Dragon Queen (Avery Rome Book 3) Read online

  The golden man shook his head.

  “I haven’t yet, actually. I was planning to do that tonight. Bridget is in it. Will as well. We need to support our friends.”

  That got a few people from the line to nod, even if she didn’t know most of them. The IPB had more people than she’d met so far.

  “Right! I agree. Anyway, Avery here is the host of it. We’re actually shopping it out with the network right now. So far the idea seems to be that having a low overhead show that takes place in a real alternate reality is kind of a shoe-in for being picked up. We should send a copy of it back with you, Ave. Now… If we aren’t about to be overrun, we should get you over to Turner. I… Can’t really leave my post here, since I’m needed to stop them all if they try to charge us. Um… Scott, would you set that up? I know that it isn’t directly in front of the cameras, but… Eh, who are we fooling? If you two walk someplace, the news crews are going to follow you. You both look great.”

  That seemed to be a real enough thing. As in, the man really meant it and wasn’t just being playful in commenting on their looks. He looked to the left then, and nodded.

  “I agree. Anyway, Becky can get you over to Turner, Scott. I guess that Avery can’t see her?” That got a look toward the empty space, and a reaction from both men.

  “Um…” There didn’t seem to be anything there at all, as far as she could tell. “Sorry?”

  They started to walk, the large gold colored man and herself. He explained after a moment, his pitch telling her that he was talking to someone else.

  “Ah… Interesting. Becky lives inside of Christian Poures’ mind. She’s actually a ghost, but Chris telepathically projects her to everyone around here.”

  “And I’m resistant to telepathy. I see. Um… Forgive me if I’ve been rude, Becky? It’s nice to meet you.” She was speaking to the air as far as she knew, but that was far from the strangest thing she’d ever encountered in life.

  “She says hello. Also that she knows you, of course, having been at the camp out the whole time. Marcia should be right over here. Near the back, with Brian. Charlot as well. She’s my wife and also the PR person for the IPB. Honey!” There was a big smile from the man, but he didn’t rush in to hug the lady, who was well made up, and wearing a dress, instead of a tan military outfit, like both Brian and Director Turner had on.

  The woman made a face, when she saw Avery.

  “That is today, isn’t it? Crap. Well, at least you’re good at keeping things on schedule. That makes one of us. We have a bit of a shit storm going on at the moment, which means that I have nothing in particular to go out today. Sorry about the wasted trip.” Her face went hard, to show that she really meant that part.

  Avery shrugged.

  “It really isn’t hard for me to come here, ma’am. My job is to come and check on messages, there’s no guarantee that it will be needed each time, so that isn’t a problem.” She looked at the disorganized crowd that was outside of the eight-foot-high metal fence. “What are the rules of engagement?”

  It was Yi, her friend, who chuckled a bit then.

  “I keep forgetting that you have a military background, too. We’re basically supposed to treat these people as politely as possible. Unless they start shooting, we use minimal force. Even then, we’re planning to place some hard to hurt people out front and not kill anyone if we don’t need to. We’re the good guys, after all.”

  The large man next to her smiled and nodded at that, though the woman in the dress, which was red and easy to see, scowled over the whole thing.

  “In short, our hands are tied here. If we do anything at all, we look like we’re the source of all evil. Even just standing here, we’re going to seem like monsters to some people. We’re just too intimidating, as a group.” There was an appraising look then, which took in Avery, from head to toe. “Now, are we putting you on team one? I wasn’t told about any new prospects for that. A bit of an oversight, Marcia. We finally have someone female that has something of a fashion sense who we don’t have to teach how to do makeup? What are her powers? First mode as well. It can’t be that harsh, if she can stay polite given this… Lovely situation.” There was bitterness in the last words.

  Director Turner cleared her throat then.

  “Charlot, this is Avery Rome. Dragon Shifter and line walker. She’s not Infected, just from a different reality. The host of Mark’s new show? The star of it, really, if I heard right.”

  Instead of seeming upset by the change of information, the slightly upset women smiled then, and touched Avery on the arm.

  “That still works for us. You should probably go and get with Mark then, in the kitchen? We’ll need to coordinate things with you and your people… Are you putting up the show over there as well?”

  There was a laugh, though it came from Scott.

  “We should at least let them see it. I can walk you over to the dining facility, Avery? I’m certain that everyone will love to see you.”

  Director Turner looked at the line of chanting people.

  “We can reschedule? Call it two more days?”

  “Probably in the evenings from now on? I start my new job, tomorrow. Red Rain. I don’t know how much time it will take, but it’s supposed to be daily for a while. The show won’t air until October, though.”

  The commander reached out and slapped her on the arm, companionably.

  “Keep us in the loop as to what you’re getting up to? Also, if you need help with anything? Apparently Charlot is signing you up for Team One. That means you’re one of us, like it or not.”

  Everyone else chuckled a bit, showing that it was a joke of some kind.

  “Yes, ma’am. I’ll go and report to Mark now, if you don’t have any further orders?” She could work in a kitchen, if it was her duty station. They were clearly having an emergency at the moment, after all.

  There was more laughing, but it was a gentle thing.

  “Thanks, Rome. Do get with him though? Work out a schedule?”

  She nodded, hoping that she wouldn’t be late for her work station the next day. If she had to, she could use her magical talisman to keep her awake. Alyssa had given her one of the things, even if it was expensive magic. That reminded her that she also needed to visit the woman, soon. A lot of the Noram people had become friends, after all.

  They moved at a good walking speed, but didn’t run toward her new duty station. It was a bit strange for her to be enlisted like that, but it was a different world. Their rules were bound to be strange at times.

  The building she was taken to was large and tan on the outside, with large glass windows all over the place. Inside it smelled of hundreds of different foods. There were large white tables with benches on the left, and what seemed like a very nice facility on the right, with smaller tables that had red cloths on them. That was the smaller portion of things. No one was in the space, however. Not eating or even cleaning it.

  Her guide for the moment, looking out of place in his fancy costume, moved toward the back of the space. He seemed to know where to go, leading her directly to the correct door. Inside there were ten people working at food preparation. One of them was a stuffed bear toy, if a giant one, being about five feet tall, all in brown fur and dressed up as a chef. The rest of the people there were in similar garb, so it made sense that way.

  Before they could announce themselves, Mark appeared in front of them. Time distorted around him, the ripple looking sharp and white to her eyes. The pale man smiled at her, his face looking relaxed, even if there was trouble outside.

  “Avery!” Then, oddly enough, he hugged her. It didn’t last long or anything, and she did it back, even if it was a bit off for a military situation. “Good to see you!”

  The words had another thin man move over at a quick walk. When he got there, he waved at her.

  “I’m Warren… You’re the new girl? I saw your show last night. It’s impressive. I didn’t know that we’d have you in here. Are you going to be on
Steinberg and Friends?”

  The words almost didn't make sense, but after making a mental grid, she worked out what was going on. Warren probably knew that there was more than one world, but his mind hadn’t really adapted to that fact. So, he was thinking that she was going to be working with them directly all the time. Much like Charlot had been doing. It was probably a subconscious thing for both of them.

  On the good side he seemed positive about the plan he’d come up with.

  “No, sir. I was told to report here to Mark by Director Turner? We’re supposed to make up a schedule. Also… I have the rules of engagement for the hostiles beyond the fence line. We need to come up with a non-violent plan that will increase our public relations presence in a manner that won’t lead to harm being done?” That hadn’t been said exactly, but made sense to her. Probably thanks to her constant focus on creativity over the last few days.

  The others seemed confused for a bit, except for Scott, who nodded.

  “We also need a copy of the new program for Avery to take back to her people. I agree though, that anything we can come up with that lets us move past what’s probably going to be happening here is a good one.”

  Interestingly it was the new fellow who had a good idea. At least it was an idea that didn’t require shooting their enemies.

  “We can set up a buffet for the protestors? Drinks and some sandwiches? We have food coming for our people as well. It probably will just be trashed, but we’ll look friendly, doing that, right?”

  It sounded like a plan to her, at any rate.

  “I can help with that?”

  They hurried through it, which was interesting. Mark vanished, to come back with cameras, then a few minutes later several people came in as well. Bridget washed her hands and started in on making food with them, as did Kerry, from the camp out.

  A few others held the video cameras, watching what they were doing. It seemed to be how these people worked, for some reason. It took them nearly an hour of fast work to have things ready, and they had to move several large, well loaded tables out first. That was for their IPB people to eat, first.

  Mark vanished again, then reappeared, with Turner running toward them, making the world thrum brightly in blue, she moved so fast. When she stopped, the woman wasn’t even out of breath.

  “So, you have a plan to win these… Nice people, over with food? That sounds like it won’t work. Who’s going out there? We can’t send Brian. That will end in death. Bridget?”

  The tiny red-head looked around then.

  “I can do it. No one will attack me, I bet. Not looking all cute like I do.” She was in a skin tight brown outfit, with running shoes on her feet.

  Her face was well enough made up, however. It could have been done a bit better, but they were in combat mode, so it probably wasn’t a priority. The girl’s face was a bit pointed at the chin, which could have been softened a bit, if they did it correctly. The idea of her words was correct, though. She still managed to look cute.

  “I can go as well. That will allow us to carry the loaded table. Should we set up a guard?” Avery looked around at the others, not knowing the rules there. “Ones that don’t seem too aggressive. Perhaps those in the more decorative outfits?”

  The Director winced at her words. Then she made a face that seemed displeased and called out.

  “Gravity! Pixie! Prime! Get your butts over here!”

  Only two people moved in, but they came quickly, jogging from the front line. They were in nicely arranged outfits, however. The man was in blue and green, and looked very handsome. Much like Will or Phillip did, actually. The woman was Georgia, who nearly tackled her into a hug when she got there.

  “Hey! I knew that you couldn’t stay away. So, what’s up, if we aren’t going to actually start making out to entertain the masses?” The woman left an arm around Avery, but didn’t do anything too sexually aggressive. Probably because there were people holding cameras right there, still.

  Turner smiled and waved at the table loaded with large drink containers, covered sandwiches, plates and cups.

  “We have a mission. An insane and messed up one. Taking the people out there something to eat and drink. You’re the team for this. This is Avery Rome, who volunteered to go with you. If anything starts to happen…”

  She nodded, understanding that part.

  “If anything happens, move the people back, so they don’t die while I transform into a Dragon. We should avoid that though, since it might be too scary for them.”

  Chapter twenty-one

  Avery figured that they’d have to fight their way to the location they planned to take the food to. It was deep into the hostile crowd, after all. She and Bridget were on the table, easily carrying the thing, even if it strained a tiny bit as they moved. The wood and metal warped under the weight of the food they were delivering. The legs folded up, but were locked for standing, in case they had to set it down and defend it.

  Prime, who turned out to be Scott, walked in front of them, smiling the whole time. Gravity, who was a man named Doug, was behind them, also seeming powerful and in charge. Georgia, who was the one called Pixie, actually waved at people, calling out what they were doing.

  “We have food and some drinks. Punch and water? We don’t want people to get dehydrated. Remember to drink water out here. It’s a warm day. Hydrate while exercising your first amendment rights!”

  The crowd actually moved back, away from them. As they got toward the back, after walking about two hundred feet, they were met with more cameras. This time the people had news station logos on their jackets. It was similar to things from her own world. Not that she’d been around that kind of a thing a lot. Enough that she’d seen it before.

  Smiling, since everyone else was, Avery waved at some people.

  “We have beef, peanut butter and jelly and veggie sandwiches?” They didn’t have anything else to go along with it, since they hadn’t wanted to make things too complicated. No one came to get the free food though. Probably due to the idea that it might have been poisoned and was being used to weaken them. It wasn’t true, so she nodded.

  Then Avery took one of each thing, placed it on a plate and ate it, in front of everyone. That didn’t actually have anyone move in to get the free food, though a woman did come up, her face seeming angry and troubled.

  “Sorry. Could I get a cup of water? It’s for my friend.” She wasn’t old seeming. Her hair was blue and pink, which was interesting. Her nose also had three studs through it, in different places.

  Avery served her, passing a plastic cup, which was bright red, which was filled with cold water.

  “Here you go, ma’am.”

  “Thanks.”

  After that a few people did start to come over, so they passed out things for them to eat and drink. The original goal had been to simply leave the things there. This worked too, and the attacks that she’d feared didn’t come at all. It took several hours of work for them to run out of everything. Then she and Bridget took the table back, everyone else moving with them.

  Then, being nice, they did it again, only for the evening meal.

  After that Tobin Peterson and several others set up a stage inside the wire and performed a musical concert to entertain the people. Most of them even stopped chanting while they did it. They did keep waving their signs, calling for the death of Brian Yi. That didn't seem to extend to everyone else however. Nor did anyone try to actively kill the man that day.

  As it became dark, they loaded up their cars and busses and drove away.

  The IPB lines were held though, until the last person finally left, at nearly eleven at night. Avery helped them clean up, since there was trash left on the ground in places. Some of it piles of Human waste. That was buried, instead of moved. She didn’t have to do that herself, a very quick man dressed in yellow buzzed over to do all of it himself. He had a shovel, and knew how to use it.

  When she got back inside the fence line, Mark came over, holdin
g out a thumb drive for her.

  “The show? Let me know what you think about it? Things are looking good as for it being picked up over here. You could try and shop it out in your world, if you want?”

  Then, without waiting for anything else, he vanished. They hadn’t made their work schedule, but Avery decided to pop back in the next day. She was supposed to go up to Canada for the first day of shooting the next morning, but there would be breaks, if she hurried.

  That meant she managed to get home before midnight, and slept until five. That required her to eat a big breakfast and to use the wakening amulet before she hurried up to the site they were shooting the show at. It required using three shortcuts to get from the node complex there to the correct location, but she was standing there at six in the morning, drinking a cup of cocoa, when the rest of the staff started getting in for the day.

  Most of the actors and actresses would probably get there at about seven, even though Krista had ordered them to be there earlier than that. The Director of the show moved over to stand by her, drinking something that smelled like plain coffee from a mug that said she was the world’s greatest mummy. That was probably a joke, though if so, Avery didn’t really get it.

  “Did I ever mention that I hate working with show people? I always get places on time, personally. You managed it…” She grinned though. “Anyway, Avery… As the new star of the show, how do you want to play this? I can have the thing rewritten, so that we just follow Bethany Spires around the whole time?” She said this as L. J. The man who had the lead in the thing walked up.

  Late.

  “Sorry. I know, we were supposed to be in half an hour ago. I just misjudged how long it would take to get from the hotel to here. Plus, that thing where I was up late, going over the script?”

  Avery hadn’t done that. Then, despite what had been said, she only had four lines in the whole show that week. They weren’t hard either. Mainly simple responses to other people.

  She was going to be on screen though, a good portion of the time. She had two action scenes as well. A big portion of that was down to the fact that she was willing to do her own stunts. That looked better and if she was hurt, she could just change shape and fix it inside of ten minutes.