Finally Dead (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 1) (33 page)

Zack
would like it. He ate
all
the time.

Maggie
sounded nearly normal then, like a regular girl would have chatting on the
phone with a slightly overeager and inept pal.

“Mark
has a truck… I know that he isn’t supposed to come, but if you just make him
work, that should be fine. I don’t think he really gets to do much else, during
the week. I feel a bit sad for him, really”

Eve
nodded, wondering if that move actually would be heard for once. Having an ancient
Vampire on the other end it was possible.

Was that
the other woman just being nice, suggesting that the rapist was welcome even if
he messed up, or was it her way of getting her Mage buddy into place for some
reason? Perhaps to attack Eve, or to spy on people? It would be impossible to
tell, really.

Not
until it was too late. So if it were a trick, or trap, then it would be foolish
to walk into it. If it
was
though, then letting the man come along would
set Maggie at ease, most likely.

“I’ll
ask him about it? He isn’t in yet for the day, but it’s only eight-forty, so
that might not be a big deal yet. If he’s
late,
I’m going to have to
kill him, but otherwise it might just work. I could really use the help. I also
need a table. Folding would be good, but at this point I’m not planning on being
picky.”

There
was a pause, and then a rather happy sounding idea.

“What
about putting some plywood on a couple of saw horses? It will fit the theme,
you know with the rest of the things, since we tend to be a bit make-do here,
and Mark can get that from my house when you come by. I’ll take my own car, so
that you can get a ride with me at the end? You might have to sit on someone’s
lap, but I doubt anyone will mind too much.” It sounded polite, but a bit
strange. People took their own cars places, didn’t they? Unless they didn’t
have one.

“I have
to run in. Out too. Everywhere I go. Orders.”

“Oh?
That’s
different. Why, if it’s all right to ask, I mean?” She sounded clueless about
the idea, even if she’d been with Bey for a long time. Then, that was so long
ago that cars probably hadn’t been a thing. Who knew what either Bey, or she,
had been like then as far as habits or even abilities.

“Eh, you
know how it is. Edom got his car trashed, so he’s borrowing
mine
. Just
to make it interesting for me he decided that I should be running everywhere.
For my health, I guess. It’s not mine to question why, only to do… or have my
backside paddled. So, walking it is, until he says otherwise.”

There
was a chuckle. It sounded like chimes. Eve really hoped that the woman wasn’t
the bad guy, even if it seemed like that pretty much had to be the case. She
actually liked her, so it would be disappointing if she had to kill her.

The idea
got her breath to catch. The odds of Eve even surviving a strong talking to
from the woman was so remote that she didn’t want to seriously contemplate the
idea. She might not know
how
the woman would kill her, but that wouldn’t
stop it from happening. Given how charming she was, it would probably have
something to do with a small army of minions.

That
reminded Eve that she needed to see about collecting her own one of those soon,
if she got the chance. They were dead handy things to have around, if a bit of
work, too.

She was
about to speak again, when Maggie did it first.

“Goody
then! I’m not certain I love the idea of a
Greater Demon
coming, but it
might
be interesting. I have heard that he isn’t normally mean or cruel to others.
I’d like to protect my friends as much as possible. I hear that he killed Tim,
from the group, the other day? We might want to keep that information under
wraps for a bit. I don’t know if everyone would understand. Is there anything
we need to set up, to placate him or his partner, the Vampire Barbara?” She
said it with a dead serious tone to her voice.

The part
about Barb was simply funny, but Eve honestly didn’t know, did she?

“Let me
ask him? I need to bring up some other things, too, so I can fit it in there
and not seem like a complete bitch, I think. I’ll check into it, but my guess
is that he’ll be pretty easy about it all. You’ll like him, I bet. Most people
do, if they give him a chance.” As long as he didn’t kill them. The mage boy,
Tim, flashed in front of her eyes again, his head exploding into a fine red
mist, but she set the idea aside. The kid hadn’t really been innocent, had he?
He’d planned to attack a woman walking in public at random and control her
mind, so that she’d do whatever he wanted. Shaking herself, Eve took a big
breath, so that she could say goodbye.

Before
she could, Maggie made a tiny sound.

“Sorry,
it looks like I have a customer coming. Can I call you back?” That the ancient
Vamp worked at a place where there would be customers was interesting. Eve had
kind of figured that she’d just
have
money, somehow. Then, there were
other reasons to work, other than to pay the rent, weren’t there?

“Sure.
Or I can meet you there, about fifteen til seven tonight? I’ll get the rest of
this ready for us. I’ll get in touch if anything comes up though?”

“Sounds
good.”

It
clicked off, leaving her feeling slightly raw for some reason. As if she really
thought that Maggie was going to betray her.

That was
ridiculous though. She didn’t know her well enough for a real betrayal. That
was just crazy talk. What kind of dork would get that into a new friendship,
that fast?

On that
thought, Eve got going with her day. There was a lot to do, and not all that
much time to make sure it all happened.

“Super
speed
rocks
, you know that?” Eve glanced over at one of the only people
to
really
be helpful in her plan to impress everyone with her baking
skills. Bey. Because that simply made sense. Everyone else had heard about her
idea of having a decent spread and taken it in stride, but he took it as a
challenge, and started working with her to make sure it was as well done as
possible.

Because
he was
awesome
. That had always been clear though.

They
were loading Mark’s big black truck, a shining and rich looking thing that
didn’t fit his personality at all. It turned out that he didn’t just own that,
but two cars too, so his line the other day of having to use magic to get one
started had been about as honest as… Eve didn’t know, but it was enough to get
her to feel a bit pissed off, once she’d realized that he’d lied to her. Right
now, she had to hurry.

More to
the point, though it looked to her as if they were walking at a sedate pace,
the blistering white hot pain coursing through her entire being reminded her of
how fast she was really going, and to push harder. Without screaming or gasping
however. That part was thanks to her actually remembering to use some of the
meditation tricks that Keeley had taught her. It didn’t fix anything but did
distract her enough to prevent the worst of the gasping she wanted to do.

Next to
her, holding a large container of sandwiches, new ones that she’d just made,
with a variety of fillings inside, The Bey gave her a dazzling smile, and made
certain he secured the load in the back of the truck well enough, hopping up
the four feet into the back without even trying. It was impressive looking, but
Eve managed to do the same, carrying her own load. They were both moving so
fast that it wasn’t hard to cover some real ground that way.

Bey
nodded to her, a wonderful smile on his face. It was big and very pleased
seeming.

“This is
the truth. I find it hard to understand at times why all of our line do not use
it more often.”

Eve
grinned back, pain or not. If he could do it, so could
she
. Pushing even
harder, she shrugged, and slid the Tupperware container of cupcakes in next to
the sandwiches. Mark had already loaded the wooden saw horses and the large
wooden plywood sheet that was going to be their table top. Doing the work by
himself without even asking if it needed to be done, since he had an idea of
what the situation on the group would really be. It was a sign that he was a
good bit smarter than she’d actually thought he was.

Stacked
this way it almost looked like there wouldn’t be enough food, but that was
mainly because Zack had agreed to come along with them. Mainly to get her back
to his store on time when it was all over, so that they could get the new merchandise
on the shelves.

That
part was cute. Not because he was pretending that nothing was going to happen
at all that night, just because he assumed that they’d win, and that the very
best way to celebrate would be going off to work more. It was a constant problem
with Zack though, wasn’t it?

He
worked
all
the time.

A thing
that she noticed particularly, since she’d been doing the same thing for years
now. The truth was, neither of them was much fun. They could go to parties, and
all that, but they didn’t make a big point of it, did they? No, it was constant
work, effort, and angling to get better, or at least improve some part of their
world. None of that was bad, but it didn’t exactly give a lot of
meaning
to things either, did it? It was a push for survival, above all else. Even if
that part was pretty much assured for both of them. At least enough they could
let their hair down occasionally.

Packing
things in tight, and making sure the brilliant red table cloth was in its bin,
she had to think about that. What did most people fight for each day? What
drove them to do better in their lives? That, she knew, was probably not very
much at all. Not for most people.

It would
come down to them being there for their families, or even friends, and the
rest… Well, that was an array of different things that most wouldn’t even
bother to understand about themselves. A fear of death pushing them to party
all the time, or a desire to be seen as valid causing them to have sex with
anyone that offered.

She
could see both of those, really.

It
wasn’t
her
deal in life, since that was all about making sure no one
could easily harm her. That didn’t mean she couldn’t understand the basic idea.
There was a connection in both of those things that made you feel alive, and
like people loved you, even if it didn’t mean either of those things at all.

Bey
flickered out of existence next to her, after his work was done and stopped on
the ground behind the tailgate. He didn’t say anything, but the move
had
to be incredibly fast, didn’t it? She was using speed that probably made
her
flicker like that to most people already, so to do that with
her
… She
tried it, letting her breath out first, and making the world go to a solid
white as she stumbled out of the back of the vehicle to the ground. She fell
very slowly, it felt like, but that was because she’d hopped into place, rather
than propelling herself downward against the air resistance.

As soon
as she stopped, Bey clapped once, his face suddenly serious.

“That
was very clumsy. Perhaps you would like to try it again?” There was a gesture
to the back of the thing, slightly above them.

Nodding,
since breathing was inviting problems at the moment, she did it, getting
corrections on her form each time.

“It
isn’t enough to move quickly. You must strive to do so with precision each
time. Remove the movements that do not aid you in reaching your current goal.
Use the environment to propel you when possible. Inside a dwelling you can use
walls and door frames to move you along in new directions faster than mere
walking can allow for. In this case you can use the metal beast here to move
toward the ground faster than gravity might allow. Try it again, but grab the
frame and push downward at the same time.” He didn’t sound angry about it, but
rather a bit like he was sharing things he normally didn’t let anyone know
about.

It was a
lot faster, she realized.

Combining
the white hot speed with that kind of clever use of the environment probably
took thirty percent off of the time the move took over all.

Bey gave
her a tiny nod, and put a hand on her back. It was a gentle thing that seemed
almost possessive, but in a
good
way.

“Practice
this. Think of it always as you go about your day. Remember, staying low to the
ground is to the benefit of those who move very fast. Going into the air means
that you cannot propel yourself as quickly. That is a mistake that many make at
first, since it feels nice to fly. We can work on this now. As soon as your man
here, Marcus, leaves this place to go to the location of the meeting, you and I
shall travel there. Unseen, and with greater speed than we have used thus far.
Prepare yourself. We have some moments.”

At first
she tried to meditate, but then realized that she needed to tell Mark to get
going, and close the tailgate for him, after making sure the load was secure.
Then she patted the shiny truck that
should
have been enough to get him
laid by a certain kind of girl, if he’d just bothered to wear some clean clothes
and go meet some of them.

“Hey.
I’ll meet you there. Call it fifteen minutes?” It wasn’t far, but it would take
him longer than normal, since he’d
better
not speed. That would risk
smooshing her cup-cakes, and if he did that, he was going to die.

The
scary part there was that she didn’t really think she was just saying that
either. Hopefully that wasn’t right, because killing over food she couldn’t eat
wasn’t a great plan. Ever. Still, the things looked awesome, and she kind of
wanted people to see it first, before they destroyed it all. Eating what she’d
created. How else was she going to impress them enough to give her all of their
secrets?

Sighing,
she relaxed, then focused as hard as she could, imagining what it would feel
like to face down the pain she was about to encounter. She didn’t let herself
fear it, because she knew it didn’t damage her. It was, in the end, only
discomfort, and without injury, that was an artificial obstacle.

Moving
past what she thought she could do, letting out a little scream while still
standing there, not even having started yet, Bey looked at her. Then he turned
and walked away. Quickly. He made a point to pat, push off of, and pull himself
toward various things as they passed them, which after the fifth time he did it,
she realized
she
needed to be doing too, if she wasn’t going to be left
far behind. It was harder than it seemed, since several of the things could
only be hit so hard, or they’d have broken. It wasn’t about going as powerfully
as she could, but using each part of the world to the full extent it could be
used, but never more than that. She guessed at that at least. Bey didn’t
explain it to her, just moving on to the next set of things.

They
didn’t just move fast into the night, but made sure they weren’t seen the whole
time, too. It took longer that way, since it meant covering a lot more
distance, but it really didn’t take that long to get to the park. It was a very
large space, and they weren’t too far from the row of old timey houses that
were mainly set up as show pieces to the past. Museums, in several cases. They
were all white, and pretty enough. Kept up in a way that showed them as
special, even if not two blocks away from that location there was a virtual
slum.

Eve knew
where they were going, roughly, but hadn’t been there before, so she let Bey
lead. He, wisely enough, had already come and cased the place, several times in
the last days. Catching scent profiles, and making certain that there were good
hiding places for the team that was going to be moving in. Honestly he should
have been in with that group already, rather than showing her how to walk
quickly, but complaining wasn’t going to help anything. Besides, she enjoyed
the attention. Even if it did hurt at the moment.

It
probably meant she was mentally warped, but she already knew the answer to that
one, didn’t she? She’d been broken for so long that the idea that she wasn’t
right in the head was just another thing to her. Not even one to bother trying
to deny.

Finally,
after making several circuits of the green space, and checking the restrooms
that were there, and unlocked for some reason, even though the sign claimed
they were closed for the season, Bey held up his right hand, urging her to
stop. They were hidden from view, using a combination of bushes, or what
remained of them at this time of year, and the brick building that housed the
facilities. There was night all around them, so it would be hard for anyone to
easily make out that they were there.

“I shall
move to the others now, who wait not too far off. We shall stay ready. If
trouble comes, we will be here. Your part in this is…” He stopped and then
looked at her closely, waiting.

She
blinked, realizing that he was doing what Lenore had earlier.
Deferring
to her. In this one project at any rate.

“I’ll
wait by the parking area for Mark, then we’ll set the food up. Other than that,
I’m pretty much just here to mingle and make contacts, see if I recognize
anyone. That kind of thing. Chat with Zack and Barb, when they get here?” If
she were supposed to have some kind of complex battle plan ready, she just
didn’t. Still, she wasn’t a complete moron, was she?

“If
anything starts to happen, I’ll run back the way I came, since I know the
route. I’ll stop by the library back there. If anyone is chasing me, and is
willing to go that far, then I’ll keep going. If not, then I’ll craftily hide
and sneak back toward things? Obviously if
you
guys can’t handle it, I
can’t.”

Bey…
Bowed to her, his face beaming as if she’d just cured cancer.

“Which
is why you are in command of your part in this, much as an adult would be, and
not given direct instruction as an emotional child might. Your master, Edom,
suggested we do thus. I have to agree. I shall go, and wait now. Hopefully
nothing will get out of hand here. If you say the word ‘
wait
’ we will
hold our hands in any attack, no matter what is going on. Try not to call that
out if you do not mean it?”

She
nodded. If Eve were in charge she would have picked a more obscure word, but
for a last minute thing they could do worse. If something went down, that would
be about what
would
come out of her mouth. That, or a long and drawn out
nooooo
.

She was
there by herself for a time, and was a bit surprised when a small car, one that
looked to have been in more than one accident at some point, pulled into the
little parking lot. There was a border to the space, that was made of heavy
iron chain, with wooden posts to hold it up off the ground. It wasn’t very
tall, serving a decorative purpose. It did lend a kind of rustic charm to a
place that somehow wasn’t very country at all. The area she was in was all
poured concrete, and beyond that the grass and trees were very well cared for.
Manicured, even this late in the year. Back home in Arizona that wouldn’t have
happened, but if Vancouver had anything, it was mild winters, and lots of
water.