Other Places 3: Detours (11 page)

When
Lenore came out, she simply smiled, which was false, but not phony looking. She
wouldn't care if he had sex, he didn't think. Her main reason for being with
him was to gain his good will, after all. It always had been. Not that she
didn't like him, in her own way. She
did
.

It
was simply that, in her mind, in the mind of any Vampire, the old and the powerful
had sex when they wanted to. If you were very powerful, you could command it,
and others had to obey. That Zack had clearly taken the head of the new blood
concern and was openly flouting this in front of the woman's owner meant, to
her mind, that he was simply indicating his rightful place. Above Keeley.

It
was very different than what he was really doing, which was, he knew, actually
seeking comfort.

Because
even if it had been a mistake, or a game, he'd come very close to being made a
slave to a Greater Demon.

Again.

And
since he hadn't known he ever had before, that idea terrified him more than
even magic could hide.

"Barkeep,
make it a double." He had to force himself to pretend he was in a bar,
actually seeing it overlaid on reality for an instant to get the words out.
Just to
try
and be slightly funny. It was too much work, suddenly, but
fortunately that came after the words were already out. Edom looked at him
seriously, and fixed him with his eyes, carefully.

"Hard
day?"

Then,
as if playing a role himself, the man "poured" him a large, plain
frozen yogurt. Zack took it, gratefully, and started to eat with a red plastic
spoon, not answering at all, since he really didn't know what to think at the
moment.

He'd
been a slave to a Greater Demon. It made sense, after a fashion, since even
Xenses had admitted to him that he'd made him do some pretty horrible things.
That was, without a doubt, the easiest way to get it done. Even a child of nine
would have to do what they were told, in that case. No matter how much it hurt
them to do it. Or how much they wanted to fight.

Really,
it had to be something like that, didn't it? It always had.

The
only problem with that was, simply, that there was no way to break that kind of
thing, unless he'd died. That probably meant that the Greater Demon Finias, his
grandfather, had killed him. Carefully, and for his own good, of course.

That
part he could deal with. Even if the man had smothered him with his own hands,
locking painfully over his mouth and nose as he struggled for breath, not able
to do it at all, his lungs searing from the pain... Yeah, he could let that
pass without comment. It had to be done. Because the rest of it was so bad that
even dying was better.

He
remembered it.

Not
all of it, but that part, his dying, the man, Finias, looking Mexican at the
time, and smelling like pears. He'd explained what had to happen and
why
,
and had given Zack a choice.

He
could stay with Xenses, or die.

Even
at ten, which was the age he'd been at the time, he'd asked the man to kill
him. But then he'd woken up. At home, or at least with his grandparents, who
took him in instantly.

There
were touches of things in his mind then, little hints and bobbles of memories
that threatened to break free, even as Mirror Him screamed in his head, trying
to distract him. To protect him for one final time.

It
didn't work.

He
stood in front of the counter of a frozen yogurt shop, a plastic spoon
shoveling frosty whiteness into his face mechanically, with everything that had
ever been hidden from him pounding into his consciousness, as if it had
happened not a day before.

For
sixteen months, he'd feasted on Humans and other creatures. All of them begged
him not to eat them, since they were alive at the time. Every single one. His
mother... He'd been told that he'd eaten her legs and that she'd survived it,
but in that moment he could hear the screaming, the begging, as his little
teeth tore into her chewy flesh. He'd been ordered to do it, naturally, but he
was so hungry...

It
was so
good
.

That
was the least part of things. By the time he got to the daily rapes, he almost
didn't care. That Xenses
hadn't
raped him was a surprise, actually. He'd
kind of been told, by the Demon himself, that he had. It was just that he'd
been passed around to about twenty other things to do the work. So that he
wouldn't blame Xenses later, most likely. It was insightful, on his part, he
knew.

There
were things so dark and evil that he wanted them to simply not be true. The
monster had fed him babies. Tiny living ones. It started with Humans, but
hadn't ended there at all.

This
had all taken place in a silver and purple land, which he knew was what most of
his kind saw when they walked the lines. He didn't. He avoided that place, and
moved from one point to another. Now he finally understood why.

It
took him a few moments, but he rallied enough to get Edom to refill his large
cup, and start eating again, and then, slowly, as the memories finished, he
made all his emotions go away. It would take time to deal with things and a lot
of them he simply wasn't really going to be able to. If he'd been a Human, he
would have gone mad, right then, without stopping to consider any alternatives.
Nothing anyone could say would fix the damage.

Zack
wasn't Human though. He was himself. A Greater Demon, but also the Line Walker.
Also a book seller and a businessman. That meant, unlike most of the people
he'd ever known, he had real options as to how to deal with things. At the
moment, he decided to control himself, and tried for absolute calm. It burned
magic at an incredible rate, his mind struggling against what his will insisted
had to be done, so he kept eating, one thing after another, even as people
stared at him. Keeley touched his arm, but pulled back, even though he didn't
lash out at her.

She
understood.

Zack...
Smiled.

It
wasn't a sinister thing, but as the memories came back, he felt Mirror Him slide
back into place. Into the spot he belonged, as part of himself. The survivor.
The fighter that had, in his most desperate hour, separated from the whole, in
order to save them from the darkest things. The stuff that existed inside. He
would, Zack thought, actually miss MH.

For
a long time he'd been his best friend, after all. True, a slightly abrasive and
abusive friend, but someone that was always there for him. Now, they were one.
It had to happen, but it was going to be a little lonely for a time. There was
no void however, inside, since Mirror Him was still there, just not separate.

He
looked around at Keeley, and then moved back.

"Did
you want to order something?"

"Certainly,
a banana fudge swirl please?" She was watching him closely, but he didn't
let that bother him, the world actually popping into focus suddenly. It was, he
thought, the way it would have been, if he hadn't been shattered so early in
life. He could tell so many different things now.

For
instance, Barb was hanging back, and afraid of him, but actually
liked
him at the same time. She was a little jealous that he'd slept with Rebekah,
but mainly just wanted him as a friend. A real one. Not that sex was out of the
picture, since he could just toss her down and do that if he wanted, but she
sort of hoped it wouldn't happen that way. She'd
told
him all of that,
he realized. More than once. Just in code, asking for dates and flowers,
instead of being made to have sex.

Edom
realized that something had happened, and was readying himself to die. Fighting
Keeley. Possibly Rebekah. He didn't know who'd kill him, but the moment felt
right for it. It showed in how he squared his shoulders, even as he made the
treat for the other Demon. The girl that looked so pretty and young and was
something more terrifying than even he was.

It
was a strange picture, since he was muscular and black and in a fight almost no
one in the world would have bet on the stick thin white girl for the win, but
he knew what would happen even given that. Out of all of them, the only one
that was actually relaxed was Lenore. She knew that there wasn't going to be a
battle, though she wondered...

Why
Zack wasn't getting his own food. She gestured at the cup.

"Taste
testing? How is the base product then?"

He
actually understood what she was doing, which had to do with distraction. She
couldn't eat her own things, so she needed others to do that for her, which had
caused an obsession with getting it perfect, over the years. It very nearly
was. Tastes varied though.

"Up
the fat content, or add something that will mimic that, a thickener or
something? We should work on that. Really, it's good. If we can do that though,
it will be really high end." He smiled as Keeley took a bite of what she
had, and then shook her head, ever so slightly.

"I
disagree. It's perfect right now. That would make it too cloying. You should
try it with the fudge, Zack, I think that will show a difference."

He
did, and she was, naturally, correct. It wasn't about the taste, or the mouth
feel, but him eating. It was an excuse to have him be given things constantly,
for a time. He was using a lot of magic to keep his emotions in check, but that
wasn't visible from the outside. Not really. Finally, after Barb started to
help, and Lenore pulled out her notebook, to take what they were suggesting
down, he remembered why he was actually there.

To
introduce Rebekah. Not to stand there like a freak, having a meltdown.

Carrying
the treat in his hand, which was no doubt rude, he waved to the Vampire woman
and the Demon girl.

"This
way." He knew that Marissa was still there, since he could feel the
ripples in space around her, even as she held still. When he saw her, talking
softly into a small black and gold cell phone, he waved. It was a small thing, done
with a spoon in his hand, but she smiled back and kept talking.

"At
midnight, yes..." She paused, and he focused his attention a bit,
realizing something. His hearing wasn't anywhere near Vampire level, or Bat
shifter, but he could tell what the other person was saying, based on the
patterns that the sound made as it disrupted the universe. It was different,
but he knew that Marissa was, very gently, being told to go soak her head,
since no one wanted to sell mercenaries to her at the moment, because that
might just start a war with the Vampires.

It
was a point and the Kobold on the phone knew that. He recognized the voice as
the blacksmith, from down the way.

That
meant she was off the thing not two minutes later, trying hard not to seem
panicked herself.

She
glanced up at him, from where she sat on the nice dark brown leather sofa, and
then looked over at Lenore, and Rebekah.

"I
see you need the space?" Her nose twitched ever so slightly, picking up
the scent of sex, and her mind made the leap. "Or not? I fear my local
options for support in this evening's gathering are limited. I don't suppose
you'd be willing to stand against the Council for me, dear? If they
attack?" She was talking directly to Rebekah, but Lenore moved to the
front and bowed, first to Keeley, and then Marissa.

"This
woman is The Mistress of Souls, the Greater Demon. Rebekah is her second."
She stopped, slightly wide eyed, but relaxed when Keeley nodded.

"That's
right. We, along with the Lesser Demon Balthias, have been asked to help make
certain that things go smoothly this evening? I hope that will put your mind at
ease in this. The Line Walker contracted us for it."

That
wasn't what she was there for, exactly, since the goal was to make certain he
lived, but it was close enough.

"Correct."
He lied, easily and as if it were simply the truth, without trying at all. He
took a few more bites of food first, but then, ten seconds later, the taste of
fudge in his mouth, continued. "I'll test each one as they come in, after
making certain I'm not walking into an ambush. If I am, well, then you'll need some
new council members. If not, I'll bring them here, one by one. If they're going
to be a threat to you, I'll handle that before we get in." Unless, of
course, they had a really good reason. Then he might change his mind.

He
didn't say that. Or even
want
to.

It
was... Different. It probably meant, in some very real ways, he was a worse
person now than he had been even an hour before. Part of him wanted to blame
Keeley, but that wasn't true. She'd set the chain off, but that... Well, it
wasn't bad, just uncomfortable for him. She probably did it on purpose. She
knew enough about him to understand that trying to take him could do that. In
fact, when Darla had lightly flirted with it once, to test him and see if he
was one of them or not, Keeley had nearly freaked out.

Then,
at the time, he didn't have any way to cope with things, except Mirror Him, and
taking that away would have broken him for a long time. He couldn't afford six
months of gibbering right then either, since too many things wanted him dead.

So
now, after he had some small ability to handle things, she'd done it herself?
It made sense. Of course, waiting six
years
would have too. She was
probably trying to turn him against Xenses, since Darla would have told her how
he'd made an agreement with the Demon to try and act like a family. The caveat
there had been that, if he couldn't handle his memories, when he regained them,
that things might well change.

Having
a record of his entire history in her head, she'd figured that he'd lash out
about now, and demand Xenses dead, no doubt. Really, knowing what had happened,
how much he'd been hurt, and how he'd asked to die, at the end, he sort of felt
like doing that.

It
would be stupid though. Moronic, on an unforgivable level. Getting involved in
Keeley and Darla's battle wasn't a long term survival scenario for
him
at all. At the moment he had something in place that, while it didn't protect
him, did give him some time to think and plan. In order to live long enough to
really have a chance it was just possible that he might well need to make peace
with his father. The real one.