The Mask of Omegon (Gwen Farris Book 6) Read online

  That idea got her to smile. Then squeeze the hand of the man next to her.

  “I can teletransport.”

  That got a laugh from the guy as they walked. It wasn’t condescending, but she was nearly certain that he thought she was still play acting. Owning it too, not giving her act up too easily. Because clearly, she was the boss when it came to that kind of geeky thing. Larping. Live action role playing. Writ so large it probably made her seem insane.

  “Oh, really? Show me then. I don’t think I’m accepting that one today. That you’re from another world I can see, perhaps. Also that you have excellent taste in who you meet in strange caves… But that? Do you have any idea how difficult that is to do? I’ve honestly been to school, learning art, but also magic. I’ve never met anyone that could do that kind of thing at all. Not even the smaller portions of it. It’s nearly a myth, it’s so rare. You’d have to show me, something at least.” There was a cute grin, a thing that she could just make out from the light of her hand-lamp.

  She did show him. The difficult way. Holding Tomas close to her with both arms, she focused hard and moved the information that made up both of their beings in an instant. Doing that powerfully enough caused them to shift in space. Without moving physically at all. It burned and left her gasping a bit desperately, but they were in her hotel room. No longer on the dirt path in the woods.

  Tomas was wide eyed as she sat on the better than decent bed. Not speaking. She did smile though, between the huge breaths of air she was taking in.

  Chapter two

  “Are you all right?” Tomas Moore seemed to be actually worried for her, which was interesting to see. Not that people there in the Western Kingdom couldn’t be polite, day to day. They often were. The thing with that was all about how they acted, as opposed to how they felt.

  A man or woman might well stop to check on you as you walked down the street if you seemed to be in distress. The thing with that, Gwen had finally started to see, is that they gave about as much thought to it as a person from her world would have if they asked how you were feeling that day. In short, people cared about their friends and pretended with everyone else.

  Tomas however seemed to be concerned with her heavy breathing. That was however just the way things went. If you teletransported with two people at once, you got to sit there for a while, sucking in air after you were done. On the good side, it didn’t matter how far away you went with the thing. If you carried too many people, it was hard. That was the only real rule.

  When you traveled between worlds, if you found a weak spot first, you could take a person with you much more easily. Technically there were places like that in the world she was sitting in at that moment, that would let her travel around far more simply. If she could find them, which she seemed to lack the talent for completely. That part was sad, since it meant doing it all the hard way.

  It was comparatively easy to do on her own, however. Now that she’d learned the trick of it.

  Nodding at her new friend, who she hoped would actually be that, and not just a one-night stand, Gwen smiled.

  “I’m good. That just… takes it out of you. Going like that, with another person?” It was hard to know if that was going to be understood, but Tomas took a surprised breath and then went a bit wide eyed again.

  In an impressed way, Gwen figured.

  “I should say so! I can’t believe it still! You teletransported? With me… That’s… If it hadn’t happened to me, I wouldn’t have believed it could be done at all. Do you need anything? Water? Or food?” He seemed nervous suddenly, looking around, as if being in her room would be forbidden. Even if she was the one that had brought him there.

  Shaking her head, her breathing finally coming around a bit, she wrinkled her nose. Gwen was going for cute, instead of disgusted. The truth was she didn’t know if that was what she got at the moment. The idea of eating right then made her want to be physically sick.

  “I’m good. Thanks. Anyway, I need to get your information?” She meant that it was needed for her investigation. For once that seemed to be incredibly innocent, but she realized that she might be biased, or even missing something. After all, when she looked at the man across from her, who was better than cute, now that they had real light on him, all she thought about was the way he’d felt in her mouth. That and the awkward, but sweet, kisses they’d shared. The feel of his arms around her.

  So her mind could be a bit misled at the moment. Which probably meant he was going to prove out to be an unearthly evil. Given his clever squid mask, he was almost certainly going to be either brainwashed, or in league with the Elder Gods. In which case she’d probably have to kill him.

  For his part, he smiled and acted like that was just a great idea.

  “Oh! That would be lovely! I work tomorrow, but we could get together in the evening? We could go for a walk in the park? I know that… Well… I make enough at my job, but the graphic novels don’t bring in that much. I do well enough, but each release is rather an expense, you understand? Hundreds of mets for a printing. I do have my works in many book and paper locations.” There was a bit of worry, as if he might be admitting that he was too poor to really be dating.

  Gwen wasn’t worried about that. She had some money there, really. Enough that it wasn’t a real worry for her. A good looking guy with an expensive hobby wasn’t that big of a deal in her new world. Not now. Except the boyfriend part, if that was real. She’d been engaged before, but that had fallen through and they’d never done anything sexual, waiting for marriage like they were.

  It occurred to her, for about the tenth time since the man had finished behind her lips, that she might just be jumping to a lot of conclusions in regards to him.

  So she smiled, trying not to ruin everything by being lame and a bit socially out of step.

  “That sounds good! I’ll have to pick up a copy of one of your works, so I understand the idea. We could… Get together after you get off work?”

  That got a smile, which was only a bit nervous.

  “Wonderful! I should be free at five. Call it six then, so I can clean up first? If that…” He looked around and made a bit of a face at the place. Even though it was decently nice. The lamps on the walls with their glass covers and brass fittings all worked, for instance. The room had silk instead of paper on the sides, which was fine enough. It wasn’t new, but the place was clean and tidy. She’d splurged a bit, getting their best room. It was, she knew, the honeymoon suite. That didn’t show however. Not to her. It was just nice, not done up with little hearts all over the place or covered in lace.

  Weddings there didn’t do that kind of thing. Those were, she’d learned over the last few years, very different affairs. People went away after, to have sex and start on making babies right away, so that part was the same.

  Tomas pulled a card from his pocket and handed it over. A calling card. This one had his name, contact data including home address and listed his occupation as both Legal Clerk and Artist. Which made the whole thing seem far more real to her, suddenly.

  She didn’t have any cards like that, herself. It would have been odd if she did, since she couldn’t even dream of what to say on it. Gwen Farris: Alien. It was the only thing that came to mind at the moment.

  Then, Tomas didn’t even ask her to provide one.

  “Neat. I’ll be here? Or I could meet you someplace?” She stared up into his eyes, which were a deep brown, now that the light was better. Which was good, since the black had been a bit creepy seeming. Then, everything would have been, inside a cave. Just having that as a secret hideout was a bit sketchy, to her mind. Then, on that score, she knew, for a fact, that she was going to be biased. Batman had one and that seemed just as wrong to her mind as Omegon’s did.

  She also probably seemed too eager, she realized. Like she was insisting that the man be her boyfriend, for real. It wasn’t just that. Oh, part of her didn’t want him to get away, but not knowing how things were going to turn out, she wasn�
��t holding her breath on the matter. Still, she had his card, which meant something in the Western Kingdom. No one carried around fake cards to throw off their enemies or the constabulary. Not that she’d ever heard. If so, then the man was a genius, if nothing else.

  The fellow smiled at her, then stood rather straight.

  “Truly? I’ll meet you here then? At six? In the lobby of course. I’m… Not truly certain where I am. A fine lodging, but not a personal home. Given the decor… The Leslie?”

  She smiled and shook her head, not recognizing the name.

  “The Bartley?” The name was right, and had been the first one listed in the place book. That was basically what they called the yellow pages there.

  The man nodded.

  “Ah? Well, that’s convenient for me. I live about five blocks from here. I should probably be going. As it is, the proprietor will likely have me tossed, if he sees me. Or given the high tide here, he’ll have one of his men do the deed. That wouldn’t look good in the next issue, would it? Omegon’s secret identity being tossed out of Gwen Farris’ hotel like that.” There was a bit of a bow, and then, almost as if he expected to be rejected, another kiss.

  They did better this time. There was a bit of tongue used, but not too much. A slight tickling of the upper lip. The move was slow and sensuous however.

  When he broke off, there was a smile on his face.

  “Until then? I… I think I already miss you. Is that silly?”

  She nodded, but smiled back.

  “A bit? You should at least wait until you get outside. Don’t be too late?”

  That got a nod, as he let himself out, backing up slowly. Then, like he was robbing her room, he furtively checked the hallway, instead of just walking out. That was because anyone that saw him doing it would presume that they’d been doing things. Adult stuff.

  Which, as the door closed, she realized that they really had been. Not there so much, but before that. It had been…

  Incredible.

  Scary, now that she thought about it, but different than she would have imagined. More intimate and trusting than she would have figured on. Thinking about the whole thing she took several deep breaths. Then, trying not to be a child about the whole matter, she worked out what was going to be needed. The next day would require her to do some research. First she had to check out Tomas Moore, which would mean interviewing his Baron, boss and everyone in his life that she could find.

  Just to make certain that he wasn’t a criminal mastermind or mind controlled slave that was secretly killing people. Just because there was no sign of that kind of thing… The idea got her to blink and then shake her head.

  “Think. What would you do if this were a normal investigation?”

  That part was different. Honestly, she probably would have set up to watch the forest where the power had been being raised, to make sure no one else was doing anything. Then, after a few nights of that, if there were no murders, or massive curses flowing out of the cave, she would have left. Probably after calling Ferdinand and suggesting that sending her on fool’s errands wasn’t the best use of her time. Even if it was probably about right, given everything.

  No one could really trust her now, after all.

  Which, since she wasn’t exactly tied in place, meant that going to central was about as good of an idea as not. That way she could hook up Katherine, to get her pleasure habit on and possibly talk to someone about her insane mishandling of the situation there. That would and should, have her instantly pulled from the investigation, she didn’t doubt.

  Except that, after she got to the large complex, in the dark, things were different than she thought they would be.

  For one thing, Bethany was already in bed and no one was going to wake her up, because pregnant. That meant she got to see Derrick Westmorland for her pleasure device needs. The man was fit, tough, and the head of the Special Service. Her boss, if not currently in charge of her, since she was off duty.

  Which meant he actually wanted a report anyway, as soon as Katherine let her back out. She was in a small room, on a padded sofa thing that was built to last, rather than for extreme comfort. The arms were wood, highly polished and darker than the leather that covered the rest.

  The man smiled at her however, not actually hating her or anything. In the main she thought they were even friends. Given she’d been part of betraying that entire land, it was good to see. She didn’t even wake up with bruises from the beating that Katherine had earned from the man. It would have been fair, but didn’t happen.

  Instead he seemed fairly pleased to be there with her. They were alone, which was improper, but the man had never even so much as held her hand, even if he could have come up with a real reason for doing that if he wanted. Even doing a lot more with her might have been written off as mere training. It still probably could be, she realized. It was a thing to keep in mind if Tomas dumped her the next day.

  “Now, how is your latest investigation going? King Ferdinand sent you… But it doesn’t sound…” He fought for a moment to say what he was thinking. Moving past the brainwashing that had been tortured into him. In this case it was about saying something slightly negative about the King. “Like… It was truly needed? A minor power raising. Have you found the source?”

  She nodded, feeling like she were about to be in trouble.

  “Um… Yes? A man, Tomas Moore. He’s a clerk for Baron Harrison? Legal. Also an artist. He does graphic novels?” She didn’t know if that would make any sense to the man, but he nodded.

  “Really? Interesting. Anything that I’ve heard of?”

  How she was supposed to know what he’d been exposed to, she didn’t get. It didn’t seem very likely, however.

  “Um… Omegon? I don’t know if…”

  He nodded then, seeming impressed, if only slightly.

  “I’ve seen some of his work then. It’s a newer fiction, but some of the children enjoy that sort of thing, so we have them around here. Most of the popular ones, at any rate. So, why was he raising power? Have you located that reason?”

  She sighed.

  “Helping trees. That and some minor vigilante work. Um… Amateur crime fighting? A local merchant was cursing people, but Tomas couldn’t prove it, even though he located the man. So he counter cursed him, to prevent the asshat from being able to attack again. It sounded like a lot of ceremonial work?”

  There was a slow nod then.

  “I’d say it sounds like. That would be a complex thing to arrange. It would explain the power levels being used. No sacrifices?”

  “None that I could find. He used a knife, but there was no blood around. No one is missing, but I didn’t find a pet cemetery out back or anything. It was in a cave, which…”

  That got a nod. Instantly. Then Derrick had been there, so he knew for himself how hard that would be.

  “Understood, Miss Farris. That… Honestly, it sounds harmless enough. A bit of illegality, with the counter cursing, but we can look the other way, for a celebrity artist. Are you planning to check out the story? The store clerk that’s been abusing his power? The trees?”

  She nodded.

  “I… Already did the trees. Tomas took me to see them. That seems legit to me. Then… I sucked him off and told him we’re dating now.” She swallowed, looking at the man, knowing that he’d probably fly into a rage and order her off the case.

  Instead he looked at her closely then nodded after about ten seconds.

  “Good. There’s been some worry about you around here for a while now. You didn’t feel abused or as if liberties were being taken? We can go and thrash the man, if you do. That won’t be a problem.”

  Her tongue poked out as she smiled.

  “Nope. Even if he ditches me now. It was… I think that I’m not in a healthy mental place, to be honest. He stole a kiss, but then I pretty much did the rest. That’s pretty bad, isn’t it?”

  There was a smile that was a bit curled at the sides. Not really happy, but
also not condemning her for her actions.

  “No? Then a Westmorland might not be the one to ask about that kind of thing. My take on this however is that you should avoid pregnancy, unless you intend to marry. Perhaps some discretion is in order? Other than that… Have fun? The situation isn’t that serious, I don’t think.”

  She nodded then, and smiled.

  “Plus, I don’t think he really believes that I’m me. I told him who I was, but he was off in the woods playing super hero and I think he got the idea that I was playing at being Gwen Farris, girl investigator. It was cute, but…” She was a bit baffled by the idea, to be honest.

  Derick however just nodded.

  “I can see that being an issue for him. It is a popular magazine. Likely why he dared to kiss you in the first place.”

  “Um… Sorry? What are you talking about?”

  That got a slightly shocked look.

  “Gwen Farris Investigations? I thought you would have known about that. The children’s book where you and Bethany West, your close friend, go around uncovering crimes? It’s fairly saucy. Adult in nature and not what any good parent would have their sons reading. You and Beth are… Um… Lovers. There are depictions of things that…” He cleared his throat then, but didn’t seem embarrassed. Not really.

  “Oh. I knew nothing about that. It sounds sort of scandalous.”

  “Popular, as well. If you didn’t sign off on it, then you might wish to look into the matter? Or not. After all, polite people don’t read such things. That leaves only those that are impolite to contend with. Which may well explain why you haven’t been made aware of it as of yet.”

  She could see that one, to be honest. Plus, if it had taken place in the last few years, then her being a lesbian in the funny pages was probably the good press. Still, tracking down who was talking about her made sense.