Not Just Another Fae (Vegas Fae Stories Book 4) (14 page)

I turned to Sendy, as if to ask what she meant.

"Their fate is sealed," she said. "Nothing
she will do to them will change that."

Now I'm not one to wish ill
upon a dead enemy; even ones as vile as those two had been. But she was Fae,
and if their fates were sealed, it really didn’t matter what I thought, or did.

"What do you offer?" I asked, figuring there may
be more I could learn from this being.

"I will deliver them to the dark realms. Thus freeing
you from having to deal with them."

"You would have done that anyway," I replied. She
was smarter than she appeared to be. Ghoulish or not, offering nothing was the
first step in any hard negotiation.

"My Lord is wise," she said, a smile coming onto
her face before the image changed. Her teeth gnashed as she tried to decide
what to say next.

"I am Robert of the Dryad," I said, before she
could counter. "And this Karalos and Sendy. Take them as my gift. But
first, tell me your name."

"My name, my Lord?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes," I said. "Your name. So that I may call
upon you." Shit, that didn’t come out right. "Just to talk," I
added quickly

"Kyras, my Lord," she said a moment later, in an
almost dreamy voice. Her eyes fluttering as her cloud of black lifted her up
from the ground. "I am Kyras," she repeated, and floated closer, a
curious look in her eyes as she hovered for a moment in front of me. I almost
thought that she was going to try and kiss me. Then, without another word, she
was up and over my head, swooping down behind me onto the bodies. Her cloud of dark
mist encompassed them, and before I could register what she was doing, they
were gone. She was but a smoky mist, heading back the way she had come from.

"See where she goes," I said to Sendy. "If
you can, follow her without being seen."

She just nodded, then disappeared.

Charlie was giving me that look. The one reserved for times
when I threw the ball over the wall when we were playing.

"What?" I asked.

"Her name?"

"Hey," I said. "How do I know what to say to
a Death Spirit? Besides, she might prove useful later."

It was just her name. But he obviously thought I'd done
something inappropriate. This from the dog that tries to set me up with every
pretty Fae I meet. Ok, she was a Death Spirit, and probably not my type. I
wasn't hitting on her; but that wasn't the point. Screw it. I reached into my
pocket and pulled out the golden orb I'd taken from the Mage.

"Can we move on now?" I asked.

There was no reply, but he did relax a bit.

"Good," I said. "Now let's see what this
thing does."

"Flirting with a Death Spirit?" Michael asked as
he lifted his cup. "I wish I could have been there to see that."

"I was not flirting," I said, blushing at the
thought.

"Ok, ok, if you say so," Michael said, laughing. "But
you have to admit, it's still funny."

We were sitting in his office at the Neptune, sipping coffee
as we waited for Siegfried to show up. It was late, and he had been off
property when I called to set up this meeting.

"You've got me there," I admitted. "But how
was I supposed to know that asking her name was flirting? Anyway. Back to the
point. What was she doing there in the first place? I've been in quite a few
battles, and she's never appeared before now. Where did she come from? Could
this be related to the Demons escaping, or was she already here?"

"She's a Fae," Michael said. "A descendant of
Nyx. Not the kind we generally deal with. But I do know that the Keres have
been seen here before. I hear they were quite common during the Civil War. So I
doubt it's related to the appearance of the Demons."

"But where did she come from?" I asked as
Siegfried came into the room.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, pouring himself a cup of
coffee before taking a seat on the couch behind me. "What are we
discussing?"

I hadn’t had a chance to tell him about what happened. He'd
been busy when I set up the meeting and I had only spoken with Michael.

"Robert's been flirting with a Death Spirit,"
Michael said before I could reply.

"A Death Spirit?" Siegfried repeated. "What
type?"

"A Keres," I replied. "And I wasn't
flirting..."

"Oh," Siegfried said. "I was hoping you were
going to tell me it was a Valkyrie. It's a shame, but none have been seen since
The Fall
. Where did you find her at?"

"Wait... Wait... You're going to love this part,"
Michael said with a laugh. "He traded bodies for her name!"

"Bodies? What bodies?" Siegfried blurted out,
almost spilling his coffee. "Excuse me? He asked for her name?"

"Can we start over please?" I asked.

"Yes. Please do," Siegfried said, glancing at
Michael who was still chuckling. "From the beginning."

I repeated what had happened at the park, including the fact
that the Mage had carried the orb. When I was finished, I took it out of my
pocket and set it on Michael's desk, along with the registration I had taken
from their car. The phone I kept for myself, having already decided to have Mal
take a look at it.

"What in the ...?" Siegfried said as he got up to
take a closer look.

"Do you know what it is?" Michael asked.

"It's a weapon," I said, picking it up. "Quite
effective. If you like to dismember your enemies one at a time, anyway."

"What does it do?" Siegfried asked.

"I tested it on a park bench last night," I said. "On
impact, a shitload of thin, gold metal filaments, chainlike, with barbs, shot
out and encircled it, then coiled up and retracted, slicing it to pieces. The
metal legs didn’t even faze it. It just cut right through them."

"Ouch," Michael said.

"My thoughts exactly," I replied. "But it
gets better. It comes back to the thrower, like a boomerang, so you can use it
again."

"A weapon of terror then," Siegfried said. "And
magical. Which begs the question, where did it come from?"

"Charlie thinks it might have come from the Dwarves,"
I replied. "But he isn’t sure."

"Let me see that for a moment," Siegfried said,
examining it after I handed it to him. "The arrow could be the old rune
for Tyr, a Norse God of glory and law. But that is just a guess. It could mean
anything; and I have never seen the symbol that precedes it before. Strange
that it is only worn in that one place. But many races use symbols, and even
the Dwarves do not have a common language."

"Well, if it did come from the Dwarves," I said as
Siegfried handed it back, "then Sergei's dumber than I thought."

"But no less dangerous," Michael said, before holding
up the car's registration. "I'll follow up on this. Meredith will want to
know what is going on. She should be here shortly."

I'd taken it after rifling through the car. It'd been empty
except for that, but maybe the documentation would lead us somewhere.

"She actually warned me about him," I said. "Just
the other day."

"Still," Siegfried said. "It is odd that such
a device would be in the hands of... What did you call him? An amateur
gangster? Sergei is no fool. He may use such Mages as tools, but I find it hard
to believe he would trust one with something like this. If it did indeed come
from him."

"Which is the only reason I didn't have Sendy take me
to his office and use the damn thing on him myself," I replied. "I
can’t prove anything. He's not a Vodianoi Lord, nor was it the Fae that carried
it. It could mean anything, or nothing."

"And we have heard no news of attacks with weapons such
as this," Siegfried said. "As for the symbol, if it is Tyr's, then it
would not be unusual for the owner to engrave it on his weapon as a dedication,
to strengthen his chances in battle. But your description of the Mage does not
make that likely."

"That doesn’t leave us with very much to go on,"
Michael said.

"No it does not," said Siegfried. "And the
engraving could have been made by anyone; the maker or the owner. What do you
plan to do with it?"

"Give it to Jay when I'm done with it, I guess," I
replied. "Maybe they can figure it out. But first I want to run it by a
few other folks. Perhaps one of the other Fae can identify the maker."

"Which brings us to the Death Spirit," Siegfried
said as the door opened and Meredith came in.

"A Death Spirit?" she said, closing the door
behind her. "What have I missed?"

I repeated the story of tonight's events. When I was done,
Meredith examined the golden orb before replying.

"A disgusting weapon," she said, handing it back. "But
I think you may be correct. Such a thing would not be given lightly, and Sergei
has little faith in those not of the Fae. I have no doubt that he was behind
the attack, but I do not believe that even he would give such a device to an
outsider, especially a Mage of such low caliber. This is disturbing. First the
Demons, and now this Mage. We have had conflicts here before, but never have I
seen a weapon like this. Gaea's words to your daughter are becoming even more
ominous. Then there is the matter of the Death Spirit."

"What's the deal with her, anyway?" I asked. "Forget
the name part for a moment. Why is she here?"

"They are not unheard of," Meredith said. "They
are often heralds of doom, since they are seldom seen unless many deaths have
occurred; such as in war. But you say Sendy followed her to a cemetery?"

"Yeah," I replied. "There's one not too far
from my house."

"Strange," she said. "Yet not unprecedented.
There must be a doorway there. Siegfried, have we had any contact with such Fae
that I am not aware of?"

"No," Siegfried said. "Not since I came to
the valley."

"You said doorway," I asked, looking at Meredith. "What
kind of doorway?"

"One to their lands in the Underworld," Siegfried
replied for her. "It is said they feed upon the dead, and send their souls
to Hades for judgement."

"I hope it's not as messed up down there as the rest of
the place is," I replied. I thought back to my trip to the gates of Hades
with Meredith, to bathe in the waters of the Mnemosyne, the river of memory.
Once the home of the Titan by the same name; we retrieved water from there, as
well as the river Lethe, to create a potion to allow us entrance to a hidden
stronghold of Marissa's followers. I also bathed there, letting the waters help
me control the magic I was gifted with. On our way there, we'd found the
entrance to Hades in disarray. Peopled by mindless creatures that had been
unable to complete the journey across the river Acheron to reach the gates
themselves. It had not been a fun experience.

"It is likely there is a connection to the Demons then.
Albeit if only related to their deaths," Meredith said, taking a seat on
the couch. "The gates, the Demons, Gaea's warning, the appearance of the
Death Spirit at a location so close to your home. Robert, perhaps she can tell
us more. You seem to have struck a chord with her, or she would not have given
you her name."

"Great," I replied, resigned to the fact that I
would have to attempt to contact her. "Okay. Let me see what I can do."

"Seek Diantha's advice before you attempt contact,"
Meredith said. "She may have wisdom to impart when it comes to such
beings."

"It wouldn't surprise me." I replied. "That's
a good idea."

"Now. The other issue," Meredith said. "I
received word from O'Malley. It appears you are now the ranking Fae in the area,
according to the government."

"So I've been told," I replied. "Sorry about
that. I could use some help setting things up."

"Not to worry, there is no offense taken. Do not be
concerned. We have a system already in place," she said with the hint of a
smile. "It will be good to share the expenses with another that has the
resources, as you do."

I now controlled the wealth of the Dryads here in the human
realm. There were controls in place, so I couldn’t squander it, but costs such
as this were just part of doing business on the human plane. It was okay, we
could afford it.

"Rest assured we will assist you in any way possible."
she added. "Siegfried and Michael will continue to be your contacts here
for those matters. We can iron out any formal agreements later."

"It's really not that big of a deal," Michael
said. "We've already done things together. This is no different. When we are
notified, we'll call you. Together we can handle almost anything that comes up."

"Thank you," I said. "I'm sure I'll figure it
out. In the meantime, let's hope things quiet down a bit until we can get a
handle on exactly what is going on." After a few more minutes of
discussion about the matter, I headed back out to my car and the ride home.

I thought my day was finally done. But I was barely halfway
home before the phone rang. Keying my Bluetooth, I answered.

"Didn’t I just leave there?" I quipped, as I
recognized Michael's number.

"No rest for the weary," he replied, "or the
wicked. But this is business. We just got a call from the PD. SP's watching
something strange at a park off west Alexander. It came in off the mountain. Now
it's just wandering around. They pulled back. But they say it's one of ours, so
they're just monitoring."

"Did they say what it was?"

"You're gonna love this," he replied. "It's
some kind of Centaur. But they say it isn’t normal."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," he replied. "We don’t always
get complete info from these guys. They just said it didn’t look right. The SP
unit is in a white van parked on Alexander at Majestic Park. Maybe they'll have
more by the time you get there. Keep me posted." I heard another phone
ring in the background and Michael told me to hang on for a minute. He got back
on the phone a few seconds later. "That was Siegfried. He says he'll meet
you there."

He must have left shortly after I did. Since Siegfried lived
in Summerlin, we'd probably get there close to the same time. I continued up
the highway and took it to the 215. Getting off on Cheyenne, I weaved through
the side streets to the park he was talking about. It was just south of Lone
Mountain. The actual mountain, not the street. Parking next to the white van, I
got out just in time to see an officer walking backward down a hill in the park.
He came around the fence to meet me.

"You must be Hoskins," he said. "I'm Douglas
Davey, Special Projects. My partner's circling the park, making sure this is
the only one."

"What do we have?" I asked. I noted that he wasn't
emanating much in the form of magic. I could tell he was a Mage, but he wasn't
broadcasting.

"Similar to a Centaur. Or at least a hybrid of some
type," he replied. "Never seen anything like it. Half bull, I think,
with a human-like upper body and face. Big bastard, too. But it's not normal."

"Not normal?" I asked. "What do you mean?"

"Hold on," he said, watching as a black Tahoe
pulled into the lot and then came in our direction. It was Siegfried.

"Glad you could make it," Davey said as he walked
up to join us.

"What have I missed?" Siegfried asked.

"Just getting ready to cover it," Davey replied. "Like
I was telling Hoskins here, the creature is some kind of hybrid. Half bull or
something along those lines, but a lot bigger. Upper torso is human-like; face
is flat with ears that hang down. It's wearing some kind of gold colored armor
on its legs and arms. It's like nothing I've ever seen. I snapped a pic. Here,
take a look." He held out his cell phone and I took it to see what it
looked like, sharing the picture with Siegfried.

The image was grainy, but recognizable. The creature had
been walking through the parking lot, heading for the fields when it was taken.
It had the body of a bull and the upper arms and torso of a man. Or at least it
was similar to a man. Like he said, the face looked flat. I couldn’t tell
exactly how much, as the image captured only the profile of its head. But it
looked almost squared off in front. The nose barely protruded out, and except
for what looked like a beard, there wasn't much else of the face that could be
seen except for the ears. It wore some type of smooth armor, covering its legs
and arms, with joints that were circular, to allow movement. It had a small
tail and some sort of protrusion on its back. I'd never seen anything like it,
either.

"Where is it now?" Siegfried asked.

"It was still wandering around the park when I pulled
back," Davey said. "It knows I'm here. Looked straight at me when I
first crested the hill but it didn’t seem to care. We read your report about
these things being drawn to magic, so we both cloaked ourselves as best we could."