Other Places 2: Road Blocks Read online

  It was moving along in time, and close to when he thought the others would be around to take over for the evening when the phone started ringing again. A lot of the calls were various officials from different groups, including the Shifters, whose leader himself called. Zack had spoken to him on the phone before, a few months before, so recognized the voice. He sounded really worried, but it was about something different than a possible war.

  "Mr. Hartley? Jahn Samson here. So glad I got in touch with you. A group of our people went into the situation the other day? In New Mexico? I was... wondering about your fee for that?"

  It was this thing again, then. The idea that they wanted him to personally do things for him, but couldn't pay for it at all. Then it occurred to Zack that it wasn't true. The Shifters had already been there when he got in. That at least made it easier.

  "I think that's a miscommunication. They were already there, so..."

  There was a pause and then a light chuckle. "Ah, yes, they are indeed local to that area, but you got them out so they wouldn't be found at the scene. I was asking about that."

  Oh. Darn. This part was so hard to manage.

  "Um, I have a girl that manages that for me now? Let me give you her number. Please tell her that I ask for you to get a discount?" Then he located Keeley's info and passed it along, hoping that it wouldn't be too big of a deal. Or a deal at all.

  Then he finally got what the Blonde Demon had been doing. Why Keeley had gotten so upset. She'd tried to make a deal with him, to steal his will, and make him a slave. He'd walked right into it too. He felt fine, but couldn't figure out why it hadn't taken, since he certainly couldn't resist something like that.

  Jahn, thankfully hung up without talking for too much longer, so he could try and think it through, and MH explained it to him, sounding a bit scared.

  'Zack... I think that other Demon chic, Keeley, I think she must have stopped it. You need to be more careful from now on and not hang around with the wrong type. I mean, think about it, these are the good Greater Demons, and one already tried to take you over. If it was your girlfriend Keeley doing it, you'd be like Elis here right now, unable to do anything she didn't tell you to.'

  He had more to say too, about the whole thing, including the fact that if Balthias could and would take people around through the Node like he clearly had, then why would Rebekah want to hire a costly Zack to do the same thing for her? Sure, there could be some reason for it, but they hadn't glared at each other when they were in the same room, had they? No hugging either, but it was a real point.

  'No, this is messed up, and they want something from us. I think we should run. Just take off and go to some other land where it will be harder to find us.' He seemed pretty adamant about it too, which normally meant he wasn't kidding.

  Zack shrugged and thought his own answer, not wanting to be the strange guy that talked to himself in public, if he could help it. His answer was basically that the last time he'd tried to make it without doing what he was, line walking, he'd nearly starved to death. As it was he felt like he was still doing that, hunger ripping at him suddenly.

  He needed to get something to eat as soon as he could, he decided, feeling a little ill from it already.

  Mirror Him sighed and sounded like he thought Zack was a moron again, so about normal.

  'At least wash the blood off your face before the others get in. They'll think you've really thrown in with the Vamps, otherwise.'

  That got him to head to the bathroom, which took three trips to get through, and about two minutes of vigorous scrubbing, since the phone was a lot more active now than it had been all day long. He didn't know why, but when Maddy Morse called, the Mage Counsel's leader, he managed to get a bit more information as to what was happening.

  She sounded pleased enough by it too.

  "Things are calming down. Several humans died, which is horrible, but only one of the Ambassadorial staff members, a..." She said a word that sounded like she was clearing her throat. Twice. "And while they're naturally upset, they aren't a warlike group. As long as nothing major happens in the next, call it six months to a year, we should be all right, as far as avoiding war over this. I'm just calling to check with everyone there. Get a reading on how the atmosphere is at your Embassy and how individual relationships are going."

  That got a run down on what he'd seen and an offer to personally call Leif, the Elth Ambassador.

  "Um... Ridley, the... I don't know his title, but he works at the Fun Zone? A Trickster? He's handling that part, I think. I can ask him to give us an update, and see if he needs any help with his plans, if you want?"

  She chuckled a bit, which Zack took to mean he'd said something funny. It was a bit mean, since how was he supposed to know that kind of thing? No one had ever told him about Tricksters at all.

  Then they got off the phone, just in time for everyone else to start coming in.

  Chapter six

  The first one in was actually Lisa, looking well dressed, professional, and even slightly made up. She was still thin, but looked good enough that Mirror Him purred a little.

  'Ah, right. Remember to bang your boss. I nearly forgot about that, what with her looking like a skank for so long, coming in with dirt on her knees. You did get that right? Chicks can do each other that way, but I doubt she was doing that in some alley to get her fix. If she's willing to do that, you're a shoe in.' The leering wasn't visible, but implied heavily enough that Zack could feel him doing it.

  For his part he just smiled and waved to her, hoping to get a chance to explain all the people before she went into combat mode.

  "There was an explosion in the food court. An industrial accident, I think. I don't know what happened to tell the truth. Merry and Conrad were injured pretty badly, so I brought them here. That's... Well, I'm going to be watching the situation. Elis here is their nurse. He's planning to stay for a few days. I know that it's inconvenient, but I didn't want to try and move them too far yet, and you know, couldn't leave. Is it all right?" He suddenly felt nervous, since having two sleeping miniature people in the back of the Mage Embassy was kind of a big deal and he didn't really control that part of things, did he? Lisa, or even Bob, could just say no and he'd need to find someplace else for them. As he started to really get nervous the woman started to nod and took a few steps closer to them all, looking at each carefully.

  "Of course they can stay. I'll have to clear it with Bob, but it should be fine. How is your friend going to feed? I'm... not really up to donating right now. Still at kind of a low ebb that way." She didn't even shy away from the idea, which was more open minded than Zack would have thought she was, to be totally honest. It was a bit more than he was, just to be open about it all.

  "That, is a really good point. I'll see if I can borrow some from Lenore. She has the new bottled kind in. Really, they should sell it here, since it will be easier to bring in here than almost anywhere else. I can just pick it up every few days or whatever." He wrinkled his nose a bit. Talking wasn't getting anything done at all. "One bit here."

  Then he ran, at a slow pace, through the store, to find Lenore standing in the front of her shop with a pan on a hot plate behind the counter, a bottle of blood being warmed right next to it. The place was spotless, but she was alone now, it being before dark still. It was just about the time that Edom normally came in, but he hadn't yet.

  "I heard your idea and it's excellent. We can put a large refrigerator for it in the back. I don't know the plan for shipping it however. Fed-Ex?" She said it as if that just made the most sense, which was a thing that he didn't know about at all. How were they planning to do that? He wasn't doing it for the entire country, not that he knew of.

  He shrugged. "I'll ask and see if there's a list? I think Rebekah likes me well enough so far. No screaming or trying to have me killed yet at least, that I know of. I probably need to take her around today, if she isn't busy, so that she knows that I'm going to keep my end of it up. I'll ask about the rest
of this when I call to check." He looked at the pot, a small thing that he was nearly certain was aluminum, which was just starting to let a bit of water vapor waft from it, the wooden handle tucked carefully toward the wall.

  Lenore smiled and glanced at it.

  "It really does taste better this way. Cold is fine in a pinch too, of course, but this is nearly like feasting. You know Zack, you are an uncommonly kind being. Few would sacrifice even their own time to aid those they hardly know, and much fewer would do all you have. It's a bit creepy, and you should stop it before the natives start to talk." Then after a few seconds she winked at him, letting just a bit of fang show as she smiled suddenly. It was done well, and caught him by surprise.

  She had the bottle in already, and waited for it to smell right, if he had the right idea. The glass cap was off, and she kept moving close, sniffing gently.

  "Oh, I'll get you something too. I didn't think... Silly of me. You haven't eaten for half a day with all this. So, something not too sweet?"

  She re-capped the bottle first though and suggested he go and feed his guest first, and that she'd have something for his return. He ran into Bob in the back, and his wife wasn't with him, which Zack hoped wasn't a bad sign.

  Looking at his right hand, with the glass bottle in it, the older man, who looked almost like they were the same age, seemed to put it together.

  "Ah, good thinking. Lisa filled me in. I'll lodge a formal complaint with the Elth Embassy. Treating people this poorly is a bad idea, especially in a land that has very different rules than theirs does. I don't want this to blow up too much, but we should make our position known. Otherwise they won't even pretend to change. Sorry about the headache here. Good thinking, bringing them in right now. It might not do much for us with their people, but everyone else that hears of it will see it as a positive thing, I think. Most of them." He moved to the right, so the drink could be passed along.

  "Are you leaving for the day now? After Elis has something to keep him going?"

  Zack hadn't been thinking about it, but Lisa had the phone held down pretty well, handling it better than he had, or more smoothly at least. Bob was good at his job, and probably didn't need a store clerk anymore that day. Except for running errands, possibly.

  "Yeah, after I get some food in here. The food court is a mess and I don't know what they're doing at all at the moment. So I was thinking a store run? I can ask around and see if anyone else needs anything. I hope that the weapons shop people don't need another live animal. If so, I want Hiram to help with it." They wouldn't have gotten the pig without him, after all. The man had skills.

  "Not a bad plan. I can pay for it. For everyone. We have the funds right now. Do you need a driver? I know you don't have a vehicle, not normally needing one, but this might be a bit much to carry by hand. We should get at least a few days worth of things in, in case we go into a true lock down."

  Zack didn't have a driver in mind, but shrugged and thought about it. Really, if her car was fixed, Barb would do it. They needed to touch base anyway.

  "I should be all right. One of the Vampires will help with it, once they start coming in. We need to make it a multi... Um, national? Project."

  It sounded silly when he said it, but Bob seemed to take it seriously and just got him a cash packet, to get things started.

  "Keep the receipts however, so we can write this off with the guild as an outreach project."

  It gave him a reason to get back to Lenore, who had a large dish of yoghurt that had been topped with dried fruit bits and some kind of golden liquid, that turned out to be honey. It was barely sweet at all, as promised, but not bad. It wasn't frozen yoghurt, but the real culture, which was smooth and creamy, compared to the stuff he could get at the store.

  "Thanks, this is good. Very much so. So, is it possible for me to borrow Barb for a shopping trip tonight, and for her to borrow a working vehicle that's large enough for it, if her own isn't ready yet?" That could take time, right? He hadn't done a lot with that kind of thing, since, shocker, the guy that can suddenly see weird things that others didn't, isn't really the best person to have on the road all the time. He'd never even tried it really.

  Lenore seemed pleased for some reason, and didn't respond directly, just getting on the telephone and calling around to make it happen. It reminded Zack that he had calling to do too, as soon as he got home.

  The whole thing took longer than he thought it would, since he went to absolutely every store in the mall, including Princess Pretty Nail, which was at the far end. It was a strange place in a way, since it was the only one that was run by regular humans. It seemed to be a Korean family concern, and the four women there were all related. That was so clear he didn't have to ask about it. They also had no clue at all what was going on, but it was part of the lease that they manned their store twenty-four hours a day if the Mall had to go into lock down, and they got good rent, so only complained bitterly about it to him, instead of demanding he open the place up instantly.

  Like he was in charge? How had they even gotten a store there, if they weren't in on the whole thing?

  "You go tell. We not get information! We no pay rent, they no let us open." It was the oldest woman that said that, who looked like she might be about fifty or so and despite the demanding tone was well put together and made up, even if she did look cranky.

  "I... don't really have that kind of pull. It's about the attack on that New Mexico Mall though? I don't know if you caught that in the news, but apparently that's related to us, so all this happened." It was true, so he didn't have to lie about it. "I just came to see if you needed food from the store? Or drinks?"

  That went over better, and with a little prompting they realized they might want enough for a few days, even if only one person had to be there, since they weren't an Embassy or anything. At least he thought so. He didn't mention it, but could try and find out for them.

  The youngest one was actually cute and looked about his age. In her early twenties. On the way out, she touched his arm and looked embarrassed.

  "Um, if I give you money for it, can you pick up some tampons for me? I know that's sort of an issue for some guys. I'm down to two, and if we aren't leaving..." She really didn't seem happy to have to ask, but he just wrote it on the list. After all, with this much food and other supplies no one would think it was all for him and Barb, would they? Even if they did, why would it matter? It would just make it seem like he had a girlfriend or possibly a wife.

  "Shouldn't be a problem. Candles and More will cover it for you." He didn't try to explain why, but she seemed to think he was kidding, until he walked away, not getting anything from her.

  On the way back to his little nook at the end of the world, or at least Mall, Kaitlyn ran to follow him, her glasses on and dressed in normal person blue jeans that only hugged her behind in a way that meant he was a perv for noticing, not someone truly tempted by the offerings of the underage girl. Maybe a little worse, because he did look a bit longer than was normally polite. She however didn't seem to care, just tugging at her slightly too tight powder blue t-shirt.

  "Hey, Zack. I'm being sent to help you lift and tote for everyone. Oh, Judy wants me to remind you that she's at your place again tonight, so please don't forget her." She was doing her best to seem adult and proficient, so he didn't make fun of her.

  After all, having the extra hands wasn't a bad idea and when he'd found her a few months ago, looking like a rather studly teen boy named Kyle, she'd been busily working a real job, and seemed to have been pulling her weight at the same time. Also sleeping with the boss, and all the female employees, but Zack let that go, since it was who she was. Alede consumed sex energy. Getting up at arms about it, or prudish, would be the same as telling her that she should starve to death, because he was a bigot. Since that wasn't the case, he smiled.

  "The more the merrier. Come along and rest assured I won't leave Judy here to languish. She's nice. A bit more like you than your mom." That soun
ded mean, but the girl just walked and looked at him, as if waiting for the rest of it. "Valerie is nice enough too, but leaks sex into everything. It kind of leaves me feeling like I can't be her friend at all, not really, because it would only ever be that one thing. Judy didn't even blink when I was too tired last night, and you aren't too bad that way. Too young for me, but..." He shrugged.

  Kaitlyn nodded though, as the red tile of the central strip passed under their feet relatively quickly.

  "I know what you mean. Mom isn't really like that all the time. It's you. I mean that too. If a nude male stripper walked in just when she needed something, she'd be less aggressive about it most of the time than what she has been doing with you. I think... She keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop. For you to come and lock us all up in cages, or make us do horrible monsters for your amusement. Plus, I think it's really about the whole school thing too. Even after it was done, you told the Governing Body that you wouldn't work for them, because of me, and she was the one that hired you. It's a really big statement. There are people coming forward and trying to get a hearing in place even, because they know that the Line Walker is backing them in it. Mainly angry parents." She looked away. It was actually toward the Yoghurt World, which got her to shudder a bit.

  He didn't ask about it, but the girl seemed more than a little scared.

  "Vampires and my kind, we've never been at war, but the worst of them have used us to do... things. Unnatural ones. It isn't all of them and I know that ours, here, are good for their people, but right now I have to admit that I'm a little leery."

  Zack nodded, kind of seeing that. If Lazar the master Vampire that had beaten him, and wanted to kill him as a lesson to others, had a hold on Kaitlyn, it wouldn't be pretty. He was at least a bit unhinged. Had been. Until Zack helped him commit suicide.