Other Places 2: Road Blocks (6 page)

So writing a check
might
be out of the question. He had money now and not just his salary. Keeley had brokered some of his trips and managed to turn nearly three million in profit for him, without harming anyone while doing it. Then she took a twenty percent cut, but since he couldn't manage to do the same thing, that was probably more than fair. Actually she'd gotten him more than that, and it was sitting in several banks, waiting for him to buy things with. He just didn't know enough to do that kind of thing, so it was down to this.

Instead he was vague and seemed like he didn't care about amassing a super fortune, which he
didn't
. It made everyone think he was
really
expensive, and only gave cool deals to his personal friends. That worked for him, because in the end it meant less work and not being approached by everyone that wanted to take a vacation somewhere exotic. Technically it probably meant that he and Valerie were buddies now, so he waited for the picture by the Node.

A succubus movie star? That sounded like it had prima donna written all over it, didn't it? Hopefully she wouldn't be too bad, or he'd have to leave her there.

Grrr.

Chuckling he found her easily enough, since New Zealand was rich in rifts and Nodes, and got moving.

It was a bit of a hard situation really, Zack decided.

The woman, who was very pretty in a girl next door way, sat on what seemed to be a large boulder, wearing a baseball cap, a t-shirt and jeans, with a light jacket over it. She also had bags with her, but there were two backpacks and a duffle. All large, and no doubt heavy. Sighing, he realized it wasn't going to be fun at all, since getting help for this from a Vampire wouldn't work, and taking Jennifer with him would be about the same as going alone really. The same was true of Hiram and honestly, the man was a bit sketchy seeming, if you were a woman sitting alone in the near dark.

It was also twilight there, on the other side of the world, and while the woman was alone and seemed relaxed, a strange man approaching her without warning might just be out of place. It was going to happen, but he'd have to do something to reassure her he was harmless. What that would be he didn't know at all. The idea of carrying a teddy bear was kind of a good one. That or
really
creepy. He couldn't decide, so didn't act on the thought at all.

Stepping through he ended up abut fifteen feet away from the lady, which was better than being at two feet, he had to figure, and was unnoticed until he spoke.

"Judy? I was sent by Valerie Swanson to take you back to America. My name's Zack Hartley." He tried to sound sane and normal, but she jumped anyway, then laughed about it.

"
Oh
..." She grabbed her chest a bit. "You scared me! I didn't hear you drive up. You say Val sent you? That's
so
sweet of her. I knew that someone was supposed to be around, but I kind of thought I'd have to set up the tent and eat trail mix for a few days. Were you in the area?" She sound like one of those very earthy people that just assumed everyone was a friend almost instantly. Her voice was smooth, but just friendly, not manipulative or demanding at all, and in the dim light it was clear that she was smiling in a very sociable fashion.

It made her very easy to like, he realized.

"No. Um... I can use the Nodes to travel? I'm not a Demon though, so Valerie asked if I'd come get you. It looks like we might have to walk a bit, since the place I came in at is gone." He tried to seem relaxed about it and sounded like he was a nervous boy trying to ask her on a date. That was
wonderful
, since nothing ensured trust like your voice nearly cracking halfway through a sentence.

"You're the Human Line Walker? Oh. My. God. That is... I've been wanting to meet you for weeks!" She stood up and then laughed a bit, but in a good natured way. "Now I know what all those fans of mine must feel like. I don't even know what to say to you. Do you give autographs? Can I wash your car?"

"I don't have a car. But I could sign something if you want... I never saw the reason for that really. I guess to help people remember you? That or prove they met someone. Anyway, we should get moving, if you feel up to it? I don't know how long this will take, but we might have to walk for a while." He waited for her to demand he carry all her gear, but she slipped one pack on immediately and hoisted the duffle over her other shoulder. Then she looked at the last bag. It was a sad thing, but she firmed her face up almost instantly and stood a bit straighter.

"I can leave it, I suppose. It would be a bit too much to ask for you to carry it."

He had to work to get it on, but it settled the weight really nicely once it was in place. The blue and black thing let him carry a lot more than he would have if it were in his hands. A whole lot.

"Wow, I need to get one of these. This is nice. I've been having to bring Vampires with me to carry everything for the last bit. I had a broken arm. I would have gotten one to come with us now, but I didn't know if you'd be comfortable with it, since the current situation is so messed up. It isn't Vampires overall, just a few of them." He wasn't totally sure that made sense, but the woman nodded.

"Thanks. I try not to be prejudiced, but I've been confused a few times for food, and this isn't the space I'd want to meet one of them in, if I can help it. Which way?"

Zack oriented on where the closest shortcut was, and pointed. It wasn't that far, since the area was rich with them, but he didn't know them well, so it might mean doubling back. They walked in silence for a bit, the light going away before they got into place. Judy didn't complain or anything, in fact she was really quiet. Even her breathing was. His was louder, gasping a bit from the unfamiliar exertion.

The rift was decently stable seeming, and glancing through it looked to take them about fifteen miles away. He could feel that, as well as the other rifts at that place, which were more frequent. It was a good enough place to start. The question would be how to manage it all.

If the rift was one way, and he went through, then he'd lose Judy. There was also no way he could carry her and all the baggage at the same time. Considering it he shrugged.

"If I take the duffle, can you hop into the air about six inches with your pack on?" He didn't explain and it had to seem really weird, but she put her bag down and jumped three times that into the air, which was darned impressive. Zack wasn't really certain he could have done it without the extra pack. It was probably the difference between a person that worked out and one that really didn't.

"Great. Now, let me explain this. Your feet have to be in the air when I go through, or it won't work. This isn't a Node, so if we miss, we'll just stay here. If it was, I'd need to be extra careful, because ... Well, it won't be a problem." Telling her she might be cut to bits wasn't a good way to make her feel at ease, was it?

 It took them three tries, but the woman got it right eventually, and they were able to keep going, traveling with only a soft clanking sound from the gear. He couldn't actually see anything at this point, except stars and a few trees. There was grass underfoot, but he'd just have to hope there were no snakes.

He actually kept them just walking, stopping to look through the various holes in space to see where they led. The third one was a lucky find really, since it would get them to civilization, and, if he had it right, the Nexus in Australia. He'd been planning on using the one in New Zealand, but it didn't matter all that much, did it?

"This is a good one. It will take us into the back room of the Vampire embassy in... You know, I don't know what city it's near. Australia though. No one's in there right now, but it should be safe enough." He waited for a protest, but the woman didn't speak, just rearranging the gear like she had before.

The instant they were in the room, they were rushed, by two men and a woman. It was too fast for him to do anything about, but they all froze in place and stared from about six feet away, rather than attacking.

"Hello?" This came from the woman, who nodded after a second. "Oh, thank goodness, we thought it was an invasion." She waved to the others happily enough, seeming actually relieved. "This is the Line Walker. If he comes, we're to do anything he asks. That comes from the whole Council too, so don't do a half job. What can we do for you today, sir?" She smoothed the front of her orangey-red skirt. She had a little matching jacket and a mustard yellow blouse on under it, with pearls. She looked like a fifties T.V. mom this time, but still had her fangs out and ready to go.

"Just passing through, thanks. I really appreciate you letting us use this place. Not that I called first, but... I normally can't, you know?"

"Our pleasure. You just let us know if you need anything, sir, and we'll be on it before you can finish the sentence." Since that was true, he decided to be careful about what he said to the woman. Tamara. They'd met before, though she was warmer this time. Helpful the last too, but apparently she understood he wasn't there to kidnap her or anything now. That, or something else had changed. Like orders coming in that basically said that if he wanted to take her, she was just supposed to go?

The men stood back, but they both fought to smile, with their mouths closed, a few seconds later. It was fake looking, which meant they were probably pretty youthful for their kind. He smiled back anyway and got Judy to reset and hop at the right time, landing them in the back of Candles and More, stopping a few feet away from the card table where everyone was still answering phones.

"Hi all. This is Judy. I'm going to walk her down to Pretty Plus." Turning he frowned a bit. "Unless you need something else first? Food, or something to drink?"

The woman shook her head, her sporty looking blonde ponytail bobbing a bit. "I'm good. Nice to meet you all. I don't know if I'm going to be around for long, but if I am, I hope we can all get together and chat?" This got a smile from Hiram, and a nervous expression from Jen, but Lisa moved in and put out a hand to shake, since Zack was still holding the duffle bag.

"So nice to meet you. I'm sure we'd all enjoy that." She said the words, but Zack noticed, no
plans
were made. Everyone already looked really tired, so it was probably just that.

After a bit they were able to get free, and he took her to the right place, which was brightly lit at the moment, with no activity at all in the front of the place. They were probably all in the back, doing the phone thing, he realized.

Except that the door was locked. He pounded for a bit and then shrugged.

"Crud. Maybe they got called away? Well, no big. We'll just get you a hotel room. Unless you want to sleep in my bed?" He got that it might sound wrong when he heard the words, but she nodded, happily.

"Thanks. Alede are many things, but one of those isn't particularly hard working. Not as a group. They probably realized that this really won't affect them, and all went home for the night."

The straps were starting to hurt a bit, where his boney shoulders pushed against them, even though they were padded. His feet were sore from walking, and so was his lower back. It was less than perfectly fun.

Zack nodded.

"Oh, I should warn you, my place is probably just a bit better than your tent. I don't want you to be shocked when you get in."

She laughed and shook her head.

"I normally live in a small cabin in Colorado. I'll deal."

They had to stop by the candle shop, since he didn't know if he was supposed to open in the morning, but Bob assured him that it would be fine to come in a bit later than that. The Mall was going into a lockdown for the day, so no one would be there to shop, or even lodge complaints or get permits for anything.

Zack thought it through and nodded.

"I'll try to get in to take over the phones then, as soon as I can. I'm about to crash right now. Even if I stayed here, it would mean sleeping."

Mirror Him, who had been being very, very good for a while, laughed.

'They'd probably draw pictures of dicks on your face in Sharpy if you did, too. At least Hiram would. That's a guy with a sense of humor, I can smell it.'

All of that was probably even true, so Zack didn't answer.

Judy followed him, waving to everyone again, seeming content to be led to his hovel, and she knew what to do at a rift, but was surprised that it was all so close together.

"This must make for a short commute each day."

"Yes, it really does. One of the perks of the job." He used his key, which still had a string tied to it, to make it easier to find in his pocket, the black slacks being easier that way than old jeans. Troy wasn't home, so when he flipped on the lights, he waved around at the place.

"I did warn you. No need to claim it's cute or quaint. My bedroom is through here."

That actually looked nicer, having a new king sized bed in it, an actual dresser and a table with a mirror, that Lenore had put in. Clean sheets and everything, so he didn't have to worry that way too much. There were even throw rugs to hide the ugly orange and brown carpet underneath, all a deep red, with the same black pattern woven into each.

"I'll take the sofa." He dropped the bags inside the door and went to the dresser to pull clothes for sleeping in. Sweats and a t-shirt. "We have food in the kitchen, and in a bit my roommate should be home, if you need sex or anything. He might have someone with him, but if not I think it's fair game."

She smiled and looked around the room.

"Thanks. I could use that. You have someone?"

"Yeah. Lenore. She did most of the stuff in here, which you might notice doesn't match the rest of the place? She's the Vampire Ambassador for the area. Really, we could have sex, but I'm pretty tired, and my energy is messed up enough that I don't think you'd get a lot from it." He suppressed a groan and yawned. "Speaking of which, I need to do some exercises for that before I sleep. The phone's in the other room if you need it. You probably won't wake me up by talking, but shake me if you need anything."

Then he left her alone, since he really was about to fall over. He did grab a pillow and a blanket from the linen closet for the sofa though, which was something else Lenore had given him. The pillow and a set of matching blankets. They looked old fashioned and handmade, but, she'd assured him, store bought.

He spent ten minutes on breathing exercises, drawing energy from the universe and passing it through his body carefully, over and over again. It set up a bit of a flow, but it still wasn't what Wu-Li, the herbalist at the Mall, wanted to see. Not even close.