Not Just Another Fae (Vegas Fae Stories Book 4) (24 page)

"They knew you would return to Hades," Bernd
answered. "But they could not know where you would appear."

"Well, they know now," I said, willing my blade away
and grabbing the bident off my back. "I think I'd better not use it again
until I have to. I probably just sent out a beacon pointing the way here."

"Do not let it concern you," he replied. "The
Chimera alerted the others as soon as we left the palace. Your sword's flame
merely confirmed it. Better to have such a blade than to want it when it is
needed."

"I can’t believe she has allies here," I said,
shaking my head.

"There has always been contact between the Underworld
and the human plane. Through the Gates of Horn and Ivory, if not elsewhere. Not
all who are sentenced here drink from the river of forgetfulness. With Hades
gone, who can say what type of communication between the lands exists."

The Gates of Horn and Ivory where a mystical place in Hades
where dreams passed between the Underworld and the land of the living above. It
was said that false dreams, those of fantasy and without true meaning passed
through the Gate of Ivory on their journey's between the worlds. Those of truth
passed through the Gate of Horn.

"So what now?" Lucius asked.

"We go on," I replied, pulling out the orb. I
placed it into my palm and thought of the Faerie with the jewel. It began to
spin but did not stop. That was something, anyway. "Well, if this thing is
accurate, she's not here yet. Trap or not, we have to at least try to stop the
Faerie from getting into Tartarus. Charlie, take point. Let's go north a bit,
and then cut across toward the river of fire."

He didn’t reply, but took off through the woods as we
followed.

"How did you acquire such a device?" Bernd asked
as we trudged through the mist and brush.

"Took it off a Mage that attacked me," I replied. "But
personally, I think it was a gift from Gaea. He was way too much of an amateur
to be carrying such a thing, and it does other stuff as well."

"What other properties does it possess?"

"Demon killing net thingy, for one. Not sure if there's
anything else, but that one is pretty effective. I didn’t think I'd need that
feature while I was in Hades. I'm not hunting Demons. But it does a pretty good
job of slicing and dicing them topside. I guess it might slow them down a bit
here, if nothing else. That's assuming they can regenerate? Honestly, I'm not
even sure I want to know. Anyway, it only works on one Demon at a time, so
testing it on Harpies or Chimeras that I already know I can kill just didn’t
make sense."

"An interesting device," he said. "It may still
prove useful."

I could just see Charlie ahead through the mist. Suddenly,
he stopped and dropped to the ground; so we went down on one knee and waited
for him to slink back.

"Chimera," he said as he came up to me. "Only
one. It is in the trees to the right, moving away from us. We must wait for it
to pass through the area."

"It seems we are being hunted," Bernd said, raising
his sword. "Where there is one, there will be more."

"It will not be the first time," Lucius whispered
to me. "If he turns, spear the goat head and I'll use my sword on the
lion."

I nodded, and we waited. It was as good a plan as any.
Fortunately, it didn’t turn back. We gave it another five minutes, then Charlie
took off in the lead again. We encountered several more Chimera as we made our
way toward the river. They were tough bastards and we'd had to take out a few.
But other than Charlie's fur been singed, when one surprised us we made it
through. As we got closer, it got warmer. Then the stunted trees thinned out.
We stopped at the top of a tall hill and looked out toward Tartarus.

The river was narrower here; maybe 150 yards across. Flames
and dark smoke blocked most of the view, but the large walls and tall mountains
clearly showed that we were in the right place. The remnants of a bridge stood
crumbling on this side of the bank and what was left of the gate became visible
now and then between the plumes. There was a pass between the tall peaks where
the gate once stood, but between the river and the flames, I doubted there was
any way through. Even flying over would be risky, as flames would shoot up into
the air hundreds of feet every few seconds.

The valley below us was desolate. But now and then, Harpies
could be seen, as the dark mists moved across the ground. Chimeras appeared
here and there, the heat keeping them from venturing to close to the bank. I had
just turned to Bernd, when a blinding red flash dimmed my sight. I looked up to
see roiling clouds and lightning, the thunder shaking me as a vortex appeared
in the sky between us and the river.

Without thinking, I jumped up and ran. The others followed
as I tried to reach the center before she could appear and cross the river.
Within seconds, the Faerie was there, her features hidden by the great
whirlwind that began trailing out of the vortex toward us. A blast of wind
threw us to the ground and the clouds and mist spun in circles around us. Bits
of long dead trees and Harpies were sucked in and I grabbed what was left of a
stump and held on. The others were not so lucky.

Bernd and Lucius flew into the air, flying toward the vortex
as I watched. Charlie flew circles behind me and I reached out just in time for
him to clamp his jaws onto my armor. I pulled him closer as the sucking vortex
raised us into the air. Just when I thought I couldn't hold on any longer, we
fell to the ground, the vortex collapsing into itself as the winds died down. I
was back on my feet in an instant. I looked all around but the two of them were
gone.

Knowing there was nothing I could do for them, I took back off
toward the Faerie, Charlie at my heels. She was just floating there. Wisps of
smoke encircled her as the winds died down and she settled to the ground. I had
been right; she was an Aurae. She looked up at me as I ran toward her, the pain
and suffering she'd been through evident on her face.

"Do not come any closer," she croaked, lifting
into the air again as I approached.

"Wait!" I yelled, stopping in my tracks. "You
don’t have to do this."

"But I must," she replied. She reached up to her
neck as the smoke cleared and grasped the chain that encircled it.

A slave collar. Those bastards!

"Maia," I yelled, taking a step toward her. This
had to be Sendy's sister. She was the only Aurae unaccounted for after the raid
on the dark Fae's compound, where we'd found what was left of the rest. "I
can get it off!"

"It is too late," she cried, the red stone pulsing.
What had once been a necklace was now strapped onto her arm; the silver links
cutting into her skin as her blood swelled around it, feeding the dark magic
that was in the jewel. She grimaced as the power coursed through her, the slave
collar now vibrating as it tightened around her neck.

I knew what I had to do, but it wasn't an easy decision.
That hesitation was my undoing, as a red pulse shot out from the jewel and she
rose further into the air; moving toward the fiery river.

I began to chase her as she flew toward the flames. Flying
higher as I eyed her between the mists, her wings beating faster and faster. As
she got closer she began to smoke; the heat from the fiery river already having
its effect.

Charlie and I almost reached her at the bank when suddenly
the river flared and the heat became intense. I looked back up but I could
barely see her now, flying toward the middle of the river as flames trailed behind
her.

I would have given up, but a last thought gave me hope. I
pulled out the Queller and drew back, throwing it as hard as I could, just as
she burst into flames. She was swallowed up by the roiling dark clouds and then
there was an explosion of clouds and lightning that surged outward. I tried to gauge
how far across the river she'd gone, but there was just no way to tell. I
didn’t even know if the orb had connected with her, since it never came back. One
way or another, it was over.

"Did you stop her?" Charlie asked. He grabbed me
by the arm and pulled me back from the heat.

"I don’t know."

We were far enough away now, and the temperature became
bearable. With the Faerie gone, the winds died down and the clouds and mists
began to settle. There was no sign of her body on the other bank, but between
the flames and smoke of the river, it was hard to be sure. There was nothing to
indicate the stone had made it to the other side. Whatever spell had been cast
to make the denizens of Hades try and stop us seemed gone as well. That or the
fireworks show scared them off. The Harpies and Chimeras had disappeared, at
least for now. The ground for miles around was empty.

"Damn it!" I said aloud as I turned to face the
big dog. " Nothing! I can't tell if it survived the blast or not. I should
have done something sooner." There was no way to know what had happened to
the necklace. No way to know if it had reached the other side. What had I done?
Had I just given Marissa the key to escaping Tartarus, or worse, freed others
from that horrible realm?

"You did what you could," he replied. " At
least the portals will be closed."

"Yeah," I looked back in the direction that we'd
taken. There was no sign of the Roman or the Dwarf. "But I should have
stopped her when I had the chance. I just hope that Lucius and Bernd made it
home in one piece."

He swept his head back and forth then lifted his nose before
turning back to me and shaking it. "What next?"

"Let's find a freaking way out of this shit hole,"
I said, and began walking away from the river. The peaks of mountains and the ruined
gate of Tartarus obscured by smoke and fire were still heavy on my mind. There
was nothing else I could do now but try and make it to somewhere that I could
contact Kyras. It was either that, or find another way out through one of the
other Hells of the Underworld. There was no way I was going back to the Tower
of Cronus. As for Lucius and Bernd, I could only hope they made it back safely
and that whatever else the portals had sent there had been contained.

It's not hard to be melancholy when you're walking through
Hell. Even Charlie was quiet as we passed through miles and miles of dimly lit caricatures
of the real world. The souls of those sentenced here were mere representations
of what they had once been. Unlike Elysium, here the souls seemed truly dead;
lost and without purpose. Had it just been them, it would have been a quiet
march. But occasionally, Harpies or Chimeras would appear. Then we had to fight
to avoid becoming lunch. They didn’t seem to be hunting us like before, but
that didn’t stop them from attacking when we ran across them.

We'd travelled for what felt like days. It was hard to tell
how long it actually was, especially in the perpetual twilight. We'd had to
take the long way around to avoid as many creatures as possible. There had been
too many between the river and the palace, so we'd chosen an alternate route. It's
not that I was worried about being eaten; but I'd had enough of killing on this
journey.

We'd spent a day resting, just shy of what I thought was
probably Persephone's groves, before doubling back. It was the first place I'd
seen where the remains of fields that had once been tilled stood. There were
also the remnants of orchards with real trees. Nothing had been tended, so
things were a bit overgrown, but it was better than some of the places we'd
passed.

I wasn't sure which was best way out, but I figured we could
try and contact the Keres by finding our way to the Gate of Ivory. Like the
Roman poet, Virgil, had written in his poem,
The
Aeneid
, I was
going to try and get us out the same way his Trojan hero had done, using the
Gate of Ivory. If that didn't work, I'd try the Gate of Horn. I was hoping to
get a message to Kyras through one of them. If I was successful, she would be
able to find us and take us home. There was also the chance that Bernd and
Lucius had made it back alive. They'd be trying to find a way to get to us as
well.

I'd also thought about summoning the fire Demon whose ring I
wore; but that too, was a last resort. His home was still in the Underworld, but
at the time he'd given it to me, he was going to try and prevent any future
travel between his world and ours. It was probably better saved for another
time. It was a long story, but suffice it say that summoning Demons was a favorite
pastime of dark Mages, as Ordunez had mentioned in his briefing.

After skirting the path that led back to Elysium, we turned
down a road that lead to what was once some kind of palace or temple. On one
side, two tusk shaped spires, the ivory yellowed and now broken, once stood.
The fallen ivory still lay on the ground near a pool. On the other, two twisted
spires of some kind of translucent horn had stood. They too, had fallen. They
must have been majestic in their day; but now, they just looked sad. At both, steaming
pools lay between the stumps that remained. The mist-like dreams passing in and
out like vapor; bubbling up from vents under the water. We took the path that
led to the stumps of ivory and walked up to the water.

"Any idea how it works?" I asked Charlie, watching
the mists as they rose and fell.

"Magic," he replied, and then stuck his nose into the
swirling fog. He jumped back as if bitten.

"What happened?"

"It is too much," he said, his ears flapping as he
shook his head.

"Information overload," I said with a laugh. It
was the first one I'd had in while. Then I stepped forward and placed my hand
into the mists. Unlike Charlie, I held my breath, and summoning every bit of
magic within me, called out to her. When I could hold it no longer, I stepped
back.

"Did it work?"

"I don't know buddy," I replied, walking over and
grabbing his big head before sitting down against one of the fallen tusks. "Nothing
is quite the same here, especially when it comes to magic. But I think I felt
something when I reached out. I chanted her name and our location at least 100
times before I ran out of breath. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

It must have worked. It wasn't too much time later when a
black cloud appeared. At first, I thought it was Kyras, but it turned out to be
another of the Keres. As the cloud settled, I saw that it was one of the ones
I'd met before. Nosia, I think, was her name.

"Where is Kyras?" I asked as I got up from the ground.

"She is... indisposed," she replied. "As Queen,
there is much she must attend to. But the Dark Elf told her you would seek us
out if you could. Many were tasked to listen for a sign that you still lived. I
was closest to this place, so I came in her stead."

"The Dark Elf? You mean Bernd? So he made it back
safely?"

"I do not know his name," she replied, matter of
factly. "But he was of the Svartalfar. Come, I must return. It is not wise
for one of my kind to tarry here too long."

She stepped closer to Charlie and me and the smoke that
surrounded her billowed outward. It wrapped around us, and then, a moment
later, we were back at the cemetery where all this had started. It was after
dark and this time there was no moon.

"Thank you," I said as the black cloud dissipated.
"Please give Kyras my thanks as well. Tell her... Tell her I appreciate
all she has done and I look forward to seeing her again."

The Keres said nothing as we backed away from her. Then the
dark side of her flickered onto her face for a moment.

"Of that I have no doubt, noble Fae," she said
with a grin.

Before I could ask her what she meant the smoky mist curled
up around her and she was gone.

"What was that about?" I asked aloud.

Charlie didn't answer.

I stripped off Hades' armor and my weapons and piled them on
the shield, carrying it the short distance to the house. When we arrived, I saw
that the lights were on and Diantha's Mercedes was parked in the driveway. This
was going to be interesting, I thought as we came in through the gate.

Lucinda was waiting as I opened the door, her tail swishing
back and forth.

"You have returned," she said. "Bernd waits
inside with the others." She turned and ran further into the house,
announcing us as she entered the kitchen.

A moment later Bernd and Lucius came around the corner to
greet us, accompanied by Diantha, who ran up to hug me. Charlie followed
Lucinda out the back door.

"What happened?" Bernd asked as Diantha let go.

"Honestly, I don't know," I replied. "I screwed
up. It was Sendy's sister that had been forced to carry the necklace. I should
have stopped her when I had the chance, but I hesitated. She tried to cross the
river but she was nothing but flames by the time I got close enough to throw
the Queller. I'm pretty sure she's dead, but I have no way of knowing if she
was stopped in time, or if the stone made it to the other side. By the time the
smoke cleared there was nothing left to see."

It was then that I realized Lucius was bruised and battered
and a fresh scar trailed down his cheek. "What happened to you?"

"Harpies. We weren't the only thing gathered up by the
whirlwind. When we appeared here we had to fight our way out of the flock that
had been transported with us. Some of your local warriors were waiting, though.
With their assistance we made short work of them. But not before their claws
did this," he said as he fingered the scar on his face.

I reached up and touched the place where the Harpy had
grazed me. "Yeah, I can relate."

"Your healer friend left a few hours ago," Diantha
said with a wink. "She tended to his wounds after your son brought him
here."

"Jay was here?" I asked. "I probably need to
call him to let him know I'm okay. What about the portals?"

"Closed," Bernd said, reaching up and slapping me
on the back. "There is no doubt that the spell is broken. It died with the
Faerie when she tried to cross the river. As for the stone reaching Tartarus?
Who can say? Do not be too hard on yourself. Your enemy has many allies. If it
survived, that is a battle for another day."

"Easy for you to say," I muttered.

"True," the Dwarf replied. "But that does not
change the fact that there is nothing you can do about it. At least for the
moment. Come. Rest, and allow your wounds to heal."

Diantha pushed a mug of coffee into my hands as I sat down
at the table. Bernd was right. I'd deal with whatever came next when it
happened. What else could I do?

"I am off," Bernd said, walking to the back door.

"Off?" I replied. "But I just got here."

"True. But I have been here many days and I have other
things to attend to. Grerin does not yet know I have returned from the abyss
and there is much I must do before we meet again. Now that I know that you and
Charlie are safe, I can return to that path."

He was out the door and gone before I could argue. Dwarves.
Nothing ever changes. Well, maybe it does. This was not the same Bernd that I
knew before we rescued him from Helheim. He still carried the sword on his belt
for one thing. I'm thinking Grerin isn't gonna know what hit him. I turned to
Lucius and Diantha.

"How long have we been gone?"

"A couple of weeks," Diantha said. "Siegfried
and the others have been besides themselves worrying about you two. If you
hadn’t appeared when you did... Well, I think Siegfried was trying to find a
way to rescue you himself. He's on his way here, by the way. I called him when
we heard you were okay."

"You heard? How did you find that out? We didn't even
know we were going to be rescued until the Keres showed up."

"Bernd told us," Lucius replied. "He just
returned about 15 minutes before you did. He must have been in contact with
them all along."

"Why doesn’t that surprise me, " I said, getting
up from the table. "Okay. I need a quick shower and a change of clothes.
Fae or not, I've been living in these for a while."

"A good plan," Diantha said, wrinkling her nose. "I
was going to suggest that myself, but I was trying to be polite."

I lifted my arm and took an audible sniff. "Just like
the old warriors of Greece, right?" She stuck out her tongue at me as I
picked up my mug before heading upstairs. I gave Jay a call and let him know I
was all right before stripping down and hitting the shower. I had just finished
putting my shirt on and made it to the bottom of the stairs when I was swept
into a giant bear hug.

"I was just about to set out to find you!" A voice
yelled as I was almost crushed in his grip. "What in the nine worlds where
you thinking?"

"I wasn't," I quipped. "If I had been I
probably wouldn't have gone."

"Ha!" Siegfried said, slapping me on the back.
This time I almost did fall over. "That damn Ordunez. It was his words
that put the thought into your head, wasn't it?"

"Just for the record," another voice said. It was
Michael. "I wasn't worried. But I thought Meredith was going to rip the
sorcerer's head off when she found out where you went."

"Yeah... Sorry about that guys," I said as I led
them into the kitchen. Diantha had already set out the coffee and I filled the empty
mug at the head of the table, having left the other upstairs. It was an old
favorite,
When I say run, run. ... RUN!
, and made me laugh. "But
seriously. It wasn't Ordunez. It was a little bit of everything. Not to mention
some prodding from Gaea."

"Yes," Siegfried replied. "Lucius has told us
of your meeting with the Goddess, and of your rescue of both him and Bernd. But
tell us, we know the gateways have been closed. What of the dark Fae?"

"I'm not sure if rescue is the right word, at least
where Lucius is concerned," I said, tipping my mug at the Roman. I went on
to tell them what had happened. It was the short version, but it still took a
while to tell. I finished at the part where I saw the Faerie burst into flames.

"After that we just wandered a bit, trying to stay away
from the beasts. We eventually made it to the Gate of Ivory, where we met up
with the Keres. That's about it. I wish I could be sure we stopped her from
getting the jewel across, but I just don't know."

Everyone was silent. Then Michael spoke up.

"Don’t be so hard on yourself," he said. "It
could have been worse. Besides, you rescued the Dwarf. That's gotta be worth a
few points."

"And you should consider me rescued as well,"
Lucius added. "I would have been bored to tears had I stayed in that
place."

"If you say so," I said with a chuckle. "But
I still wish I knew for sure." I poured myself another cup. "Oh,
almost forgot. I have something for Siegfried."

"For me?" he asked.

"I met a Viking over there. In Helheim. Asked me to
give something to you." I walked into the living room where I'd put down
the shield and other things I'd brought back. Picking up the sword that Gunnvor
had given to me, I turned to see the four of them standing behind me.

"Is that Hades' bident?" Diantha asked, eyeing the
twin bladed weapon.

"Yes," I replied. "And his armor. Well, a
spare set anyway. But that's not what I want to show him." I held out the
worn scabbard, and slowly pulled out the blade. As the inscription came into
view, Siegfried's eyes widened.

"Is that?"

"An Ulfberht sword," I replied, holding it toward
him. "There was a Viking warrior with Bernd in Helheim. He asked me to
give it to you"

"Me?" he asked as he took the blade. "What
was his name?" He seemed mesmerized as he turned it in his hands and then
pulled it out, testing the weight. The sword swished through the air as he
swung it.

"Gunnvor Tryggvason," I answered. "Have you
heard of him?"

"Tryggvason?" Siegfried said. "There was a
King by that name."

"King Olaf," Michael said. "He died in the
battle of Svolder. Drowned himself rather than surrender his ship to his
enemies."