true,
but she wasn’t all that big on rapists as a rule. In fact, of the ones that had
done her, all but one of them was dead now. Actually that last one was too, but
he’d started out that way, being a Manthori Vampire.
Then
again, that had been him just having sex with her, to his mind. Manthori
weren’t pretty, so if they wanted to get some, they had to use their
powers for it, if they weren’t going to just hit someone in the head and force
them. Honestly, she could nearly forgive him for it, though she probably would
have given him a twirl if he’d asked. It wasn’t like she wasn’t open minded that
way.
“I don’t
know? Can you hold him for the day? I’ll send this up the food chain. We should
at least make sure this Marcus guy doesn’t do it again. Any ideas there? Not
that anyone will listen to me…” She yawned again, because it was an excuse to
do something. Her eyes were about to close on their own, and her limbs felt
dead. Like the real kind.
She
could move them though, so did, wiping at the counter.
Lisa
screwed her face up and then shook her head a little.
“Not
really. Our way of handling things like this is basically to use a spell to
prevent a person from doing that kind of thing again. Horrible pain if they
try, that kind of thing. We should set that up, I suppose. Even if your people
kill him later. Um… You did mention that. Are you a Vampire now? I didn’t know
that it was coming this soon.”
Tiredly
she opened her mouth and pointed, then slowly extended her teeth. The yummy
smelling and no doubt tasty, Mage didn’t even jump back. She really wasn’t in
danger, since Eve doubted she could have caught her in a foot race just then.
Then, just as slowly, she popped them back into place.
“That’s
me, Eve the new Vampire girl. I think… This… Being left here, is hazing.” She
managed a tired grin, and sold it pretty well. “You know, how they tell you that
it’s all about exciting beatings and being locked in a coffin, but then just
make you answer the phone all day? That sounds like a thing, doesn’t it?”
Lisa
didn’t laugh.
“For
them? It just might. Well, good luck. You can do it.” Then she left, as if talking
to her wasn’t what was keeping Eve going?
It was
hardly fair.
Chapter
six
By noon
Eve was actually convinced that either all of the Vampires she knew had gone
out and died, or they were actually doing some of that hazing. Just in
case, she held off on hating them just yet, because it was really a lot more
likely that they’d run into actual trouble than that they were risking having
corpse her found in their otherwise empty store.
It was
all she could do to hang on, the phantom sun burning her. It didn’t do physical
damage, but it felt like she was standing under a magnifying glass, after a while.
The tight beam of the mighty orb above trying to make like she was an ant.
Moving actually helped, a little bit. Like the bright bit of hatred had to try
and track her. She kept herself as busy as she could manage, which didn’t do a
lot. When people came in, she made things for them, and managed to take money,
she thought. That she wasn’t totally certain of that was probably a sign that
she was more than a little out of it. The strange thing there was that, inside,
she was a lot more clear than the outside was. Observing herself screw up and
say goofy things, fighting for control.
Thankfully,
at about four, the intensity of the light from outside, a thing which wasn’t
able to touch her at all, started to die down. Not totally, but it was clear
that nighttime was coming. That meant she was nearly coherent when Alice,from
the Australian node, called in.
Their
second in command over there.
“Lenore?
This is Alice, I was hoping to set up a node transfer for Ambassador Bisbee?
The Crolosect? It’s willing to pay in emeralds, so I don’t think we have to
incur any more debt on this one. I was just hoping to use your contacts there?”
Eve
nearly
but she wasn’t all that big on rapists as a rule. In fact, of the ones that had
done her, all but one of them was dead now. Actually that last one was too, but
he’d started out that way, being a Manthori Vampire.
Then
again, that had been him just having sex with her, to his mind. Manthori
weren’t pretty, so if they wanted to get some, they had to use their
powers for it, if they weren’t going to just hit someone in the head and force
them. Honestly, she could nearly forgive him for it, though she probably would
have given him a twirl if he’d asked. It wasn’t like she wasn’t open minded that
way.
“I don’t
know? Can you hold him for the day? I’ll send this up the food chain. We should
at least make sure this Marcus guy doesn’t do it again. Any ideas there? Not
that anyone will listen to me…” She yawned again, because it was an excuse to
do something. Her eyes were about to close on their own, and her limbs felt
dead. Like the real kind.
She
could move them though, so did, wiping at the counter.
Lisa
screwed her face up and then shook her head a little.
“Not
really. Our way of handling things like this is basically to use a spell to
prevent a person from doing that kind of thing again. Horrible pain if they
try, that kind of thing. We should set that up, I suppose. Even if your people
kill him later. Um… You did mention that. Are you a Vampire now? I didn’t know
that it was coming this soon.”
Tiredly
she opened her mouth and pointed, then slowly extended her teeth. The yummy
smelling and no doubt tasty, Mage didn’t even jump back. She really wasn’t in
danger, since Eve doubted she could have caught her in a foot race just then.
Then, just as slowly, she popped them back into place.
“That’s
me, Eve the new Vampire girl. I think… This… Being left here, is hazing.” She
managed a tired grin, and sold it pretty well. “You know, how they tell you that
it’s all about exciting beatings and being locked in a coffin, but then just
make you answer the phone all day? That sounds like a thing, doesn’t it?”
Lisa
didn’t laugh.
“For
them? It just might. Well, good luck. You can do it.” Then she left, as if talking
to her wasn’t what was keeping Eve going?
It was
hardly fair.
Chapter
six
By noon
Eve was actually convinced that either all of the Vampires she knew had gone
out and died, or they were actually doing some of that hazing. Just in
case, she held off on hating them just yet, because it was really a lot more
likely that they’d run into actual trouble than that they were risking having
corpse her found in their otherwise empty store.
It was
all she could do to hang on, the phantom sun burning her. It didn’t do physical
damage, but it felt like she was standing under a magnifying glass, after a while.
The tight beam of the mighty orb above trying to make like she was an ant.
Moving actually helped, a little bit. Like the bright bit of hatred had to try
and track her. She kept herself as busy as she could manage, which didn’t do a
lot. When people came in, she made things for them, and managed to take money,
she thought. That she wasn’t totally certain of that was probably a sign that
she was more than a little out of it. The strange thing there was that, inside,
she was a lot more clear than the outside was. Observing herself screw up and
say goofy things, fighting for control.
Thankfully,
at about four, the intensity of the light from outside, a thing which wasn’t
able to touch her at all, started to die down. Not totally, but it was clear
that nighttime was coming. That meant she was nearly coherent when Alice,from
the Australian node, called in.
Their
second in command over there.
“Lenore?
This is Alice, I was hoping to set up a node transfer for Ambassador Bisbee?
The Crolosect? It’s willing to pay in emeralds, so I don’t think we have to
incur any more debt on this one. I was just hoping to use your contacts there?”
Eve
nearly
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