Scales (Avery Rome Book 1) Read online

  “The perks of being a Demon. I can take the last of the food and everyone just accepts it as me being that kind of jerk. They’re going to think the worst of me anyway, so why not, right?”

  Avery smiled at the man, since it was kind of clear that he’d been reading her mind, or something similar to that. He shook his head though, as soon as that occurred to her.

  “Nope. That’s extremely difficult to do with Dragons. Clyde is a bit closed off that way, but you’re pretty much impossible to pick things up on. It’s probably part of the Queen thing. That has pluses and minuses though… Some telepaths might still read you, since you’re still thinking inside, but it’s pretty good protection that way. A lot of magic won’t work on you. I’m pulling things about you from context, most likely thought patterns and a few other things. It works, but it’s more like guessing than a super power.”

  Clyde nodded, the others looking at him closely enough that it was clear they were shocked to find that out. She had to figure that it was about the idea that Dragons had an immunity to magical powers. She’d noticed that a few times now. It wasn’t perfect though. She’d been exposed to magic that interacted with her just fine, for instance. She could touch Eva and Samantha. If they weren’t made of magic, then Avery didn’t understand the concept. Things trying to affect her directly, like attacks, had a harder time. Those tended to drip off of her like water.

  Terry the Swan ate the last bite of something from her plate. It looked like it had once been a vegetable. Now it was just a morsel to pick at.

  “Handy skill. So when the magic flies, I just hide behind the closest Dragon? Good to know.” She was dead panned about the whole thing, her good looks making the whole situation sound bland and boring, while still getting both Zack and Chi to look at her intently.

  Playing with her fork, not letting it hit the ceramic plate in front of her, Avery glanced around.

  “I’m done. I do feel more awake. Do I just go to Sparks first, or…” She really didn’t know what would be expected of her at all. Thankfully Zack was there and didn’t think that killing her was the best plan for the day.

  Because she was willing to just go along with almost anything at the moment.

  The Demon, who was cute enough to get her attention, even if she wasn’t interested in him particularly, ate a few bites, but looked at her, to get Avery to wait.

  “Really… You should get with your team. Bey, Lang, Lars and Eric? You were hired for a job and that isn’t over yet. They probably won’t think to ask for your help, but will need it. Even if you don’t make more cash from it right now, that kind of thing will impress them all. Especially the Trollienkeine. They tend to think of all the line walkers as a bit greedy. You aren’t, so showing them that will win them over a lot. That would probably be a good group for you to court. Powerful, but neglected by everyone enough that having a line walker who’s looking out for them would be noticed. You can call from here. I have the numbers. Or…” He shrugged then, eating more as if that was the most important thing possible at the moment.

  Nothing else came out, but Avery got what he was hinting at.

  “I could just go? That…” There was no rule saying that she couldn’t do that kind of thing. It was probably even fairly safe, given that no Humans were going to be using the nodes to attack.

  Nodding to herself, she stood up, ready to just move into the swirling rip in space. Clyde waved his right hand in the air, getting Avery to freeze, expecting him to explain why doing it that way was a bad idea. Instead he smiled. It was charming, rather than scolding.

  “You should change first? Not that you don’t look fine, for hanging out at a mall, but…” He glanced down at her, his eyes focusing on her midsection. It was flat, well-muscled and the brown skin was totally exposed. She started to feel a little uptight about how she was dressed, given the attention. Not that he meant it in any particular way. Especially since he was possibly her uncle or brother. Something like that.

  The Greater Demon, finishing his meal, smiled at her, his eyes going wide. It looked real and slightly shocked, so would be faked up for their benefit. That was clear to her. The lines of intent coming off him split through the room almost equally. Including Chi and Terry in the mix, even if he wasn’t looking at them very much.

  “I don’t think he means to say that going half naked is the issue. Just that you look like you stripped out of your paramilitary outfit to try and hide who you really are from the police. Like that would ever work?” There was a bit of sarcasm in the words, but she thought it was the playing kind that people did with their friends. Especially since it had been his plan, not hers.

  She understood the basic idea then, figuring out that he wasn’t actually mocking her.

  “I… Have a t-shirt? From my last posting. It’s that or my fatigue top, since that’s what I own.” Even that was still in the back of the van and actually belonged to the Shifter Nation, not her personally. Before she could move to the back door, Chi giggled at her. It was very girly sounding. Which was being done on purpose. There was hand waving to go with it, showing that he was doing some kind of act for their amusement.

  “Oh, you! We’re in a fairly trendy clothing shop. If we can’t find you something to wear that will at least make you seem like a regular teen, well, then we need to close the doors until we get a better cover operation. Something more adult, perhaps?”

  That meant more covered at the moment, thankfully. Chi did most of the picking, but when it came time to pay, since it was a store, she was at a loss about what to do. Surprisingly, Clyde winked at her, his brown eyes shining a little.

  “Mission necessary. We have to provide you coverage in a case like this. There’s no way this isn’t going to be counted as an official action now. You look nice, by the way. I like the way the green works on you.” That was her new top, which was a button-up sweater that had long sleeves and black buttons on the front.

  She had tight stretch jeans on, but they were black. Her shoes were the ones she’d been wearing to run in at battle camp, since they didn’t sell that kind of thing there. It was still better than what she’d been wearing. A shower would have made her feel even more comfortable, but there wasn’t time for that kind of thing at the moment. She still had to get her gear and come back to the node, but inside five minutes she was able to pull the last of the tags off the new outfit and get to Australia.

  That part took less time by far. As a bonus, no one tried to rush her or anything when she stepped into the back of the Shifter embassy. It was the one she was supposed to use, at any rate. She was a Shifter, so they had to host her at places like that. It seemed right to her anyway.

  At first she figured that the place was empty, until people moved from the outer office space, at a run toward the room she was in. It was dark, but the sound allowed her to make out where she was.

  Before they got to her, she called out. After all, not being shot was always more comfortable than being hit with bits of hot lead. That really hurt. Avoiding that was her general game plan, most days.

  “Hello! Avery Rome here. Um… The new Shifter line walker?” She didn’t know if anyone knew that was a thing yet, since it was kind of new, but the man who skipped into the room, moving faster than she would have been able to with a door in the way, grinned at her like she’d been expected.

  “G’day there! Come to see about the real estate offerings around here?” It was clearly a joke, which the leathery faced man thought was kind of funny, for some reason.

  Avery didn’t get it. Not even enough to do more than smile in return to his pleasant expression. He looked about fifty, but was nearly as energetic as a Bat would be. He was too large for that though. Whatever he was inside was smaller than he was. It was like a tiny kangaroo, from the energy signature.

  “Not today. I need to get with some people that came through here. Probably in their own embassies. I was hoping that Lang Peterson was here?”

  The name got the woman to start
walking in her direction, moving from what was probably a sofa in the other room. Where she’d been sleeping. The speaking started well before the woman got to them.

  “Rome? I wasn’t expecting anyone for a while. Possibly a long one. Do you have data? I was on with Samson not too long ago. Before I laid down. The U.S. Federal Government is claiming that they don’t know anything. So it wasn’t official on their part. At the same time they’re demanding that everyone involved turn themselves in. Which isn’t happening. Not when we were set up for a hit squad like that.”

  Shaking her head, Avery glanced at the older Wolf when she walked in. Silently, since she was in stocking feet. Otherwise she was dressed like she had been the day before.

  “I can move people around. As far as I know I’m still on mission. Bey paid for me to take you all around until we find out who’s behind the murders of those people. I’m not exactly certain that we’ve done that. I mean, this looks bad, but…” There was a difference between going after some mother and her kids and a leader of the Vampires. Especially since the woman had been a Mage.

  They weren’t exactly known for being hardened killers, the Mages. A bit over-official at times, but that was about it. If they had time to sit back and cast spells they were impressive, or so the stories went. They were essentially Human in a fight, but could prevent an army from being able to find the battle field in the right circumstances.

  Lang blinked a few times, then laughed a bit.

  “That’s a real point. Let me get cleaned up and I’ll go look up the others with you. Lars is over with Eric at the Mage Embassy here, since the Trolls don’t have one here.” She yawned, looking exhausted.

  Avery didn’t correct her, but the man there did, his face going a bit hard.

  “Trollienkeine.”

  The older woman winced then.

  “That. Sorry there, not trying to be prejudiced. I’m just old. Everyone keeps changing the rules on me. When I was a kid we had different words for a lot of things and seriously, no one meant anything by it.” She sighed, the man nodding at her.

  “I get you on that one. Happened everywhere, about ten years back. Still, if we’re going to work for the government, we have to set the standards. Plus, the girl here is impressionable and all that, I betcha.” There was a wink then, to go with the words. It was charming in a weathered face kind of way.

  She didn’t correct that either. It was too hard to explain that in some ways she was ancient. In others she was just a kid. Less worldly than average even. Her upbringing might not have been exactly normal. Even she could see that.

  Lang muttered at them, her eyes still a bit red and sleepy seeming.

  “I don’t suppose you could find some coffee? Bane here has the cooking skills of a Shifter mercenary. Meaning he doesn’t even have beans to suck on.”

  The Ambassador, if that’s who he was, shrugged at her. His face was happy again.

  “There’s a coffee stand down the street. Make a decent cup I hear, not that I drink that stuff. I could free you up some bills out of petty cash?” He moved then to do that, stopping when Avery shook her head.

  “I can probably get some from the states. One bit here.”

  She ended up in the Vancouver Yoghurt World. They didn’t have coffee there, she didn’t think, but as she walked out into the front area, Edom was there with a girl who looked to be a bit older than Avery was herself. At least on the outside. Impressively the new lady, clearly a Vampire, was in a nice dress. The kind that Avery’s mother used to wear, if in drabber colors. The Gray women wore dresses, but they often were in very loud hues.

  “Hello! I’m on a coffee capture mission. Apparently Australia has that, but it might be a bit substandard. I don’t suppose I can get some for free from here? Around here?”

  Edom nodded then, smiling.

  “Sure! We can make some fresh. We do coffee flavored sauces occasionally and make it all from scratch. Let me set that up.” He moved to work quickly, the woman who was sitting at the first booth having turned to look at her.

  Her voice was gentle sounding. As if she really didn’t want to startle her for some reason.

  “You must be Avery? I’m Lenore Hawthorn. I happened to be nearest here when I got the call about the attacks earlier. I don’t suppose you know where Bey is? I’ve been being dunned by the Council on the matter hourly. As if I’m his keeper? It shows a bit of desperation on their part. Not that I blame them.” She sounded a bit annoyed at the last bit, which got Avery to hold up a hand, then dash to the node .

  A minute later she was back. Along with Bey and Tara from the Australia embassy, since she’d wanted the free trip. It wouldn’t be that hard to get her back to her home node and apparently hanging around with Bey, while scary, was considered a sign that a person was planning to make something of themselves if they were of the Unclean Undead.

  Lenore stood up and bowed. Toward Avery, not the council member or even the person from a different continent. For some reason Edom chuckled over that bit. As if it were humorous that Avery had done her job or something.

  Chapter thirteen

  Lenore Hawthorn, as it turned out, was rather nice. In fact, after greeting Bey with a gentle expression and saying hello to the other Vampire woman, who seemed to be a bit older, without being old at all, the woman went immediately behind the marble counter and started to make frozen confections. All of which were brought to Avery by Edom and Bey, for some reason. Waiting on her as if she were special. It left her feeling edgy and out of place, since that wasn’t their place in her world.

  There were five large containers of things in front of her, all looking light, frothy, well decorated and like she shouldn’t eat them. They were too lovely for that. Still, she was a bit hungry again, so dug in, with a red plastic spoon, trying not to be rude. Luckily Bey was there to remind her of her manners. He even did it without making her look bad. She felt that way, forgetting herself horribly to stuff chocolate sauce into her face with vanilla frozen yogurt as she was.

  “Thank you, dear.” The older Vampire was looking directly at her, his face seeming slightly bemused.

  Avery went wide eyed, then nodded, speaking as soon as she could.

  “Yes! Sorry. That was poor manners on my part. Thank you, Ms. Hawthorn. This all looks incredible.” There had been no mention of her paying for anything and in her hunger she hadn’t asked about that part. If they wanted her to settle up before she left, there was going to be trouble.

  To that end she ate faster, since it was kind of clear that no one else was going to eat the food, since Vampires didn’t do that. They drank blood. After a few moments the youthful looking lady came out from behind the counter, settled in the booth directly next to her and smiled warmly, looking over to the side.

  “Not at all a problem, Miss Rome. Going to retrieve Bey like that was… Both impressive and faster work than I would have expected from anyone. I’d figured on requesting that Troy, or perhaps Eve, might consider doing such for us. I wouldn’t have even asked Barbara, given her station here as Assistant Ambassador. What do I owe you for your efforts?” She seemed a bit uneasy about that part of things, as if they weren’t dealing with an emergency.

  Avery had an answer this time, since Edom had gone back to getting the coffee ready.

  “Mr. Freeman has that for us. Coffee. I don’t have a cell phone… Um… Can I have people call for me here? That way I can just check in every few hours? I know that-” It was probably a horrible plan, but The Bey reached across the table, his brown eyes seeming nearly tear filled. Not that it was possible, but he was faking the look really well.

  “We will see to that at once. What plans do you have next? You’ll need to rest soon, won’t you?”

  She shrugged and waved at the food in front of her.

  “This helps, I guess? The other Dragons mentioned that I can probably stay up for a while if I have enough to eat. Still, yeah? For now, I feel fine though. I was thinking that I’d get coffee for Lang, t
hen get you and the others on the team where you need to go. That’s pretty much my job for right now, right?” It was what she was getting paid for. If she were going to be getting money at all now.

  Things had changed, after all. That could have ended the deal.

  Tara the Vampire looked amazed for some reason, but managed to go still after a few seconds. Her voice was awed, but a big part of that was Bey being there. At least she kept avoiding eye contact with him and ducking her head to avoid seeming too bold.

  “If you need anything, please let me know, Miss Rome? I’m sure that my staff and I will be willing to help you, if needed. You’ll have need of more food? I can send Emery out for something. What do you prefer?”

  There was no one named Emery there, but the idea was clear, Avery was supposed to take people around, to different node points. It was her job, so adding in Tara and a few others would just make sense.

  “Burgers, or something easy? Fast food is fine. I’m going to be good for a while though, now. Probably eight hours or so. This is a lot of calories right here. Then I need to sleep. Um…” She looked around, feeling out of place in the bright and clean space. One filled with Vampires instead of her own people. Not that she had any of those now.

  Except that here these unclean creatures were, making sure that she had food, without asking if it was needed. Edom and Eve had even offered her a place to live. She’d never been there, but Ed came around the counter, holding a large silver container that was filled with coffee. There were paper cups on the tray as well, with lids on them. Inside she could smell different things. Sugar, cream and a bit of chocolate sauce. It seemed very professional. Like they did things like that all the time.

  She kept eating, standing as she did it, only to have Bey wave her back down.

  “We can take a few moments for you to finish your meal, I’m certain. The beverage will need to cool a bit anyway, before it can be consumed?”