Dashing devil omnibus 2.., p.34
Dashing Devil Omnibus 2: Books 4-6, page 34
“I try to judge people on an individual basis, and I forgot,” Laura said from the rear of the cabin by the exit. “I’m going to go make that call.”
Boyd heard the whoosh of the bridge door sliding into the bulkhead and another whoosh a moment later as it smoothly slid closed. Kayla had been unofficially relegated to the main compartment for being associated with the press. Tinker needed some freedom to express weakness.
Sinoe had elected to stay in the mountains, so they would pick her up on the way home. She had told Raev she wanted to be alone and said that she didn’t want to be surrounded by manmade metal while waiting for them.
“You’ve forgotten that three of the people here have been you, while the other has been in your head,” Boyd rumbled softly close to her ear. “Essentially, we know you as… well, as you are. Your last name doesn’t matter. Although I seem to have forgotten what it was. I guess I’ll just have to wait for you to tell me again. Oh, hey, my other self could literally make…”
“No,” Tinker cut him off, shaking her head violently. “I think you’ve had enough of that.”
“Besides,” Mindy added, “you are trying to merge. Adding more hidden memories to your Gestalt Mind will only slow that process.”
“Just… uhh… pretending will work, I guess,” Tinker leaned back into him. “I guess you don’t even really have to pretend, since it obviously isn’t a big deal to you. Silvie and Mindy probably knew, even before Mindy read my mind, anyhow.”
“Our background check was pretty thorough,” Silvie said sweetly. “I would have told Boyd if I thought it would have any impact on the way he felt about you or interfere with our mission.”
Tinker nodded from her seat in Boyd’s lap, meeting Silvie’s gaze. “I know why it’s not a big deal to Boyd,” Tinker said softly, “I saw that when I was him. He’s all about family…” She reached up to caress his cheek. “Surprisingly complex, yet simple, he divides everything into obstacles or support. He removes the former and embraces the latter.”
‘She’s got your number, love!’ Mindy chortled.
“Huh, I didn’t get that,” Silvie replied.
“We all get something different,” Tinker explained. “It’s just a hypothesis for now, but I think we all get the parts that matter to us the most, likely on a subconscious level. We should sit down and talk about it so I can collect more data, but I suspect Mindy can confirm it easily enough—for now.”
“It seems likely,” she agreed. But Mindy didn’t sound certain. “My Power isn’t actually well suited for what you are thinking about me doing. I would have to compare each of your memories of the event—and I know that Silvie, at least, doesn’t wish to share that particular experience. What she was willing to share with me—in conversation, not thought or memory—was very different from my own experience.”
“I’m fine with talking about it… but yeah, hands off memories,” Raev said.
The redhead had turned sideways in her seat, her knees hanging over one armrest as she lounged in the corner of the other armrest, with one of her arms draped over the back. She had mostly been watching Tinker with concern, but glanced over at Mindy and stuck her tongue out at the taller woman.
“Kuh-he!” Mindy let out her signature giggle. “I understand, as I have no desire to share my own memories of it, either.”
“Right,” Tinker nodded again, “I forgot you already had direct experience. Sorry. You should also sit down and talk about it with us, then. Um… I think I would be okay with sharing my own memory for the sake of figuring it out.”
“But you would rather not, so we’ll try to figure it out by simply talking it over, first,” Mindy chided her before adding, “I understand. It was a very intimate experience—singular, yet shared with two others, in your case.”
“Okay,” Tinker nodded, and set her shoulders.
She shook her head as Boyd felt determination fill her. She twisted around to look up at him with those big hazel eyes from under long lashes. Her doll-like features featured the tenacity he was coming to know her for. “Yes, I’m a reject of the Bells, but that’s all I would like to say on it for the time being.”
“Okay,” Boyd agreed with a nod. “When you are ready to talk about it, I’ll be ready to listen. Until then, I won’t bring it up.”
“Thank you.” Tinker gave him a sweet smile. “We should go to this party before I lose my nerve.”
She looked up and asked Hope, “Who’s coming to this party, anyway? I’m guessing you didn’t invite your team.”
“Oh, heavens no!” Hope replied with her musical laugh. “I mostly invited some of the staff from the various hospitals I frequent throughout the city—fifty of them. And while they all said they would come, that was before today. Archangel is well loved in New Eden… including by many of the people I think of as friends.”
Boyd leaned back in the chair so he could see Hope’s serenely smiling face over Tinker’s head as she watched him. He judged her smile to be sincere and not an affectation worn for his benefit. Then again, he knew she was just as well trained in projecting the exact emotion she wanted them to perceive as he was, so Boyd couldn’t be sure.
For all her shyness, Hope made friends readily—but cherished each no less. At least she had back in the day, but Boyd suspected that hadn’t changed.
He decided to address it, just to be safe, “I hope I didn’t cost you any friends.”
“Thank you for your concern, but if I lose their friendship, they were acquaintances at best.” Hope shrugged but her smile bloomed. “Any that still believe that man’s words after we revealed the truth of the… no, the word ‘man’ doesn’t fit him all that well.”
Hope reached up and tapped her cupid’s bow lips with a French-tipped fingernail. They grew back to a perfectly manicured medium length whenever she tried to cut them. “Anyone who can’t believe the truth about Archangel after I’ve expressed my feelings on the topic—with Fact Checker verification, no less—was never truly my friend.”
“Well said,” Mindy replied. “That’s a good mindset to have.”
“Thank you,” Hope beamed at Boyd’s darkest love and the bridge brightened a little under her golden glow. Then she turned back to Boyd and Tinker at the center of the room. “I expect a few will come, but I do not know how many. I was never able to talk with them openly about Archangel before, so I just avoided the topic. I was regularly told I was a ‘lucky woman’ in relation to him, though, so I know many think him a good catch.”
“Are you ready?” Boyd asked Tinker, who felt like she had calmed, now that she knew no one was interested in confronting her about her family.
“Yes, let’s go.” She scootched forward on Boyd’s thighs and hopped down off his lap. Shaking her hands out, Tinker smacked her cheeks twice before stating, “I’m ready.”
Suddenly shy again, she turned to Hope. “I’m sorry for this. I feel like today should have been your day… but my family drama just had to rear its ugly head.”
“I think this is everyone’s day,” Hope’s head tilted to the side to let her golden hair drape over her shoulder. “Besides, seeing this side of Boyd has been… so wonderful after all this time.”
“Was he affectionate as a child?” Tinker asked as everyone began to rise from their seats.
“It was different, of course, but he was affectionate, in his way,” Hope explained while beaming at Boyd. “I was more referring to seeing him be open to… anything. Talking, touching, and connections in general.”
Hope straightened her shoulders—which automatically drew Boyd’s gaze to how her Hero suit jiggled, eliciting a giggle from Silvie, a grin from Raev, and an eyeroll from Mindy—and rewarded him with a warm smile.
“But, while I made it clear that I couldn’t say for sure when we would arrive, I told my guests to arrive a little over half an hour ago. I’m afraid we are past fashionably late, at this point, and I would hate to be impolite.”
“I’m ready,” Tinker repeated.
Boyd glanced down to confirm the dagger tucked into his greaves was present. As the only weapon he would be carrying, it was rather important not to forget it. “Let’s go,” he rumbled.
Silvie floated over to the hatch which slid open for her, and everyone filed out behind her. When they did, Kayla rose from her seat against the wall closest to the bridge, still staring at the tablet she clutched between both hands.
“Hey,” she said distractedly before glancing up to find Boyd. “Initial numbers are looking good. You’ve pissed off a lot of people here in New Eden—but you knew that was going to happen. Otherwise, you’re trending like crazy across every market.”
Laura was further down the hold, pacing near the closed ramp with her handheld pressed to her ear.
“Heroes Illustrated has already announced that you are being added to the Hero of the Year vote,” Kayla said reading something from the tablet.
She smirked, looking up and giving Silvie, of all people, a wink. “The comment section of Cosmo Heroic’s site is filled with calls for getting you added to the top ten sexiest Hero list. I expect they’ll try to set up a photoshoot sometime soon.”
“Ooohh,” Silvie bubbled spinning around in front of Boyd to beam at him, “that’ll be fun. You have to do it.”
“You could send them that one picture to give them a taste,” Raev added with a velvet chuckle. “You know the one… give them a free sample, but they have to pay for the rest.”
“Be careful what you ladies get started,” Kayla said with a laugh. “There have been calls for all of you to be in H.I.’s swimsuit edition—especially Mind Witch. Her debut has caused quite a stir. Plus, the gothy hero look is so rare that it garnered extra attention. And that pose against Devil! I’m so glad I got a great angle on that.”
“Kuh-he!” Mindy let out a giggle. “While it was something of a goal, I’m not sure how I feel about that. I’m so used to avoiding drawing any attention to myself that my first attempt at the opposite being such a success is both thrilling and nerve-wracking.”
“Aww, it’ll be okay,” Silvie assured her. “You’re a natural, and you can let Boyd do all the heavy lifting because you are publicly attached to him now. Which is why he should totally do Cosmo Heroic,” she all but gushed. “It’s another opportunity to improve the image of all Changed.”
“We’ll… uhh… we can talk about it later,” he stammered.
Boyd wasn’t sure what else to say. He’d thought he might be added to Heroes’ Illustrated’s Hero of the Year vote after he won the duel… maybe… but certainly not before it. Then again, they had some of the better civilian analysts available. Any who saw the broadcast would be able to predict the outcome of the duel.
Which was almost a shame, Boyd thought. It would prevent him from being a firm underdog in the gambling odds. He’d hoped to earn his early supporters some extra credits.
Cosmo Heroic was another story. It was the leading publication marketed to a female audience and featured lifestyle, beauty, fashion, and relationship advice—as well as slice-of-life stories on Heroes, both male and female. Pieces on female heroes were typically a blend of empowering quotes and tips on the magazine’s normal topics. Stories on male Heroes were… well, they were what you might expect from such a publication.
“Anyway, still way too soon for anything definitive, but I think you made all the right kinds of waves today.” Kayla grinned that easy smile of hers up at him as she tucked her tablet under her arm. “So, did I earn an invite to this little shindig… or do I have to find a way to sneak in?”
“You’re invited.” Boyd snorted, shaking his head. “But this is a private affair. I would be disappointed to learn I can’t trust you by finding out you did a piece on it later.”
“I’ll work on talking you out of that later.” Kayla gave him a wink. “But I won’t record or anything like that. It would probably play well with your supporters to hear about it in the special, though. The party itself isn’t my kind of story, but the way it fits in with the rest of my story makes it worth mentioning.”
“We’ll talk about it later. For now, we have guests waiting.” He waved her forward to get the group moving again. Boyd didn’t have to ask what her story was, he had all but made sure it would be him.
The only one who had changed out of what she’d worn to the battle was Laura, and she just took her bulky field suit off to reveal the white tank top and snug blue jeans she wore underneath. The ensemble, while simple, went a long way toward highlighting the woman’s… fitness.
The rest of them all made their way to the back of the Osprey in their suits. Tinker started the ramp opening sequence as they went.
Before they got to her, Laura wrapped up the call and turned to the group. “Daisy said she’ll hold off on making dinner until we get home, but it’s otherwise all set.”
The woman wore a pleased smile that contained a knowing quality that Boyd had difficulty placing—though a certain twinkle in her eye was becoming more familiar. He could no longer pretend he didn’t notice her interest in him at this point.
Boyd’s Gestalt Mind chortled at the admission.
Chapter 35
Hope carefully opened and slipped through the massive white with intricate gold filigree doors at the entrance to the Olympus Ballroom. She had asked Boyd and the others to wait in the foyer where an employee who would normally offer to take their jackets was instead staring at them with a mix of awe and apprehension.
On the one hand, there were several beautiful women roughly his age in deliberately provocative and appealing Hero suits. On the other, they were all standing in close proximity to—or hanging off of, in Silvie’s case—a very large demonic figure who had just handed a Hero the young man likely idolized his own ass, and publicly stole ‘his’ woman.
Boyd had read Davis’s file, as well as all other available information, on New Eden as part of his prep work for the mission. If you went off the publicly available information, it was the paradise it had been named after, with guaranteed jobs that fit your skills and abilities, free vocational education, readily available healthcare, and plentiful housing.
Davis’s files painted a very different picture.
The offered benefits only held true in the Gold and Silver districts. The Bronze district was anything but a paradise. It was effectively a slum, with little to no opportunity for its residents. The city supplied just enough in the way of social programs there to keep the residents limping along through life. The schools granted just enough education for their graduates to work the menial jobs the district offered. Available housing was cramped and often dated, and health care amounted to keeping people functional for as long as possible as cheaply as they could.
It was also the only district where Changed could reside, or even visit in most cases. There were rare cases when Changed were granted special work visas that allowed them to enter the Silver district, but never the Gold. Hope was the first Changed in sixty-three years to be welcomed into the Gold district.
Technically, a Hero could enter any part of any city, but no Changed Heroes had been invited or even had reason to visit before her.
The young man in the spotless blue suit with gold nametag had likely never been in the presence of a Changed other than Hopewing—assuming she’d had cause to visit the establishment before. He’d also been taught that Changed were dangerous—Primal, or not. He likely believed they all acted exactly like the creatures they appeared to be… at least to some degree.
And Boyd was no angel.
Which left Boyd wondering what Hope expected from the local medical staff. Any that showed up likely wouldn’t feel at ease in his presence. Boyd could tolerate some wary gazes if it made her happy, so planned to play along. He hadn’t expected this early chance to begin catching up on lost time and would embrace it—much like his merging with his Gestalt Mind.
‘Getting closer and closer,’ Mindy’s smile could be heard in the thought she sent him. ‘I haven’t wanted to bring it to your attention, so as not to spook you, but you’ve been merged with each other since your conversation with Victory Seeker. Which is probably why you aren’t doing that stupid ‘she deserves better than me’ self-depreciating thing you used to do.’
Boyd was aware of his Gestalt Mind still feeling something like he was in the passenger seat, although it had started to feel like he had his own steering wheel, too. They’d been cooperatively guiding his actions and words, from the press conference onward. For one thing, Boyd’s Gestalt Mind would have bragged a lot more if he’d been in full control, but that would not have fit the public image he was aiming for: confident, put together, ready for anything, but never arrogant.
‘You two balance each other out. I’m looking forward to seeing what you become as you merge,’ Mindy added, responding to his thoughts on the matter.
Boyd was under the impression that it should be like this. He wasn’t fighting it because he’d thought it was all a part of the merging process, and knew that was a goal.
‘Mnmm,’ Mindy thought-hummed, ‘close but not quite. It might be a step, but it isn’t a full merging. You won’t feel like you are making decisions together when that happens, you’ll simply make decisions. You will act and react as you should, without putting any extra thought into it. This is something else… something like what I showed you, but more natural. It will likely fade with time, or when you sleep. We’ll have to talk about it later.’
Just then, Hope poked her head back through the door with a literally radiant grin. “Okay, come on in!” Her flute-like voice contained notes of excitement, so he assumed more people than she had expected showed up.
Stepping forward, she held the door open, and waved them in.
Boyd glanced around and saw everyone else looking at him, so he assumed he was meant to go first. As he stepped forward, Silvie floated around from behind to hang off his right arm as he strode forward. When he passed the grinning angel, she attached herself to his left arm.
