Other Places 1: Shortcuts (32 page)

"Um, OK... I brought some gift cards. Here. Merry Christmas."

A blonde woman that was nicely dressed kissed him then too, without even opening her gift.

"What a wonderful idea! We should do that too. Of course candles have a slightly broader appeal than our merchandise will to most people, but it's the thought that counts, isn't it?"

A good looking guy with a thin build and a tidy mustache had opened his and looked at it hard, nodding.

"Val? This is for node travel, not candles. One round trip, at least
mine
is."

The others seemed to accept the idea pretty easily at least, unlike the Trolleinkein and some of the others. Then, the Succubi were far more used to being showered with gifts, weren't they?"

It took a bit of work to assure them that they didn't have to pay though, or trade anything for the presents, and get himself out of the room. He ended the whole thing at Yoghurt World. Handing the envelopes off to Lenore, for the people that weren't there at the moment. He included one for Bey too and as an afterthought, since he still had enough for it, one for each of the three Vampire council people he'd met.

"That's very sweet of you, Zack. They'll love it. Thank you and Merry Christmas. I have a present for you too, but, if you don't mind, I'd like to give that to you closer to the day itself? That will allow me time to actually purchase it." She smiled about it as if it wasn't a joke.

"Cool. Is it a new coat? Because I could really use one of those."

She nodded her face very still and a bit serious, "it
is
. Amazing. It's almost as if you can read minds."

They laughed about it and she touched his arm, her face a little warmer than it normally was toward him.

"I'll make certain the others receive theirs as soon as possible. Now, I hear you have a date with Barbara tonight? I trust you won't abuse her good will? She might well feel...
obligated
to do things with you, and it wouldn't be polite for you to push for too much."

The words were a little different than he thought they'd be and he didn't exactly get it for a bit, finally when he opened his mouth, what came out was very different than he expected at all.

"Oh? She seemed eager enough. Are you just trying to keep me all for yourself? That could be arranged, but if so, I suggest you actually let me know if that's what you want. Otherwise my hormones will have me sleeping with half the women I know, if possible." He regretted the words as soon as he said them, expecting to be glared at, or at least get a chuckle, but Lenore nodded at him as if it just made perfect sense for him to say things like that.

"Yes. I'd like that very much, Mr. Hartley. We should do that. So, if it pleases you, don't sleep with my daughter. Not
tonight
at least. Vampire rules, which means the one with greater dominance goes first. You can arrange that with her later, after I've had my chance with you."

He smiled and shook his head.

"Fine, but only because you're so cute. This means you're my girlfriend though, so I expect regular sex and all that.
Modern
rules, you know. None of that eighteen hundreds, yearlong hand holding stuff first."

She nodded, fangs showing just a bit.

"That almost never happened, not even back then. I think we can work something out. I haven't had a boyfriend before." She gave him a funny look. "Thousands of lovers, twenty-three fiancés, nine husbands and a double handful of body slaves, but never a
boyfriend
. It sounds charming."

She winked at him and gave him a dish of plum pudding with yoghurt on it, which wasn't frozen at all, being the real culture instead, then sent him on his way.

It was a strange change of events and he wasn't really certain it was all real, but it was nice anyway and he was definitely going to get her into bed soon, if she meant it at all.

As he headed back to the shop he felt a bit strange, as if someone was watching him. Before he went in to Candles and More he saw the old looking man standing by the door, holding up a hand, and smiling.

Now that he knew what to look for it was clear that the guy was a Greater Demon. Like Keeley. Only slightly less organized, if the bubbles and warps around him could be trusted.

Zack went over, since it was clear that avoiding the man wouldn't work. The Mistress of Souls had shown him that pretty clearly. If he wanted him dead, or enslaved, it was going to happen, wasn't it? Or at least that was the idea, he was pretty sure.

"Don't worry little friend, I don't want anything from you. Not like that." The man adjusted his gold rimmed glassed, things that didn't exactly fit his slightly square face. That was probably on purpose, since Demons probably didn't make mistakes like that a lot.

The man nodded, as if he were reading his mind.

"I'm Finias. Keeley's father, since you know her already. I have to say I'm rather impressed that she's managed to get you to go on a date with her already. She's a little shy, for one of us." He waved his hand a little then, and smiled darkly. "A Greater Demon, I mean to say. I'm not implying that you're like we are. No, you have something very different going on. I'll just short hand it for you, since it isn't nearly as important now as it once was."

Then frustratingly, the man stopped talking and walked outside. Zack followed, but it was cold and raining lightly, which meant he chilled fairly fast, not having even his old jacket on.

"I have three children. Keeley, who you know, her sister Darla, who I suspect you'll find charming and delightful as well, and Xenses... who is far less so. He's insane. Born that way. About half of us are, so it's not his fault, but he's still a rather negative force in the world. He's my oldest."

There was another pause as Zack started to shiver, the man not seeming to notice that part of things.

"I'll make the long and very troubling story shorter for you. You were stolen away as a child and taken onto the in-roads. He kept you there for over a year, your young mind struggling to make sense of what was happening to you. It couldn't, of course, not in that short of a time, but it changed you. It's why you see the world as you do. A unique thing. At the same time... Xenses isn't sane. You have to remember that. He did things to you, and forced you to do things that you're young mind simply couldn't adjust too. Trying to make you malleable and compliant. I found out about this and managed to remove you from his care. It wasn't difficult, since his attempt to make a Line Walker as a toy wasn't going as well as he'd hoped."

They walked for a bit, the wind sharp against Zack's skin as he absorbed the whole thing. It was an explanation at least.

"So that missing time?"

"You can't remember most of it. Be glad of that. It broke your mind and the you that existed then went away. That just left you, and your protector, inside. You call that part of yourself Mirror Him? It's telling, and shows more insight than not. The mirror of Xenses, who protects you rather than harms. Don't worry about that however. As I said, it isn't much of a problem for you at this point. He has other things to worry about, like his sisters. Keeley very recently made him her slave and had him kill himself. It won't stick of course, but I imagine he won't be concerned about much else for some time."

"OK." He wasn't sure that left him feeling any better, but the man in front of him, the Greater Demon, kept going.

"No, what I think is important to you now, is that your parents, who were enslaved by him for nearly two decades, have recently been freed. And then taken again, by one of my son's friends. Xenses is insane and has little love for anyone that isn't of use to him in the moment, but his friend, Goethe, is so much worse that I do not think your parents will long survive in his care. I cannot help you get them back, but, if you are clever and wise, perhaps you can find a way? If that is a thing that interests you. It may not be, when you learn the rest of the story."

Then, without warning, space bubbled around the Demon and he stepped to the right, vanishing into it.

Blinking, Zack went back inside. There wasn't a lot else to do and it was kind of chilly out.

He hadn't really thought about his parents for a long time, figuring that they just hadn't wanted him at all. The idea that they might have been taken by a Demon had never crossed his mind. It was hardly a thing that real people considered after all, was it?

When he got in the shop he looked at his Grandmother, who smiled at him and looked happy. For a long time he fought not to say anything and just walk to the back, but his mouth started working on its own anyway.

"Grandma... Were... Mom and Dad, they... were forced to be the slaves of a Demon and then I was kidnapped, when I was little?" He knew that there was a troubled tone to his voice, and Lynn looked stricken, as if he'd physically hit her instead of simply speaking a couple of words. When she finally said anything her voice had a shocky kind of sound to it and her face started going pale. There was a tremor to her hands that hadn't been there a moment before.

"Zack... It isn't that simple... We didn't tell you... I..." For nearly ten minutes she just stood, holding her arms. He figured that it was important, so he waited, but also didn't count on her telling him anything. She started talking again and seemed to be working to keep her voice steady as she did. It wasn't working very well. "They were taken by the Demon...
after
he took you."

She clearly wanted to stop there, but Zack had to push her. He nearly couldn't help it, since it had the sound of a noble story, them trading themselves to try and get him back. He said the words, which got her to nod and start crying a little. The head motion stopped after ten seconds.

"No, I won't lie about it. They were taken later, but they weren't trying to get you back. They didn't lose you to the Demon, they traded you away, seeking power. You weren't kidnapped, Zack, you were sold to the Demon. By your parents."

She moved to him and hugged him then, whispering that she was sorry the whole time, as if it was somehow her fault.

"Ah, well, I won't work that hard to get them back then. I was told they're still alive and with a new Demon. Goethe, in case that means anything to you?'

She shook her head, not answering and held him for a long time. When his grandfather came back he saw the scene and asked some worried questions, but Mirror Him played it all off. After a fashion.

"No big thing Granddad. Just found out my parents are creeps. Well Zack did.
I
already knew, of course. Thanks for looking out for me, both of you. I know that Zack wants you to know that too."

He did, but Mirror Him didn't let him have control back for a long time, as if he thought Zack was going to do something stupid like run off to save them or something.

That was the farthest thing from his mind.

Screw them, in fact.

No, he was just thinking that he needed to get some flowers for Barb and try to explain why he wasn't sleeping with her. Telling her that he was dating her mom was going to be a bit awkward, wasn't it?

He'd live though and having a girlfriend was better than not having one. He'd fix that and then make certain he lived through that Demon party, somehow. After that...

He didn't know.

Try and make sure he kept his job, most likely. That reminded him of something, which got him to speak to his grandfather.

"Um, hey, is it possible to get my pay for the last bit? I have a date tonight." It was such a normal thing to say that everyone laughed, even though it really wasn't funny.

He didn't know what was going to happen in the next months, but at least he knew a bit more about who he was and had enough to make it, for the time being. It didn't leave him totally comfortable, but he'd heal, given time.

It was the way things worked.

Mirror Him looked out from the top of the counter and shook his head, "you're a moron, you know that? You could have totally banged Barb
and
Lenore. Never has one man ruined so many chances to get laid, in so little time..." His face in the mirror seemed a little disgusted about it, but laughed after a few moments.

After a while he did too. It was just true after all.

Then, he had a chance still, if he could survive what was coming. Zack figured he could manage it though. He smiled as he went to find a phone book.

He needed to find a florist.