Not Just Another Fae (Vegas Fae Stories Book 4)

by Keller, Tom

  "I don't think so," I said as I started to put the scythe back in my pack. Then I stopped. What the hell, might as well go for broke. " But I'm not playing until you tell me the rules."

  Then she did it again. This time she sat next to me on a red velvet couch. No longer in gambling garb, she now wore a white evening dress, looking every bit like Marilyn Monroe.

  "If I'd observed the rules," she said, stroking my hair. "I'd never have got anywhere."

  "Cute," I said, pushing her back. Then she did it again. This time we were sitting across from each other in a conference room. Marilyn was gone. In her place was a young woman with auburn hair, wearing glasses and dressed in a business suit.

  "Please understand," she began, browsing through a leather bound notebook on the table. "I think I've been more than fair."

  "Fair?" I asked, losing my train of thought for a second, after all the quick changes we'd been through. Not to mention being part of what could only be described as a game of wits with the Goddess behind the strings, Gaea herself. Something I probably shouldn’t be doing. But as they say, hindsight is a beautiful thing, and Nikki had said that Gaea needed something from me. Then it hit me. This was a negotiation. Sure, she wanted me to give her the scythe. But that was only one of the stakes on the table. Maybe I did have a card worth playing after all. "You have got to be kidding? Mind telling me what game we're playing now?"

  "Mr. Hoskins," she said, taking off her glasses and placing them on the table. "I can’t make things too easy. Besides, look at it from my perspective. I am the Goddess, after all. Understanding was never part of the deal." She perused her notebook again." I have kept my side of the bargain I made with Maria. Your Fae are safe, for the most part. Your daughter is Queen, relieving you to watch over things in the human realm. That is what you wanted, is it not? Your son is... What was his title again? Oh, yes, now I remember—Protector of the Realm. As an added bonus, both were granted additional powers as well. You should be pleased. Although I admit that you may have lost just a bit of them your power when you passed the knowledge on to your children."

  That explained that. Still, it didn’t seem like a bad trade, since it went to my kids.

  "Just look at what you've accomplished. You've allied yourself with Nereids and Weres to the betterment of your own Fae. You've even formed a pact with the Keres. Impressive, by the way. I did not see that coming. There! You've surprised even me. And now you've been on a grand quest, even rescuing your friend from Hades. You have a wonderful tale to tell, including one for the Oracle. I'm sure she will enjoy learning of her enemy's fate. Consider it an added bonus on my part. But now it's time for business. You have something of mine and I would like it returned."

  "Just a sec," I said, holding up my hand. "Not to be difficult, but can we go somewhere more comfortable? So we can talk, I mean."

  "Difficult?" she retorted. "You don't know the meaning of the word. If I hadn’t already expected it after watching you all this time, not to mention meeting your daughter, I'd... Fine! You should be grateful I'm in a good mood." She waved her hand and the room changed again.

  This time I found myself seated in a comfortable dining chair, sitting at a table directly across from her. There was a fire in the hearth and the room had a quaint feel. She was conservatively dressed in a purple outfit with lace on the collar and sleeves. Her now brown hair was pulled up in a twist-and-tuck bun, with braids above the ears.

  "Better? Your daughter seemed to like this look," she said as she poured tea into the cup in front of me. Unlike my mugs, these were fine china, and each had an image of the Goddess rising out of the earth carrying an infant. Then she poured some for herself. "Now. You were saying?"

  "I guess I should apologize first," I said, figuring I'd better not push my luck too much. "But you have to admit, this whole quest thing is not what I expected."

  "And what did you expect?"

  "You're kidding right?" I asked.

  She just sat there, sipping her tea.

  "Look. It's been interesting, I'll grant you that," I said after a moment. "But I've got a Demon problem of my own to deal with back on the human plane and this isn’t helping. Besides, you didn't have to lead me by the nose to get me here. You could have just asked."

  "Asked?" She broke out into laughter.

  "Fine," I replied. "How about a bargain then?"

  "I believe I've already stated that I've satisfied my end of that arrangement."

  "True," I said. "But I seem to recall the bargain you spoke of was with my grandmother. Not with me."

  A sugar bowl appeared and she picked up a cube with the tongs that accompanied it. She dropped it into her cup and began to stir her tea slowly. I watched as the barest hint of a smile crossed her lips before she looked back up at me.

  "I'm listening," she finally said.

  "Maybe I missed something here, but I was under the distinct impression that you did all those things for my kids because you needed me on the human plane; not just to fulfil the requirements of my grandmother's bargain with you."

  She sighed and took another drink. "You give yourself too much credit," she said, placing her cup back on the saucer. "But now that you mention it, I may have discussed a few trivial matters with your daughter. I certainly never meant to imply that I needed you. We were discussing, at most, housekeeping issues. Nothing more."

  "I see," I replied. "Housekeeping it is then."

  "Continue."

  "Here's my proposal," I began, holding up the scythe. "I'll agree to do your... housekeeping, shall we say, and I'll give you the scythe as well. But in return, I need you to help me finish what I started here."

  "Is that all?" she asked, pouring more tea into her cup.

  "Not exactly," I replied, wondering how far she was going to let me take this. "I'd really like it if I could complete these chores of yours without each becoming a full-fledged adventure. It'd be so much easier if you could just let me know what you needed rather than send me on some crazy quest. Maybe we could even meet now and then. Just to discuss housekeeping, of course."

  I pushed my cup forward and then remembered why I'd come here in the first place. "Oh, yeah. Any chance you could point me to the Helm of Darkness is so I can navigate the Underworld a little better? I mean, the Queller is appreciated and all, but I still have to find out what's causing all these Demons to escape; and to accomplish that I have to be able to get to the problem. I'd really like to do that before whatever it is gets to Marissa."

  "You expect me to get involved in your conflict with the other High Fae? That doesn't seem very sporting of you."

  "Sporting?" I said, then pulled out the sword of Cronus and laid it on the table. "She'd be dead if your ex-husband hadn't sent her to Tartarus. I would have won the sword just the same, the way I figure it. That wasn't very sporting either."

  "Point taken," she agreed, pouring more tea. "I'll grant that he did muddle things a bit by sending her to Tartarus. But no quests? How can you be seen as a hero to the Fae if you don’t complete a quest?"

  "I don’t need to be the Fae's hero. I only need to be your hero," I said, giving her my best smile.

  "Now I remember why I like you," she said, laughing. "My hero, indeed! You realize that although you may perform a service for me, I cannot guarantee your safety."

  "What would be the fun in that?" I grinned. "Then we have an agreement?"

  "In part," she said. " But I cannot lead you to the Helm of Darkness."

  "Why not?"

  "Like Ouranos, Hades was not very sporting," she explained. "It has been written that the Helm granted knowledge, as well as stealth. If he had possessed such a thing, he would have killed his enemies as they slept, or at least when they were most vulnerable. However, he did not possess such a thing because the Cyclops never made it for him. It does not exist, nor did it ever."

  "That could be a problem."

  "Please," she said, drawing out the word as she chuckled. "I'm feeling generous. Give me t
he scythe and I'll accept your bargain, as well as show you how to navigate the Underworld."

  "Done," I replied, handing it over to her.

  "While the Helm does not exist, the bident does," she said, looking at the weapon on my lap. "That, the Cyclops did create. You already have in your possession that which you need to traverse the Hells. However, our bargain still stands."

  Let her think she put one over on me, I didn’t care. I would have been stuck doing her quests anyway. At least I was getting something out of the deal. "You are going to show me how it works, right?"

  "As I agreed," she replied, getting up and walking around the table towards me. She picked up the bident and aimed it away from us. "Simply point it, then tell it what Hell you wish to go to and it will take you to that realm. You will recognize the magic when you reach out for it. When the portal appears, step through. From there, you can use the orb to lead you in the right direction." She turned and faced me. "But remember, it can only take you from one place to another within the Underworld. Outside of here, it is just another weapon. Were it not, Hades would never have left it behind."

  "Thank you."

  "Oh no, my hero," she said. "Thank you. It has been most enlightening. I so look forward to discovering what the future will hold." She leaned forward and kissed me, and then the room disappeared.

  Chapter 21

  "That was fast." I heard Lucius say behind me.

  "I forgot, you've never been outside the human plane," I replied. "Time works differently when you cross."

  "Did we go somewhere?" he asked, looking confused. The curtain I'd gone in through was now gone as well.

  "I did," I said. "Quick meeting."

  "You met Gaea?" Charlie asked.

  "The Goddess?" Lucius asked as he blew out his cheeks. Then his eyes widened. "You met with her! What was she like?"

  "Let's just say she was in a good mood," I replied, raising the bident. "I'll tell you all about it later. For now, let's go find Bernd." I started to point the bident, but stopped. "Just to be clear, I'm not exactly sure what we're heading into. Best be ready for anything."

  It wasn't that I didn’t trust her, it's just that... Well, it's just that I didn’t trust her to make it easy. I pointed the bident in front of us, then reached out with magic and touched it. I willed a portal to the place Bernd had gone. It seemed to take a minute for it to understand. Then a black, swirling, cloud appeared in front of us, and as we watched, an opening formed in the center. "This way," I said, and stepped through.

  It was pitch black; but slowly my eyes adjusted to the darkness. A blanket of snow covered the ground around us as we stood at the base of a giant tree. Its roots formed tunnels and as I started to turn toward the others, the ground gave way. Suddenly we were falling. I landed on my back on an icy stretch, the shield still strapped to it. I slid for some time before finally coming to a stop against a bank of snow. I started to get to my feet when I was knocked down from behind when Charlie and Lucius crashed into me.

  "You sure she was in a good mood?" Lucius asked as he wiped snow off his armor. He bent down and picked up his helmet. It had fallen off during his slide.

  "I thought so," I said, getting back to my feet. We were at the edge of a frozen lake. It was still dark, but with Fae eyesight and the white snow that surrounded us, it was light enough to see by.

  Charlie was up and shaking himself, snow flying in all directions.

  "Thanks, " I said, wiping my face. "Any idea where we are?"

  "Don’t look at me," Lucius replied, stomping his feet to clear the rest of the snow that clung to his armor.

  Charlie began sniffing the air in all directions. "Helheim," he said after a moment. "That is my first guess, but it is so cold. Perhaps it is Nilfhel. It is said they are adjoined.

  "Those are Norse Worlds," Lucius commented. "Are they not?"

  "That's where we want to be. At least we're close." I grabbed my snow covered backpack and pulled out the Queller. "Let's see if we can find Bernd." I placed the orb in my palm and it began to spin. A bit later, it settled on a location just ahead and to the left.

  We began to trudge through the snow. We walked through a deep valley, with snow covered mountains devoid of life on both sides. After what seemed like days, we stopped at the banks of a frozen river.

  "I do not like this," Charlie said, eyeing the ice. "This is the river Gjoll. It should be flowing."

  "Me either," I said. Something about the frozen river made me uncomfortable. "I don’t think we should try and cross here." The orb agreed with me. It was pointing in a direction that led us parallel to the bank. I tried to use the bident to take us wherever it was pointing, but apparently whatever magic it held would not take us across the river. Not the greatest design in a magic teleportation device, but what was I gonna do, return it to the Cyclops for a refund?

  We walked for seemed like hours, eventually reaching a covered bridge that crossed the frozen river. Snow and ice blanketed it, and even this close, I couldn't tell what it was made of. It was snowing again, and in the haze, I couldn’t even see the other side. Taking out the orb, I watched as it pointed across the river.

  "Wait," Charlie said as he stopped just short of the bridge. He stood still and stared into the dark tunnel for a moment. "This is the bridge called Gjallarbrú. We should have been challenged."

  "Where does it lead?" I asked.

  "To Hel's gates. I have never heard of it being frozen. It should be guarded as well. Either way, we must cross and find a way to the gate, if this is truly where Bernd is. It is said that only the dead may pass through the gate itself and that it is guarded by great, blood stained hound."

  "You've been here before?" Lucius asked.

  "My sire has," Charlie replied.

  "How do you know this?" Lucius asked, then looked at me. "Wait, don’t tell me. Another long story?

  "Yeah. You'll get used to it. There's a lot more to Charlie than meets the eye," I said as I turned to him. "You said the bridge was guarded. What kind of guard were you expecting?"

  "A giant once defended the bridge from those not chosen to enter. But there is no sign of her."

  "Maybe she's on the other side. Then again, she could have been gone since The Fall. Whatever happened here, I'm guessing this place is just as screwed up as Hades was."

  "Perhaps," he replied. "But what stops the souls from leaving if the gate is left unguarded?"

  "Beats me," I said. "But other than Fae like Siegfried, I doubt there are any Vikings left, at least not human ones. Could be the gates of Hel are locked. What I don’t understand is why would Bernd would be here?"

  "What do you mean?" Lucius asked.

  "I mean, if this is Helheim, it's not the place that I would have expected a Dwarf to descend to. I know it's like Hades in a lot of respects, but I would have thought he'd go to Valhalla, or someplace just for Dwarves." I stepped up and looked down the length of bridge. Even with my Fae eyesight, the darkness and mists made seeing further than a few yards impossible.

  With the orb-like Queller still pointing in that direction, I took a step and put my foot onto the bridge. Suddenly the way was blocked. They crawled or climbed up from the floor. Misty spirits with biting teeth and clawed hands that tried to grab hold of me. I could feel the magic within them; dark, and looking for a way to escape. I stepped back, my foot now off the bridge. For some reason, they couldn’t cross. More appeared and they sat there and glared at me as the bridge became packed. Spirit, or not, they had some type of corporeal form. I'd felt the pull of their claws as they grabbed onto the leggings of Hades' armor. I doubted their teeth were any less corporeal.

  "Shades?" Charlie asked as he gazed into the throng that blocked our entry.

  "Something worse." I pulled out the orb and tried to think of searching for another way, but they arrow didn’t waver; pointing firmly in the direction that would lead me right to them.

  "What about the bident?" Lucius asked. "Can it take us somewhere else? May
be there's another way in."

  "I already tried that. Remember?" I replied. "Give me a minute to think." Something about touching them with magic tickled at my brain. I looked the bridge over. It was solidly constructed. Whatever it was made of was hidden by ice and snow. The cover was some twenty feet high or more over the bridge. The lattice work that supported it was also covered in ice. Walking to the frozen river, I bent down, trying to see how thick the ice was. I pulled off a gloved gauntlet and rubbed my hand over the ice. As it cleared, it looked like the business ends of swords and axes lay just inches below the ice covered surface. We weren't going to try to go that way.

  "What kind of boots are those?" I asked Lucius, pointing to his feet.

  "Roman calcei," he replied. "What else? Crafted in Elysium; I have never worn finer. Why?"

  "They're hobnailed?

  "Of course."

  "Okay, I have an idea," I said to both of them. "We'll need a diversion to keep their attention. I'm going to try and make it through. You two are going over the top while I do."

  Charlie didn’t respond, but Lucius thought it was foolish.

  "What makes you think a second time will be any different?"

  "High Fae, remember? I'm going to bullshit my way thorough and I'm gonna use Cronus' sword to do it. It's not that far, and I think I can hold the magic long enough to get past them. I don’t think I can do that if I have to worry about you two. So I'll help you get to the top and then push my way through before they can focus their attention on you."

  "You're going to bluff?"

  "Hades is a God of the Underworld, remember?" I said as I donned my helmet. "Maybe they're too stupid to realize the difference. Let's see what kind of progress he can make." I grabbed my shield and then handed him the bident.