Dead and Everything (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 2) (32 page)

Barb
cleared her throat, and then shrugged, acting as if she’d been in charge of the
whole thing.

“That,
being willing to do things that others can, but don’t,
is
the secret. I
think it probably always has been.”

Then
they all left, going in separate directions.

Eve
had spent a lot of time that day, running slowly, and wondering about what was
going on in her world. It was pretty clear that
something
was. That just
made sense, didn’t it? She tried to go over it all, in her head, and collect up
the data.

It
was harder to do than it seemed like at first, since she couldn’t tell what
went together at all. The club had been attacked, not just once, but
twice
,
in the last eight months. The first time had been about killing Troy, too,
which was kind of strange. No one needed a big plan to do that, did they? It
was possible that he had some kind of magical protection that she didn’t know
about, sure, but did he? Even if that was the case, using a bomb to drive
people from T2LA so that he could be sniped, well, that was too much work to
get that particular job done, wasn’t it? It was almost like it was
meant
to fail.

The
second attack was more sensible, she guessed. After all, Morten Iron Hand had
mentioned that he had a master. More, he’d definitely said that the being was a
she
. Then he’d burst into flames. There were creatures that could do
that, and possible even some technological tricks that she just didn’t know
about, Eve was sure.

There
were other things too, like her being set up to go into that case like she had.
It was true that she did it well enough, and that, in hindsight, there had been
benefit to doing it, even if she hadn’t loved it at the time. She’d learned to
keep her links strong, and not need to feed as often because of it, for
instance. That reminded her, as she stood there, thinking, to go and get some
replacements set up. If Greater Demons weren’t behind everything going on,
including the Vampires and then the other groups being made public…

That
was the real issue too, wasn’t it? The attack on the club had been some kind of
answer to everyone being made public, or at least the Vampires. Who was doing
what though?

Eve
puttered around for a bit, focusing on getting her cow blood down first, then
cleaning the whole store as well as possible. Becky came in a while after that,
alone, though Barb came out of the back to wave at her.

“Hey
all.” Her old buddy seemed happy enough, considering the happenings of the day
before. That… Well, Eve explained it all quickly, since she wasn’t going to
hide things for everyone else in the world anymore. Not if they didn’t have the
common sense to get her to do that first, anyway. A bribe or two might be nice,
after all.

In
the end they all ended up sitting at one of the booth tables, with her
summarizing the entire mess.

“So,
my best guess is that Greater Demons are involved here. Over and over again.
Like a war, or, I don’t know, for
them
it might just be Tuesday. The
whole thing we’ve been dealing with is so convoluted and complex that it nearly
has to be that kind of thing. If not them, then
some
kind of super
powered being is behind it. I can tell you that this
isn’t
just Richard
Swerlin swinging his dick around.” She nearly laughed at the image, but didn’t
since the whole thing was too serious for that.

After
a bit, Becky, Krista Hall now, tilted her head.

“So,
um, demons are real? I guess that makes sense if we have wizards and Vampires,
on top of werewolves, and stuff.”

Eve
nodded, then corrected her.

“Wolf
Shifters. There are lots of kinds, so they can get picky about it. Probably not
rip your throat out pissed off, but werewolf is kind of an insult. Like calling
them names, and since most of them are halfway cool, it would be best not to
make a big deal of it. Shifter is pretty much always the safe thing to call
that kind of person. Mages, not wizards. Though on that one I think that wizard
is an actual thing, and not an insult. They
are
Mages, but can become
wizards? Like for a job? We should go and check with the people across the way.
They’ll know. It’s the Mage embassy for the area.”

That
was, it seemed, news to Becky, who sucked her lips in. It wasn’t a flattering
look for her, but was a thing that Eve remembered her doing back in the day.

Then
she went on, waving her left hand a little.

“So,
to answer the real question, yeah. Demons are a thing, and not one you want to
screw around with. There are two kinds, Lesser and Greater. Don’t fuck with
either of them, if you get a choice, which…”

She
didn’t get to go on, since there was a lot of nodding from the other side of
the table.

“I
can get
that
one! I watched the footage with that thing a few weeks ago.
The giant red one that raped and killed those people in the dry cleaners? The
one that we all prayed away? I did that, when I heard. Not that I’m that great
of a Christian, but I figured that it couldn’t hurt. Is that a Greater Demon?
The Lesser ones being like, ghost?” She tapped the smooth and sparkling clean
table top. The pale Formica was un-cracked, and while there were napkins in a
dispenser, there was nothing else. People didn’t need salt and pepper there,
and having the spoons out was, as Lenore had assured her, tacky beyond all
reason.

“Nope.
Ghosts are ghost, and about what you’d think they are. Lesser Demons, well, you
know, that’s what the thing from a few weeks ago was. The Christians brought it
into being. Not on purpose. Greater Demons are different. They aren’t called
Greater because of their size either.”

She
froze then, actually going still, not knowing how to explain things to her old
friend.
If
she could even understand it all. Then, a lot of people that
couldn’t have gotten anything even a year before were starting to pick up on
the idea that there might be something to some of the crazy shit that they were
hearing about. Half of them were in denial about it though, and tried to
disprove that it was real at all. That was, in the end, what had been keeping
things as quiet and calm as it was, she knew.

That
a lot of people would tease and ridicule the ones that were right, rather than
go on some kind of jihad against them.

Shaking
her head, feeling her black hair brush her collar, Eve took a deep breath and
then dove in.

“Greater
Demons are all devious. Incredibly intelligent, and powerful beings. The thing
is they can seem
just
like anyone else, and you’d never know it. They
know everything too, or at least it always seems that way. If you meet one, try
not to accept
any
kind of bargain or deal with them. You don’t have to be
offering your soul directly for them to make you a slave.
Especially
The
Mistress of Souls. She can pretty much just take you as a slave if she wants,
and there’s not a lot you can do about it. The rest of them can sort of do that
too, but they have to work a little harder to get it done. Offer you something
that you say yes to, for most of them. I think. Don’t test that though. If you
meet any, just try to remember not to take any bargains or deals.” She waited,
but Becky finally snorted, as if the whole thing was funny.

“That’s
not real, is it? You’re making fun of me. I know I don’t know much about the
world, but that’s a bit mean, isn’t it?’ Her eyes sparkled, playfully. As if it
really were a game.

Barb,
sitting next to Eve, shook her head.

“No,
Krista, it’s
not
a gag, or prank. Eve is right, too. If you meet one of
them, any sort of Demon, you have to be very careful. I’ve met some. It… They
can be anywhere, and look like anyone. We have
two
of them here, in the
mall.
Greater
Demons. That’s really rare.”

That
didn’t seem to help convince the Human girl. Especially since the place looked
so very normal, all around them. Like a real shopping center.

Eve
took a breath, then reached out and grabbed Becky’s hand.

“It’s
all true. You… Actually, there are only about five hundred of them, Greater
Demons, in the whole world.
You
know a bunch of them though. I mean,
our
Demons are all right, as far as that goes, but don’t be too shocked when you
find out. They’re different than you think, even if they’re your friends.”
She’d learned that one, over the years, herself. Their idea of being your
friend was often a lot different than she would have imagined.

“I
do? Okay, so if this isn’t a joke, who? My agent?”

Eve
shook her head, not actually knowing if that was the case or not.

“Nooo,
I don’t think so anyway. Um, well, I don’t want to get in trouble. What we need
is for one of them to come and tell you, so that I can point a convenient
finger at them, absolving myself of responsibility. That will probably take a
phone call though, or…” Possibly not? She looked up, to see Marcus walking
over, his well trimmed beard covering part of a smile.

When
he got in, he threw his arms out wide, as if trying to embrace the whole world.

“Becky!
I hear that little miss tattle tale here is giving away all the family secrets
for free? I’m called Marcus Aralias here, and pretend to be a Mage. I’m
actually Fram, The Bold. I know, I know, you can barely contain your
excitement, hearing that a real live Greater Demon has entered the room, but
you can use that dampness between your legs to entertain me later. Deal?”

Eve
threw her right hand up, so that Becky wouldn’t speak.

“Remember
what I said? I don’t know how good Fram is either, at doing things like that,
so even saying
no
might be enough. Be careful. To answer your next
question though, yes, the funny looking candle shop guy is a real Greater
Demon.”

Barb
looked scared, and Krista Hall looked confused, especially when Fram kept
going.

“It’s
true. All true…
We’re
old friends though, so I won’t actually make a
play for you that way. You remember me, don’t you?”

The
girl, who was a lot better looking now than she had been in school, pursed her
lips and was clearly scraping her memory for the man.

“I’m
sorry, I don’t remember you. I… Did we meet at a party?”

That
got a shrug, and Mark pushing into the seat next to the actress.

“Really,
I’m hurt, Becky. We spent all that time together, and for what? You didn’t even
miss me. I
did
look a little different, but come on, how can you
not
see my sparkling personality shining through? Barb? Not the one across from us,
but the one from school? The cheerleader? Same trim waist, and button nose,
too…” He waved down at himself, as if either of those things was actually true
in the slightest.

Eve
nodded.

“One
of
two
of them that played that part back then. The first was actually
the Greater Demon Xenses, The Defiler. Then Fram filled in, after he left, and
yes, as far as I know,
that
Barb was always a dude.”

Their
Barb shook her head a bit, and sniffed. It wasn’t angry seeming, but was mock
prim, instead.

“Really?
All I’ve heard about the situation was that it was The Mistress of Souls
brother, and that he was better looking than I am.”

Fram
smiled and reached out to touch the Vampire woman’s hand.

“Don’t
let it bug you. That Barb was
designed
to be hot. Nearly perfect really,
like a succubus almost. Too much of a good thing, if you ask me. I was being
hit on constantly, for the
whole
time I was at Raintree. Mark here may
not be getting a lot of action, but at least I can get some work done, now and
again. Anyway, the point is, that was me, so we’re old friends, Becky. Really,
you know a lot of us, for a Human being.”

That
got Eve to stiffen a bit, but she held her tongue.
She
wasn’t
responsible for what Fram said, was she? It was kind of a rule, or at least the
one she was going with for the time being.

Becky
Hoader, her face a bit blank, asked the needed question to set things all in
motion. Almost as if it were part of a plan. A complex device created to push
the world into a given shape. For half a moment she wondered if that was real.
That it really might be wasn’t a thing that Eve couldn’t see, even if she
didn’t understand the parts that were working away. She
would
have
missed it as a Human though, she didn’t doubt.

“Who?
I… I guess that you might really be Barb, but who else?”

The
Greater Demon shrugged, and then drew things out. Because that was how he
rolled.

“Well,
you know The Line Walker,
and
The Pristine. The Mind Taker, The Mistress
of Souls, Me, and of course, your best friend in life, The Technician. I think
that’s all, but I can’t swear your agent isn’t one of us. She seems like a
barracuda. It’s a family trait, so that could be a sign.” Then he was silent,
as Eve counted things up.

After
a bit she shook her head, confused.

“I…
Don’t know The Pristine, myself, I don’t think?”

The
former fatbeard looked at her knowingly.

“Bente,
the fashion designer? I think you helped set up some events for her, with Clara,
and Keeley’s hot mom. By the way, I need to go and look Sherri up soon. After I
lose a few more pounds. I’ve been meaning to nail her for years, and if I wait
too much longer all the challenge will be gone.” He patted his stomach and
smiled, then waited for the rest of the table to process all of it.