Read Online Shield of Innocence (Alternate Places Book 4) by P.S. Power - Free Book Online

of her actions, not meaning them in a bad way. That
counted, if you weren't an evil person yourself, so Zack smiled at her, and let
it all go. They were married, Merry and him, but it had been kind of ordered by
her king, and they didn't get any choice in the matter. If she had a friend on
the side, well, she was an Elth. That kind of thing was actually normal for her
people. It wasn't like he didn't have sex with other people, so it was only
fair that she get to be happy.
    It was also interesting that she
could tell who was a line walker and what their rough ages were, at a glance. Zack couldn't really do that. Not without asking about it.
    Troy smiled and winked at her,
feeling fond of the tiny woman.
    "Yeah. I have to say, this
line walking stuff isn't that hard. I mean, now that I can do it. It's probably just me being awesome again. I can't help it though, I am Troy
Lopez."
    Eve who appeared in the doorway,
smiling, let herself snort in derision.
    "Oh? Sure, it wasn't the
magic I used on you before you went. No, it's all you. Not that you
aren't pretty decent, but don't let it go to your head. So that part
worked?" She looked at Zack, wanting a slightly unbiased opinion about it
all.
    "Yeah. I think it really
did. He isn't there yet, but I think he's going to be the best line walker in
the end. That includes me, and I've had the most practice. I need to go over
some energy work, so he can feed the vampires and Alede energy." That made
sense to him, but Eve made a face.
    "Um, sorry, you lost me.
What?"
    That got Merry to smile and nod.
    "Oh, yes! Several of the
human line walkers can provide energy at no cost to themselves, passing it to
others. It would be good if another can do this. You should show her, husband.
We have offered her no food, or drink, and she is a guest." There was an
undertone of worry there, and Eve started to beg off, her shadow moving to do
it first, not needing anything at the moment, but Zack understood it was an
Elth thing, and to Merry they really needed to do something for her. Or else it
would be incredibly rude.
    So he nodded.
    "Sure? It won't hurt
anything, and you might be able to work out how to do it yourself. If you
can... Well, then essentially you won't need to drink blood anymore. Let's try
it? I'll need you to lift your shirt up." There was a slight blandness to
his voice, but smiling she started to lift her button up without hesitation.
    It was a nice stomach that was
exposed. Pale, and flat, showing just a hint of ab definition. Troy smiled at
it, and looked away, even though he wasn't the type to be really embarrassed.
It made it seem like it was all a joke, but the vampire woman played along
anyway, clearly being a good sport.
    Moving in, Zack started to
increase the circulation of energy. As he breathed in he let the power of the
universe come in through the crown of his head, then as he exhaled pushed it
out with force through his right hand and feet.
    Then he drew it around. Closing
with her, he explained the idea to her.
    "Can you see it? The
movement?"
    She stared and then,
surprisingly, nodded.
    "Yep. It's like seeing heat
coming off of a hot road in the desert, but I can make it out. Kind of
flowing?" She made hand gestures, which were more or less right.
    "That's the stuff. So, what
I'm going to do is add you to the circuit, basically running power through you.
You should be able to take it in. When you get filled up, let me know and I'll
stop."
    There was a sturdy nod, and as
his hand connected with her, she made a small sound. It wasn't displeased.
    "Hmm. Okay, I can feel it.
I'm good by the way. I tend to walk around pretty close to full all the time.
Neat. So, can I get in on those lessons with Troy the line walker, too?
I have Alede friends back home that might get off on it. Free lunch and all
that."
    Troy laughed, covering his mouth,
and Merry did the same but didn't make any noise.
    Zack sighed.
    "They do. Get off on it? You
have to be careful though, or they can