The Living and the Dead (Tyler G Book 3) (34 page)

Instead of being insulted, she
just bent over, and pushed him back against the wall. Her mouth found him, and
she didn't speak for a long time. Not until they changed positions, twice, and
she was holding herself against him, her hands on the wall.

"Ah...
Yeeees
."

As she finished, he did too, even
though he had control of that part of things now. That Lucy had before was a
bit too much to think about, so he didn't.

His girlfriend didn't push him
off though, starting to move again a bit later, since he was still hard.

"Anyway, if
I
get
pregnant, I'll find a husband. Probably another Bat, if I can. A Shifter for
certain. Bats are just more understanding about having lots of lovers, is all.
Maybe a Rabbit? They aren't too bad that way, but a lot of them are Shifter
Supremacists. I can't stand that kind of person. Plus, that would mean my kid
had a fifty-fifty chance of being one of them."

Ty stopped for a second, until
she mewed a bit and started to move herself, wanting to go on.

"Oh, sorry. Um... If you got
pregnant by a Human, but married a Rabbit, there would be a chance that the kid
would be a Rabbit? I'm not a scientist, but is that right?"

That got a laugh.

"It looks like it's time for
the birds and the bees, Shifter style.
After
I come again."

Because, clearly, there were
priorities in life.

When Calley was happy with the
moment, which took a while, since she kind of figured out that Ty didn't have
to stop if he didn't want to, she let them get out of the shower. At least she
waited for them to both be dressed before starting in on the facts of life.

"All right. So, for the beginning
stuff, Shifters have sex, and kids, like Humans do. Smaller Shifters have some
problems having kids though, so I should mention that. It's why I try not to
get with really large men. You know, no seven footers or anything? I wouldn't
live through a ten pound baby. Not without a c-section and a good
hospital." She was getting into sweats, the bottoms and a black t-shirt
anyway. Tyler was wearing jeans and a similar shirt, but in purple. It had a
sigil on the front, but he didn't know what it was. A fist in a circle, with a
cross connected at the bottom, whatever that meant. It wasn't his shirt. One of
Ginger's he thought, but it fit him, and had been in his drawer, so it
might
have been a gift or something.

It was cool enough, so he wore
it. Calley went on, settling on the bed.

"So, you have a little one,
which is easier for some of us than others. Wolf Shifters pop out kids nearly
like Humans, and snakes almost don't have kids. The rest of us are somewhere
between the first and the last. That's one part of it, but we have the other
side too. Shifting is a magical process. We have two forms, but that
isn't
genetic. It's about early bonding."

He was actually paying attention
so nodded for her to keep going, even though she'd stopped for a moment.
Probably so he could say something, if he wanted.

"You know, so you identify
with one parent more than the other when you are a kid, and they turn into a
Bat, so you do, too. Which, as you'd guess means that if I got pregnant, by
anyone, and then, I don't know, shacked up with Ang, there would be a fifty
percent chance that the child would end up being a Dragon. Or, if I died and
other people had to raise him or her, they would end up being like at least one
of them." She shifted a bit, and put both legs under her, sitting up, but
on the bed. The blankets wrinkled under her a bit. "If a kid is wild, a
Shifter without a parent, they still have a second form. The bonding
will
happen. So if their Human family or whatever kind of person was raising them,
had dogs, or cats, then they'd probably become one of those as their second
form. If there is nothing around at the right time, then they might identify as
something else. A story or picture."

Tyler had to think for a second,
and then nodded.

"Which is where things like
Dragon's come from? Or, I don't know, Griffins? I've never heard of that one."

That got a quirky smile however.

"Ah, the great
origin
debate. Trust me, never bring that up at a party, or there will be a fight. The
fact is, no one knows. It could be that Dragons once walked the Earth, or did
in some other land. Some think that Shifters aren't from here anyway. The Human
world. There are a lot of us here, but in different places there are others
that are clearly like we are. Different realities? Part of my job is finding
those groups, if I can. Listening to others from far away, in order to see if
they have stories of groups that change shape from their world."

He just nodded, and tried to
remember that one. Don't ask about where different Shifter types came from. It
would, he decided, make the book he was going to write about everyone. A
chapter for each made sense to him. Even at that it was going to be a pretty
big thing.

"Okay. Got it. So, when you
get pregnant, you're going to run off on me? Sigh. Well, it could be worse. At
least I get to have you around
today
. Also, we should go out soon. Just
you and I. See a movie, or listen to a bad singer in a little coffee bar in
town or whatever."

She just seemed happy about that,
and beamed at him.

"Sounds good.
Tomorrow?"

"Um, no, but we have a
thing, in the morning, if you have time. Ginger too. At Keeley's. Brunch."

That got a shudder, since it was
kind of clear that Calley Hale was not the biggest fan of The Mistress of
Souls.

"I know. Well, we can do
that other thing, if we both survive? Demons... I know far too many of them to
make me happy. Zack is bad enough, but that Technician is a freak. Have you
ever noticed that? I offered to have sex with her, and she said
no
."
There was a sad head shake then, but a disarming grin after that. "Just
kidding. I'm not
nearly
that shallow. So if you're listening Miss
Technician, ma'am, it was just a
joke
. I'm just kidding. Honest."
She smiled, but looked around when she did it, like the girl might be hiding
behind the drapes of the room, listening to her.

Ty got that one.

"They read your entire life
when they touch you. If you notice, they'll always try to pat, grab, shake
hands, hug or whatever, first thing? That's when they do it. They get everything.
Your entire being, so it's a big deal. I guess you could not let them touch
you?
If
you can tell who they are, that is. I'm both impressed and
getting pissed off about all the shape shifting. I blame Keeley for that.
Ugh." He'd told everyone about the Allison rape thing, because that was
only fair.

Calley nodded at the words.

"There is that. You know,
before I met Zack I'd never met even a single Greater Demon in my life? Not
that I knew of. Now you can't hardly turn around without bumping into one.
Well, you know."

He did. It had been his entire
life that kind of thing had been happening.

Which he could do nothing at all
about. It really came down to one factor for him.

"Well, you can't pick your
family. You know, that reminds me, Ginger wanted me to meet her Human parents
at some point. I should go set that up. If she still wants that. I mean, I've
done
my
part, facing Lenore. Several times even. But, it's the lot I
have to face in life. I suppose you'll want me to go to the family barbeque
too?" He was kidding, but she smiled and jiggled a little, because she
did
that kind of thing.

"Oh, definitely. Ginger too.
My family won't care about me bringing weirdoes like you two in. I mean, Ginger
is all right, being in the same line of work I am, but you? What do you do,
sing in a band? Sell your blood for rent money...
Tsk
." Her face
stayed serious for a while too, like it was an actual thing.

Which it kind of was, he
realized.

"Yeah, part time at a bookstore
and some volunteer work with a new agency isn't that big of a deal, is it?
Then, I'm eighteen, what do they want? I do have a new thing in the works. A
drug rehab thing, with Keeley. She's going to take them as slaves, and I'll be
undoing it after they get clean and programmed not to want drugs." He
paused, and then held up his right hand. "Oh, that isn't a joke. I can
do
that now. It's because..." Tyler was about to say it was due to being
dead, but Calley hit him first.

Not hard, and she was being
playful, but there was a scared quality to it too.

"Don't say things like that.
You'll make the Demons mad at you."

He shrugged.

"I don't care what they
feel? Also, they
won't
get mad about it. The worst I could do to them
would be to remove a slave. That might piss them off in the moment, but it
won't hurt them. The only one that would be really put out by it would be
Keeley, and she kind of doesn't care.
She
could just re-do it again, if
she wanted. This just means that if they want to drop a slave without killing them,
the easiest thing to do is come to me. I doubt it will be a big deal, to tell
the truth. I can't take slaves. It's... Different."

She stopped, and made a slightly
confused face.

"But... That kind of
thing... Are you a Demon too?"

He grinned.

"Nope. Just a dead Human,
connected
to one. Keeley suggested calling myself a Necromancer. Not that I
raise the dead. I could, but... Not really. Meat puppets aren't that useful,
day to day." Looking down, he realized that he'd basically been that for
sixteen years. Then he'd become a
real
meat puppet, and learned to pull
his own strings. "So, to answer the big question, no, I'm just really,
really cool. Also, my point was I kind of have a real job, too. Or will, if
anything comes of it. I get paid. Twenty percent of what we make."

He
should
have asked for
more, but there was a Demon involved, and trying to get a better position when
he didn't know what exactly he was supposed to do was hard.

It also didn't seem to please
Calley all that much.

"Is that wise? What if
she..." Then the girl stopped, and shook her head. "If you aren't
kidding, then everyone is going to want to be your friend, aren't they? Half
the fear of Greater Demons is being taken as a slave against your will. It used
to be that some groups were pretty safe. Until The Mistress of Souls came
around. Like, some Vampires used to be totally safe, I think. Other groups too.
Then she came and just took everyone, like it was nothing. If she makes me a
slave, you'll get me free, right?"

That one got a somber nod.

"Yep. Not that she'd do that
to you. That would be pushing Zack around, I think. They have a lot of things
to keep in mind when they do things, I imagine."

She stood up, and waved at the
door.

"Everyone else wants to talk
about this too. Except Steve. He has no clue it's going on. Are we hiding that
from him? I... Who's going to be in on this? It's huge. I... Really, I should
report this to Jahn. Ginger needs to get with her people on it. What kind of
price are you charging for this? Is there a registry? You know for people that
want to get in with you now, for protection?"

He let himself rise, pushing his
body around in a way that looked pretty close to normal, and spoke as they
walked along the hallway to the stairs.

"It isn't a secret. As for
the rest of it, I can't actually go up against Greater Demons all the time for
people. So we need to work that part out, so I don't have to battle them all.
Thanks." He didn't laugh, but as they got into the living room, Ginger
laughed a bit.

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense.
Even with that, it would be a good thing. Can you show us? I mean, if we can
get someone that's a slave, and who it won't be a problem if they're
freed?" She didn't even twitch in Steve's direction, he noticed. No one in
the place did. Even Scotty just shook his head.

"I'll sign up now. How much
do you want for it? A million or two? Do I need to pay first? I can get that
around, in a few weeks." He got up, like he was going to go and start that
right then.

"First, you all get that for
free,
if
it ever happens. Just like I'm sure I get all the fresh blood I
can drink, right Rebekah?"

"
Always
, of
course." She grinned at him, since she knew The Mistress of Souls
personally. Was on good terms with her, too. It probably wouldn't be an issue,
but if it was, it could just be needed, since Keeley wasn't going to want to
hurt her or anything. She made her too much money for that.

 Steve made a face and then shook
his head.

"Can you get my sister free?
I think... I think that Keeley took her years ago. Me too. I didn't love the
guitar when I was a kid. Then one day I started playing, until my fingers bled.
I practice constantly too, even now. I hate it. I mean, I don't
hate
,
hate it. I don't want to quit the band, but I kind of don't want to play chords
for hours every day? It's sort of obvious, isn't it?"

Tyler looked over and then tilted
his head.

"I don't know about your
sister. I can do you. We should get with Keeley though first and make certain
she's all right with it. I sort of need her as an ally right now. So... Yeah.
I'll call though, and see if there's screaming about it?"

Steve looked down and nodded. The
fact that everyone had told him not to mention it to the guy was interesting.
Even Keeley had tried to hide it from him, but she
had
to know that he'd
picked that part up. The sister was news to him. She was the band's PR person,
but other than that Ty knew nothing about the woman. Hally.

Walking to the phone, everyone
else looked at him like he was insane, but he dialed it anyway.

"Hello?" It was Keeley,
so he just spoke.

"Steve asked me to free him.
His sister, too. I'll cover that for free, so, do I have to fight for them or
not?" He looked at the room, wondering what the real answer would be, but
he was just asking her, not really saying he would fight.

Keeley snorted at him.

"We really need to work on
your protocol. Fast too. First, when you address a Greater Demon, you need to
use their use name first."

He actually knew that. Someone
had told him that before.

"Mistress of Souls. So nice
to talk to you. So, the slave thing?"