Feros and the Underworld Prince (56 page)

“
So why did you bring me here?” I inquire after a few moments.

“
To celebrate your use of the Void without your Drive! I’m proud that you were able to figure it out without help from Kali and Durga, the one you called Airi, even if Hel had to provide some assistance.” Shiva says.

“
Sorry that we weren’t able to return Airi when we restored your body; it seemed like you two were becoming friends.” My mother adds.

If I haven’t been talking to Airi, then who have I been talking to?

(I am the same as I always have been, Master. I assimilated with Durga and Kali in the very beginning. When you’re body was destroyed, Durga and Kali vanished and Bhairava was separated from your consciousness; only I remained)

“
Airi… just what in the hell are you?”

(I am that which is most difficult to grasp. That which breathes life. That which all things return to in the end)

Okay… that is one cryptic message that will have to wait to be deciphered.

“
But—” Cheza starts to say.

“
Yeah that was a bit of a bummer, but I was still able to get along fine without her!” I interrupt.

“
That you were, my son! You even came up with that arm! When your mother sent you the instructions for restoring your arm, I expected you to regrow a flesh one, but now you don’t have to worry about it getting cut off again! With the Void and the other tools at your disposal, you are now ready to fight Loki!” Shiva declares.

Now I see why I was brought here; I’m simply supposed to do what they created me for and fuck everything else? Slaughter my way to Loki, regardless if the people I love get caught in the crossfire?

“
*Sigh*… I can’t do this—this killing thing—anymore.” I tell him.

“
What are you talking about!? You are good at killing!” Shiva exclaims.

“
Because that’s all you made me to do!” I retort before pinching the bridge of my nose and shaking my head.

“
I’m taking an indefinite leave of absence.” I tell them.

“
You can’t just walk away from this!” Shiva angrily replies. I narrow my eyes at him in distaste before turning to Cheza.

“
Cheza, I need to speak to my parents alone. It’ll be quick.” I tell her.

“
But—” Cheza starts to say before I snap my fingers while thinking of Cheza being at the pagoda, hoping that I have some control over this place since I’m its rulers’
son
. Cheza disappears as I turn back to my parents.

“
I can forgive you for what you’ve done to me. However, I cannot forgive what you and Inti have done to Cheza; aging her six years and mind-fucking her into loving me is going too far. Her mother was still alive when Inti shot her and she probably would have made it too, had he not blown a hole through her heart.” I sternly tell them.

“
Cole, how do you know about those things?” my mother asks with a suspecting tone.

“
I don’t know, I don’t care, and I’m done… with all of it. I’m done killing and watching the people I love die solely because you can’t come down to earth to handle your own problems and kill Loki yourself. I’m just a monster, a tool created solely for killing your enemy. Well now this monster is telling you both to go fuck yourselves.” I assert and snap my fingers.

I arrive at the pagoda and before Cheza can angrily yell at me, I press my lips to hers and grab her hand.

“
I love you, Cheza.”

I snap my fingers, and we leave Mount Kailash.

[End of Book 3]

[Next week, the entire secret of the
island
____will be revealed!
13
]

References

Have you come across something in this book and thought ‘I know I’ve heard that before, but I can’t remember where it’s from’? Well that’s what this section is for! I have marked down every reference in this book that wasn’t self-explanatory so that you don’t have to wake up at 3am and shout “Got it!” when you finally remember.

1: The song ‘Foxy Lady’ by The Jimmi Hendrix Experience, from the album ‘Are You Experienced,’ was spelt ‘Foxey Lady’ in the North American release of the album because of a typo.

2: Denzel Washington starred in a movie called
Déjà vu,
and in a cartoon on Comedy Central called
Drawn Together
there was a character that would be easily distracted by someone saying Denzel was nearby and shout, “DENZEL! Where!?”

3:
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
, from the black knight scene.

4: The movie
Semi-Pro
with Will Ferrell and Woody Harrelson.

5:
The Boondocks
, the episode where Granddad fights an old blind guy.

6: The Cuban husband character from the 1950’s sitcom
I Love Lucy
, played by Desi Arnaz.

7: In the first
Borderlands
video game, the shield vendor occasionally says “Who needs a medical license when you’ve got
style
?” I used a similar format for a chapter title in
Mania and the Executioner
, but I neglected to reference it.

8:
The Emperor’s New Groove

9: Louis C.K. makes a joke about cumming in his cat’s face. ‘It’s her fault for watching! Cum on my cat’s face once, shame on me… I don’t have a cat.’ I think it’s from his Chewed Up comedy special, but I’m not positive. It might be from his Shameless comedy special… it’s definitely one of those two.

10: Callback to a joke in Mania and the Executioner about the movie
The Five Year Engagement
with Jason Segel and Emily Blunt.

11:
Alice in Wonderland
, a book that started off as a story told to the author’s ten year old girlfriend, which was then written down at her request, presumably while the author wasn’t taking naked pictures of her… the girl being the one that was naked, not the author. And no, I only wish I were making this up. Admittedly, there is no confirmation that Lewis Carroll was actually a pedophile, but it certainly looks that way to me.

12:
Chappelle’s Show
, season 2 episode 12.

13: This is a reference to how the show
Lost
would get viewers to watch by saying that some major secret was being revealed next week, only to have nothing big happen in the following episode.

Note
: In case no one caught on, the
Cas
bar is a clever pun on Casbah (or Kasbah) which is an African fortress. Now the
Cas
bar deals in betting on the Citadel fights; and what is a citadel, kids? That’s right; a citadel is also a fortress. Aren’t I punny? Or is that a double entendre?

Underworlds

The Underworld is set up like a giant greyscale city where each underworld from every pantheon is a district of the city. These are the districts mentioned in this book and the mythologies to which they belong.

Adlivun
:
Inuit Underworld, described as frozen wasteland ruled by Sedna. Souls brought there by Pinga were said to have to stay for one year before being able to move on.

Annwvyn:
Welsh Celtic Underworld ruled by Arawn that is the land of souls that have departed the world.

Duat:
Egyptian Underworld said to be geographically similar to Egypt, but with lakes of fire, walls of iron, and trees made of turquoise. Ruled by Osiris and home to several gods, including Anubis.

Duzakh
:
Persian Underworld that was described as terrifyingly dark, pungent, and narrow. Ahriman and other Daeva reside here.

Irkalla
:
Babylonian/Sumerian Underworld ruled by Ereshkigal. Instead of a heaven or hell type of underworld, Irkalla was more of a place where the dead went and decomposed.

Mag Mell
:
Celtic plane of paradise where Manannan mac Lir is originally from. Said to be an island far to the west. Passage to Mag Mell is said to be attained through death or glory, similar to the Norse’s Valhalla.

Mictlan:
Aztec Underworld ruled by Mictlantecuhtli. Described as being far to the north and comprised of nine levels. Souls of the dead had to endure trials that included winds that tore off flesh, rivers of blood, and jaguars.

Niflheim:
Norse Underworld for those who didn’t die in battle. A realm of ice and cold ruled by Hel.

Acknowledgments

First off, I’d like to note that my portrayal of amnesia in this book is very ‘Hollywood’; in other words, it’s total bullshit. What’s described in this book is what is known as psychogenic or dissociative amnesia, retrograde amnesia, or a fugue state, which are extremely rare. Real-life amnesia isn’t as simple as the person finding the memories and everything is all good because the cause is more likely to be from a stroke or a brain infection. The most common types of amnesia prevent the patient from forming new memories while leaving long-term memories and personality traits intact. The most accurate portrayal in cinema is probably the character Dory from
Finding Nemo.

Writing the third book took twice as long as both the first and second books, despite being only a few thousand words longer than the second book. I thank my family and friends for the suggestions they gave me.

Thanks go to Daniel Schwen for his photograph of New York that I edited for the book’s cover.

I’d like to take the time to thank everyone who has read the series so far. If you enjoyed this book, please tell your friends about the series and write a review. The review doesn’t have to be long or complex, just it being in existence helps me continue doing what I enjoy while providing some entertainment and a distraction from the lives of some who really need it.

Indie authors thrive based on reviews from readers so I thank each and every one of you that takes the time to write one.

About the Author

A.L. Bridges was born and raised in Washington state. He currently resides in Phoenix Arizona and wonders why in the hell anyone decided to settle in the middle of the desert when it is so stupidly hot there. In the year that he has lived in Arizona, he cannot recall a single instance when he has walked outside and not thought “Damn it’s bright!”

Feel free to email him at [email protected] with comments, criticisms, or suggestions.

For updates on the latest books and the release of Book 4 of
The Gods’ Executioner Series
, visit
http://albridges.blogspot.com

Or follow him on Twitter @Albridgesauthor