Not Just Another Fae (Vegas Fae Stories Book 4) (22 page)

"Just a sec," I said, holding up my hand. "Not
to be difficult, but can we go somewhere more comfortable? So we can talk, I
mean."

"Difficult?" she retorted. "You don't know
the meaning of the word. If I hadn’t already expected it after watching you all
this time, not to mention meeting your daughter, I'd... Fine! You should be
grateful I'm in a good mood." She waved her hand and the room changed
again.

This time I found myself seated in a comfortable dining
chair, sitting at a table directly across from her. There was a fire in the
hearth and the room had a quaint feel. She was conservatively dressed in a
purple outfit with lace on the collar and sleeves. Her now brown hair was
pulled up in a twist-and-tuck bun, with braids above the ears.

"Better? Your daughter seemed to like this look,"
she said as she poured tea into the cup in front of me. Unlike my mugs, these
were fine china, and each had an image of the Goddess rising out of the earth
carrying an infant. Then she poured some for herself. "Now. You were
saying?"

"I guess I should apologize first," I said,
figuring I'd better not push my luck too much. "But you have to admit, this
whole quest thing is not what I expected."

"And what did you expect?"

"You're kidding right?" I asked.

She just sat there, sipping her tea.

"Look. It's been interesting, I'll grant you that,"
I said after a moment. "But I've got a Demon problem of my own to deal
with back on the human plane and this isn’t helping. Besides, you didn't have
to lead me by the nose to get me here. You could have just asked."

"Asked?" She broke out into laughter.

"Fine," I replied. "How about a bargain then?"

"I believe I've already stated that I've satisfied my
end of that arrangement."

"True," I said. "But I seem to recall the bargain
you spoke of was with my grandmother. Not with me."

A sugar bowl appeared and she picked up a cube with the
tongs that accompanied it. She dropped it into her cup and began to stir her
tea slowly. I watched as the barest hint of a smile crossed her lips before she
looked back up at me.

"I'm listening," she finally said.

"Maybe I missed something here, but I was under the
distinct impression that you did all those things for my kids because you needed
me on the human plane; not just to fulfil the requirements of my grandmother's
bargain with you."

She sighed and took another drink. "You give yourself
too much credit," she said, placing her cup back on the saucer. "But
now that you mention it, I may have discussed a few trivial matters with your
daughter. I certainly never meant to imply that I needed you. We were
discussing, at most, housekeeping issues. Nothing more."

"I see," I replied. "Housekeeping it is then."

"Continue."

"Here's my proposal," I began, holding up the
scythe. "I'll agree to do your... housekeeping, shall we say, and I'll
give you the scythe as well. But in return, I need you to help me finish what I
started here."

"Is that all?" she asked, pouring more tea into
her cup.

"Not exactly," I replied, wondering how far she
was going to let me take this. "I'd really like it if I could complete
these chores of yours without each becoming a full-fledged adventure. It'd be
so much easier if you could just let me know what you needed rather than send
me on some crazy quest. Maybe we could even meet now and then. Just to discuss
housekeeping, of course."

I pushed my cup forward and then remembered why I'd come
here in the first place. "Oh, yeah. Any chance you could point me to the
Helm of Darkness is so I can navigate the Underworld a little better? I mean,
the Queller is appreciated and all, but I still have to find out what's causing
all these Demons to escape; and to accomplish that I have to be able to get to the
problem. I'd really like to do that before whatever it is gets to Marissa."

"You expect me to get involved in your conflict with
the other High Fae? That doesn't seem very sporting of you."

"Sporting?" I said, then pulled out the sword of
Cronus and laid it on the table. "She'd be dead if your ex-husband hadn't
sent her to Tartarus. I would have won the sword just the same, the way I
figure it. That wasn't very sporting either."

"Point taken," she agreed, pouring more tea. "I'll
grant that he did muddle things a bit by sending her to Tartarus. But no
quests? How can you be seen as a hero to the Fae if you don’t complete a quest?"

"I don’t need to be the Fae's hero. I only need to be
your hero," I said, giving her my best smile.

"Now I remember why I like you," she said,
laughing. "My hero, indeed! You realize that although you may perform a
service for me, I cannot guarantee your safety."

"What would be the fun in that?" I grinned. "Then
we have an agreement?"

"In part," she said. " But I cannot lead you
to the Helm of Darkness."

"Why not?"

"Like Ouranos, Hades was not very sporting," she explained.
"It has been written that the Helm granted knowledge, as well as stealth.
If he had possessed such a thing, he would have killed his enemies as they
slept, or at least when they were most vulnerable. However, he did not possess
such a thing because the Cyclops never made it for him. It does not exist, nor
did it ever."

"That could be a problem."

"Please," she said, drawing out the word as she
chuckled. "I'm feeling generous. Give me the scythe and I'll accept your
bargain, as well as show you how to navigate the Underworld."

"Done," I replied, handing it over to her.

"While the Helm does not exist, the bident does,"
she said, looking at the weapon on my lap. "That, the Cyclops did create.
You already have in your possession that which you need to traverse the Hells.
However, our bargain still stands."

Let her think she put one over on me, I didn’t care. I would
have been stuck doing her quests anyway. At least I was getting something out
of the deal. "You are going to show me how it works, right?"

"As I agreed," she replied, getting up and walking
around the table towards me. She picked up the bident and aimed it away from us.
"Simply point it, then tell it what Hell you wish to go to and it will
take you to that realm. You will recognize the magic when you reach out for it.
When the portal appears, step through. From there, you can use the orb to lead
you in the right direction." She turned and faced me. "But remember,
it can only take you from one place to another within the Underworld. Outside of
here, it is just another weapon. Were it not, Hades would never have left it
behind."

"Thank you."

"Oh no, my hero," she said. "Thank you. It
has been most enlightening. I so look forward to discovering what the future will
hold." She leaned forward and kissed me, and then the room disappeared.

"That was fast." I heard Lucius say behind me.

"I forgot, you've never been outside the human plane,"
I replied. "Time works differently when you cross."

"Did we go somewhere?" he asked, looking confused.
The curtain I'd gone in through was now gone as well.

"I did," I said. "Quick meeting."

"You met Gaea?" Charlie asked.

"The Goddess?" Lucius asked as he blew out his
cheeks. Then his eyes widened. "You met with her! What was she like?"

"Let's just say she was in a good mood," I
replied, raising the bident. "I'll tell you all about it later. For now,
let's go find Bernd." I started to point the bident, but stopped. "Just
to be clear, I'm not exactly sure what we're heading into. Best be ready for
anything."

It wasn't that I didn’t trust her, it's just that... Well, it's
just that I didn’t trust her to make it easy. I pointed the bident in front of
us, then reached out with magic and touched it. I willed a portal to the place Bernd
had gone. It seemed to take a minute for it to understand. Then a black,
swirling, cloud appeared in front of us, and as we watched, an opening formed
in the center. "This way," I said, and stepped through.

It was pitch black; but slowly my eyes adjusted to the
darkness. A blanket of snow covered the ground around us as we stood at the
base of a giant tree. Its roots formed tunnels and as I started to turn toward
the others, the ground gave way. Suddenly we were falling. I landed on my back
on an icy stretch, the shield still strapped to it. I slid for some time before
finally coming to a stop against a bank of snow. I started to get to my feet
when I was knocked down from behind when Charlie and Lucius crashed into me.

"You sure she was in a good mood?" Lucius asked as
he wiped snow off his armor. He bent down and picked up his helmet. It had
fallen off during his slide.

"I thought so," I said, getting back to my feet.
We were at the edge of a frozen lake. It was still dark, but with Fae eyesight
and the white snow that surrounded us, it was light enough to see by.

Charlie was up and shaking himself, snow flying in all
directions.

"Thanks, " I said, wiping my face. "Any idea
where we are?"

"Don’t look at me," Lucius replied, stomping his
feet to clear the rest of the snow that clung to his armor.

Charlie began sniffing the air in all directions. "Helheim,"
he said after a moment. "That is my first guess, but it is so cold.
Perhaps it is Nilfhel. It is said they are adjoined.

"Those are Norse Worlds," Lucius commented. "Are
they not?"

"That's where we want to be. At least we're close."
I grabbed my snow covered backpack and pulled out the Queller. "Let's see if
we can find Bernd." I placed the orb in my palm and it began to spin. A
bit later, it settled on a location just ahead and to the left.

We began to trudge through the snow. We walked through a
deep valley, with snow covered mountains devoid of life on both sides. After
what seemed like days, we stopped at the banks of a frozen river.

"I do not like this," Charlie said, eyeing the
ice. "This is the river Gjoll. It should be flowing."

"Me either," I said. Something about the frozen
river made me uncomfortable. "I don’t think we should try and cross here."
The orb agreed with me. It was pointing in a direction that led us parallel to
the bank. I tried to use the bident to take us wherever it was pointing, but
apparently whatever magic it held would not take us across the river. Not the
greatest design in a magic teleportation device, but what was I gonna do, return
it to the Cyclops for a refund?

We walked for seemed like hours, eventually reaching a covered
bridge that crossed the frozen river. Snow and ice blanketed it, and even this
close, I couldn't tell what it was made of. It was snowing again, and in the
haze, I couldn’t even see the other side. Taking out the orb, I watched as it
pointed across the river.

"Wait," Charlie said as he stopped just short of
the bridge. He stood still and stared into the dark tunnel for a moment. "This
is the bridge called Gjallarbrú. We should have been challenged."

"Where does it lead?" I asked.

"To Hel's gates. I have never heard of it being frozen.
It should be guarded as well. Either way, we must cross and find a way to the
gate, if this is truly where Bernd is. It is said that only the dead may pass
through the gate itself and that it is guarded by great, blood stained hound."

"You've been here before?" Lucius asked.

"My sire has," Charlie replied.

"How do you know this?" Lucius asked, then looked
at me. "Wait, don’t tell me. Another long story?

"Yeah. You'll get used to it. There's a lot more to
Charlie than meets the eye," I said as I turned to him. "You said the
bridge was guarded. What kind of guard were you expecting?"

"A giant once defended the bridge from those not chosen
to enter. But there is no sign of her."

"Maybe she's on the other side. Then again, she could
have been gone since
The Fall
. Whatever happened here, I'm guessing this
place is just as screwed up as Hades was."

"Perhaps," he replied. "But what stops the souls
from leaving if the gate is left unguarded?"

"Beats me," I said. "But other than Fae like
Siegfried, I doubt there are any Vikings left, at least not human ones. Could
be the gates of Hel are locked. What I don’t understand is why would Bernd
would be here?"

"What do you mean?" Lucius asked.

"I mean, if this is Helheim, it's not the place that I
would have expected a Dwarf to descend to. I know it's like Hades in a lot of
respects, but I would have thought he'd go to Valhalla, or someplace just for
Dwarves." I stepped up and looked down the length of bridge. Even with my Fae
eyesight, the darkness and mists made seeing further than a few yards impossible.

With the orb-like Queller still pointing in that direction,
I took a step and put my foot onto the bridge. Suddenly the way was blocked.
They crawled or climbed up from the floor. Misty spirits with biting teeth and
clawed hands that tried to grab hold of me. I could feel the magic within them;
dark, and looking for a way to escape. I stepped back, my foot now off the
bridge. For some reason, they couldn’t cross. More appeared and they sat there
and glared at me as the bridge became packed. Spirit, or not, they had some
type of corporeal form. I'd felt the pull of their claws as they grabbed onto
the leggings of Hades' armor. I doubted their teeth were any less corporeal.

"Shades?" Charlie asked as he gazed into the
throng that blocked our entry.

"Something worse." I pulled out the orb and tried
to think of searching for another way, but they arrow didn’t waver; pointing
firmly in the direction that would lead me right to them.

"What about the bident?" Lucius asked. "Can
it take us somewhere else? Maybe there's another way in."

"I already tried that. Remember?" I replied. "Give
me a minute to think." Something about touching them with magic tickled at
my brain. I looked the bridge over. It was solidly constructed. Whatever it was
made of was hidden by ice and snow. The cover was some twenty feet high or more
over the bridge. The lattice work that supported it was also covered in ice.
Walking to the frozen river, I bent down, trying to see how thick the ice was.
I pulled off a gloved gauntlet and rubbed my hand over the ice. As it cleared,
it looked like the business ends of swords and axes lay just inches below the
ice covered surface. We weren't going to try to go that way.

"What kind of boots are those?" I asked Lucius,
pointing to his feet.

"Roman calcei," he replied. "What else?
Crafted in Elysium; I have never worn finer. Why?"

"They're hobnailed?

"Of course."

"Okay, I have an idea," I said to both of them. "We'll
need a diversion to keep their attention. I'm going to try and make it through.
You two are going over the top while I do."

Charlie didn’t respond, but Lucius thought it was foolish.

"What makes you think a second time will be any
different?"

"High Fae, remember? I'm going to bullshit my way
thorough and I'm gonna use Cronus' sword to do it. It's not that far, and I
think I can hold the magic long enough to get past them. I don’t think I can do
that if I have to worry about you two. So I'll help you get to the top and then
push my way through before they can focus their attention on you."

"You're going to bluff?"

"Hades is a God of the Underworld, remember?" I
said as I donned my helmet. "Maybe they're too stupid to realize the
difference. Let's see what kind of progress he can make." I grabbed my
shield and then handed him the bident.

"I can't use this," Lucius said, trying to hand it
back.

"No, but Charlie can. He's as Fae as I am." I
turned to the big dog. "If I don’t make it, take him back to Hades and try
to contact Kyras. Now, get ready for a running start. You're gonna use me as a
spring board. When you get to the other side, run like hell. When you get to
the road, turn... Just turn left. I'll catch up. When you're both on top, I'll
start my run. Got it?"

Lucius shook his head, but then nodded in agreement and the
two of them walked back about ten yards from the bridge.

I walked to the front and pulled my shield from my back. I
gave a last look to the Shades that blocked the entrance and then turned and
nodded. I kneeled and lifted the shield.

Lucius came first, leaping onto my shield as I pushed up to
give him a boost. Then it was Charlie's turn. With both of them on the roof of
the bridge, I pulled Cronus' blade and walked up to it, hoping to get the
shade's attention before they went for the others. I held my shield in front of
me and willed the blade to extend. It lit up with blue sparks. Not as much as
in the other worlds, but it would do.

"I am Hades, Lord of the Underworld," I cried. "You
will let me pass!" I started moving forward; the Shades moving to the
sides as I pushed my way in. I was about halfway through before they decided to
call my bluff.

One Shade, then another, tried to block my way. I reached
out with the sword and cleaved them in half; their bodies exploding into a
spray of mist as the blade came in contact with them. I didn’t know if they'd
be back, being already dead souls, I mean, but at least they were gone for now.

Unfortunately, there were still a lot of them in front of me,
and it became difficult to move forward, even with the success of my sword. I
was almost to the end when they breached the shield; claws and teeth scraping
and biting at the Fae armor. I went down on one knee from the onslaught, as
more and more of the Shades began to get through. I swung my blade wildly, but
there were just too many.

Something grabbed my leg and I felt myself sliding over the
bridge. Thinking it was a Shade, I drew back, only to see Charlie's jaws as the
wraiths fell off of me. Lucius was swinging and thrusting the bident at any
that remained. While not as effective as my sword, the Shades screamed as the
blades bit into them. Seconds later he was pulling me up and we began to run.
We barreled through the few that remained as we made it to the crossroads, then
turned left, running all out to escape. Only a few followed and even they
dropped off as we came to a pitch black wall, some thirty feet high, that ran
along the length of the road. We followed it for several miles before stopping
to rest.

"That was close," Lucius said as he leaned over
and gulped deep breaths.

"So much for following directions," I replied,
gasping for air myself.

"I will always find you," Charlie said. Even he
was panting.

Fae or not, something about the Underworld drained one's
strength. Then again, wearing full armor didn't help either. Although it had
held off the teeth and claws of the Demon-like Shades.

I took out the orb, watching it point to the wall.

"What now?" Lucius asked, glancing at the
direction of the arrow.

"We find a way past the wall," Charlie said, and
then began to trot along the path.

Several miles later, we found a point where the wall had
been damaged. Black bricks had fallen and there was opening some 15 feet up.

"You brought rope?" Charlie asked.

"I have what was left of the mooring line," I
replied, reaching into my pack. "It's not much; about twenty feet or so."

"It will do," he replied, grabbing the coil in his
mouth. He took off at a run and then came back, leaping up and scrambling over
the top of the breach. Then, with one end firmly clenched in his jaws, he
dropped the length of rope down the wall.

Grabbing the rope, I let Lucius go first, following him as
he went up the rope. When I reached the top, I stopped to survey what was
inside. Having once read that Helheim, although not the paradise for warriors
that was Valhalla, it was still said to have huge mansions and tall walls with
great guarded gates; the sight before my eyes seemed a little out of place. I
was no expert on the nine worlds but the huge building that stood in the center
had definitely seen better days.

It was big, I'd grant it that, but looked more like the
stereotypical longhouse, or great house, I'd seen in movies. It was also
dilapidated. Made of huge timbers of solid wood, the sides were in various
states of ill repair, and the roof showed signs of caving in on one side. There
was a great wooden door in front that looked solid enough, so we made our way
down the wall and headed through the long dead field toward it. As we walked
up, the door began to open.

"Welcome strangers," a rather large, barrel of a
man said. He had long blonde hair, a full beard, and wore a course grey tunic
with a leather-like covering and boots. On his belt were both a seax and battle
ax. "I am Gunnvor, keeper of this place. He awaits you inside. Come. Come."
As he spoke, he waved for us to enter.