Among the Living (Tyler G Book 1) Read online

  "We're interested in joining your organization, but don't really know what we, the Alede, can add particularly. If we throw in with you, what would our expected duties be?"

  Tyler smiled.

  "Not that much yet. So far we've only had to have people police their own groups really. There have been a few calls going the other way, to get the Humans to deal with people that were causing problems. That's about the role I think everyone should have. Though, I am looking for people that don't mind working, if you know anyone? I was thinking of keeping it all Human, but really, that's stupid. I can see that now. All we need are good people. Well that, and lots of cell phones." He grinned.

  The Alede woman did it back, and then stood up. They all did, actually, so he followed suit.

  Just before the door opened, and the noise poured in.

  There were, it seemed, more people there than he'd expected. Before he could speak, Ginger popped her head in.

  "Come on! The party's starting!"

  Chapter nineteen

  The array of people outside the door, mainly sitting and standing on the nicely mowed grass of the lawn, was as strange and large as he could have ever asked for. True, he'd suggested that most of the people come himself, but that wasn't true for all of them. In fact, a lot of the beings there seemed to be strangers to him.

  A good fifth of them were Vampires though, he noticed. It was hard to tell at first, since a few of them were just so different looking. A lot of them were just pale people, kind of like he was, at the first glance, but some had bone white skin and lots of pointed teeth. Two of them looked like old movie Nosferatu, with very long fingers and pointed elf ears, along with being mainly bald.

  Bey, being cool like he seemed to be, walked over with almost all of them trailing behind him, spread out in a line. It was kind of strange, but his words were kind, and even happy sounding.

  "Friend Tyler! I know that you invited all of the council to attend, but only these could be spared at the moment. I hope you do not take that amiss?" He went instantly from pleased to slightly concerned seeming, as if having failed to have the entire crew come to his birthday party was going to be an issue worth mentioning.

  "This is wonderful! Thank you all for coming. Um, I'm Tyler Gartner." He waved a bit, doing all the introductions at once. There were nearly fifty people, but everyone had gone silent and stood there watching him. Over by the barbeque grill, a large and shining silver thing that was being worked by Palma herself, stood several beings. The ones from the pet store, who looked like dark green fish men, as well as a bunch of Greater Demons.

  Zack, Darla and Keeley. There was no sign of The Rotted though, which made sense to him. A bunch of people had suggested he ask her about his being dead, but there was no rational way for him to have ever been involved with her, outside of doing some tasks that involved finding things for her to buy. His mother was there though, next to Zack, looking like her normal self.

  Smiling, and a bit worn away at the edges. Ty waved to her, as Palma made up a plate for her first.

  The Vampires each made a point of bowing to him and exchanging names, which had him scrambling to remember them all. In the end he had to run inside and get his notebook, so he could make sure he had contact information for each of them. If anyone thought it was strange, they didn't mention it out loud to him. It was of course. Who stood there taking your name and bits of data about you down like that in real life? Still, they seemed to get the idea.

  His memory wasn't perfect, and he really wanted to make sure no one got forgotten. After they went, he had the Shifter leader come up, a group of people in tow along behind him. A lot of them of them. Two looked large and strong, like bodyguards, but the rest were all tiny. There was a small nervous looking woman, and two children that seemed a little timid, but were being very polite about the whole thing. They were all very well dressed. The boys were in little blue gray suits that matched, even though one of them was probably about fourteen years old, and the other twelve.

  They seemed uncomfortable.

  The older looking one walked over first though, and stuck his right hand out.

  "Timothy Samson. Pleased to meet you, sir."

  Taking the hand he nodded.

  "Tyler. Nice to meet you." Things were about to get awkward for him, since the kid was tiny, cute and too young for him by enough years to make him a pervert if he flirted with him, but thankfully Jahn introduced the others. That meant more note taking.

  It was interesting, since the bodyguards shook his hands, and so did the other boy, but Magda, the wife, stood back and twitched her nose at him as if he smelled bad. She didn't speak to him directly either, even when he said hello. It was Tim who clued him in on that one.

  "Mother is a bit... Prejudiced. It's stupid, but she thinks that two natured people are better than one natured. That, unfortunately, is kind of a common thought amongst some Shifters. It's a weakness that we should do away with." Then the slight boy, who was being hit on the arm by his mother violently enough to leave bruises, grinned and looked away.

  "Are you trying to start a war, Timothy?" This came from Jahn, who looked mortified at least.

  Though part of that at least seemed directed at his own wife, who was shouting a bit, shrilly, at her own son.

  Zack wandered over about then, a plate of food balanced on his right hand.

  "Jahn! Magda! So wonderful you could make it. Did you fly in?" His voice was calm, but it did get everyone except the tiny and rather twitchy little wife to hold still for a bit. For her part she just turned on Zack and started berating him.

  Because this person didn't seem intimidated by Greater Demons in the slightest.

  "You! If you weren't so selfish and self-centered, we could have used the node to get here, but no, we had to ride for two days in a van. A van! Oh, trust me, Line Walker, I cursed your name the whole time. I have half a mind to hit you! The only reason I'm not is that-" She kept going, but Tyler watched Zack's face, which was oddly serene. Like he didn't even hear the woman at all. Then, very politely, Zack turned and looked at the boys, addressing them by name. Tim and Gregory.

  "Did you both come to get in on the free cake, or are you making a power move finally? You really should get in on the Coalition now, while there are still jobs available. It doesn't pay anything yet, but if you can't turn a gig like this into money... Well, the fact is, you can. You should both make sure to get with Ty here, before you go, if you're interested. Nice seeing you all."

  Then he waved, affably, and left with a nod for each of them, even though Magda was screeching by that point. Being ignored seemed to upset her more than a little bit.

  The others relaxed a lot though, as soon as Zack moved away, munching on a sandwich that seemed to be chicken in the main. It looked pretty good, actually, but there was a large salad bar too, which was good enough for him. He was a little hungry too, so wanted to wander over that way himself, but before he could, a warm hand took his arm.

  Calley. Looking down into her freckled face, the sun glinting a bit from the thick lenses she wore, he had to smile.

  "Hey love! I was told that I needed to come and get you before everyone started eating. We have a place saved for you over here? With your mother. The rest of you should follow along, so you can get served first." She said it like she was being cute, and didn't even jump when Gregory, the younger boy accidentally bumped into her, feeling up her behind.

  In fact, perv that she was, she just bumped him back with her hip as they walked. A lot more obviously.

  There was music thumping softly in the background, which wasn't too much or anything. There were police there already, since Robertson and Smith had arrived, still in uniform, for some reason. He was headed toward the food tables though, so got himself a plate before waving them over.

  "Hey! You two should get some food and introduce yourselves to everyone. I need to find a friend for you..." That was easy though, since Balthias walked over and rumbled at him.


  Politely.

  "Happy natal day, Tyler Gartner. You are now a man of your society. I intended to bring you the gift of a female slave, but all of the ones in that pool at my disposal for the moment managed to retain their freedom for the time being. Perhaps tomorrow?" Then he laughed, since that kind of thing was funny to giant Lesser Demons.

  Which wasn't wrong really, knowing the whole story.

  He explained to the Samson's, who had traveled along with him, and seemed to have quieted down a lot.

  "I was shot the other day, by feminists. Um, female supremacists?" It was a hard idea to get across quickly, and they all seemed pretty baffled about it all, from the looks on their faces. "The Line Walker, Zack, and I managed to get them out of too much trouble, but they had to agree to fix the mess they made. Kaitlyn, the Alede over there?" He waved to her, and got one back, since she could hear what he was saying. "She got Balthias to come in and help us make sure the attackers were entertained while they worked. I was going to play some music for them, but you know, my keyboard is broken."

  That got Calley to cuddle in next to him a bit.

  "You play an instrument? Are you any good?"

  That got him to shrug. The real answer was that he was, actually, but you didn't say things like that in public. It would make you look full of yourself.

  "I do all right. Now, not to be rude, but food would be good. Come on, everyone."

  In the end he had a full plate of food, about half of it being rice, since he needed the calories. Palma did something to it that was incredible, but he didn't really know her secret. Calley got him settled next to his mother, who reached out and patted his arm.

  "It looks like you've made it, Tyler. Eighteen years old, and everything. I'm very proud of you. You know that right? I would have been even if you were still living at home. The place is lonely without you." She was whispering a bit, but almost everyone there could probably hear her.

  There was a strange dynamic at the table after a moment. The thing could seat eight people, or perhaps ten if they didn't mind trying to merge with the folks on either side of them. There were only six though, at the moment. His mother, who was smiling and pleased to be there, bumped into his side again.

  Zack was across from her, and spending most of his time looking around, as if ready for an attack to come. Darla, The Technician was beside him, which meant that Keeley, The Mistress of Souls, cuddled in on the other side of him, actually pressed to him as well. Probably so she could gather all his information like her kind did.

  It was a bit odd, but Eve sat at the far end, and when he looked down at her, she shrugged.

  "This group of losers were actually my friends in high school, if you can believe it. Well, not your mom, but the other three. Oh, I got some extra blood in. The good kind, which will come to a little over a thousand dollars. I hadn't known that half the council was coming to your party for real. I should have, but there you go, they took us all by surprise. Except Zack, who could have mentioned it?"

  Ty's cute boss looked over at her and shook his head.

  "And ruin the surprise? Marissa would have cried at me if I'd done that. Besides, you all need to get better at dealing with things like that. I'm planning on a price reduction for any node travel dealing with the Coalition, and that means people will be in and out a lot more often now."

  There was chatter about that, and when a lull came in the conversation, Darla looked at his notebook. The one that she'd given him.

  "Good. Keep using it. Has everything been going well for you? Do you need anything to make your job easier? Extra bodies or anything?"

  Tyler ate some of the wonderful rice, and then shook his head a little bit.

  "Not yet. I am keeping an eye out for some extra people to help out, so someone can take over if I get killed. At first I was thinking an all Human group, but then I realized that would be stupid. This isn't going to work if it's all about keeping people separate. I should ask for volunteers. The fact that it doesn't pay anything will help weed out the weak and lazy, I bet." He looked down the table at Eve, who stuck her tongue out at him.

  It was a childish move, but on her it looked kind of hot. Which wasn't a thought he wanted with his own mother being right next to him, her shoulder bumping into his arm occasionally.

  The Vampire sighed a bit.

  "I'd do it, of course, and will help, but you should get people with more time in on it. Maybe Ginger and David? Get Todd in, for the Mages..."

  Names were listed off, but mainly from people that worked at the mall, which was kind of location specific. Zack just took his notebook and started writing down names and contact information. A lot of it had nothing to do with anyone that was being mentioned. That lasted while the food did. Just as everyone was finishing, which almost magically happened all at once, the music changed from a slightly techno dance beat to a musical version of happy birthday.

  Then, very carefully, Palma pulled the curtain back across the yard, showing a large three tiered cake, covered with white and cream colored frosting. Okay, so it looked like a wedding cake, but it was impressive. Also sort of on fire.

  Lucy nudged him gently with her shoulder again.

  "Quick, go blow out the candles before the Fire Department comes."

  That got a laugh, but he did hurry over. There were eighteen of the things after all, which made for a decent fire hazard. He got them all with a single long puff of air, and none of them came back to life. They were just candles, and once snuffed, they stayed that way, no tricks being used to rekindle them.

  From behind him a soft female voice spoke. Turning he thought that it was Judy Swan at first, since there had been a bit of a sexy quality to it, but it was actually Lisa Weise, who was standing right next to her. Also across the way, over by Jahn Samson and his family. Which meant that his party had two Lisas. Both dressed differently, which was good, as far as telling them apart.

  Sighing, he looked around, and then shook his head.

  "I guess the fun part is over? Thank you all for coming. You should probably leave now." He sounded cold, and the other Lisa looked freaked out about having a doppelganger right there like that. Oddly though, no one ran away. "Um, not to be a pain, but there's a strange Greater Demon, I think? The Storm?"

  The second, slightly better dressed, Lisa walked over to him, clapping lightly.

  "That's right. I came to give you a birthday present. I'm very kind that way, don't you think?"

  He didn't know, actually. Still, he gestured to the cake, which really did look good.

  "Would you like some cake? We were just about to eat." It was meant as a bribe. Cookies had saved his life once, it seemed, so cake should work as well, hopefully.

  There was a nod.

  "Oh, that does sound nice. Thank you, Tyler. I don't think I'll get to however, since The Rotted is about to try and come for me. Don't worry, I won't harm my Tyler. Not now that I've met him again. I won't even take him from you directly. No, I'll just deliver my present, and leave. This time."

  Looking around there was no little girl there, which must have been easy for a Greater Demon to figure out as to what he was thinking, even without mind reading. The Storm giggled, and covered her mouth.

  "Don't you see, Tyler Gartner? Isn't it all plain to you now? Or has even that been hidden from you, like your true nature? I see that it has. Well, nothing to do for that." Then, for some reason, she went silent.

  Lucy moved over, and touched his arm. It was a soft thing, and maternal.

  "You can understand now, Tyler. It's all right."

  That was bizarre, coming from her, but his mind worked it all out after that. Bits and pieces of it.

  "Wait, you're The Rotted? Where's my mother?" He felt a fine line of terror running the length of his spine, as fake Lisa smiled, then took a single step to the right, vanishing with a bright blue flash.

  His mom, or the Greater Demon that had taken her place, swallowed, and seemed a little nervous.

  "
It's me, Ty. I was always your mother. Ever since your parents died in that accident. I didn't tell you, because..." She locked eyes with him, her face looking ever so familiar to him. Every line of it was the same, developed over the years from her constant work to keep them both alive and fed. "Until a year ago no one knew what a Greater Demon was. Not openly among the Humans. Telling you before then wouldn't have helped you. Plus... Well, there's more to it. You know that now, don't you?"

  He couldn't really think at the moment, and was tempted to run away, but couldn't. His mother, the woman that he'd known all his life, who had sacrificed her own health and well being for his... Was a Demon? That didn't even make sense. For a bit he wondered if she were putting him on. Maybe the others had gotten her to do it, as some kind of prank or hazing. That seemed right. He was the new guy, so they were making fun of him.

  Pretending he was dead, in order to...

  That part didn't make any sense, but he nodded, the idea coming to him all at once.

  "The car accident, when I was two? But how? I don't understand."

  His mother nodded, seeming a bit troubled.

  "Let's go inside? Your guests should have some cake. Save us some, Zack? It looks incredible. This might take a while. Come on, Tyler. It's time for you to know. I was planning to do this later, tomorrow, but I really was going to do it. Now... Well, The Storm isn't a fool. She knows what will come of this. Still, not going through the motions won't help later, will it?"

  Darla nodded, her eyes a bit tight seeming, as Lucy took him by the hand and led him inside through the front door. There was no one else there, but it wasn't lost on him that half the people in the front yard would be able to hear them talking, so there was really no reason for leaving. Other than the fact that he really wanted to sit down, suddenly.

  He did that with a plop onto the sofa that probably took half a year from its life. It was like he just couldn't keep going.