Among the Living (Tyler G Book 1) Read online

  That made sense. She was a grownup after all, and had her own projects to work on.

  "Right. I am asking, since it's exactly the kind of thing that we should be doing. Good call, setting this up so fast. Can we take him out safely?"

  That got several nods at least, everyone being in agreement on that idea. Robs, it seemed, while a Master Vampire, wasn't exactly a threat to any of them.

  Eve looked at him and winked.

  "Really, we should send Batman here in, just to fuck with him. You know... That might not be a bad idea. I mean with the rest of us. I'll carry you? We'll stand there while you kick his ass. I mean, if there's only one of him, and he isn't that fast, you can take him. I've been sparring with Ty. He's better than I am. It's a bit galling to admit, but in raw skill, it's true." She glanced at Bey, who looked at him, and gave his agreement with a smile.

  "Wonderful! We should be away now, before we lose the day. It would be good to handle this quickly, so that we may be at the party on time later? I hear that many are attending?"

  Before he could even blink, he felt himself shift, and then staggered a bit, a blurry time later. The world had turned into a smear, and then, boom, he was on his feet, standing in front of Althea Sims, her desk, and five police officers that had their guns drawn. They were all pointed at the door of the office. Next to the Chief, who was sitting there looking calm and slightly bored, was a pale man, with black hair, and of all things, a fucking cape. A tux too, which made him look like a cheesy magician, instead of a cool Vampire, which was probably what he was going for. His fangs were out, and his eyes blood red. It was what certain kinds of Vampires did right before they attacked.

  It had been in the talk that he'd heard on the subject at the library.

  Not thinking, just seeing that the man was lunging for the Chief, Tyler turned his stumble into a forward run. It hurt, he thought, but that was only pain, and not so bad he couldn't handle it. Even when he collided with the Vampire, it wasn't too bad. Honestly, he barely noticed it.

  They fought then. It was fast, hard, and hurt slightly worse than being shot. He hammered blow after blow at the side of the man's head and neck, and was hit several times in the middle in return. It wasn't enough to push him back, since he was holding on to the cape, which didn't just pull off as easily as he would have figured.

  As fights went, it was oddly even. The Vampire was faster and stronger than he was, but his skills were, it seemed, a bit more up to the task. At one point he was tossed back, into the wall behind him, caving the drywall in a bit. He rallied though, and managed to come back instantly. All of his force was, finally, aimed at trying to hit the Vampire in the eyes. There was a lot of gouging going on, but he'd heard Eve call that out to him.

  "Rip his fucking eyes out. Even Vampires hate that." Her words held merit it seemed, since when he got one of the things hit properly, there was a bellow of pain.

  After that he managed to keep things going until he hit the other one too, and about three minutes later the Vampire stopped moving. Eve moved in then, smiling.

  "Do you want me to kill him? Or... Does anyone have a knife? We could let Chief Sims do it? You can't hold a Master Vampire, not here."

  Tyler was gasping for air, but his middle didn't hurt. Nothing did really, for some reason. It had when he was hit, but not very much. He'd taken some punishment, but wasn't dead yet, so that was nice.

  That thought reminded him of what Zack had said. The Storm, too.

  He was dead. He had been the whole time.

  The Bey bowed, and moved forward.

  "This was a problem created by one of our people. We should not force this action on others. Robs of Clermont, you have been found guilty of attacking innocent Humans. Your punishment will be death."

  Then the Vampire, who wasn't conscious yet, died. His head exploded, into a red mist. All of the police standing there seemed to come back to themselves then. That meant they started aiming at the Vampires, which was about to not go over too well, when the Chief cleared her throat.

  "Weapons away. This is our backup from the Vampires. Good to know that we have the help, if things like this come up. From the Coalition of Nations too, I see. I wasn't aware your organization was so proactive." She glanced at the wall that had partially caved in, seeming a bit curious about it, rather than upset. "Do you need medical help?"

  The thing there was, he didn't think he really did.

  "I'm good. He made a mess, but wasn't a very good fighter. Anyway, I need to get back to things. I have a party in a bit. It's my birthday."

  "Oh? How old are you, or is that a secret?"

  "Eighteen."

  "Really? I would have guessed older. It isn't everyone that can take on a Master Vampire and win, is it?"

  He didn't know, since so far he'd done okay against that kind of being, really. Though Robs had been the only Master in the group, he thought.

  Then, before he could say anything else, or invite the woman to his party, the world smeared again, and he was back at the Yoghurt World, the rest of the people all standing there a few minutes later. Bey had been there when he stumbled though, and had helped to steady him with a dry, but unlined hand.

  "Most impressive, Mr. Gartner. I see that aligning with this new Coalition has merit. I shall inform the others on the Council. I had thought it would be the case, but it is good to see that being confirmed. Thank you for coming to our aid this day. I shall make an effort to inform Tara the Manthori that the prime threat against her has been handled so neatly."

  Tyler didn't know what to say to that, so smiled.

  "Glad to help. In the future, I'll let you take on the Vampires. I liked that head explody trick. I just reacted, and ended up in the way, didn't I?"

  Eve, who was right behind him, having been carrying him in her arms while she ran, draped a limb over his shoulders, moving in next to him.

  "Yep. Not that you aren't bad-ass. Still, that was a surprise when you just went for him like that. Even more of one that he failed to compel you. I know he tried. In the future though, you should throw one of us at your Vampire enemies first. What's the point of being in charge if you can't get your minions to do things for you like that?"

  It was cute, but Bey actually nodded along, as the others started to appear, walking in from outside, like normal people.

  "Indeed! There is wisdom to that line of thought. Perhaps we should, if you have time in the coming weeks, discuss such things? There may be ways to get around many such difficulties, if we plan ahead of time."

  "Sounds good. We should make an appointment for that. I'll have to look at my schedule." He meant the one from work, but it worked for a lot of things, so everyone just acted like he wasn't talking about his nine to five job like a working stiff would have to.

  Ginger glanced at the arm that Eve had placed across his shoulders, but didn't do more than lightly seem bemused by it.

  "Would it be all right for us to go now? Tyler should be at his party on time, if not early. It's at my house, so I should go, too. I think Lenore said she was driving in for it?" There was certainty in the words, which got the Vampire man he didn't know to grin.

  "Ah, so I see where this is going, don't I? All the important people get to go off and have fun, while David is stuck here, cleaning and selling blood. Well, it's my lot in life." He waved at Tyler though, and locked eyes. "Happy birthday. I can sing at you, if you'd like?" He started, but was so off key it kind of hurt.

  "Thanks! I'd offer to save you some cake, but..." Vampires didn't really eat, as far as he knew. Really, he needed to get some blood then, if he had guests that were going to need that at his little shindig. "I should get some refreshments for you all. I... Don't have any way to pay yet. I don't suppose I can get a tab going?" No one did things like that, but the Vampire he didn't know, David, just reached below the counter, and pulled out a notebook.

  "Tyler Gartner? I'll need a phone number and an address. You work here, so mall employee discount, but... Do w
e do that for blood? It's never come up before. All the Vampires work here, so far."

  Eve shrugged.

  "I'll cover this one, anyway. Animal blood." She glanced at Ty and then Ed. "There will be Humans there. It would be rude to drink that kind of thing in front of them. Call it ten bottles?" She had a card on her, and paid full price, but nudged Ty as she did it. "I own the company that makes it, so I'm not really losing out here. Next time you get to buy. Oh... We should have a beer run, too. We can't send you, since you're still just a baby. Someone with a car should go. I'll set that up, if you're really good here, Dave?"

  "Yeah, go and have fun. Don't worry about me." There was a faked up sad tone to the voice, but he probably got that it was just going to be a little thing held in the front room of Calley's house.

  It was really strange though, what happened next. Ginger took his hand, because he was clearly hers, as far as this group went, and lead him away. He was a tiny bit sore, but even his middle had gone numb, during the fight. He had to look like, well, he'd been beaten by a Vampire. If so, his Vampire girlfriend didn't mention it.

  "We should make sure it's all getting set up. You have a friend here? Judy Swan? I never met her. Is she nice?"

  "Yeah. Really sweet in fact. You'll like her, I think."

  "Maybe. It can be hard, for Alede to get along with Vampires. I know it doesn't always seem like that, but we work at embassies, which means that everyone is always pretty understanding. That may not work for a famous actress." There was a look then that seemed only mildly bothered by that fact. Her pale face still showed a few freckles over the nose, if you paid enough attention.

  Brushing a wisp of hair from her face as they walked, she kept looking around. More than normal.

  "Then again, I don't know her, and she's a friend of Kait. She's pretty nice for an Alede. I mean, I have a boyfriend and she hasn't actually stolen him yet or anything. Unless... Does that mean you aren't good enough for her? I hadn't thought of that."

  He had to agree. It would normally be a great question. If only he wasn't so devastatingly awesome.

  "That makes sense. You should ask her about it. Then, after she tells you how she longs for my tender flesh, you can feel secure in the knowledge that I was the one that turned her down. So far. Really, it was that a bunch of people pointed out that getting distracted by the girls there would make it nearly impossible to get anything done. I suppose I could do her though, if you need me to, so that you'll know she wants me." She was an Alede, so, unless he was really wrong, Kait would do it, and not even think about it really.

  Ginger was smiling though, her face happier than he'd seen it before.

  "All good points. So, what do you want for your birthday? I haven't had a chance to get you anything yet."

  He just moved on, not having any ideas at all. What did he really need from life was a great question, but the things he wanted weren't objects really. He wanted friends, and to make something of himself, but that was pretty hard to tuck into a pretty box with shiny ribbons on the top.

  Instead he took the girl's hand, which was cool to his own. That reminded her that she was actually dead. Not living, like he was.

  Changing the subject, as they walked across the parking lot, he glanced over at her carefully.

  "I think I'm dead." It was probably the strangest thing that he'd ever said out of the blue like that. If he'd told her that he thought he was really a woman trapped in a man's body, or actually a horse, it wouldn't be as different from what they were just talking about.

  Ginger though just nodded.

  "Yeah. When I first saw you I thought you were New Vamp. No heartbeat, but out in the sun. Plus, you'd just kicked five Vampires' butts at one time. I mean, I could do that, but it was kind of a big deal for a Human. It would have been for a New Vamp, too, really. They aren't very strong, I hear. You smell different than you should have. Good, but... Old. So it was confusing. I don't know what that really means for you though, or why it's happening. You're different, but that isn't bad. You eat food, and are warmer than I am. Not as warm as a normal person though, so that one could go either way."

  It was hard to remember what he was talking about, suddenly. Rather than try, he shook his head a bit, and then smiled.

  "I can introduce you to my mother tonight. If she comes. I invited her, but she may have to work. It's Saturday, which is a big day for waitresses."

  Ginger didn't speak for a while, just walking along. After a bit she squeezed his hand.

  "That would be fun. The trick will be explaining that I'm older than you, and don't want to drink your blood. It will be easier for you, when you meet my family. With them you'll just have to show that you're not going to hurt me, emotionally. My dad is a little old fashioned that way. Not bad. Conservative? Politically, I mean. They do the whole church on Sunday thing. They didn't use to, before I vanished, but after that they found God. It's a little annoying, to tell the truth. They keep wanting me to go to church with them."

  "You should go. It can't hurt for people to actually see Vampires in public, doing normal things like that."

  As they got to the house, which had people in the front yard, there was a scent of smoke from a mobile grilling unit. Palma was dressed all in white, looking tidy, and was moving around like a possessed person, spinning and lashing out, making food appear as if by magic. It wasn't really, but she was doing everything perfectly, and it managed to be really effective. That reminded him to try and do that kind of thing himself in life. If you saw a trick that worked, copying it was wise.

  There was other movement going on, with several tables that hadn't been there before, when he'd left home earlier, having sprung up, like magic. Though it was really possible that things had come in the large white truck that was across the street. On the side of the semi-truck trailer there was a logo that claimed it was Marco's Party Supplies Rentals.

  One of the tables held nothing but food. Well, drinks too. These were near the house. There was, on a different table, a curtain around something. Hopefully strippers.

  He meant it to be funny, but shook his head at the idea. After all, his mom, Lucy, might be there. While she probably wouldn't be uncomfortable just because of a nude person dancing around, he would be, if it happened with her right there.

  So far there was no one there really, who wasn't working on part of the party. Calley was home already, and had set up music. The system wasn't one that he'd seen before, being really large. Probably a lot more powerful than a Bat-girl like her would ever need. Really, a pair of headphones at about fifty feet away would work for her. That probably meant that she'd borrowed them for some reason.

  Just so his party would be cool.

  As much as a party for him could be. That was sweet of her. Still, when he tried to help, by putting a table cloth on one of the large picnic tables, Palma practically flew at him, her voice sounding annoyed, and not just a little.

  "No! You're the person of the day. You can't do that. Go away! Inside. I'll summon you when you're needed. Go now!" She waved him away, her face smiling, which didn't match the voice in the slightest.

  He got the idea. He was not needed at that moment. Tyler also didn't have anything else to do really, though a shower might work for him. That required hurrying, but allowed him to change into some nicer clothing and change his bandages.

  It was when he looked down that he noticed something strange. His wounds, the ones from the bullets, were gone. Totally. Not even the stitches were left anymore. His middle was smooth and pale. There weren't even scars left to show that anything had ever happended.

  Yelping about it was tempting, but wouldn't help much. It probably had to do with that little problem he had. The being dead one. Just considering that made the whole thing feel dreamlike again, and not real. Hard to hold in his head. That was...

  Probably some kind of mind control.

  Fighting to remember what he'd been thinking about, he showered and put on his good clothes. Well, the n
icest things he had that would match the tone of the day. Jeans, a belt, and a button up shirt that was clean, if not that new looking. It was an older thing. One that Lucy had gotten him about four years before. It still fit him. He was taller now, but rolling the sleeves up worked to hide that fact.

  Then he sat on the sofa, kind of happy with the turn out that was already happening. Calley and Palma were there, and Ginger. That was huge. Three people that had come, just for him. New friends, but real ones that bothered with things like parties, for him. How wonderful was that?

  It was enough for him to feel pretty good about it all. True, he wasn't going to have some kind of huge thing, but there was music playing, and dead animals being cooked. Not that he ate them, but Calley could. They could probably get Zack to eat some of the leftovers.

  Before he thought about it all too much, Judy came in, along with two other youthful looking Alede. That was what he thought at first, but then he understood something that hadn't really gelled for him before. Alexis looked about twenty, no matter how old she actually was. Kait looked about twenty-four or so. The same was true of her mother, Valerie, who was the hot blonde in front of him. Judy was about the same age, in appearance, and the other woman was about the same. Perfect, on a level that would have made her seem unreal if she showed up on television.

  She had red hair, brilliant green eyes, and a face that was lovely, but slightly rounder than the other two women. Standing, he stuck his hand out, since this was almost certainly the person that he was supposed to be meeting.

  "Hello. I'm Tyler."

  The hand was taken, almost professionally, like a business man would have. It was firm, and not a soft caress or anything like that. That alone was a tiny shock, since the only Alede that he'd met like that so far had been Kait, really.

  Valerie touched his arm, which was a bit of a caress. It meant something, he bet. Some kind of marker, for the others, maybe. Not that he could prove that.

  "Tyler Gartner, this is Lyses Holjess. Our High Ambassador. She asked to meet you, to discuss the Coalition of Nations?" It was a question, but the woman gestured toward the sofa, so that they could all sit. As soon as they were, Lyses started speaking fast.