by Tom Keller
I think that's the problem with most of the Fae, except, of course, those bold enough to live here. Hell, why take risks when you can live forever? Especially after the wars between the Fae that led up to The Fall.
I don’t know, maybe it's not such a bad life. I mean, there is magic. But the cost for that is, well, at least in my opinion, boredom. Which is why, contrary to what others may think, I wasn't sure if this Fae thing was all that it was cracked up to be. Maybe that's what makes humans the way they are. If you have to be mortal, at least you can live your life to the fullest. That's not such a bad thing.
I once asked Meredith, the eldest of the Nereids, why she would want to live in the human world. You know what she told me? She said that this is where the action is. It's too bad the first batch of High Fae had to take it so far. Greed, pride, lust, hell, pick any of the seven sins you want—the Fae really aren’t that different from humans after all. Let's just hope I can do better. Of course, I still had to deal with Marissa, she wasn't going to be in Tartarus for eternity, but maybe the time Ouranos had given me was a good head start.
In Sendy's case, not too long ago, her sisters set out to find out what had happened. When they didn’t return, another, Maia, left to try and find them. When she, too, hadn’t returned, Sendy, even after being told not to, started searching. Then she found me. I took a good look at her. Even with her Tink garb you could tell she had gumption. Things just keep getting more interesting, I thought to myself. Then I had a crazy idea. I did have something she could do for me.
"Feel like going for a ride," I asked.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Have you ever had hot chocolate?" I asked with a smile.
****
I'd like to say that I was taking her to my favorite local coffee house, Leone Café, but the truth was we were just heading to a small coffee shop not far from the house because it was closer. I pulled into the shopping center just west of the freeway and found a spot in the back. It was still early so we grabbed a table. We had a little time to talk before the morning work crowd got too large. I told her what I wanted from her and then we just sat and watched people a while. It was kind of nice just answering her questions about this world. It's not every day you get to teach someone about the crazy ways humans interact, or, for that matter, the importance of coffee and hot chocolate to the human race.
I'd parked in the back for a reason. The shopping center was expanding and the back lot bordered the construction zone. If the place had been busy, we could have talked back there with less interruption than the front lot which had a fair share of traffic. I suppose we could have just talked back at the house, but for some reason I thought this would be more fun. That, of course, had been my first mistake.
I sensed the danger just as I was opening the passenger car door. Suddenly my world changed and I saw red as the magic had kicked in. I pushed Sendy into the car and stepped to the side just as the first arrow struck the vehicle. I turned and grabbed the second catching a quick glimpse of someone, or something, stepping back two buildings down. Telling her to stay down, I pulled my sword and went after him.
I wasn't sure what my attacker was, but his choice of weapons hadn't been human. I knew this because I was holding a Fae arrow. I'd encountered them before when battling the other High Fae and her minions. Besides, how many human folks do you know that routinely carry bows and arrows these days. Then again, I'd pulled my sword rather than my gun, but that just proves my point. By the time I reached the corner the being jumped into some kind of portal that appeared against a building wall. I ran as fast as I could to catch up, but I was too late.
There was a flash and nothing was left of the portal but falling ash. Well…shit! I'd caught a glimpse of a something inside of a circle. That and the scent of evil before it disappeared. That scent I'd also encountered before in my battles with Marissa's followers. I looked over the area where the portal had been, I'd seen, I don’t know… some kind of symbol, but it had disappeared too fast. I tried to sense if anything remained but it was gone. That bothered me, this magic had been powerful. I should have been able to sense it the moment it was used, or at least well before the arrow had been launched. Whatever dark magic this spell had been made of had also been able to hide it from me and knew that I'd be here. Who, or what, was I dealing-with?
I took a moment to calm myself down. When my magic kicks in like that it has a tendency to take over. At least this time I had some semblance of control. I quickly collapsed my sword and sheathed it, sticking the arrow into my back pocket and covering it with my shirt. I reached out with my mind to see if I could sense anyone, or anything else, still lingering, but there was nothing. The lot was still empty, or would have been until the Faerie, Sendy, now in a diminutive form, came buzzing towards me. So much for my order to stay put in the car.
"Switch back, someone may see you," I yelled as she approached.
There was a shocked look on her face as she realized it as well. Then she suddenly disappeared. I didn’t know Faeries could do that. Hell, how had she done that? It took a moment, but then I could tell where she was. I assumed that was because of being a High Fae, somehow I knew that she would be invisible to most others. Then a snippet of a song jumped into my head, who can see the wind? Apparently I could.
"Over here," I said, motioning to her. There was a 'pop' as she grew larger and changed back, then dropped the few feet to the ground, visible once more.
It wasn’t until then that I noticed she was topless. I guess it'd be kind of hard to fly without your wings exposed. I put my arms around her before she could say anything and hustled her back to the car. Luckily the back lot was still empty as I grabbed her shirt from the seat and tossed it to her.
"Motherf…!" I yelled.
"My Lord, I beg forgiveness, I wasn't thinking," she said as she pulled her shirt back on.
"It's not you," I said as I put my hand up to stop her apologies. Then I reached down and pulled the arrow out of the leather side panel of the passenger seat. How was I ever going to explain this to the dealer when I got it fixed. Trying to kill me was one thing, but screwing with my car. Now I was really pissed.
"Who is trying to kill you?" she asked as we pulled out of the parking lot.
"I'm not sure," I answered as I pulled out the Fae arrows and looked them over. "I can only guess they are followers of the other High Fae, these arrows look similar to those I've seen before."
"Fae arrows could belong to anyone," she replied. "Hephaestus and Vulcanus forged most of the weapons used by the Gods. Even Odin and Loki were known to wield his weapons, as well as their own before their demise, or so it is said." She may look young but she obviously knew her stuff.
Not that that was any help, my list of suspects was getting bigger. First, there's my promise to free the Lilin, the Vampires, like I said. Then there's the history of Greek, Roman, and Norse Gods (as well as a few other deities) all fighting amongst themselves during The Fall. As if someone needed another reason to come after me. Who would want those times to return? So much for it's good to be the king.
"Well, whoever it is, we'll meet them again. That I can promise. You sure you still want to be my messenger?" I asked.
"Of course," she answered as she looked up at me. "Good and evil, strife and conflict, these are always present when dealing with the Gods. I will stand with you."
Like I said… gumption! But I was still gonna have to work on that being called a God thing.
****
Charlie was already at the front as we pulled into the yard. I barely got the door open before he was jumping on my lap.
"Come on, boy, down," I yelled as I tried to get out.
"Bad, evil…" he growled as he spied the Fae arrows. He had good reason. As I may have mentioned, he'd been shot with just such an arrow during my battle with Marissa. Pushing him down, I got out of the car as he ran to the other side to check on Sendy.
Grabbing the arrows I led them into the hous
e. Placing them down on the table I reached for my cellphone. Before I could dial out Lucinda, my cat, jumped on the table and hissed.
"What of he that bore these?" she asked.
"Escaped," I answered.
"Unfortunate… Bernd must be told," she purred.
"Tell, me something I don’t know." I replied as she gave me one of those disapproving feline looks. "Go find him then," I countered before she could tell me again. "But I have other things to do at the moment so ask him to meet me here tonight."
She gave me another one of those looks and then jumped off the table and headed for the backyard. Like Charlie, she wasn't a normal cat either. She'd been brought to me by Bernd, the Dwarf, as a way to protect me and the house, or at least so he said. Not that I had a reason to doubt his motives. I'd seen her turn into a panther when she fought beside me against the dark Fae so I was glad to have her.
Charlie and Sendy were just standing there, watching me. I ignored them, phone forgotten, as I rummaged through my cabinet and grabbed a cup that said, I took the red pill! Not that I really needed more coffee but that about summed up my life at the moment. Hell, some days it even felt like I was living in a construct. Of course they didn’t have talking animals in the Matrix, did they?
"Charlie, tell Lucinda to make sure the grounds are locked down. No one gets in or out except you, her, Sendy and her charge, and, of course, Bernd," I said as I filled my cup with what was left of this morning's coffee. "That means everyone else, friend or not, until I say different, understood?"
The big dog just nodded, and then went out the same way Lucinda had.
"Have a seat," I said, motioning Sendy to the table as I sat down. I needed to think. Someone was trying to kill me. Ok, I knew that had been probably coming but that didn’t make it any easier. I was hoping it had been one of Marissa's followers. The magic seemed like something a black Mage would do. That would at least give me someone to focus on, but the reality was that it could be any one of several groups out there.
Although my situation (the High Fae thing) wasn't common knowledge yet, the Fae around here weren't that numerous and I knew my decision to free the Lilin from the Fae decree wasn't popular. I still hadn’t faced my aunt in the Fae lands either. It wasn't good enough to just be the Fae I had become. At some point I was going to have to declare my position in that realm as well.
I took another sip and then decided I was just going to have to deal with it. I hadn’t asked for any of this but since when had that ever changed anything? It was time to get my act together. I looked at over at Sendy.
"You can handle what I asked you to do, right?" I asked.
"I can," she responded.
"Ok, then. First, I want you to let the other Aurae know that you are ok. I don’t need any other Fae out there looking for you. Then complete your task. Take as long as you need but come back here with him when you're finished. If I'm not back, just wait, you'll be safe here." I stood up and refilled my cup. "You can use the bedroom next to mine if you get tired."
She started to say something but I interrupted her. "One more thing, take some clothes. I'm not sure what the reaction will be if you show up naked. Oh, and lose the Tink stuff in public, it makes you too noticeable."
Chapter 2
I'm late, I thought to myself as I pulled into the back gate of the Neptune's Landing. As usual, traffic on Dean Martin Boulevard had been a mess and even though I was heading to the executive parking level, I still had to wade past delivery trucks bringing supplies to the Hotel and Casino. Not that I had been looking forward to this meeting with Eddie Milagre, the casino's owner/manager. Oh, I had nothing against Milagre, it was just that the meeting was to introduce me to a few other local VIP's, all of whom were Fae. Since only a few of them knew that I was Fae, let alone a High Fae, we had set up a few things to get their attention, if necessary. I can bullshit my way through most things, but this time things could get interesting.
I would have been on time if it wasn't for Charlie. He almost didn’t let me get in the car. He wasn't too happy about the attack. He'd wanted to come with me in case it happened again. It's friggin' weird having to argue a point with your dog, especially when he argues back. Luckily, I finally convinced him that I needed him there. Of course, I did have to promise him that I'd take him with me if I knew I was going into battle. But I guess that's what you get when you have a Fae hunting dog, especially one his size. He'd damn near knocked me over when I tried leave.
Anyway, I accessed the executive lot and pulled into a spot, then headed for the elevators. Since I'd thrown my lot in with the Milagre's by forming an alliance with Meredith, Eddie Milagre's mother, she being eldest of the Nereid and therefore their leader, I had pretty much unrestricted access to the hotel. Winding my way through the maze that exists behind the scenes of all the glitz and glamour I found an elevator and headed up to the conference room where we were meeting. There were two security folks standing by the conference room. As I walked up they wordlessly opened the doors for me and I stepped into the room.
"Good, you're here. We can start then." Eddie Milagre said, standing next to one of several groups of individuals in the room. I even recognized a few of them. Martin Chibeaux, leader of the Werewolves in the area was here, as were several others of my friends and allies. The rest of the group, for the most part, while I didn’t know personally, I had at least heard of them.
"Sorry I was late… there were… complications," I replied as I removed the arrows from my back pocket and threw them onto the conference table."
Everyone stopped talking. Diantha, one of my closest allies and the prior Oracle of Delphi, ran to my side. Picking up one of the arrows she turned to me.
"These are Fae arrows, are they not? Yet different from those we encountered before." Examining an arrow as she sat down in the chair next to where I was standing. "I sense black magic, why did I not foresee this?"
"By the Gods, Milagre, what have you dragged us into?" one man exclaimed as he shot out of his chair "Who the hell uses Fae arrows these days? For that matter where did they come from? We've never had these kinds of problems in the human world before, never. What has this… thing… brought down upon us?" Saying nothing else, he just glared at me, accusingly.
"Sit down, Sergei, and be quiet. As usual, you have no idea what is happening here," Milagre fired back. The other man sat back down and whispered something to his partner as Milagre turned to me. "My apologies for his outburst. Tell us what has happened?"
I wasn't sure what Milagre had already told the group. The real reason for this meeting had been to inform the other higher ranking Fae in the area about the attacks, as well as to introduce me. So I gave them the short version, leaving out any mention of Sendy. The folks in the room began talking amongst themselves. It was obvious that many, if not all, had the same questions as Sergei did. Then I saw Siegfried stand up.
"Robert did not bring this upon us. This is not the first attack, nor I expect, will it be the last," he said loudly to the room.
That got everyone's attention. Siegfried was the Neptune's chief of corporate security as well as charged with Milagre's protection. He was also descended from Viking warrior Fae and one of my best friends and allies. He and Diantha had been with me when we defeated, at least temporarily, the other High Fae. He was also well respected in the Fae community.
"Gentlemen, and Ladies," Milagre announced to the group with a bow to the few females in the room. "Let us not lose focus. There is much to discuss, you will want to hear what Siegfried has to say." He looked around the room and when he was satisfied he had their attention, motioned to Siegfried. "Continue."
Siegfried went on to describe how we had discovered that someone was attacking powerful Fae. He outlined the names and backgrounds of those Fae that he knew had been attacked, including the attack on Milagre and the death of one Chitose Shoda, a Fae from Japan, who was well known to the local gaming community. There were a lot of interruptions when he got to the part
about the battle with the other High Fae. Temporarily forgotten, I just sat back and listened. Well, at least until someone remembered I was still here. It was Sergei that brought my name back to the forefront of the discussion when Siegfried got to the part about freeing the Lilin.
I really didn’t know that much about him, except that he was Russian and descended from the Vodianoi. (Oh, and don't believe that nonsense about them being spirits of unclean male dead. They're really no different than their female cousins, the Vila.) And while similar to the Fae Milagre and I were descended from, he was, none the less, from a totally different branch of the proverbial tree. Water Spirit, or not, he was also one of Milagre's biggest competitors. The Fae may work together for the most part here on the human plane but that doesn’t mean they have to like each other. He was also, at least in my opinion, an asshole.
"He wants to what?" Sergei exclaimed as he jumped out of his chair. I saw anger and disbelief on his face as he pointed a finger at me. "I have only your word that this... creature... is what you claim him to be and now you say he wants to free the Lilin! Already they act strangely, much less docile than before. Bah, insanity, and a fool as well. I sense no magic from this imposter. I have had enough of this nonsense."
One of the first things I had learned from Siegfried was that strength was the key to power in the Fae world. Not human strength, but strength in magic. While I hadn’t mastered everything about my Fae side I did know a few tricks. Since many of the local Fae had not heard of me prior to today, and because of what I was they wouldn’t be able to sense any magic until I let them, Siegfried and Milagre and I had discussed just such a reaction and I'd worked with Bernd, the dwarf, so that I could pull off just the right kind of demonstration. Hell, I'd even practiced it with Meredith, the leader of the Nereid and Milagre's mother. I stood up.