Cole's Haunting Melody (The Gods' Executioner Series)

by A. L. Bridges

  What am I going to do if Cheza decides that she can’t deal with this shit anymore? I would understand if she wanted to avoid me altogether. I made the right choice… didn’t I?

  While contemplating this and walking through the moonlit forest, I come across a circular opening in the trees. A beam of moonlight shines through the trees and on to two headstones. The writing on the gravestones is in Russian, but given the dates, I think it’s a safe assumption that these are Cheza’s parents’ graves.

  “Hello Chezarei’s mom. Cheza is doing well, you don’t have to worry. I should probably apologize; it’s partially my fault for getting you killed after all.” I say to the headstones. “And now I feel kind of stupid because I just realized that even if you can somehow hear this, you probably don’t speak English… unless the Gift of Tongues counts for information coming from earth as well…”

  “As far as I know, it doesn’t.” I hear a voice with a thick Russian accent say behind me. I look over my shoulder and see a snowman; not the abominable kind, just a regular ‘Frosty’ variety snowman.

  “Hello.” The snowman says, his accent making it sound like he is putting extra emphasis on the ‘e’ in hello.

  “AH! A TALKING SNOWMAN!” I shout as I spin and backhand the snowman. The snowman explodes on contact with my left hand, only to reform from completely different snow about ten feet away.

  “That is not nice. I am god Veles. I came to offer you trade, Feros. If you help me, I will allow your girlfriend to meet her mother.” Veles, the Slavic god of the Underworld and magic, says. Cheza would probably like to meet her mother… it probably won’t be enough to get her to stay, but it will most likely help.

  “What’s to stop me from going to the Nav district and finding Cheza’s mother myself?” I ask.

  “Because she is not in Nav, she is in higher plane of Underworld, Iriy. Like Elysium and Mag Mell, is invitation only plane for outsiders.” Veles tells me. I consider this for a few moments.

  “Alright… what do you want me to do?” I inquire.

  “I want your help getting my wife back from acehole brother Perun.” Veles says; I think he meant asshole, but it certainly sounded like acehole.

  “Nope, not falling for that one. In every story I’ve learned, you stole something from Perun (either his wife, his son, or his cow), resulting in you getting your ass blasted back to the Underworld, which humans in this age hypothesize as being the explanation for the changing of the seasons by ancient Slavs.” I say.

  “Have you not heard that history is written by victor?” Veles asks.

  “Yeah, but if this guy Viktor was there and he was a subjective third-party, then wouldn’t the story be true?” I reply.

  “No, history is written by winner.” Veles says.

  “Weiner? Was he German?” I ask.

  “No! History is written by peoples who win!” Veles explains, exasperated.

  “Oh… I feel stupid. Alright, so all I have to do is rescue your wife from Perun? That doesn’t sound too hard, besides the fact that he’s a Category 3 god that uses electricity… So where is he?” I inquire.

  Perun is the head of the Slavic pantheon and is the god of thunder, lightning, and war. Considering that every god of thunder or war that I’ve met has been an asshole, it’s not much of a stretch of my imagination to believe Veles’s story… well, I suppose Jupiter was a decent guy, but that still means that there’s a seventy-five percent chance that Perun is an asshole.

  “He lives at top of Great Oak. Perun knows when I leave roots of Great Oak, which is why I have to communicate through other means or he will blast me before I can finish my business.” Veles informs me. I remember that Slavic mythology believed that the world was set up like a tree, much like the Norse Yggdrasil.

  “So how do we get to him?” I ask.

  “I will port us from roots, to branches. A Rusalka will come in the morning and lead you to Nav, where I will take us to branches.” Veles tells me.

  “I’ll just meet you in Nav in a few hours; I need to go get some equipment beforehand.” I reply, figuring that I should just go by myself rather than trusting a Russian succubus to be my guide.

  “Okay, I will see you in few hours.” Veles says and then the snowman collapses.

  I port to the cabin instead of wandering around the forest looking for it. Once there, I extinguish the fire, close the flue, grab my duffle bag, and exit the cabin. After locking the door behind me, I port back to the house in Arizona. I pull my armored leather suit from my closet, as well as my Obliterator, and I set them on my dresser.

  “Hey Cole, you guys are back early… where’s Chezarei?” Tia asks as she enters my room.

  “Cheza is going to be staying at Natasha’s place for a while.” I quietly reply.

  “What did you do?” Tia inquires.

  “Can I explain some other time, Tia? Right now, I’m tired and I’ve got places to be in a few hours so I’m going to take a nap before then.” I request.

  In actuality, I just really don’t want to discuss how Cheza and I might not be together anymore.

  “Sure. Oh, before I forget, the progress on your new gun has hit a wall.” Tia informs me.

  “What? New gun?” I ask.

  “Well remember how you said that the 10mm auto bullets aren’t connecting with the faster targets and how I told you that higher calibers wouldn’t do any good as far as velocity? Well I brought this problem up with Archer and we discussed several solutions. First we thought about using rifle payloads, but that wouldn’t really help because of the stopping power you require from higher caliber bullets. After about a week, we finally came up with a solution: Smith & Wesson makes a .460 caliber revolver that has a velocity of 2300ft/s for a thirteen gram JHP round.” Tia says.

  “But a revolver won’t work because it is impossible to reload them one handed.” I point out.

  “Exactly; that’s why I had a custom gun commissioned. I sent in an order for a .460 caliber semi-automatic handgun modeled after a Desert Eagle. They were able to get it built, but they ran into a problem. Apparently, after less than a dozen rounds, the thinner barrel needed in a pistol cracked from the pressure. The standard .460 caliber revolver has a much thicker barrel, which withstands the excess pressure of the bullet.” Tia explains.

  Yeah, that is a real problem. My silicon carbide wouldn’t crack, but I don’t trust the ballistics that a ceramic barrel would provide…

  “We’ll keep working on it, but I just thought I’d let you know what’s been going on.” Tia adds.

  “Alright, thanks Tia. I’m going to get some sleep before I have to leave.” I tell her.

  “Okay, sweet dreams, Cole!” Tia exclaims and leaves the room.

  I strip down to my boxers, flop down onto my bed, and attempt to get some sleep.

  ****

  Chapter 4: Fall of the Slavs

  The dream I have is of Addie’s death; a pool of blood beneath her head, blood soaked clothes, her lifeless blue eyes, a bullet hole.

  …

  “Daddy? Daddy are you okay? Daddy!?” Addie asks while kneeling on my chest.

  I open my eyes to see her wearing flannel pajamas with tears in her worried eyes.

  “Yeah, Daddy is fine, Addie. I just had a nightmare. Let’s go back to bed.” I tell her.

  “Okay.” Addie says and moves to get off of my chest.

  I see the bullet pass through my bedroom window, but for some reason, I can’t move. The bullet hits the back of Addie’s head and travels through it. As the bullet pierces the front of Addie’s forehead, her body loses density and turns into black smoke, along with the bullet. I sit up and frantically grasp at the smoke, futilely trying to bring her back. I feel my bed lose substance and I sink into it as the Void consumes me.

  ****

  [October 16th]

  I jolt awake in my bed as the darkness of my arm fades back to silver. I shake my head to try and clear my mind of that dream when I notice a silver bracelet on my rig
ht wrist that is identical to the one Horus smashed, except that there is a Roman numeral five instead of Kali’s yantra.

  (To replace your old one)

  “Thanks Airi.”

  I stand up and head into my bathroom for a shower. After drying off, I wipe down the mirror and shave, remembering Cheza’s wishes. I don my black and silver suit, boots, Obliterator, and holster, before porting to Niflheim. While standing in Jason’s room, I realize that I have a slight problem: I have never been to Nav and I have no clue how to get there. I’m stuck with no means to get there, until a solution dawns on me.

  “Nav.” I say and touch my Haglaz rune.

  Since I was able to get to Mag Mell by simply touching my triskele and saying the name while I was in Tir na nOg, I don’t see why I wouldn’t be able to do the same with different districts of the Underworld. Sure enough, I see buildings and grey pine trees around me that must belong to Nav. A man with a black beard and black hair appears next to me, dressed in leather armor.

  “Hello Feros. Are you ready to go?” The man asks in the same voice as snowman Veles from last night.

  “Yeah, let’s get this over with.” I reply, still irritated by my dream. Veles nods and puts his large mitt on my shoulder.

  Suddenly we’re in a place that I can really only describe as the most elaborate tree house that I’ve ever seen. There are giant wooden rope bridges going to circular wooden platforms that then lead to more bridges. I see platforms and bridges curve off around a gigantic tree that’s big enough to make Redwoods look like saplings. Over the edge of the wooden gazebo that Veles and I are currently standing in, I see an aerial view of Russia. Since the Great Oak seems to appear halfway towards the ground, I’m guessing that the view of Russia is just a displayed image and that this is a separate plane.

  We walk across the twenty foot long bridge from the gazebo to a large wooden platform that has eight other rope bridges branching out in all directions in the 180 degrees in front of us, and is about one hundred feet in diameter.

  “He comes.” Veles announces.

  I see a lightning bolt streak through the sky. As it approaches, I make out that the lightning bolt is in the shape of a large bird, possibly an eagle. The lightning/ eagle strikes down about thirty feet from my position and warps into a large man with white hair and a white beard.

  “Welcome Feros, brother.” Perun says with a light Russian accent as he directs his attention to each of us when saying our names.

  “Return your brother’s wife.” I say.

  “No; he stole my cow so I stole his wife. That is fair, no?” Perun rhetorically asks.

  “Not really. Return his wife or prepare to fight; your choice.” I reply.

  “What are you really getting for your efforts, Feros?” Perun asks.

  “What do you mean?” I inquire.

  “You have been deceived. The person you have been promised to see has long since moved on from Underworld; she is not in Iriy.” Perun replies.

  I feel a wave of anger overtake me, as if someone had promised me a meeting with Addie, only to find that it was impossible. I twist my ring and slash open my right wrist to begin drawing the Mu-cutter.

  “Is this true Veles?” I ask through gritted teeth.

  “Okay, so maybe I fudge truth little bit. Acehole brother still supports Loki in conquest!” Veles expounds.

  “Fine… I’ll just have to kill both of you then.” I say as my helmet engages and Veles jumps to reposition himself to my 9 o’clock.

  Veles proceeds to shout something in Russian to Perun, which I’m guessing has something to do with forming an allegiance to take me out. Perun summons a large battle axe to his right hand while replying; the axe blade has a scythe-crescent shape and looks like a sideways T. I draw my left Diamond sword and prepare myself for what is possibly the stupidest decision of my life. I watch Perun for incoming lightning bolts, figuring that I’ll hear Veles’s attack coming because he’ll have to say a spell for it.

  ‘Apparently I was mistaken,’ I think as a burst of water hits me from my left, causing me to fly about twenty feet. I catch a lucky break, considering that my Mu-cutter didn’t accidentally slice me in half. And now it looks like I’m going to learn an important lesson in the conductivity of water! A lightning bolt hits me and my prone body flies back another thirty feet, stopping just on the edge of the platform as my Diamond sword goes flying over it.

  (Picking a fight with the heads of a Category 3 pantheon was not your brightest idea)

  “Perhaps was bit overkill?” I hear Veles say.

  “Stories about him seem like lies now. So what now, brother? Do we fight?” Perun asks.

  “No, ends same way every time. I think I’ll go visit Feros girlfriend; she seems like she make good wife!” Veles chuckles.

  The maw of the Void opens up in my mind, inviting me in for just a taste. I dive in without a second thought as I feel a bizarre sensation in my eyes that I can’t really describe, but it’s not exactly unpleasant; I’m willing to bet that they’re black now like when I fought Horus.

  “What makes you think this is over after a pansy ass attack like that?” I ask, my modulated voice at ‘James Earl Jones’ levels.

  Perun responds by hurling ball lightning in my direction. The ball lightning is around three feet in diameter and speeding towards me. My blackened left arm rises on instinct and absorbs the ball lightning through my hand. I feel the tingling of the electricity on my skin as it gets sucked away into my left arm.

  “So that was the infamous golden apple of Perun? Weak.” I announce.

  “No, that is not golden apple. That is golden apple.” Perun replies while pointing skyward and then he quickly runs away.

  I look up and see a giant golden ball of lightning, roughly fifty feet in diameter, traveling towards me. There no way I can absorb something like that and I won’t make it to a bridge before impact. I see Veles and Perun watching from an adjacent platform that is about two hundred feet away; that’s within the one hundred meter restriction, but something tells me that I can do this. Just before the ball hits, I feel myself reach back with my left hand and find that I’ve ported to the spot behind Perun.

  “Well, that may not have killed Feros, but at least chased him off!” Veles exclaims as he looks at the smoldering wreckage that used to be the left half of the platform.

  “Did you see his face when he saw golden apple?” Perun laughs in front of me.

  “I know, right? That acehole probably does not find this to be amusing in least!” I exclaim with my best Russian accent, which is basically just imitating Mickey Rourke from Iron Man 2, before I stab the Mu-cutter through Perun’s chest.

  “But… HOW!? AUGH!” Perun grunts out.

  “Hey, I’m just as confused as you are, pal; the only difference, is that I’ll be confused for a whole lot longer than you will be!” I maliciously reply before I bring the Mu-cutter up and slice through his head. Perun starts disintegrating as Veles looks in shock.

  “I killed your brother, just like you wanted, Veles… too bad you can’t hold up your end of the bargain.” I announce as I slowly walk towards him.

  To his credit, Veles knows when he’s beaten and does the smart thing; he tries to run. Tries is the key word in that sentence because even though he’s the head of a Category 3 pantheon, I’m still only slightly slower than him and my tendrils more than make up for that difference. Veles makes a run for the gate, I give chase, and throw my left arm out when I’m within range. Four black tendrils shoot out of my left arm and spear through Veles. They drag him over to my position, ten feet to the left of the missing chunk of platform, and turn him around to face me. I look into his eyes and see a great deal of fear.

  “I do so love it when they sweeten the pot with fear!” I tell him in a hushed tone, as if it were a secret. My vision suddenly doubles, notifying me that I should wrap this up quickly.

  “Since what you did was a minor offense, I’ll give you a quick death. Isn’t th
at kind of me? Now, to the Void with you!” I exclaim and slice off his head before quartering his body.

  My legs buckle beneath me as my helmet retracts, just before I vomit up a whole lot of blood.

  “Airi, what’s going on?”

  (Well, I don’t know how to say this, but your internal organs currently resemble a pattern that is usually only seen as a result of tightlacing from corsets)

  “What!?” I exclaim as my vision blurs further and the floor beneath me feels like it’s rumbling, even though it’s not.

  (Your liver and stomach have been forced downward, your intestines are a mess, and one of your kidneys has been practically ripped in half)

  “How did this happen?” I ask, but then it dawns on me: the short-distance porting.

  (Yes, it is most likely from porting a distance of less than one hundred meters; at least it coincides with Dagda’s warning. Since the gods’ internal organs consist of a single, relatively solid mass, the damage done by porting would cause fractures instead of twisting and bending)

  I suddenly realize that the rumbling floor beneath my feet is real, and it’s a sign that the platform is falling apart. I make a break for the Gate, reaching it just as the wooden rope bridge collapses behind me. The other platforms in the distance start to collapse so I quickly touch my triskele. I hit the snowy field outside the cabin with a spray of blood flying from my mouth.

  (Do not fret; I shall have you patched up soon)

  I lay in the snow for a few minutes, slowly falling asleep, when I hear the crunch of the snow being compacted.

  “He’s really quite hopeless to be Master’s youngest brother, but his actions make it quite clear that he is indeed Lord Shiva’s son.” An Indian accented female voice says as I lose consciousness.

  …

  Chapter 5: Presents and Story Time

  “Someone needs to go get the girl.” I hear a male voice say.