Not Just Another Fae (Vegas Fae Stories Book 4)

by Keller, Tom

  "You are still a God?" he asked. "That cannot have changed."

  "That's not a lot of help in this place," I replied. "Without the Helm of Darkness to guide us, I'm kind of flying blind here.

  "So we are on our own," he said as he followed me up to the tall structure.

  "I warned you it was dangerous," I said as I examined the tower. This close, it no longer looked bright white, instead, it looked dirty. As if the dust of ages had found its way to it, muddying the white stone it had been built from. It was situated on small hill of rock, and was at least 10 stories high, maybe more. Circular, the entrance faced the fields. On top, there was a turret that probably also functioned as a watchtower. From that vantage point, one would have an excellent view of the surrounding area.

  "Indeed you did," he replied.

  "There's one more thing," I said as I stood at the only entrance, a great arch twice my height and almost as wide. It was built of smooth stone that was a slightly different color than the rest of the tower. Like Hades' Palace, there was no visible sign of a knob or latch. "You're human again. Try not to forget that you no longer have a symbiont to strengthen and heal you."

  "Trust me when I say that the lack of its presence has not been lost on me," he said, examining the door with me. "How do you intend to get through?"

  "I had to use blood the last few times," I said, running my hands over the surface. "Before they would open, I mean. But I don’t think that's going to work here." I could feel the magic, but as before, it didn’t seem to recognize me.

  "What of the sword of Cronus?" Charlie asked.

  "I knew I brought you for a reason," I said, shaking my head and feeling like an idiot. My sword appeared in my hand and I placed the hilt against the door, then willed it to extend. This time, unlike before, it blazed with blue fire. There was a loud thrum and the world trembled. The tower lit up in a blaze of bright white light, the earth shaking violently as a shockwave burst outward. We tried to keep our balance, as the ground before us swayed and shook. It was raining dust and dirt. Lucius and I raised our shields and we all three huddled underneath, waiting for the deluge to stop. After a minute or so the reverberations stopped, and except for the dust which now obscured some of our view, we were able to stand again. I looked where the door had been and it was gone.

  "Not exactly the response I was expecting," I said, moving forward. It was dark so I used the sword to illuminate our way as we entered the now accessible chamber. "If anyone didn’t know we were here, they do now."

  "Perhaps we should find your exit before any come to investigate," Lucius said as Charlie began to search the room we had entered. It didn't take him long.

  As Lucius followed across the threshold, the door rematerialized; the way back now blocked. I raised my sword to get a better view, the blue flame lighting up the large empty space. A staircase on the opposite side wound upward along the inside of the structure, leading to the turret on top. The steps were huge, probably three times the size of what I was used to. It sort of made sense, considering that as a Titan, Cronus would have been a giant.

  Scrambling up the two-foot-tall steps, we made our way to the top unmolested. Once there, we entered a large circular room with seven arched doorways. In the center stood a six-foot-wide shallow basin of water on a thick stone pedestal which stood about five feet off the ground. The arches led to a parapet with a tall wall that circled the tower. Walking around the turret, were it not for the dust that still hung in the air, one could indeed see anything that would approach. Except for the pedestal and basin, the room was empty.

  "It reminds me of a giant aspersorium," Lucius said as he walked around the pedestal.

  "A what?" I asked.

  "As found in the entrance of churches," he replied. "Where holy water is kept."

  "Wasn't that a little before your time?" I asked, joining him in examining the still water.

  "As a Roman Centurion, yes," he replied. "But I was in Europe when the transformation occurred." He leaned over the rim and peered into the water. "Is this the device you seek?"

  "I hope so," I said, staring into the water. I blew my breath over it, watching the ripples as they spread over the basin. A mist began to swirl over the surface. A moment later it subsided, and I stared as an image appeared. It was familiar, but not what I expected. Some type of carnival. It stood in a large clearing surrounded by forest. It looked almost like something you'd see on Halloween.

  "That is not Greek or Roman," Lucius asked. "What is that place?"

  "I have no idea," I replied. "It's not exactly what I was hoping for." Looking further, I thought I saw something that looked like a Demon of old. Then the tower shook and I grabbed the sides of the basin to stop from falling.

  "What the hell was that?" I yelled as I reached over and steadied Lucius. Charlie suddenly appeared from the doorway that led back to the stairs.

  "Something comes," he said.

  "What kind of something?" I asked as the tremors subsided.

  "Something big," he replied. "An Arachne, or worse. It digs its way up from the beneath the tower floor." Then the fur on his back stood up. "We must find another way out." Another tremor shook the building and something howled. A sound of anger that I felt in my soul.

  "Put on your helmet," I said to Lucius as I donned my own.

  "We're going there?" he asked, pointing at the image in the basin as he put his helmet on his head.

  "It's that or face whatever is coming from down below," I yelled over the wailing sound. "Charlie!"

  The big dog ran over and I grabbed him by the neck; then with the other hand, reached over and grabbed Lucius. Then I blew hard on the basin and the mists swirled up and took us.

  "Where are we?" Lucius asked as the mists slowly evaporated away. "What is that horrible sound?"

  "That is carnival music," I said, waving my hands in front of me to clear a last cloud of vapor. "As to where we are? I have no idea. But it sounds like some kind of carnival, or maybe a circus."

  "I do not know this place," Charlie declared.

  The music drifted up from the clearing below. It was a familiar sound; but skewed somehow, as if the notes were just a bit off.

  "Is this the human world?" Lucius asked.

  "I doubt it," I replied. "This is someone's version of Hell. As to whose? No clue. But I thought I saw Demons in the image before we left the tower."

  "What kind of Demons?" Lucius asked.

  "The dark kind," I replied. "Leathery skin, horns, that kind of thing. And this music? It's like Halloween, and I think I saw costumes. "

  "Strange," he replied. " I am familiar with the holiday. But why would the basin show us this place? Let alone take us here. It is not like any Hell I have ever heard of."

  "I'm just playing it by ear at the moment," I replied. "But I think someone wanted us to come here, or at least I hope so." I knelt and got out my pack. Digging through it, I took the orb out of its bag and placed it in my palm. It spun for a moment, then slowed, first pointing out me, then Lucius, and then Charlie, before swinging around and settling in the direction of the carnival.

  "What is that?" Lucius asked.

  "It finds things that don't belong," I answered as I put it away. "At least I think it does. Look, this has got to be someone's idea of Hell, so we'll have to be careful. Best we keep our helmets on and play our parts for now." I pulled my shield off my back and held it in my left hand, holding the bident in my right. "Ok, if anyone asks, Charlie's a Hellhound, I'm Hades, and you can be Thanatos, the Greek God of Death. Come on, let's go trick or treating."

  "Hellhound!" Charlie exclaimed. He began to rub his face into the ground. When he came up, his mouth was salivating and covered in white foam.

  "Nice," I said with a chuckle.

  "I think I'd rather be Letus, the Roman equivalent," Lucius said, laughing at the now playful hound. "Besides, my armor is Roman, not Greek. Better to play the part."

  "Works for me," I replied, and we began walking
in the direction of the carnival.

  Chapter 20

  "Are you sure this is a Hell?" Lucius asked as we walked toward the carnival area.

  "Pretty sure," I replied. "But only because we bounced here from Hades."

  We had come into the carnival area from the back. As we walked around the low fence that encircled the place, it looked like something you'd see back in the human world; except that it was populated by Demons.

  It's easy to get confused where the Underworld is concerned. While Hades, and every other Hell I'd ever heard of, are indeed located down here, they're just part of the place that's known as the Underworld. Outside of the Hells, the Underworld is just a place. Like Fae, I guess. Except instead of Faeries, you had Demons. But I don’t claim to be an expert, and to be honest, I wasn't sure. But I doubted that Cronus' transportation device would lead just anywhere. There had to be reason that it had chosen this place.

  Of course, we could be anywhere in the Underworld. Sure, Demons were running around, dressed up in strange costumes. But for all I knew, this could be just a Demon world that we'd arrived in during their version of a Halloween festival. Still, I doubted it. The loud scream a moment later confirmed my suspicions.

  We walked through the entrance and up to the booth where the sound had come from. In front of a low counter, Demon children dressed as Devils and other dark creatures were tossing darts. Ok, they were the size of the old Lawn Darts we used to have when I was a kid, but you get the picture, and they weren't tossing them at balloons.

  "I stand corrected," Lucius whispered, leaning in close so as not to be heard by the others.

  Some distance behind the counter were three large wheels. On each, a naked human was tied. As they slowly rotated, one Demon or another would throw a dart. A hit got a scream, or a whimper, depending. That answers that. This was someone's version of Hell after all.

  It's a good thing I'm not squeamish, I thought, as I watched another dart plunge into one of the poor soul's chests. Lucius, of course, had probably seen worse. Romans had been fond of crucifixion, not to mention the kinds of deaths that occurred later at the Coliseum. Still, it was disconcerting, to say the least. Best not to show disgust while in this place. Not that anyone could see my face through the helmet I wore.

  "Any idea just whose Hell this is?" Lucius asked.

  "Hard to say," I replied. "Let's look a little further. We still need to find out why we were sent here."

  "And I thought Nero was a sick bastard," Lucius remarked. He had stopped in front of another booth where Demons threw spiked iron collars on the heads of humans buried up to their necks in some kind of smoldering rock. "I know, I know. After my time. But I was still in Rome during his reign."

  We cut through the midway; listening as Demons hawked games of chance or skill, all involving souls being punished in one way or another.

  "Why would the Tower of Cronus send us here?" Lucius asked.

  "Still working on that," I replied. We'd stopped outside the midway, near a small arena where souls were being placed in coffin like boxes before Demons started cutting them in half, or pushing swords into them. Something caught my eye, and I looked over at another booth where what I could only describe as a twisted version of Whack a Mole was being played.

  Heads were pushed up through holes as Demons smashed them with huge wooden mallets. As each head was crushed, another took its place. What caught my attention, was that not soon after one was crushed and removed, the same head popped up a few seconds later through another hole. Meaning the soul had to live through the ordeal over and over again. The only reason I even noticed it in a place filled with such horrors was that one head in particular looked familiar. I strolled closer to get a better look.

  On the third row back a clown faced Demon hefted his mallet and smashed his victim. A moment later, his target disappeared, only to reappear a few seconds later when it popped up in the first row. As I stood at the counter, the Demon carny working the booth asked me if I wanted to play. Waving him away, I walked back over to Lucius and Charlie.

  "It looks like we're supposed to be here," I said, a quick flick of my head toward the booth I had just come from. "Let's go this way."

  "What did I miss?" Lucius asked as I led them closer to a Demon's version of a food court.

  "I recognize one of the souls being tortured here," I said, stopping outside the entrance. "So now we just need to know why."

  "Why he's in Hell? That would seem to have an easy answer."

  "No," I said. "Why we're here."

  The soul in question had been someone I knew, or at least someone I'd done a job for, once upon a time. William Harrison had been his name. He'd been a friend of Eddie Milagre. He was also the reason I'd found Diantha. While I pitied him, I doubted he'd been sentenced for his kind acts. He'd stolen the jewel that Diantha, once the Oracle of Delphi, had been gifted by Apollo to grant her beauty. The old God had also used some sort of magic to make her immortal. But without the stone to keep her young, she'd been left to live out the rest of eternity as an old hag.

  Still, he'd eventually hired me to return it to her, but that was only because it no longer worked for him. I doubted he'd gotten many points in the afterlife department for that gesture. He'd run a carnival back in the old days, before he made it to the big time in Hollywood. Maybe that was why he'd been sentenced to spend eternity here. Whatever the reason, Diantha would be happy to know that kind of Hell he'd wound up in. She'd never forgiven him for what he'd done and it had taken a powerful oath to get her to swear not to kill him herself.

  This begged the question; What was the real reason I had been moved to come here? To the Hells of the Underworld I mean. It wasn't just the Demon portals. They were just obstacles I had to deal with. Dark Fae or not, Marissa's actions were just moves in the same game I was playing. But then I found Lucius, and now Harrison. First Heaven, or at least the Roman equivalent of paradise, and now Hell. What was next?

  "All right. Charlie, Lucius, I need you to block me from view," I said as I walked behind the tents. Kneeling down, I took out the Queller and watched it spin. It came to rest pointing to the back of a tent on the other side of the small alley I had walked into. "This way."

  We walked through the gaps between the tents and came out on another path that circled the midway proper. On this road, tents were up and hawkers beckoned Demons inside. I walked back toward the tent the arrow had pointed to, dodging a barker advertising a soul swallowing show. The tent in question had a sign with a crystal ball logo, advertising fortunes told. I stopped and waved my companions forward through the curtain before stepping in myself. Inside were several chairs and another entrance, also hidden by a curtain. As we crossed the threshold, an Imp-sized Demon with leathery wings came out and greeted us.

  "Wonderful. Wonderful," the Demon said, walking around me and gazing up at my armor. "Why it is Hades himself that comes to see the Necromancer. What will it be, good sir? Tarot, or perhaps the bones? The fire might be telling with one of your personage; or perhaps the entrails, or, then again, the liver." He put his fingers to his lips. "No, no, I think not." He looked over at Lucius and Charlie, telling them to sit before turning his attention back to me. He grabbed my hand. "Come, my Lord. The Lady awaits. She can divine that which you seek."

  I gave a nod to the two of them to wait, then went along with the Demon.

  He parted the curtain and led me inside, before disappearing himself. Not sure what to expect, I almost laughed when I saw the figure that sat behind the small table of stone. It was cliché, but I figured I'd play along, at least for the moment. Dressed as an old hag, what I could see of her green skinned face was wrinkled and covered with warts and tufts of hair. Her long nose protruded from a hood that covered most of her head, and her eyes blazed red. Her clawed hands clutched a crystal ball as mists swirled within. She peered at me as I came into the room.

  "Something amuses you, my Lord?" she croaked.

  "If you have to ask that questi
on," I replied, "then you are not the one I seek." I set my shield next to me on the floor and sat down, laying the bident across my legs as I waited to see what she'd say next. I was really getting tired of this bullshit.

  "Odd," she said, pushing the crystal ball aside. She reached into a fold in her cloak and came out with a handful of bones; bloody and with shreds of sinew and flesh still attached. As she threw them onto the table, blood splattered on to the smooth stone surface. She dragged a finger through the red drops, smearing the wetness over the stone. She gazed down at the dark red streaks before looking back at me. "Yet here you are... and here is where you are supposed to be."

  "Is it?" I asked as I removed my helmet and set it down on the table. "Then perhaps you can tell me why?"

  She cackled a laugh.

  "Does the great Lord not know his own quest?"

  "Oh, I know my quest," I replied, sarcastically. "Now I just need to know if I'm going to be able to fulfill it."

  "Tis the future you seek, then," she said, then went back to the crystal ball. She rubbed her clawed hands over it and peered in to the mist. Then her glowing eyes looked back up at me. "And what do you offer in return?"

  "That depends," I replied. "What price do you set on such a vision? Gold? Jewels? No, wait... Perhaps a piece of my soul would be more to your liking?"

  She cackled again before replying. "I have no need for such earthly things. As for your soul... Hmm... No. I have souls aplenty at the moment." She lifted up her head and put a clawed hand to it. Then pointed a bony finger at me, shaking it up and down as she answered. " I was thinking of something more useful. Something from another world... From another Hell. Yes. That is my price. Do you have such a thing? Can you pay the price for such knowledge?"

  "Oh, I can pay it," I said, removing the backpack from my shoulder. If it's games she wanted... Well, I'd just have to oblige. I reached inside and removed the scythe. I held it up, testing the sharpness of the blade with my thumb. "The question is—do I want to."

  "Oh!" she screamed, jumping up. "Must you be so difficult? Is it too much to ask for you to stay in character?" Then thunder boomed and everything changed. Suddenly we were in another place, another time. The room had changed to a Western theme and we were sitting at a poker table. She was human this time; dressed in a collared, striped shirt with a bolo tie and a visor on her head. Her left arm sported a sleeve garter. She picked up a deck of cards and fanned them out on the red felt. "Fine! Let's try this again. Pick a card."