Of Gods and Fae (13 page)

Boy did that sound familiar.

"I could have used you a little while ago," I
commented.

"This was your battle, my friend. Besides, you seem to
have done just fine," he answered, gesturing at the dead hag.

I'd heard that before, too

"Perhaps, but at what cost?" I replied, looking
back over to the dead and wounded. As I did so I noticed that many of the Dryad
were now returning to the Temple floor, others were tending to the injured or
removing those that hadn't survived. Whether drawn by the battle's end or the
appearance of Althaea, I once again felt them as they streamed in around us.

"It is time for the King to address his subjects,"
Handion said.

As I stepped toward the front of the dais I looked out.
Dryads and Hamadryads and assorted other creatures had filled the floor area.
The glow of the Hamadryads magic wisps like strands of golden fog drifting
among the Fae. I turned to my aunt.

"Don't look at me," Cacilia exclaimed. "Now
is the time to win their hearts, if you can."

Oh, great, speech time. Here goes nothing.

"Good Fae of the Dryad and others," I began.
"It was once prophesized that the High Fae would return and, once again,
darkness would enter our lands. Because of this, some time ago a decision was
made. That decision led to me leaving this world and the banishment of Maria,
then eldest among you. We now live in an age where that prophesy has been
fulfilled. Once again, death and war have returned. While I am not the dark Fae
that prophesy heralded, darkness has followed me to this land and today we have
seen the result. For that I am truly sorry. But as Handion, an Elf you know
well has said to me, I say now to you. The darkness was coming whether I was
here or not. If not today, then tomorrow.

"So what is left? Let me tell you. Today, I asked
Cacilia, eldest among you to recognize my right of succession as High Fae of
the Dryad and she has agreed that my claim is just. Yet I also know that no
male has ever sat on Demeter's throne." I stopped and walked to the stone
throne in the center of the dais. There was a hush as the Fae watching waited
to see what I would do. I circled the throne, an idea already in my mind, even
if I didn’t like it.

"I will not break that tradition," I proclaimed
and walked back to the edge of the dais. There was talking and mumbling now
amongst those that gathered before me. "Instead I offer you this. As High
Fae of the Dryad I will take my place as leader among you, as is my right. But
I ask Cacilia to remain as steward here in the Fae realm, should she be content
to do so, until the next female of our line is ready. I have a daughter that
can make that claim in time." I turned to face my aunt. "Cacilia, do
you agree to my terms?"

"I do," she said after a moment. It was clear that
this was not what she had expected.

I hadn't wanted to throw my kids to the wolves like this but
with Handion's revelation that the spell that protected and suppressed my
powers was gone would also allow the magic to flow to my son and daughter made
the issue moot. I was gonna have to bring them in on this. I just hoped I had a
little while to figure out before I had to do so. I walked over to Althaea, the
Pterippus, who had been watching on the dais, she bowed as I joined her.  Hey,
it never hurt to have someone, or something, famous as a backup.

Then I once again spoke to the Fae gathered around me,
telling them the story of the dark High Fae Marissa, and how, after our battle,
she had been sentenced to Tartarus. When I was done, I raised the sword that
Cronus had given me as proof of my tale, then retracted the blade and put it
away.

"There is only one thing left. I must ask something of
you," I said to the crowd. "Do you agree to my terms and will you
recognize my claim as rightful heir to Demeter's throne?" There was a deep
silence as the crowd digested what I had just asked. Then, a few rows back from
the front of the crowded dais, a young looking female Fae stepped forward.

"If all this is true and you are rightful heir, then
you are our God," she said in a nervous voice as she kneeled. "Why do
you ask this of us when we must obey?" As she said this the other Fae
realized the truth of her words and started to kneel as well.

"Wait," I yelled and then jumped off the dais and
walked towards her, the crowd parting as I passed. "Rise Aglaia," I
said, using magic to recognize her name. I knelt down and helped her to her
feet. "As I have told many in my journey to this point I will say to you
now, I do not seek to be worshipped." Then I turned back to the crowd.

"Rise, all of you. For I am not of the old Gods,"
I said as I stood and addressed them again. "Nor will I follow their ways.
If you do not accept me then of what value to you am I?" I walked back to
the dais. "Only together can we stay safe and defeat the darkness when it
returns. Will you join me? Will you accept my right to be here among you?"

It was quiet at first, as if they were all trying to decide.
Then Aglaia stepped forward again.

"I will recognize you as King and rightful successor,"
she said, then kneeled down again and the crowd followed suit. Oh well, I
tried.

"Thank you for the honor," I said, bowing to them.
"Hamadryads," I continued," I return control of the trees to
you. Those that you see fit may enter the realm and I task you with guarding
the way against those that would do us harm. And now, Sophie," I said,
spying her near the front of the crowd. "I task you and your kin as
guardians of this realm. Protect our Fae from any that enter to do harm."

"I will," she said as she bowed her head in acknowledgement.

Handion slapped me on the back and returned to Althaea and
mounted the wing horse. A few seconds later they rose above the crowd and flew
away as Cacilia stepped up to me.

"Well, it appears Maria was right after all," she
said, then bowed to me before addressing the crowd. "Gentle Fae," she
began. "Much has happened today in our realm. Let us now attend to our
wounded and prepare rights for those that have fallen. The King and I will be
available to any that require us. For now, honor our fallen."

Slowly the crowd began to disperse. Unanswered question left
for another time.

I spent the next few days discussing the future with Cacilia
as well as seeing to the many Fae that had it turned it did have questions.
Assuring them all that nothing much would change, except to be more mindful of
the enemy, things slowly calmed down. As to my aunt and I, well, we came to a
pretty good agreement. I'd keep her advised of anything that would affect the
Fae here and she'd maintain the status quo. I'd already sent Sendy back to the
human world and I eventually found myself back at the
Wayward Elf
with the
rest of my original companions. All of us ready for the trip home.

"Overall I think things went rather well,"
Siegfried commented as he hoisted his beer.

"Interesting, to say the least," replied Gerda.
"Although I could have done without the arrow." She rubbed her leg
where an arrow from an enemy bow had pierced her armor, now fully healed by Fae
magic. "I have, at least, chronicled what occurred and you will go down in
the annals as one of the new generation of Gods. Even if you did not actually
take the throne," she added with a grin.

"Please," I responded. "No more God talk. Diantha
is still pissed at me."

"That's only because you could have had it all," Diantha
quipped as she sat down.

"What more do I need?" I asked. "I am King. Hell,
I even have control of the Dryads coffers. I couldn’t spend that much gold if I
wanted to."

As part of being heir to Demeter I had access to, among
other things, all her assets. A princely sum more than equal to several
governments' net worth, I'd imagine.  Not that I planned to abuse it. It was
earmarked now for all the Fae in this land. I was going to have to get Cornwall
involved to help me manage it. But that's what attorneys are for, even Fae
attorneys. If it wasn't for the fact that Handion and the water Fae had
expected me some 20 years earlier I would have almost been happy.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" she stated.
"It's not about the money."

"I know, I know…" I answered. "But I'm not
willing to go the route of the Gods of Olympus with my followers groveling at
my feet. Besides, we know how well that worked out for the last bunch."

Gerda and Siegfried laughed as she just harrumphed in reply.
We'd been down this road before. But that’s what happens when you're dealing
with a 3000 year old Greek Oracle that used to be Apollo's mistress. How do you
win an argument with someone like that? Luckily, I was saved from trying by the
arrival of Handion.

"So, my good friends, your work here is done and you
are ready to return to the human world." He stated as he sat down to join
us. He put down a tray of filled mugs and two bowls for the dogs on the table. "But
first, a final toast," he added as he passed the mugs around and lowered
the bowls for Charlie and Sophie. "To the return of the High Fae," he
said with a wink and a nod in my direction.

There was absolutely nothing Fae related on my calendar
today, I thought to myself as I got dressed. It's about time! I'd spent almost
two weeks dealing with the Milagres and other local Fae leaders assuring
everyone that I was not interested in taking over. Sheesh, I've probably got
more enemies these days than ever before, and that doesn't even include Marissa
and her minions. So much for the line
it's good to be king
! Well, they'd
just have to deal with it. Hopefully I'd assured everyone that the status quo
was a good thing. I'd also worked out the Fae money thing, delegating most of
it to Gerald Cornwall, the Fae attorney.

Of course I still had more things to do. I was still
concerned about that 20 years late thing Handion and Cyrene had hit me with.
And I did want to ask Bernd about Valen. I hadn't heard from him since I'd
returned. I needed to ask Lucinda about that again. It wasn't like him to be
away so long. But who knew what he had going. Still it was another thing to
worry about.

Then there were the kids. Well, adult kids anyway. JT was an
agent for Homeland Security in LA and Nicky was a CSI at Vegas PD. Both were
smart and at the top of their game. I'd talked to them several times since I'd
come back from Fae, trying to find out if anything had changed. So far it
seemed like nothing had happened. But I knew it was just a matter of time
before the magic started to make itself known. I probably wasn’t being fair to
them by avoiding the issue, especially since I'd promised the Dryad my female
heir would eventually take the throne. But I just wasn't ready to deal with it
yet. Stupid, I know, but what can I say.

I went downstairs to the kitchen and rummaged through the
cabinet for a coffee cup. I settled on an old favorite, it simply said,
out
of the frying pan and into the fire
. I filled it as I realized that was
exactly the situation I found myself in. So be it. Like I said before, at least
my calendar was clear.

Oh sure, I was still gonna go to the office. Had to keep up
appearances and all that. But as to the Fae, things were quiet. Sendy was
hanging out with Malcolm; they had a thing going. Who was I to complain?
Diantha was keeping herself busy with work at the Neptune, although personally
I think she was still pissed that I hadn’t wanted to take over the world. Gerda
had gone back to wherever she was from and Siegfried was back working for Meredith
and Eddie Milagre at the Neptune as well. All in all I might have my first
quiet day in weeks, but I doubted it was going to last. Still, it was something
to hope for.

After reading the paper (I'd missed absolutely nothing of
interest), I threw the ball with Charlie for a bit, finished my coffee, set the
pot for next time and headed downtown to the office.

My office was located just off of the downtown area
alongside attorneys and various other businesses related to the legal field.
Actually, I rented some space from an old friend named Hailey that I'd first
met when I was still a young cop. She owned a legal services business.
Paralegal work, document filing, subpoena services, that kind of stuff. It was
a small business and although she did have a staff, she also acted as the
receptionist and answered the phones. She also worried about me.

Hailey was at her usual spot behind the counter and she
heard me come in through the back door. "Robert, is that you?" she
yelled as I came through the hallway.

Grabbing a
Hailey's Legal
Services
cup I poured myself some coffee in the kitchen and then leaned
against the service window
. "As if you didn't know," I
answered.

Hailey had no idea about the Fae world but had an uncanny
ability to read people, and that included me. Although she had no idea what I
had become she had noticed that things had changed, especially in my business
dealings. Since all this magic crap had started I'd seen a definite change in
my client list. It wasn't just the fact that higher level clients like the
Milagres and other bigwigs in the Vegas scene had started calling, it was also
a few of the walk in's.

"A mother always knows," she quipped. "Which
reminds me," she continued, swiveling her chair in my direction. "A
strange fellow has been by a couple times to see you. He never waits and
wouldn't give me a name. But he said he'd be back today. What are you up to
this time?"

"If by 'up to,' you mean trying to earn a living, then
yes, that's what I'm doing. But I have no idea who that would be. What did he
look like?" I asked.

She reached over to her desk and grabbed her coffee cup.
"Be a good dear and fill this will you?"

I took her cup, rinsed it, and poured her a fresh one as she
watched.

"Well, he looks like that fellow there," she
finally answered, pointing through the front window at a 30 something, dark
complected man in a brown suit. He looked like any number of people that could
be seen walking to and from court in the area. Well, maybe his shoes were a
little worn and his suit had seen better days, but hey, that really wasn't that
unusual, either.

"Something weird about him though," she commented
as he turned and walked up to the entrance. "Those eyes," she said.
"They're old… real old." Then she gave a visible shiver. "You be
careful, you hear."

"Always," I answered as the front door opened and
he stepped inside.

"Would you be Mr. Hoskins?" he asked.

"That I would, and you are?" I replied, holding
out my hand. He hesitated a moment, then shook it, his grip firm. I could feel
a sense of nervousness about him.

"Luke Camillo. I was wondering if you had a moment to
talk," he said, then glanced around. "In private."

"Absolutely," I replied. "Follow me." I
led him down the hallway to my office. Once inside I offered him a seat before
sitting myself. "Now, how can I be of service to the Lilin?" I asked,
having sensed immediately what he was. So much for a regular day.

"Actually, I came to see if the rumors were true,"
he answered.

"And which rumors would those be?" I inquired,
already guessing at the answer.

"It is said that an heir of Demeter has returned. Is it
true? Are you what Delia claims you to be?"

Delia was also a Lilin. She was, in fact, the first Lilin
I'd ever met, having rescued her from a couple of paw happy Werewolf types. On
more than one occasion I'd had to give her blood to either save her or boost
her strength. Truth was I had hoped there might even be something between us
but that flame seemed to have quickly dampened after the last battle we'd been
in.

"I am," I replied. "Where is she, by the way?
I haven't heard from her in a while."

The question unnerved him. It was a moment before he
replied.

"She is… in custody, in a manner of speaking, for
violating our laws."

"What do you mean, in custody?" I asked, angrily.
"What law?"

"Why Demeter's law, of course. She admitted to drinking
the blood of a Fae. That is forbidden," he answered. "She is
sentenced to death. But that is not why I am here… "

"I don't care why you're here," I said, standing.
This was not the way I wanted to start negotiations with the Lilin, but Delia
was special to me. Not to mention that without her help I wouldn't have
defeated Marissa in our first battle. So doing what I had tried hard to prevent
so many times already, I let the anger take over and the magic flow, bad idea
or not. I reached over the desk and grabbed him by the neck.

"What is your true name and how did you become of the
Lilin" I asked, already having changed to my Fae persona as the power
coursed through me. It took everything I had to stay in some semblance of
control, or for that matter, not to crush him between my fingers.

"Lucius Camillus, once Senior Centurion in the army of
Rome," he sputtered. "Died in battle, 280 B.C. saved by Aelia and Palagues
of Tarentum, after the battle of Heraclea."

"Then listen well, Lucius Camillus, progeny of Aelia
and Palagues, for I truly
am
the heir of Demeter. You will have Delia
released and brought to me or all my prior promises of freedom for the Lilin
are forfeit and there
will
be war between our kind. Once she is released
we will talk more. Unless you wish to die a second time, you will do this,
now." As the words came out a cloud of green magic began flowing between
us. As I said the word
now
it surged into him and I let go, his body
plopping back into the chair he had been sitting in.

Shit, I didn't expected that. I had to get a handle on this
magic stuff before I killed somebody by mistake. I probably should have just
sent Sendy to fetch her but that might have been too much like an act of war.
No, some things are better handled diplomatically. Even if by the point of a
sword.

Before I could do anything else the phone rang and I saw
that it was Hailey on the intercom. "Everything alright in there?"
she asked as I picked up the receiver. "Thought I heard something
fall."

"Dropped the phone book and knocked some stuff over,
Hail," I replied, watching Lucius as he started to come to. "Sorry
about that." I put the phone down as she acknowledged, knowing that she'd
want a better explanation later.

As he regained his senses, I saw him reach into his pocket
and pull out a cell phone. It was already vibrating.

"I'll give you some privacy," I said, changing
back to my human form. I grabbed my cup and walked around my desk to the door
as I slowly regained control.

"What the hell's going on?" Hailey asked as I
stepped into the kitchen.

"Damndest thing," I replied, filling a cup with
water. "Guy started to faint and knocked half the shit off my desk,"
I answered. "He's ok now but needs some water."

"Bullshit…" she murmured, giving me one of those
looks.

I grinned and headed back to my office. Once inside I gave
my guest the water and sat back down. He moved the phone from his ear.

"It will be as you say, Lord. She will be returned to
you," he said shakily, taking a sip. He was scared now and I'm guessing
I'd just shot my chance at a peaceful solution to the problem of the Lilin. Oh
well, I'd just have to see if I could fix that.

"Oh just cut the Lord shit. Will you?" I snapped
back. "Tell me, if I am the heir and I gave her the blood then why would anyone
think she should be punished?"

"It is Demeter's words that we must abide. Let me
repeat them," he answered back, now with a tinge of anger in his voice.

"Lay down your arms, life I will grant you, but expect
not kindness. Where Fae be, you must flee and to taste of ichor is forbidden.
Where three or more gather, except to hear my words, I will call down my wrath.
One in ten may bear life. This I offer, but no more, and death to any that
violate this decree. Bound by the blood of your tears it shall be," he
recited.

"Come on," I declared. "Sure, I know the
words, but half of them are meaningless now anyway." He looked shocked, so
I continued.

"Where three or more gather… great idea in theory. Not
so workable when everyone's carrying an iPhone or has access to a computer. I
guess she'd never thought of virtual meetings, had she?" I said, waving my
own iPhone in front of him. "And Demeter's wrath? Where is it? I'm
guessing this is the first time in a helluva lot of years anyone got any
feedback from her line, and that's only because you pissed me off. As to
fleeing from the Fae… how the hell do you work at a non-human bar that serves
them if you have to flee every time someone comes through the door? Oh, wait…
must be the serve angle, cute."

"Even if you are her heir, it is still a decree we must
follow, be it eroded over time or not. It still stands," he countered.

"Yeah. Fine, maybe you're right. Then let's move on
then, shall we. Here's what we're gonna do. We're just gonna start over. You
understand?" I asked and continued before he could answer. "First, I
apologize for the outburst. Just don’t give me any of this Lord crap. Call me
Robert. Got it?"

He started to say something, but then clamped his mouth.

"Next, where is Delia and how soon can you get her here,"
I continued.

"I do not know where she is. I was told that she will
be here tomorrow."

"Perfect, and I expect her to be unharmed." I took
out a business card and wrote down my home address. Then I handed it to him.
"I want her delivered there. Have whoever's bringing her call me at least
an hour before they arrive."

"It will be as you say, Lo… Robert," he said,
catching the glare of my anger as he started to say Lord.

"Fine, next then, I want you to listen, and I mean
this. I want nothing from you. I have already ordered the Fae under my rule to
have no part in taking advantage of any Lilin. That doesn't mean they won't
defend themselves if provoked, not that that should happen. But no harm will
come to the Lilin by the hands of the Dryad. Now I can't control every damn Fae
out there. Hell, there's some I know that won't listen. But this bullshit has
got to end and I will do everything in my power to do so. Do you
understand?"

"The decree cannot be lifted," he said, having
gained back some of his composure. "Except with the
Tears of Blood
and
none of the Elders will meet with you if you possessed it. Besides, it is lost.
Better it should stay so."

"Why? Suppose I did find it," I said, not willing
to admit I knew where it was. "There is no other way to remove the
spell."

"Then you know that the same ceremony could just as
easily enslave us forever," he countered, his resolve definitely back.
"You obviously know our history with the Fae. How could we ever trust you,
especially after your little demonstration?"

Damn Romans! But he did have a point.