An Imperceptible Ruse Indeed (The Gods' Executioner Series) (26 page)

“How!?” Osiris asks.

“You never should’ve picked a fight with me, Osiris.” I reply as I slowly walk towards him.

“Now
, don’t do anything rash! You kill me and the Egyptian pantheon goes with me! Everything related to us, including the pyramids in Giza! You’ll be hated the world over!” Osiris exclaims.

“You hurt Alice…” I start to say.

“Uncle Cole! Uncle Cole… I love you, Uncle Cole!”

“As long as she continues to call me that, I’m okay with being the worst kind of person. I’m okay with being a monster.
As long as it means keeping that girl safe, I’m okay with making an enemy out of the entire world.” I finish as a worried expression crosses Osiris’s face.

“Stall him!” Osiris commands and ports away
, but I already have a good idea of where he’s going. The gods advance towards me, but I hold up a hand to stop them.

“Are you really okay with following Osiris despite the fact that he’s sided with Loki? I’ll have no qualms about killing you all to get to him,
but that would leave Isis as the only god left in the Egyptian pantheon once I kill Osiris.” I state.

“Not really, but we have no other choice.” Thoth replies.

“Because he’s the last head of the pantheon? You don’t really believe that, do you? Let me pose a question: how is it that I’m able to port here despite having no supposed affiliation with the Egyptian pantheon?” I ask.

“You shouldn’t be able to.” Thoth replies.

“Yet I can, and it’s because I absorbed Horus’s core; it’s also the reason that I can fly.” I respond.

This is taking too long. Just kill them and go finish Osiris.

No, I can’t practically wipe out the pantheon for that reason.

Why not? It’s not like I haven’t done so for an even stupider reason.

A burning in my chest accompanies my urge to tear them all apart. I’m about to port to the gate when I remember the reason I came here. I port over to Alice, use Void tendrils to slice through her bindings, and have them pick her up. Alice quickly grasps Dynamite’s remains before we appear at the Heliopolis gate and step in the gold-plated gazebo to port to Jason’s house.

Chapter 25: Down Time?

“Alice!” Reyna exclaims and rushes over
with Jason when we port in, her voice sounding unfamiliar to me.

“Thank you for bring her back, CT.” Jason gratefully
says, but all I can focus on is how the voice of my best friend holds no meaning to me; his worth as a person means nothing to me.

I
feel the presence of shades in Niflheim as I set Alice down, retract my Void tendrils, and race into the bathroom, cutting into the door with my bladed claw as I close it behind me.

“You can do this, Cole. You
just need to hold out for fifty seconds and port to Annwvyn. You can do this.” I tell myself as I try to ignore the burning in my chest as it intensifies.

I carefully turn the faucet on as I disengage my helmet and stick my face under the running water because, you know, blades in my hands plus my face equals not a good time.
The door to the bathroom is practically broken down as Cheza run in.

“No, Cheza! Not yet!” I grunt out.

“Yes, Cole! Now!” Cheza exclaims, her voice still familiar to me; it looks like the only ones that are remotely safe around me when I’m like this are Cheza and Alice.

“No! I can’t stop yet! I still have to kill that bastard and the shades!” I reply and the lights suddenly flicker.

“Cole, you aren’t looking so good!” Loki exclaims from the mirror.

“LOKI!” I shout.

“You should probably get a bit of rest! We can’t have you reaching your inevitable conclusion too early when I still have plans for you! Oh, and as for your dilemma, here is my gift to you!” Loki exclaims and the mirror ripples.

The mirror suddenly shows Os
iris and Sydney in a black room with elaborate furnishings, most likely Annwvyn’s palace. I can see a door frame on the fringes of the view, and what looks like a black counter at the bottom of the view. Judging by the position and viewing angle, I’d say that we are viewing this through another mirror that is most likely in a bathroom.

“I need help!” Osiris pleads.

“We held up our end of the bargain Osiris, and you failed.” Sydney replies.

“I’ll help you ho
wever I can, just help me kill Feros!” Osiris exclaims.

“Well, there is one way you can help…” Sydney says.

“How!?” Osiris asks, desperate for assistance.

Sydney’s right hand warps into a claw as she spears it into Osiris’s chest.

“Like this.” Sydney answers and Osiris looks shocked.

“Don’t you get it, you fool? You were never meant to kill Feros; he was meant to kill you. All you were supposed to do was put him into a situation where he had to slip into his Void state, a job you did well. However, the part you play in this has already passed and your services are no longer required.” Sydney explains as she absorbs Osiris’s core.

Sydney flings the husk off of her arm and walks toward us.

“I’ll be seeing you soon, Cole.” Sydney says and disappears.

I feel the presence of shades in Niflheim disappears as the mirror ripples again and goes back to normal. The burn in my chest intensifies and Cheza tackles me to the ground. She unzips my suit, pulls it down to my waist, takes off her shirt, and lies on top of me. Her body cools down my chest as I feel the Void start to rescind.

“
AUGH!” I scream at the pain in my right arm as the blades and spikes retract.

I grit my teeth and bear it as my right hand returns to normal. The Void retreats across my chest, across my back, across my nose, down my neck, and down my right thigh. When it’s finally finished, I find myself breathing heavily on the bathroom floor.

“Cole…” Cheza softly says with a worried and pitiful gaze.

“Come on… I’m not done yet
. Is Isis still here?” I ask.

Cheza opens her mouth to answer
when she’s interrupted by a soft knock at the door.

“Did you need me, Cole?” Isis asks
and I’m glad to find that she has worth to me as a person again; looks like that is only a problem while I’m in my Void state.

“Yeah, come here.” I
reply and stand up.

Isis enters the bathroom and closes the door behind her while Cheza grabs her shirt off of the floor and puts it on.

“Turn around, please.” I request.

Since Isis is wearing her usual golden halter top dress, she doesn’t need to disrobe. Isis gives me a questioning look and
turns around. I set my black left hand on her back and close my eyes. I run through the process of transferring the Ra folder over to Isis, but I decide to keep the Sun section so all I’m really doing is making her the Egyptian pantheon’s head. I name her as the successor and my eyes shoot open. Thirty more seconds of pain later and my job is done.

“Alright, Isis; you are now the head of the Egyptian pantheon and are taking Ra’s position. I kept his power over the sun so I won’t get blinded again when I have to fight Loki’s right hand, but that will be returned upon my death, whenever it should be.” I inform her.

“What about Osiris?” Isis asks.

“He was killed by Loki’s right hand, Sydney.” I gently respond
, realizing that despite what Osiris did, Isis probably still loves him.

“I see…” Isis
quietly says and leaves the bathroom.

Cheza suddenly scrambles over to the toilet and starts puking. I walk over and make sure her hair stays out of her face while rubbing her back, somewhat glad that she didn’t ask me to leave. A few minutes later, she recovers, gargles some water, and washes her hands.
Cheza and I exit the bathroom and head into the living room.

“They killed him
, Mommy… they killed Dynamite!” Alice cries while holding the tattered rabbit.

“Well it’s about time somebody did! What with all the knights he’s killed!” Jason exclaims and laughs while Reyna glares at him.

“Ahem… inappropriate.” Jason adds and stops laughing.

“It’s
okay, sweetie. We might be able to fix Dynamite.” I tell Alice.

“Really?” Alice sniffles.

“Yeah! Auntie Rei should be able to.” I reassure her.

“I can give it a shot, but Sara will be able to fix him if I can’t.” Cheza says and Alice’s face lights up.

“Thank you, Auntie Rei!” Alice exclaims as she runs over and hugs Cheza.

“While you’re doing that
, I need to make a trip to Aztlan. Be back soon!” I exclaim as I touch my Haglaz rune.

“Be careful, Cole.” Cheza thinks with uncertainty as I appear in the living room of our house.

“Don’t worry; all I’m doing is transferring Xipe-Totec’s power.” I reassure her.

“Okay… I’ll try and fix Alice’s rabbit in the meantime.” Cheza replies as I head upstairs.

“Alright, see you soon.” I respond and close the connection.

I pass by the room that Charlotte is resting in and hear that Natasha, Sara, and Lila are inside with her. I continue on
to the master bathroom and step into the shower. The water drenches my clothing and washes out the blood, most of it Ammit’s. I turn off the shower, take off my clothes, and engage Neptune’s power to separate the water from them. After placing the newly dry clothes on the bathroom counter, I step back in the shower and scrub up. Hair is washed, the shower is turned off, and the body is dried when I realize that I need to grab clean underwear. I cinch the towel around my waist and walk over to my dresser.

“Hey Cole.” Lila says from behind me, causing me to jump.

“Hi, Lila. What’s up?” I ask as I make sure that the towel is securely around my waist.

“I just wanted to thank you for saving Charlotte, and my mother, and me… again.” Lila replies in a breathy tone with slightly fl
ushed cheeks as she advances toward me; I start to back up, but my dresser quickly halts progress. What Cheza told me a few years ago, about how girls love a hero, surfaces in my mind.

“I can always count on you to be there for me, Cole.” Lila softly says as she steps closer and places her hand on my chest.

“As a friend!” I blurt out.

“Yeah, a really… good…
friend
.” Lila whispers as her hand trails down towards my towel.

Okay, I need a way out of this, and fast! Suddenly the cause of the discussion I had with Cheza a few years ago, about why Natasha and Lila are interested in me, surfaces and my stomach bottoms out. I now hold Venus’s power… it’s the cleanest way to end this… I quickly embrace Lila as she gives a small yelp in surprise.

“Sorry Lila, but I only see you as a friend.” I reply as I activate Venus’s power and disable Lila’s attraction to me by altering the chemicals in her brain.

“What? Of course, I only see you as a friend too! Oh… this is awkward… I’m sorry that I gave you the wrong idea, Cole.” Lila replies and takes a step back
.

The perplexed look and lack of nervous inflection in her tone as she says it notifies me that it worked and she’s not just covering up
embarrassment. It worked… but I feel like shit for toying with her feelings… this is for the best…

“No, that’s on me; I completely misinterpreted things!” I exclaim and laugh it off.

“Well, I need to go look after Charlotte, talk to you later.” Lila says with a bit of awkwardness and leaves my room.

I sigh, grab a fresh pair of boxers, and walk into the bathroom to get dressed. Once clothed, I port to
Aztlan. After arriving at the familiar stucco gazebo, I snap my fingers and port to Quinn’s quarters, thanks to having the powers of an Aztec pantheon head.

“Cole! W-what are you doing here!?” Quinn asks in a startled manner; did I just accidentally walk in on him jacking it?

“I recovered Xipe-Totec’s power; I’m here to transfer it over to his replacement.” I reply.

“Oh… of course. You caught Osiris.” Quinn says while letting out a breath of relief.

“How did you know about Osiris?” I ask.

“What?” Quinn replies.

“How did you know about Osiris? All I said was that I recovered Xipe-Totec’s power, not who it was recovered from.” I respond as Quinn’s eyes widen.

“Hey, Quinn? You said that you were supposed to go to that meeting with the vampires but you were running late… what was holding you up?” I inquire as I take a step towards him, my arm tingling.

“Perhaps a meeting with a certain person OFFERING YOU A DEAL!?” I shout.

Quinn snaps his fingers and ports to the gate as I follow. Quinn is able to take a single step into the stucco gazebo before Void tendrils
spear into his arms and legs, paralyzing him.

“So what happened!?” I shout as the Void tendrils pull him into my fist.

“How did he get to you!?” I yell as I punch him again.

“WHAT DID LOKI OFFER YOU IN EXCHANGE FOR MY SISTER’S LIFE!?” I
scream as I give a solid left punch to his face.

The Void tendrils retract, allowing Quinn to fly the maximum distance. Quinn goes crashing through several buildings as I fly ov
er to where he ultimately lands: a courtyard fountain. I touch down and my tendrils lift Quinn out of the fountain as guards swarm around the area, armed with spears, clubs, and even a couple of macuahuitl, which are basically doubled-edged wooden saws with obsidian teeth. I notice that all of the guards have their faces painted blue and red and have shaved heads. Combined with the silver outlines and central auras that resemble a ripple in a pool of blood, it is rather obvious that they’re blood shorn ones.

Upon seeing Quinn’s state, their eyes shift to a light blue color; Protector Drive, eh? This is going to be fun! One of the shorn
ones lunges at me with a macuahuitl raised over his head as the others close in. I hold my left arm out and think of charging the air around me as the purple lightning bolt surfaces on my hand.

The smell of ozone reaches my nose as the shorn ones crumple to the ground in pain, clutching at their heads and screaming.
Laughter erupts from my throat as tendrils shoot out and eliminate the shorn ones, crushing them like the ants that they are… figuratively; the tendrils don’t crush so much as suck them… into the Void… they’re dead… and not the little death kind, the translation from the French ‘le petite mort,’ a euphemism for an orgasm.

“So Quinn… why don’t you tell me why yo
u sold out your friends to Loki?” I suggest with a broad smile.

“I didn’t have a choice! Loki appeared in my quarters before I left for the meeting and told me to stay back if I didn’t want to be killed! I stayed home, felt them die, and then Loki showed up again the next morning telling me to get you and
Tlazolteotl to investigate! It was either that, or I die and take the whole pantheon with me!” Quinn tries to vindicate as I notice the Aztec gods appearing nearby.

“What about warning your friends and preventing their deaths! You had dozens of other choices; you were just too much of a coward to risk them!”
I shout as my left hand warps into claws.

“I apologize!” Quinn exclaims.