Mania and the Executioner (20 page)

“W-W-What?” I ask, praying that I misheard her.

(You only have 3.5 Liters of blood remaining)

“Make a smaller Mu-cutter!”

(It will not connect)

“WELL WHY NOT!?”

(…you do not have to yell. I do not know
, but the Mu-cutter won’t connect without at least six feet of string length)

Okay, I have zero hope at killing these
guys. Maybe I can get lucky, blind them with needles, grab Lila, and run! Well, it’s the only plan I’ve got…

“WHAT THE FOCK DO YOU THINK YOU’
RE DOIN’ BOYO!?” I hear shouted behind me with an Irish accent. This Irish accented shout sounds vaguely familiar. “COMIN’ INTO MY REALM AND KILLIN’ MY SUBJECTS!?”

“You know, just the other day,” I say in the creepy overlapping voice as I reach up and slowly touch the back of my neck. “I was trying to figure out whether or not you had called me boyo as a crack about my appearance, our relative ages, or neither.”

“I know this voice…” a thoughtful voice says to himself.

“I’m glad to see that it’s neither, considering that you couldn’t see my face or age under my helmet. Oh, and you two should probably help them out. There shouldn’t be any fatalities yet and there won’t be if you stop the bleeding. The eyes however…well that’s my bad. Airmed should be able to help.” I say while instructing the gods in front of me like I own the place.

“It’s nice to see you again, Dagda; it’s been a while!” I exclaim while turning on my knee to face the six foot tall, elderly gentleman with his curly red hair and short beard, who happens to be wearing dark blue slacks, a matching blazer, and a captain’s hat.

“
COLE! HA HA! IT’S GOOD TO SEE YOU, BOYO!” Dagda exclaims loudly as he comes over and gives me a hand off of the floor before nodding at the two gods to follow my instructions. “How did you know ‘twas me?”

“Well, I heard the accent and combine that with someone who would be in charge of a whole realm, and it was obvious! And man
, was I relieved to hear you; I saw these two in front of me and I started getting a bit nervous. I don’t have enough blood left to fight back because of the three swords I took to the chest last night.” I explain.

“Come, let’s walk; I can show you Tir
na nOg and you can explain how you got here.” Dagda says as I help Lila to her feet.

“AND YOU HAVE THE YOUNG LASS LILA WITH YOU
TOO!?” Dagda exclaims.

“Hey daddy!”
Lila says cheerfully.

“DADDY!?”
I shout incredulously.

“HA HA HA!
You see, when I first met the lassie, her mam said “Lila, this here is Dahdah,” and the lass crinkles her nose and says ‘if you wanted me to call you daddy, you didn’t need to try and trick me to do it.’ HA HA!” Dagda regales as I notice Lila’s legs shake.

“That is quite
the amusing tale!” I tell him.

I scoop Lila up, noticing her flinch when I touch her, and I put her in a
cradle carry (also known as a bridal or princess carry). She fidgets around in my arms before she huffs and stays still.

“Cole…this is uncomfortable.” Lila says.

“Sorry…I guess the princesses for whom this carry is named didn’t have wings. How about this?” I ask, reach underneath her arms, and put her on my shoulders. Lila fidgets around again before she sits still.

“I approve…onward minion!” Lila exclaims while pointing forward.

“Haha, Yes princess.” I sarcastically reply as Dagda leads onward.

We leave the gazebo and
head down the hill, passing by a spring where several water elementals of some sort are playing around. There are just green rolling hills and individual groves of trees as far as the eye can see. I just realized something; I’m glad my shirt is so long on Lila because she probably doesn’t have any underwear on; there is no way that Cheza’s would fit her…Oh shit, Cheza! She is probably losing her mind right now!

“CHEZA!
CAN YOU HEAR ME!?” I scream in my mind.

“COLE! WHERE ARE
YOU!?” Cheza screeches clearly; I guess the reception between our minds is not lessened by inter-dimensional travel.

“You’ve had me worried sick, you ass! Are you okay? I can feel that you’re calm and not fighting and…
is that Dagda with you? And the girl is with you too right?” Cheza asks.

“
Whoa! Slow down! Yes, it is Dagda, yes Lila is with me, yes I’m okay, and I’m in Tir na nOg. Not entirely sure as to the ‘how’ of that last part, but I think one of the guys that attacked us, ported us here. I’ll keep you updated.” I tell her calmly.

“Okay…just come back to me Cole…” Cheza thinks quietly.

“Of course I will, Cheza. I’ll be home in a few hours.” I reassure her.

“Okay, now that that’s settled; Dagda, I believe I owe you an explanation.” I say aloud.

“I believe you do. Explain how you managed to take out thirteen of my most well trained soldiers now.” Dagda says.

“Well, I guess I’ll start with how I rescued Lila from a dozen Daeva at a fraternity house in Phoenix.” I say.

“DAMN! A dozen you say? Is this what Mama Quilla was talkin’ about for the emergency meetin’ tomorrow?” Dagda asks.

“
I guess I should start back a bit further.” I say and then I regale a carefully edited story that only includes how I can make things with my blood, the events at last night’s party, and finally what just happened. “I thought they were trying to take Lila at first, but after the two gods showed up, I thought I had it backwards and that I’d accidentally dragged Lila into my fight.”

“So they said no
thin’ now?” Dagda asks.

“Nope, the whole altercation started with a spear near my foot.” I reply.

“Well then I don’ blame you lad! But lass, couldn’t you tell who they were?” Dagda asks.

“Yeah, they were the same guys that took me in the first place.” L
ila says timorously, as though we might smack her for saying those things. “When they took me, I heard them say something about it being Aengus’s brilliant plan for him to rule in the new age.”

“
Are you sure about this Lila?” I ask. I feel her move before she hugs my head and puts her chin on top of it; I’ll take that as a yes.

“Dagda, what have you been doing since Lila disappeared and how long has it been?” I ask.

“I’ve had my forces searchin’ for the young lass for almost three days now.” Dagda says.

“Then my guess is that he is planning to make his move sometime tonight as he probably knows about Lila being found. Is your relationship with her common knowledge?” I ask.

“It is; after all, it’d be strange if I didn’t know the princess o’ the fairies!” Dagda informs me.

“Wait, so she’s an actual princess!?” I exclaim in surprise
, but I quickly recover. “Dagda, the meeting tomorrow is to inform The Faction of my status as Executioner. Kira is going to have me visit any pantheon that is suspected of having internal revolutions and solve the problem like I did with the Polynesian pantheon. I hope I’m not overstepping my bounds, but I need you to come up with an occasion to gather your entire pantheon in one place; a place where I can challenge Aengus to a duel, a place where he will be honor bound to fight, and a place to maximize the effect of me torturing him to death.” I inform him.

“
I can hold a celebratory feast for the return o’ the princess.” Dagda says.

“Perfect.
Now, with that being said, the strongest god that I’ve killed so far has been Illapa so I need to know how fast and strong Aengus is, as well as any special abilities.” I tell him.

“How about we
port to the palace, have ourselves a fight, and I’ll try to match my stupid son’s physical prowess?” Dagda suggests.

“Sounds perfect, but
we need to take Lila home first. I think we’ve kept her mother waiting long enough. Oh, and one more thing; Lila, do you want to attend the feast and hear this bastard beg for his life? Or would you rather not see something like that?” I ask.

“Will he get anything?” she asks quietly
, her chin on my hair moving with every word.

“For his begging?
Possibly my maniacal laughter, but his death will be slow regardless.” I tell her blatantly.

“…please let me attend.” Lila says timidly. I look to
Dagda for confirmation.

“Ay
e lass, but we need to get permission from your mam first.” He says, snaps his fingers, and I’m overcome with that falling sensation again.

Suddenly we are standing in a white marble foyer.
Dagda opens the two large doors in front of us that lead to about forty feet of throne room. On the white marble throne at the opposite end of the room sits a beautiful red-haired woman with fair skin, whom appears to have been skipped by Hypnos
*
for the past
three days.

“Hey mom, I’m home!” Lila shouts above my head. I
reach up and her back as I sprint at full speed to the throne before stopping and setting Lila on the ground. Her mother kneels down to hug her while in tears. I’m just going to ignore the obvious question of how an Irish woman became the mother of a Persian fairy because it’s probably something complicated.

“Aine, this is Cole. He is the one t
hat rescued Lila and he is also the one who is goin’ to exact Lila’s revenge at the feast I’m holdin’ in three hours.” Dagda introduces.

“Thank you so much for bringing her back to me, Cole!” Aine says while s
tanding up. She looks at me for a brief moment, perhaps wondering why I’m shirtless, before giving me a hug.

“What does
‘exacting Lila’s revenge’ entail?” Aine asks.

“The torturing and eventual killing of Aengus.”
I tell her.

“What!?
I don’t want Lila to be witnessing something like that!” Aine exclaims, understandably.

“Please mom…” Lila quietly
begs with tears brimming in her eyes.

“Aine, I found Lila being held by a dozen Daeva in a windowless basement with a small candle as her only source of light. She was naked in a cage with nothing but a blanket. I’m not a parent, but I do believe that Lila has earned the right to watch and listen as the bastard that put her through that hell, b
egs for his to end.” I explain with my tone growing harsher as I speak.

Aine is wearing a horrified expression, and then looks at Lila’s face. Aine’s eyes return to mine with a renewed determination as she nods.

“I’ll see you two in a few hours.” I reply and turn my back to nod at Dagda, who snaps his fingers. The world shifts and I get that falling feeling again. Next thing I know, we are standing in a different white marble room that has small alcoves with trees and plants growing in them.

“Hello Father. I
s the situation at the gate settled?” A blonde haired woman behind me asks. She is about 5’8” with light brown eyes and a magnificent bust that is accented by the green dress that she is currently wearing. The front of the dress is laced up and shows a tremendous amount of cleavage while accentuating her hourglass shape. The woman isn’t slender, but she also isn’t fat; I might categorize her as husky if I didn’t hate that word so much, because it makes me think I’m calling the person a dog…is sturdy any better?

“
It is, Brighid. Can you start the preparations for a feast, to be held in three hours time?” Dagda asks.

“Yes f
ather, but what is the occasion?” Brighid asks.

“Lila has returned home. No
w then, I need to take care o’ somethin’.” Dagda says and snaps his fingers. After the falling feeling, we wind up in an open, grass covered field.

“Are you fine with hand-to
-hand combat?” Dagda asks.

“Yes, that’s fine. Just try to avoid breaking anything. I heal quickly
, but I’ll still require a fair amount of time and I already need about an hour’s rest before dinner to replenish my blood supply.” I inform him.

“Ay
e boyo. Now in addition to bein’ strong and fast, and I assume you already know about the density of our bones, Aengus will also be usin’ either Moralltach or Gae Derg: a sword and spear that stop all regeneration on godly levels so you will want to be careful. Let’s start by gettin’ you accustomed to the speed first.” Dagda says.

Dagda
takes off at a speed that my eyes can just barely follow. He is moving at the speed I was last night; a speed that I’m relatively unsure that I can replicate. I block three punches before Dagda delivers an uppercut to my stomach. I reinforce my abdominal muscles, but the punch still feels like getting hit with a brick and it drops me to a knee.

“Are you sure you’
re up to this boyo?” Dagda asks.

“Yeah…luckily I have an ace in the hole
, so long as I get my blood level back up. All I really need to do is be fast enough; the weapon I’ll be using levels the playing field in strength. Let’s go again.” I say.

“Cole!
What’s happening!?” Cheza says urgently through our connection.