Shield of Innocence (Alternate Places Book 4) Page 3

  Zack waved at her.

  "Keep this kind of thing up, and you'll get a regular share. I won't say how much that is, but..." He waved his new people, and Troy, back toward the node. It would be a hassle if anyone came in at the same time, but that wasn't too likely. If it happened, they could just get out of the way. He went first however, with Troy. Then, after a bit, the other two joined him, showing that they could get onto the lines. Even if they were painfully slow and clumsy about it. It was awkward and kind of adorable, really.

  Then, everyone was new at some point.

  Guiding them carefully he headed to the point that would take them into Lesser Shia. The market that everyone wanted to go to someday. He did, too. Zack worked there all the time, but was kept, for his own safety and protection, in a secured facility for all the transport work.

  That meant he'd never gotten to actually go shopping there, even if it was supposed to be the best place for it anywhere. Zack would have felt bitter about that, but he didn't really need much. He'd seen the place, sort of, as he'd run around trying to fight to protect it, a few months before.

  That wasn't the same, what with the blood, the screaming and all the tears.

  They'd been rebuilding, which had, oddly enough, meant even more work for him, rather than less. Now however, when he stepped out of the line, the main room was filled with goods for the disaster area. Southland. It wasn't a place he was familiar with, but that didn't matter. There were four guards on the door, all in black now, carrying energy weapons. Armored forms, ready to give their lives to protect the innocent.

  Not long before they'd carried short sticks in case a fight broke out, and normally gave advice and help to people, rather than being prepared to die. Now the men and women there seemed dark and uneasy. It was distressing to see. They were too good, as a people, to have to change like that.

  A single translator, wearing the traditional ninja-like outfit and veil, moved forward. The man, or woman, and it was impossible to tell, spoke in perfect English.

  "Hartley. We have goods to go out. You've brought... New people? I recognize Troy Lopez, the hero... These others..."

  It was pretty clear that the translator, who wouldn't be giving a name, since that kind never did, was baffled greatly by Kaitlyn.

  Zack waved at them. "New line walkers, from another reality. Eve is the first vampire line walker. The other is Kaitlyn, but we need to give her a different name. To avoid confusion."

  Troy looked at them both then, the new women, and smiled, then shook his head.

  "I get it now. Um, why not call this one Lyn? Or is that stupid?" He looked at her, and blinked as a hug came at him from the girl.

  "That's good. Lyn. I can work with that."

  Then, with that out of the way, the translator bowed, and they all got to work.

  Southland wasn't very interesting at the moment, unless fear inducing levels of wind and rain counted for that. The whole world was trying to rip itself apart. They made the deliveries anyway, and were joined, after about an hour of work, by the other line walkers he knew. Kate, Don and Chris. The others were all still new, and since things were staggered a bit, no one else caught on that there were two Kaitlyns for a long while. In fact they were almost done, Zack coming back with an interesting levitating cargo carrier that was now empty, when they were all in the same place at once.

  Rather than explain it all, he just waved at the now tired new girls. Well, Eve didn't seem that way, but Lyn looked ready to fall down.

  "New team members. Eve and Lyn. They'll be working out of the Westfield embassy complex. In an alternate world? Chris accidently failed to make a delivery there earlier. Not that I wouldn't have done the same thing. I mean, who knew that was even an option?"

  The boy, who was thin, had dark hair and looked to be about fourteen actually hunched over and cringed.

  "Fudge. The big guy? I thought I was just helping out some stranded traveler." It was kind of clear that he felt bad about it all, on a level that went nearly all the way down.

  Zack got that one. After all, he'd potentially stranded the man in a different world. That was pretty big as far as screw-ups went.

  Lyn moved forward and patted the boy on the shoulder.

  "Yavvel lived, so no problem. I'm... Um, Lyn, I guess. Kaitlyn Swanson. Pleased to meet you?" She hugged the younger boy, who did it back, used to that kind of treatment from people now.

  Don cleared his throat, which got an eye role from Kate.

  "Seriously Donald, leave them be." There was something spoken under her breath, but he didn't get it.

  Eve did, snorting a bit.

  "Cockblocker? Ouch. Don't worry, Lyn here hardly ever molests the unwilling. Not that... Sorry, I didn't get the names?"

  Kate waved at herself first.

  "Kate. Obviously. These two are Donald and Christopher. Even though Chris is a few hundred years older than Don, his brother thinks that looking fourteen here means that he should be allowed to get busy. With anyone. Ever. I love him, but frankly I'm about to have a fight with him over it. So, in other words, both of you can ignore Don on that one?"

  The new vampire nodded then.

  "No problem on my end. I don't have a sex drive really, but I hardly ever bite people anymore." She grinned, which was a bit glib seeming, though Chris let go of Lyn and hugged her too. Not being bitten at all. It sort of proved the point.

  They were about the same height, so the boy managed to look her dead in the eye, his voice a little deeper than normal.

  "Making you my new best friend. Cool. We can all share a room? Or... Are you staying with Zack?"

  That was a good question, and he had a real answer to it.

  "For a few days. They have real lives to get back to, and I want everyone to learn where the new nodes are. It isn't that hard to find, once you've been there. So, you know, you can try to get a date with one of them and everything." Zack was going for happy seeming about that, and didn't really care that much. Don really was doing too much to keep his younger brother from having any fun.

  Yes, there was societal and brotherly responsibility involved, but Chris was old enough in real time to not need to worry about things like a few human years. Everyone standing there was. Except Troy, but that was probably going to have to change soon. He'd never gone into the lines, and even if he wasn't going to make it as a line walker, the discipline would be good for him.

  Too many things were going wrong now for any of their people to be left untrained.

  He waved to his pal, since he needed a lift back home, and then for the others to follow him. His first stop was the back of Something Wonderful, since it was nearly dinner time, and he had people to pick up for the trip. It was December, and his version of dinner came early, since there would be a rush in the food court starting at four or so. It was more like two. That meant it was light outside.

  Eve didn't fall down dead however, which sort of meant she was a very old vampire. That, or something similar to it. Claire was up all the time, but she was about three hundred years old. It was possible that the whole thing worked differently in her world, which would give them all something to chat about later.

  At the front desk of Something Wonderful they stopped. Charli was behind the counter, her outfit for the day being highly professional, with just enough makeup on her face to look good. She'd started dressing up a bit for work each day, since they'd named her the assistant Ambassador for the Nation of Line Walkers. It was an actual position that needed to be taken seriously, so she did.

  Looking up she smiled, did a double take over the multiple Alede copies, and bowed a bit. It was a little funny looking for a mall, but even the other people in the store shopping for Christmas, didn't notice the move.

  Oddly, the new girls both froze in place.

  Lyn gasped.

  "Charli? You're alive?" Then she dashed around the counter, and held the girl like she was going out of style. Which, from her words, was just the case.

 
; Eve took a very deep breath and nodded. There was a pained look on her face, but she just explained, out loud, as if no one could hear her.

  "Our Charli died in an attack about three years ago. I didn't save her. Princess Pretty Nail was blown up. We lost three people. I stopped the vampire that attacked, but... I was too late." Her voice was sad, even though the reality here was different. Not that Charli didn't take the hug.

  "Hi! This is a bit different. Um... Shape shifters?" The girl looked at everyone, but saw Zack shake his head, so moved back as Lyn backed away from her.

  "Alternate reality. These are new line walkers. They have another one there, but he's a demon. That's a different thing there, I think. They don't possess people?" He thought that might be right, but looked at Eve for an answer. She rallied from the set back of seeing Charli come back from the dead, and agreed with that, nodding.

  "True. Not that they're all hugs and loves all the time. Don't think that. Zack is noted as being the best of them, and he's really young. Our Zack. You seem pretty cool too, of course. I mean, after all that quality time we spent with each other. That pretty much means we're dating too, right?" She grinned.

  Zack laughed at her.

  "Not even a little bit. You're all my children now. More or less. Maybe family of some other type?" Either of them worked for him.

  Kate agreed with that, then looked at Lyn.

  "We aren't though, so you know, if we get a chance we should have sex. It will be kinky without being wrong at the same time."

  The other Alede nodded, since she was a succubus to, and Chris sighed.

  "That sound so fun. Eve here and I will run the cameras. Are you in Charli?"

  The girl behind the tall wooden counter seemed fine with that.

  "Sure? I can borrow some equipment. We'll need lights, too. Some sex toys... I mean, we are going to put it up online, right?" There was a slightly playful grin then, since she was up on what Don would think of his brother being involved in anything like that, and it was kind of fun, to her way of thinking, to dig at him a little bit.

  Not that it was due to her being mean. She actually liked Don. A lot. That news surprised Zack a little bit, since he'd managed to miss that before. The girl had been warming his bed, off and on, and thought of herself as his girlfriend. The big trouble there was that she was starting to see what Zack could, and probably should, have told her all along. He was way too busy, and had far too many women in his life. They weren't his to give away, but if Charli was smart enough to get that on her own, he kind of had to support her in moving away from him that way.

  Chris didn't think it was real, however, though both the Alede duplicates were actually willing enough to take a shot at doing it. Even with a crowd there with them. The idea that it might be more fun that way rang off of them.

  For his part... Zack chose not to care.

  Not in an angry, or jealous way. Both girls were friendly enough that he could get them to let him join in, at least eventually. They were just... His. His family. The rules were different for them, but the Nation of Line Walkers was so new that they didn't have real rules for anything yet. It could be that, in the end, the Alede way would end up informing their collective moral attitudes towards sex. Hopefully not love, since that was harder for them to manage. Not impossible, but love, the real, sterling and ringing thing, was mainly held close by the Alede.

  That was, they loved their children, and at times their close friends. It wasn't romantic however. Heartfelt and real, but not... What human beings meant that way.

  Troy, clearly assuming he was going to be left out looked over at Eve. It was the kind of thing that searched for a pal to commiserate with.

  "I notice that neither of us were invited? I blame Chris for that. I mean, someone needs to set up the sound equipment, but does he think of me? Nope. Not at all."

  The girl laughed a bit, and shook her head.

  "I'll pass, thanks. I don't need to get involved with seedy pornographers." It was meant to be funny, and was, though Don winced and gasped, turning away suddenly.

  A deep, half manly, sob came out of him. Zack knew that he didn't want to bring up the topic at the moment. Eve however looked at the gangly eighteen year old and winced.

  "Okay, I missed something here. Is there some kind of social taboo, or... I don't know what I did." Her voice was monotone, the beast that was the vampire that lived inside of her held very still, worried that she'd truly stepped in it and alienated everyone there already.

  Kate moved a step away from Lyn, who she'd been pretending to pet and cuddle a bit for affect, and looked at the vampire.

  "Don... He was... I..." No tears came, but she looked away, and stopped speaking.

  Finally, Don looked up, his face hard.

  "I was changed into a girl, and drugged by pornographers that were shooting porn movies. They killed me, over and over. Raped, too. Sorry, it wasn't you. I just..." His shadow self wanted him to run, to flee the scene at best speed.

  Eve however just nodded at him, her own face still.

  "Do you know who they are? I'll go find them, and then we can... Make certain they never harm anyone else again." She meant murder. There was no hesitation either.

  Someone had hurt her new friend, so they would pay.

  Zack shook his head, trying to do it at the right speed to not set an angry vampire off.

  "Dead. All of them. We took in a team. They'd killed several others first. It... We should have been able to stop them, but Tricksters were involved. I don't know if you have those in your world?"

  That got several nods. Lyn was the one that spoke now, her face sad, suddenly.

  "Like Riley? The Brer?"

  Zack let his head move a bit, "his Aunt in this case. There was no trick. There wasn't time for that. It happened during the attack on Lesser Shia, and Don had to act, to hold them in place, or else many more would have died."

  That the guy had known what was going to happen, including that he was going to die at the same time... That part was so tough that Zack could still hardly credit it. He honestly didn't think he could have done the same thing, knowing all of it. It was needed however, no matter how much it harmed him. It did however. Don hadn't really been the same since then. Chris looked down at the floor, and was keeping himself from getting angry using a level of control that stressed the space around him more than a little.

  Finally Zack waved at the front.

  "I need to go and get some dinner. I don't know who all is hungry, but I'm buying."

  Eve waved the words away, but Lyn and most of the others nodded.

  "Sounds great. Thanks. I wonder if the food court is any different here?" She seemed curious, but had nailed the destination in one.

  Merry was working, so of course she'd want them to come to her for food. Unless she was busy with other duties. Then they could all just get a burger, or some Italian food. It wasn't the first time that he'd brought friends in for food, and given that it was the literal job of the food court to feed whoever showed up and paid, it wasn't that big of an issue. If it was too much, then he could get Merry to take the funds for it from the household budget.

  That was constantly just building up, after all. The last he'd heard, it had been in the tens of millions of ounces of gold. That added up.

  When they finally got to the food court, it was only ten percent full. That meant that his tiny, and adorable Elth wife came running out to him, carrying a large tray filled with food on her shoulder. She was only about three feet and nine inches tall, which wasn't that tiny for her people. Some of the people were bigger, but none of them were large by any means. Even given that, she was several times stronger than he was. Also focused enough that she got the food on the glass topped table in front of him before she noticed the new people.

  Then she clapped her hands together, firmly.

  "Ah! You've gotten some new women? We should find a position for them as under wives. Such ancient and esteemed ones as well. Excellent. May I
get food for any of you?" She looked at Lyn first, and then Kate. Clearly getting who they were, or at least that they weren't the same person.

  Don raised his right hand.

  "That sounds wonderful, if it's not a problem? I forgot to eat earlier."

  Merry smiled at him, and then nodded, not answering, as the rest of them nodded, except Eve, who smiled, with her mouth closed.

  "I'm good, I won't need to eat for a long time. Drink, but you understand the idea? I'm getting energy from my links, even if they are in a different world. That's sort of perfect."

  That got a bow from the little lady, who bowed toward her.

  "I do, dark one. I shall get food for these others? Oh, can one of you run something to Lisa when you're done? I know that I should do it..." She wrung her hands, looking more than a little upset. She meant Zack, or perhaps Chris.

  Eve smiled and nodded then.

  "I can do that. Candles and More here, too?"

  Merry bowed again, looking a little bit mortified, but she didn't suggest that anyone else should do it instead. That was beyond rude for an Elth. If you claimed a task, saying it wasn't yours was the same as telling a person they weren't good enough to matter. Moving with quick, faster than human, motions the woman moved back to the right, where her brother, Mac, was behind the counter, serving customers.

  Eve grinned and shook her head.

  "Zack and Merry, sitting in a tree..." She was smiling, or at least fighting one.

  Troy sighed and waved toward the counter area.

  "Married for several years now. It's a bit sad, since half the women I like he's already involved with. If he wasn't my best friend, and, you hear me, so cool, I'd totally steal some of them away."

  Eve snorted at him, and shook her head, then turned to look as Hilda came around the corner. She blinked, since the woman was large, being about six-six, and looked a little bit like a blonde, white skinned, she-hulk. She was powerful, but also very pretty.