Dragon Queen (Avery Rome Book 3) Read online

  “In secret? It isn’t about, um, anything too fun. I should… Probably go and see about that now? The transfer that Ann was talking about? I should check in on Troy as well. Unless I’m needed right now?” She didn’t know the man well, but they’d met several times, in passing. They were even part of the same nation, in a different world.

  Being line walkers like they were.

  Ann nodded, Kait petted her arm a bit and Calley waved from down the table, having heard everything.

  “Just be back in time to hold me when the count comes in?” She seemed a bit sheepish about that part, which made sense. She had at least two or three people in the room that were kind of dating her, after all. That would really be their job.

  The point was that as a person, Calley would want all of them there for her, if she didn’t win. If she did, as well.

  “I’ll make it happen. Let me…” She jogged a bit, heading to the bathroom to fix her face. It was probably being too paranoid, but Bente really might have set up something using Ann to get her to look bad, just so she could sweep in and scold her over not being perfect. She did hurry though, and ten minutes later stood in the front of the space, talking to Zack on her cell phone.

  “This is Zack. How are things going there?” He didn’t even say her name, but she understood that, even without caller I.D. the being would know who was on the line. It was strange, but not unexpected.

  “Hi, Line Walker. It’s Avery. Ann mentioned that we had a pickup in a different reality needed?”

  “Oh, yeah, if you have the time? There’s something going on in the Human Zack’s world which messed things up a bit. It isn’t that big of an issue, it doesn’t sound like, but it would help if you could do this. Chris came and tried to get me to do it, but that wasn’t going to work. The fund transfers would be too elaborate to be fun. I can’t do it for free, but, you know, you can do it? I do have the link for it, if you’re game?”

  She didn’t know. It was possibly a trap, but if so, there was no real reason for it. That she could see. Which, she knew, might not be important if Bente was testing her. So far that hadn’t really happened. She’d been set tasks, but those had been about learning. Not all of the lessons had been fun for her, but they hadn’t been about tricking her in particular. That a Greater Demon could do that was just the truth. It wasn’t even a real question. That The Pristine might not bother was also a pretty real consideration.

  “Okay. I’ll be there in… Are you at the bookstore?”

  “I am.”

  “Five minutes?” It wouldn’t take her that long, but it was a reasonable amount of time to ask for. Saying less, like a minute, was asking for the man to time her. Then if it took longer it would give him leverage over her. Not a lot, but enough to be annoying in potential. This way she’d be slightly early. That nearly always paid off.

  “See you then!”

  She just walked to the wonderful floating disk in the yard, and walked into the back of the Yoghurt World, even though she could have gone to the book store directly. Then, waving at Eve, who was working behind the counter, she moved past, not speaking at all. It took two minutes to get to the node room that way, and she used the outer door for that, just in case there was a trap inside.

  It was a thing that she’d never done before. Every other time she’d worked there she’d entered through the interior door. Moving from the book store over to the transfer room.

  No one was standing there to hit her with a stick or anything.

  In fact, no one was there at all. Not for several minutes, when Zack walked in through the node in the center of the marble floored room.

  “There you are! Sorry, I just had a delivery to make. Anyway, let me pass this along? You’ll come out in a red box, so don’t be freaked by that. Go around to the left of the building there and you should find your pick-up inside. Here.” The touch on her arm was just an intent to go to a specific place. It wasn’t magical or telepathic, so she could pick it up as easily as anyone else could.

  “Got it. Is there a name for who I’m getting?”

  That got a shrug.

  “Dumas Thomson. He speaks English, so that shouldn’t be a problem. I know that he’s pretty young, though what I got from Chris didn’t give any particulars on that. He just didn’t know the answers. Do you need anything else?”

  She nodded, then grinned.

  “All the stuff you didn’t tell me? The trick that’s being set up, or the thing I’m too stupid to get?”

  “Other than you being too nice and kind, helping people out for free all the time? Nothing that I know about. Be careful anyway. Oh…” He winked at her then, looking her up and down slowly. “Nice outfit. You look wonderful. Now, go and pick up some strange man. It will be good for you.”

  She nodded, getting what he’d been joking about, and carrying the bag that she’d made, Avery walking to the center of the room, breached the node by twisting space using pure focus and stepped into nothing at all. Then she cast out the line which would take her to where she was supposed to travel. That gave her a spot in the nothingness to head to.

  All of that was an illusion, of course.

  There was nothing there at all. She could have moved from anyplace to where she needed to go, but her mind wasn’t formed to allow that kind of thing. That meant traveling in nothingness, willing herself forward, then twisting space to let her out into a physical reality that she’d never been to before.

  As promised, she really did end up in a little red box. One with very consistent colors on the walls. Far more so than most manufactured items would be able to hold. There was glowing blue writing that she couldn’t understand. It was lovely to look at, but might as well have been simple designs as far as she could tell. There was a star that, when touched, would get her out of the thing. It actually reminded her a lot of being on Mars.

  There had been boxes like the one she was in there, after all. Not in all the realities, but in one at least. It was a node point, but if her understanding was correct, one that was connected to where the box was. So, if they moved the thing she was in to a different location, they could have a node anywhere they wanted.

  Instead of touching the sigil, her hand passed through it. The thing held still, otherwise, but danced over her skin. The magic of it letting her through a moment later, she she took a few steps. It tried to form over her, but couldn’t touch her at all, which meant letting her out, after several steps.

  The effect was interesting, but not unexpected to her. Nothing on the outside of her body worked very well, if it was magic. Turning though and pushing again, she could feel it wanting to rest on her skin. That meant she could probably use it, after a fashion, if she were careful. Leaning against it would be possible, as long as she didn’t push things to hard.

  Really, in a lot of ways, it was like floating on really thick water or mud. Not that it was going to come up all the time or anything. Magic wasn’t a common thing. Not in her world.

  Chapter three

  The current world was familiar, of course. She’d live on an Earth her entire life, so the blue sky overhead and tan dirt under her feet were both things that didn't leave her feeling baffled or scared. The location had greenery in places, so it wasn’t in a desert really. There just wasn’t a lot of that kind of thing right around her. The air was very dry, making the world smell like dust. It was warm as well.

  That part didn't bother her, since temperature changes didn’t. Not that much. Even being hit with fire wouldn’t do more than annoy her a bit. Very cold temperatures were about the same. Even if her body froze solid, it didn’t hurt or damage her.

  Her orders had been to go around the building to find a Dumas Thomson. To that end she picked a direction, moving to her left and started to walk. Her bag was in her left hand, but two inch heels or not, she was ready to fight, if it turned out to be an ambush, or an attack.

  Past the edge of the little red house, which looked rather adorable, she had to admit, she saw a p
lain building that had the appearance an office space. It was only one story high, and made of tan bricks. There were a dozen colors to the things, or more. The path in front of the place was constructed of slightly shiny glass. It wasn’t really that, being something different than she’d seen before. At least it held thousands of sparkling bits inside of it, which was very pretty. Things that most probably would have missed. As she stepped on it she could feel what was there. The bits were diamonds. Very tiny ones, but the feeling was correct for that.

  There were, reassuringly, three people in tan military uniforms standing in front of the building. Above the door, in tall letters, it said Command Center, which was also really nice to see. Avery was used to that kind of thing, after all. No one there had a weapon out either, meaning they probably weren’t there to try and capture her. Most likely.

  Interestingly, each of the people looked different from the others. One of them was at least fifty shades of blue, for instance. The colors shifted under his skin bit as he looked around, the light reflecting off of him in an exotic fashion. Another man was, clearly, Troy, the Human line walker. Except that he was a bit smaller. About her own size, and rather thin.

  It was that last person however that got her to smile. Nervously, at first, until she recalled that they were in a different reality and the woman that she’d grown up with wouldn’t be wearing a military outfit back home. No, she would have been in a skirt or dress.

  Degra. One of The Gray. A person that Avery had known her entire life. A friend and relative. Except that there might be problems now, since she’d been shunned by them.

  Just as she started to worry, about half a dozen complicated memories, most of them being Greater Demons, though Eve was there as well, reminded her that she wasn’t in the same world anymore. Even if this woman was Degra, she also wasn’t. Thinking anything different than that would be a poor idea.

  Plus, Degra had always been her friend, more or less. The Gray men ruled over the women and children, but that left the others with more flexibility in some ways, when it came to being there for those around them.

  She moved toward them, feeling very out of place, wearing the wrong outfit. They were all in nice sturdy clothing that didn’t call attention to themselves and here she was, dressed in red. Standing out like a blood stain on a clean bed sheet. Worse, what she was wearing would have cost thousands of dollars to own, if she hadn’t made it herself. So it wasn’t just a matter of color. It felt like she was telling them that they weren’t good enough for her, which wasn’t the case at all.

  No one said anything as she moved toward them though, until she was nearly to where they were all standing. Then they all turned, almost as one. It was the blue man who spoke. His voice was strange and mechanical sounding. Layered, as if three people were speaking at one time. His eyes were fascinating however, being made of swirling blues that nearly hypnotized her. Only her embarrassment got her to look away, at the others.

  “Hello! Can we help you find someone?” The man spoke in English. The accent was slightly different than what she used in Vancouver, but that was a very soft thing, regardless. If this man had come to Westfield, no one would have thought twice about it. No, the problem would be the mechanical portion of things. That or his wonderfully interesting color. If there was an issue at all.

  “Um… Yes, perhaps? I’m Avery Rome. I was told to report here and find Dumas Thomson, then take him to his own world? I’m a line walker.” She didn’t know if that kind of thing was common there, but they had a special node off to the side of the building and people came there from other worlds, making it a good bet.

  The man nodded.

  “Ah! Sure. I think that Ms. Turner has him in with her. She’s in charge here. I can walk you in?”

  It seemed a kindly meant offer, but Degra, or the lady who looked like her, seeming to be a Raccoon Shifter in looks, having the right kind of nose for it, being cutely small, shook her head.

  “Don’t trust him. He’s put in charge of one major department here and now he thinks he’s a rock star. It wouldn’t be so bad, but it keeps working for him. You know, getting him dates?”

  She didn’t get it, but worked out the basic concept with only a little help. She really hadn’t known that rock stars got a lot of women in particular, before that.

  “Ah? Well, he’s very nice looking. May I ask your names, or is that forbidden here? If it is… Please don’t take offense?” She sounded uncertain of herself, but that was due to not knowing their rules, that was all.

  The Troy looking man smiled at her. It was a large thing, telling her he was trying to be friendly, if nothing else.

  “I’m Tobin Peterson. These two are Dave Wilson and Kerry Yoder. Nice to meet you.”

  That got echoed, so she let the group lead her inside. That… Was exactly what she would have expected, to be honest. The floor had drab, short piled carpet, and there was a large desk with a secretary sitting behind it. Her name was Lydia, of course. In the world they were standing in. She looked very young, and Asian. Pretty as well. She also reminded Avery of a woman that she’d met once in a different reality. There her name had been different. Charli. It probably wasn’t a mistake. There were a lot of familiar people in this new place so far.

  Dave, the blue man, moved toward the girl behind the desk, stopping and not touching her desk.

  “This is Avery Rome. She’s come to pick up Dumas Thomson?” He was clearly speaking to Lydia, who smiled. Before she could speak there was a bit of noise from the right, and a young man with light brown and blonde hair stuck his head out of an open door.

  “Hello? I’m Dumas Thomson.” After a second, he looked at Avery and then tilted his head. “You seem familiar… but I don’t think we’ve met?”

  When he came out there was a woman in tan with him. After a moment Avery had to nod a few times. The woman was Kaitlyn, at least in her own world. She didn’t even look any older than the other woman. Not as pretty, but clearly the same person. The woman smiled at her and then walked forward, right hand extended to shake.

  “Marcia Turner. The director of this place. Also in charge of this one here until I learn differently from his people. You said your name is Rome?”

  She took the hand which was very firm, but not crushing. This was clearly a strong person however, even if she did look too young to be in command there. Then, looks didn’t matter that much. Avery looked too young to be herself, as far as that went.

  “That’s right, ma’am. I’m Avery Rome. I was told to report here by my employer, for a pick up. Dumas Thomson. To get him home? Human Troy, the line walker, was attacked. He lives, from what I heard and drove the attacker away, but he can’t travel right now. I’m from a different reality, but we have an association with his people. What do you need from me to make this work? I can see not letting him go with me alone. I’m, as mentioned, someone he doesn’t know.” The kid looked to be about ten, but didn’t act like there was a problem.

  Instead he moved in and shook her hand as well. Like an adult.

  “It would be more work, but perhaps if someone from here could come with us? You don’t look like a threat, but…” He had a small smile on his lips, and looked rather carefully, up and down. Then he stared for a while. “Honestly, I can’t tell if you are one or not. Nothing about you is saying anything except what you just mentioned, that way. Well, you aren’t wearing magical clothing, and the make of your gown is certainly very fine, but you claimed to be from another world, so that might be the norm there. So that tells us nothing. You aren’t dressed for combat, but if you wanted to throw us off, that could be done on purpose. You seem very proper and correct, which, again, could mean that you’re simply very good at whatever it is you do.”

  He glanced at Director Turner, who in turn looked at Avery more closely.

  “He has a point. That is a nice dress. Here it would probably be close to top end. High fashion, if I have that right?”

  The others there just looked baffl
ed, but Lydia nodded and came around the front desk.

  “It really is. I can go with them, if I can get a ride back here, after?”

  Avery nodded, since it made sense to say it that way to her, even if she weren’t carrying the woman on her shoulders. It was a form of transport and to most that meant cars or planes. You rode in those.

  “We can do that? I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but it’s election day, back home. That’s why I made this dress and my new shoes. I have a friend who’s in the running for President. Of my people, not everyone. Shifters.”

  Lydia seemed interested in that news.

  “You can change shape? That’s fun. We have some people here that do that. I can’t. I just scream really loud. That, and sing pretty well.” The girl smiled at her own words, so Avery did it back.

  “Dragon shifter. I have two forms, but… I can’t show you right now. I’d ruin my dress.”

  The leader there looked at her closely, seeming ready to tell her that she wouldn’t be allowed to take the boy away, or their secretary, but after a moment she made a face. It was considering, more than anything else.

  “All right. Go there and come right back though? Call it ten minutes?”

  Avery knew that was doable, so agreed without hesitating.

  “We’ll do that now, ma’am. Nice meeting you all. Let’s get going? Or do you need time to collect something?” The people from there all wore tan outfits which said IPB over the pocket and had what were probably their last names. Though Lydia’s just said that. Lydia. Still, it was very military. “Or… Do you need weapons? You’re on a guard detail.” She nearly volunteered to go with several of the people there, even if it would be more work. One girl seemed to be a bit light as for a guard like that.

  At least against an evil Death Serpent, like her.

  Lydia waved at her.

  “Nah. I-” She was cut short by the woman in charge.