Not Just Another Fae (Vegas Fae Stories Book 4) (13 page)

"Now. I've had enough crap for one day. Let me enjoy my
coffee and the view for a change?"

"Of course," I said, with a laugh, eyeing the
group of women he was watching.

What I hadn’t told him was what I had finally concluded this
was all about. It wasn't that I didn’t want to tell him. I just didn't think it
would matter in the overall scheme of things. Honestly, I think it's all a
game. Something between Gaea and Ouranos; God vs God. I mean, why would they
care if they used us? It was something Bernd had once said as well as something
Nikki told me. Something Gaea had said about needing me here, on this world. I
wasn't sure what game they were playing, but Ouranos' action in sentencing
Marissa to Tartarus might just have been a counter move. Was it Good vs Evil?
Hell, I don’t even know if they understood the concept.

But this was the way I figured it went. I couldn’t have been
allowed to kill her on Olympus. That would have ended the game too soon. So
instead, Ouranos stepped in and put her in Tartarus. Even removed from the
board, she could still influence those she left behind. So the game was still
in play. I wondered if she knew she was just a pawn like I was. Even if she didn't,
time had given her all the advantages, while I had been left in the dark. The
question was, how can I win the game if I don’t know the rules?

They had a good menu, so we'd
eaten and talked late into the night. I exited the parking garage and started
to head home. Suddenly, I got a weird feeling. My magic kicked in as it
recognized a threat. Looking into the rearview mirror, I saw a dark car with 4
passengers a couple of car lengths behind me. Well, I'll be damned. I'd seen
that car last week. Downtown, near the office. It had looked hinky at the time,
but since I didn't see it again that day, I just let it go. I couldn’t worry
about every suspicious car I saw.

I didn’t know who they were, but at least one of them was
Fae. The magic gave me a pretty good idea that this wasn't a coincidence. Just
to make sure, I made a left onto Buffalo, and sure enough, they crossed a lane
of traffic to get in behind me. They weren't exactly subtle, but then again,
maybe they just weren't that bright.

Of course, they could just be following to see where I was
headed, but with four in the car, I was pretty sure they wanted to play. Now. I
took a few side streets, weaving my way around, trying to decide where to lead
them. Were the hell should I go? I did know one place that might be deserted
this time of night. I probably should have called Ray to let him know what was happening;
but at the moment, I just didn’t feel like sharing with anyone other than
family. So I called out to Sendy, instead.

"My Lord?" she said as she appeared in the
passenger seat. She started to put a shirt on, but I stopped her. It was dark
now. They wouldn’t be able to see into my car and I wasn't going to have her
stay.

"No time," I said with a grin. "Get Charlie and
bring him here. Tell him somebody's following me and I might need some help."

"As you command," she said, a concerned look on
her face as she faded from view.

She reappeared with Charlie as I was turning down the street
to the park.

"Danger?" Charlie asked, his fur bristling. Then he
realized where we were. "Dog Park?"

"Someone's following me," I said. "Thanks
Sendy. I think we can handle this. Keep a watch from above, but don’t interfere
unless I call you."

"As you wish," she replied, and disappeared.

"We'll take them in the park," I told him. "I'll
leave the window down when I get out and wait for them at the benches. They
shouldn’t know you're here, so don’t join me until they make their move."

He didn’t reply, but slunk down on the seat. It almost made
me laugh, since he was a big dog and weighs close to 200 pounds. Still, I doubted
they saw Sendy reappear with him in the car.

I pulled into the lot and parked. It was big park, and if it
had been daytime, it would have been full. Between the park benches, children's
area, and the adjacent Dog Park, it was a popular place in the daylight. At
night? Not so much. If it had been the weekend, there might have been a few
stragglers still barbecuing; but fortunately for me, it was deserted.

"Here we go, then," I said as I got out of the
car. "Let's see if these assholes want to play."

I needed this like I needed a hole in the head. I'd taken a
lot of crap for freeing the Lilin and with my loss of face when Nikki ascended
to the throne, I knew it was just a matter of time before someone I had pissed made
a move against me. Since these were definitely not Demons just released from
Hell, I was guessing that's what was behind it. Between all that, and learning about
Marissa's involvement with the Mage and the Demons; I just wasn't in the mood
to play nice.

The car hadn’t turned behind me when I pulled into the lot,
but I could still feel it in the area. When I sat down on a park bench, I
reached out with my magic and sensed it behind me. They had parked at the end
of a small roadway that intersected the park. It was a residential street, with
barriers preventing cars access to the park, but open to foot traffic. They
were just sitting there watching, so I waited for them to make their move

A few minutes later the doors opened and the two in the
front got out. They went to the back doors and opened them. That's when it got
interesting. The passenger was Fae, but the driver was human. A Mage or Wizard,
I guessed. The slight aura of dark magic emanating from him was a subtle, but
obvious, clue that he wasn't here just to talk. The others? They were something
entirely different. They were Spirits. Wraiths. Ghost-like creatures of some
kind. Not unheard of, but not common either. As soon as they got out of the car
they evaporated into mist and slunk along the ground in the grass. Once they disappeared
into the park, the other two stepped between the barriers and walked my way.

I thought about letting Charlie know what I had discovered,
but then realized I didn't have to. His senses were keener than mine and there
was no mistaking what these creatures were. They reeked of death. That's not
unusual, when you think about it. You can't be a Spirit unless you're dead. Not
every Ghost smells awful to other Fae, but these two certainly did. They
smelled of dank, dark places and rot. Not a surprise, since the Fae they
accompanied was of the Vodianoi.

Frigging Sergei. I thought he was smarter than this. Sending
goons out after me? Was he kidding? We didn’t have the same rules as the Were
did when it came to disputes with the other Fae—and he did think like a mobster
after all. But just a Fae and Mage with a couple Wraiths? Even if they were
probably Topielec, the spirits of drowned souls. At best, these two had been
criminals. Sure, they were nasty little bastards if you were unprepared, but
please. I was still a High Fae and not such an easy target to kill.

If I'd been just another human, they might make a difference;
but come on... This is the desert. Those things did best near water. What were
they going to do? Drown me in the gutter? They probably used them to
incapacitate their target; the Wraith frightening the victim and holding him
fast while they did whatever they planned to do. Overconfident. While they
didn't frighten me, they were still potentially dangerous. I was glad to have
Charlie at my side. Better too much than too little. I released the strap that secured
my seax in the holster and shifted to have access to the gun on my back. Not
that those would have any effect on the Wraiths, but I had my sword for that. Then
I just waited for them to get close.

I could sense them as they glided toward me. Floating as a
barely perceptual mist; they stopped some 20 feet away, settling into the
grass, safely hidden. Or so they thought. When the other two were about the
same distance away, staying seated, I turned my head to face them.

The Fae had a sword. He held it behind his back like he
didn’t want me to know it was there; although the hand grasping the hilt, only
partially hidden, made it obvious. The Mage had something as well. Something
metallic. He held it in his left hand, concealed behind his leg.

He stopped and stared at me; a smug look on his face.

"I have a message for you," he said in a Slavic
accent.

"And what would that be?" I asked, acting like I
wasn't concerned.

"That a King without a crown is not a King."

Before I could respond, he brought his hand up. Damn. He was
carrying a Mac.

I dove to the left and rolled as the machine pistol fired. The
Mac-10 was a bullet dumper, firing a lot of rounds in a short period of time. But
this guy was showing off. Used properly, it was a formidable weapon. He held the
gun one handed, causing the bullets to spray in all directions as it
discharged. Even without the accuracy of a proper stance, that was a still lot
of bullets in the air; so I kept rolling until I was clear. At the same time,
the Fae pulled his sword, and the Wraiths made their move.

A couple of bullets had grazed me, but they'd done no serious
damage. I willed a wall of magic at the Mage as soon as I stopped moving,
throwing him off balance. The gun flew out of his hands and tumbled through the
air. The Fae was now running toward me, but Charlie was on him in an instant. Down
he went on the grass. My sword appeared in my hand as I felt the first Wraith
try and clutch my lower body. A quick movement of the blade, already glowing
with lightning, removed its grip on my legs and it evaporated into mist. I
jumped up to face the second one.

The appearance of my sword had startled it, and I rushed it
before it could retreat. Cleaving it in two, the lightning within the blade sent
whatever life-force the Wraith contained back to where it belonged; the mist
evaporating as quickly as the first one had. Turning back to my other
opponents, I saw that Charlie was finishing off the Fae that had held the sword;
his jaws firmly clamped around its neck. The Mage was still trying to recover
and I leapt toward him. Before I could reach him, he pulled out a wand and
fired a spell toward me. I batted it aside with a thought as the magic within
me raged. His skills were simply not powerful enough for what I had become.

He now held another object
and raised it above his head, preparing to throw it at me. Before he could
complete the movement, my sword was in his chest and he fell to the ground.
Shit! I hadn’t really wanted to kill him. I was actually hoping to get some
information. I'd known they probably couldn’t beat me, but I could have been
wrong about his skills or weapons. I turned to check on Charlie. His opponent
wasn't getting up either.

"Damn," I said to him. "I was hoping we'd
take at least one of them alive."

"Sword and knife," Charlie said, looking over to
at the dead Fae; a double edged knife still clutched in his hand.

"What of the others?" he asked, his head swiveling
as if searching for the other two.

"Some kind of Wraith," I replied. "No match for
my sword." I bent down and picked up the knife, then collected the sword
that had fallen by its side. Placing them on a table, I went back to the Mage.
His gun was a few feet away, so I gathered that up and grabbed a phone I found
in his pocket. There was nothing else. Then I bent down to see what he was
going to throw at me.

It was made of gold, or a mixture of gold and other metals.
It was some type of orb and there were ornate engravings on it. One looked like
the letter B, with some sort of arrow beside it, but that symbol, unlike the
rest of the surface, was so worn it was difficult to tell. It had to be a
weapon of some type. Why act like he was going to throw it at me if it was anything
else. The craftsmanship was superb; almost too perfect. Except for the worn
image, it could have been made yesterday. Not even a seam was visible. Not
something I expected to be in the hands of a Mage that acted like a two-bit gangster.
Whoever had created this was a master artisan. I wondered where it came from. I
called to Charlie to take a look.

"Have you ever seen one of these?" I asked, still
kneeling over the body.

"No," he said, sniffing it as I held it out. "Perhaps
the Dwarves."

"Dwarves?" I asked. That's all I needed. A
connection between Sergei and the Dwarves could spell real problems. Not only
for me, but for all the Fae in the valley. "Are you certain?"

"No," he replied. "But it smells of danger. A
weapon, I think."

"But what does it do?" I asked aloud as I examined
it. Obviously, it was meant to be thrown, and the arrow image was telling. I
was just about to throw it and see what happened when something in my brain
tickled. Then Sendy appeared.

"My Lord," she said. "Something approaches
from the north. Something dark. I cannot yet tell what it is."

"It is Fae," Charlie said. He shifted and held his
head high, sniffing the air.

"Is it evil?" I asked, now sensing the being as
well. There was a hint of darkness present.

"No threat," he replied, lowering his snout. "Not
to us."

Somewhat relieved, I quickly checked the Fae's body. He
hadn't been carrying anything else, so I stood up to see what was approaching.
I'd check the car later.

"Ah," Sendy said, a moment later, when it got
closer. "It is of the Keres. I did not know that any of them dwelled in
this place."

As Sendy spoke, I saw the creature come into view over the
houses north of the park. It floated like a dark cloud travelling on the wind
toward us. Keres? As in descended from Nyx, Goddess of the Night? They may be
Fae, all right, but they were Death-Spirits. Not exactly the kind of gals you
invited over to the weekly barbecue. I'd never heard of them being here either.
I wondered where this one had come from.

She rode on a cloud that looked like gossamer wisps of black,
slowly moving around her body, offering glimpses of flesh, here and there. As
she settled down in front of me, the cloud tightened; now a black gown of slowly
moving dark mist. At first, she looked beautiful, with firm breasts, and a body
more... curvy than most Fae. Like a Goddess in an old portrait. But every now
and then, as her face turned, a glimpse of something terrible would come to the
surface. That being was not lovely. Her fierce eyes, pointed teeth, and claw
like hands, were disturbing to look upon, to say the least.

She glanced over at Charlie and Sendy. Something about him
made her pause. She ignored Sendy, but stopped and bowed to him. I waited to
see what she would do next. She walked toward me; cautiously sizing me up, her
head and body twisting and turning like a bird, as if sampling my aura as she
approached.

"Why does a Fae Lord send me these gifts?" she finally
asked, bowing to me. She drew out each word as she spoke. Then she opened a
claw like hand to reveal two black, shiny lumps of what looked like obsidian.

"Did I?" I asked. I suppressed a shudder as I somehow
recognized what she held. They were the hardened souls of the Wraiths I had
killed."

"And the others?" she asked, closing her hand and
pointing to the Mage and Fae that lay on the grass.