Other Places 3: Detours (42 page)

"That's
true." Lenore let Eve's hand go, looking at her very directly. "They
need aid, and we have good relations with them, in this area. It might seem a
small thing, tidying a store, but that might well be enough to make lifelong
friends there, if you make the effort. You should try."

There
was nodding all the way around, and the girl followed him over to the shop
across the way, which was dark, and said it was closed, even though there was a
sign in the front. It wasn't as bad as when he'd first started working there,
but the whole place was dusty and the floor was in dire need of several
sweepings and some mopping. It was, in short, a mess.

The
wind chimes that he'd put up, once upon a time were still there though, and
made a merry sound when he went in. Eve turned and wrinkled her nose up at
them.

"That's
going to get old, I bet. I wonder whose brainstorm that was?"

Zack
grinned and patted her on the back, since he had a right to, being literally
the boss of her.

"
Mine
.
And yes, it could get old. If they ever had enough traffic through here for you
to get annoyed by it. That really isn't a big problem. Bob! Are you back
there?" Zack could feel that he was, but announcing yourself was generally
considered polite, so he did it. This time.

There
was a slight shuffle, the sound of papers being moved around, and probably hidden,
the squeak of an office chair moving back and then a decently youthful head
popped out from around the corner of the office in the back.

"Hello?"
He sounded a bit surprised, as if he'd been so absorbed in his work that he
hadn't heard them come in at all.

"Hey,
Bob!" Zack waved, as if he were a kid, or an old friend, visiting. The man
smiled, but it had a professional air to it, rather than that of old comrades.
Then, really, Zack didn't know him all that well, did he?

He
had saved the man's wife once, or at least helped to do it, which apparently
carried some weight still.

"Zack!
I mean, Line Walker. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

It
wasn't hard to explain at least.

"Weekend
help. She can work evenings, and if she doesn't work hard, Edom from across the
way will beat her." Zack looked over, to see the dark skinned man nodded.
"Literally. You have to pay her, ten dollars an hour, and she isn't up on
guild law, but she can clean and do that sort of thing. She can start
tomorrow?"

Bob
Millhouse looked at her and nodded, clearly willing to take just about anyone
just then.

"We
can use the help, Miss."

"Eve.
Eve Benson. I have transportation here, but I live in Arizona for now, until
this summer. Let me get you my cell number? Just in case you need me at some
other time." She wrote it down, not having cards for that yet.

They
were handy, so Zack decided to get her some. After they were done, she had to
run back to Edom and do the same thing, since he was her new friend. That was
how she put it, which got a smile from the man.

On
the way out, Eve following right behind him, he cleared his throat.

"He
might be your new friend, and it's a good thing to work toward, but he really
will beat you if you don't work hard. Probably rape you too. It's a dominance
thing with Vampires, and not personal, but it can happen. If you do what you're
told all the time, you can avoid that. And should. If you want to have sex with
him, you should just ask. He's your boss and from a different time, so that
kind of thing is just sort of expected." He hadn't thought about it
before, but it was true. As little as fifty years before, even in America, that
had pretty much been the rule, right? He was a
lot
older than that.

"No
worries. It isn't like I haven't done that one before. He's good looking too,
and
a nice dresser. I've been with worse. I've been raped by it too, so...
Yeah."

They
walked, and Zack didn't let himself feel bad about the abuse the girl had lived
through as a child. There had been a lot of it, and while not as intense or
ultimately as major as what he'd gone through, it had done similar things to
both of them. She wasn't sane, that was. Strong, and willing to fight still, so
not broken totally, but she wasn't the sweet and positive girl that she should
have been either. She was good looking, fit and smart, which should have left
her being the queen of her little world, or at least the princess.

Instead
she hung out with Greater Demons and Vampires and was considering becoming one
of the undead, just to gain enough power that
most
people couldn't harm
her.

It
was sad.

Which
was a thing that Zack couldn't afford to feel anymore. Not even for a girl that
deserved better than that. The best he could do for her was get her the
opportunities she needed to become something more than she was. Eve would have
to earn it, since very little of true value was just handed to you. There was
always work to be done.

He
simply lifted her through the rift in the parking lot, which ended with them
being right across the street from his little house. It had been repainted, not
long before, and was white with rust colored trim, but seemed fresh and new,
compared to the yellow one on the right hand side, or the two story white and
gray one on the other side. It occurred to him that he really didn't know his
neighbors at all.

Well,
he could take them some cookies, later.

For
the time being, he needed to get Eve settled and then either go and get her
clothing and toiletries, or buy her some. Probably that second one, since she
was going to be coming and going for a while, before she really moved. Troy was
sleeping still, from the sound of things, and had a guest with him, who was
moving around.

There
was also a person in the living room.

One
that looked like him.

Zack
sighed, but before he could speak, the man on the new sofa jumped up and hugged
the girl next to him.

"Eve!
So wonderful to see you again! I see you're taking up with a better class of
person now? Excellent." There was a grab at her butt, which the girl just
accepted, though when the embrace ended she stood back, and examined the man in
front of her.

"You
look like Zack, but not exactly. A little older, a bit more muscle. So, some
kind of shape changer? We've met before, so, a Greater Demon? I know you aren't
Keeley or Darla, and Fram wouldn't have grabbed me like that...
Barb
?"

The
Demon in front of her leaned in and kissed her cheek.

"Right
in one! Perfect. Or, more to the point, I'm Xenses. Darla and Keeley are my
sisters, and Zack here is my son. Is The Technician coming over in the next few
minutes then? She'll likely die, if that happens, since I have a bargain of
mutual assistance with The Rotted, who's in the other room. Molesting your
boyfriend in his sleep, I think. She made herself look pretty for him, so I
doubt he'll complain."

Zack
rolled his eyes, but didn't correct the man. Troy wasn't his boyfriend, but
that was too fine a point for most of the Greater Demons. Really, since even
the sane ones thought that, it was probably the truth, and he was in denial
about it, but it was a comfortable one for him, so he decided to run with it.
For the moment at least.

Eve
made a face at Xenses and crossed her arms.

"You
killed Keeley's dad! Why did you do that?"

"He
was a jerk and didn't deserve to live. I did her a favor. One that a goody-good
like her couldn't have done for herself. Did she thank me though? Get down on
her knees and give me a hummer of gratitude?
Nooo
... The bitch tried to
make me a slave and
killed
me."

The
girl didn't seem intimidated or impressed, which was sort of interesting, since
Xenses might just try to kill her too. Or he might have, normally, but couldn't
now, without breaking his word to Zack. Eve was his, and that meant off limits.
Really, he needed to try and get Troy too. He was enslaved to Finias, so it
would be tricky and probably require that one of them die. The Greater Demon,
by choice, since the older man would soak that better than the Human.

Still
the girl didn't step back or anything.

"Fine,
I'll give you that she didn't need him around, but tossing her his
head
?
That was cold. Why?"

"Duh,
Eve, so that she'd know he was really gone. It was why you had to kill your
mother yourself. Same thing, really. I was going to do that for you, before I
left, but my bitch of a sister drove me off first. I always liked you best, you
know. Out of the whole gang. So strong and well formed. Not like that Hally
girl. I suppose you took her in too, Zack? It's a trick you know, to protect
them all."

The
Greater Demon that looked like him shook his head and then hugged Eve again.

"Hey,
we should get together and fuck soon. If I can work out the rights for that
with Zack I mean. I wanted to do you before, but, you know, Barb lacked the
right equipment and it would have given everything away if I'd suddenly shown
up as Japanese dick-girl. That could be fun too though."

There
was a moment of stillness, but instead of screaming at the man, Eve brushed at
her black hair and seemed almost pleased.

"Sure.
Just sex. No armed sized super penises or anything. Just regular sized things.
Lube too. No dry anal. I'm probably in for enough of that with the
Vampires."

That
got a laugh, from Xenses.

"Too
true. They
do
love the back hole that way. I suggest you lube it before
going off to work with them each day. An ounce of prevent prevents tearing,
after all. That Mage Ambassador, Bob, you should nail him too. His second as
well, when she gets back in a few months. She's Zack's bitch, but doesn't know
it yet. Likes girls, so you can get some more experience that way. It can't
hurt to have a Mage in your pocket, if you aren't going to be a Greater Demon.
Now, all this sexy talk is making me horny, and I have some things to talk to
my son about. Boring stuff, so, you might want to do something more fun? I
know, why don't you go in and wake Troy up. You and Ann can double team him?
I'd do it, but, you know, busy."

She
snorted a tiny bit, as if the Demon
hadn't
been serious. Still, when
Zack pointed at the correct door, she went, her face bemused. Hopefully The
Rotted wasn't in the shape of an eleven year old girl. Or worse for Troy, boy.
Given the rather manly sounding voice from the room, one that wasn't his
roommates, it wasn't a child at least.

Xenses
sat back down and patted the sofa next to him, as if that was going to happen?
Moving across the room, he settled onto the arm of one of the new comfy chairs,
so that he was nearly standing, and ready to fight.

The
Demon looked at him with almost no expression at all.

"Is
that any way to treat family? I thought we had an agreement in place?"

"Oh,
we do. Notice how we aren't fighting to the death, and how I haven't fled for
my life and remaining sanity? Besides, have you met the rest of our family? I
spent half of the last week at the end of the world, killing Keeley over and
over again. She's practically my favorite Greater Demon, too."

That
got too much insight, too fast for comfort.

"Oh?
You fucked her? Good for you! Was that while she was dead or before? It won't
do her any good if she can't remember it."

Zack
wondered if the being in front of him knew what he was saying at all, and how
it sounded. Was it for affect? Or did he just think that way? It was hard to
tell, and in the end, might not make any difference at all.

"Alive,
and of her own free will, thanks. We had a thing in place, so..." He
didn't describe it, since the whole thing would seem too weak and soft to the
man, no doubt.

Xenses
seemed happy about it however.

"Still,
it's a start. She's so weak, and picky, right now. She won't survive long if
she doesn't toughen up. Not like you. You're nearly as strong as a real adult.
It's why I came, today."

"To
try and rape me? Because that might not go well for you, if you try it. Though
the thing where you look like your old self is a nice touch. I need a new look
soon. I think that I subconsciously mirrored that, without realizing it, as I
grew. Not that it's a horrible look, but I was thinking that I might try out
being, oh, an eight or so, for a while? Just to see what different reactions I
get?"

There
was awkward sounding cough from the other man, and a slow shake of the head.

"No.
The time for that kind of thing is past. I did it right the first time, and in
the end, you fixed the errors that were left in. There is nothing, that anyone
can do to you, ever, that you can't just move past now. That was the real point
you know. Even the fact that you became insane is only a happy side effect.
Possibly what Tarsus had in mind, as a test, but you're the first one of us
that it's worked with, so I doubt it's going to be a major theme going into the
future."