Keeley Thomson (Book 4): Demon Trap (11 page)

Finally the Greater Demon got to the counter and started chatting. That part was strange, since it wasn't about anything important at all, he really seemed to just be making conversation.

"I was wondering if you have plans for Christmas? I was thinking we could get together, perhaps for dinner?" The words had too much charm to them and made Keeley role her eyes. She couldn't tell what her father wanted with Zack, not directly, since his mind was closed right now, just like hers was, but unless the goal was to pick him up, he was coming on too strong.

Zack answered, sounding a bit hesitant.

"Um, well, I don't really know. My grandparents are in town, so I'll be with them part of the day, then, you know, my girlfriend and I should be doing something." It was horribly polite of him to phrase it that way, really. Finias practically ignored it all.

"Wonderful! We can all get together. Say six in the evening? I'll see you then." He smiled happily and walked out, stopping when he noticed Hally, which was followed by a solid connect that tried to read Keeley, but failed. The Greater Demon could probably force his way in, no matter what she did, but he didn't, just walking over instead.

"Keeley! How wonderful to see you. You too, miss. Hally York, isn't it?" He shook hands with her, but they'd met before, so even though she was a bit wide eyed the girl nodded.

"Hello!" There was a chipper tone to the words and a smile that seemed totally real and was. Dan Carmichael was kind of hot, after all. What wasn't to like?

She gestured for him to sit, but didn't buy him a treat. Instead she ate her own for a moment before speaking.

"This is Hally. She's mine. For that matter, I'm fairly certain that Zack is as well, unless you wish to explain your prior claim on him? I noticed you seemed to be trying to get his attention pretty hard in there. Since he isn't into men, I think you might want to dial that back a notch." She grinned and then winked at her biological father. After all, it wasn't like he didn't know what he was doing. Even if it didn't make sense to her based on the information she had at the moment.

"Yes, well... He's
not
yours. I've been watching him since he was a child. Technically he'd be your brother's, but that shouldn't be paid too much heed. Isn't that why you're attempting to lay claim to him now? To draw Xenses to you?"

That just got a nod.

"That's true. So, we should talk about that, don't you think? Maybe not here. I don't know, perhaps if you're not busy seeming like you want to pick up store clerks, you could stop by my house later? Say six or so? The main one, since I know that Sherry would love to see you too." She also wouldn't care if Zack was a Greater Demon, or not.

It wasn't that subtle, but no one else got it and Dan snorted at her, a bit derisively.

"You can cut the old and wise act, you know. Everyone knows your secret now. A bit of a shame, but I haven't heard of anyone planning against you yet. Which means it will only be others of our own kind doing so then, most likely."

"Good to hear. What makes you think that this is an act though? Can't it just be my naturally clever personality coming through?" She giggled a little, which was on purpose, making herself seem young, but not going over the top with it. "I suppose I could try a bit harder to blend in. Be a real girl for a while. Go get drunk and lose my virginity in the back seat of a compact car or something."

That or joint the cheerleaders squad. She'd avoided that so far though, but she had been in the school play in November, not the female lead, just as an extra, since it wouldn't do to suddenly take the first spot in anything really. She had the looks for it, but didn't need the attention yet. She'd accidently garnered too much of that already.

It was a hazard of the job, she knew.

Waving to Lenore during a lull got the woman to walk over to them, her face smiling, but the movement, while very good, didn't seem quite real.

"This is Lenore Hawthorn. She's the Ambassador here, and Zack's girlfriend. Classic Vampire, as you can see. Also a friend of
mine
, and under my protection. I know that isn't needed with you, Finias, but in case it comes up with others, please remind them of that.

"Lenore, this is my father, known by many titles, The Mind Bender among them. He's not a bad being, for one of us, so you two should be friends." It was so far above high handed, claiming the woman without asking her first, but she didn't seem to be frightened at least, just giving a head nod that would pass for a polite gesture in public in the modern world.

"Mind Bender. I enjoyed your party last night."

"Oh? Excellent. Very good in fact. I invited myself to visit with Zack on Christmas. You'll be there, of course? We should plan something official."

Keeley winked at Hally then.

"We should be going. I have some things to see to and presents to wrap. Oh, Lenore? Could you drop by the gift basket place later, and suggest that they need to come to some kind of arrangement with Zack as to how they plan to pay for his services? I know that he'd volunteered to help, but I don't think we should let him be simply used that way. Bad enough that my mother had him deliver candles to her this morning. Of course that benefits me, so I can look the other way, but you know, we must keep up the double standards, and all that." She sounded playful, but the Vampire actually looked slightly relieved.

"I've been looking for a reason to do that. Zack is... Very kind. People will take advantage of him if something isn't done. The problem there is that the new business can't really afford to pay him even a fraction of what it would cost. I'd suggest they trade favors, but he doesn't
need
anything. Not from those particular people."

It was surprisingly, Hally that spoke, her words measured, as she watched the young man working in the candle shop.

"Well, what about his friends? They probably need something done, right? Help with school work, or moving, that kind of thing?" Those were a little pedestrian, but the idea was sound enough, and after a moment Lenore nodded.

"His boss, Lisa, could use some babysitting. For her, not a child. She's had some issues lately and could use a watcher or two. Perhaps that would suffice?"

That seemed like a start if nothing else, so Keeley stood and held out her right hand, which got a firm handshake in return as Hally got Finias to move with a gentle pat to the shoulder, not really understanding that Greater Demons were anything except her friends and playmates. It was both cute and a potential problem, if not dealt with soon.

"That's a plan then. I don't really care what the payment is, as long as it's close to equitable. Also, we should get together soon. I want you to meet with Richard Swerlin and some others, my Rebekah for instance. You should have ties there too. All of you should." She didn't give Lenore a choice in the matter, which sent a thrill of fear through the undead form. Nothing showed on the outside, but she was afraid that Keeley was going to entrap her and take her as a slave.

Which was silly.

The woman had to know that if she wanted that, which she didn't overly, it would already be done.

They left Finias chatting with the Vampire and headed out, using one of the pillars in the front as cover for their escape back to the front door of her second place in Arizona. It was about five in the afternoon already. Everyone was inside still, all of them working on something or another. The television played in the background, but no one was watching it overly.

"We're back." Hally announced it cheerily, as if anyone would miss it. Balthias came to greet them though, his giant brown and slightly red body smelling like pine now, instead of cedar and sulfur. It was an improvement. His horns were whiter too.

"Mistress, Lady Hally." No more was added, since, clearly, nothing much had happened at all. That reminded her to get with Eve later though, or, if possible, right then. The party wouldn't be over, but the set up might be.

That meant checking in at home, since Eve would try to stay there as much as possible. Who could blame her? She hated living with her mother in that run down trailer. So much so that she kept hinting to Rebekah that she'd be interested in becoming a Vampire like her. That didn't go over all that well though, since the woman wasn't that thrilled with being a Manthori. Keeley had to agree. They looked too different for the world they lived in and it would be a lot easier for Eve if she decided to go with one of the more normal looking types, like Lenore.

She was a bit high strung, but the woman would be a better choice that way, to be honest. The best option would be Bey though, if she really wanted to make that leap. It wasn't up to Keeley to set up however. Darla might have very different plans for her after all.

It took a bit to drive back, and Hally got dropped off on the way, so that she could get to wrapping things. It was the best way to hide the gifts after all, and they were a bit too expensive for the Yorks to not notice.

"How should I explain that to them? My mom and dad. They'll think I'm selling drugs or something." She was actually worried about that, as if Keeley couldn't just mention that it was alright and it would be.

Still, they had a real relationship too and Hally needed to honor that.

"Explain that you're performing a bit of arson for the cash. They were
conmen
for decades you know. I doubt that either of them will really judge you. Just make certain you explain that you won't be caught as well. Don't tell Steve. I don't want him thinking that crime is a good plan. After all, he has his music career to think of." That was her plan for him, but as her slave, it was what he'd be doing. He was getting pretty good already, not able to help it, since her minor suggestions caused him to practice all the time, and be very aware of what needed improvement. His grades had improved a lot as well, for the same reason.

The other girl made a face and shook her head no.

"I can't just tell them that. They'd blow up at me. I know they would."

"Try it. If they say you can't do it, then we can find something else for you to do to repay the debt. I'm guessing that it won't be half the issue you think it is. Now if you tell them that you want to go to an orgy, they'd flip out on you. But larceny or a few felonies? Not so much."

The girl didn't seem convinced at all, but telling them or not was up to her. Keeley managed to be gone from their driveway before they came out however, and back home inside ten minutes. It would have been faster, but there was a minor accident on the way, and she had to take a detour. It seemed real, but she watched closely, since it could be a trap. It wasn't though, so she managed to work her little ugly car in next to Bertha the rather pretty blue work van.

The others were actually in the kitchen, along with Clara the Hsreth, who was moving with a good bit more speed than she normally let anyone see. It was all oriented toward baking, and cooking at the moment, her arms and fingers actually blurring as she moved.

Eve explained, gesturing at the scene widely.

"Minor accident at Clara's shop, so she's borrowing the kitchen. The party is in three hours. The sprinkler system sprung a leak and sprayed all the food that she and her son had made. He's at their house doing the same thing, trying to make up for all of that." The catering company had actual employees too, but they weren't Hsreth and that meant, if anything were going to be done in time, they had to step up personally.

"Ah, alright. Need any help Clara?" She said the words gently, knowing that the woman would say no, even if it meant losing business due to the lack, but there was no concern coming from her at the moment.

"No, Mistress. This is coming along just fine. A minor setback. If I could borrow your van however to transfer it all? I can call for one, but..." She felt awkward asking for the loan. Sherry just waved at her.

"Of course you can. I'll drive you in fact. After all you and Glen have done for us, it's the least I can do." There was a real point there. Slaves or not, Clara and Glen Taggard had pretty much been putting Sherry's Floral design business on the map. Keeley had never asked them to at all. Part of that was simply that Sherry was actually
good
, and got the job done, even if time schedules were tight. Sure, she was also Keeley's mother, but that was only part of the whole thing.

It meant that they were fine though and didn't need her getting in the way, which would actually be what she was doing. She'd been learning to cook, but wasn't at Clara's level yet at all. Just standing in the room was a bit of a problem for the Hsreth, who kept looking at her, ready to stop what she was doing, and make food for her master, or anything else that was required. She didn't get a choice in the matter after all.

"Eve, let's go sit in the living room. I have some stuff to talk about anyway." She phrased it carefully, making it seem like it wasn't a big deal at all.

"Cool." The black haired girl was in jeans and a T-shirt that hugged her chest a bit too much. It was just old though, not an attempt on her part to look like she was advertising. She always
was
, true enough, but that wasn't the reason there. She didn't get a lot of new clothing, and what she had was basically what Darla had given her. Carefully, over the course of months, so as to not make the girl feel bad, or like she owed her anything. Not consciously at least. It was a trick of course, but a good one.

When they got into the other room, Keeley sat on the sofa, only to have the girl slide in next to her, grinning.

"So, is the news that you and a certain redheaded friend of ours are going to hook up? Or
have
you? I'm not into girls myself, but I have to say, you're both making me feel a little jealous." There was teasing to the words, but she went wide eyed went Keels shrugged.

"Nothing yet, but we probably will. She likes me well enough at least. This isn't about that though. I have a replacement for Barb. A greater Demon that I turned into one of my slaves. Fram. So don't be shocked if you see her running around. Well,
him
, but when I said 'replacement for Barb' I really meant it. He should be able to pass." She paused and touched her friend on the back of the hand, ready for the uncomfortable shock of the contact, but noting it wasn't that bad today. She'd mainly been working and avoiding her mother for a long while and it helped to make her life a lot better.