Other Places 1: Shortcuts (13 page)

There
was
a person there, one with fake red hair that had a pierced nose. It took a second for him to recognize the woman since she didn't have a dead body with her this time. At least not one she was carrying. She smiled, her mouth closed, so as to not intimidate him. That was nice of her, since it was a little creepy, knowing that she was a real Vampire. It didn't help that he became acutely aware that he was filled with yummy blood and she might just be stopping by for a late night drink.

"Hey." Yawning he moved to let her in. That thing about the undead needing permission to come in was clearly bull and always had been. Nikki moved past him easily, looking around with a slightly critical eye. Since the room was totally dark that answered any questions he had about how well her kind could see at night, didn't it?

"Zack. I hope you don't mind me dropping in? I was in the neighborhood, so you know, figured I'd see how you were doing."

He shut the door and flipped the light switch on, so that he could see her. Not that it was going to help him get a read on what she was thinking. Humans gave a lot away. Mages too. He didn't know about the other groups, but all the Vamps were harder to really understand. Except the younger ones that always seemed angry about something or other. It didn't take great skill to tell what they were really feeling.

One thing was pretty certain, this one hadn't come for a booty call.

"Kind of sad... I haven't had sex in about a year, are you sure you didn't come for that?" He didn't explain it, but the woman shrugged.

"Sorry, I can't right now, the truth is that I've been having a hell of a time with some of the babies in this area for a few weeks. A lot of new ones have been showing up, when that shouldn't be happening here. Orphans, Vampires made and left by their creators, without being trained to control themselves. I noticed your scent, so decided to stop in, since I'm trying to flush out a couple right now." Her voice was low and she spoke close to him, leaning in.

"So, do you mind if I hide in here for a bit? I can use your scent to cover mine, and then move out for hunting after a while."

He waved at her a little and let his eyes find the clock. It was just turning two.

"Um, yeah, just lock up when you leave. My roommate will be back in about an hour, maybe a little more. Troy Lopez. So, don't kill him or anything. I'm going back to bed. Sorry, I know it's rude, but I have loads of work in the morning." With that he turned and went back to bed, wondering if he was dreaming the girl. That was possible, he supposed, but that wasn't something that he normally remembered doing.

The girl spoke, her voice very nearly gentle and motherly, "goodnight, sweet prince."

In the morning when he woke up, she was gone, but Troy was arrayed on the sofa, playing a new game that hadn't been there before. He pointed at the screen.

"Mega Seven. Kevin from the club lent it to me." He paused the game and bent forward, to point at the letter he'd left with the ten fifties in it. "This is awesome. You don't have to give me everything you made though. We could use some of it for shopping... The rent and electric are already paid. Plus your pal Lisa paid both me and Edom two hundred each the other day. Talk about a sweet deal. I was also given a promotion at work." Troy buffed the nails of his right hand on the front of the black silk pajamas he was wearing. They were a little old, which was why he wore them for lounging now, instead of just entertaining. "You're looking at the new assistant bar manager for the TTLA". That was what the people that worked at the club called it, because Terran 2 LA was too long and kind of silly.

"Awesome! That isn't my pay for the week though, only half. It seems like a lot, but add in the kid recovery services... How much of that do you remember? You normally forget the strange things when they happen and write it off to me being crazy."

His friend looked down and shook his head. For a while it looked like he wasn't going to speak at all, but finally he shrugged like a little lost child that didn't want to admit to something.

"Some. I remember you and that Asian guy vanishing, then everyone being worried for hours, while I poured drinks. They didn't tip either. Then the other man and the girl came back. He said that you were there, but by the time I went to look for you... Well, you know that part. I was a bit worried, but it sounded like you'd be OK." He stood up, setting the game controller on the table, then stretching, something popping softly as he did.

He walked to the kitchen as if by old habit and made a little sound when he opened the fridge, expecting it to be empty still.

"Woo-hoo! Sunny-D, nature's most popular fake orange product. Can I have some of this?"

"I got all of it to share. It's not like I don't owe you." So much more than he could ever repay, really.

"What? Some food and all that? Not a big deal."

Except that the man had eaten only a little more than he had for months, most of
that
had been things he managed to scrounge from work or that girls had given him. He would have done a lot better if he'd gotten rid of Zack, but Troy had never even hinted at it. That was a
lot
. More than just the value of what he'd shared. It was the kind of thing that a person wouldn't really expect someone not related to them to ever do.

The scene was a little uncomfortable, so he yawned to have something to do then started making breakfast. Actual pancakes. Well, from a mix, along with some of that orange drink and fake maple syrup that would have made his grandmother frown at him. Zack just couldn't get himself to spend nearly twenty dollars a bottle yet just for the real stuff. He made enough for both of them, and handed Troy a plate as he played the new game.

Out of the blue he looked at his friend and smiled, "did you catch the part about the Vampires?"

That got a grunt and no direct eye contact at all. Several bites of pancake were taken before Troy even looked over at him, actually seeming a little sullen about the whole thing.

"Edom mentioned that, yeah. Mages too. So, either everyone in that room, including me, is bongos or you weren't just being nuts all those times. Sorry."

"No worries. After all, even if all that other stuff is real, that doesn't mean I'm sane. Not even pretending to be. I never lied about that, or anything. Not even about the fact that I need to hurry to work. First day at Yoghurt World. That's the Vampire embassy thing at Westfield, but I'm really going just to make things, and maybe answer the phones, while the manager gets her hair done... You know it sounds a lot less cool when I spell it all out. I should have stopped at 'working for Vampires' don't you think?" That left off the rest of it, but really, trying to run two places at once seemed a little bit over the top to him, and he also didn't want to stress the idea that he wasn't right in the head. Not overly.

Zack waited for Mirror Him to come and call him names over it, but there was an uncommon silence from that arena, which was nice. Half an hour later he was headed out for the day, bundling up carefully before even cracking the door.

"I won't be back until late. Probably for the next few days. Lisa is out of town, back East. So it's just me for a bit."

That got him a funny look and a wave, but no comment. That was a little unusual, but it probably meant that his roommate thought that situation sounded strange. Which it did. He hadn't been at the store for a week yet and he was already running the place by himself?

He opened Candles and More first, then taped a hand written sign to the door telling people to feel free to look around and letting them know he was just across the way if they needed anything. He doubted that anyone would come after all. At Yoghurt World he expected to find Lenore, ready to go, or the shop closed, but there was just a man he didn't recognize standing behind the counter, one that looked miserable and like he could barely stand up.

"You Zack?" The man gasped this out as if it were a plea, not a real question.

When he nodded the man started staggering toward the back, opening the supply closet and closing himself inside. That was it. No chatting, no explanation, just him vanishing. A bunch of stuff had been left out so that he could clean, it seemed, without opening the door and disturbing the man, so he started on that, leaving his jacket in the back room. The place was sparkling, but as Lenore had mentioned, beings with much greater than normal senses came in regularly, so it would pay to be extra careful. He was wearing an apron and scrubbing the underside of a table at a little orange and yellow booth when the phone rang. He ran to it, answering in his best professional voice.

"Yoghurt World, Zack speaking, how may I help you today?"

"Oh? I was expecting Miss Thorn. Lenore Hawthorn, I mean, of course. Is she present by any chance?" The voice was very polite and had an odd character to it. Slightly fussy sounding, and high pitched, but obviously a man. How he could tell that, Zack had no clue. It also wasn't something he planned to trust in overly. Getting gender wrong was always embarrassing.

"Sorry, she won't be in until later. She's getting her hair done right now. Kind of a special occasion. Maybe I can help you?" It wasn't likely, but it was what you said in situations like that, he was almost positive. Just like offering help to Bob had been.

That thought reminded him that he needed to make a call to the man, perhaps later in the day.

"I fear not. I was informed that Lenore might have the ability to talk to the new line walker. I'm afraid I was just trying to find a way to avoid days of travel, since I dislike flying. Rather new, to my way of thinking. I'm already at the Toronto node and need to get to the one there for a time. Well, it was worth making the call, thank you ever so much for your help. Zack was it?"

Thinking about it for a second he shrugged.

The Vampire wasn't big at all, he was short, thin and even lighter than he looked, if a little surprised when Zack came through the node, explained that he'd have to pick him up, and had him transferred in less than half a minute. Then he needed to get the man's luggage, which was a lot harder, since the guy apparently liked to go around with three times his weight in clothing and gear, in one large travel trunk.

Zack nearly fell over when he stepped back through, the tiny and slightly funny looking bald man with big ears clapping his hands happily.

"Oh, thank you sir! This is most excellent indeed!" The little man beamed and clasped his hands together as if he couldn't be more pleased if Zack had just given him the keys to the city. From the easy way he moved his large chest to the side and the hint of fang in his mouth, it was plain he was Vampire, not human or anything else. He did look different, but there was none of the coldness to him that most of the others had.

Given everything that probably meant he was very old. The man settled into one of the big soft chairs, looking decently content about the whole thing.

Zack tried to remember everything he could about being a good host, since the fellow seemed to be waiting for something.

"Um, can I get you anything? I don't know if we can get blood..." He wasn't going to offer his own, but the man was actually very reasonable, asking only for a glass of hot water. It took calling down to the food court to find a mug, but a nice looking short woman ran it down, bustling a bit, her tiny legs eating the ground quickly.

Smiling Zack waved.

"Hi! I'm new here, from across the way most days. Call me Zack."

For some reason this got the small lady, who had red hair that was nearly copper colored, to blush. She nodded and smiled, but didn't say anything, leaving faster than she'd come. There was a filtered tap in the store and a microwave, so the hot water was in the back about four minutes later, along with a tray to hold it on.

The man simply held the cup, sipping at it occasionally.

"I'll be in the front, cleaning or reading from Lenore's notebook of secrets, if you need anything."

It was funny, but so far, out of all the Vampire's that had been around, some of whom were very nice, this man was the one he naturally liked best. It was as if he wouldn't harm a fly. That probably wasn't true, but it was how he
felt
, if that counted for anything.

Just to be friendly Zack tried to check on the man a few times, but he sat, still holding his cup, not moving for a long time, at about eleven he came out and asked if it would be possible to have some more, which, of course, it really was. No one else called and there were no actual clients at all, so he just sat at one of the booths, watching the other store across the way, going over everything that had been written in the little book.

It was kind of amazing. If there was a master of frozen Yoghurt in the world, it wouldn't have surprised him to find out it was Lenore. No wonder she was so picky about the subject. The book was fascinating in a strange way, detailing how to make everything from scratch. She even pitted her own cherries and made them into Maraschinos herself.

He was trying one of the new Christmas themed creations, the plum pudding one, when she walked into the store, her hair shorter, and fairly straight, but with a hint of young girl to it. It made her look sweet, and a good bit less old fashioned.

"I like the hair. You look... really attractive." He felt proud of himself then, since he'd started to say delicious rather than attractive. Reminding her that he was food probably wasn't a great idea.

Patting it a little she smiled back at him, "why thank you Zack. I was rather pleased with it too. There were no problems here I trust?"

"Oh, no, not at all. We do have a guest." Who walked out then, getting a shocked look and sudden bow from Lenore.

"Bey!" She bowed again. "When did you get in? I wasn't even aware you were on the continent."

Even though she was trying to bow again the little man swept forward and gave her a big hug, like they were old friends.

"Lenore! Dear, so good to see you again. I've come to visit with young Nicole. I've had word that there have been some difficulties here. It sometimes helps if one of us elders comes by for a visit in such cases. Sometimes not. Let's hope this time it works out. Such a waste when we have to reprimand children for reaching above themselves." He said most of the words to Zack, smiling as he did.

For the first time that he'd ever seen, Lenore seemed flustered and a little nervous. After a few seconds she focused on Zack, who was brushing his slightly shaggy hair out of his eyes. Hopefully he could get a haircut himself soon, since it was well past time for it. Her face looked very serious, as if she might be in trouble.

"Bey... This is Zack. I hired him to work part time, early in the mornings, since there is little going on here then. I hope that this hasn't disturbed you?"

The man looked incredibly happy and patted her hand in a grandfatherly fashion, "not at all! He is a most wonderful host. Not only did he see to my needs, but he stepped across this entire land and farther to deliver me here, without even asking more than that I hold up a simple piece of paper so that I might be found. No sooner had I spoken my request than he was with me. Then he traveled the whole thing twice again, to deliver my baggage as if it were simple courtesy." The man clapped twice then, walking to stand in front of Zackary.

"You didn't even question my habit of sipping warm water.
Very
proper of you, allowing a guest to feel so welcome. I can taste the presence of those like myself in it, even after being filtered clean. There are an awful lot of the very young here right now."

It was decided that those issues weren't anything for Zack to be troubled over, and Lenore rather covertly suggested that he needed to get back to his own shop, since he was watching both, which had to be hard. It wasn't, but he wasn't mentioning that part. He really wanted to get paid for it, even if he
had
mainly read and cleaned. That was what he'd been hired for though, to fill the space.

Without asking what the plum pudding was for, Lenore finished making it for him and handed it off, shewing him out of her shop with playful waves. He took the hint, not knowing if Bey was dangerous or perhaps unbalanced. The man seemed kind and gentle, so he decided to hope it wasn't that at all. After that, nothing much happened at all for hours, until closing, when the phone rang. He'd been working, after a fashion, planning a new and totally unneeded Christmas display for the front of Yoghurt World. Mainly he'd simply drawn up what he thought would work, some seasonal, but non-religious decorations.

"Candles and More, Zack speaking, how may I help you today?"

"Hello Zack, Edom here." His voice was smooth and warm sounding, a little deeper than normal. "I was asked to invite you to join a group of us at the club tonight. We're closing it down, since The Bey is in town. He requested you personally. Do you think you can make it?"

It was possible, as long as he didn't stay too late, there was a shortcut near his house that lead to it, even though Zack hadn't used it a lot. A big noisy club with drinks he couldn't afford? What wasn't to love? Still, if it was closed for the night, then it should be a little easier to put up with. No one would expect much from him most likely and chances were if anyone danced, it wouldn't be him. That was, even if they didn't know it, grounds for him to walk out, trying to make him embarrass himself like that.

"OK, I guess I can come for a little while. As long as everyone understands I need to sleep. So, no drinking or anything. Work has to come first." It would for a while, which didn't get any arguments from the man on the other end of the phone. The only sound was a slight muttering that had the tone of someone else being talked too, rather than insane ramblings.

"Wonderful! We'll expect you as soon as you can arrive then."

When he left he saw a sign on the door of Yoghurt World, which was closed and locked tight, or at least the lights were off, which he just took to mean that. It said that they were closed, due to The Bey being in town. That they actually explained that much seemed out of place, until he noticed that the nice looking young blonde woman that was most likely very old, from the night before, was standing nearby, looking scared. Her focus turned to Zack as she pointed to the hand written sign.

"The Bey... They say he only comes when many are about to die. This is a warning to run, to flee into the night and pray he isn't here for us." She blinked and shook her head a little. "Though, I know that I haven't done anything to come to his attention. I do believe that a vacation is in order. I don't suppose that you'd like to come with me? We could use a blood donor, my daughter and I." The words were pleasant enough and almost held temptation, since there would probably be sex involved in that too, but he had to decline.

"After all, I'm on my way to a meeting with the man himself, so I might be missed if I didn't show up. We met earlier. He seemed very nice. Then, I'm nearly positive he didn't come to kill me." It was true but the woman actually shuddered a little bit. A thing he thought might actually be real.

"
Nice
? I've not met him, but from what I've heard,
terrifying
is more like it. How did he get here? He refuses most modern transport, walking most places, except for when he needs a boat."

"Through the node." Before he could explain about the phone call the woman turned and ran away at full speed, which was much faster than he would have figured. She physically blurred as she moved toward the outer door.

The parking lot was empty, except for one car, a beat up old Japanese thing that only had one person in it. She got out as he moved, her face a little upset.

"Hey... I was sent to get you, but my car died." Barb looked like someone had killed her puppy. That, or was going to lock her up for a month with no food.

He kept walking signaling for her to follow him, which she did, making a face the whole time. At the node he stopped to explain what he needed to do, hoping she wouldn't be too heavy for him. He thought he could pick her up, if he didn't have to hold her that way.

Her words interrupted him before he could even point at the empty space, or do more than glance into it. "I don't see why you're going anyway. Granted, you're better at making food for humans than I am, but we aren't serving dinner. From what I heard this is more of a staff meeting than anything else. If we're late Edom's going to kill me."

Without saying anything he stepped toward her and picked her up, trying not to groan when he did it.

"Here, I'll carry you, that way you won't be late." He sounded decently playful and relaxed, which got her to giggle, until they stepped through the rift. Then he pointed down the street to the left. "We have a few blocks to go from here to the next shortcut, come on." The Vampire froze in place, until he took her hand and pulled her along a little. It was too cold to just stand in place after all and his coat wasn't that good. His breath made a white puff in the air as he gave another small tug just to get her moving.

After that they got to move in silence, their pace fast. She took his arm however, and leaned in, whispering softly. "We're being watched. Three of them. Vampires. I don't recognize the scents. Younger than I am."

Without bothering to look around he led her down the blind alley behind the little convenience store on the corner, jogging as soon as they got there, picking her up again and struggling the few steps that caused them to end up right around the corner from the Terran 2 LA. There was a man on the door and people trying to get in, many of whom looked angry that they simply walked up to the large white guy, who was a regular human, as far as Zack could tell.

"Hey Kevin. This is Mr. Hartley."

"Barb! Edom is letting you come back? I didn't know he'd react like that. Or pick to keep me over you. I'm sorry." He looked a bit sad, his heavy jacket bulging in places that meant he had a lot of muscle underneath it. Around what competitive bodybuilders did.

"Oh, Ed's not freaking out half as much as it seems like. I've just been helping out at another place that he co-owns. I'll be back here too, sometimes. Doing double duty, for the crime of 'distracting' you." She chuckled and grabbed Zack's arm, pulling him in, patting the large man on the shoulder as she did.

Inside it was warm, the heat being turned on, and open flames from gas lamps burning around the whole space. They were using them and the glowing fiber optics that lined the room to light the place. There was a single, very large, wooden table set up, a round one that reminded him of the old stories of King Arthur. Set up so that no one would be above the others. Except it was clear that the closer you were to Bey, the more important you probably were.

He was placed on the far side of the table from him, directly across. The set up got him to smile though, and wave at the little Vampire man on the far side, who gave a tiny gesture back. Then he waited, since the other chairs were being filled too. Not all of them, but several. Edom and Lenore were across from each other and on either side of them they each had two people. Two men and two women. It was very balanced looking, except for the fact that he was the only human at the table. The only living one at least.