Not Just Another Fae (Vegas Fae Stories Book 4)

by Keller, Tom

  I have to admit though, I almost laughed when I found out she was a veterinarian. Then again, it did make a weird kind of sense. They were wolves a lot of the time, but still, it just seemed funny. Then Sendy returned.

  "I have spoken with the Pack Master," she said to me when she appeared next to the SUV. "He thanks you for your assistance. They have found nothing in the mountains and will return to the city to plan a search in the area where the fur was found. They will take care of his vehicle as well."

  "Sounds good," I replied.

  "Did he have any message for me?" Jennifer asked.

  "He asked me to tell you that you are free to go. He will contact you later for the exact location," she said. "They have travelled quite a distance and it will take them several hours to return."

  "Thank you," Jennifer said.

  "Why don’t you do a quick flyover of the area over there," I said, pointing to where we had just been. "Just in case there's something we missed. If you see anything out of the ordinary, let me know. Otherwise, you can return to whatever you were doing."

  "As you wish," she replied before disappearing again.

  "I guess we're done here then," I said to Jen.

  She put the SUV in gear and headed back to my house. When we arrived, Charlie and I got out and I keyed the code to the gate. Then I walked back to the still open passenger door.

  "Want to come in for a bit?" I asked.

  "I really should get back to the clinic," she replied. "But could I use the restroom?"

  "Sure."

  She got out of the SUV and followed me to the gate. I motioned for her to stop as I spoke the words to modify the wards that protected the house to let her in. At the same time, Charlie ran up to the oak tree in the front yard and spoke a few hushed words. A moment later I turned back to her. "Ok, it's safe now," I said. "Come on."

  "What was that about?" she asked as we went to the front door.

  "The house is protected by wards," I replied. "Charlie told the trees that you were a friend."

  "The trees?" she asked.

  "They're not just trees," I remarked. "That's an oak. It's of the Fae as well… it's connected to my lands. Charlie told it to recognize you and allow you entry."

  "…and if he hadn’t?" she asked.

  "I was going to let you in anyway, but Charlie took it a little bit further," I said. "He told them you were a friend, like Martin is. But if we hadn’t allowed you entry, you probably would have just forgotten why you were here, gotten back in your car and driven away. If you meant me harm? You would have seen what Fae magic is really capable of."

  The magical wards that protected the house were woven by my cat, Lucinda. Although, she was no more a normal cat than Charlie was just a dog. When she first put them up, I'd had a stack of Fae guests stuck in the house until we remembered to lift them. Since then, we'd modified them a bit. Now, if we named you a friend, the wards would let you in and out. That said, the friends list was very small.

  "So I'm a friend now, am I?" she said with a laugh and rubbed the big dogs head. "Thank you, Charlie."

  "Bathroom's on the right," I said, pointing to the hallway.

  As she walked away, Charlie nudged me in the thigh.

  "Don’t say it," I said. "Besides, you're the one that granted her friend access."

  That's the problem when you live in my world. There are Faeries, Imps and other magical beings, not to mention talking animals. But Charlie was more than just a Fae hunting dog. He also fancied himself my protector and advisor. Not only in battle, although we'd been in a few of those. But, apparently, also where my love life was concerned. He had this habit of reminding me not to think too human every time we ran into a pretty girl. You don’t get that when your dog's just a dog. By adjusting the wards, he was trying to set me up with her by giving her the opportunity to make a move. Lifting the wards for her may sound crazy, but he was never wrong about anyone when it came to their status, so I knew there was no danger. But still.

  "She is no threat, and she is pretty," he replied. "Not intimidated either, which is something you need. Besides, Weres are still Fae, and good allies."

  "Yes she is pretty… and you're right," I agreed. "I know you decided she was a friend, but I didn't get the impression I was her type."

  "You are Fae," he countered. "Close enough."

  "Okay, you got me there. Fine, then. Let's just see what happens."

  Unfortunately, he had a point. I had been seeing someone. Ok, so it was a couple of someones. The one I had been most interested was a Lilin named of Delia. I thought we might have had a chance but things hadn’t quite worked out. At least not yet. The Lilin are, well, just think of them as Vampires, less the fangs. Thanks to losing a war with the Fae eons ago, they'd been under a spell that made them, to make a long story short, second class citizens. I'd freed them, but in doing so had caused some confusion among them about what their future held. Not only that, I'd also pissed off quite a few of the other Fae in the process.

  One Lilin, an Elder by the name of Ella, was currently trying to consolidate her power and get them in line. There weren't that many of them, but as with any magical beings in the human realm, someone had to be responsible for them or all hell would break loose. And ultimately, since I'd been the one to free them, I was partially accountable for making sure things got settled. The bitch was, Delia was now the official liaison to the Fae, as well as Ella's second in command. Which meant that she didn't have any time for relationships these days. Of course, since I was the one that put her in that position, I had no one to blame but myself, but that didn't make it any easier.

  What made matters worse, was that our relationship, such as it was, had been nothing short of a roller coaster ride. Since the day I met her, when I had stepped in to save her from a couple of young Weres with too much testosterone, it was nothing but ups and downs. First, just the fact that I had been a Fae was enough. Then a fight with a Demon had left her injured. That the Demon had been summoned by my enemies and was actually after me hadn’t made it any easier. Nor was the fact that I'd had to give her my blood to save her life. Something that, at the time, was akin to a death sentence, since it was a clear violation of their terms of surrender to my ancestor. This, incidentally, was something I also had to rescue her from later, when the Lilin Elders found out about it.

  We'd both been on the raid that freed Ella from her imprisonment by the dark Fae's Mages. Which was good, as it made breaking the spell and freeing them possible. But, now we're back to her having no time for a relationship. Shit, I can’t win.

  I should mention that there aren’t any real taboos about sex among the Fae. Quite frankly, jealousy just doesn't exist. As a matter of fact, some deals require more than just a handshake to close, if you get my drift. Still, having been raised on this side of the magical fence, I still had a few old fashioned human values. Which is not to say that I'm a monk or anything. I have had a few encounters. But I just couldn’t hop into bed with every Fae that was available, because that would be damn near every female Fae I'd ever met.

  Then there was Diantha. She was a human. Although she'd been enhanced by magic and granted what could best be described as immortality. Once known as the Oracle of Delphi, I'd rescued her when she'd been stranded in the form of an old woman without the amulet that gave her youth and beauty. You don’t always get what you wish for when dealing with the Fae, which she had learned the hard way. Still, she was my friend, and one of my staunchest supporters. We were what you might call, friends with benefits, as well. But as to a long term relationship… Well, let's just say that I doubted that was going to work where she was concerned. But, back to the current situation. Like I said, he did have a point.

  "Nice place," she said a few minutes later as she walked back up the hall. "And thanks."

  "Anytime," I replied. "Sure I can’t get you anything to drink?"

  "I really do have some things to get back to," she said as she reached the door.

  "I
understand," I said, following her back to the driveway to open the gate.

  She stepped up to the SUV and then stopped and turned toward me. "Maybe a raincheck?" she asked with a slightly mischievous grin on her face.

  "I'd like that," I replied, and then gave her the gate code. Okay, so maybe I am her type after all.

  She got in the Tahoe and I watched as she started it up and drove away.

  "So what do you think?" I asked as I walked into the kitchen to start the coffee.

  "I think she likes you," Charlie said.

  "Not about her," I countered as I opened a cabinet. "The missing Weres." I rummaged around a bit, finally settling on a white mug with the logo of one of my favorite local restaurants, Fat Choy, on the front.

  "Something was out there," he said. "I thought I sensed it when we found the Were's fur and blood but now I am sure of it."

  "What is it?"

  "That I do not know," he replied.

  "Is it something evil?"

  "Perhaps," he replied. "I do not know what the creature is, only that it is old, and dangerous."

  "And you didn't think to tell me this before?" I said as I filled my cup with freshly brewed coffee.

  "It is but a memory," he replied. "One that took time to realize."

  "A memory?"

  "One of my sire's… or perhaps of his," he said. "I do not know."

  A memory of his sire's? Some kind of genetic memory passed down between generations? Damn, that dog never ceases to amaze me.

  "So what else can you remember?" I asked.

  "Nothing yet. We must return after the rain if we are to learn more."

  Not much to go on. But I guess it was better than nothing. Gaea's warning to Nikki suddenly came to mind. Unfortunately, I still didn’t know what it meant. What was this thing part of it? What about the missing Weres? Could they even still be alive?

  Chapter 2

  Charlie woke me at zero dark thirty, which was a little after 3:00 a.m. according to my cell phone. The rain had stopped. The sky was clearing a bit and he wanted to go back out to see if he could find anything more of the creature he believed was out there. I figured we had a couple of good hours before sunrise, so I dragged myself out of bed and threw on some clothes. With so little to go on, I had decided not to tell anyone of Charlie's suspicions. There would be plenty of time to let people know if we actually found something.

  Armed with my Walther, seax, and of course, my sword, we headed out to the car for the drive back to Cold Creek. The sword I carried had been given to me by Ouranos, father of the Titans, after our battle with the other High Fae, Marissa, on Olympus. It was the same sword carried by Cronus, and later, by Zeus himself. Thanks to an Angel, I had learned how to dematerialize and materialize it at will. A nice touch, as carrying a sword around, or even just the hilt, could be problematic in today's society. My gun and seax were easy to hide, but modern clothing just didn’t have all the loops and folds necessary for concealing big weapons, especially in the Vegas heat.

  A short time later, we were back on the road and nearing the spot we had turned off earlier. At Charlie's direction, we went up the hill a little farther to another access road. Unfortunately, this one was pretty wet, but I was able to get far enough off the main road that my car wouldn’t be too visible. Stepping out onto the muddy road, I waited for Charlie to come up beside me.

  "Well," I said. "It's your show. Which way from here?"

  "This way," he said, bounding off into the desert. "Toward the tree line."

  I may look fifty in my human form, but inside, I'm still Fae, so running isn’t an issue. But even with the added power, jogging through mud is not my idea of a good time. I followed Charlie along a muddy road that bordered a wash, still full of water from the run off. He made a left into a copse of trees next to a few boulders and stopped. Looking around, my Fae eyes not hindered by the dark, I saw that we were above the elevation of the town, and about halfway between it and the Lee Canyon road. In other words, in the middle of nowhere.

  He started sniffing and running around, as if trying to reacquire whatever scent he had been tracking. Then stopped again near a rock strewn area on the other side of the wash.

  "Here," he said, stopping next to a pile of larger stones.

  Walking over, I saw what he had found. It was a leg... or at least part of one. The foot was still attached but the leg had been severed a foot above the ankle. No sword had done this. It looked more like it had been bitten.

  "It is from the male Were," he said, alert again as he inspected the area around us with his senses.

  "What the hell kind of creature is big enough to eat a full grown Werewolf?" I asked.

  I never heard if he answered, because a noise behind me made me turn. I had a glimpse of something large, then I felt like I'd been hit by a train and found myself flying through the air. The ground came up quick and I landed hard. Getting up slower than I would have liked, I saw the thing as it tried to catch Charlie. It was huge and towered over him. He ran between its legs, just missing the large clawed hands that reached down to grab him.

  It was some kind of Demon. Shit, it could have been someone's bad dream for all I knew. It was like nothing I'd ever seen. It was big. Real big. Maybe 15 feet tall, it reminded me of the Minotaur, but nastier looking. It stood upright on its hind legs and had claw-like hands. They were rough and prickly, which I had discovered when it smacked me aside. Its back was covered in spiny protrusions from head to waist, and sported a long thin tail, with a spiked tip that moved like a whip. The head was covered in some kind of thick hair, which reminded me of porcupine quills, and its eyes glowed red as it tried to find its elusive target. As big as the damn thing was, it was fast. But what bothered me most was that I'd had no warning that it was here. I should have sensed it. What the hell was this thing?

  Running back toward Charlie, my sword appeared in my hand, electric sparks rolling over the blade. As I passed the creature I swung, the blue blazing sword biting deep along the creature's flank. With a thunderous roar, it turned its attention from locating him to me. Faster than I believed a thing that large could move, it lunged toward me. I turned to avoid it but its tail curled around my leg and once again, I was tossed to the ground. As I tried to get back up, I felt something burn, and looking down, I saw the creature's spiked tail had cut me open from the hip to below the knee. Blood was everywhere and I dropped back to the ground, burning pain coursing through my leg. Damn! Why hadn't I worn my Fae armor?

  Trying to stand again, my leg gave way. I did the only thing I could think of and rolled onto my back. Pointing my sword at the creature I summoned every bit of magic within me. Tesla would have been proud as I pointed my sword like a gun, bright bolts of lightning shooting out from the blade, exploding when they came in contact with the thing's hide. The creature roared loudly, the electrical discharge causing it obvious pain. I felt myself becoming weaker, my leg now feeling like it was on fire, but it had the desired effect. The creature gave a last ear splitting growl and then simply began to melt, dissolving into the ground. When the last of it was gone, I saw Charlie running toward me and then everything went black.

  ****

  I was still groggy when I woke up. Trying to focus, I noticed I was in my downstairs bedroom and I had an audience. I tried to lift my head to see what was going on, but all I got was a wave of vertigo, so I laid back down.

  "He's awake," I heard a voice say. It took a moment before I realized it was Mal. I tried to focus as he leaned over the bed and looked at me.

  "What time is it?" I asked. "And what are you doing here?"

  Mal was one of my best friends. We'd worked on the force together and since retiring, we both had P.I. businesses. Mal did mostly computer security and recovery work and we referred business to each other on a regular basis. He was human for the most part, but had enough Fae blood in him to know what I was, as well as being Sendy's companion.

  "You've been out of it for a couple hours. It's alm
ost 10:00 a.m.," he replied. "Sendy brought me to you after Charlie summoned her. You were passed out in the desert and had lost a lot of blood. But you're home now. Just relax and let them work on your leg."

  "How bad is it?" I asked, once again feeling the pain from the wound. I glanced down to see a blonde woman wearing bloody gloves performing what looked like surgery on my leg. Alf, the Imp, was observing her progress. Still having trouble focusing, it took a moment to realize that the person working on my leg was Jennifer, the Werewolf.

  "What the hell is going on?" I asked. "And what is she doing?"

  Suddenly I felt something on my chest and Charlie's head appeared.

  "That was no ordinary creature in the desert," he said. "She is here to heal you."

  "It was a Gallu, a type of Demon," Alf said, his head turning toward me. "This one has been able to remove most of the poison. Once the rest is purged, you should begin healing."

  "I don’t understand. Why didn't you call a Fae healer?" I asked as I patted the big dog's head.

  "You told us not to call the regular Fae," Mal answered. "Charlie said the Weres had a doctor and said we should call Martin. Alf offered to help as well, so that's what we did."

  "I told you not to?" I asked, not remembering anything after the creature had disappeared. "Why would I do that?"

  "You said it might not be a good idea for the others to know that you had been injured," he replied. "Made sense to me at the time and Sendy was able to locate Martin and bring the Doc to us. So it seemed like the right thing to do."

  "I did?" I said aloud.

  Although I didn’t remember, it kind of made sense. While I wasn't that worried about my image, it wouldn't do to let just anyone know that there was something out there that could inflict this kind of damage to me. No, with my loss of status also came the loss of perceived power. While I had already dealt with some of that; knowing that there was something out there that could hurt me this bad would only encourage my enemies. Although I had other friends I knew I could trust, I must have thought it was safer to hide this, even from them.