by Tom Keller
"Sure. Go back to work with Bjartr. Eventually the Lilin will have to deal with me, and you could be my go between when that time comes."
"Oh, great," she cried. "Then I would truly be seen as a traitor to my kind."
"Perhaps by some," I argued. "But you can’t tell me that there aren’t some Lilin yearning to be free of Demeter's curse. For that's truly what it is, a curse. Eventually they'll have come around."
"There is some truth in what you say," she agreed. "I appear to have little choice in the matter. Once again I am thrust into the business of the Gods. Not a position I have ever aspired to."
I knew exactly how she felt.
I asked Bjartr to come in and the three of us discussed the possibility of her being some kind of emissary. He was, to my surprise, not as opposed to it as I had thought he would be. Then again, he was an Elf, and he deeply cared for the Lilin, even one that was being shunned. Besides, as far as freeing the Lilin went, anything I could do to improve their lot would be ok with him. After talking some more, Delia agreed to consider the matter if such a time arose.
He had also agreed that she could return to Danu's. I asked him about issues with his other Lilin employee, Rayna, but he said that he could handle that. She could make any other decisions later. Then, after Delia left the room to freshen up, I discussed another matter with Bjartr. With his agreement, there was still one more thing to do.
"Lucius," I said, returning to the kitchen while Delia was still in the bathroom. "How would you like a job?"
"Excuse me," he sputtered.
"I need someone to look after Delia for a while."
"The Elders would frown upon that," he replied. "She is to be avoided."
"And yet you were the one assigned to bring her here," I noted.
"That was different," he said. "I was ordered to do so by those same Elders."
"True," I agreed. "But I don't need you to live with her, or even socialize with her for that matter. I only want you to keep an eye on her. Just to make sure she stays safe."
"Keep her safe," he asked, curious now. "What do you mean?"
"Just that," I replied. "She will return to Danu's. Already, as I understand it, a place of neutral ground. I just want you to keep an eye on the place, and as part of your duties, her as well. I mean she is an employee. That’s it." I could tell he was considering it. "You will, of course, be working for Danu's. I can’t believe there will be an issue if you are employed by an Elf. I have already discussed it with Bjartr. He needs some security anyway and is more than willing to hire you. Especially since you are a former Centurion. With the Lilin now having some autonomy, thanks to me I might add, such employment is now available, and unfortunately, probably necessary. Hell, you can even name your own price."
"I can do that," he answered after a moment. Then named a figure three times what any bodyguard in town would get.
"Agreed," I said. "Bjartr will give you all the details as you drive them back to the bar."
Chapter 12
Unbelievable, I thought to myself as I left Cornwall's office a few days later. I'd been there for over two hours signing documents related to my Fae, let's call it, inheritance. Believe it or not the government had a system in place to tax money brought in from the Fae worlds. What kind of bullshit was that? Sure, I'd had to invest Fae money in Danu's to cover what Lucius was gonna cost the bar and some extra to make Delia's life a little better, but crap, more taxes? I was reminded of a line from one of my favorite movies, inconceivable!
The government even had a special agency that acted as liaison between the Fae and human world. To top it off, I was informed that I would probably be getting a visit from this same agency sooner or later once my new position became known to them. Of course, I had heard about these fellows from Siegfried before, and, believe it or not, my kids had actually dealt with them when a few Fae bodies showed up on a case they were working.
A short time after I found out about all this Fae stuff, my daughter, Nicky, a CSI at the local PD had turned up a case with a dead Fae out at State Line. Coincidentally, my son, JT, who worked for Homeland Security out of L.A. had caught the same case as part of a series of murders he was investigating. Of course, they hadn’t known it was Fae that were being killed at the time. Actually, they still didn't, and I had been trying to keep it that way as long as possible. Unfortunately, that idea seems to be tossed out the window after my new found kingship. I still hadn’t decided how to deal with that, or for that matter, how to even raise the subject with them. But I knew I was going to have to, and probably soon. Well, at least I didn’t have to today.
Anyway, turns out my old nemesis, Marissa, had been targeting high powered Fae and having them taken out by some of her Mages. During the investigation two strange agents showed up and attended the autopsy. Both my kids described them as spooks, and not just the secret agent type. They said they were spooky as hell.
Apparently, it wasn't unheard of for Demons to visit the earthly plane and have a romp with the locals in olden times. They are, believe it or not, magical creatures and considered to be of the Fae. Which is confusing as hell. But you have to think of it as if you have magical genes then you are of the Fae, if not, you're probably human, but I digress.
The offspring of those unions between Demons and humans were half-breeds and apparently not welcome back home and therefore unable to travel to the Underworld. To make matters worse, they were also thought of as evil and unclean here on earth and as a result were persecuted by other humans. Fortunately for them, since they did have some magical powers, they were able to make pacts with the sovereigns of the realms they resided in. Protection of the king's title and lands against attacks by magic in exchange for a safe haven. Bring that up to modern times and you get a secret branch of the government that monitors Fae-human contact. And here I thought there were no alien spaceships at Area 51. But damn, taxes?
I got in my car and drove through the lot, intending to go to my office. I would have gone on lamenting my new found tax problems as well, but fortunately for me, the phone rang.
"This is Robert," I answered, not even glancing at the number that came up.
"Robert, this is Walter Ferrer, I met you at that little demonstration of yours at Milagre's."
"Yes, Walter, I remember. What can I do for you?" I replied, recalling that he was some descendant of the Roman God, Vulcanus.
"Good. Good. I got a call from Mr. Cornwall recently. I may have some information that you might find interesting. I thought we might meet. Do you have time today?"
"Sure," I answered. Cornwall had said he would make some inquiries. If nothing else, maybe this would get my mind off my tax bill. "What time?"
"Have you had lunch?"
"No. When and where?"
He mentioned Fat Choy's. An Asian American bistro located just off the strip in a small local casino. I loved the place. The owner had started with a food truck and opened there late last year. It was one of Vegas' hidden gems and frequently made the top restaurant list for comfort food. We agreed to meet in a half an hour so I hung a left down Paradise Road out of the parking lot and headed that way.
I'd asked Cornwall to keep an eye out for information about Dragons. I was convinced that finding that link to Marissa would lead me to either a base of operations, or at the least, maybe help me locate some of her followers that had attacked me and targeted the others. In addition to Shoda, several other powerful Fae had been killed under mysterious circumstances. Each one, by fire, and they all weren't simply burned, some had been incinerated.
My kids thought they were just dealing with some kind of industrial weapon but I had known that they were killed by other Fae. Although to be honest, I thought it was some kind of magic burst such as had been used against me when I first saved Milagre from the Mages. But now I wasn't so sure. Although some had had wounds similar to electrocution, a few had been burned almost beyond recognition. Dragon Fire could do that a lot more effectively than a wand.
Walte
r was already seated in a booth as I entered the restaurant. I sat down across from him as the waitress brought us menus. I started to ask him why I was here but the waitress was waiting, so we ordered. He got the house special burger. It was tempting but I went with the duck leg and rice. The food here really is good. As the waitress walked away we engaged in some small talk until our orders arrived.
Then he took out a lighter. It was antique and wrapped in faded leather with an image of a building on it. I watched as he lit it and then waved his hand over the flame, muttering a few words I couldn’t catch. As soon as he finished I felt the air around us seem to thicken. Some kind of privacy spell I guessed. Makes sense, I thought to myself, the line of Vulcanus would use a flame. I was gonna have to learn to do a few of those spells myself. I wonder if I can find a Magic for Dummies book.
"Nice lighter," I remarked, as he picked up his burger.
"Yeah, the Vienna Opera house. Got it there in what? 1954, I think. I was on vacation. Still works, too." He said with a smile. "But back to business. Cornwall tells me you're looking for some information."
"I could be," I replied. "What exactly are we talking about here?"
"Dragons," he answered almost in a whisper. He put his food down and looked around the room as he said it, privacy spell or not. "Cornwall says I can trust you but we have to have an understanding before I tell you what I know."
"An understanding?" I asked, unsure of what that meant.
"Yeah, I just want to make sure of a few things."
"Ok," I said. "Please continue."
"First," he said, his food forgotten for a moment. "I need your word that nothing I say here today will be attributed to me."
"I've never burned a source," I replied. "I don’t intend to start now."
"Good. Second, I need you to promise me that you won't hold me responsible. It was a long time ago and things were different then."
"Responsible," I repeated. Just what the hell was he about to tell me? I thought about it for a second before I answered. "Done. So long as it doesn’t relate to my immediate family."
"Your immediate… oh, I forgot… your parents. My condolences… but no, this was way before then."
"Then we're good." I said.
"Ok, then. You need to understand that I was probably one of the first Fae in the valley. I came her in about '21 or '22. Europe was still a mess after the war and the desert seemed like a nice change. Anyway, this place was just a bump in the road in those days. I was working as a blacksmith then. Horses and trains were still the major mode of transportation and it does run in the family," he said with a grin. "Didn't get involved in gambling much till, oh… maybe the '30s. Truth was, being a smith was a good way to make some money. Hell, it was profitable all the way into the '50s. Lotta horses and cattle in this town back then."
"Still are," I added.
"True, but you get my drift. And I was a good smith, when it came to horses. But I never had the power some of my other relatives did. Oh, sure, you need an unbreakable lock, fix a buggy, or maybe break open a safe," he added with a wink. "That I can do. Work for humans is easy. But now and then some Fae would need something, something really magical, you know? That I would usually have to farm out. Fortunately, I had a few cousins that were good with that kind of magic. I mean real good."
"So what's that have to do with Dragons?" I asked.
"I'm getting there," he said, and continued. "Musta been the early '50s when I met her. Nice looking gal. Said she had a place up in Alamo. Supposed to be some cattle ranch or something along those lines."
Alamo, Nevada, was about 90 miles north of Vegas. It had a long history of ranching. Back in the late 1800s it was also a well-known stop for horse and cattle thieves moving west to California. Things were getting interesting.
"She came in one evening as I was closing up. Said her name was Mary, or something like that. Went on about a problem with some missing cattle. Of course my first response was to tell her to call the Sheriff, but that wasn't what she had in mind."
"What did she have in mind?" I asked.
"Dragons," he answered. "Said she was having a problem with Dragons eating her cattle, or at least, a particular Dragon. Now, I gotta tell you. I didn’t sense a whiff of magic about this girl. So, of course, I told her there weren't any such things as Dragons. Next thing I know she switches into some kinda nymph and tells me that there certainly are. So at that point, I knew I was dealing with a Fae. Never did figure out what kind though? Didn't act like a Dryad, assuming this Mary really was Marissa. Not that I've had a lot of contact with them."
"What did she want from you?"
"Something that could capture a Dragon."
"Did you make her something?"
"I didn't, but I did send her to someone who could, eventually," he answered after a moment. "But at first I said no. I didn't mind human stuff but screwing with Dragons is dangerous. Besides, fire breathers are kinda like part of the family. Well, the real ones are. But she was very persuasive, and I mean very, very persuasive. And she was Fae. There wasn't a hint of evil about her, either, and I can usually tell the bad ones. She swore to me that she was in danger and as she was offering gold as well, I gave in." He looked embarrassed for a moment and then continued. "Anyway, to make a long story short I sent her to a cousin. I never saw her again but I heard he made her something."
"What was it?"
"A collar. One that would hold and bind the wearer. Not sure if she ever used it but here's the interesting part. My cousin was killed a few years later. His entire operation burned to the ground. They say the entire mountain was fused into crystal. Do you know how hard it is to kill one of us by fire, or to fuse a mountain for that matter?"
"I have no idea," I muttered.
"Almost impossible. You would need great skill in magic. No normal Fae could do such a thing."
Made sense. That would be like trying to drown a water Fae. But it would sure make a point.
"Did you ever try to find her again?" I asked.
"No," he answered, putting his hands on the table and looking me in the eye. "And I don't really want to find her now. Anyone that can do that is way out of my league. Magically speaking, of course. But if it was this Marissa, you need to know what you're up against. Dragons are nothing to trifle with."
"You said the real ones are. What did you mean by that?" I asked, curious that he had defined some as real.
"You know, real Dragons, as in the old world kind," he replied. "Not shape shifters."
"Shape shifters? There are Dragon shape shifters?" I said, realizing I was showing my ignorance of the Fae even as I said it.
"Don’t you know anything about Weredragons?" he asked in amazement.
"Sorry," I answered. "I never really ran into any."
"Well," he replied. "It couldn't have been an old world Dragon, at least not after she described it. Too small. Only 25 – 30 feet tall, the real ones are two to three times as big. Shifters are more Wyvern sized. Of course there's not much difference in the power of the flame they produce. Besides, there haven't been any real Dragons around since before The Fall. No, this one had to be a shifter, even if they are pretty rare. So I figured I was helping her out. Anyway, I didn’t think anything more about it until I heard about my cousin. By then it was too late."
"How would a collar like that work?"
"Well," he replied. "It's old world magic, first forged by Vulcanus for the ancient Gods. Even so, it's still just a formula. While it is a lost art, and takes a better understanding of magic than I have, some in my line can still forge a collar like that. Once placed on the wearer the collar allows you to control them. They used to use them a lot on Weres before The Fall, so they could get them to do their fighting for them. That's how some of the old Gods made armies during the wars. All you need is the Fae that wants to bind someone there when the final link is forged. A few magic words and it’s done. Once the collar is in place, they're yours to command."
He mu
st have seen the look on my face.
"Hey, I never claimed to be a Saint!" he exclaimed. "Besides I thought I was just helping her out, her being a Nymph and all."
"I'm not judging," I replied. "I'm sure she was very persuasive, as you already said."
"Yeah, well, what's done is done."
"Not to be a jerk, but tell me, why would your people make something like that?" I asked, trying not to sound judgmental. But it had to be asked.
"You're a Dryad, right?" he said, more as a statement of fact than a question. "Do you have a garden?"
"Yeah, I do, why?"
"Because that's what you Dryads do," he replied, shaking his head. "You like the woods and the plants, right? You make them grow. That's the focal point of your magic. Well, we make things with fire. Hephaestus and Vulcanus made weapons for the Gods. It's the same as you. Sure, our focal point is fire and we do make weapons, but it's more than that. It's the making of the thing that excites us." He took a long drink before continuing. "Turning the metals and alloys into something altogether new. I'm good with a forge; I can make a decent sword. But I'm still not as good as some of the others. Weapon making is an art but weaving the magic into the process is what we do. Fortunately, some of my relatives are still pretty good at it. Of course that's not all they do. They don’t just make Fae weapons. I have one relative that makes handmade swords and medieval weapons for movies. You can even see some of them on YouTube if you want."
Well that made sense, I guess.
"So back to these collars. Can they be removed?" I asked after a moment.
"Not easily. Best way is to kill the Fae that controls them. That always works with any kind of binding spell. But in this case, your sword would do it."
"My sword?"
"Cronus' blade would cleave them like butter," he said almost excitedly. "When I saw you unsheathe that at Milagre's I knew immediately what it was. Not even Vulcanus could make a blade like that. Once cut through the spell would be lifted."
"Could another sword do it?"
"Sure, one of the old swords forged by Hephaestus or Vulcanus would probably work, but I doubt any are still around. The Gods kept pretty good tabs on those, at least those with that much power. I haven't heard of any that survived The Fall. Some of the lesser weapons made for the Fae are still floating around out there, but with those you'd need time. Not enough magic in them to cut through these kind of links quickly. I doubt anything made today would have the power. Like I said, it's old world magic, first forged by a God for other Gods."