Other Places 3: Detours (15 page)

His
Aunt made a face and then sighed.

"So,
you
aren't
going to just forgive me?" She tried to make it sound
cute.

Zack
shook his head.

"No.
As it stands, I'm working very hard right now not to kill you, Keeley. If you
ever try anything like that again with me, ever, I'll have to destroy you, if I
can. I actually like you, so you get a second chance. There won't be a
third."

He
waited, since the words could start a fight to the death, right there. Instead
she nodded.

"I
see." Then she turned to Troy. "What would you like done with this
situation then?"

It
changed the topic at least, even if that didn't fix what was wrong with him.

It
was tempting to try and micro-manage things with Keeley, but that would be a
waste of time and effort, Zack realized. She wasn't going to just kill the
crazy girl, and that was probably all he needed to know about it. As long as
the whole thing didn't come back to bother him later, it was no longer his
concern. So, after he cleaned up, he left Troy and the girl to chat about
things, which was mainly about the man feeling that something was really going
to happen.

If
it wasn't finished by noon, he'd be surprised.

Zack
went into the mall the slow way, which meant walking across the street, when
there was a lull in traffic. It was only eight when he left, so, on a Saturday,
that meant he didn't have to wait too long for a window to open up. He used the
rift that was right next to his neighbor's slippery elm, the broken and
slightly raised sidewalk showing where the gap was nicely. It took no time at
all for him to twist a bit and slip through. Anyone could do it, if they hit
the direction right. He'd seen it happen, a few times.

Westfield
mall was a mess, of course, from his rather unique perspective. From the
outside it was a little out of place, but anyone that could sense what was
going on could make out all the problems instantly. It had nine nodes in it,
but some of them were on the second level, and one could only be reached underground.
There was no room there either, since he was pretty certain that no one else
had ever done anything with it. The place had a basement, of sorts, but not in
that area.

The
structure itself warped a bit in places too. It wasn't old, but it also
wouldn't last long, not without constant attention from the building management.
It wasn't his problem, as long as things were seen to. They also had a bit of a
police problem it seemed, since there was a bald and rather surly looking
Detective sitting in an old American model car, glaring at the back door of
Candles and More. McKenzie. The man used to come in and try to get Zack to sell
him drugs, but now he seemed to have shifted to Lisa as his target. That, or he
just really had a hard on for candles this morning. Or seedy looking lesbians?

Zack
didn't let the man notice him, just walking to the side door and going directly
into the mall, using the building as cover. The place was dead inside, like it
should be at this time of day, and no one stopped him as he headed to the book
store. The problem, he noticed, when he got in, was that the back room had two
young Vampires in it. Roland and Rowan. This was the book store back room too,
which meant they were in the way of the other employees. Not that anyone was
there yet. Well, Palma, but she was doing prep for her section, not watching
things up front.

Rolling
his eyes, Zack picked the Vampires up and used the node to open directly into
his bedroom. They had to share his bed, but they'd live, he decided. It was
better than the floor, at any rate.

Then
he grabbed a snack from his Hsreth employee, who was pleased that he'd enjoyed
the food she'd left him, not put out at all, apparently
liking
the fact
that her work was being appreciated and needed. After he finished, Zack went to
straighten the store. Clearly, either he needed to stay there more himself, or
they were going to have to fix the schedule a bit. It had to be poor form to
leave it unattended, but open, like that.

The
place was big, and even though it had only been a single day, needed to be
tidied. The crew hadn't done a great job, the day before, as far as that went.
He grabbed a dust mop from the supply closet and did the entire floor, then
started arranging the book shelves. He was only about halfway through when the
first of the customers started in. It was a man, who looked to be in his
thirties and from the round glasses and slightly pockmarked face, was either
really there for books, or had heard that the women there were so easy that
even someone like him should give it a shot.

Of
course it was only Zack there at the moment, and
he
wasn't going to do
the guy.

Especially
since, he realized, the man was a Greater Demon, not a Human at all. He looked
at books, but the distortion he left in space was telling. He had hundreds of
tiny bubbles that boiled and distorted things around him constantly.

Zack
waved, when he looked up.

"Mind
Taker. To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit?" Finias waved back,
picking up a book, as if he were really there shopping. He walked over almost
instantly, his face smiling.

"Line
Walker! I heard that you had a new concern and decided to look in. How are
things going?" There was no weight to the words, but given that the man
was probably the best Telepath on the planet, or at least close, Zack had no
illusion that he didn't know all about the events of the prior day.

"Well,
Keeley still lives, but I'm not happy with her. I'm burning magic to hold
things together right now, hence the flat affect. Business is decent, for the
first days.
I know
, I need to charge more." He faked a smile and
let his mind go blank. Little hints of what he was thinking would get out
anyway, but he hadn't learned to shield his mind yet.

He
could. Most Greater Demons did, according to the memories. It was one of the
things they used as a sign that someone was growing up.

Finias
nodded, not even bothering to pretend he wasn't up on things.

"I
understand. Well, I'm glad that you're trying to be understanding. Keeley is
very young still. Younger than you are, which is a thing to remember, even if
she has passed the First Crucible already. She erred, and that's created a
problem between the two of you. She... You know that Xenses killed her human
father, don't you?"

He
did now. No one had mentioned that however, before.

Zack
shook his head, slowly.

"I
don't want to be mean, but that isn't my problem. I like Keeley, but it's
pretty clear right now that my best option is to not go around starting fights
with anyone, especially when I can just stand back and let others work it out.
That's selfish of me, but everyone expects me to simply die soon. I'm not
planning to do that. It's why I didn't try to kill Keeley last night, when she
set off the reaction in me. But..." He looked at the man, who'd made
himself entirely plain, for the moment, and not like a male model at all.
"This might be crazy, but I think if I did it right, I might be able to do
it. Probably not, but one time in ten? Maybe as much as half the time?" He
meant kill his Aunt, naturally.

The
other Demon cleared his throat, but then nodded.

"Or
leave her someplace so far away that she might have trouble navigating back?
You're a lot stronger than she is, Zachary. Physically. Magically speaking it
goes the other way around. It's a bit of a shame that we're all pains in the
ass, our kind. If you two could work together, you'd probably end up being
unbeatable, if you live long enough. Well, that isn't off the table yet. I
agree however, you should hold to your deal with Xenses. It has the highest
chance of you living, and will let you deal with both sides of our
conflict."

It
was what he'd been thinking. Of course, as MH had often said, he'd be best off
running so far and fast that no one could catch him. That meant not really
having a life, so he let the idea go. There was a cost for everything and no
matter who you were, in the end, the cost of living was death.

The
man in front of him actually bought the book in his hands, which had to do with
quantum reality, of all things, and turned to leave, stopping short, and then
walking back.

"I
nearly forgot. Gregor, The Cleric, is having a small get together next week and
asked if I'd pass along an invitation? It's in Rome, naturally. The Vatican.
The girls aren't going to be there, but Xenses might. It would be a chance for
you to show that you're a bit more open minded than your Aunts? If you want to,
I mean." There was an amused expression to go with the words.

"Sure.
What time and day?"

"Friday,
at seven, Vatican time. In the evening, of course. Fancy dress, but these
things normally have eclectic styles. You should get with Bente and see if
she'll make something for you? Impeccable taste, that Demon."

He
nodded. It made sense, all the way around.

Or
nearly did. Finias had always seemed a bit more supportive of his daughters
than his son, as far as Zack knew. Then, he'd gotten that mainly from what
those two had said, didn't he? After the other Greater Demon left, going into
the lines outside of the store, Zack got back to work, trying to hold things in
and keep his mind still.

Not
to stop anyone from knowing anything about him, it wasn't that. No, he just
didn't want to think for a while. It was... relaxing.

That
lasted until about nine-thirty, when Hiram powered into the store, looking a
bit wide eyed. Looking around he managed to calm down a bit and then moved over
to Zack.

"I
overslept. Out celebrating. Did I beat Kait in?"

He
had
, but it wasn't much of an accomplishment, since she was both an
Alede, who were known to work pretty much when they chose,
if
they felt
like it,
and
right behind him. At least she got in no more than a minute
later. Along with four large boxes of donuts.

Hiram
shook his head, but managed to grin.

"Damn,
you win. I should have thought of that one. Kiss up."

The
succubus shrugged, right after putting the pastel pink boxes down on the
counter.

"Hey,
it would be easier if he'd sleep with me, but since he won't I have to do it
the hard way. Quiet night?"

He
didn't go into it all, but mentioned the time gap, since the young Vampires
were always going to fall asleep when light came. Maybe a bit earlier than
that, depending on how they measured when dawn was. That meant getting someone
in each day at about five or six. Earlier in the summer.

Kaitlyn
nodded.

"You'll
have Eve in for that though, right? She can take the early shift. I mean, I
will too, as long as I can still..." She glanced at the back room and
then, oddly, Hiram.

Zack
nearly said no, but then just didn't. He needed floor coverage and if that
meant selling poor Hiram to the sex fiends, he would. It was hard to remember
at times, but he was a Greater Demon.

The
thought made him feel like he should growl or something. Possibly roar. Mighty
him
,
and all that.

"Good,
you two work that out, while I finish straightening the place up. Try to keep
that done, at all times. Otherwise I'll whine and complain at you."

They
both nodded, as if he were actually serious about that, but, he realized, as
far as they knew, he was. Zack always told the truth, after all, as far as they
knew. He could have made some jokes, using that, at their expense, but being
known as honest wasn't that bad of a thing, really, so he decided to try and
run with it for a while. Lying was useful, but as long as he didn't have to
shout out everything he knew now, he could manage, he thought. It left him
feeling more comfortable anyway.

With
those two on the job, and more to the point, no one calling or coming in for
hours, he managed to get the place pretty clean and tidy again. Then he had a
quick meal, which was mainly breakfast again, and was even washed up when the
morning rush started. Most of their customers were men, and to start with kept
trying to vie for Kaitlyn's attention, naturally. Hiram worked the front desk,
and was at least as good about suggesting to people that purchasing things was
a good idea, on the way out, as Zack was. In fact, better. The man didn't care
if what he was doing was a little too close to demanding payment, after all. He
had a sales contest to win.

At
eleven they had four Alede, all looking like women, coming over to take a turn,
since men really were coming just to see them, even after only one day of being
open. Even Valerie took a few turns, since she was in charge of the women's
clothing store across the way. Pretty Plus: Passions. The sign almost screamed
that the place was run by her kind, now that he knew what to look for.

She
stopped by him on the way out, a young man that looked a bit too young to be
getting lucky trailing after her. She wasn't human, but that would have to be
watched. Zack didn't want the police to raid the place or anything.

"Zack,
thank you so much for letting us all come and play. May I call again?"

"Sure.
I may even have some friends for you, later in the day? Not that I have any
plans, but if people are going to be coming for that kind of thing..."

She
laughed, and then kissed his cheek.

"Oh,
if it isn't a bother, my mother was thinking about coming in and seeing what
damage that Demon did to her reputation? Is that acceptable?" The contact
was enough for him to understand what she meant, which was her asking if he'd
kill the woman or not for showing up, blaming her somehow for what Xenses had
done.