Living Proof (Tyler G Book 2) (17 page)

That was nice to know. On a lot
of levels. After all, nothing would end his ability to hang out with Lucy
faster than having slept with her. Even in some other form.

Thanking whatever gods might
exist, he left, finally getting to go home and get cleaned up.

The idea that his mom, Lucy, the
woman that had cared for him for most of his life, had been spying on him
rather than just coming to visit like anyone else would have done bothered him
a bit. Not for the reason that he would have suspected either.

No, if someone had told him that
Lucy was going to be a bit overprotective, he might have bought that one. It
didn't seem to fit with the idea of being a Greater Demon, but that wasn't how
he'd known her. She'd
been
there for him, and been the only parent that
he'd ever known. So that part of things kind of seemed to fit pretty nicely. Of
course she'd be a bit helicopter like. After all, her kid had gone out into the
world on his own finally.

As it stood, he was kind of worried
about her. Not that having him around had been any kind of help to her really.
He'd vacuumed and tried to keep the dishes done up, but that wasn't some vast
service on his part.

Thinking about everything that
had taken place in the last few weeks as he got back into the store, just in
time to meet Hildegard for dinner, he understood that it was about more than
him. Lucy wasn't there to make sure he ate his veggies after all. He didn't
need to eat.

So it was about The Storm, if not
some other Greater Demon. Maybe even a totally different threat than that.
After all, she was ancient. Thousands of years old, from what he'd heard. Not
that they'd really talked a lot, since she'd finally admitted to him that he
was an animated corpse and not a real boy.

Just thinking about that left him
starving suddenly. Except that it wasn't a real thing. A hunger for the flesh
of the girl next to him. She was large and healthy looking. Dorky looking too,
from a distance. Like a girl that wasn't all that bright, and didn't bother
with makeup.

She looked delicious however. Not
as much as a Human would have, he didn't think, which was kind of interesting
to realize. Instead of letting his mind linger on that thought, he grabbed her
hand lightly, letting it go after a few seconds.

"Hey! You made it. Let's get
some food?"

It was a cafe, but there were a
decent amount of choices to be had and Palma, who was always there it seemed,
at least during the day, took their orders as they stood at the front counter.

"I'll bring those out,
dears. Why don't you both have a seat? It won't be but a moment." The
orders were mainly sandwiches, though he'd ordered onion rings with his. Hildegard
settled into one of the iron chairs comfortably, looking around for a bit.

"This is a good place. It
smells nice. Clean, and like food. We should come and use it more, but the
Chief doesn't want us to be too close to Zack. He's a friend of mine. I used to
help him, before he became a demon." Her eyes held his for a moment, and
then closed slowly. "He
was
a Greater Demon all along, but at first
he didn't know it. I can't see the difference. He's not an evil man. Even when
he killed that boy, it was only to keep the peace and make sure that justice
came with a firm hand. It is hard to think of him as being a warrior, being so
tiny like he is."

She went silent, since the guy
was a bit bigger than he was. Ty got that one and smiled.

"I'm not a warrior. I just
sell books and make phone calls."

The woman nodded. She didn't seem
too old, but it was hard to tell age, what with her being so different.

"True. A good being that has
fought to protect his own. Those of many Nations, as you call us. Lars has
written the ballad of Tyler the Human. It tells of how you fought the dead, and
living, without thought for who they were. It might be one of the lesson songs
of my people some day. The story of what it means to be as you are. We don't
have a name for it in my language. A hero that acts for all." She sounded
almost proud about that.

He shrugged.

"So, no pressure to live up
to that for you? Is that what you're telling me?"

That one didn't have to be
explained. She understood his meaning.

"
Much
pressing. That
is the point of such songs and tales. To push people to be more than they are.
Isn't that the Human way as well? You load your lives with examples of how to
live, and watch them daily, in your homes. Television. It is filled with
wisdom, if you are willing to see it. I did not get that at first, since it is
a Human thing, but over time I have found it there. The trick was seeing how
you people work in negative so often. Showing what not to do, or how to live,
rather than only focusing on the right way."

They chatted about that for a
bit, until, sooner than he would have figured, Palma had the table loaded with
food. It was mainly for his new friend, since he didn't need to eat really. He
would have to go to the bathroom though, part way through his shift if he had
too much. By being a bit more modest with the portions he'd be able to wait.

It was wonderful. Everything was
perfect.

When they were done the large
girl looked at the side rooms wistfully and shook her big head.

"We should go and have sex.
That is what you do at the end of a date, isn't it?" She looked at him
frankly enough that he could tell she wasn't kidding.

For a half second, he nearly
panicked, not really having been thinking that way, but then he nodded. They
had about half an hour until his shift started after all. Plus, how often did
you get to have sex with what was essentially a really well groomed Bigfoot?

"That's right. You don't
have
to, but we could. In fact, I think there's a room left open?"

She stood, walking that way
quickly enough that it was kind of obvious. Being a gentleman, as well as
curious, he followed along behind her.

It was, he realized, interesting.
She didn't kiss a lot, keeping herself to other things mainly, which were
different in pattern than what a Human woman would have liked. She wasn't
brutal, but not too gentle either, which meant they both managed to have fun by
the time he had to go and actually get some things done. At the end she held
him for a minute.

"This was a good date. We
must do this again. Perhaps in a few weeks? Sooner than that and it will be
dating, which means marriage? I don't want to marry a Human. It would be too
hard to explain back home. Sex is easier." Then she patted him on the
back, hard enough to rock him a bit, and left. Leaving him to clean up. Not
that they'd made a mess, but there was an aesthetic to the whole thing.

When he came out he found
Madeline standing there, smiling at him like a comic book villain.

"Ooohhh. Lucky. I've been
wanting to try one of them out for years. What was it like? Details, I want to
know."

Instead of answering he laughed a
little and went to clock in. Then he started working on the store. It was
Monday night, so no order was coming in, which meant the new Bat was there when
he was done. Not that he was telling her anything.

On the fun side, Ginger finally
showed up, just walking into the place, seeming pleased.

"There you are! Eve told me
that you've been roped into fixing California for us?
That's
going to be
fun. Hi!" She didn't seem to really know Madeline, or at least didn't run
over to hug her or anything like that. In fact he was the one hugged. The girl
sniffed him though, and then sighed.

"
Someone
was getting
lucky."

Madeline smiled then, nodding
hugely.

"Hildegard, the
Trollienkeine? She doesn't want to date him. I
think
she was setting up
a booty call arrangement. So, what happened in Cali? I was out of the loop for
a few weeks."

Ginger didn't seem upset about
him having sex with another girl, which given what Eve had said kind of made
sense. She didn't care about sex at all, for herself. Why should she be
concerned about what he did with other people, as long as it didn't impact
their relationship?

"A monumental fuck up, is
what happened. It was a Christian protest group, going after the Vampires,
because so far we've left them all alive and unharmed when they've done things
like that. It wasn't even
really
them, since an anarchist group joined
them for the thing, and started beating a cashier. That doesn't even make sense,
does it? I mean, those groups don't run in the same circles, most days."

It was a point that jumped out at
him too. Why would they even be talking? Christians could be judgmental, and
even violent, if they were fringe cult types. Most of them were just like
anyone else. Deluded into thinking they were right and everyone else was wrong.

Not that
he
wasn't the
same way, but his ideas were his, which made him blind to the idea of being
that incorrect from a totally different direction. Lucy had taught him that
lesson a long time before, while he was in school.

It suddenly occurred to him that
she might have mentioned a few things that most parents didn't really go over
with their kids.

Ginger went on, her face looking
a bit upset. Like she was going to rip someone a new asshole, to be honest. Her
eyes were normal, a light color that wasn't exactly blue, or green, more of a
mix of both. Her fangs were still put away too. She still looked pissed, just
like a normal girl.

"So the Council is sending
Eve in to find who did it. That, and fix the place up. The Vampires there were
screwing things up big time, and got in with organized crime. She killed most
of them, but that means there really isn't anyone there that can fix things. We
don't
have a Master Vampire that can go and stay there. Not full time.
We're, Eve and I, are too young for it. Even Barb is. She's been a Vampire for
over fifty years, but that's
young
for one of us. Oh... Speaking of
youthful charm, Tyler..." She stopped talking, and looked between him and
Maddy.

After a bit he smiled at her, and
gave her hand a squeeze.

That got her to go on.

"I... Lenore is coming into
town, next week. We're meeting with my parents? I sort of told them that you'd
be there. My boyfriend, so..." She seemed nervous about that.

"Cool. Not nerve wracking at
all, either. Not in the slightest. Nope. I'm perfectly fine." He tried to
look like he was about to wet himself in fear, but didn't really feel it. He
wouldn't, until he walked up to their front door. Then it would come he bet.

"You'll come? I wasn't sure.
I know we said we were going out, but then I've barely seen you. Work, for both
of us, but it isn't like there aren't a lot of women around here."

The Bat in front of him nodded.

"That's a point. This is
work time. For
you
. So
I'll
just have to take your girlfriend
into the back and... I have a break..." She looked at Ginger longingly,
but the Vampire shook her head.

"Sorry. Some other time? I
have to get to Yoghurt World. It's just Eve and I right now, since everyone
else has been called into an emergency session. There's a bit of a problem in
Mexico. I guess one of the cartels has been taken over by a bunch of us and the
Mexican government decided that means the Vampires were always behind all their
problems? It's a bit of a mess, but it will work out." Then, leaning in
and going up on tiptoe a bit the girl kissed him. Gently, and on the lips, but
well enough the Shifter next to them sighed.

"
I
need to find
someone full time. Calley is lucky, having you two. I'd get in on that too, but
you know, Aunt. That would be gross."

Which was correct. He was open
minded, but that kind of thing seemed a little off to him still. Sort of like
how it would be wrong for Sally to sleep with him, since she was actually Lucy
in disguise.
If
that was right and the Trickster wasn't just being
tricky, which, given the name, could be possible.

After Ginger left he and Madeline
worked the main floor, which did start to pick up after a bit, like it had on
the other occasions when Sally showed up. Sure enough, an hour in, the hot
soccer mom with red hair was there, looking ready to do her part as far as
entertaining went. For a moment he felt bad about that. His mom, Lucy, had
never even had a date as far as he'd known.

Now she was smutting it up, just
to watch him. Then, after a moment he shrugged. There had to be a thousand ways
she could have done the same thing, so maybe she was just trying to enjoy
herself? That was fair. It wasn't like he hadn't been doing the same thing. If
with fewer people.

When she walked up he waved.

"Hey mom. Come to watch me
again?"

He was behind the counter, but
looked right at her. Really, even if it wasn't a trick he kind of thought she
might pretend not to know what he meant. Instead she waved at the paper in
front of him. His sex extortion list.

"Zack told on me? He said he
wouldn't. Or was it The Technician? That bitch is... Well, not
that
bad,
all things being told, but it's a bit inconvenient. I just worry, that's all.
Are you feeling well? Everything is going all right?" Her pretty face
didn't change, but the mannerisms did. Suddenly she became Lucy. The one that
he'd always know.