Not Just Another Fae (Vegas Fae Stories Book 4) (6 page)

"Take a trip to Fae and let Nikki know what's going on
here," I said, knowing that my daughter was still there. "Tell her we
have it covered for now, but I may need to borrow a couple of warriors or
trackers when this thing shows up again. Then see if you can find out anything
about these Demons."

I picked up the phone and dialed Siegfried.

"Robert," he said as he answered the phone. "Things
are a bit busy here at the moment. Can I call you back?"

"Sure," I replied. "But you need to know that
Martin's lost two Weres."

"Lost two Weres?" Siegfried repeated. "I can
spare a moment then. What happened? Is he all right?"

"They were killed over the weekend, but Martin just
confirmed that this morning. We ran across the creature near Cold Creek. Alf
says it was a Gallu. Some type of Babylonian Demon. Charlie and I fought it
last night, but it got away. It's still out there, and it's a nasty mother."

"A Gallu?" he replied. "No, it is not
familiar. But we had two attacks here at the hotel last night, which is why I'm
pressed for time. Both attacks were against Fae. We believe they are Mares, a
type of Succubus. Not as life threatening as yours, but still a problem. Listen,
we have them contained, but not captured, and I have to get a Mage to Michael's
location. Can we talk later, when things are under control?"

"Sure, call me when you get things settled. Siegfried?
Be careful," I said, before disconnecting.

An attack against Fae at the Neptune? What the hell was
going on? If Siegfried need a Mage to handle things, then this definitely
wasn't a normal attack. I knew what Mares were and a sudden thought gave me an
idea about the Gallu. I drained my cup and went upstairs, throwing on some
shoes and a different shirt before heading back down and out to the backyard.
Alf was back at the fire pit, checking the ashes, so I stopped there first.

"I don't what other tricks you may have up your sleeve
but now would be a good time to see what else you can find out about this
thing."

"I will try," he said as he put down the poker.

"Thanks," I replied as I walked back to the oak in
the yard and summoned the Hamadryad within.

"Aeva," I said as the Faerie appeared. "I
need to go somewhere."

I stepped out into bright Reno area sunshine and tried to
get my bearings. Behind me was the Truckee River and beside the oak I'd emerged
from was a ramshackle old house, sitting among cottonwood trees that had definitely
seen better days. I walked across the desert to the roadway and, pulling out my
cell, speed dialed a number.

"Robert," a woman's voice answered. "How good
to hear from you."

"I was wondering if you and Ella could meet. I have
something I need to discuss with her."

Ella was the human name for the Lilin Elder once known as
Egidari, and one of the last of the original Lilin to suffer defeat at the
hands of my ancestor, Demeter. Together, we'd broken the spell that had once
been placed on them.

When the spell had first been lifted, Ella and Delia had
disappeared, along with most of the other Lilin. I found out later that they
had come here; to the place that the Lilin Elders had been located, and having once
identified herself, started to take control. I'd heard that not everyone thought
it was a good idea. However, she'd won the argument, and had eventually
contacted me.

Like I said, I was ultimately responsible for their actions
on this world, thanks to the government's position on the matter, and since I'd
been the one to free them, she'd agreed to follow the rules. She'd also needed
some time to consolidate her power, and a little help. Fortunately, when it
came to her grabbing power, there were only a few hundred Lilin left, at least
here in the States, so she only had to deal with a few detractors. Thanks to
our history, the Fae and Lilin weren't exactly on the best of terms, but she
was smart enough to know that we needed each other. My unconditional breaking
of the spell, not to mention my relationship with Delia, had convinced her that
I was no ordinary Fae and could be trusted.

"I wish we could," Delia replied. "But you
know we're still up north trying to put things together."

"What a coincidence," I said. "I just happen
to be a few miles away off of Mustang Road. Think you could come and get me?"

"Off of Mustang? What are you doing there?"

"At the moment, I'm watching a parade of concrete
trucks drive by," I said with a laugh. "This was the closest oak I
could find. Seriously, can you come get me? I'm getting some funny looks from
these guys. I don’t think I quite fit in."

"I'll be right there!" she said, and disconnected.

Ten minutes later a grey Toyota Sequoia drove up and the
driver side door flew open. Before I could say a word, Delia was in my arms and
hugging me.

"I've missed you," she said after a kiss, and then
stepped back. "But what are you doing here? I thought we agreed we needed
time to get things settled."

"We did," I replied. "And that hasn't
changed. But I have a problem and I think Ella might be able to help."

"Get in," she said as she returned to her side of
the SUV. "I'll take you to her."

I hopped in and she took off down the road, turning left at
Peri Ranch. We passed the long closed
Old Bridge Brothel
and went
another mile or so before turning onto a dirt driveway going toward the river.
It looked like just another patch of desert until we crossed the magic veil
that hid the buildings behind it. I didn’t know what to expect in a Lilin
stronghold, but it wasn't this.

"An office complex?" I asked as she pulled the SUV
into the garage next to the main building.

"I thought it was something we could use later. I
modelled it after some of the construction buildings down the road, although
its looks are deceiving. The layout is perfect for what we need and we can
integrate it into the area if we decide to lift the spell that hides it."

"If you say so," I replied with a chuckle. "I
sense Elvish magic. I would have helped if you had asked."

"It was Bjartr's idea," she replied. "He has
been helping since we first took over."

Bjartr was an Elf that had watched over the Lilin since
before the spell was broken. He also ran a Fae establishment in Vegas called
Danu's. A place I also had a stake in since I'd rescued Delia from the Elders.
It was where Delia had worked when I first met her. The Elves were a funny sort
and had made it their life's work to look after the other Fae, usually setting
up in bars and taverns, which were well known places to meet. Another Elf,
Handion, lived in my Fae world and had been a lot of help to me since all this
had started.

She parked the car and I followed her through a corridor
into the main building. We walked through a doorway into the main lobby area
which, not surprisingly, looked exactly like an office lobby. There were even
two Lilin stationed behind a counter who greeted her as we walked by.

I smiled and waved as we walked past them and even without
my Fae hearing, I would have heard the whispers between them as they recognized
who I was. Walking past the elevator, I followed Delia up the stairs to the
second floor and down a hallway, eventually stopping at an office door. Without
knocking she opened it and held it as I walked through. I found myself in a
spacious office with modern trim and immediately recognized Ella behind the
large wooden desk.

"Well?" she asked as she stood and walked around
the desk to greet me. She was dressed in a business casual outfit with brown
slacks and a white silk blouse. She looked a hell of a lot better than the
first time I'd met her, when we'd pulled her out of a cell. "What do you
think?"

"It's not exactly what I expected," I replied as
she motioned us toward a leather couch to the side of her desk.

"Personally, I was leaning toward a castle with a moat,"
she said with a smile before sitting and turning her chair toward us. "Maybe
some guards in red and black uniforms carrying pikes, but Delia convinced me
that this would be more practical."

"It might at that," I agreed. "Especially if you
do intend to make it visible to outsiders in the future. Then again, a castle
would have made a bolder statement, and the moat a nice touch."

"Which is exactly what we don’t need at the moment,"
Delia said.

"So you keep reminding me," Ella replied, still
smiling. "And of course you are correct. Now, to business. Your visit is
unexpected. Is there a problem I should be aware of?"

"As far as you guys are concerned?" I said. "No.
Everything seems to be progressing as well as can be expected. I understand
Meredith was able to help you with the issue with the locals."

"She was," Ella replied. "Negotiations are
still continuing. But thanks to her... involvement, we seem to be close to
terms."

As I mentioned, when the spell was lifted, the Lilin, almost
as a group, disappeared. That included those that worked for several of the
local Fae, both in Vegas as well as here in the Reno area. That had caused more
than a little friction between the groups, especially since most of the Fae had
been taking advantage of them and weren't used to negotiating on equal terms.
When they resurfaced, with Ella as their head, not everyone had wanted to play
nicely. Thankfully, I'd convinced Meredith to intervene. With her help,
tensions eased and the two groups were at least able to come to the table.

There were a lot of areas the Lilin excelled at. Not the
least of which was entertainment. Whatever pheromones or other methods they used
to attract... well, let's just call them customers, they were a valuable
commodity. Coupled with magic, it kept the places full, and since the Lilin
weren't like vampires in fiction (they used a needle like appendage rather than
teeth) whatever blood they received in return was never noticed.

"That's good to hear," I said. "Anyway, what
I came here for was some information I thought you might be able to provide."

"I see," she said. "And what type of
information would that be?"

"Something from your history," I replied. "I need
to know about the Gallu."

She was quiet for a bit and looked as if the word had
conjured up a memory which was not pleasurable.

"The Gallu?" she finally said. "Why would you
want to know about them?"

"Apparently, I fought one last night," I replied. "I
was hoping you could tell me how to kill it."

"You say you fought one? And yet you live?" she said,
her eyes narrowing. "Of course you do. But then again, you would, if
anyone could."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"They are what you would call Demons. They were in the
service of the Underworld. Only a very few could escape their clutches once
they came for them," she replied.

"He didn’t come for me," I explained. "He had
killed a couple of Weres and Charlie tracked him into the mountains. We had a
brief battle, but he didn’t like my sword and melted back into the ground
before we could go finish him off. Anyway, there's a story that one was killed
with a mace. I was hoping you knew the truth behind the legend."

"Yes," she said. "I am familiar with the tale
of Ninurta and Asag. But it was not quite that simple. The God did kill the
Demon King with the help of his father and the singing mace, Sharur. But not
before destroying cities with thousands of people and turning hectares of land
into desert. Even then, neither he, or for that matter, any of the Gods, could
escape their fate. They are all dust now."

She shifted her chair and picked up the phone on her desk.

"Douglas, bring me some tea. Oh, and coffee for Delia
and our guest."

I started to reply but she held up her hand. I chuckled at
the thought of being shushed by a being that only months ago would barely be
able to consider the thought of telling me to be quiet. Then again, this was
one of the greatest generals the Lilin had ever produced and she had been a princess
in her own right. I suppose I should be happy that we were allies. She could
have decided to resume the war. I glanced over at Delia, but all I got was a
shrug.

A moment later a male Lilin, whom I assume was Douglas, came
into the room carrying a tray. He set it down in front of us before placing a
carafe and several cups on the desk, as well as her tea. Then, without a word,
he returned to wherever he had come from. Delia poured coffee for both of us and
I waited for Ella to continue.

"As I recall, it was said that some were animal shaped
Demons," she said after taking a sip. "But it is impossible. They were
pulled back into the deepest recesses of the Underworld when the Gods fell,
never to be heard from again."

"About as impossible as a Lilin and a Fae drinking tea
together would have been just a few months ago," I remarked, with just a
hint of sarcasm.

"Point taken," she replied. "Never the less,
such a thing does not seem possible to me. Tell me then. What did this Demon
look like?"

I described the Demon that Charlie and I had encountered;
including the fact that it looked as if it was hurt by the lightning that my
sword could produce and that it had appeared at night.

"I cannot say if this Demon is indeed a Gallu. The
Demon, Asag, was made from the mountains themselves, had three legs and a body
that felt like rock. He was of the Gallu; but such Demons could look like
anything."

Then I asked her about the magic mace that had been used to
destroy the other one.

"The
Smasher of Thousands
was not just any mace.
But like most of you, this Fae God thought magic could kill the beast. No,
magic did not kill the Demon, or save the thousands that died."

"Hey, I don’t care what he thought," I said,
putting my hands up to indicate I wasn't trying to take a position on the
superiority of magic in battle. Besides, I was betting that she wasn't an
innocent in the killing of civilians, either, but this was starting to feel
like pulling teeth. "I thought we were past this Fae/Lilin bullshit. You
know me better than that, just like you know I don’t like the idea of killing
innocents. The point is this: whatever he did worked. Right? So what was it?"

She took another sip of her tea before replying.

"My apologies" she finally said. "It is easy
to forget and those were different times. But yes, he finally crushed it."

"Crushed it?" I repeated.

"Yes, he crushed its skull with his mace. Using it like
that other thunder God would do with his, oh? What's it called? The Norse one?"

"You mean Thor's hammer?" Delia said.

"Exactly," she replied. "Like Thor's hammer.
He was able to use the mace to crush the Demon's skull and kill it. Then he
beat the Demon into the ground."

"Somehow, I didn't get the impression that it would be quite
that simple," I said.

"Oh, it wasn't," she replied. "The battle
lasted for days. Thousands of warriors and Wizards kept the Demon busy until
the God was finally able to land the killing blow. As I said, many died and the
land turned to waste before the Demon was finally defeated."

"So then all I have to do is keep it busy until I can
crush its head," I said with a sigh. "And the rest of it, of course. Well
that should be easy enough."

"Assuming, of course, that it is indeed a Gallu Demon."
she added. "If so, you must remember, magic alone will not kill it, but it
will weaken it."

"I'm glad you clarified that," I said. "Easy-peasy
then."

"Who's being an ass now?" Ella quipped. "I
was only trying to answer your question."

"I'm sorry," I said with a laugh. "I know how
it sounded, but it wasn't directed at you. It's just one more frigging problem I'm
dealing with at the moment. The point is, nothing's ever simple."

"True. But when you're as old as I am, or even Delia's
age, you'll find that simple is boring."

"I'm not that old," Delia chimed in.

"No, of course you aren’t," I replied with a
laugh. "And I could use a little boring in my life at the moment,"