Other Places 2: Road Blocks Read online

  "Bye. Call if you need anything."

  That nearly got him yanked out by the arm, Bey coming back for him, his face a bit upset by the time they were down the hallway. He didn't mention anything until they were back to the Node in Maine, which was set up as a wilderness retreat in the middle of nowhere. His words were soft however.

  "These people abuse your good spirit. Worse, I fear that it is I that have led them to it. They see me traipsing around as I please, going hither and yon in the blink of but an eye, and think to themselves 'why not me, as well'. The work that you are undertaking, it would take any of us so much as a cost that no one would go at all. It is a trick, certainly, meant to shame us or control a vote, but such meetings do not have meaning without all being present. A call for war, the threat of it, is an empty thing if only a few can be there. The rest will not abide." He looked grumpy for him, a bit upset and like he was ready to call the whole thing off.

  For his part Zack was looking forward to it, if he were going to be honest about it.

  "It will be good experience, and show people that we can work together. Plus, maybe it will stall some of those rumors that I'm a Demon? I don't know how those got started, but they seem to be growing for some reason. You'd think that anyone seeing me would be able to tell the difference, but..."

  That got a scoffing laugh, just before the little man hopped and they ended in the back of Zack's Candles and More.

  "Truly, you wonder at it? Someone is trying to tear you down, before they strike. It could be anyone, given who you are. A Mage threatened by your growing power in that organization, or even a Vampire that fears your backing means that the Council will soon be too powerful for their liking. The Shifters are not normally a clever group of people, as far as intrigue, but it takes only one or two, and my sense is that not all love you evenly there. In the main you help others, but there are always those that will feel slighted or taken for granted. That is the way of power. There is no helping it either, only enduring the weight." He sounded wise, and like this was a topic he wasn't just talking about on the fly. As if Zack's rumors had come up for him before at some point.

  Not that it would make sense at all.

  The strange thing was that he felt the regard of others, their like and dislike of him, and just the fact that he was considered special at all, as a weight. Something that pressed him down and reshaped him into a smaller and lesser being than he was supposed to be. It was just shy of crushing him, and he didn't really know what to do about it at all. Wasn't it enough for him to simply be himself? OK, not with girls, but the rest of the time? How could he make anyone understand that he just wanted to be helpful and nice to people?

  It was like no one expected him to be and really, in their deepest hearts, didn't want that at all.

  Lisa popped her head out of her door, looking like an underfed meerkat and blinked a bit. She didn't say anything, just waving a little with the tips of her fingers, and moving back to answer the phone, which was ringing again. Zack didn't speak, just leading Bey over to his own people's Embassy, hoping that something good might have happened by that time, to find that it hadn't.

  In fact there were several Vampires there, screaming and yelling at Edom and Lenore, with enough force that Zack actually moved between them, as if he were somehow going to physically protect anyone in the world? Then again, that got Bey to move into place directly beside him, which made everyone shut up very quickly. There were far too many fangs out, if all on the other side, and some of the five Vampires that had been shouting in the front of the yoghurt shop had red eyes already. That wasn't a good sign, if Zack was learning anything at all.

  'And yet here you are, standing right in front of them like a juicebox.' Mirror Him didn't sound surprised by it, and simply sighed in his head.

  "Hello, everyone. Sorry to interrupt, but..." He shook his head and went silent for a few seconds not really knowing what to say at all. He had nothing to threaten them with at all, did he? He just didn't want some big fight breaking out, especially when things looked to actually be quieting down a little so far.

  Finally he just said that, getting narrowed eyes and a few nods from Bey.

  "I concur, Mr. Hartley. Perhaps if our friends tell us what their issues here are, we might remedy the situation?"

  No one was willing to speak on the other side, so Lenore moved so that she was off to the side, not behind them any longer and straightened her white apron. It was clear that things had already gotten slightly physical already.

  "Merely flaring tempers. It isn't easy to bear the sting of name calling and bigotry, and they were simply letting it be known that they did not appreciate the local Shifter community burning down their domiciles. They might not have been grand palaces, but a person's home is sacred, none the less."

  The angry looking people nodded at least and one was brave enough to speak then, if in a deferential tone. After all, no one screwed with The Bey. In fact they stood with down cast eyes, not even looking at the tiny man.

  "We could smell the scent of them all over the place, and they worked as a team. It's pretty clear that they wanted us dead, from what they shouted. If they'd done it an hour earlier, none of us would have been up, but luckily Devon is an early riser and managed to pull the rest of us to safety." The man in front who was speaking gestured to the back, where an average looking Vampire that looked about thirty-five stood. He was pale and had dark hair, but was different than the others. More like Jonas, lacking fangs, it seemed.

  That got Bey to go very still, and for once, Zack to feel like he might be able to do something about the situation.

  "Right, first, let's call and check with the Shifter Ambassador, or better, her second in command." He looked at the arrayed people and shrugged a single time. "There's a reason for that. The Ambassador is bigoted against Humans at least, but that might translate to anyone not able to change shape. Calley, her second, is open minded and a decent person. That's probably the option that will have less screaming, over all." In his opinion at least.

  Lenore went to the phone, either to call in take out for everyone, or do that, and Edom moved into place on the other side of Bey. Still ready to fight, if he had to.

  It made it look like they had a wall of death. Except for the one obvious weak spot in it, which was him. He sighed and gestured to the booths.

  "Do you all have someplace to stay tomorrow?" Their houses had been burnt and it turned out that, while they didn't live together, they did have places in a small clutch, or had. So they'd all been neighbors. It meant that they didn't have a lot of other people to fall back on at a moment's notice or anything.

  One of the women glared at him as if that might just be his fault, but didn't scream or anything, resting her butt in one of the orange vinyl seats and looking mean for a while instead. The others followed along then, but it was pretty clear they were at loose ends. Zack wasn't about to invite them to his place either. Not worked up like they were.

  Instead he looked at Bey and shrugged, hoping it would look better than he imagined it did.

  "Uh, Bey, are the baby Vamps still at that summer camp? They were fixing it up, right?"

  That actually got a bit of clapping, the tiny man smiling fiercely as if it were the world's most brilliant idea ever, and anyone saying different was about to have their head shoved through the back wall. Given the way the man liked to do that normally, it would probably be in the form of a bloody mist at the time, too.

  "I do not know, but it was being readied for your summer vacationing enjoyment. Are you suggesting that these people be allowed to use it, while this is settled?" The Vampire elder looked at him, as if very pleased, but didn't add anything else too it.

  "If we can? If not, I don't know, we can rent a place, or maybe two, can't we? That doesn't get anything for them tonight. Or get them to work, if they have jobs they need to see about. It might not be perfect, but..."

  That started a conversation at least, and something funny came out
almost instantly, which was that the angry and dispossessed Vampires hadn't really expected their own people to help them that much. Fires happened, and so did wars. You were supposed to deal. They'd mainly come to try and get support for killing some random Shifters, in retaliation.

  Zack shook his head to that, when the angry woman said it in a low and menacing voice.

  "Not right before the meeting on this, you won't. Not random either. If you can't find the guilty, then it isn't justice, just creating more problems. You said you knew what they smelled like? Can you tell the difference between full scents and say, an old t-shirt that they'd been wearing being rubbed over some wood?" He really didn't know, since the limit of his scent of smell was the occasional flower and half microwaved hot pockets.

  Bey nodded however.

  "That won't be at issue. If they say the individuals were there, and are not lying, then they were. There are ways to fake that, but most involve actually tricking a person into doing the act you desire done. It is a very good sign, actually."

  For some reason what they were talking about actually got everyone to calm down a lot, even though some Human dude was telling them that they weren't allowed to go on a killing spree. It was funny, but Mirror Him was kind of on their side in the whole thing, and made a point of letting Zack know that.

  'If it were our house, I'd be all over the mother fuckers that did it. No reprieve, no saying they were sorry, just dead. I keep all your cool stuff there, you know what I mean?' He sounded deadly serious about it, even if they didn't have any really cool stuff. Well, other than the new furniture that Lenore had gotten him.

  Still, Calley came over, and they all acted no more than aggrieved. She offered to send out some investigators, Shifters with keen noses, to check it all out, but it was clear that they didn't really expect to get an honest hearing that way. Even Edom and Lenore looked away, as if it were silly to mention.

  Bey however clapped once.

  "Excellent, Miss Hale. Please see to that this night, before the scents fade. You have my word that no one will molest your people while they work. I shall go myself, to ensure that, as will these homeowners. We seek a peaceful resolution to this, and will not allow any innocent beings to be blamed or harmed in the matter." It was a bit political sounding for him, but it worked well enough to have some large vans brought out and people called in for the task from Calley's side of things.

  The only problem there was that everyone expected Zack to go along too. Because he might be needed to keep the peace.

  Mirror Him nearly growled at the Vampire woman that suggested it first.

  "Like that makes any sense? Listen lady, I don't know what you expect me to do, but this is your problem. You've got Bey with you, do you really need a little Human to hold your widdle hands for you? Seriously?" For him it was nearly a polite speech, though the Vampire that had spoke, the angriest looking one, jumped to her feet, right hand clenched in a fist.

  She didn't swing, so Zack, who had control of his body again suddenly, merely moved into the gap in space that was caused by all the other bodies and the handy tables and booths. When she did lash out, a few seconds later, all he had to do was shift to the left a bit and then rotate his upper body while his legs were steady on the ground. She tried to hit him about fifteen times, and he never truly moved out of range, he was just never where she was striking.

  After about five seconds she humphed and sat back down again.

  "You claimed us, so it is your problem." The certainty she showed about that fact was so great that Zack nearly wondered if he'd accidently asked her to marry him. If so, given that there were five in the crowd in front of him, he might be in for some interesting dating in the near future.

  Edom chuckled a bit from the far side of Bey and handled it for him though, since the black Vampire was, obviously, great. One of his favorite people really, come to think of it.

  "Bull. He's making arrangements for you, yes, but I totally missed the part where he held you down and mounted you, then tossed you crying and broken into the corner. Stop trying to be a gold digger and go get in the van, or I'll call in some favors and have you left outside all day tomorrow." He smiled though, his white teeth gleaming above his charcoal gray suit jacket. "The same, of course, goes for the rest of you. Of course I don't want you to think that it's lost on me that none of you were making the same claims."

  They all nodded except the angry woman in front who made a face and shrugged, actually smiling, if miserably.

  "Can't blame a girl for trying."

  Except of course, no one cared what she had to say at the moment. Bey in fact waited for the vehicles to get there, and then held back, along with Lenore, to see what Zack wanted done about her false claims of being... claimed.

  "We can kill her if you like? Or of course, you can do it?" The little man was so serious that it sounded like he was insisting, until he smiled and laughed a little. "Ah, friend Zachary, you are too gentle by far for the young of my people. I shall speak to her and she shall apologize to you. Or if you wish we can simply drop the matter? Most would have actually raped her and claimed her as a slave in truth for daring to even say such, but she is lucky that way, I think?"

  He blinked and shook his head a little, but didn't let himself go wide eyed. After all, the idea that Vampire culture had some things in it that were darker than he'd been made aware of so far didn't actually shock him, did it? They kept hinting at it, after all. They'd flat out offered to give him servants and slaves, and from the sound of it they meant for the rest of his life, which would kind of undo that whole thing Lincoln did, wouldn't it?

  Shrugging, his boney shoulders pressing against the inside of his Wal-Mart button up shirt, he sighed.

  "We'll write this off to her being worked up at the moment and not blame her for it? Her house did just burn down after all, and I guess that trying to get a position with a rich person isn't that bad of an idea." He froze for a bit then, and tried to count things up in his head. "Wow. I just realized, I'm rich. Keeley's been handling most of that for me, so I hadn't really thought of it before. I mean, I have a card for it, but there are millions of dollars in the accounts."

  Both Bey and Lenore seemed less than impressed by the proclamation, though Lenore explained that to him at least, getting that he wouldn't know what that lack of response meant from them, since she was actually trying to be his girlfriend and all.

  "It's the major problem that we're having with you, Zack. You live simply and don't seek anything in particular, which are good traits, but it makes it hard to pay you. Then you come and stand in front of a bunch of upset Vampires, not all of them young, and drive them back for me, and seek only to help remedy their problems. If you were a Vampire we'd be considering you for the Council I think. We have almost nothing else to do with you."

  That got a gentle chuckle from Bey as well.

  "Indeed, friend Zachary. As it stands, Marisa has offered to come and play body servant to you in an attempt to repay our debts. That is no small thing for one of our leaders."

  He nodded, but didn't respond, since, while a fine looking lady, Marisa was a man, and Zack didn't really want to know what being a "body servant" entailed, he didn't think. So he opted for smiling and moving on to a different topic.

  "Is there a way of getting some properties then? I mean, I don't know how to do that, not quickly. I can pay for it, but... we need to put them somewhere." It sounded lame and weak, but Bey simply nodded, and left. Lenore actually touched his arm gently.

  "Zack, be careful. This is kind of you, helping those in need, but we can only take so much debt. If it becomes too great with no way to repay it, the elders will do nothing but worry about it all the time and probably camp out on your doorstep, trying to give you presents." She smiled sweetly and turned away a little, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "You don't want that. I'm nearly positive of it."

  He nodded, since it would ruin the quiet of his neighborhood, all those people ha
nging about. Plus it would make it look like he lived in a drug den and that wouldn't do at all.

  Giving her a smile, he turned and left, knowing that he should have given her a hug first. He went back and did it, since that was kind of what having a girlfriend meant, wasn't it?

  Chapter ten

  There was no one at his house except a famous actress, who was busily reading a science fiction novel that he'd gotten a long time ago and re-read several times himself. It was famous too, and had been made into movies a couple of times he thought, but was a bit dry, when you actually read it.

  It was the desert theme he supposed.

  Judy marked her place with a slip of paper and stood up from the old and well worn sofa as soon as he walked in.

  "Hey sweetie! Take your shoes off, I'll get you a drink." She actually went to the kitchen, so he did it, glad that he had new socks on, leaving his tennis shoes by the door.

  What she came back with was a glass of Sunny Delight, not anything alcoholic, which was good, since he didn't drink. He really didn't need to, since reality was screwed up enough for him as it was. The very nice looking and athletic blonde woman wasn't even teasing about it, just handing it over as he sat on the other side of the sofa, where a Vampire's head had once rested.

  Separated from his body, at the time.

  "So, how was your day?" She said it like she meant it, but also like she was practicing to be a nineteen-fifties housewife. If so, she'd totally missed having dinner on the table. Zack didn't mention it, since she was being friendly and was probably bored, having been left alone for hours.

  "Not too bad. I have a lot of new work coming in suddenly, taking people to the big meeting about not having a war. It seems over done to me, but apparently everyone just deciding not to is too much to ask. I guess I'll have to take the Alede leader, or whoever, too. I'll let you handle setting that up? You can tell them that you called in a personal favor or whatever, so I won't look like I'm going back on my word not to help them." Fixing her with a solid look, he took a sip of the fake orange beverage and let his eyes close. It was good. For a long time all he'd had was water, so everything was still excellent to him.