Dragon Queen (Avery Rome Book 3) Read online

  Tyler was ready to go about then, so she got him through the rift, feeling a bit like she could use a nice chair for a while. That or some more food. That really did help her stay awake. From the other Dragons in her memories, she knew that if she didn’t get anything to eat for about three days, she’d hibernate. As in, she could sleep, for up to a year, barely moving, to conserve energy.

  Avery looked at the house, feeling the bodies inside. There were a lot of them. More by about fifty percent than had been there when she’d left, not long before. That more would be coming, now that Calley was a winner, and not a risk to hang out with, Avery didn’t doubt that even more people than that would show up.

  She took Tyler by the arm at the door, to get his attention.

  “I don’t suppose that I can take off without insulting anyone?” She knew the answer, being that she was supposed to be there to move people around at need. Except that no one had ever spoken to her about the idea.

  The singer and piano player for Living Proof, just looked at her for a moment.

  “I know that Calley wants you here. A few other people will too. The rest don’t know you. If you go and say hello and mingle for a bit, I bet you can get out of here by seven or so, without making anyone upset.”

  The door opened, showing that a strange woman stood there. No one that Avery had met before, except that she was clearly a Greater Demon. The world tried to fall into her, which gave her away. The taste on the air was familiar, but not one of the demons that she knew well. It wasn’t Ann, who seemed to still be there. Not Allison, The Technician, either. Bente and Zack were both out as well.

  She’d met the Mistress of Souls before, but that one had been different.

  She had to shake her head then.

  “I’m sorry. I know that you’re a Greater Demon, but I can’t work out which one yet. I’m Avery Rome. Pleased to meet you, if I haven’t yet?”

  The lady, who might not be one at all, being the kind of being she was. Zack had looked like an attractive young woman the first time they’d met. From what Allison, The Technician, had told her, sex wasn’t a big issue for her kind. They could be whatever they wanted. She’d seen Zack shift into a Manthori Vampire once, which was a much bigger deal than turning into a Human woman.

  The woman smirked at Avery and came forward, but stopped about seven feet away.

  “Hello. I’m Fram, known as The Bold. I normally look different than this, but was working on a side project when I heard that my secret honey bunch Calley had won her Presidential bid. I figured to show up and see if I could get her to believe that I’m only half as bad as she thinks. We get along, more or less, so it might work.”

  The words tasted honest, but interestingly, the Greater Demon’s memories showed up in her mind. Fram, The Bold, was an insane being for his kind. Known for stupidly challenging others to fights and duels, which he almost always lost. The only time he didn’t… was when whoever was fighting with him was truly dangerous. Keeping that pattern secret from his own kind had been nearly impossible.

  Then, he wasn’t just who he’d claimed. He was old for one thing. Also, totally sane. Just playing at insanity to throw the others off. It was done so masterfully that only a tiny handful of beings in existence knew his real secret.

  “Fram The Bold… Also known as Lanchias The Clever? The third member of the Greater Demon Council.” She didn’t mean anything by saying the words, but the woman stared at her, then held a delicate and slightly tan finger in front of her lips.

  “Shhhh. They’ll hear you. I have some projects going on. I…” There was a bit of playful eye rolling as Tyler just stood there, blinking several times at the woman. “Oh, stop it. You had to have known that no one could be as foolish as Fram and still manage to live for as long as he has? Now, what do I need to do to get both of you to keep that secret? No one else has worked it out so far. That you did it from Tarsus’s library, Avery…”

  There was a few soft claps then.

  “Well, that just makes sense. After all, Tarsus chose his game there, seeing if you could be one of us. Normally he filters things out for some of us. Now, what do you need? Money? Sex? I’m rather good in bed. Or under a desk. Don’t you think, Tyler?”

  Instead of seeming embarrassed at all, the thin boy, or man depending on how old he was, laughed a bit. It sounded warm and gentle. Almost loving.

  “That’s true. He really is good. He has a very talented tongue. I love the new look, by the way. We could get together before you change back?”

  “In exchange for keeping your mouth closed on other issues? We could do that. That would just leave you, Miss Rome. We could…” The woman made a silly face then, which was an exaggerated twisting of the lips to one side. Her lips went tight, but the makeup she had on didn’t let them become white from it. “Really, I can think of about ten things, but the truth is that I don’t think you’ll tell anyone, anyway. You’re a very kind girl that way. Given that, you should probably insist that I give you vast treasures or at least something you want. It wouldn’t do for you to be used like that, after all.”

  She didn’t know why he’d be saying anything like that, but she thought for a moment, then worked out a chart, with her needs on it. Most of them involved calories, but a few were slightly different.

  “I have a project coming up in a few days, going to other realities. Just passing some messages. At least one of the worlds has a different language than we do here. Can you help me learn how to speak that tongue faster?” She didn’t know if that was even possible, but it was worth trying. Especially if it would work for anything else as well. Going places and not being able to speak to most of the people was annoying. Few things really got to her, day to day, but that one did.

  Fram, as he wanted to be known, moved closer and took her arm gently in a soft female hand. Nothing happened, which had a small smile playing on the edges of his lips.

  “Oh… Indeed, a Queen Dragon then? Very well. There are some things I can do toward that end. Memory tricks that will help you speed up your learning by about fifty times. You’ll still have to find someone to teach you the language, but once you have the trick, you can use it for almost any skill or technique.”

  The memory of Lanchias in her head provided the most likely tricks that the Greater Demon probably meant. Instantly, since the needed cues were being given by the being himself. Including how to use them correctly. It had been right there the whole time she’d had the library, and it had just never occurred to her to look for anything like that inside of herself. So the offer was actually pretty useful to her. Plus, the Greater Demon had been right. She probably would keep his secret for him anyway. As long as it didn’t hurt anyone, there was no reason not to.

  She let her head bob up and down a bit.

  “Okay. I have it now. Thanks. I can get with you if I need any tips to make it work correctly?”

  Getting what had happened, the Greater Demon, who looked like a decently attractive woman in an off the rack skirt, blouse and jacket, frowned at her in a way that barely looked Human. It was dark and sinister. Then it broke, after about ten seconds. Long enough to have an effect on her, but stopping before it could be turned into an excuse to fight.

  This being was far too clever for anything like that to happen.

  “That sounds fine. We should probably go in? I bet things are really going to pick right up, now that we’re all here. Everyone loves us, after all!”

  Avery doubted that the party would actually need their help.

  Chapter seven

  Avery figured out at about nine that she wasn’t getting out of the party early enough to matter. Tyler, being a very kind person, found her a room with a bed in it so she could sleep. That had to be done naked, since her dress wasn’t appropriate for it. She was tired, so fell asleep, even though it was hard to do, being naked like she was, under the covers.

  On the great side, she got nearly ten hours of sleep before someone came and knocked on the bedroom do
or.

  A voice called out, being familiar and more or less welcome.

  Eve.

  “Avery? People are starting to take off, finally. A few of them want to beg you for transport home. I suggested they at least ply you with food first and possibly offer themselves as indentured servants. No one loved the sound of that, but Tyler is making food.”

  There was no groaning about having to get up. She’d had enough sleep. It would have been nice to brush her teeth, though not needed at the same level that it would be for a Human being. She didn’t know why that was, but it had been like that ever since her change. She didn’t smell bad very quickly either, as a rule.

  “I’ll be down in… Is twenty minutes all right? I want to shower first, if I can.” She could move faster than that, but it was better to give more time than less, in her life. Especially since she could lose track of things like that.

  “Got it. I’ll inform the masses down below. Then we need to get together and make plans for the day. It’s your first real day of summer vacation, after all. So we’ll need to fill that up with work for you, to make certain you don’t accidently have any fun or anything like that.” There was thick sarcasm to the words. For some reason.

  Not getting it, she nodded.

  “That makes sense. I might get into trouble or something if I’m not kept busy.” That had been a thing that Leslie, her mother, had always told her as a child. The Gray kept busy, almost all the time. They didn't do a lot of things for entertainment, so work had to substitute for things like that.

  There was a low grumble from the door, but it sounded goofy, rather than honestly upset.

  She got up and went to use the bathing room that was attached to where she was sleeping. It meant borrowing soap, as well as using a packaged toothbrush and paste that was being kept there. The cabinet had ten of the things and while she didn't know if they were for guests, Tarsus popped forward with the knowledge that they were for that. Also, that she was expected to either keep the thing or toss it at the end of her use. That meant, after getting cleaned and dried, she made sure it wasn’t too damp and put it in her bag.

  Wasting it seemed wrong to her.

  Then wearing the same clothing as the day before, but with a bit of makeup on her face, she went to find who was remaining down below. It was far from the house full of people that she had expected. At the table there were the people who lived there, like Rebekah, Scotty and Tyler, as well as Eve, Wendel Little and Leslie.

  Ann was nowhere to be seen, which was a little different.

  Her mother, still looking like a schoolkid, if prettier than she had when they were both with The Gray, waved to her.

  “There you are! Eve was just suggesting that we set up a trip for our time off school. Grab up some of the others and head out someplace? That sounds like a plan to me. The Rotted even said that Mark and I can go, if we get something put together. She’s been much kinder lately. I think that it’s because of… What Mark did.”

  She looked down then, almost seeming ashamed of herself. As if she’d had any say in the matter at all. Mark had basically put his own life on the line to buy better treatment for a girl that just sat with him at lunch. As far as Avery had worked out, he hadn’t even been in love with her or anything. It was literally just the kind of person he was.

  Tilting her head, Avery had to think for a few moments.

  “You know, we could possibly go to another world? Camping maybe? I can see if something can be set up that way. Or… maybe we could go to Mars? That was really nice. The language is different there, but I’ve been meaning to learn it anyway. I have a trick for that I found in my memories.”

  Eve didn’t say anything for a moment, just sipping at some water in a mug. Finally, she shook her head a bit.

  “Okay, that is way cooler than Cancun. Not that I’ve ever been, but it really is. Remember, you need to check in with me for messages, too. Though if you hang in Tor’s world you get eight times as much vacation for your money. The time differences are really big there.”

  That was probably the truth.

  Shrugging her shoulders, Avery shook her head a bit.

  “I need to check in with people there first to make certain that it isn’t a rude idea to them. I think I can ask Countess Thomson… She seemed kind, when we’ve met.”

  Her Vampire friend let a slow smile curl her lips and then winked at her. It was a very open thing, really.

  “Good plan. Now, Wendel doesn’t get to go on the road trip with the cute high school kids. Not that you’re a perv, but there are optics to think of here. We can send Scotty and Rebekah along for that part of things. You know, to make sure that no one has too boring of a time. Tyler?” She looked up at him, the words clearly asking if he had any ideas about who to send to a different reality like that.

  Which got him to smile.

  “That sounds fun, actually. I can get at least a few days off for it.” Then he faked a sigh, the dark cloud of energy pushing him around, pulsing in the air. Drinking death from those who sat in the room with him.

  Leaving them healthier for being in his presence. At least the ones who had life in their bodies.

  “Except that I’m going to be stuck here, again. It’s the Crylosecs. They’ve been having some issues with the other groups and if I’m not there each day to smooth things over, we’ll probably see a war. A small one, but we don’t need people stabbed in the cafeteria.”

  That was too bad, really. Avery tilted her head at the man and then made a face. It was supposed to be commiserating and really seemed to do the trick. At least he nodded back, making a similar expression. She was acting, but it was kind of clear that he was too, in a way.

  “We’ll do that another time, just for you? So, if I can set anything up, we have Mark, Leslie, Rebekah and Scotty, so far?” Herself as well, but she was looking at Eve, who smiled, but shook her head no firmly.

  “I have to work. There’s a small tax issue up in Canada, so I need to run up there in a few days and make sure that there aren’t any problems. I have no clue how long that will take. Also, I haven’t asked for vacation time. Edom would probably work that out, but it would mean him staying and doing more work each day while I kicked back and chilled with my peeps. You’re sneaking Phillip out for it though?” She glanced at the table and then forced her eyes open wide. “His mother isn’t the best parent ever, but she isn’t going to let some shape shifting hussy steal her boy off to a different reality, as a bet.”

  There was a wince from Tyler, and another from Leslie.

  The man spoke though, as was proper, if two people were going to do so at the same time.

  Except that she knew that wasn’t true and not what Tyler would expect at all. Leslie on the other hand was still clearly showing signs of her life before becoming a Greater Demon’s slave.

  “Is she bigoted? Against Shifters, I mean?” He sounded sad about it being possible. Genuinely worried on the topic.

  That got a wicked expression from Eve.

  “Not even a little bit. She doesn’t really think that Vampires or Shifters are real, even after seeing us in person, but Phil’s whole family is remarkably cool about the whole thing. That still doesn’t mean she’s going to let one of her kids run off to get some, too easily. To her being a mom means making sure no one has too much fun at any one time.”

  Which, Avery suspected, was close to true.

  “I can work that out. I need to go and talk to some people then. Edom and Bente. I might not be able to go at all, if they have duties for me.” It was true.

  “I doubt it will be an issue. Still, asking first won’t hurt anything. We need to set a limit on how many people are going though. Call it ten? Otherwise you’ll end up with two thousand people wanting to have free transfers and won’t be passing my secret messages in a timely fashion at all.”

  They ate then, at least those who needed food, which were only half of them. When the last of the waffles and vegie sausage was done, Avery
stood up, waving at people.

  “Mr. Little, Leslie, do you want to come with me? I don’t know if anyone else needs help getting home, but we should probably wake them up. Then I need to go and change, before Bente sees me wearing the same outfit two days in a row. That might not go over well with her.”

  She meant it as a joke, which got a snort from Eve.

  “True. I can get away with it, being a heathen with no class or style. That won’t hold for you, I bet. Good plan. Let me roust everyone else and see who wants to go where. It will only take, oh, ten times longer than it should? Don’t worry, I’ll just tell everyone that if they aren’t down in ten minutes, ready to go, you’ll leave them here. Then I’ll make my own clever escape and leave Tyler to clean up the mess. The perfect crime.”

  That had the remains of a waffle tossed at the Vampire then, thrown by Tyler G. It didn’t land, seeming to circle in the air, back at his face. A thing which ended when the bread product stopped in midair, surrounded by a field of thick black energy. Then it fell back to the plate it had started on. The whole thing was done very quickly, which made Leslie jump a little. Instead of sitting there ready to fight, there was gentle laughter.

  From almost everyone.

  So, Avery got up, then stretched a little.

  “We should go and wait in the front? I can start taking people around now, since I have to do it one at time anyway.”

  That worked for Wendel, who only needed to go to the Colorado Node complex. He lived about a mile from there, it turned out, and had his car in the parking lot. When she got back, Leslie just stood there, alone with her. For the first time since it had come out that she was her mother.

  There was no scowling or berating of her over being so distant. Avery had to stay away, for her protection. If they were too close, too often, it might make it seem worth taking her, even if The Rotted objected. Only another Greater Demon would try that, but it really could be used to control Avery, so she had to make sure it didn't seem worth doing at any point.