Living Proof (Tyler G Book 2) (28 page)

It gave him some things to think
about, and notice, over the next week. He didn't get full time body guards or
anything. At least not ones he noticed. Nothing happened anyway, except that he
had to go to Arizona and talk to the prosecutor there about the Blythe cultist
and what had happened with him. It was, as it turned out, funny, after a
fashion.

There was nearly constant footage
of him being beaten the whole time, which was enough to have the men doing it
locked up for years, since it counted as torture. Even if he, personally,
couldn't feel it. Most of them were going to end up walking though, it seemed.

The leader was an old man, and
his second in command was a woman. If
she
did a year behind bars for her
crimes, which were pretty serious, it would be a miracle. On the good side the
camp was well and truly shut down. Not that some of the abused kids weren't
just being sent off to other, similar places already. Hopefully they'd survive
them.

Most probably would. That was his
hope anyway.

Thankfully he had The Line Walker
helping him out, so he was able to get to and from all the different locations
he was needed to be at on-time. Otherwise he would have had to miss work to go
and hang out in a different state. Instead he managed to make all of his
schedule happen,
and
practice each day. He came up with several new
songs too, and set them to music.

Compared to his first few weeks
there, the whole thing was kind of quiet. His mother came in, looking like a
young girl, several times, and had a meal with him at the Cafe, though she
insisted she pay for it each time. On the good side she still acted like Lucy,
not the petulant child that he'd seen The Rotted as first. It was easier to put
up with, because that kid had been annoying.

She gave Tyler a hug, pulling him
downward a bit, and grinned at him.

"This is Zack's store, so
his place. A Greater Demon doesn't accept food from another of our kind. That
would be saying that we're under their power. So we pay for it when we come
over to eat. Anyway, The Mistress of Souls asked if you'd be allowed to go and
play in her band. I said yes. I'm sure you'll do a great job. Perfect, in fact.
You're
very
good. Creative,
and
hard working about it. I'm proud
of you, Tyler. Never forget that." Then after patting him on the arm, she
walked out.

Looking after her, he felt that
sense of pride. It lingered in his mind, not fading. Which meant that she'd
just managed to give him a set of slave orders, he was willing to bet. So that
he'd go and do a perfect job with the band, most likely.

That was nice of her, after a
fashion, but he
still
had to put the effort in. The real work was yet to
come that way.

Zack came to get him as he got
off shift, at five that day. It was a Friday, but he'd worked from six the
night before, so everyone else could come in fresh for the weekend. He, after
all, was slated to be gone. He even had his keyboard with him, and his new
songs printed out. After all, he was going to have to perform for Rebekah,
Scotty the drummer and Steve the...

Really, Tyler didn't know what to
call him yet. The guitarist, probably. Zack got him to the right place, which
was a big house in Nevada, and left him directly on the doorstep of the place.
It was nice. Better than anywhere he would have expected to live, really.
Before he could say thanks for the free trip, The Line Walker stepped to the
side, into nothingness like he did so often, and was gone.

The door in front of him was
larger than normal, and made of solid seeming wood. Oak, most likely, not that
he was an expert in that kind of thing. The place was a light tan color, with
deep brown trim, but so large that it had to have had four stories. The roof
was pointed in places, making it seem nearly like it had towers all over it.

Behind him, off to the right as
he faced the front door there was a large pond, with a fountain in the middle
of it. One that looked like a naked woman on a clam shell. It was a bit tacky,
but he wasn't going to complain about it. The drive behind him was cement, not
asphalt, and had a topiary carved into a bush in the center of the roundabout.
That was made to look like a hippo, he thought.

In fact a lot of the place had a
fanciful air about it. It was a bit silly, but also the kind of place that a
band would live in, if they were successful. That was a bit of projection
though, so far. He didn't even know if they'd want him to be a part of the
group. As far as that went, he didn't really think that they were going to get
a choice.

The Mistress of Souls had put the
whole thing together, and probably had a reason to do so. Getting in her way
might not go that well. Even
if
she was sweet seeming most days. That
would probably last right until she started to eat them, it being snack time
and all.

Holding his keyboard under his
left arm, he knocked gently, assuming that he'd need to do that two or three
times before anyone heard him. It was early still, for Vampires, but apparently
Scotty the drummer was old enough to be out and about at a bit before six, even
in the summer. The man had brown eyes, and hair, and was small. About five foot
two or so. Thin as well. His nose was flat and his skin so pale that his
freckles didn't really show much anymore.

Rather than suggest that
equipment be brought around to the servants entrance, the Vampire smiled,
winced as the sun hit him and stuck his hand out anyway.

"Mr. Gartner?" The grip
was firm, but not a man-test. Just like what a polite person would use with a
new person they wanted to impress.

"Tyler. Or Ty, if you
want?"

"Scott Lender. Scotty, by
preference. Come in, please, out of the sun. Can I get you anything to drink?
We have some of the good blood. Human. Also animal, if you'd rather?" The
words were really friendly seeming.

Inside it was cool, and very
large. Almost cavernous, and slightly dark. The fantasy theme from outside
doubled in there, with tables that were flat on the top, which had legs of
different lengths making the whole thing seem off kilter. They were all in
polished wood, a lot of it seeming natural, like it was made from logs and
branches. Everything in the front area was like that. The colors were all
brown, but there were different shades of it.

Almost everything had faces carved
into them. Different things, not just gnomes or Humans.

Tyler shook his head but spoke,
since the small, quick seeming Vampire was ahead of him.

"I'm not a Vampire. Just
dead. Animated by The Rotted. On loan for this, I guess? It means that I'm kind
of her slave, but she acts like my mother. She raised me." He was working
on the idea that being up front was the best policy, but the other man stopped.

"That must have been
horrendous. The tortures and depravities that kind of being..."

That got him to shake his head.

"
Nothing
like that.
It was really normal. I didn't even know I was
dead
until about a month
ago. On my eighteenth birthday. She was always really sweet to me. I mean, I
had to do my
homework
, and help with the dishes, but it was just kind of
like what most people had growing up. How about you? You're a Vampire, but also
a Bat?"

That got the man to smile, and
stop putting down his upbringing at least. There was a bit of quick flapping,
his hands moving rapidly.

"That's no secret. Most
don't get it. I guess you're immune from the Human problem? Not being able to
understand what's right in front of you at times, like they all are? It will
make things easier, for me at least. Rebekah, too. Have you met her?"

"Um, no. Is she nice?"
It seemed unlikely, given that she was famous, but Scotty here seemed all right
so far.

"
Incredibly
kind and
gentle. It looks like I'll be the problem child in this group. Bat Shifters...
We tend to be a bit... Friendly? It might be an issue. It's hard to
explain."

"Yeah. I know a couple of Bat
Shifters. Calley and Maddy Hale? I think I get the idea." Then he shrugged
at the guy. "I'm bi, so, you know, if you want we can do some things.
You're a Vampire though, so you'll need to work that part out with my
girlfriend. I have two of those, but Ginger is the one I mean for this. I'm
also dating Calley. Ginger is a Master Vampire."

The small man looked both
interested and suddenly scared. It was amusing really.

"That's heady then, isn't
it? Most
Shifters
have never met a Bat, and you know three of us? Dating
a Master Vampire, too. I'd call you a liar, due to that being so unlikely, but
why would you bother? It would be easier to get me into bed if you were
single."

Which was a point, but he didn't
think it would be a real problem, as long as permission was given all the way
around. The man gestured for him to follow along, and took him into a sitting
room that was large, and filled with sofas, large chairs, and had two people in
it.

A good looking freckled boy with
red hair who seemed to be about his own age, and an all white woman that had
hundreds of fang teeth and blood red eyes. Her hair was a different color of
white, compared to her skin, and she had on a light pink top that was loose and
flowing. She was thin, and not really very pretty, but definitely had different
looking down to an art.

Scotty waved to the others.

"This is Tyler Gartner. Ty,
to us, being his friends. These are Rebekah, and Steven York. Steve. So, who's
in charge of this messy little debacle? Shall we go by age, or arm wrestle for
it?" There was a look at Rebekah then, as if letting them know who'd win
both of those competitions. She didn't seem old, but that could be deceptive.

Tyler moved over to a chair that
was near an outlet and plugged his cheap little keyboard in. Then, opening his
notebook, he settled and started to play. After the opening bridge, he started
to sing. The others listened, politely enough, but instead of letting him move
to the next song Rebekah sidled up to him.

"Do that again? You have the
words?" She moved in along side of him, and sang along, working into a
harmony on the piece. Perfectly the first time through. She was incredible,
which he knew from having heard her on the radio before.

Steve got his guitar, and by the
third time they did the thing with percussion, too. Scotty had a little pad
thing for that, and while it wasn't perfect in tone, it was decent.

The Vampire woman nodded.

"Steve, play it an octave
down? Scotty, can you change up to a secondary beat when we get to the
chorus?" She tapped out what she meant on the arm of the chair, which she
was sitting on.

Three play thoughts later she put
her hand on Ty's shoulder.

"Not bad. Do you have
anything else?"

"Of course. Here, I call
this one Among the Living." It was probably a bit on the nose if you knew
him, but the Vampires both liked it. Steve was pretty close to a miracle worker
on the guitar, too.

They ended up working until
nearly midnight, when Rebekah clapped her hands.

"Okay, so I need to go and
call Keeley and offer to wash her car. That's not our normal thing, but she's
really
pulled out the stops here. I had no clue we'd have the first album ready this
fast. I figured on six months to a
year
for it. We should take a few
practice days, and then see about getting studio time."

Steve looked at her and gave a
cool looking lopsided grin. It was nearly a smirk.

"See, I told you two you
should let me into your band, but
nooo
, I wasn't Vampy enough for you. I
bet you're sorry now, aren't you Rebekah?"

That got the woman to shake her
head.

"It wasn't that you weren't
good, or even the thing where you're a Human. It was more the part that you
were in middle school. So, are we going with a theme? Vampires are on the way
out, I think. Now that people know we're real we've become all boring. We could
put on thick face paint? Clowns or something like that?"

He winced, not wanting to be a
jerk, but also not wanting to be part of a clown band. It didn't fit the music
they had so far, for one thing.

"How about nice clothing,
and I don't know, being ourselves? Or is that too boring?" Ty tried not to
sound like a nerd, but Scotty rolled his eyes.

"There are thousands of good
bands that seem like everyone else. We should do something special. How about
we can perform in the nude? We're all nice looking that way, I bet."

Rebekah giggled at that and shook
her head.

"Not if you want to do any
live shows. I... How about
this
, each of us can have a persona. I'll be
the femme fatal, Scotty can be the man-whore, Steve can be the good boy, and
Tyler can be the closeted gay one?"

She was teasing him, it seemed,
or making a comment on his lack of body hair. Not that
she
had any
either. Her pale, chalklike arms were as bare as his own were.

"I'm bi, and not in the
closet. I don't really
care
who knows about it. It's been in the press
already. On the radio at least."