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

by A. L. Bridges

  Dozens of black ice spikes suddenly erupt around us and slam through Loki. He turns to smoke, dropping me as he floats away from the spikes.

  “Think about it.” Loki’s voice calls out as the smoke disappears and Cheza rushes to my side.

  “Cole… you can’t believe what he said.” Cheza thinks beside me as she places a hand on my shoulder.

  “I don’t… at least, I don’t think I do… regardless, I can’t go along with it when his ultimate goal is to destroy everything to hurt Airi out of spite. Speaking of which, Airi? I think it’s about time you finished that story now.” I suggest.

  (As you have already worked out, I am the girl in that story. I ate the boy, compressed him down into energy, and sent him to earth to learn to love this place as I have. Sadly, he could only focus on revenge)

  “And what about escalating conflicts between Cheza and I or manipulating me?”

  (I didn’t do that… at least, not that much… and aren’t you and Cheza stronger now because of it? Case and point: if I wanted things to be more entertaining rather than help your relationship in the long term, I would have made it so Cheza ‘overheard’ you ‘talking’ about waking up next to Lila. While it would’ve been humorous, it also would’ve been extremely detrimental)

  “I suppose that is true, in a way. Is there anything else I should know?”

  (Yes, but it is not something for me to tell)

  “What do you mean?”

  (Wait for it… three, two, one)

  “Cole, your father needs to speak with you immediately.” Nagi says as she appears.

  “Alright, give me and Cheza a moment to go change.” I request.

  “Actually, he specifically told me to only bring you…” Nagi uncomfortably replies.

  “Nagi? Can you take me to see Parvati? I’d like to apologize for not telling her about the wedding.” Cheza requests and Nagi smiles in response.

  “While Lord Shiva said to only bring Cole to see him, he didn’t say anything about Chezarei coming along to Mount Kailash to see Parvati.” Nagi says.

  “Alright, come on.” I reply.

  I touch my Haglaz rune, porting Nagi, Cheza, and I to the bedroom. I quickly change into jeans and a t-shirt, but Cheza decides to continue wearing her dress. Once dressed, I port the three of us to Saraswati’s house.

  “We’re kind of on a schedule so I’ll just take us from here.” Nagi says and ports us to Mount Kailash instead of having to wait a minute.

  “Cole, if you could take us all to the house.” Nagi requests.

  I snap my fingers and we appear in the kitchen area of my parent’s underwater house. My mother is in the kitchen and turns around when we port in; her eyes well up with tears when she sees Cheza in her wedding dress.

  “You look so beautiful!” Parvati squeals as she runs over and hugs Cheza.

  “Nagi… I thought I gave you strict orders to only bring Cole.” My father says with an irritated tone.

  “You did, Lord Shiva; however, Chezarei requested to speak with her new mother-in-law and I thought Parvati would be upset with me if I denied that request.” Nagi says while bowing. Shiva still looks irritated as he turns his attention to me.

  “Come, we have much to discuss.” My father says and snaps his fingers.

  We port into a room with no doors and windows, just two chairs and perceivably infinite black space.

  “I need you to listen carefully and nothing of what I’m about to tell you is to leave this room.” Shiva tells me.

  “This is a ‘get you in serious trouble with Parvati’ type of secret, isn’t it?” I ask. My father doesn’t say anything in response, but something tells me I’m right. “Fine, I won’t tell mom. Now what do you need to tell me?”

  “It’s about your origin.” Shiva starts.

  “Saraswati already told me; mom wanted another kid so I was a compromise that could be used to fight Loki, sort of like you did with Murugan.” I recall.

  “No, that’s what Saraswati and your mother believe. I specifically made you as you are, with close ties to the Void and without godliness, on purpose. You coming out with the silver aura of a god-made sentient being was no mistake.” Shiva explains.

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “You were made to be a vessel for the being you call Airi so that it could send Loki back to the Void. For some reason, it hasn’t done that. So, now it’s up to you to take out Loki.” Shiva says and I let that wash over me for a few moments before swallowing hard.

  “Why me?” I question.

  “You are literally the only one that can do this. As much as I hate to admit it, if I fought Loki, I’d either end up being killed, or destroy the world, which is exactly what he wants. Any god that goes up against him will ultimately lose because he is a personification of the Void; he can break gods down to their core components with little effort. That can’t occur with you because you aren’t a god.” Shiva explains and I think for several moments.

  “Alright… find Loki… and I’ll take him out.” I reply and Shiva gives a curt nod in response.

  “I’ll let you know when he’s found.”

  …

  Chapter 29: Epilogue

  [November 26th]

  “So you have everything, right? Your phone? Reyna has enough blood?” I ask after porting Jason and Reyna to Tahiti while noticing that the last traces of the sun are creating a beautiful medley of colors across the skyline.

  “I’ve got the three two-liters in my bag; thanks, Cole.” Reyna says.

  “I’ve got the phone and we’ll just give you a call when we’re done.” Jason adds.

  “Alright… well, your aura looks good so I’ll see you guys later. Have fun!” I exclaim and touch my Haglaz rune.

  I find it kind of funny that I was able to port to Tahiti, yet I still have no idea what continent it is even on. I port back to the room and fling myself onto the bed with a sigh.

  “You know that he’s only going to be gone a few days, right? Now…” Cheza starts as she throws her leg over my waist.

  “Can we start our honeymoon?” Cheza coyly asks.

  “I was sighing because I’m not looking forward to what I have to do next…” I reply.

  “And what is that?” Cheza inquires.

  “I have to go visit Persephone…” I reluctantly say and see Cheza’s distasteful gaze. “Don’t give me that look! I need to name her the Greek/Roman goddess of the Underworld and transfer power!”

  “That happens to require forcing her to take her top off.” Cheza states.

  “Which coincidentally requires skin contact with their torso. I could go for the front, if you’d prefer that.” I reply with a sly grin.

  “I’m coming with you.” Cheza tells me.

  “I figured you’d say something like that…” I groan. “Fine, let’s get going.”

  I grab Cheza’s hand and port us to the front door of the Hades district’s palace, forgetting that we were lying down so my back hits the stoop with Cheza still on top of me. She stands, gives me a hand up, and I ring the doorbell.

  “I might have to make a quick trip to Mount Olympus to convince her to let her guard down; in which case, I want you to wait here.” I tell her before the door opens.

  “How can I help you?” a gorgon maid asks.

  “I need to see Persephone; it’s important.” I tell her.

  “Right this way.” The gorgon maid says and escorts us back to the room that Jason and I were in yesterday morning. Persephone and Ceres walk into the room a few minutes later, each wearing a black silk robe.

  “Oh good, you’re already here, Ceres. I was thinking that I’d have to go all the way to Mount Olympus to get you to explain things now that I can’t play the part of spoiled god-king.” I state while ignoring the question of why they are both wearing robes.

  “Spa day.” Persephone says after reading my expression.

  “Right… anyway, if you could slide your robe down and turn around, we can get thi
s over with.” I reply.

  “Why?” Persephone asks.

  “I think he’s saying that he’s going to make you the new ruler of Hades, Dear.” Ceres interjects.

  “Exactly; you will be free to come and go from the Underworld as you please, and you’ll be the new goddess of the Underworld, as well as a head of the Greek/Roman pantheon.” I add.

  Persephone turns around and slides her robe down her arms, exposing her upper back somewhat reluctantly. I place my left hand in between her shoulder blades and my arm turns black as I close my eyes. The same screen pops up again, except that my folder only contains Horus, Pluto/Hades, Lightning, Sea, and King now. I click open the Hades folder: Underworld, Dead, and Riches with Pantheon Head and Ruler of Hades in gold font. I drag and drop everything into Persephone’s folder and click confirm.

  “Augh!” I exclaim, just a notch below screaming.

  This is much closer to the burning sensation I felt when I absorbed the dagger, but not quite as bad; Maybe I should have waited a few days before doing this again… or is this because I waited a day? What would have happened had I transferred Horus’s folder?

  “Cole!” Cheza exclaims.

  “I’m alright; it will be over in a few seconds.” I think while gritting my teeth. Thirty seconds later, the pain stops.

  “Alright… I think… I’m going… to go take a nap now.” I manage to get out before grabbing Cheza’s hand, and porting us back to our bedroom. I kick off my shoes and plop down on our bed.

  “Are you okay, Cole?” Cheza asks as she lies down beside me.

  “Yeah, I think I’ll just rest for a while.”

  …

  [January 30th]

  Now that things in my life have settled down, I port to Niflheim’s palace to ask Hel to summon Pinga. I could ask Natasha to set up a meeting with her grandmother, but we haven’t really spoken since the wedding so it would feel weird to ask her for a favor now. Hel calls Pinga, and I wait in the sitting room for about twenty minutes.

  “Hey Cole, what did you need?” Pinga asks when she arrives.

  “I need you to help me find the 1437 people that were casualties of my blast in Ilulissat.” I answer.

  “I can do that. Adlivun’s ruler, Sedna, tends to keep records on things like this. I’ll go see what I can dig up.” Pinga replies.

  “Thanks.” I say.

  “No problem; what are you planning on doing with the information?” Pinga asks.

  “I plan on visiting each of them, and telling them that I was responsible for their deaths. I don’t expect them to forgive me, but simply having someone to blame might appease them.” I reply.

  “I see… I’ll be right back.” Pinga says and ports away.

  Pinga comes back thirty minutes later with a list of nine hundred people.

  “The others have already chosen to move on.” Pinga informs me.

  “This is going to take a while, but I owe it to these people to visit them.” I say.

  “Good luck, Cole.” Pinga replies.

  Over the next three months, I visit all nine hundred people on the list without telling Cheza; I don’t want her to know because she won’t want me to blame myself, or worse, she’ll blame herself for what I did. Luckily, I’d been porting to Niflheim on a daily basis for Reyna’s pregnancy feedings so that the daily trips don’t look suspicious and I can explain away the extended time by saying that I’m hanging out with Jason.

  The majority of the people on the list show animosity towards me; they punch me, slap me, kick me. Others break down into tears and tell me that I took everything from them, which isn’t untrue… Several of the older people on the list forgive me, but it does little to raise my spirits after visiting an eight year old boy. He was on the outskirts of the blast and was killed, but his parents survived; he told me that he’s waiting to welcome his parents when they arrive…

  Once I’ve visited everyone on the list, I travel to Ilulissat. I arrive in a ghost town; the streets that I had walked through a little less than two years ago are covered in ice—the half that are left after the blast, that is. With the port frozen over and half of the buildings destroyed, the town has been abandoned. I find a memorial slab at the edge of the damage from the blast; a large piece of granite standing ten feet high that has the names of the people who died. I set the flowers I brought down on the base of the column and I place my hand on it.

  “I’m sorry, everyone… I’m sorry for the pain and hardship that I’ve caused you all… I welcome any and all hatred that you have if you need someone to blame to feel any relief.”

  …

  [July 9th]

  After waiting in the kitchen of Niflheim’s palace for about an hour or so after porting Cheza and myself there from our new apartment in Flagstaff Arizona, Jason comes down the hall.

  “Hey Cole? Could you come here for a second? Reyna and I need to talk to you.” Jason says.

  “Hey bro; long time no see! So, I got her this white stuffed rabbit, a deck of playing cards, a tea set, and I got myself this bitchin’ hat!” I say while pointing to the rabbit in my hand and then at my green velvet top hat that is marked 10/6 while walking down the hall. “You guys are still naming her Alice, right? This joke only makes sense if she is actually named Alice.”

  Jason remains silent as I follow him down a different hall that I can’t remember if I’ve ever been through, before stopping in front of a set of double doors. Jason snaps his fingers and two drinks appear in his hands before he gives me one.

  “What’s going on?” I ask, suspecting that something is up.

  “Drink first.” Jason replies and downs his drink; I do the same and look at him, waiting for answers.

  “One more.” Jason says, refills our glasses with a snap, and downs his.

  “Better make it another.” Jason adds and repeats. We’ve both done the equivalent of about nine shots now so I think that’s about good for whatever he needs to tell me.

  “Maybe one m—” Jason starts.

  “WHAT IS IT ALREADY!?” I shout, interrupting him.

  Jason sighs in response; that’s not a good sign.

  “Do you remember how we had that orgy with Natasha, Reyna, and Rei about nine months ago? And how Reyna found out she was pregnant about a week later?” Jason asks; I see where he’s going with this.

  “Bullshit… no way… what makes you think it’s mine?” I ask and Jason sighs again before opening the doors.

  I see Reyna lying in a hospital bed with Sara nearby; I had brought her down to the Underworld about a week ago because the baby was due. What attracts my attention is the bundle in Reyna’s arms, as well as her tired and possibly shocked face as she looks at the bundle. I get closer while completely expecting this thing to look like Cthulu 5. I let out a breath of relief when it looks like a normal mochaccino baby girl, and then I see her eyes… her silver eyes. The stuffed rabbit slips from my hands in shock, and falls to the floor. I focus and see a silver outline, along with an azeman center.

  For the first time in months, since starting my medication, I start to have a hallucination about Addie. Cheza embraces me from behind and ends it before it can start.

  “Thank you for always being here when I really need you, Cheza. I know how to handle this.” I think.

  “Nope!” I announce.

  “Nope, what?” Jason asks.

  “She’s not mine. Airi just explained that her eyes and her silver aura are just a result of her basically being soaked in my blood.” I lie.

  I’d really love Airi’s input right about now, but she has been rather absent lately.

  “Oh thank the gods! I thought we were going to have to get Jerry Springer up in this bitch, only to have him reveal a twist in which neither of us is the father, nor the other eleven black guys that would have been tested!” Jason exclaims and I start laughing my ass off to hide my true feelings:

  Horror and relief. Things are better this way… she’ll be safer if she’s not my daughter…
<
br />   “Chezarei? Cole? Jason and I have something we need to ask you.” Reyna says; Jason becomes serious, goes around the side of the bed, grabs Reyna’s hand, and looks towards Cheza and I.

  “Will you two be Alice’s godparents?” Reyna asks. Fuck… giving her closer ties to me is not what I wanted…

  “Of course we will! Did you imagine I would pass up a chance to become a doting Uncle/ Godfather? Now let me hold my goddaughter/ niece!” I exclaim as Reyna and Jason laugh. I take the baby Alice and hold her gently, fear acting as a giant weight on my chest.

  Fear that I’ll crush her tiny form.

  Fear that I’ll ruin her.

  Fear that I’ll be responsible for her death.

  I snap out of it so that I don’t give anything away.

  “You’re so cute, Alice! I’m going to dote you into loving me and only me, yes I will! I won’t let any other man get close to you, except for your daddy.” I coo as Alice looks up at me with an expression that clearly says ‘Who is this fucker that isn’t my mom? How do I handle this? Should I cry? I think crying is a good bet.’ I touch her nose with my right hand and her expression softens.

  “Bro, you’re already reaching disturbing levels of creepy and she isn’t even talking yet!” Jason exclaims with a worried expression.

  “No, let him get it out of his system now, before she turns into a teenager and it becomes truly creepy.” Reyna intercedes and we all laugh.

  …

  [October 10th]

  I climb into the bed of our two bedroom apartment in Flagstaff that still has boxes stacked in the corner, despite having moved in four months ago.

  “Just another year of this and I’ll finally be done with my degree.” I say to Cheza.

  “Don’t forget that I still have three years.” Cheza replies from the master bathroom, muffled by her toothbrush.

  “I know; I’ll be doing my graduate degree at Northern Arizona University too so I won’t be going anywhere.” I tell her as she finishes in the bathroom and climbs into bed.