Other Places 1: Shortcuts (26 page)

If nothing else it would be good practice for his work with Wu-Li, he didn't have time to heal first, so he needed to work out exactly what he was going to do.

It hurt, but Zack moved to the back room, slowly, and then off to find the no doubt scary Vampires. Hopefully they'd at least hold themselves to no more than harsh words with him.

He didn't count on that.

The reactions of the ruling council, of which he was supposed to take three to South Africa, was a mixed bag, but all of it a lot more gentle than he'd feared. The first one he met was a woman who looked about Lenore's age, so about nineteen or so, if not as pretty, who was wearing a simple dress that was made of heavy fabric and some dark and uncomfortable looking boots. Her hair was short however and when she spoke he got why. It was a good act, but she was definitely a man.

"My goodness! We'd heard that you were injured, but this is... No, it simply won't do. We must postpone and see you to bed for a long rest. The situation can wait, or we could perhaps simply travel by other means." There was a real tone of sympathy in the voice too, one that didn't seem to be practiced or forced at all.

That was nice, but before Zack could try to explain the whole thing one of the others, a young boy with very straight dark hair, who looked about ten, just shrugged.

"Don't be so fast to think him crippled, Marissa. The man came when asked, even though injured. It might insult his honor to do as you said. Besides, if I can avoid a three week trip on a tramp freighter I will. I hate those things." He didn't offer his hand, holding his up instead, in a rather formal looking wave.

"I'm Gene. This lady is Marissa, and this other gentleman is Harland. We thank you for coming. I mean no insult to you or your person, but are you well enough to do this? We can, if it's needed, wait a few days. I'd rather not, to tell the truth, but reality has a way of forcing even those such as we to bend to its will."

The last Vampire was very tall, at least six-six and was both pale and slightly distorted looking. He had blood red eyes and a mouth full of very sharp looking teeth, like fangs, if someone had tried to cram several rows of them into one mouth. He also wore a very nice, obviously tailored, black suit.

"I agree. We do not wish to stress you in this." There was a slight undertone of annoyance when he spoke, but the man didn't snap at him, or the others for suggesting they postpone.

Looking around he saw that they each had luggage with them, but a single piece of it each, except Marissa who had two bags with her, and a large purse. He considered it for a few seconds and then described what they'd need to do, which got pleased looks from Harland at least.

"May I attempt it first? It's most interesting to me." The smile he gave then was freaky, but he managed to coordinate his little hop perfectly the first time, letting Zack drag him through the air, holding on to the Vampire's arm with his left hand.

It was agony, since he could hardly breathe, and he had to fight to control the panting that the pain caused. Gene went next, also managing to time it all perfectly. Marissa took three tries to get it down, since her dress and bags got in the way to begin with. Zack didn't try to push through, fearing what might happen to her if she was on the ground when he left, if he had contact with her. If he focused enough, it might have worked, but there was something off about it. Dangerous seeming.

When they got to the correct node the room was empty at first, but filled with Vampires after just a few moments. They looked impressed, rather than scared, by the people in front of them.

 Marissa stopped him and looked as if she were the one physically pained. A soft hand came out as if to touch him, but paused in the air, so as to not cause him any further discomfort.

"You are too injured for this. We've stressed you too much..." She clapped, the sound a lot louder than it seemed like it should be, powered by a being that was far stronger than she looked. "We need to take this man to a hospital and enforce rest. Give him the best of care and drugs."

Zack had to shake his head, but managed to force a smile.

"If only I could. I have to get back though. Things to do, embassies to watch, and candles to sell. Just call Lenore, or Bey, when you need to go back and I'll come get you. It might be a few days, since I have a project to work on, but after that, just make sure they know what's happening."

Then he left quickly, before they could grab him and try to make him rest anyway. He hated hospitals. Nothing good ever happened in those places. Not for someone like him. Plus they smelled. He hated that scent, disinfectant and cleaning products, with just the slightest hint of death and despair in the background.

Getting back to work was actually decently easy for him then, since Hiram made sure that he didn't have to do anything at all. There were a few people that came in and glared at the Mage, but most were actually willing to deal with him getting the forms they needed or trying to contact other Mages for them. That was part of the guild situation. They had a database of who specialized in what kinds of magic, and when asked, would put in a request for services. Not everyone using that service was a Mage either. In fact only about half of them were. The rest varied, from a strange looking figure that seemed to be made of shadow, who wanted a love charm done that would actually work, to a regular human woman in her fifties that was having problems with a local Magician she used to date that kept cursing her.

Zack actually handled that one himself, dialing the phone slowly and waiting a long time for the other end to pick up.

"Hello?" There was no name given, so Zack had to read it off of the complaint form.

"William Struthers?"

"Yes. May I help you?" The voice sounded like that of a normal person, maybe a little older than the average Mage, but not creaking or ancient.

"I think you can. You seem to keep cursing a woman, last name Cuthbert? Some kind of break up thing?"

There was silence for a long time, but then a sigh came.

"Yes.
And
? I don't think that's your business, is it? It's between her and I."

"You'd think that, but no, it's a guild matter now. I just wanted to let you know that you have twelve hours to remove everything you've done to her, and if we find out that you're continuing on in your vendetta, well, let's just say that the rules allow for us to send that back at you three fold. I don't want to start with threats, but I know how much break-ups can hurt. Still, please do this for us. It's time to let go of it."

There was another pause and then finally an angry grunt.

"How about I curse you instead you little prick? Who do you think you are, telling me who I can and can't do magic on?"

Zack grinned, which probably wasn't a friendly thing, since the woman across the counter took a step back.

"Who am I? No one really, just a humble guild representative. You pay dues to us, so that in part I can call you up and warn you that someone is about to start something with you that you can't handle. I'm
also
here to make sure you have someone to call you on your shit when you start to go overboard. That would be this right now, by the way. Do you really want to curse the guy that's trying to save your life? Because that's what we're looking at here. You either get with the program, today, or get ready for hell to rain down on you. Who am I? I'm the one that has to push the button if you don't do it,
that's
who I am."

The language was a little hard, but he didn't feel well enough to actually argue with the man, who promptly cursed him. Not really though. He just said the words. He'd have to know who Zack was to make it stick. Even then it would be hard, since the shielding Hiram put up would stop it, unless he kept after the project for a while and waited for Zack to leave the protections.

Laughing he growled into the phone, which had to sound deranged.

"Alright moron. You have eleven hours and fifty-eight minutes left. If you want to file a complaint about me, feel free to write one up and bring it in. You have thirty days to do that before the statute of limitations is past for that. Either way I suggest you get to work on this first, since we won't be cutting you any slack if you don't." Then, gently, so as to not make things hurt, he hung up and looked at the brown and silver haired woman in front of him.

Smiling.

"There we go. That will probably fix it. We'll be in touch with you about the whole thing, or really, if you could come in tomorrow so I can check, to make certain the work got done. One way or the other we'll break that for you and he won't bother you again." He'd get Barb to go and punch the man a few dozen times if nothing else worked. Death didn't always undo
major
curses, but little ones like this... That would wipe the slate clean for those.

Of course it was pretty clear that the man was only trying to harass the woman a little, causing her bad luck, instead of attacking her health or anything more damaging. He was just such a pain to deal with that Zack felt a bit mean about it all.

For some reason the woman didn't seem very pleased about it all, but she also didn't complain, just nodding grimly. After she left Hiram came over, shaking his head.

"You want me to get a gang together and go see about straightening this guy out? Threatening to curse a Guild rep is bad news. We can't let that go." There was a seriousness to his words that was a little surprising. Like he intended to actually go do it. Gangland style.

"Nope. He was just letting off some steam. If he actually tries anything, we'll handle it, but otherwise let's wait and see if he doesn't get a hold of himself. We can't let every little thing be a big deal, or we'll never get anything done." He looked at the clock and nodded once. "Anyway, you should get some lunch and take a break. Is Jenifer coming in today?"

"About three-thirty, since she has school. I... we should make sure she has time for homework too." He looked down at the floor, as if that was some kind of big favor to ask of him or something.

Zack nodded, thinking about it for a minute.

"Yeah, she can do that here and still draw some pay. It isn't much, but I did arrange for you two to get something for all your work." How much he didn't know yet, so he kept his mouth shut on the idea. It was something, and that would have to do for now.

"Really? So, this is like a real job and everything? What, do you really expect me to go legit?" There was a funny look then, which got stronger when Zack nodded.

"Yeah. I kind of told Maddy Morse that. So, you know, if you don't then I'll look really bad. Besides, you need to be there for Jenifer and make sure she has a good role model. She... has parents, doesn't she?" It was the kind of thing he didn't like to ask, since his own had just taken off one day and never come back. After he'd been kidnapped and returned too. So it was kind of telling. They really just hadn't loved him very much.

"Oh, sure. Good folks too. My sister and her husband Michael. Not... wealthy people, but hard working. Neither of them has much talent. Enough to do some basic spell work, but not enough to really live off of. She works as a lunch lady at a school and Mike does construction. I've tried to funnel them some money over the years, for Jelly, but they won't take it. Those kind of people. Proud, and honest."

"Good. Now, try to say that last part again, only make it sound like something that doesn't leave a bitter taste in your mouth."

The man didn't, but Zack hadn't expected him too. Just as he was leaving to get something to eat, Lisa and Wu-Li came through the door. She was wearing a loose version of what the man with her wore, except in a light blue color, being helped in, held by the arm as she shuffled like a very old woman. Her hair was matted and a bit stringy, but that was due to it being damp, not greasy. She didn't have any make-up on either and looked pale. There was a smile on her face, which was about the only good thing about the situation as far as Zack could tell.

Without saying anything he went around the counter, grunting a bit as he did and slowly approached his boss, then awkwardly tried to give her a one armed hug.

"You lived! How awesome is that? Here, let's get you a chair. Hiram, could you get the nice one from her office?"

The man didn't wait, jogging toward the back before the words were all the way out. Lisa stopped in her tracks, staring first at Stone, then Zack. That part got her to grimace.

"What the heck happened to you?"

"Um, little disagreement with a Vampire. On the good side, I managed to hire an assistant
and
an intern. I know that you and Hiram haven't always gotten along, but if you'd make an effort? He's been working really hard the last few days. You'll love Jenifer, the new girl. His niece... Though she has his last name, even though she has a mother and a father. Her mom is Hiram's sister."

Zack didn't get it, but Lisa didn't seem bothered by the idea at all.

"Some Mage's follow matrilineal heritage rules. It's probably just that. Or it could be any of a thousand other things. I find it best not to ask, myself. Someone says their name is 'Zoltar the Unlimited' and I just write it down and try not to laugh."

The chair was delivered efficiently, and Hiram put his hand out to help her into it. After staring at it like it might be a dead fish, Lisa took the help and sat gingerly, trying not to plop down into the wheeled office chair. It creaked just a little, but was heavy duty enough to have built in cushions.

"Thanks. So... New man here... I guess we can use the help. I can't really be alone for a while. Too great a danger of relapse." Glaring at the man she tightened her lips. "Wistra. Just had it all purged from my system, but, you know, it's too easy to think that you can handle it once you start. It makes you feel invincible. I miss that part of it."