Cole's Haunting Melody (The Gods' Executioner Series) (23 page)

“Shit…
sorry bro, I didn’t even think of that!” Jason replies.

“There’s a reason
why women usually aren’t invited to bachelor parties.” I say and head back to the kitchen; Jason and I sit back down and resume dinner.

“Thanks for the offer
, Jason, but Reyna’s bachelorette party is also on Friday night.” Cheza says and I feel a wave of relief.

“It is? Why didn’t you tell me?” Jason asks Reyna.

“Because you never asked.” Reyna replies.

“So I will have to decline, but you guys go and have fun…
but not too much fun.” Cheza finishes with a glance in my direction that seems to imply that if I marry a stripper, she will murder me.

“The same goes for you.” I think to her.

“Don’t worry; I won’t be marrying anyone but you.” Cheza replies.

I like how we’re on the same wavelength.
I take both of my pills with dinner and head to bed.

…

[November 19th]

That night, I’m awakened by the sound
of my phone ringing at 3am.

“Hello?” I groggily answer.

“Feros, Juno has been murdered. Meet me at the gate to Mount Olympus.” Hades reports.

“Be there in a few.”
I reply, hang up, and quickly get dressed.

“What’s going on, Cole?” Cheza sleepily asks while sitting up in bed.

“Juno’s been murdered. I’ll be a couple of hours; just go back to sleep.” I calmly say.

“Alright…
be careful…” Cheza replies and yawns.

“I will.” I say and give her a quick kiss g
oodbye before porting to earth.

I wait the mandatory minute and touch my tr
iskele to port to Mount Olympus. I see Hades leaning against one of the stone columns of the gazebo, smoking a black cigarette that smells of pine while waiting for me. He extinguishes the cigarette on the heel of his shoe when he sees me, snaps his fingers, and ports us to the entrance of the palace. Hades leads me back to Juno’s room where nearly every god in attendance is giving me a dirty look.

“Hades, did you just get here?” Neptune asks.

“Yeah, I was waiting for Feros at the gate.” Hades replies as I walk over and inspect Juno’s corpse.

Juno is lying in her bed, wearing a low cut negligee.
The entire room smells like pine, but I suppose that is to be expected with her potpourri. There are no signs of a struggle and no hints as to how she died… well, except for the giant hole in her chest. The melted-looking hole reaches from her neck down to her solar plexus and is almost halfway covered by the negligee; this means that the disintegration of the golden mass doesn’t melt clothing like it does to the skin and bone of gods… the murderer must have taken Jupiter’s shirt to hide the stab wound.

I find it strange that Juno was killed the night after I asked her to search around for the murder weapon and accused Neptune of Jupiter’s murder…
and by ‘find it strange,’ I mean I think she found something and Neptune killed her. I need to talk to Diana; if anyone knows if Juno found something, it’d be her. The only problem is that since this has already gotten Juno killed, I can’t exactly call out to Diana with everyone watching. I’ll just come back and talk to her tomorrow.

“Well, I’ve determined that Juno was killed in the same fashion as Jupiter, possibly while she was sleeping, which is what I’m going home to do right now.” I ann
ounce and walk out of the room.

I walk to the entrance, ride the rainbow road down to the fountain, and head towards the gate when Neptune appears in my path.

“We need to talk. I’ll meet you at your house in six hours.” Neptune says before disappearing.

I enter the gazebo/gate and touch my
Haglaz rune. I strip down to my boxers and crawl in bed next to Cheza before going down for a six hour nap.

…

I wake up at 10am to an empty bed. I take a quick shower and get dressed in my armored suit that is missing below the knee of my right leg, but that’s hardly a problem since that part of my leg is now indestructible. After equipping my holster, I’m about to touch my Haglaz when I have the consideration to let Cheza know where I’m going.

“Good morning
, Cheza. I’m going to have a chat with Neptune at the house regarding Juno’s murder; just thought I’d let you know.” I think.

“Alright, thanks!” Cheza replies and I port to the front lawn in Arizona.

“What the fuck happened here!?” I exclaim when I see a shirtless Neptune with a gaping chest cavity lying in the grass, while Hades stands nearby.

“I was hoping that you could tell me.” Hades says
while smoking a black cigarette, filling the air with a pine scent. I notice that ‘Feros’ has been carved into the grass next to Neptune, presumably with the dagger that is lying in his open left hand; is that?

(No, that’s just a normal dagger)

“Shit! I guess this means Neptune didn’t kill Jupiter or Juno…” I inform Hades.

“I take it by your response that you didn’t do this; this looks bad though…
perhaps you should just lie low in Niflheim for a few days while I calm things down on Mount Olympus.” Hades suggests and puts his cigarette out on the heel of his shoe.

“Yeah, I probably should…
just watch your back; if you die, the whole Greek/Roman pantheon goes with you. Not to mention all the things that are tied to you guys… who knows, the whole peninsulas of Greece and Italy might just disappear.” I tell him.

“I will. I need to get the body back to Olympus now.” Hades replies.

“Alright, just be on the lookout for a bladed black weapon that will most likely be wicked-looking and made of a foreign material; whoever has that is the killer.” I warn him.

“I’ll do that.” Hades says with a smile and hoist
s Neptune’s body over his shoulder before disappearing. I touch my Haglaz rune and port back to Niflheim.

“Hey, how did things go?” Cheza thinks while taking a shower.

“Well, Neptune’s dead and I’ve been framed again; this time my name was carved into the grass by the dead guy, which is impossible because the weapon used has a side effect of immobilizing people. Thankfully, Hades knows I’m innocent so he’s going to try and calm down the rest of the gods, but he suggested that I stay in Niflheim for the next few days.” I explain.

“Well that sucks…” Cheza replies.

…

Chapter 23:
The Hangover
Supernatural Edition

The next two days go by in
a monotonous fashion that involves daily feedings for Reyna and a whole lot of boredom that I imagine is similar to being on house arrest.

[
November 21st]

“So do you know what is planned for tonight?” I ask as Cheza slips into her little black party dress.

“Natasha hasn’t said much about what she’s planned, but she did mention that we were going to a cock fight, which I think seems a little inappropriate for a bachelorette party…” Cheza replies while putting on makeup in the bathroom mirror.

“Yeah
, that is a little… different. Anyway, I’m going to go pick up Ryuji and Naia now.” I tell her.

“Alright.”
Cheza replies as she’s applying mascara. I walk out of the room and down the hall to Reyna’s room.

“Hey Jason, don’t forget you have to pick up Jericho; I’m going to pick up Ryuji and
Naia now.” I shout through the door after knocking.

“Right!”
Jason replies.

I touch my
Haglaz rune to port to Ryuji’s apartment, only to find that no one is in the living room when I arrive.

“Hey, are you guys ready to
go?” I yell towards the back of the apartment.

“Yeah, just…
give us a second!” Ryuji calls back.

I sit on the couch and wait for them.
Naia comes out in a black halter top dress with Ryuji, wearing a button-up shirt and jeans (which is coincidentally the same ensemble that I’m wearing), behind her. By Ryuji’s relaxed posture and the way Naia is wiping her mouth, I’m pretty sure I know what they were just doing, but I don’t say anything as I hold out my arm.

I port us to the kitchen of the palace and we all sit down to wait. Cheza comes out a few minutes later, followed by Reyna and Natasha.

“Are you girls ready to go?” Hel asks as she walks into the kitchen with Maria, Sara, and Tia.

“Yep, let’s get this night started!” Nat
asha exclaims.

Hel snaps her fingers and the girls disappear.
Ryuji and I stand there in awkward silence while waiting for Jason to port back with Jericho.

“So have you heard anything about the Templars?” I inquire.

“Reports seem to indicate that they’ve gone to ground. The murders of the four members of the Council while connected by an enigmatic helmeted assailant and the blood from another murder victim, all while taking place across the country in a time frame that is impossible by the boundaries of physics, have caused quite the mystery among normal law enforcement. Of course, those in the know knew that Feros was behind it based on the message on the bullets. Ever since then, virtually all Templar activity has ceased.” Ryuji reports.

“Well that’s good; one less thing to worry about.” I reply as Jason ports in with Jericho.

“Hey, were you able to get everything sorted out with the bar?” I ask.

“Yeah, I have this girl who works part-time taking over for tonight; hopefully she’ll be able to handle it…
anyway, let’s get going! To Acheron!” Jericho exclaims.

“To Acheron!”
We all shout after him and Jason snaps his fingers, porting us to Hades.

The sign alone makes this place impressive; Acheron is spelled out in flowing, connected letters
that appear to have blood flowing through them with flames dancing behind it. The architecture of the building is crazy and looks like someone sewed several metal structures together; it reminds me of the Experience Music Project building in Seattle, but this building is about ten times that size. Jason, Ryuji, Jericho, and I walk across the street and enter the building to pitch-black darkness.

“Welcome to the best night of your lives, boys!” Byron announces and jets of fire spring up on either side of him
before the whole place lights up with a round of cheers from the crowd of patrons. Two large breasted women, whom I might confuse for short ifrits if it weren’t for their black color scheme and the small, curved horns sticking out of the sides of their heads, walk over and hand Jason and I a drink.

“To us, Bro!”
Jason exclaims with a grin as he raises his glass.

“Why are you toasting me? You’re the one getting married!” I reply as I clink his glass and we both down our drinks.

“Hey Ryuji, are these imps or succubi?” I ask.

“The horns make them
succubi.” Ryuji whispers back.

We all walk up the steps to the upper level of Acheron and see a gigantic cake; this thing has half a dozen layers, is ten feet wide, and ten feet tall. Suddenly a horde of strippers pop
s out from different areas of the cake with a tiny stripper at the top.

“STRIPPER CAKE!
STRIPPER CAKE FOR ALL!” Jason shouts and the crowd cheers. A group of strippers walks over and feeds us a handful of cake—rum cake.

“Over
here, boys!” Byron calls to us.

We walk over to the bar where there are shots set up around flags of different countries
, and some flags that must be from different planes.

“It’s an alcohol world tour!”
Byron explains. We start doing some shots and the night begins to blur.

After the shots, Byron leads us over to another part of Acheron and sits us down
in theater seats as a stage lights up. What proceeds is a show that I can only describe as a naked-female Cirque du Soleil, and it is fucking mind blowing. During the show, I receive an image from a drunken Cheza of Reyna and Natasha making out with each other. It looks like they’re having fun, but I hope that Reyna isn’t drinking, what with the pregnancy and all; although, I’m sure Maria is moderating that.

Once the mind blowing show is over, Byron stands up and leads us to a part of Acheron that resembles an arena, which appears to be flooded with about a foot of a gel-like substance.

“Now, we can either watch and place bets, or we can strip down to our pants and join in on the Jell-O wrestling battle royal.” Lord Byron offers as two dozen beautiful women walk into the arena.

I look over and see that Jason has already stripped down to his underwear, deciding for us. The five of us strip down and jump over the railing into the arena.
What proceeds is Jell-O wrestling of epic proportions, made even more epic when we discover that the Jell-O was made with alcohol. Every time one of us gets taken down, we basically end up doing a Jell-O shot, causing the night to become even blurrier.

About an hour later, the five of us rinse off in some showers before getting dressed and heading back to the bar for another round of drinks.
I see a blonde werewolf pass by our booth; despite the fact that she’s an adult and I wouldn’t be able to tell that she was a werewolf if I couldn’t see her aura, it’s still enough to remind me of Addie.

“Here you go
, mate.” Byron says while handing me a drink, noticing my demeanor.

“I know what you’re going through. I lost my daughter when she was five years old; she wasn’t murdered in front of me, but she did die in my arms…
It was difficult for me to cope with; I can only imagine how hard it must be for you in an age where a child’s death is no longer commonplace.” Byron says.

“I keep seeing her wherever I go…
I’ve been taking some pills for it, but it’s too early to know if they’re working…” I reply and take a drink.

“Even after all this time, I still remember
Allegra’s tiny eyes as the life faded from them due to the fever…” Byron says as he takes a drink.

“To the lights that faded from our lives all too soon
… and to the hope that they don’t darken our hearts forever.” Byron raises his glass.

I clink my glass
against his and we down our drinks, along with subsequent others as we try to chase away our memories for the evening.

…

[November 22nd]

I wake up in an unfamiliar bed with a pounding head
. Out the window to the right of the bed is an inordinate amount of color for the Underworld; where am I? I look to my left and see a small naked body that reeks of champagne… Did I kidnap a child and dunk her in a kiddie pool sized martini glass at the champagne room of a strip club? Or did I just fill up a bathtub with champagne? I sit up and get a good look at her to try and figure out just how bad this situation is.

“HOLY SHIT SHE’S DEAD!” I scream when I
notice her lack of outline.

“What are you screaming about?” Jason asks as he stumbles through the doorframe.

“I’M PRETTY SURE I DROWNED A CHILD IN CHAMPAGNE LAST NIGHT, THAT’S WHAT I’M SCREAMING ABOUT!” I shout.

“Relax, it’s just a dwarf.” Byron says while nursing his head beside Jason.

“The ‘race’ kind or the ‘human with a disease’ kind?” I ask.

“Race.”
Byron replies.

“I RAPED AND MURDERED A DWARF!” I yell. Jericho and Ryuji stumble up behind Jason and Byron to survey the scene.

(My head is still pounding, but I don’t remember you having sex with anyone)

Well, at least there’s that…

“I’m almost positive that’s a hooker.” Byron says.

“Oh, thank the Void;
I only killed a hooker… THIS STILL DOESN’T RESOLVE THE CORE PROBLEM!” I shout.

“If the core problem was you drowning and raping a child, I’m pretty sure that problem is resolved.
” Jason says.

(Cheza on line 1)

“*Sigh*… Put her through.”

“COLE! WHERE IN THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS!?” Cheza screams.

“Jason’s bachelor party, where else? It’s quite common for these things to go into the next day.” I nervously reply.

“I understand that, but it’s been THREE FUCKING DAYS! You assholes
have had all of us worried because we couldn’t contact you!” Cheza exclaims as I check my phone and find that it’s dead.

[November
22nd
24th]

“Wait a second, it’s been three days!? Uh,
gotta go! Be home soon!” I respond.

“Airi close the connection and block all calls.”

“Where are we?” I address the room.

“If I remember correctly, Jason ported us to
Svartalfaheimr to continue the party last night.” Byron replies.

“Did you also know that it’s the 24th today!?” I exclaim.

“What!? I’m getting married tomorrow!?” Jason replies and I nod.

“Alright,
first thing’s first, we need to do something with the body… got it. I’ll just dissolve it in the tub by transmuting my blood into acid.” I say and hoist the body off of the bed.

I walk over to a door that I suspect might lead to the bathroom.

“RAWR!” a giant eagle head says before I slam the door shut.

“WHAT IN THE HELL IS THAT!?” I scream as I hear clawing at the door.

“Oh, I remember! Jason took one of the griffins with us after we were done racing them!” Ryuji exclaims.

“We rode griffins and raced them!? That is so
badass!” I reply.

“Well, it
sounds hungry and since that’s the only bathtub in our suite, what do we do with the body?” Jericho asks and then all five of us shoot each other sly little glances.

…

“I went to check on the dwarf sometime later and found that she had been eaten by the griffin. It was at this time when Feros was forced to put the rogue griffin down. This was, without a doubt, a tragedy… but completely unavoidable.” Jason says in a press release.

“It really does suck that we had to kill the griffin…
Rest in peace, Buttercup…” Jason says as he changes the TV channel.

“When did you name the griffin?” I ask
from my seat adjacent to him on the couch in Cheza’s/my room.

“About ten seconds ago.” Jason replies.

“So it seems like you guys had fun.” Cheza says somewhat pointedly from the seat to my right.

“I wouldn’t know because I can’t remember anything past the first half of the first night, which is why I didn’t contact you.
” I explain.

“So how was the bachelorette party?” I inquire.

“Well, the cock fight was interesting… definitely not what I was expecting; there weren’t even any chickens!” Cheza exclaims. I do not even want to know what she is talking about. We sit in silence on the couch, just watching TV as I start to feel a bit nostalgic.

“This is nice…
just like old times… the three of us, just sitting on the couch, watching TV.” Jason says.

“It’s better now that I’m not constantly thinking about a way to get Cole to love me back.” Cheza mumbles; I lean over and kiss her.

“I agree.” I whisper.

“Speaking of which, how do you feel about getting married tomorrow?
” I ask Jason.

“I don’t know…
guess it hasn’t really set in yet.” Jason replies.