Among the Living (Tyler G Book 1) Read online

  "Clerk. I hear that you drove off my enemy? The Storm?"

  "Drove off... Gave cookies. Here." He held his hand out, since it would be faster that way, and he doubted that hiding information from the girl was a great plan. There wasn't even a pretense of not understanding that he knew what was going on that way.

  Instead she just placed her dry, and warm, palm against his own. After about half the time that Zack had spent, which still wasn't long, the girl took her hand back, and smiled at him, happily.

  "Thanks. I can use that. I wonder why she was going to kill you to send me a message though?"

  "Well, because you're someone else that's been around? Probably Ben. Unless... Lyn is a different Greater Demon, isn't she?"

  Zack looked away, subtly shaking his head, but The Rotted glanced around, then nodded.

  "The Changeling. In hiding for now, so try not to tell everyone. Not that half the Mall here doesn't know. We're concealing it from the new Mage Ambassador however, since Lisa has been having a rough time lately. You should go and make contact with her. She could use a real Human in her life right now. Plus, you don't have the Mages in your Coalition yet. I know, why don't you run do that now? I'm sure she's here."

  Zack glared a bit, but then patted Tyler on the back, because, clearly, he was a dog. The thought that he might have that base level of value to these beings, if that, suddenly hit him. Also, hard on the heels of that, he considered why they wanted this Coalition of Nations so badly. The idea that it was that great of an idea wasn't real. Everyone could see that.

  "I could do that. I suppose. Who should I talk to?"

  Zack looked at him, his face softening a good bit.

  "Lisa Weise. Blonde, nice looking. In her forties."

  He waved a bit and walked out, not looking back. It was a relief to get away from those two. Not that he was turning into a Greater Demon bigot, but being that near people that knew everything about him like that was kind of hard to bear. Each little hatred he'd ever had, they both knew about. His secret desire to boink Zack in the ass was in there, too. So was the idea that The Rotted was a creepy little girl. That one could have been worse, because she was kind of cute, and while he didn't go for kids, that didn't mean his subconscious mind wouldn't consider it, knowing that she was more than old enough in reality. It was sick to think about.

  Also probably a thing that he couldn't help, now that he'd considered not wanting to think about that kind of thing. At least it was like not thinking about a pink elephant, rather than something that was always there for him.

  The thing was, she'd know about him thinking all of that, if she didn't already.

  Tyler had a rough idea about where the Mages were located, that being the candle shop across from the Vampire yogurt embassy. Eve was there, behind the counter, so he waved at her, and spoke, understanding that she'd get the idea.

  "Visiting the Mages. To see if they want to hook up with the incredible machine that is the Coalition of Nations. That's a good line, right? Make it sound like it's not just me and a cell phone?"

  She spoke back, which meant that he had to read her lips. Thankfully she looked at him.

  "Lisa's nice. Do you want me to introduce you?"

  "Yeah, that might be good? I know I wouldn't trust me if I walk off the street and said 'hey, I'm here to help you.' I need to hurry. The store needs to be cleaned up before the shipment comes in.

  "Got it. Ed, will you cover for me? Thanks. Be right back."

  Then she jogged, at very human speeds, out of her shop. She didn't even take her apron off, just walking toward him. It was a flowing kind of thing, one that reminded him that he needed to pay attention to that kind of thing for himself. If you moved right, doing it economically and in a well balanced fashion, you didn't use as much energy. You also wouldn't risk injuring yourself as much, at least when running. It was slower though, when he tried it, which meant Eve led him into the little candle shop, holding the red painted door. The frame was wood, but the center glass. To the left there was a sign that said the place was closed, even though all the lights were on and the door unlocked.

  Inside it smelled a bit of incense. There was no smoke, just a hint of a variety of things that might be more pleasant if they were on fire. There were probably hundreds of scents, but the strongest one he could pick out was wax. A tiny bell tinkled above him when he went in. Other than Eve and himself, the place was empty, or seemed that way at first.

  After about five seconds there was a voice from the back, and a head poked out from around a corner. That, or the woman it was attached to could walk through walls. She was a Mage, so that could be the answer, as far as he knew.

  "Hello? I'll be right there. I just need to finish this phone call." The woman, who at a guess was going to be Lisa, vanished again. It was just a pulling back however, unless magic was involved that he couldn't discern.

  Eve just stood there, not yelling back. Then, she was probably listening to the phone call. It would either be a really handy trick, or incredibly annoying, depending on what you had to listen to, he bet.

  They just stood around, for nearly five minutes, until a well enough dressed, but kind of plain looking lady came out. She was, as Zack had mentioned, cute. She wasn't wearing any makeup though, and had on clothing that was probably meant to be trendy, but seemed a bit like it had seen better days. A black sweater, that practically bagged off the woman, and a pair of black slacks.

  "Sorry about that. What's up? Did you bring me a new prospective clerk? I... Things have been a bit hard for a bit. Todd still comes in on the weekends, and Lyn is a great help, but with the rest of it..."

  Eve shook her head a bit, and waved over at him.

  "This is Tyler. Ty Gartner. He's the head of the Coalition of Nations. The new group that's being set up to liaison between the Humans and the rest of us. It's a real thing. He was on national radio for it earlier today."

  That got him looked at, but unlike Rochelle from the radio station, this woman just shifted gears. Sort of.

  "That doesn't mean he won't want a job here though, right?"

  Eve giggled. It was a light and happy sound, which fit her better than most of the Vampire things did. Then, he'd lived around Humans all his life, so that was what he knew. The rest still seemed strange to him.

  "He works down at the bookstore. Human, though, so I bet if you offer to blow him a few times a week he'll come in and help out here."

  The blonde woman tensed up, her face going hard. Then she glared at Eve for a bit.

  "After that stuff with Warren..."

  The Vampire looked at Tyler then, and explained.

  "He used to work here. A Mage. He used magic to rape Lisa, the old Ambassador, and me. I used to work here, back when I was a Human. Not that we remember it. Though..." She took a deep breath, which was probably not real, considering the whole thing where she was dead, and sighed. "Bob turned out to be a Greater Demon. The Mimic. Keeley took him as a slave, but before that I doubt that Warren could have really used his magic on him to do that. Rape him, I mean?"

  Tyler turned and looked at each of them, one at a time.

  "I... See. So, this Warren is in prison?"

  There was a bit of shifting then, and a head shake from Eve.

  "Dead. He was also trying to start a war, using other people as pawns. I can tell you about it later if you want? My point here is that Lisa shouldn't use that stuff as an excuse anymore. Yeah, we were used. Get over it. Neither of us remember it."

  Lisa looked away, and Tyler shook his head after making eye contact with Eve.

  "That's kind of cold. Is that a Vampire thing, or just an Eve one?"

  "Both, probably. We'll probably have to get Zack or Darla to turn you into a girl first though, if Lisa's going to make that trade. She likes girls." There was no hint of playing in the words. It was just a fact.

  "Or, and I'm not saying no to any of those ideas, Lisa, but what if we worked out how to get the Mages into the Coalition first
? Then I'll see if I can't get you some help around here? I may be young and horny, but I try not to be an asshole about it. Most days at least. Not that I know of."

  No one so much as smiled, but Lisa did let that be an excuse to change the topic and seemed grateful for it. Then, he was only average looking at best. That could be an issue, along with all the other stuff. That Eve had been that mean to the other woman was a bit shocking. You were supposed to be nice to people that had been attacked like that. On the good side they wouldn't have to kidnap the man that had done it, Warren, and bury him in the woods.

  The Ambassador for the Mages licked her lips a bit, and then rubbed at her nose, which was a little red, he noticed. Like she'd been crying, or had a cold. That, or snorted drugs. It wasn't his business though, so he tried to pay attention to what she was saying.

  "I've heard a bit of talk about this coalition. What kind of services are you offering? Basically, what do I get out of it?"

  "Ah. Great question. The real answer is nothing that you couldn't do yourself, except that, if the Human authorities find out about something going on that involved your people, or might, then they can call me up and I'll get in touch with you, or your national reps, and help them coordinate with law enforcement. So far it seems to be working a hundred percent of the time. Two whole issues down." Not that they really were yet. Still, they'd been started at least.

  "Okay, I can see that as useful. What will we need to do for it? The Mages, I mean?"

  "If a problem comes up that you can help with, that won't cost too much, then you do. That's all. I may be wrong, but I'm still thinking this will mainly be stuff done on the phone. Maybe some paperwork. You know, some mage guy uses a spell to harass his ex-girlfriend, and I pass that along to you, if it's needed. That kind of thing?"

  There was talking about the particulars, but in the end he asked her if she wanted to come to his party on Saturday.

  "If I ask enough people, I just know one or two will come. I know it!" He tried to seem hopeful, but Eve cleared her throat, and then shook her head a little.

  "Don't buy it. Half the Vampire Council is already coming, and at least a quarter of the Ambassadors here. If you don't come it will look like you're giving up. Don't do that. Anyway, now to my thing, since you seem in on that. A blowjob every time he comes in? I know you like girls, but it won't hurt you to broaden your perspectives. For your part Ty, that will mean eight hours of work. Good stuff, not just filling space, leaning on the counter. I hear you know how to work a mean mop."

  Instead of screaming for them to get out, like she probably should have, Lisa sighed and shook her head.

  "Is it wrong that I'm seriously considering it? I could use the help." Then she looked away, seeming miserable.

  Instead of pushing the matter, he looked at Eve and then shook his head a bit.

  "Eve will come in. She knows the job, right? You don't sleep, do you?" Ginger didn't, but he'd never asked the other Vampire about that directly.

  "I don't. Aaaand I can do some time in the evenings, a few days a week, I guess. We can get Zack in, too?" That was a question, and Lisa stiffened up a lot.

  "I don't know. I... We haven't been close in a long time. He's a Greater Demon. Who knows what he might do to me?" She seemed scared, but really, there was no real reason why that was, as far as Ty could tell.

  "He won't do anything. I hit him earlier, just to test something out, and he didn't even do it back, which would have been totally fair. I bet he likes you better than me, too." She was cuter, and could probably pull off more than that, if she tried. That never hurt on the whole being liked thing. Not for women. Probably not for anyone.

  Finally, after a bit of cajoling, she decided that it was better than letting the whole place suffer, since she couldn't keep up with it all. After that, Eve hugged him with one arm as they walked out, not speaking until they were in the hallway. Out of Human, or Mage, hearing.

  "I know that seemed like me being a bitch, which it was, but she hasn't been doing well for a while now. If you can, you should try and be her friend. Yeah, I know, the guy code says you shouldn't waste your time, since she won't put out, but it would be good for her. There are other things you might get out of it. Like contacts? Really, if you want I can get Kait to sleep with you. You know, in exchange for all your hard work and Lisa centric help?"

  Like he'd let himself be bribed with sex? The answer, the real one, was that he would, but he could probably get that on his own, if he was careful. Doing things like, oh, asking the would-be bribe for sex himself, if he wanted. Eve seemed to understand that he knew that though, so grinned at him.

  "Or I could do it. She'd just get to actually enjoy it. That's one of the things I miss most, not being Human now. No sex drive, or pleasure from it. The whole world seems different in a way, due just to that. I also miss food. Not that much, since blood is more than a substitute, but enough that I notice it. Anyway, I need to get back to work." She walked away then, abruptly, as if she hadn't just offered to do him.

  She totally had. It was kind of hard to understand, but what Zack had said earlier came to mind, about keeping women interested by making sure they knew that other women were interested in him. Still, he was willing to bet that he got a few days with Calley and Ginger that way. Then again, the Bat-g irl had made it pretty clear that she wasn't going to be turning down a lot that way, if it came up. From anyone. That didn't mean they weren't in a relationship, but it did mean that he had a lot of possible competition there. Ginger would be easier that way, he bet. He just had to keep her interested outside the bedroom.

  Suddenly that didn't feel like the simpler thing at all. After all, he wasn't exactly someone that was vastly intriguing or anything. Just a guy that worked at a bookstore, and even if the coalition thing took off, it wasn't like it paid anything.

  Still, that gave him something to think about when he went back to work. No one mentioned him having been gone, so he started right in on getting everything ready, like he had the night before. The same crew was there again, but the order was only half as large, so they had it taken care of by about eight-thirty.

  The De'geru chief, or whatever his title was, called in, and mentioned that some police had come by, and apologized for shooting at them. No one had mentioned the puppies though, so taking a deep breath, he had. That led to a very, very interesting discussion about things he really hadn't been ready for.

  The semi-aquatic creatures hadn't been kidnapping puppies to resell, or to eat. No, both of those answers would have been far too normal. Boring almost. They weren't even having sex with them.

  It turned out that they reproduced by introducing their genetic material into mammals, by stabbing them with a special claw. Then, over the course of several years, the infected being would become one of them. Most of them had started life as Humans, originally, but it wasn't required.

  Ty pretended that wasn't a huge, mind warping thing. One so different from what he'd envisioned reality being that it actually shook him for a while. On the good side, they wouldn't need any more kids for about ten years, so while the puppies were gone, the disappearances would stop for a long time.

  After that, nothing but work happened for the rest of the night.

  Which was, he noticed, a first.

  Chapter fourteen

  Tyler was scheduled for a far earlier work time the next day, which had good and bad parts to it. It meant being there at ten, which was harder than it sounded, since he needed to exercise first. That meant getting six hours of sleep, then climbing out of bed to run and do some calisthenics before jogging over to the mall for the day.

  The bookstore was just the store that day. In fact, Zack came out to work with everyone else, not having to go anywhere at all. It was a bit shocking, since he was a good worker. Better than Tyler was actually. The place was very clean, straightened and tidy by eleven.

  "Hey, Zack..." There was a tone to his own words, which was telling enough that the thin guy next to him t
urned and seemed skeptical. It was the right thing to be, naturally, since he was about to ask for stuff.

  "Yes, Ty?"

  "Are you busy for the next couple of hours?"

  "Nooo. Why do you ask?"

  He went quiet for a bit, then realized that the other man hadn't touched him that day. It wasn't a noticeable thing, since men didn't casually make contact with other guys that often. That was just life in the real world. Tyler wouldn't have actually noticed that part of things except that the whole Greater Demon thing was still fresh in his mind. The Storm had shaken him a bit, even though he didn't let himself feel scared about it. Even if the old woman could have killed him instantly, she hadn't been scary really. That probably meant he was stupid.

  Once you know a threat is there, it only made sense to pay attention to it, as well as you can.

  "Lisa needs help, in her store. I kind of said I'd see about sending you down for that. Not that I promised anything, but you two are friends right?"

  There was a strange, very drawn out, looking away then. Like the confident man didn't want to deal with that kind of thing. Then, after a bit, a nod came.

  "I scare the fuck out of her. It's what I am. When I started working with her, I didn't know what I was. I told her about it as soon as I could, or tried, but someone else told her first, so she freaked out, thinking I was trying to trick her into being a slave, or something. I don't think she even knows what it was I might have been doing. It just felt like a trick to her. After that..."

  Silence came then, over the whole place. It was telling enough that Tyler tensed, ready for something big to happen, but it was just happenstance. Zack went on then, seeming a bit sad.

  "Well, in her fear, she kind of drove me away. The Mages fired me, because she was scared, instead of helping her deal with her fear. Her dad, Eric, isn't a fan of mine. Oddly enough because he'd always thought I was a Greater Demon. I honestly didn't have a clue."

  Tyler looked at Zack and then smiled, shaking his head.

  "Wait... Eric Weise. That's Harry Houdini's real name. I read a book about him when I was a kid."