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

by A. L. Bridges

  “Now, I do believe it is time for me to choose my consorts! Hmm…” I say as I inspect the Olympians while stroking my chin with my right hand.

  “Diana, Vesta/Hestia, and Ceres/Demeter; meet me in my quarters i.e. Juno’s former quarters.” I order with a gesture to the Roman/Greek goddesses of the hearth, and of agriculture because they are the only two of the original six Olympians remaining. I walk past all of the stunned gods and into the palace.

  “I say he’s lying… let’s just kill him!” someone whispers as I head down the hall towards Juno’s quarters.

  “No, he can’t be. That lightning bolt belongs only to Jupiter so he must’ve inherited it along with the place as a head; it’s the only way we’d still be around with Hades dead.” Another voice replies.

  I walk into Juno’s quarters and make my way to the bar to pour myself a drink.

  “You wished to see us, Feros?” Diana asks.

  “Lord Feros.” I correct.

  “You wished to see us, Lord Feros?” Diana asks through gritted teeth.

  “Take your shirts off.” I command while mixing my drink.

  I look over my shoulder and see that none of them have moved from their spots, lined up in front of the entrance of the living room. Diana is wearing her usual leather skirt and midriff shirt on the right; a woman that is about six inches taller than Diana at six feet tall with short, auburn-colored hair, and reddish brown eye color, wearing khaki shorts and a t-shirt is in the center; and finally a woman that is about 5’9” with curly dark brown hair and vibrant, leaf green eyes while wearing a toga-like robe is on the left.

  “I could always take away your power and positions, effectively turning you mortal, if you’d prefer that.” I say after turning back around to finish mixing my drink.

  “Can he do that?” Vesta or Ceres whispers from the middle position.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t want to chance it.” The other goddess on the left replies as I hear her sliding off her clothing.

  I finish mixing my drink and down it before turning around. I see Diana glaring at me defiantly with tears in her eyes, the middle woman glaring at me with flushed cheeks, and the left woman simply glaring. Based on what I know of their sexual experience in the mythos, Vesta/Hestia is in the middle and Ceres/Demeter is on the left. I circle around them like I’m inspecting a used car, my right hand stroking my chin. Once I’m behind Diana, I place my blackened left hand in between her shoulder blades; she flinches at my touch as I close my eyes.

  Something resembling a computer screen pops up in my mind with two folders open. One folder is labeled ‘Diana/Artemis’ and the other is labeled ‘Gods’. Inside the Gods folder is a list of subfolders with the names Horus, Pluto/Hades, Jupiter/Zeus, Juno/Hera, and Neptune/Poseidon. Inside the Diana/Artemis folder is a list comprised of: Hunt, Wilderness, Childbirth, Virginity, and Moon. All of the names in the Diana/Artemis folder are shaded and have little ‘closed padlock’ symbols next to them; I guess that means they’re restricted.

  I double-click on the Juno/Hera folder and see a list comprised of Women, Marriage, Queen, and Pantheon Head, with Queen and Pantheon Head listed in gold font, but none are restricted. I highlight all of them, drag, and drop them into the Diana/Artemis folder.

  “This protocol cannot be undone. Are you sure you wish to continue?” a popup asks. I click yes.

  “Are you really sure?” I click yes again.

  “Are you positive?” I click yes once again.

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” A final popup says before my eyes shoot open.

  “What’re you—ahh… ooh… mmm.” Diana moans pleasantly like she’s getting a massage.

  On the other hand, it feels like someone just set my nerve endings on fire. It isn’t as bad as with the dagger, but it still takes a great deal of control to not scream. After about thirty seconds, the pain stops and leaves me breathing heavily.

  “What was that?” Diana asks.

  “That? That was me transferring over all of Juno’s power to you. You can put your shirt back on now.” I tell her as I move on to Vesta.

  I close my eyes and the same screen comes up in my mind, but the other folder says Vesta/Hestia this time and has Hearth, Architecture, and Family in it. I open up the Jupiter/Zeus folder that contains Sky, Lightning, Thunder, Law, Order, Justice, along with King and Pantheon Head in gold font. I start to drag and drop all of them, but I stop on lightning.

  “Lightning grants an immunity to electricity as well as a limited ability to use it.” a popup informs me. Perhaps I’ll hold onto that for now… I un-highlight King as well because I get the odd feeling that it might turn Vesta/Hestia into a guy like something out of one of the more twisted Japanese anime shows. I click confirm for the warnings and then a new one comes up.

  “Would you like to name this individual as the successor to the Jupiter/Zeus folder?” the new popup asks. Does this mean that the powers will be inherited by Vesta/Hestia if I die?

  “This means that the Jupiter/Zeus powers will return to their rightful place in the event of your demise.” A new popup says. I click yes to both and my eyes shoot open.

  “Last one.” I say to myself, thirty painful seconds later, as I move on to Ceres and close my eyes.

  Once again, same screen but with a folder marked Ceres/Demeter that contains Agriculture and Fertility. I open up the Neptune/Poseidon folder and see Sea, Earthquakes, Storms, Horses, and Pantheon Head in a golden font. I drag and drop all of that shit except Sea, which I assume grants power over water and lets me breathe under it. I press confirm to all popups, including the successor one, and my eyes abruptly open.

  This time feels a bit more painful; most likely the three consecutive transfers are taking their toll. I finish and my legs buckle beneath me.

  “Are you alright, Feros?” Diana asks.

  “Yes, I’m fine. Why are you still topless? You guys can get dressed.” I say while trying to keep my eyes on her face.

  “I’m not sure what to think… you come in here acting like a womanizing asshole, only to give me Juno’s power.” Diana says.

  “Speaking of, Vesta, you have all of Jupiter’s power except for lightning because I might still need it. Ceres, you have all of Neptune’s powers, except of that over the sea; I just couldn’t pass up on being able to breathe underwater.” I tell them.

  “What about earthquakes?” Ceres asks.

  “Too messy, so they’re yours.” I reply.

  “Why?” Diana asks.

  “Why go through the whole asshole scene? Because I had an image to enforce. Also because I don’t want to be around when Venus discovers that I gave you Juno’s power instead of her, even though she’s the child of a Titan. As for frying Apollo, that was simply because, fuck Apollo; he took my damn leg!” I respond.

  “Why give up all that power? You had the power of an entire Category 4 pantheon at your disposal; there was literally nothing that we could have said no to! Nothing that you could be denied! Why throw all of that away!?” Diana incredulously asks.

  “And risk killing you all if I die? Not to mention taking everything related to the Greek/Roman pantheon with me as well. I never wanted the power to begin with and gambling with the lives of so many to keep it just seems selfish.” I explain. All three goddesses look at me incredulously.

  “Besides, I kept the powers that I needed… oh, and I also kept the title of King of the Gods because I was afraid that handing that over to Vesta might cause her to grow a penis or something, and it seems completely fucked up to chance turning one of the three virgin goddesses into a man or a hermaphrodite… it’s mostly honorary though because I’ll be staying out of the affairs of the Greek/Roman pantheon from now on.” I inform them.

  “Anyway, I need to get going; I have a reception to attend. See you all around!” I add and snap my fingers to port to the gate.

  I touch my Haglaz rune and port straight to the Underworld, thanks to Hades’s influence. Once in Hades, I port o
ut to the courtyard in Niflheim as Jason and Reyna are finishing opening wedding presents; all of the other guests have already arrived and are seated at the tables as servants deliver drink orders. Jason sees me, snaps me into a tux, and waves me over to the head table.

  “Now that the best man is finally back, let’s eat some cake!” Jason announces.

  A large four tier wedding cake is wheeled in. Jason and Reyna go to cut the cake together while I sit down at the long table beside Cheza and watch. As they cut the cake, I feel Cheza cool hand grab mine.

  “I can’t believe we’re finally married… I actually get to call myself Chezarei Treyfair now!” Cheza thinks ecstatically.

  “Right, about that…” I think as I look into Cheza eyes, which suddenly look incredibly insecure.

  “Are you regretting getting married!? Is this about the topless goddesses? I wasn’t going to say anything for a few days, but what was up with the topless goddesses!? Do you wish we hadn’t gotten married!?” Cheza asks in a panicked, rapid-fire fashion.

  “Whoa, slow down; that’s not it. I need to talk to you about taking your name instead of mine.” I tell her.

  “Is this because of your parents?” Cheza inquires.

  “No, it’s just that… Treyfair is practically synonymous with Feros and it carries a lot of weight in the supernatural world… a weight that I don’t want to carry anymore.” I explain and wait while Cheza mulls this over for a few moments.

  “Cole Vaele… it does have a nice ring to it… I don’t like it, mainly because I’ve wanted to be Chezarei Treyfair since I was ten, but I suppose all I really wanted was to be married to you.” Cheza replies.

  I smile as I stare into her icy-blue eyes, which I now officially belong to instead of just the other way around due to an errant use of mind-fucking magic.

  “You two are creeping me out again…” Jason informs us as he sets down a piece of cake for me and Cheza before sitting down.

  “I think it’s cute.” Reyna says while sitting down with a plate of cake for her and Jason.

  “Thanks Reyna!” Cheza replies with a smile and takes a bite.

  “Wait, was it really that obvious what Jason was referring to?” I ask.

  “Yeah, you two are super noticeable.” Reyna replies.

  I start eating the red velvet cake, which I usually dislike, and find that it’s surprisingly good.

  “Hey Katie, how are things with The Agency?” I ask down the table.

  “Good, thanks. I enjoy the work and it keeps me busy. The only problem I have is that school keeps taking me away from it, but Carla keeps insisting that I finish my degree so I guess I’ll just have to tough it out…” Katie replies.

  “Well, I’m glad that you’re happy there. If you ever need any help with anything, just let me know.” I tell her.

  “Thanks, Cole.” Katie responds and turns her attention to her cake.

  After everyone is finished with cake, I ding my champagne glass with my fork while standing up; I suppose it’s about time I got this train wreck started. Seeing as I didn’t prepare a speech, I’m just going to have to wing it… train wreck indeed.

  “Jason, when I first introduced you and Reyna to each other; while I was freaking out and threatening to blow her up from the inside and Jericho made that awesome joke about an azeman swallowing as much as she could take; I had no idea that you two would hit it off in the way that you did. By the way, Ryuji, Naia, I will be recycling the subject of this part of my speech for whenever you two get married; just thought I’d let you know now…” I say, turning to my left to address Ryuji and Naia before turning back towards Jason on my right.

  “Now, where was I…? Fuck it, I’ll just cut this short and say that I’ve always thought of you as my brother, Jason, which makes Reyna my new sister-in-law… making Hel my stepmother by proxy? Whatever… anyway, welcome to the family, Reyna; I look forward to playing the part of creepy, doting, uncle that brutally slaughters anyone who has the gall to harm you or your children. Cheers!” I toast.

  “It looks like I’m a little late.” A familiar voice announces as he steps out of the shadows, wearing his signature all-black suit and maroon tie:

  Jack motherfucking Evari.

  Chapter 28: Revelations

  “Father!? What are you doing here!?” Hel demands and a ton of shit starts making sense.

  “What, am I not allowed to attend the wedding of my only grandson? Oh, wait! I suppose that you are my grandson-in-law now, aren’t you?” Loki proclaims, directing his attention at me. He is technically correct… Holy shit! It just dawned on me that Jason and Cheza are cousins!

  “Ah, Chezarei, my sweet granddaughter. You were perfect, did you know that? Until Shiva and Parvati meddled in my affairs, you were my perfect experiment; one that I haven’t been able to replicate… oh well! Such is life.” Loki says while staring at Cheza in a way that makes me want to punch him.

  “You! You’ve been behind all of this! The Templars, the kitsune, the Greek/Roman murders, you even helped plan to have Reyna and Natasha kidnapped! Why!?” I demand.

  Loki walks right up to me and leans in. I don’t have my armor or my holster; this is one of the worst possible situations I can imagine fighting him in.

  “Why? It was all for you! I had to make life amusing for you!” Loki exclaims in a hushed tone.

  “I consider nothing that you did to me or my friends as amusing.” I reply with a stern tone.

  “I’m not talking to you.” Loki says and I give him a confused glare.

  “I know that bitch can hear me. Tell her that I’ll make sure to tear it all down before I return to the Void to stop her. Of course, I’ll be sure to make life interesting for her newest pet too; wouldn’t want her getting bored!” Loki exclaims with a malicious smile.

  “If that was your aim all along, why did you start a war between the gods?” I question.

  “That? That was to simply grab her attention and starting a war between her ‘children’ worked out quite well.” Loki replies before turning to walk away, but then he stops.

  “By the way, did you enjoy my little present?” Loki asks as he turns back around.

  “What present?” I reply.

  “Why, the girl of course! Did you think it was mere coincidence that she was at that warehouse? I knew that The Agency was closing in on that place, so I gave all of the minions there a new batch of my serum so that The Agency wouldn’t stand a chance, forcing them to bring you in; although, I hadn’t been expecting you to come in before an initial confrontation. I was a little worried when they nearly killed her, but then you arrived just in time and got attached to her, just as I had planned. I gave you a gift… and then I gave Horus the order to simply, take it back.” Loki informs me with a satisfied gleam in his eyes and a wicked smile.

  “YOU SON OF A BITCH!!” I scream as I fling myself over the table at him while my helmet engages and my arm turns black as I feel my eyes do the same.

  I throw a left hook at his face, only to have his head turn to smoke as my fist passes through it. The smoke quickly passes around me and then Loki hits me from behind, sending me crashing into a round table. After getting champagne and frosting on my tux, I pick myself up.

  “Someone looks a little dark, don’t we?” Loki taunts, having reformed from the smoke.

  “SHUT YOUR FUCKING FACE!” I yell as I charge at him, only to have him turn to smoke before he sends me crashing into another table while people try to get as far away from us as possible.

  “Ha ha! You haven’t even realized it yet, have you!?” Loki asks, squatting down near me and looking ecstatic from some revelation.

  “Realized what!?” I shout at him.

  “What the Void is doing to you every time you channel it; how it’s taking over your aura! What do you think will happen when it finally devours all of the silver cracks? Will it succeed in taking you over completely?” Loki smugly questions.

  “I won’t allow it!” I reply.

  “
Wow… you are dumber than I give you credit for, did you know that? I’ve seen you as something of a nemesis, but you can’t even see what’s in front of your face! Won’t allow it… psh! She’s already taken over half of your limbs and set up shop in your mind! Or has she taken over that as well? Would you even know if she has?” Loki inquires.

  “No, Airi isn’t controlling me! I’m making my own choices!” I yell.

  “Choices? Ha… hahaha! That is rich! Your ‘choices’ are whatever she wants you to perceive them to be! You’re just a puppet, dancing for her amusement!” Loki retorts.

  I’m about to deny it, but then I really think about it. The majority of the conflicts between Cheza and I were due to misunderstandings that Airi played some part in orchestrating. When I found Addie, I blacked out, waking up only after I had saved her and held her in my arms, and since my Drive was gone, that was Airi’s doing. She even led me into thinking that handing Addie over to Carla would be harming her! Looking back, she’s always been pushing me towards decisions that aren’t exactly the best choices for me, but what would be the most interesting from a bystander’s point of view.

  “We’re not so different, you and I. You are being manipulated by her, just like I was. I broke out of her field of manipulation and decided to choose for myself. What are you going to do? Are you going to be a man and choose? Or are you going to continue to be a puppet and obey? A man chooses, a puppet obeys…” Loki whispers and turns to walk away.

  “I’m not falling for it, Loki! I’m going to kill you for hurting my friends… FOR TAKING ADDIE FROM ME!” I shout as I stand up, hold my left arm out, and plant my right leg forward.

  A dozen black tendrils shoot out from my arm and leg, shredding my tux sleeve and pant leg. They hit Loki, only to have him turn into smoke and spin around them. He flashes back towards me and picks me up by my throat.

  “You don’t have enough strength to kill me, especially after you foolishly gave away the powers of the Greek/Roman pantheon that Hades worked so hard to get. Since you seem hell bent on seeing me as the bad guy, I’ll let you in on a little secret; if you help me take that bitch down… I can bring the girl back.” Loki whispers with a smile as my eyes go wide.