“That being said, I don’t want you going up against any of those guys. We need to make you faster somehow…” Tia says while I remember the question that I need to ask.
“Airi, focus all efforts to block out Cheza.”
(That won’t be difficult, she is angry at you for your decision)
“What did Kira mean about ‘Fae blood’?” I ask quietly. Tia and Sara both tense up.
“What are you talking about!? Kira didn’t say Fae blood, she said Fa Bleu. It’s a type of magical cheese grown in the frozen tundra of France!” Tia blurts out in a panic, interrupting Sara’s open mouth.
“Cole, could you wait here for a moment while I fetch the ball-gag from Tia’s room?” Sara asks while glaring at Tia with malicious intent.
“I’M SORRY! I PANICKED!” Tia shouts.
“We need to talk about this.” I say sternly.
“We also need to talk about that helmet and the new swords.” Sara says, transparently trying to change the subject.
“*Sigh* We can talk about those things later. I want to check on Natasha and the Peri, where are they?” I ask while rubbing my temples, but still glad to have some extra time to figure out how much I should tell them about last night.
“Well Natasha has a serious concussion so she is in her room resting and I think that the Peri is outside; she’s been refusing to talk to anyone though.” Sara replies.
I thank her and head towards the living room. I expand my hearing when I arrive there. Cheza is downstairs in the basement beating the crap out of a bag (that she is probably imagining is me) and I hear someone sigh outside in the backyard.
I head out there and see the Peri lying on the grass, which has grown to surround her body. It looks like a grass-angel, except that the Peri’s arms are by her sides; I see bruises of various sizes on her arms that I couldn’t notice last night. Rather than being white, her wings are pearlescent in color and very noticeable out in the sun. Her black, shoulder-length hair, which is parted from the right and tucked behind her left ear, has kind of a purple sheen.
“I figured you would be out here; if I had been locked in a cage in a windowless room, I would probably want to spend some time outside too.” I say, noticing her flinch at the sound of my voice. As I get closer, I notice that she is wearing nothing but one of my white t-shirts, most likely with the back cut out for her wings; thank gods Hanes t-shirts come in packs. Maybe that should be a new sales pitch:
Hanes: For when the naked fairy that you rescued needs clothes.
“Oh, hello! How do you feel? You look quite well for a dead person!” The Peri says in a high-pitched, singsong fashion that I am now realizing is just her voice. She stands to her feet…and I realize why she isn’t wearing some of Cheza’s clothes; this girl is only about three and a half feet tall so she can wear my shirt like a long dress. I think I’m starting to understand how Tinkerbell ended up being four inches tall.
“You know, I get that all the time!” I exclaim as I notice her shaking slightly just from speaking to me.
“Really?” the Peri asks while raising an eyebrow at me; her pretty purple eyes look slightly frightened.
“No, not really.” I say with a smile. “Anyway, I’m Cole.”
“My name is Lila. Thank you for rescuing me.” Lila says and rushes forward to hug me, her head only coming up to my navel. “And I’m sorry that you became injured because of me.”
“Oh it isn’t your fault,” I say while moving my arms to try and hug her back or something, but when there is a tiny girl with wings hugging you, your brain tends to just say ‘…what?’ So I end up just patting her on the head. She flinches at first before giggling at my reaction as she pulls away. She seems to be warming up to me; good, this girl has been through enough to deserve to relax around the person who rescued her.
“So…can you fly?” I ask as if it’s some kind of secret that she has wings on her back. Lila smiles and unfurls her wings. She flaps them thrice and goes about a foot off of the ground before landing.
“How did you make the grass grow?” I inquire.
“All fairies have some control over nature.” Lila answers.
“Okay, next question: how old are you?” I ask.
“Thirteen.” Lila replies.
(No touching)
“I am shocked by that suggestion Airi! I’m suddenly a whole lot angrier at the Daeva that I left in pieces on the ground to die slowly and painfully… Actually, I probably couldn’t have done much worse to them so I guess it about equals out.”
“Alright…should we…call your parents or something?” I ask. I’m sure that’s the standard protocol for rescuing a small naked girl from kidnappers…probably…but is it the standard protocol for fairy girls?
“Call?” Lila asks while cocking her head to the side.
“I guess they don’t have phones in the fairy world…Are you hungry? What do you eat?” I ask, slightly flustered.
“The blood of virgins.” Lila says with a blank expression.
“…I’ll ask Cheza.” I say, a lot more flustered than before. I think I might be in way over my head.
“That was a joke.” Lila says with a smile.
“Hey, take it easy on me! I’ve never met a fairy before!” I say with a light chuckle.
“And I’ve never met someone that could talk to me after getting stabbed in the chest with three swords!” Lila says while replicating my demeanor.
“…are you human?” Lila asks carefully, like she is afraid that I’ll beat her for asking.
“Yes, I’m human.” probably. I don’t want to freak her out so I leave out that last part.
Suddenly, a wooden and silver spear lands by my right foot. I quickly snatch it up and cut my left arm with it as I deflect a second spear before throwing the first spear at the two flying white men with black wings, white outlines, and sparkly white centers. I score a hit, just not the one I was aiming for; the spear sticks into one of their thighs instead of a torso or head.
I turn around and pick up Lila before getting tackled from my left side. I hold Lila close to me as I feel us start to fall.
Chapter 16: I’m screwed…or am I?
“Airi, helmet.” I tell her as I punch the face of the guy that is currently lying on top of me. I reach forward and grab the guy’s left arm, utilizing the extra space I made with my punch. I get him into an arm bar, snap his forearm, and stand to my feet while he is writhing in pain.
“Just stay down Lila!” I say while the helmet wraps to the front of my face. I kick the screaming guy in the face, rendering him unconscious.
I look around and take stock of my situation. We are currently in the middle of a white marble gazebo that seems to be on top of a grassy hill; more importantly, there a dozen of the black-winged guys with spears advancing towards me less than twenty feet away.
I stick my right finger tips on my left arm and continuously fling out four needles as I quickly spin in a circle several times. Now, I’d like to say that each of the four needles from each throw were perfectly placed and they all flew straight into each of the twelve jugulars surrounding me, but that isn’t the case. Instead, it’s more like I’m just flinging them wildly at their faces. I am really glad that these things only take 20 milliliters of blood to make because I must throw around a hundred of these things in four rotations. By the time I stop spinning, all of the winged guys are on the ground screaming with needles stick out of their faces.
I take a knee to dispel my dizziness. I look over at Lila and see the same stunned expression as last night. Man, I am seriously fucking up this kid with the amount of violence I’m subjecting her to…Then again, I did rescue her from being naked in a cage. Catching movement out of the corner of my eye, I turn my head and see two figures with golden auras…just my luck.
“Sorry Lila, it looks like I misinterpreted the situation. Instead of protecting you, I just dragged you into my fight.” My creepy sounding voice says as I start the draw for a Mu-cutter in my lef
t hand, which should be interesting because my left-handed swordplay is not very skillful.
(You will be rendered unconscious before you complete the Mu-cutter)
“W-W-What?” I ask, praying that I misheard her.
(You only have 3.5 Liters of blood remaining)
“Make a smaller Mu-cutter!”
(It will not connect)
“WELL WHY NOT!?”
(…you do not have to yell. I do not know, but the Mu-cutter won’t connect without at least six feet of string length)
Okay, I have zero hope at killing these guys. Maybe I can get lucky, blind them with needles, grab Lila, and run! Well, it’s the only plan I’ve got…
“WHAT THE FOCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOIN’ BOYO!?” I hear shouted behind me with an Irish accent. This Irish accented shout sounds vaguely familiar. “COMIN’ INTO MY REALM AND KILLIN’ MY SUBJECTS!?”
“You know, just the other day,” I say in the creepy overlapping voice as I reach up and slowly touch the back of my neck. “I was trying to figure out whether or not you had called me boyo as a crack about my appearance, our relative ages, or neither.”
“I know this voice…” a thoughtful voice says to himself.
“I’m glad to see that it’s neither, considering that you couldn’t see my face or age under my helmet. Oh, and you two should probably help them out. There shouldn’t be any fatalities yet and there won’t be if you stop the bleeding. The eyes however…well that’s my bad. Airmed should be able to help.” I say while instructing the gods in front of me like I own the place.
“It’s nice to see you again, Dagda; it’s been a while!” I exclaim while turning on my knee to face the six foot tall, elderly gentleman with his curly red hair and short beard, who happens to be wearing dark blue slacks, a matching blazer, and a captain’s hat.
“COLE! HA HA! IT’S GOOD TO SEE YOU, BOYO!” Dagda exclaims loudly as he comes over and gives me a hand off of the floor before nodding at the two gods to follow my instructions. “How did you know ‘twas me?”
“Well, I heard the accent and combine that with someone who would be in charge of a whole realm, and it was obvious! And man, was I relieved to hear you; I saw these two in front of me and I started getting a bit nervous. I don’t have enough blood left to fight back because of the three swords I took to the chest last night.” I explain.
“Come, let’s walk; I can show you Tir na nOg and you can explain how you got here.” Dagda says as I help Lila to her feet.
“AND YOU HAVE THE YOUNG LASS LILA WITH YOU TOO!?” Dagda exclaims.
“Hey daddy!” Lila says cheerfully.
“DADDY!?” I shout incredulously.
“HA HA HA! You see, when I first met the lassie, her mam said “Lila, this here is Dahdah,” and the lass crinkles her nose and says ‘if you wanted me to call you daddy, you didn’t need to try and trick me to do it.’ HA HA!” Dagda regales as I notice Lila’s legs shake.
“That is quite the amusing tale!” I tell him.
I scoop Lila up, noticing her flinch when I touch her, and I put her in a cradle carry (also known as a bridal or princess carry). She fidgets around in my arms before she huffs and stays still.
“Cole…this is uncomfortable.” Lila says.
“Sorry…I guess the princesses for whom this carry is named didn’t have wings. How about this?” I ask, reach underneath her arms, and put her on my shoulders. Lila fidgets around again before she sits still.
“I approve…onward minion!” Lila exclaims while pointing forward.
“Haha, Yes princess.” I sarcastically reply as Dagda leads onward.
We leave the gazebo and head down the hill, passing by a spring where several water elementals of some sort are playing around. There are just green rolling hills and individual groves of trees as far as the eye can see. I just realized something; I’m glad my shirt is so long on Lila because she probably doesn’t have any underwear on; there is no way that Cheza’s would fit her…Oh shit, Cheza! She is probably losing her mind right now!
“CHEZA! CAN YOU HEAR ME!?” I scream in my mind.
“COLE! WHERE ARE YOU!?” Cheza screeches clearly; I guess the reception between our minds is not lessened by inter-dimensional travel.
“You’ve had me worried sick, you ass! Are you okay? I can feel that you’re calm and not fighting and…is that Dagda with you? And the girl is with you too right?” Cheza asks.
“Whoa! Slow down! Yes, it is Dagda, yes Lila is with me, yes I’m okay, and I’m in Tir na nOg. Not entirely sure as to the ‘how’ of that last part, but I think one of the guys that attacked us, ported us here. I’ll keep you updated.” I tell her calmly.
“Okay…just come back to me Cole…” Cheza thinks quietly.
“Of course I will, Cheza. I’ll be home in a few hours.” I reassure her.
“Okay, now that that’s settled; Dagda, I believe I owe you an explanation.” I say aloud.
“I believe you do. Explain how you managed to take out thirteen of my most well trained soldiers now.” Dagda says.
“Well, I guess I’ll start with how I rescued Lila from a dozen Daeva at a fraternity house in Phoenix.” I say.
“DAMN! A dozen you say? Is this what Mama Quilla was talkin’ about for the emergency meetin’ tomorrow?” Dagda asks.
“I guess I should start back a bit further.” I say and then I regale a carefully edited story that only includes how I can make things with my blood, the events at last night’s party, and finally what just happened. “I thought they were trying to take Lila at first, but after the two gods showed up, I thought I had it backwards and that I’d accidentally dragged Lila into my fight.”
“So they said nothin’ now?” Dagda asks.
“Nope, the whole altercation started with a spear near my foot.” I reply.
“Well then I don’ blame you lad! But lass, couldn’t you tell who they were?” Dagda asks.
“Yeah, they were the same guys that took me in the first place.” Lila says timorously, as though we might smack her for saying those things. “When they took me, I heard them say something about it being Aengus’s brilliant plan for him to rule in the new age.”
“Are you sure about this Lila?” I ask. I feel her move before she hugs my head and puts her chin on top of it; I’ll take that as a yes.
“Dagda, what have you been doing since Lila disappeared and how long has it been?” I ask.
“I’ve had my forces searchin’ for the young lass for almost three days now.” Dagda says.
“Then my guess is that he is planning to make his move sometime tonight as he probably knows about Lila being found. Is your relationship with her common knowledge?” I ask.
“It is; after all, it’d be strange if I didn’t know the princess o’ the fairies!” Dagda informs me.
“Wait, so she’s an actual princess!?” I exclaim in surprise, but I quickly recover. “Dagda, the meeting tomorrow is to inform The Faction of my status as Executioner. Kira is going to have me visit any pantheon that is suspected of having internal revolutions and solve the problem like I did with the Polynesian pantheon. I hope I’m not overstepping my bounds, but I need you to come up with an occasion to gather your entire pantheon in one place; a place where I can challenge Aengus to a duel, a place where he will be honor bound to fight, and a place to maximize the effect of me torturing him to death.” I inform him.
“I can hold a celebratory feast for the return o’ the princess.” Dagda says.
“Perfect. Now, with that being said, the strongest god that I’ve killed so far has been Illapa so I need to know how fast and strong Aengus is, as well as any special abilities.” I tell him.
“How about we port to the palace, have ourselves a fight, and I’ll try to match my stupid son’s physical prowess?” Dagda suggests.
“Sounds perfect, but we need to take Lila home first. I think we’ve kept her mother waiting long enough. Oh, and one more thing; Lila, do you want to attend the feast and hear this bas
tard beg for his life? Or would you rather not see something like that?” I ask.
“Will he get anything?” she asks quietly, her chin on my hair moving with every word.
“For his begging? Possibly my maniacal laughter, but his death will be slow regardless.” I tell her blatantly.
“…please let me attend.” Lila says timidly. I look to Dagda for confirmation.
“Aye lass, but we need to get permission from your mam first.” He says, snaps his fingers, and I’m overcome with that falling sensation again.
Suddenly we are standing in a white marble foyer. Dagda opens the two large doors in front of us that lead to about forty feet of throne room. On the white marble throne at the opposite end of the room sits a beautiful red-haired woman with fair skin, whom appears to have been skipped by Hypnos* for the past three days.
“Hey mom, I’m home!” Lila shouts above my head. I reach up and her back as I sprint at full speed to the throne before stopping and setting Lila on the ground. Her mother kneels down to hug her while in tears. I’m just going to ignore the obvious question of how an Irish woman became the mother of a Persian fairy because it’s probably something complicated.
“Aine, this is Cole. He is the one that rescued Lila and he is also the one who is goin’ to exact Lila’s revenge at the feast I’m holdin’ in three hours.” Dagda introduces.
“Thank you so much for bringing her back to me, Cole!” Aine says while standing up. She looks at me for a brief moment, perhaps wondering why I’m shirtless, before giving me a hug.
“What does ‘exacting Lila’s revenge’ entail?” Aine asks.
“The torturing and eventual killing of Aengus.” I tell her.
“What!? I don’t want Lila to be witnessing something like that!” Aine exclaims, understandably.
“Please mom…” Lila quietly begs with tears brimming in her eyes.
“Aine, I found Lila being held by a dozen Daeva in a windowless basement with a small candle as her only source of light. She was naked in a cage with nothing but a blanket. I’m not a parent, but I do believe that Lila has earned the right to watch and listen as the bastard that put her through that hell, begs for his to end.” I explain with my tone growing harsher as I speak.
Mania and the Executioner Page 14