean good. She was sane, as far as anyone could tell, including herself, but good? That implied that she was a part of Human culture and society, or at least part of some group. She wasn't truly. The closest she came to that was Human, but her morality wasn't theirs. Oh, closer than most of her kind, but that was really just her age showing through. So far she cared enough about people not to want them hurt without reason. If it really came to it, she'd sacrifice a lot of others for her own ends, wouldn't she?

  It was very clear to her that, honestly, she would. If she had to kill a person, or ten, or a million, to make things happen, that would be what was done, and she wouldn't have a problem with it later, either. She was the master of how her emotions rolled, which was why she was able to think about presents for Greater Demons that she also planned to try and exile to someplace far away.

  While at the same time wondering if that was just a joke, or a trick. Did Tarsus even have the books he'd promised? If he did, would they work
against all the beings he wanted taken care of? Ideally they'd be able to check that out first, but she didn't think it would work that way. She couldn't make Xenses vanish without people finding out about it. None of the others either.

  What she really needed then, was to go after The Rage from a distance, and hope that if the whole thing failed it did so quietly enough that she wasn't blamed for anything. Because that was a thing that could happen. If it was a trick, a trap or even just done incorrectly, she was so dead it wasn't even funny. Though, if she wanted to be totally honest, it was a bit humorous. She could send the man a giant cake with a magical book in it that would pop out in the hands of a lovely woman. Sure, he'd catch on and come and kill her later, but it was at least the kind of thing to put someone in a party mood.

  They spent hours on a list of good people to start courting, most of whom were sane enough to be, if not safe, then not impossible to manage. A few got left off, because they simply wouldn't be of help to her at any point in time. Others... Well, not everyone on the list was exactly nice, which was pointed out several times.

  Gregor was the one that did it most often, but the others did too.

  "I can't suggest you get involved with The Left Hand. He eats human flesh, and has a very annoying habit of insisting that everyone else should too. He gets most insistent about it, and will slip it into your food stores when you aren't looking. I think he really believes that he's being a good friend in doing so, but white meat or not, it's too salty to go with a good white wine. If you're going to eat Humans you should enjoy the flesh with a nice dark lager. You simply can't plan for that if things are being planted in your kitchen, however."