Dead and Everything (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 2) (11 page)

“The
node itself is inside the circle. We do most of the transportation for most of
the world. Actually, it’s something like fifty worlds, to be more exact, but
you won’t be going to most of them, since I actually need someone on
books
.
So this place is a bit of a drawback for you, since you’ll need to be ready to
field people looking to find me in here, even while working the floor. It
usually isn’t that hard. They’ll look pretty funny. Just ask about books first.
Even if they came to travel you can make sales that way sometimes. We have a
café too, if they’re hungry.” He swung around and patted Ben on the back,
giving him a gentle push toward the door they came in.

Once out
into the store itself he waved at someone, who turned out to be Roberta. She
looked… Well, if Eve was currently an eight or nine, at least when made up, she
was a
twelve
. Zack made her feel a bit better though by waving a bit at
the woman as she walked up.

“This is
part of the other main problem of working here. Succubae. Alede, actually.
You’ve read up on them?”

“Succubae
and Incubae… They can switch genders at will, and feed off of sex energy? Um…
They tend to be really good looking, and pretty non-violent?” He looked ready
to keep going, but Roberta moved in alongside of him, even though Eve was still
holding his hand on the other side, and pressed her left breast against his
arm. She was large that way, and perfect in all the rest, so he noticed.

Eve
shrugged.

“Yeah,
so, you know, get in early, on your own time and bust a nut with one of the
girls quick, so they can have a snack. Then work like a slave all day, and if
you can, take another turn after you clock out? You like books, though?” She looked
at him, and was shocked not at all when he nodded. “Good. So, you know, there’s
a discount for that, right? You have to read them off the clock, too.”

She
smiled, since she was being bossy, and barely worked there at all. She was
actually just trying to set her buddy up, and Zack, it seemed, had decided that
meant he was going to learn about
everything
, all at once. At least as
it related to the store.

To that
end the Greater Demon waved the Alede vixen away, which got her to look
slightly sad, even if her life was practically a constant orgy at the place
they were in. Zack walked directly back to the café.

“This is
run by Carla. She’s a Hsreth. Probably one of the top twenty chefs of any type
on the planet. She isn’t really in your department, but making nice with her
won’t hurt anything at all. She loves alcohol, and can’t get drunk really, so
if you’re looking for presents for her, that one is pretty easy.”

Then he
stopped and gestured to the right side of the store, facing the front.

“Reading
rooms. Which if you notice, are mainly closed off and used for sex. They need
to be kept clean. The girls try, but they can get a bit lazy that way. I mean,
they
like
the smell of sex and don’t think it’s a bad thing at all. It
can get a bit cloying though, so, you know, make the rounds with a can of air
freshener every now and then, if you notice anything?”

Then
because he was himself, Zack took them both up to the main desk.

“All
this can be yours,
and
you’ll make over twice what you do now. This
isn’t a real bookstore, so we aren’t paying you what you’d earn in a place like
that. You have to do more, and it will be interesting. So, what do you say? Say
yes and I’ll even tell you about Maggie’s new job…”

Ben
looked at him sharply then, “is she working here too? I… She’s nice and cute, I
suppose, but not like these others… So, is she on books, too?”

There
was a head shake then.

“No, but
a little bird told me that her name is on the Vampire Council’s short list for
spokes people.”

Ben let
his mouth hang open in a way that would have gotten him in trouble in prison,
she bet. Nudging him, she whispered.

“
Anyone
can figure that one out. Remember though, much like me, she’s
still
totally awesome, even if she
is
a bit cooler than you thought before. I
wonder who else they have on their list? Did the little bird chirp about that
too?”

Zack
smiled.

“Yes. Yvette,
from the Paris node complex? She’d be a good choice, but so far no one has been
pointing out too strongly that there obviously are going to be Vampires all
over the place. That means someone from the states will probably get the job.
Also Rebekah.”

Ben
interrupted him, his head turning.

“Wait,
the
Vampire Band
, Rebekah? With all the teeth and white… The red eyes?”

Eve
gestured at her front, pretending to grab herself. Bekah was smaller than she
was that way, but tight, and she used what she had pretty well, being very trim
through the waist.

“Don’t
forget the other parts. Yeah, she’d be good. Exotic, which might be too much,
but just showing up would remind people what they were dealing with. Any of
them would probably do well. If she gets the job I’ll have to try and meet
Yvette.” Because meeting people and making friends was a big part of her life
now.

Really,
it was why she was setting Ben up, wasn’t it? To groom him to be her new
minion? She hadn’t even realized she was doing it, but it was a great plan, now
that she thought of it.

Zack
went on then, his face a bit more serious.

“
You
didn’t make the cut, of course, Eve. You got to the second to last round, but
Bey put his foot down, since you’re his protégé. He really doesn’t want you to
be in the news that regularly. Especially if
he
has to be now, as one of
the ruling Council.”

That
sounded a bit more official than had been said out loud before around her. What
that probably meant was the Bey expected her to prove herself, for a few
decades or more, before offering the position to her,
if
it was serious.

Zack
wasn’t really to be trusted that way totally, so she’d need to check it all out
for herself, too. That reminded her, so she patted Ben on the arm.

“Oh,
right. Zack’s a Greater Demon, so don’t make any deals or bargains with him. So
far he hasn’t taken any souls that I know of, but ending up his slave until you
die would put a crimp in my plans to turn you into
my
personal lackey.
Speaking of which, we need to get you a car. Do you have a license?”

It
turned out that he did, since his parents had insisted when he turned sixteen,
but hadn’t come forward with a car, since the modern economy had been around
for a while.

That worked
for her. Not that she could just give him a vehicle, but with his improved
money making activities, she could coach him to get his own. It didn’t have to
be
nice
, just good enough to pass the emissions testing.

She
snapped her fingers.

“I know,
we can extort one from Mark. He has like three of the things.”

Zack
nodded, not leaving any secrets for later, being less fun than Eve thought he
might have been about the whole thing.

“Mage.
Eve has him working down at their embassy. Their old number three and some of
his Mage buddies used magic to take over some people’s minds. Then Warren used
his power to rape the people that worked down there. Bob and Lisa.” He
shrugged, his eyes going hard suddenly, and locking with the slightly shorter
man. “Eve too, back when she was Human. She killed them all. They were in your
group?”

They had
to list the names, but Ben got who they all were. His eyes went wide, but he
didn’t seem to be freaking out about Mages being real, or even that Zack was a
Greater Demon. No, if there were Vampires then those both probably just seemed
like they fit, more or less to his mind.

It was
the deaths that did it. He didn’t act like a pussy though, or claim there could
have been a different way to handle things. Instead he looked around the store,
and nodded.

“You
really can’t keep Mages locked up. Not for long.”

That, it
seemed, had made it into the books. She really needed to read all of those
things, she knew.

Zack
didn’t let Ben go, but at a little past six, she had to, since showering was in
order, even if she didn’t really smell yet. She was going to be working with the
public and that meant seeming as nice as she could manage.

It
actually took less time to get to Ed’s house than it had before. Since all her
practice, as boring and painful as it had been, seemed to be paying off. That
meant she had time for a long hot shower, and to get into her nice clothing,
without hurrying. There was even time to put a bit of makeup on, so she
wouldn’t look quite so deathly pale.

It was,
it turned out a good thing.

If the
day before had been pretty run of the mill, that night was going to be a pain
in the ass.

There
were anti-Vampire protestors out front, locking arms and trying to keep anyone
from coming in. The only good thing there was that, for some reason, the club
patrons all seemed to think that that was a punk thing to do, and were actively
booing and heckling the people in their regular clothing and oversized crosses
all over the place.

Eve
walked up to their line, raised her fist high… and grinned.

“Down
with Vampires?” She didn’t yell and let her words sound a little mousy. It was
enough for the line of people to move and let her in, which got her over to
where Kevin was standing, with Barb and Troy.

None of
them looked all that enthused really. She could get that, because just standing
there and not letting anyone in, while illegal harassment, and trespassing,
would probably have to be sucked up. They couldn’t afford to alienate people
yet, could they?

It was a
little tempting, but what were they really supposed to do? Call the cops and
let them handle it? How did anyone even know that there was a Vampire in the
area? As far as Eve knew Jonas hadn’t been calling people up and telling them
to come and hate on them at that address. It was pretty clear that someone had
been though. She really had to wonder who that would be.

Their
enemy, probably. If they even existed.

The
creeper that was behind getting Richard Swerlin to think that putting them all
on the spot was a good idea.

Whoever
that was.

Eve
nearly froze up, then didn’t have to, since a handy group of yahoos drove up in
three pickup trucks. The problem there was that the men and women in the
vehicles, packed into the back like farm workers, but dressed in a variety of
styles, were all Vampires.

“Well,”
Barb said, her voice a bit fiercer than normal. “
Fuck
.”

Eve
grinned.

“That
would be the word for it. Yep. So… I wonder what their plan is? I’m hoping they
have cupcakes. Come on cupcakes.”

Kevin,
who was big enough not to really fear most people, looked a bit apprehensive
anyway. The people were mainly smaller than he was, but there were twelve of
them, and they all looked pissed.

Waving
at them, she forced a sigh, then spoke.

“
Vampires
.
We know nothing else about them at all at this point. Except that they aren’t
carrying trays of treats, so that one is right out. Not that I can eat that
crap anyway. They look upset though, and I don’t recognize them, so I’m
guessing they’re young? I don’t know for sure. We need to call in some help,
and try to get our people out of here.” She meant their patrons and wait staff,
but the lead Vampire, who was an angry man, much larger than the others,
screamed their intention to the world. It was instructive if nothing else.

“We, are
the masters of this world! We do not bow down to you, and your Christian
oppression. You bow down to us! Kill them all!” The man was big, bald and
looked ready to actually do that. His people leaped out of the vehicles,
smoothly going over the sides, but
didn’t
rush the now scared line of
protestors.

One of
the protesting women wet herself. It was kind of pitiful.

Eve
sighed, and shook her head.

“Barb,
would you, um, call everyone? I’ll go, and ask these nice people not to kill
anyone today, and to consider peace and love? That’s the Vampire way, after
all.” The other Vampire went inside to use the phone, calling out as she
sprinted away. Physically running, even as she tried to use her full speed. It
was kind of slow, Eve noticed. Almost like a regular person, compared to what
she could have been doing.

Walking
away from the building, she patted Kevin on the shoulder.

“Get
inside. I’ll try to…” She stopped and took a deep breath, then realized what
was really going to have to happen. It wasn’t a good thing, but she didn’t have
a lot of choice did she? “Actually, I’m going to execute these Vampires, if
they don’t leave
right now
. I speak for the Council in this. We will not
allow any of our kind to harm innocent people. This is an illegal action, by
every law. Stand down now, or die.”