bit strange, however.
She was white, thin to the point
of being scrawny, and had heavy glasses on. Her chin nearly pointed at the
bottom, and she had plain, very straight, brown hair. The eyes were the same
color, which was normal enough. In all, other than the fact that she was
wearing a skirt that was cut above her knees, and blue tights under that, along
with a blue blouse that had a brown vest over it, the kid seemed pretty normal.
Except that Troy, while being a
bit of a player, drew the line at an age that was at least six or seven years
older than this one.
The girl looked up at her, and
smiled, her face almost serene. She was at the desk that held the computer, but
was writing on a piece of plain paper. What it said Eve couldn’t tell, since it
looked like chicken scratches to her. Ancient Sumerian probably, rather than
shorthand.
She might not be the smartest
cookie on the plate, but she’d worked at the Mage embassy for years, and they
used that, and Latin, a lot. That would mean that the girl wasn’t just another
pretty face. Not that she wasn’t cute. Like a puppy might be. So, that meant
what?
Eve shrugged, and put two and two
together, got five, and realized what that had to mean.
“Hello! Um… I can’t tell which
one you are for certain. Not trying to be rude. Greater Demon, but…” That was
probably enough to make problems, if the being wanted them, but if that was
going to happen, it would anyway.
The girl smiled up at her and
stood.
“The Rotted. Ann.” She moved
forward, walking across the hard wood floor in about seven steps. Then she
touched her hand, as if it were a greeting, and not drinking in all the
information that made Eve up.
The girl grinned at her then, as
the tingling stopped, understanding more than Eve did, probably.
“Hey! How are things going? Did
you come to give Troy a little girl tugjob?”
Eve watched the other being,
knowing that if she had come for that, Troy wouldn’t have had a choice in the
matter, but there was a firm head shake.
“Not at all. I just have the day
off of school. The whole week, so I thought to come and stay with my friend.
There are some interesting things going on in this area. Really, there are
several pockets over the United States, right now. That moron, Fram, is
involved, but he’s not the only one, as you know already. I don’t think that
you should blame him for the problems of the last days however. Like I
just said, he isn’t bright. Well, that isn’t fair, truly, but he can be
tricked, using his weaknesses. In this case my bet is that he’s being set up,
by one of us. To face off against you, in particular. That’s flattering isn’t
it? Someone thinks that you’re smart enough to work this out, or at least
enough of it to make a difference.”
Eve knew she was missing part of
it, but didn’t bother asking the meaning of it all. She didn’t have any kind of
arrangement with The Rotted, and the woman was so freaking old and
insane that even trying would probably be dangerous.
Before she could mention why she
was there, the girl turned and tapped on the computer for a few minutes, then
waved at the screen.
“There you go. Three houses
within walking distance of the Des Moines Node. I like the second one for your
friend, but I put the others in to steer you toward it. Six rooms, and while it
will set you back about a million, after closing, it has the best location.
Here, take a look.” Sliding out of the cushioned chair without making the
wheels move at all, Ann waved again, this time for her to sit.
It really was nice. The others
weren’t bad, and one was larger, in square footage, but not, she was assured,
going to be as well constructed.
“Vampires need to buy for the
long haul. You should call the agent handling it and see if she’ll be able to
meet you there today. Not that you can buy for a while. These things take a
ridiculous amount of time, for the modern age. Title searches in particular.
You’ll want
She was white, thin to the point
of being scrawny, and had heavy glasses on. Her chin nearly pointed at the
bottom, and she had plain, very straight, brown hair. The eyes were the same
color, which was normal enough. In all, other than the fact that she was
wearing a skirt that was cut above her knees, and blue tights under that, along
with a blue blouse that had a brown vest over it, the kid seemed pretty normal.
Except that Troy, while being a
bit of a player, drew the line at an age that was at least six or seven years
older than this one.
The girl looked up at her, and
smiled, her face almost serene. She was at the desk that held the computer, but
was writing on a piece of plain paper. What it said Eve couldn’t tell, since it
looked like chicken scratches to her. Ancient Sumerian probably, rather than
shorthand.
She might not be the smartest
cookie on the plate, but she’d worked at the Mage embassy for years, and they
used that, and Latin, a lot. That would mean that the girl wasn’t just another
pretty face. Not that she wasn’t cute. Like a puppy might be. So, that meant
what?
Eve shrugged, and put two and two
together, got five, and realized what that had to mean.
“Hello! Um… I can’t tell which
one you are for certain. Not trying to be rude. Greater Demon, but…” That was
probably enough to make problems, if the being wanted them, but if that was
going to happen, it would anyway.
The girl smiled up at her and
stood.
“The Rotted. Ann.” She moved
forward, walking across the hard wood floor in about seven steps. Then she
touched her hand, as if it were a greeting, and not drinking in all the
information that made Eve up.
The girl grinned at her then, as
the tingling stopped, understanding more than Eve did, probably.
“Hey! How are things going? Did
you come to give Troy a little girl tugjob?”
Eve watched the other being,
knowing that if she had come for that, Troy wouldn’t have had a choice in the
matter, but there was a firm head shake.
“Not at all. I just have the day
off of school. The whole week, so I thought to come and stay with my friend.
There are some interesting things going on in this area. Really, there are
several pockets over the United States, right now. That moron, Fram, is
involved, but he’s not the only one, as you know already. I don’t think that
you should blame him for the problems of the last days however. Like I
just said, he isn’t bright. Well, that isn’t fair, truly, but he can be
tricked, using his weaknesses. In this case my bet is that he’s being set up,
by one of us. To face off against you, in particular. That’s flattering isn’t
it? Someone thinks that you’re smart enough to work this out, or at least
enough of it to make a difference.”
Eve knew she was missing part of
it, but didn’t bother asking the meaning of it all. She didn’t have any kind of
arrangement with The Rotted, and the woman was so freaking old and
insane that even trying would probably be dangerous.
Before she could mention why she
was there, the girl turned and tapped on the computer for a few minutes, then
waved at the screen.
“There you go. Three houses
within walking distance of the Des Moines Node. I like the second one for your
friend, but I put the others in to steer you toward it. Six rooms, and while it
will set you back about a million, after closing, it has the best location.
Here, take a look.” Sliding out of the cushioned chair without making the
wheels move at all, Ann waved again, this time for her to sit.
It really was nice. The others
weren’t bad, and one was larger, in square footage, but not, she was assured,
going to be as well constructed.
“Vampires need to buy for the
long haul. You should call the agent handling it and see if she’ll be able to
meet you there today. Not that you can buy for a while. These things take a
ridiculous amount of time, for the modern age. Title searches in particular.
You’ll want
Similar Books
