On the Line (Alternate Places Book 3) (22 page)

Covering his head with his arms as if warding off blows, he
squirmed under her a little bit, enough that she got a scared look on her face
and started trying to form a denial, glaring at Kate while she did.

“I can't...” She started, then noticed that her friend was
laughing and not really trying to get away, just pretending to and working his
hips up so that she was sitting on his stomach now, not his chest.

“I'll talk, I'll talk!” He cried out, mock fear and
trepidation in his voice.

Giggling he explained how Blaine had actually figured out large
portions of things about a week before, even before that perhaps, based on what
Kate
had told them. When Don had come back from the void, he'd realized
something must have happened, being attentive that way. So Don explained, since
Blaine had been afraid his subdued reactions had something to do with finding
out about the Alede, not knowing that people could even survive in the void at
all, other than maybe the Line Walker.

Kate moved to the girl, scooting a little closer, to normal
Alede conversational distance. Six inches away.

“Look, don't blame Zack too much will you? You, well, we all
love you Brit, but you
are
a bit of a Hartley fangirl spaz. Plus, half
of what you think you know is
totally
wrong.” Kate took her hand and
settled in next to her as she sat on top of Don, leaning her head against her
back.

“We weren't trying to make fun of you, just give Zack a
little space while we could. Now, if you want to turn Zack into a friend all
you have to do is treat him like anyone else. The more you think of him as just
some guy you know, the better he'll like you... Which, well, that would be
easier, because I think you and Blaine and I are
going
to have to step
up now. In a really big way. Because if I get what this all means, a lot more
people are going to be coming here to see
Don
, and if he reacts anything
like Zack has, he's going to need sex about as often as
you
did
yesterday. You and Blaine won't even need him to feed you except every couple
of days, normally. But a lot of Alede are going to want him now, and if he can
do Vampires too, like Zack can, then we'll need to protect him from more than
chaffing. Maybe come up with a payment schedule or something, so that a lot of
people are invested in his well being...”

She shrugged again and kissed her friend on the cheek, then
leaned over and kissed the boy beneath her as well. She ran her hand lightly
down Britney's back and then her behind. She stroked down Don's stomach, making
him jump a little and ended at his groin, which was, of course, hard. Kate
couldn't tell if this was the first effects of him sharing all that energy with
the Alede or just having two hot girls so close. Either way she stopped there,
since it was making Keeber uneasy. Hilda just grinned and kept her attention to
the outside, in case an attack came.

“Anyway, that means that Zack is going to be around a lot,
too. So you can't go all 'I heart Hartley' on him. Got it? He's just a guy with
some cool abilities and nice friends, most of whom think you're pretty cool so
far, too.” Kate knew she couldn't really get through to the girl over it, but
she hoped she'd made a dent somewhere, because locking her out of the room when
Zack came for the next three or four months would be a pain.

Britney leaned back and caught her weight with her right hand
gracefully, stretching back in a way that both felt good and displayed her
chest to the man she sat on top of. As she sat up, her right hand pulled gently
over Don's groin, a catlike grin coming over her face. She moved off of him
then and let him sit up.

“Hey, you didn't freak out when Kate mentioned the whole
turning into a boy thing... You
know
that's not a joke, right?” She said
this casually, ready to
turn
it into teasing or maybe distract him with
sex if she needed to, her pupils dilating visibly as Kate watched. The color of
blue that made up her irises fading, ready to hit the boy with a wall of sex if
she had to in order to keep him.

Nudging the other girl with her shoulder Kate, caught her eye
and flashed her eyebrows forward in a signal that meant, 'watch this' in Alede
body language. It was a move that no other race could mimic, her eyebrows literally
moving forward about a half inch. Not scrunched, but forward. Super speed?
Super strength? Nope, but
she
could do something the others couldn't
none the less.

“Oh, I don't think he has that big a problem with it. He
watched me change into Kyle after all and didn't freak out...” She patted him
on the leg then, causing him to jump, just a little. “Then he gave him a hand
job. I think the fact that you basically turn into
Blaine
may give him
grief for a bit, but the whole gender shifting thing? I think he's good with
that.”

Britney hugged him and squealed happily, but he turned beet
red and ducked his head into his chest.

“Guuuyyss! Man... Now Keeber's gonna think I'm gaaaay!” He
laughed when he said it though, causing everyone else to chuckle.

Keeber's voice rumbled across the room, “Bears are all pretty
straight, but I lived with Libby for nearly two years. To a
bat
fidelity
means sharing a bed with someone at least three nights a week. If they even
consider that some people are male and others female when it comes to sex, it
only has to do with what positions they pick. I'm not going to think less of
you if you do some guy, especially if he also can look like
that
. In our
world though, things like that really just can't be that important to you,
because too many people have ways that are different from what anyone else
thinks is normal.” He waved in a general way toward all the women in the room,
including Hilda.

They chatted for a while, until about seven in the evening,
when something strange happened. A thick, ropey blue line came into the room
and settled in front of them. She knew it was Zack and that he wanted them to
meet in her room if possible.

Don jumped up and then froze. Kate stood and started getting
her coat, mentioning casually that Zack wanted them to go to her room and that
it didn't seem like an emergency.

Don seconded this.

“Yeah, he said that he wants to move Troy's bed into Kate's
room? I don't know if I got that right. Something about Nikki being in
trouble?” He shrugged, looking a lot like Zack then.

Kate grinned, putting everything together, at least big parts
of it.

“Right, we should go then. You know Don, you got a lot more
information out of that than I did. I mainly just got that he wants to meet us
there.” Linking arms with him they walked a short ways, until Britney walked up
and took his other arm. After a few seconds Hilda turned around and told them
to
stop
that, since if an attack came, holding on to another person
would be about the worst thing they could be doing, especially with all the ice
and snow around outside.

“If anything happens, be ready to run. I can't tell you
where
to run you have to guess on your own when things are happening, but run in
different directions, so they don't get all of you as easily. Keeber and I will
handle the fighting for now, if
we
go down, then Kate will protect you.
After that, well, I don't know how well you fight, but I suggest Britney start
having sex with everything in sight and Don try to get in touch with the others
so that we can call in a kill team. Now, none of that will probably
happen
,
but it's best to have a plan.” This came out sounding like cheery conversation,
instead of dire prediction, but no one laughed or even chuckled. Keeber just
grunted in agreement.

They got to the room with no problems though Kate did slip on
the ice once, barely staying upright. The paths were kept very clear by the
staff on campus, but occasionally a little patch got missed. Given the miles of
walkways that needed daily cleaning, most of it a gray-white concrete which
matched the snow and ice beautifully she still thought they did a pretty good
job at the school, all things considered. Don had grabbed her arm, letting her
get her balance, but let go as soon as that occurred, which got him a happy nod
from the large woman in front of them.

If they were attacked, he'd be ready that way, after all.

When they got to her room, they found Blaine sitting in a
chair and Claire, Zack and Troy moving her bed out of the room. Hilda traded
places with Troy quickly, so that he could meet the others, and everyone
touching the bed slowly walked toward the rift and vanished suddenly. Britney
gasped, but everyone else had seen the basic trick before and managed to act
more blasé.

Don just sat next to his injured friend and asked how he was
doing. Because an injured friend was far more important and impactful than a
disappearing bed. Obviously.

“Fine, oh, those guys are out now, but they agreed that it
was just Britney in a hoody once they thought about it and saw some pictures.
They were very apologetic and even agreed to let me beat them up if we dropped
the charges. I told them I'd let it go if they let me blow them instead, since,
even though it
hadn't
been me in the bar, I still thought they were kind
of
cute
. You should have seen the look on their faces when the lead
detective told them that, while not something the police could mandate
legally
,
it would sure beat
them
doing the blowing in prison... I let them know I
was kidding pretty quick. I just wanted to see if they'd get all mad at me
again for it. They were pretty cool once they realized it was a joke. Their
bruises are almost as bad as mine, except that one guy that Jelly took care of.
Remind me to thank her again and oh, I don't know, sleep with her, or pimp you
guys out to her, whatever she wants... Though really, it's the guy
she
took down that should thank her, the
other two
looked like crap.”

Tilting her head in thought, Kate finally nodded. They
did
need to do something nice for Jelly. Maybe sex. Maybe something else. A
gift basket? She mentioned the idea to them and everyone thought it sounded
nice. Maybe she could get with Lisa and find out if there was anything a young
Mage away at college would like that they wouldn't think of. Crystals or something.
Mages liked crystals, right? After that, well, she'd worked with and around
them for over a year and
still
didn't have a clue how magic actually
worked, though she'd seen some of them do some pretty cool things.

A few minutes later Nikki and Rebeca came through with Zack,
carrying the king sized bed that Troy used. Once the bed got put in place,
Hilda got pulled back through into the room as well.

Looking around the room for a moment, Zack seemed to be
listening to things that no one else heard, staring at first one person, then
another, then back again.

“Just call into Something Wonderful and order it. I think we
can cover that out of petty cash. I'll bring it through in the morning, or the
day after if we need to find other things for it or get something from Lesser
Shia.” His hand waving behind him he indicated the two women that were
finishing arranging the bed and changing the sheets together.

“This is Nikki, Nicole Bartlet, and Rebeca Smith. They'll be
staying with you for a few days if all goes well, sorry to just dump them on
you, but it's kind of an emergency. It may be longer than just that if things
go poorly though. First, Don, if you'd feed them? I don't believe either has
eaten today...”

Don stepped forward and so did Nikki, who looked at the boy,
surprised, but happy enough. She took him by the shoulders and bent forward to
bite him on the neck, licking it gently first, leaving a slick patch which she
started to bite. Don's eyes going wide when he realized what was about to
happen. Zack stopped her and asked if she'd lift her shirt up instead, which
really
got her attention. She did it without saying anything, but looked suspicious as
if expecting a joke.

A few seconds later, her face going blank, it looked to Kate
like she realized it hadn't been a joke after all. About four minutes later she
stepped back.

Then she apologized to Don.

“I didn't realize... Um, Sir? Sorry for any insult there,
I...” Don chuckled and gave her a hug, which surprised her again. She pressed
against him and he didn't move back like Zack always did.

Finally, when Rebeca cleared her throat, she did pull back
and cede the position to the other Vampire, who opened her shirt demurely, just
enough for Don to touch her stomach. After about the same amount of time she
moved back as well.

Zack had moved next to Kate, who found herself holding his
hand when she looked down. She hadn't realized she taken it at all, which felt
really strange to her, but she didn't let go.

“Good. I wasn't sure if he could do it or not, since that
ability
could
have been a side effect of my link with Claire. It seems
that it's really just an energy thing. Good. That means that Wu-Li and Dan
should be able to do it in a pinch, too. I don't think they will though, since
they're both a bit different from us and pretty much stay celibate to try and
keep their internal energy high. Passing it out daily might be too much for
them. For now it's you and me, Donald.” He walked over and clapped the boy on
the shoulder, signaling to Hilda and Keeber.

“Kate, you're in charge. Claire's orders. There doesn't seem
a need to saddle you with body guards yet. The attack today
was
just a
stupid mistake, based on poor decisions made due to poor information... Nikki
will explain why these two are here. Britney... Claire asked me to remind you
that your mistake ended up costing the world economy somewhere around one
hundred million gold today alone. Since I
will
come to your rescue if
you do it again, she asks that you merely call
her
instead, before
making rash moves.” He pulled out a card. “This has contact information for
Lisa Penbroke. I suggest you actually call
her
if you feel the need.
She's less likely to bite your head off. Claire needs to remember that it's in
my contract that
I
can take time off whenever I want. World economies? I
think it's good for them to have small disruptions every now and again. Other
people want to come visit, so I'll bring them by later, in a few days, but
don't let us get in the way of your studies. You especially Kaitlyn. But you
three as well. If I'm footing the bill for your educations I expect you all to
work at least reasonably hard.” He shook his fist playfully at them, taking
Kate aback a bit.