by Tom Keller
Jewel of the Fae
A Vegas Fae Story
By
Tom Keller
Also by Tom Keller
The Vegas Fae Stories
Return of the High Fae
Of Gods and Fae
Twist of Fae
Not Just Another Fae
Night and Fae
Heirs of the Vegas Fae
Fae: Generations
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved.
Book Cover design by Elizabeth Mackey
Kindle Edition © 2018 Tom Keller
Las Vegas, NV USA
The Vegas Fae Stories and its books, characters and story are copyright © 2012 - 2018 Tom Keller
Acknowledgements
As usual, I'd like to thank everyone that helped make this book possible, especially my wife, Karen. Without her help this book would never have been written. A big thanks to Phil, Jim, Ryan, Dee, Jen, and all the rest of my beta readers for their advice and support.
I'd especially like to thank you, the reader. Without you, Robert would never be able to continue his adventures, and where would the fun be in that?
A special thanks to all those Facebook fans that liked my author page and kept those comments coming in. Knowing that you are out there really made a difference in getting the manuscript finished and the book published.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my family. My wife, my children, their spouses and our grandchildren, including those yet to come. What can I say? I've been blessed. Thanks for listening to all those crazy stories I tell and then putting up with all those days and nights when I've been locked in my office, typing away. I couldn’t have done it without you!
Copyright
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
The End
About the Author
Books by Tom Keller
Chapter 1
"How'd you know he was here?" I asked the Keres.
"He is a son of Nyx," Nosia replied. "The Queen sensed his presence. She would have come herself, but the time for her child approaches."
"I understand," I said, more than aware of the pending childbirth. "I'll take care of it from here."
"She asks that you spare him," Nosia said, grabbing my arm. "She does not believe he went willingly to Tartarus."
"No one ever does," I replied, almost at a loss for words at the thought of a Death Spirit like Nosia of the Keres worrying about keeping someone alive. But being a child of Nyx himself, he was family, so that had to be taken into consideration. "I have no intention of sending him back, if that's what she's worried about."
"What will you do with him?" she asked, her body turning to smoke as she readied to leave.
"I'm going to offer him his job back, "I said with a smirk. "What else?"
"That is acceptable," she replied, then disappeared into the air.
"I'm so glad you approve," I muttered. Then I told Charlie to cover the back as I slowly walked toward the front of the trailer.
What the once Ferryman of Hades was doing in Lake Havasu couldn’t be near as interesting as how he'd gotten here. Charon had to have escaped from Tartarus when the portal had been opened. But what was the Ferryman doing there in the first place? There was no record of him ever being sent to other parts of the Underworld, and like everyone else in Greek mythology, he'd been thought to have died during The Fall.
The Fall had been the end of the old Gods as we knew them. Vanity and stupidity had led them to war amongst themselves till none were left. It didn’t seem to matter what pantheon we were talking about. Greek, Roman, Norse… hell, they were all gone, at least until now. Of course, their offspring, the Fae, were still out there. That's where I come in. A descendant of Demeter, I was the Fae that threw a monkey wrench into the works. I was a High Fae, like the old Greek Gods before me, and now, the heir to Hades as well. Gaea had spoken of a prophesy; one that would see the old gods returned. Only this time there would only be two, one good, one evil. I was the good guy, but that didn't mean anyone expected someone like me to come along. Especially not since I was a male. That was almost unheard of in the current lines of Fae. Oh, how things have changed.
Still, you would think being the equivalent of a Greek God of old and the heir of two Olympians would count for something. But I had to stumble my way through most of life just like the next guy. Okay, it wasn't quite that bad, but you get the picture… and I wasn't powerless. I could do a hell of a lot as a High Fae. It's just that it doesn’t always mean it's going to be easy… or fun, for that matter. Truth is, it's a pain in the ass most of the time. Like one of my obligations being the person responsible for chasing down escapees from the Underworld. Not that I owed any allegiance to Tartarus. No, he and I were at odds, and I had my own reasons for searching out Charon. Which is how I found myself in Lake Havasu at 3:00 a.m., accompanied by my Fae hunting dog, Charlie, getting ready to bust through the door of a trailer where the son of the long gone Greek Goddess of Night was hiding. Not exactly my idea of a fun Friday night, but someone had to do it.
I kicked the door and went in. I suppose I could have used magic, but old habits die hard. I took three steps in and then ducked, the wooden oar slicing the air above me before he dropped it and ran out the back door. I casually strolled to the opening and watched as Charlie took the lead.
"Dekara!" Charon yelled, falling face down onto the sand as Charlie clamped down on his leg. He pounded his fist into the dirt.
I stood over him as he twisted his head and looked up.
"Release me," he cried, trying to wiggle his way out of the big dog's grip.
I nodded and then Charlie let go of his leg. Then he dropped his two front paws onto the Charon's back, pinning him down and forcing his face back into the ground.
"Get off me, spawn of Cerberus," he yelled, spitting out sand with each word.
"Since when does Charon, the Ferryman of Hades, run from danger?" I asked, calling forth Hades bident and thrusting it down into the ground in front of him. I reached into my pocket and pulled out an obol I'd brought just for the occasion. It was the small Greek coin most often used to pay the Ferryman for entrance to Hades. I dropped it down in front of his eyes.
"Poutanas gios!" he sighed, seeing the bident and ancient coin. He dropped his head back onto the sand and his face tightened. "Who are you… and where did you get that staff?"
"I am Hades' heir," I said, nodding to Charlie as he stepped off the fallen Ferryman. I pulled the bident from the ground and then rolled him over and into a sitting position.
History, or mythology, has not been favorable to Charon. At least as far as his looks go. Some accounts have him as ugly, mean-spirited, and unkempt, but the Fae before me was none of those things. Okay, maybe a little unkempt, but then he did just do a face plant into the sand.
He looked to be about 6 feet tall with salt and pepper hair. Lean, but not terribly so, with muscular arms and the weathered face one would expect of a seaman. His eyes were a grayish blue and there was no doubt of the intelligence behind them. As far as clothes go, he was in jeans and an old s
hirt, with the name of a local bar across the front. Gods only knew where he picked that up from, or how he had come to be living in a trailer along the Colorado river in Arizona.
"Answer my question. Then we can talk."
"I fear neither God nor man," he replied, shaking his head. "But the same cannot be said for the guards of Tartarus. They alone can imprison our kind. It was difficult enough to escape. I am not anxious to meet them again."
"Can't say I blame you there," I said, pulling him to his feet. "Now, what the hell were you doing there in the first place?"
"You can thank Hades for that," he replied, dusting himself off. "He said the war was going badly. He planned to make his peace with Zeus. He closed the gates to Hades and delivered me to the front of Nyx' palace. But the way was barred, and none answered my hail. If you are truly his heir, then perhaps you can explain why he never returned. What of Zeus and the other Gods? I can find out nothing of them in this world."
"Now that's a long story," I replied. "I'm not sure I even know the answer."
We walked into the trailer and he gestured toward the kitchen table.
"Sit," he said, going to the refrigerator. "We are out of wine. But I have ale. There is also milk for the hound."
He pulled out two beers, then poured some milk for Charlie before returning to the table.
"Tell me," he said, leaning forward and handing me a bottle. "How did you find me? What has happened to Hades? The human realm has changed much, and it is as if we have been forgotten."
"You seem to have found a way to fit in."
"It was not that difficult," he replied. "Some things do not change. This… trailer, as it is called, belongs to a servitora… a barmaid. She was kind enough to allow me to stay. Now, as to my question?"
I gave him the nickel version of the history of the old Gods, including the story of The Fall, and then brought him up to speed as to what I had been doing, including how I had come to find him. Marissa, the dark Fae spoken of in the prophesy, had been sentenced to Tartarus after I'd beaten her in a competition set up by both Gaea and Ouranos. During her escape attempt she'd opened multiple portals to various Underworlds, and even though I'd defeated her again, I'd still been stuck cleaning up the mess. Charon was just one more of the escapees I'd tracked down, but in his case, that was a good thing.
"Tell me about the portal," I said when I was finished.
"There is little to tell," he replied. "It appeared in the distance. Since I had never seen the like, I went to investigate. I was surprised as any when it led me here."
"How many others came through?"
"I cannot say," he replied with a pained expression. "Many tried. It drew them like moths to a flame. But Tartarus itself was aware and sent his Demons to stop any they could. Most were tossed back into the pit as they tried to escape. I barely made it myself." He took a long drink from his bottle, wiping his lips with his arm when he was done.
"That is all I can tell you. The portal sent me to the river not far from here. Like most sailors, I cannot swim. Had the Troll not pulled me out, I would have drowned."
"Wait a minute," I said, surprised. "A Troll pulled you out? Where did this happen?"
"By the bridge," he said. "But you need not worry about him. He is not like others. It was he that summoned the servitora to aid me."
"Well, that's a first," I replied, taking a drink. A Troll, eh? Maybe this could have been a better Friday night than I thought. Too bad I didn't have time to deal with him this trip.
"Indeed," he said, sitting down for the first time. "Now. What is it you want of me. You must know that I will not willingly return to Tartarus."
"Nor would I ask you to," I said.
"Then why are you here; if not to take me back?"
"Oh. I didn't say I wasn't taking you back," I replied, smiling. "It's just that I was hoping you'd do so voluntarily."
His muscles tensed. Then he glanced at the back doorway before noting that Charlie was between him and the exit.
"Relax, Charon," I said. "I'm not talking about Tartarus. But I need to reopen the gate that Hades closed, and I can’t do that without a Ferryman. Interested?"
"Ha!" he exclaimed, throwing back his head. "What use is a Ferryman without passengers? Our ways have been forgotten and there are none left that travel that path. Who will pay for passage?"
"Oh, there'll be paying passengers. More than you can imagine."
"But the way was barred," he said.
"Closing the gate didn’t stop Souls from going to the Underworld," I replied. "It just stopped them from entering Hades. Oh, sure. There were a few exceptions, but the rest are still there, waiting for someone to take them across the Acheron."
"Impossible," he cried, running his fingers through his hair. "They will have gone mad."
"Many probably have," I agreed, knowing that already. "But not all. With Hades gone it has fallen to me to deal with those that remain. I can’t let them roam there forever."
He took a long drink and placed the bottle down on the table. Then he cradled his head with his hands and was quiet, deep in thought.
"It will be chaos," he said, eventually. "They will swarm the boat as soon as I arrive on the shore."
He had a point. Those that gathered near the Stygian marshes and awaited their entry to Hades had been there for a long time. Many had indeed gone mad. Something I could attest to as I'd been there before. Some had been hideously changed. An image of Zombies came to mind. But not all of them had turned. Most were just lost, wandering around aimlessly hoping to find their way across. Still, I'd need some kind of force to deal with them en masse if this was going to work.
"Hoplites," I said, after a moment. "I have several phalanxes from Elysium that I can send there. If nothing else, it'll be a good training exercise."
"Elysium?" he asked, sounding confused. "Since when do chosen Souls from Elysium move freely within the realm of Hades? That is forbidden."
"Under Hades, that would be true," I said. "But, then again, I'm not him. You'll find a lot has changed since the last time you were there."
"I do not understand."
"You don’t need to," I replied. "All you need to remember is that I'm not the old Hades."
I told him about a few of the changes I had made to the place. Oh, I didn’t tell him everything, but suffice it to say he was taking it better than I expected. As for the rest, well, let me give you the rundown.
Becoming the heir to Hades wasn't without its problems. Being the equivalent of an old Greek God has its advantages, but like with any position, there are responsibilities. Not like I didn’t have them before but passing the leadership of the Dryad realm to Nikki had taken a lot of weight off my shoulders. Hades, of course, brought that back, and then some. Any vacation I might have had in mind was just going to have to wait.
Don’t get me wrong. I'm not complaining. But it's not like I got a turn key operation when it was handed to me. Besides, it's still Hades. Which means it's the Underworld; even if it's not exactly what you think of as Hell. The biggest problem is the place had been running on its own for so long that things were starting to fall apart.
Imagine this. You inherit a theme park that's been sitting locked up for a long time. Okay, Hades isn’t a theme park, and a long time in this case is damn near an eternity, but you get the idea. Anyway, even though no one's been maintaining the place, everything works, sort of. Power is on, rides still run, but… and this is the important thing, no one's been doing any maintenance. So even though the place is running, you have to be careful. Not all the rides do what you expect them to do. Some of them don’t start without a push. Others may not work exactly as planned. Then there's the petting zoo. All the animals have escaped, and they've taken the go forth and multiply thing to heart. You really have to watch out where you step. I'd tell you to carry a shovel if you come by and visit but, unfortunately, most of the creatures are pretty nasty. Harpies and Chimera being the least of the problems. Although on the
bright side, hunting season is all year long if you're into that kind of thing.
The upside is that I have a lot of wealth and power without all the old restrictions. Remember, Hades was granted everything underneath the Earth. Well, except for Tartarus, but that's another story. He was sharing the universe with Zeus and Poseidon, so he had rules to follow. I don’t have that problem. Well, I still have rules, but nobody's looking over my shoulder to make sure I follow them all. So, except for being a pain in the ass when it comes to fixing things, running the ancient Greco-Roman version of Heaven and Hell isn't so bad. Even if it does take up a lot more time than I would have liked. But I was working on that.
Then there's Diantha. As the Oracle of Delphi, she'd been given an enchanted necklace by Apollo that contained a Dragon's eye, the Eye of Python. Apollo had granted her long life, as well as youth and beauty. She'd lost the youth and beauty part when the jewel on the necklace was destroyed during our battle with the Dark Fae, Marissa. Fortunately, in Hades, I had the power to make her look like anything she wanted. So down there she looks the same as before. Of course, up above, not so much. Think 3,000-year-old woman who hasn’t exactly aged gracefully. Although I'd rather you not tell her I said that. As you can guess, finding a way to return her to her former state permanently was a priority. But at least she wasn't taking it quite as hard as before. Okay, I'll admit it. That was only partially true. So when I say this was a priority, I'm not kidding.
I'd been away for a while because I've spent most of the time since that battle trying to find a way to fix things. I've been to what's left of Olympus. Unfortunately, none of the Ambrosia that the old Greek Gods used remains. Forget the Golden Apples of the Norse Gods, they're gone too. I did find the source of the old Fountain of Youth, but it's dried up. Someone paved it over and now it's under a parking lot just outside of Jacksonville. I searched for a few other objects from history as well, but so far, nothing's panned out.