Cole's Haunting Melody (The Gods' Executioner Series) (21 page)

“IRIS
OPEN THE GATE! OPEN THE GATE! OW! WATCH THE TALONS! THIS IS LIKE SOME HORRIFYING MIX BETWEEN
THE BIRDS
AND
THE CHILDREN OF THE CORN!
” I scream while running around the fountain, getting swiped at by a score of flying harpy girls.

Cheza is cracking up and most of the people in the square are laughing as well. I look at the top of the founta
in and see a shimmering rainbow with the form of a naked woman that is laughing and pointing at me.

“IRIS! PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF THE GODS, OPEN THE DAMN GATE!” I
plead, still getting attacked.

A rainbow beams down
and I run through it, only to have the harpy girls follow me. I start running around the compound of the palace to evade the harpy girls. After five minutes, a group of them appears in front of me; I didn’t think they were smart enough to split up. After five more minutes of evading them, my right leg suddenly gives out from underneath me and I trip, falling onto my cake as the harpy girls dog pile on top of me.

“AH! I AM NOT
TROFI!” I scream from within the flurry of feathers.

“Girls.”
A stern voice says and the flurry stops.

“
Trofi?” I hear one of the girls ask.

“Ochi.”
The voice replies as I discern that it belongs to Diana.

“
Trofi…” one of the girls replies, sounding disappointed. I hear the sound of fingers snapping.

“
Trofi!” one of the girls exclaims and they all flutter off of me. I sit up and see the girls swarming a pile of food.

“What are you doing, Feros?” Diana asks.

“Just playing with the harpy girls… and ruining my apology cake to Juno…” I reply as I shakily rise to my feet.

“Why didn’t you fight them off?” Diana inquires.

“I might’ve hurt them had I done that. Can you take me to Juno?” I request.

Diana gives me a bewildered look before walking towards the palace; I follow after her. She leads me through
the corridors of the glittering white palace and into a private section that is roughly the size of a penthouse apartment. Diana walks into a living room with a brown leather furniture set and a flat screen before motioning for me to wait. I notice that Juno’s quarters smell like pine and cinnamon as Diana continues through a room to the left. Diana and Juno reemerge in the living room and Juno crinkles her nose in distaste at my appearance.

“What in the name of the Void happened to you and what is that on your shirt?” Juno asks.

“He baked you a cake by way of apology, but the harpies tried to get it so he ran around the palace to avoid them instead of fighting them off because he didn’t want to hurt them.” Diana answers for me as I look down and see the remains of the cake on my jacket.

“Well, it’s the thought that counts, I suppose.” Juno says and snaps her fingers, making the cake on my chest disappear.
“So, did you have more questions?”

“Yes, could you describe the scene of the
crime when you arrived?” I ask.

Juno moves and takes a seat on the couc
h while giving me a look that seems indicates that I should join her, so I do. Juno waves Diana away and she heads out through the front door.

“Neptune and I arri
ved on scene shortly after Pluto. Jupiter was lying on his back in the alley with a gaping hole in his chest. We knew that we couldn’t stay there so Pluto and Neptune carried Jupiter and we all came back here.” Juno replies.

“How was he lying? Was he sprawled out?” I inquire as I
get down and sprawl out on the floor.

“No, he was more uniform; his arms were at his sides and his legs weren’t that far apart.” Juno answers as something occurs to me.

“How could you see the hole in Jupiter’s chest? What was the condition of his shirt?” I question.

“Now that I think about it, his shirt was missing when we got there; perhaps Pluto saw something in the time before Neptune and I arrived.” Juno suggests.

“I think Hades might’ve done more than just that.” I reply.

“You think Pluto killed Jupiter?” Juno asks and I nod. “That’s absurd! Pluto has always been altruistic and wouldn’t have done anything to upset the balance of power!”

“Which is why no one would suspect him.” I reply.

“If Pluto killed Jupiter then why did he work to prove your innocence? What possible advantage could he have for getting people to search for a killer when everyone thought you were responsible?” Juno asks; she has a point.

“If it was any of the heads, Neptune has the most motive that I can see. I’m relatively sure that I overheard Jupiter arguing with him four nights ago.” Juno says.

“Two days before his death?” I clarify and Juno nods the affirmation.

“I think I should go speak with Neptune, then.” I add.

I suddenly feel Cheza slip into her Drive state
before Diana ports into Juno’s quarters.

“Feros, your girlfriend and Venus are fighting in the courtyard!” Diana exclaims.

Chapter 21
: Not Your Average Catfight

I rush out to the courtyard to stop the fight before Cheza gets herself killed
, only to find that she is holding her own against Venus. The whites of Cheza’s eyes are silver and she is gripping a Synergistic blade in each hand as spires of black ice erupt in various areas of the courtyard.

“Ha
ha! Too slow!” Venus taunts as she jumps, flips, and spins around the courtyard to avoid the spires of ice that are trying to impale her.

Venus jumps, flips to the side, and her aura flares as she calls out, “
Luminis-fay!” while upside-down. A jet of water shoots from her outstretched hand and hits Cheza in the chest before freezing and encasing her body in ice.

“Cheza!”
I call out and start to rush towards her, but my legs suddenly give out when I slip on a patch of ice; I don’t think that was there a second ago…

“
Haha! I guess you were all talk in the end, weren’t you?” Venus rhetorically asks with a smug smile as she lands and walks toward Cheza.

I hear a subtle cracking of ice before
the front half of Cheza’s ice encasing shoots toward Venus. She spins gracefully to the right to avoid it, but she’s not quick enough to keep from getting impaled by three ice spires that used the hunk of ice as a distraction. Venus moves to break free when dozens more pierce her body, immobilizing her as Cheza slowly moves towards her.

“Go ahead;
try and say it.” Cheza says when Venus’s aura starts to flare. “The moment you open your mouth, I’ll throw this blade through it and then I’ll get to work hacking you to pieces.”

“Cheza, that’s enough!” I tell her
, but she keeps moving towards Venus.

“It won’t be a
s quick as what Cole normally does, but after a few hacks at each limb and several rounds of freezing… I’m sure I could manage it.” Cheza adds with a broad smile, malicious intent dripping from her tone.

“CHEZA!”
I shout as I walk towards her. She refuses to stop so I scoop her up with my left arm and throw her over my shoulder.

“Iris!” I exclaim at the entrance while Cheza
starts freezing my left shoulder and part of my neck.

The rainbow opens up and I walk us through it. We land next to the fountain and I feel Cheza snap out of it now that Venus is out of sight. I carry Cheza back to the gate while ignoring the burning sensation on my shoulder and neck. Once back on earth, I set Cheza down.

“So, do you feel like telling me what that was about?” I ask.

“Not really…” Cheza pouts.

Considering that I’m usually the cause of her entering her Drive state, I think it’s safe to assume that Venus said something about me. Speaking of which, since my Drive is gone, is some part of Bhairava still in Cheza, or is that Airi too? Too bad Airi neglects to give me confirmation on these sorts of things and just leaves me in the dark; she can be so sadistic.

“Fine.”
I reply without a hint of anger. I gently grasp Cheza’s hand and touch my Haglaz rune to return us to Niflheim.

“I have to go pay a visit to Jericho so I’ll see you later.” I tell her.

“Okay… Cole? Are you mad at me?” Cheza timidly asks.

“Of course not.”
I gently reply and give her a quick kiss.

“I’ll see you later.” I say before touching my
Haglaz to port to the
Cas
bar.

“Cole! Take a seat, a match is just starting.
Rum and Coke?” Jericho offers.

“Sure.” I reply as I take a seat at the bar and turn my eyes toward the flat screen on the wall behind the bar.

“Do you ever consider competing again?” Jericho asks as he hands me the drink.

“While it’d be fun, I doubt they’d let me compete. No one would bet against me; I’m too well know
n now.” I reply and take a sip.

The match trudges on until the participants are forced into a quick draw. Two referees come out with
western style holsters and modern revolvers that are loaded with a single shot. The combatants equip the holsters and the arena is flooded with red light. The arena flashes green and the combatants take their shots; they both hit but the winner, whose bullet is closer to the imaginary ten-ring on the other combatant, is declared.

“So what’s up?” Jericho asks now that the match is over.

“The bachelor party is scheduled for 7pm on Friday at the Acheron in Hades. Either Jason or I will come and pick you up around then.” I inform him.

“Alright, I’ll make arrangements to have someone run the bar while I’m gone. Thanks for letting me know ahead of time.” Jericho replies.

“Of course; anyway, I have some stuff to get done so I’ll see you on Friday.” I say.

“See
you then!” Jericho responds.

I port back to
Niflheim, walk out of the bedroom, and down the hall to find Jason. After ten minutes of searching, I still can’t find him.

“Hey
Tasha, have you seen Jason?” I ask when I pass by her in the kitchen for the third time.

“I think Reyna said that she and Jason were going shopping or something.” Natasha responds.

“Alright… would you mind helping me out?” I inquire.

“Sure, with what?” Natasha asks.

“A murder simulation.” I reply and Natasha gives me a questioning look.

“Don’t look at me like that! All I need you to do is casually walk away from me, and then go completely slack in my arms.” I explain.

“Alright.” Natasha says with a shrug and stands up.

She walks down the hall while I rush up behind her, wrap my left arm around her waist, and pretend to stab her in the chest with my right hand. I wait, but she doesn’t go slack.

“Tasha?” I say by way of reminder.

“Hey Cole?
Can we talk?” Natasha asks in a fashion that makes my heart skip a beat. I panic and then Natasha becomes slack in my arms as I block the blood flow to her brain.

Cole Treyfair, you are the world’s biggest coward.

I lay her unconscious body down onto the floor and observe her posture, finding that it is quite similar to one Juno described, confirming my hypothesis. If Jupiter had been attacked from the front, his body would have been sprawled out or he would have fallen facedown; the only way to get past being sprawled out is to have been attacked from behind, followed by being laid down because the force from hitting the ground would have sprawled him out otherwise. I suppose he could have been dragged as well, but this feels correct; it’s not like I can check the pavement for indication that he was dragged… but I can check his shoes.

I scoop Natasha up and carry her to her bed, leaving a quick note of thanks before traveling to Mount Olympus.
I make my way to the palace and head towards Jupiter’s resting place. I walk around to the foot of the pedestal and inspect Jupiter’s designer leather shoes; not a scuff mark on them. If he were dragged by his feet then his arms wouldn’t have been at his sides, so that’s out. I should probably go ask Hades about the shirt situation and get his version of things. I walk back to the entrance of the palace and Iris opens the rainbow; then it’s back to the gate, earth, and finally Niflheim.

“Hades.”
I say while touching my Haglaz rune in the bedroom.

Upon arriving in Hades, I
find myself berated by lights from all directions. I look around and realize why Lord Byron chose Hades as the place to hold the bachelor party: it’s the Underworld’s Las Vegas.

“Pretty amazing, isn’t it?” I hear Hades ask behind me.

“Yeah.” I reply.

Hades snaps his fingers and a sitting room is suddenly around us. Based on the fact that this room appears to be made of the same
black obsidian-like material as Hel’s palace, I’d say this must be Hades’s palace. Hades takes a seat in a leather armchair and gestures for me to do the same; I sit on the couch across from him.

“Welcome back
, Lord Hades; do you need anything?” an olive skinned woman wearing a maid uniform with braided hair asks.

“We’re fine.” Hades replies.

The maid gives a slight bow and I realize that the braids are actually snakes; she’s a gorgon, the Greek mythological creatures that could turn men to stone by looking at them.

“Relax, gorgons are perfectly harmless; with the exception of Medusa, they can’t even turn humans to stone. However, they can be petrifyingly scary when provoked.” Hades answers the question I was thinking. “So what brings you here today?”

“I need to ask you a few questions regarding your brother. First off, what was the crime scene like when you found it?” I ask.

“Well, I ported to the location, saw Jupiter lying on the ground with a hole in his chest, and quickly looked for who was responsible, but no one else was around. There also weren’t any obvious signs of a conflict.” Hades informs me.

If Jupiter had been hit with a Void weapon, then that makes sense; they seem to have an immobilizing effect on gods, or at least my tendrils seem to.

“Could you see his shirt anywhere?
” I inquire.

“No, I don’t remember seeing one. My brother and sister showed up a few moments later and then Neptune and I
carried Jupiter to Mount Olympus.” Hades finishes.

“Why did you get to the scene so much faster than Juno or Neptune?” I question.

“Well, I was able to port directly to the scene because I didn’t have to port to the gate as a separate trip, when all of Hades is already a gate.” Hades explains; yeah, that makes sense.

“Alright, well that clears things up
. Now I just have to speak with Neptune tomorrow since I’ve already determined that Juno can’t be a suspect.” I say.

“
I’ll send a message for him to be at Mount Olympus tomorrow.” Hades offers.

“Thanks! See you around, Hades.” I reply and touch my
Haglaz to port back to Niflheim.

“Cole
, why did you knock out Natasha?” Cheza angrily asks when I appear in the room.

“She agreed to help me out with a murder simulation and I was able to figure out how Jupiter was attacked
.” I quickly explain.

“Oh…
when I heard that you knocked her out, I thought it was for something completely different! Like she was going to confess her love to you and you panicked or something haha!” Cheza says and I laugh nervously in response.

“Is Jason back yet?”
I ask.

“I think he and Reyna got back a few minutes ago.” Cheza answers.

“Thanks!” I say and get the hell out of there before I give myself away.

I find Jason in Reyna’s room, looking rather drained
.

“Hey bro,
how are you doing?” I ask.

“This baby stuff is exhausting.” Jason mumbles.

“Well hang in there; I got a call from Lord Byron today and the party is all set up for Friday at the Acheron.” I inform him.

“
Sweeeet. I’m actually happy about this, just too tired to show emotion.” Jason replies.

“Got it.
I’ll let you know when dinner is ready.” I say.

“Thanks.” Jason groans as I leave the room.

My phone starts ringing and I see that it’s a call from an unknown number.

“Hello?” I answer.

“Hello? Feros? I received a message from my brother and he says that he won’t be able to be at Mount Olympus tomorrow, something about the start of Indian Ocean sea turtle mating season in Pakistan and he’s hosting a singles mixer this year.” Hades tells me and I stand there shell-shocked… I wonder if that’s some form of sea turtle BDSM; they’re obviously familiar with the concept of a singles mixer, so who knows what else they’re capable of.

“Alright, thanks for letting me know. Goodbye.” I reply and hang up.

I walk into the kitchen and find that Sara is preparing dinner. Reyna walks in with Jason and sits him down at the table. Everyone comes in, sits down, and we have a nice dinner while Jason tries to remain conscious.

“
So Cole, why did you knock me out today?” Natasha asks.

“Don’t you remember? You agreed to help me with a murder simulation and the best way to do that was to have you go slack like I had just killed you. Thanks to you, I was able to figure out the direct manner in which Jupiter was killed, instead of just knowing
what killed him.” I explain.

“Oh, well I guess I was glad to help then.” Natasha replies.

“Well, this day has been long so I’m going to bed. Goodnight everyone.” I announce.

“Goodnight
, Cole.” Everyone calls back as I retire to my room.

I strip down to my boxers and get ready for bed. My head hits the pillow and I’m out after this sixteen hour day.

…

[November 17th]

“Hey Sara, can you take this bullet out of my stomach now?” I request at 8am.