Of Gods and Fae

by Tom Keller

  "His name was Orvyn. He picked me up and carried me to a place not too far away. It was in the woods and near a stream that used to flow across our fields. I think my back was broken and I remember the pain as I prayed for death. Then he put me down gently and asked me if I wanted to live. What was I going to say? Living was still better than being dead, or at least so I thought at the time. I croaked out the word yes and then he kissed me. I remember a burning in my throat and I passed out again. When I awoke later the pain was gone. I tried to get up but I was still weak. Then Taite joined us. It takes two, you see, for a Lilin to be created."

  "I'd heard that," I said.

  "Yes, well, she told me what they were. Not just the stories they tell children to frighten them. But the real stories. They weren't Demons, or spawns of the Devil, they were just the Lilin. A fusing of two beings, she said. Even with the curse of Demeter… yes, they told me that, too. I would be stronger, faster, and I could live a long, long time. At first I was hesitant, I'd been brought up fearing the thought of such creatures but eventually the pain started to return. You don’t realize how much you want to live until you are about to die. But her kiss was much worse than his had been. I remember the gagging and the pain as it took form inside of me. I think I was in and out of consciousness for a few days but soon I started getting better. My body changing, the wounds healing. Then I became younger, or at least I looked like I was. Life was not kind to women in those days. But my skin got taut and the muscles hard and I was much stronger and faster than before.

  "They taught me how to use a bow and a blade. Then they taught me how to hunt. Not just for food, but for blood as well, and revenge."

  "And did you get it? Revenge, I mean"

  "I did. We hunted well together. But after a while we had to split up, thanks to the decree. The Lilin, at least in those days, travelled only in pairs except in situations like mine. It took about a year for me to become fully grown and then they had to leave me. They did teach me a lot in that year, especially how to avoid your kind. Nothing personal," she added.

  "I understand," I answered, pulling the steaks off the grill. "I'm gonna grab some salad and plates, let's move to the table and you can finish your story."

  "Not much more to tell," she replied, following me into the kitchen. "Life was simpler then. I moved around a lot, met up with a few others of my kind from time to time and then I came here when Bjartr asked me to join him."

  "So that doesn’t really tell me what's going on now though," I said, plating the steaks and removing the bones and a hefty chunk of meat for Charlie.

  "I'll get to that," she replied, setting down her beer on the counter. "But first, do you have any wine?"

  "Pantry under the stairs," I said, pointing to the door. "There's an opener on the cooler and glasses on the shelf." Then I grabbed the plates and took then out back, setting them down on the patio table. I gave Charlie his cut and the bones. He didn’t stick around but headed out to the yard to snack.

  "Opus alright?" she asked.

  I nodded and sat down.

  "I didn’t know you were into wine as well. We have a nice selection at Danu's"

  "I'm not really," I replied. "Client of mine owns a liquor store. Sends me some good stuff every year." I motioned for her to sit.

  "Now, where was I," she asked as she poured the wine.

  "What’s going on now," I reminded her, rolling my eyes.

  "Oh yeah," she said after a moment. "Sometimes you can be so difficult… "

  "What does that mean?" I replied. "I was just asking the same thing you always do."

  "Fine," she said, putting down her fork. "Look, I would have thought some of it would be obvious. That battle with you on Olympus, Demons trying to kill me, and now one of my own kind. Maybe I'm just tired of it… and then there's Lucius."

  "What about him?"

  "Don’t tell me you didn’t know who he was."

  "I know he was a Roman Centurion, what else is there?"

  She shook her head as she reached for her wine.

  "I knew you were different when I first met you, acting the way you did. But sometimes you make my head spin. Don't you know anything about the political situation out here? I mean with the Lilin.

  "Like I told you a minute ago, I don’t know much about the Lilin. What did I miss about Lucius?" I asked, now really curious.

  "Lucius Camillus is not just another Lilin. He is the right hand of the Elders, or at least he was until he met you." She took another drink, then laughed. "By the Gods, my Fae lord, you haven't just turned my world upside down, you've turned everyone's and didn’t even realize it."

  I wasn't sure how to respond to that. I thought I was just planting a seed, looks like I planted a whole tree. Shit, or maybe a grove.

  "You really didn’t know, did you?" she said, standing and walking around the table towards me. She stopped next to me and leaned against it, crossing her arms.

  "Sorry, believe it or not, I'm just winging it here most of the time," I replied, figuring honesty was as good an approach as any. "Just don’t tell anyone else," I said with a wink, trying to make light of it.

  "You amaze me. Do you know that?" she asked with a laugh, and then she sat down, straddling me in my chair.

  "I do believe you're avoiding my question," I replied, putting my arms around her.

  "Alright, but you may not like what I tell you."

  "I'll just have to take that chance, I guess."

  "As you wish," she said softly, without getting up. "Truth is, I never liked the Fae. But then, what Lilin does? I have tried to avoid the Fae for generations. It wasn't until I met Bjartr that I ever interacted with your kind. Happy?" She reached back to the table to take a drink of wine.

  "I understand," I replied. "I really do."

  "Good. What else you need to understand is, and I'm not telling you any secrets here, that until maybe 50 years ago, there was very little communication between us, the Lilin, I mean."

  "Ok."

  "Then the old ones, the Elders, started contacting us. Just one on one, like in the old times. At first it was just to see how we were and to let us know they were around. Then, as technology got more advanced, they started to get more involved. Oh, nothing sinister, or so it didn’t seem like it was at the time. But technology gave them power. We didn’t need to keep meeting one on one. Now they could conference call to get around the edict. Do you understand?"

  "I do," I replied. I'd said much the same thing to Lucius when I first met him.

  "Anyway, old rules were enforced again and we had to be cautious amongst the Fae. The Elders didn’t want conflict. So while I was attracted to you when you rescued me from the Weres, once I found out who you were I had to be careful."

  "Oh, so you were attracted to me," I quipped.

  "Yes," she said, reaching across and poking me with a pointed finger. "Now let me finish."

  "Ok," I said, mimicking pain.

  "So then the Demon came and you rescued me again. I was curious. As well as thankful," she added. "So I went to Olympus with you to see what was happening. After that battle I knew you were truly what you claimed. But the Elders became concerned, even after I told them about the Dwarf, Bernd. So I was told to stay away from you.

  "When I was called in later to see one of them, I didn’t think anything of it, until they drugged me. But by then it was too late, or at least so I thought. Then I woke up and found that you had rescued me again. But then when you made me return with Lucius, I was afraid again, and confused. But then he talked to me, knowing I'd been shunned and I knew that things had truly changed."

  "I though the slap did that," I said.

  "Indeed it did. But to know that Lucius could ignore the Elders gave me hope. Which is why I asked you to go to dinner, so we could discuss this."

  "And what about Rayna?"

  "Rayna was a fool. Only her hatred of the Fae could make her believe that aligning herself with such Mages was wise," she replied. "I am not a
coward, believe me. I am cautious because to be any other way is unwise. As to the Fae or even my own kind, I fear no one, individually. But I cannot win against them all."

  "That all makes sense. But I'm still a little confused," I said, pulling her a little tighter. "You still haven't told me exactly where you and I stand."

  "Well, my Fae knight in shining armor," she said, getting up and walking around the table. She leaned over it and gave me a passionate kiss before picking up her wineglass. "I suggest you take me upstairs and find out."

  Who was I to argue?

  Chapter 14

  She was still sleeping when the phone rang so I slid to the other side of the bed to answer.

  "Mal, what's up?" I asked, I asked, having glanced at the caller I.D.

  "I hope I didn’t wake you but I think I may have something on your search. You want to meet this morning?"

  "Sure, why don’t you just have Sendy bring you by in a half hour or so? Just start the coffee if you get here before I can get showered and dressed."

  "I can do that. See you then," he replied before hanging up.

  I put the phone back on the nightstand as Delia stretched and then rolled over beside me.

  "Anything important?" she asked as she kissed me.

  "Mal's coming by with some info I asked him for," I answered, kissing her back.

  "I don’t believe I've met him. Do you need me to go?"

  "Why don’t you stay," I said as I got out of bed. "He's one of my best friends and I'm sure he'd like to meet you. If you'd like to, that is."

  "How long do we have?" she asked with a mischievous look.

  "A half hour or so," I replied. "I was gonna take a quick shower. Want to join me?"

  "Hmm…? A half hour… We can do that," she said as she jumped out of bed and led me into the bathroom.

  It was about 45 minutes later before we finally made it downstairs to find Mal and Sendy already arrived and sitting at the table. Both stood up when we walked into the kitchen.

  "Hey guys," I said. "This is Delia. Delia, this is Malcolm and Sendy."

  "He is a human," she whispered in my ear.

  "Yes, he is," I replied with a laugh. "But don't hold that against him."

  "I apologize," she said, turning to Mal. "I meant no disrespect. I did not know that many of your kind knew of us."

  "None taken," he replied. "Just enough Fae in me to make that possible, or at least so I'm told."

  "And Sendy is an Aurae. A Sky Fae," I added as Delia sat down beside her. "Ok, then. Let me get a cup and then we'll see what Mal's come up with. Anybody else?" I asked as I poured some coffee. Mal fired up his laptop and then turned it towards me as I sat down.

  "You remember when we were talking about that brothel in the old Formyle area?"

  "Roxies? Yeah, I remember, what about it?"

  "Ok," he continued, pointing at a parcel map on the laptop. "Here's the old rooming house, and over here is roughly where the brothel actually stood before it was burned down, across the flood channel."

  "Yeah, I've been there before."

  "Ok," he continued. "If you look closely, you'll see the hotel parking lot ends here and you have this large desert area between there and the expressway."

  "Sure, you can see it when you drive by."

  "Right, so I went there and I couldn’t find a blade of grass on it, not even a weed was growing. Of course the actual spring where it got its name is long since dried up, but hell, there should be something. It's also been sold several times over the last 30 or 40 years yet no one has built anything on it. Seemed weird so I had Sendy fly over it… well, I'll let her tell you the rest."

  "There is a spell over this land, my Lord," Sendy said.

  "A spell, what kind of a spell?"

  "I am not sure. It is one of forgetfulness as well as sight. As I approached it, it was as if I forgot why I was there. Then, when I fought the loss of memory, the land faded from view. Whoever cast it does not want the Fae to know it is there. As I did not want to be discovered, I did not stay long. Whatever power lays over this small piece of land, it is very unsettling."

  "What is interesting is that it didn't have the same effect on me," Mal said. "Maybe I don’t have enough Fae in me but when I was there I was able to see it and walk through it with no problem. What I'm thinking is that whatever it is it doesn’t work the same way on humans as the Fae. Fascinating, right?"

  "This looks promising. We need to find out more about this kind of spell," I said aloud. "Lucinda, where are you?"

  "I am here," the cat answered, jumping on the table.

  "I need more information. Can you find Bernd?"

  "He will come if he is needed," she answered. "But you should know that these types of spells are of the old ways. Water from the Lethe, the river of forgetfulness was often used to cast them. Seek out Meredith, she will know of such things." Before I could ask more, she jumped from the table and went out the doggie door.

  "Is she always like that?" Mal asked.

  "Pretty much," I replied. "But at least we have a place to start. Let me set up a meeting with Meredith and a few others and then we'll put something together to check it out. In the meantime, see if there's anything else you can find out about the area. I know about the Roxie's fire but maybe there's some other history that might tie in."

  "Sounds like a plan," said Mal.

  "Ok, so I'll call you with a place and time."

  As the meeting broke up I turned to Delia who was saying goodbye to Sendy.

  "Glad you stayed?"

  "It was interesting. I seldom, how should I say it? Just socialize with Fae, let alone humans, even if you were discussing problems. Do you think your friend has found the enemy's location?"

  "It's kind of a long shot but it's possible. At the very least someone doesn’t want the Fae to know what's there. Do you want to be involved?"

  "Yes, last night's episode has made this personal. I would also recommend that you include Lucius. He is a seasoned warrior and may have some insight in this type of battle.

  "Good idea. So what's on your agenda for the rest of the day?" I asked as I poured another cup of coffee.

  "I have a lot to think about. I also need to talk to Bjartr about the Elders. Perhaps it would be best if you take me back to Danu's?"

  "I understand, I need to get on this spell thing anyway."

  I picked up in the kitchen and then we jumped in the car and headed to Danu's to drop her off. On the way we had a brief discussion about where we stood as it related to the change in status of the Lilin as well as our personal relationship. As to both, we'd just have to see what the future would bring.

  ****

  I'd called Siegfried from my car and asked him to set up a meeting with Meredith and Eddie Milagre. I figured they were my best source for magic spells. Eddie was supposed to be one of the best at casting them, and since they were Water Fae, they might even be familiar with the river of forgetfulness.

  As usual, I drove into the Neptune's Landing's back gate and then parked in executive parking. Grabbing the elevator I went up to the management level and headed into Siegfried's office. He was talking to his secretary as I walked in.

  "Ah, you're here," he said. "Let's head over to Mr. Milagre's office, I believe Meredith is already there."

  I followed him out and around the hallway into Milagre's office. Eddie was already there, seated behind his desk with Meredith on the leather couch across from it. They both stood as we walked in.

  "Robert, how nice to see you again," she said as motioned me to sit down beside her. "Siegfried says you may have found something interesting."

  "Actually, it was Malcolm who found it but I think it's worth following up. Sooner, rather than later, I believe." That said I went over what Mal and Sendy had discovered, adding the information about the Dragon and the collar I had previously learned and the Elf's desire to see her rescued, if possible.

  "Are you sure that it only affected the Fae?" Milagre asked.


  "Well, Malcolm said he walked the area and experienced none of the effects that Sendy mentioned. Although he does have some Fae in him it must not be enough to trigger the forgetfulness she experienced. But I can only assume that that's the reason."

  "We must remember that it was the Dwarf that expanded Malcolm's senses. He is still, for all practical purposes, just a human," Siegfried added.

  "Yes, that is true," Meredith said. "It is not uncommon for humans to possess small quantities of Fae blood based on their heritage. There was much intermingling in the old times. But they would need a fair amount for it to become dominant and be recognized by most other Fae. Bernd's spell would not alter that."

  "Let's assume that's true," Eddie said. "So this area has a spell that is invisible to humans but makes the Fae forget it is even there. Very unusual, and troubling."

  "Why's that?" I asked.

  "Such spells were often used to protect small Fae areas in the past. But I am not aware of any that targeted Fae. Usually they were used to ensure that humans were unaware of the Fae's presence. Not the other way around."

  "There is another issue," Meredith divulged. "The location of the rivers of Hades have long been hidden from the living and few know of their location. If such was used to craft this spell then the waters were stolen by one that should not have been able to access it. Siegfried has told us of your Aurae. Can you ask her to join us? I would like to examine her to see if this spell is indeed as you believe."

  Meredith had done something similar to me when I first found out what I was so I didn’t hesitate. I called on Sendy and moments later she appeared. She was nude, of course, but since everyone was Fae no one seemed surprised.

  "My Lord," she said as her wings folded up into nothingness and she slipped a shirt she'd brought up over her head.