Among the Living (Tyler G Book 1) Read online

  "Hmmm. Well, we don't want to make up special rules just because she annoyed me. Still, we need to have a conversation with her. If this happens again, we, the combined nations, will have to take action. I have your backing in that? So far it sounds like she's impacted several groups, and if any Human's had been harmed here, this would have ended up in their court system. This kind of thing can end up impacting everyone, if we aren't careful."

  "I think we can do that. I'll set up a meeting. Can you come here for that? Our headquarters?"

  He was about to say no, when Zack waved at him, and nodded.

  "Just give me a days notice."

  "I think so. Or we can have you come here? Is Nellie local?" That was for Viv, who made a hard face, and nodded at him. "Okay, is that all right?"

  Zack nodded again. "Same rule if you need someone moved around."

  "All right. So we have line travel for you, with a days notice, for this."

  That got silence for a bit.

  "I don't think I can afford that."

  "Don't worry. I'll handle that portion for this one. Let's set that up."

  It sounded pretty official. That didn't actually get the whole thing settled as far as Vivian went. After all, while she was willing to be punished, and go off to that island, the wronged party hadn't had a chance to have her say yet. How he was supposed to get that done, he didn't know. If the Alede woman was smart, she would have taken off, and hidden, just in case an angry bear was coming for her for real. Any sane and intelligent person would have.

  An adult bear was at least as dangerous as a Vampire. That was just the real ones, too. If Viv kept her Human mind when she changed, or even part of it, she might be even more dangerous than that. Which kind of meant that his doing anything with her had been stupid to the point of being suicidal.

  Looking up, Tyler didn't let himself consider that one.

  "Okay. We need to get with the Alede then. Should we let them set the time on the punishment?" That was risky. It would be really easy for a person that was scared and upset to say a really big number. The woman nodded anyway, looking down at the last cookie. It was that, and a pile of crumbs on the white plate. If the woman wasn't thinking about metaphors about then, she wasn't as bright as she seemed.

  How the fuck he was supposed to get that done he didn't know, for about the fourth time in the last half hour, but again, just by sitting there, and talking in a friendly manner, he got results. It was like magic. Since he didn't have any of that, he had to figure that people were actually kind of trying to help him out. Possibly it was all for Vivian, at least now that the real situation had come out. For instance, in this case, he got the Alede that had been attacked, parts of her face swollen, with a cut on her left cheek.

  Behind her, Calley moved to stand with a different blonde woman, who had Ang on one side of her, and a large, brown bearded man on the other.

  It was the man, who sounded a bit sad, who spoke first.

  "They're going to strand you, Vivian. I... Can't help you." He seemed upset about it, but in that kind of way that said he was truly helpless.

  Calley shook her head, and moved to pat him on the arm.

  "I know Keeber, but I was there, she nearly killed Valerie, here. The Alede Ambassador. If it was anyone else, she'd either be dead already, or about to die. This is really serious. By Human rules she'd be in prison for years. Probably one or two. It would be more than that if she were a man."

  That was true, as far as Ty knew. Also not really at issue. They weren't a Human court.

  "Um, excuse me, Ma'am?" He gestured to the Alede lady, who moved forward, looking far too good for having been struck by Viv. He was as sore from his landing as he had been from being beaten by the Vampires a few days before, himself. At least he thought so. This woman looked like a movie character that the makeup had been done wrong on. It was tempting to downplay her beating because of that.

  He didn't let himself do it. She moved forward, looking scared.

  "Vivian, would you like to apologize?" It made sense to him, and she looked a lot like a little kid being called on the carpet by the teacher for pulling someone's hair.

  "I'm sorry. I... Fucked up. I did the wrong thing. I can't even explain it."

  Tyler could though, and did. After all, if anyone in the world had a right to know about it, this lady did.

  "Her ex-girlfriend tried to set her up to go after the local Shifter Ambassador. She's done that kind of thing before, and ended up with her girlfriend at the time dying. That part is... Well, there isn't a lot we can do about it, but Jahn Samson is coming to talk to her himself. It isn't totally over, but the person that set this up did it in a way to get around the rules. On the good side, it wasn't about you, so you won't have any fallout from this, other than the trauma of being held at gunpoint and beaten."

  The woman swallowed, and moved in, then touched him on the arm. A sexual thrill played down it, so he glanced at it and smiled.

  "Sorry, but take a step back? I need a clear head, thanks."

  For some reason everyone looked at him like he was being weird. It made sense to him. The woman was being very distracting, and while it was pleasant, that wasn't what they were there for at the moment. Everyone had warned him to watch out for the Alede that way. Tyler could see why, too, now that he'd met some. They were dangerous in their beauty.

  It wouldn't be hard to lose yourself in their gaze, and find yourself their tool.

  "Thanks. Now, Vivian has agreed to go onto an island, alone, with food and water. What we need to decide then, is how long? As the person that was wronged, I think we should leave it to you. This is really serious." He didn't want to have her say that fifty or a hundred years would be fair, since that was too much in his mind, but was that unfair? Maybe that was what she was going to need, in order to feel safe again.

  The woman looked at Vivian, her face going hard. That didn't fit with her entire being though, and after a second her gaze went to the side. There was a sexy fierceness to her bearing after a moment. It was a thing that Ty hadn't thought possible outside of a movie. A bad one that didn't have anything to do with reality at all.

  Dramatically, she tightened a bit, and then made her pronunciation. There was very little hesitation before she spoke.

  "Two weeks." After the words were out, she seemed worried about it, but stood her ground. Bravely too, or so it seemed.

  The others didn't seem to get it for a bit, and it was a bit light, but he stood up.

  "All right. Can you see this done?" He looked at Ang, so because he didn't want to dump it on his girlfriend. The man gave him a single, somber nod.

  "We can, and will. Now?"

  Turning, trying not to seem like a kid, he looked at Viv.

  "Do you need time to do anything before you go?"

  "Yes. I have a dog. I can't just leave her."

  Keeber, the large man who seemed to be a Shifter, moved to her, and patted her on the back a bit awkwardly.

  "I have the key, sis. I'll take care of Fluff."

  "Thanks. I can go then, I guess." Then she stood and turned to Valerie, looking down at her. "I really am sorry. I... thanks for being so nice about this. I won't forget it. I should have asked first."

  Ang waved at her, his face very serious, then he and Keeber got her to follow them away. Presumably to take her off to some island, or at least hide her for a few weeks.

  Calley moved in and gave Valerie a little hug from the side which was instantly returned.

  "That was really sweet of you. She probably expected at least a year. That's kind of the standard."

  There was a gasp then from the really pretty woman. The other blonde woman took a few steps forward and touched her arm. It was the Alede who spoke however.

  "Alone? That sounds horrible. I nearly said days. It probably doesn't matter. It's not the first time I've been on the wrong side of a beating meant for someone else. Just the first time the other person was a Shifter, Catherine. Worse, you didn't ev
en get anything from it yourself. That's hardly fair."

  The other woman, who was pretty, in a strange, slightly cat faced way, gave a slow nod to the words. She was human looking, but still a little off. Calley wasn't as pretty, maybe, but she was cuter in a lot of ways, though he didn't know if that made sense.

  "I woke up to Ang calling me at home, telling me about all this. Imagine my surprise. I haven't even had a date in two years, and now a woman was claiming I stole her girlfriend? I don't even like women, as a rule."

  That got nods all the way around. Then information to be shared, since he was, after all, the new head of the Coalition of Nations. That sounded pretty important, too.

  Now he only had to get everyone else in the world on board, and it would be real.

  Chapter eleven

  The rest of the night was fairly sedate. The only thing of note, as far as he was concerned, was that Zack came after a while and suggested that he call up Bey, since he was on the Vampire Council, and might want in on the whole thing that Tyler was starting.

  He looked at his boss and shook his head a little.

  "That's not going to work. You know that right? No one is going to look at me and think, oh, let's do what this kid wants."

  That got a shifting of shoulders and a strange look that was a bit annoyed seeming. It was kind of funny, since Ty knew he was right on this one. It was just the truth.

  "Sure. I'm steering you toward this because it won't work. No, that's fine. Have no faith in my ability to get things done. I understand. Who am I after all..." There was a silly, almost goofy grin then. It was sudden and sharp at the same time. There was a slight hint of sexy thrown in too, if he was any judge. "Oh, wait! Greater Demon... I nearly forgot for half a second. My point is, of course it can work. The fact is, someone has to do it. We don't really have a lot of Humans around here either, and you grew up in this culture, as one of them, so it makes a certain amount of sense."

  He wasn't really certain that was the case. There had to be people around that would be more respected, and taken seriously. Not that people hadn't that night, but how long would that kind of thing keep going, he had to wonder. Probably not all that long, really.

  "Hmmm. So, Zack, are you in on this? Can you get any of the other Greater Demons to sign off on it?" That was probably a good question, and Zack, acting like it was a real one, answered like he'd written out his response and practiced it in front of a mirror.

  "We aren't a single body as tightly as most groups. If that's kept in mind, then I can tentatively speak for myself. I may not back everything you do, and won't do more than my share, but I'll put the word out with some of the others, and ask around if I can without causing problems with them. So, sort of yes? This is big, even if you only get me. If you can't line up Bey and Jahn Samson now, then given that, you shouldn't be in charge of it. The thing there is that there really isn't anyone a lot better for it. You're smart, and while a bit young, a lot of other groups won't even consider that as an issue. The Alede all look so young that they tend to judge people based on what they do, not how they look. Shifters tend to assume that everyone is about twenty years older than they look. Trollienkeine are a merit based society. If you stand up to people, and do what's right, they'll back you, every time. They don't even really care was species you are. If you were a tiny puppy, but doing the right thing, you'd have them at your back. Vampires are the same in a lot of ways as the Alede. Looks matter less than ability. Right now, you look decent to all of them, and can use that, if you don't take too long."

  It was a bit of a pretty speech. Hopefully it wasn't wrong.

  Tyler got off work at two, though the shop didn't close. He was tired, but made a trip down to the frozen yogurt place, since he didn't have a phone number for Bey at all for some strange reason. Eve, who he guessed was his friend, more or less, stood behind the counter, and was waiting on a man in casual clothing, handing him a cream colored ceramic mug. Whatever was in it cost a single five dollar bill, and the fellow, who seemed to be in his mid-twenties, bolted the whole thing then and there. His clothing was a little messy, and he smelled a bit, but mainly of dust and earth, not urine or desperation.

  When the man spun, he had all red eyes, protruding fangs and a wild, rust colored beard. Almost as if trying out for a part in a movie, he hissed, lunging toward Tyler violently. Without thinking Tyler hit the man, using a hammer blow at an angle to his neck, and a foot sweep, which landed the rushing fellow on the floor.

  Eve, behind the counter, laughed.

  "Ah, I wouldn't push that one. I saw him fight five Vampires at once before, and win. They were all older and more powerful than you are. Armed too."

  The guy on the floor stood up, a bit fast, his face pretty pissed off looking, but after a few seconds, he swallowed hard and moved back.

  "Doesn't matter. I lost the thread for a bit there. Sorry man. My bad." It wasn't really humble, but the guy didn't seem cowed either, so it was him actually trying.

  Ty gave a nod, like he would to anyone that there was a potential problem with.

  "Don't let it bug you. Things happen, right?"

  "Yeah. I have to get better. Anymore... Look, I should get out of here. Sorry." Then he left, at a jog.

  The woman behind the counter, who was a bit shorter than he was, leaned on her arms. The counter was made of polished marble, and nicer than he'd realized before. It was also very clean and tidy. It left him feeling a bit sorry about how he'd left the bookstore. That wasn't bad, but it wasn't spotless, like this place was.

  "So, finally come to get in on the incredible treats here? I can get you a free sample..." It was said in a slightly singsong voice, but she didn't seem put out when he shook his head. His diet had been pretty fruit heavy lately, but there had been plenty of that at work that night, once he realized that Palma had tried to set him up too.

  "Thanks, but I actually came for the secret information. In this case, Bey's number? Zack said I should ask him out on a date." He was teasing, since the truth was even stranger, but the counter Vampire looked at him knowingly.

  "That's the dream isn't it? He's so frickin' adorable. Anyway, you're going to talk up the Coalition thing? I'll throw in, even though it won't mean too much. We need someone to deal with the Humans, in a way that won't leave them panicked all the time. I mean, yeah, the Council will handle Vampire issues, but most of the time we don't find out about it until weeks later, since the Humans don't feel like they can just call us and ask for things to be handled. They can and we would, but I can see it. Vampires are strange and scary, we all know that. The other way around works, too. Being able to get you to call up the Human's when there's an issue might be easier to take all around. You can do that. Both ways."

  That was, he guessed, the whole idea. Setting himself, and maybe a few others, up to make the needed phone calls to the right people. Suddenly the whole thing sounded a lot more reasonable than it had before. He could sell that. It was just a service, to help people out.

  Some kid that calls people up and lets them know what's happening didn't seem like a big deal, really.

  Since he'd been going home for the day, he had his notebook with him, and when Eve led him to the back office, and pulled out a large blue binder that was filled with numbers, he started to copy some of them down. Openly, and without any remorse at all. That meant he sat there for about thirty minutes, getting forty or more points of potential contact. He'd need more, but this had a lot of them.

  He was left alone with the thing, so finally made the call, not knowing what to really expect. It was pretty normal, since he got someone totally different than he'd expected. Some young sounding boy named Gene.

  "You wish to speak to The Bey? May I inquire as to what this might regard?"

  "Sure. It isn't a secret. Um, the Coalition of Nations is a collective of beings getting together to address Humanity on an open basis. Basically though that just means that if you have a problem with the Humans, you get to dump big parts of
it on us, which is pretty much me so far. On the other hand, if the Human authorities or government have a problem with Vampires, or one of the other groups, they can come to us, and I'll get the right people together. You know, instead of them sending in police to be killed, making waves?"

  There was a pause, and then a muttering from the back of the room on the other side of the phone.

  Then the younger voice went again.

  "How binding will your rulings and proclamations be?"

  He nearly said they wouldn't be, but then realized that things like earlier could happen. That might be something that could be useful, if he set it up correctly.

  "Pretty solid. In regards to Human and other groups interacting only. So, if the Coalition makes a ruling, it will be for the greater good, even if all groups involved can't see it. That means that in Vampire matters, if I have to come up with something, which I will really try to avoid, then I'd expect the Vampires to go along with it and back me up, within reason. On the other hand, I'll do the same when I can. Within the strictures of the organization, which will not cover most things."

  "I think I understand. Who else is in on this with you so far?"

  He lied a bit, but only a little, to make it easier for himself.

  "The Greater Demons are in, as much as a group like them can be. Zack Hartley has thrown in more completely. I have a good line on the Shifters. I came to the Vampires first thing however, since you're a powerful and important collection of people. Plus, really, it just makes sense."

  There was a soft chuckle, that didn't seem to be the boy on the phone.

  "It does?"

  "Well, sure. Vampires were mainly Human before, right? They have insight into Humans that some other groups might not have access to. It kind of shows already. Of all the groups that could go it alone really, the Vampires are the ones that have managed it. This might be easier."

  "There is a certain truth to that. I can't speak to the whole of the matter, but there are four of us here at the moment, and we tentatively agree, as long as there is no overt abuse of power on your part. Gartner? Tyler Gartner?" Someone had been speaking, giving that information. "We have a report with that name in it, Bey says. Some rowdy youth the other day? I believe I recall that. Very good. We need to meet to formalize things, soon. When will that be doable, do you think?"