Of Gods and Fae (20 page)

I followed her into her office and waited as she closed the
door and went to a cabinet and removed the scallop shell basin she had used
before to transport us to the Nereid realm.

"You have your sword?" she asked as she filled it
with water from a crystal pitcher

"Of course," I replied, removing it from my back.
"One second… are we going to be naked again?"

"Yes," she replied with a laugh. "Why? You're
not being shy are you? It's not as if we haven't done this before."

I'd travelled with Meredith to the Nereid realm before. In
truth, it had been my first experience of visiting one of the Fae lands.
Although it had been a shock when I appeared there fully nude, more so was the
fact that I had changed into my Fae persona. What I wasn’t sure of was why my
clothes hadn’t come with me. That hadn't been a problem when I went to my own
Fae lands.

"No, I was just wondering. Will my sword be able to go
through your portal?"

 "Don't worry about that," she answered. "I
will allow your weapons to be transported with you. As to clothes, I will find
something appropriate."

"Good enough," I replied. It hadn’t answered all
my questions, but at least I'd be armed. Since I was not quite sure what we
were getting into I figured that was the most important thing anyway.

She reached out her hands and I took them in mine and then
we dipped our hands into the bowl. With a flash we were somewhere else and I once
again appeared on a sandy shore looking over a sea with water lapping at my
ankles. This time, of course, Meredith was with me.

As I looked over at her I wondered again if I was ever going
to get over this persona switch thing. Just a second ago I was in the office of
a stately, but nonetheless attractive, 60ish looking female executive and now I
was on the beach staring at a naked 30 something beauty who I knew in the back
of my mind was the same 60ish looking executive I'd just been with. Of course,
the fact that I now looked to be in my 20s didn't make the memory recall any
less bizarre.

"I'll be but a moment," she said as she stepped
into the water.

I watched as she seemed to melt into it and then she was
gone. I took stock of my surroundings as I grabbed my sword and seax and stood
up. The last time I'd been here I'd seen some of the Nereids in the water but
this time I was alone. After a short wait she appeared again, now clothed in green,
wearing what appeared to be some type of tight leather outfit with corset,
blouse, pants and tall boots.

"I believe these will suffice," she said as she
walked up to me, tossing me a bundle.

I looked inside and pulled out the same style of clothing,
albeit in my size, and began to get dressed. Everything fit perfect and seemed
to wear almost like a second skin, even the boots.

"I feel like a sea epic version of Errol Flynn in Robin
Hood," I kidded as I slipped the second boot on and stood. "This
stuff fits like a glove. I'm going to need to meet your tailor."

"You are dressed as a Nereid Lord going into
battle," she remarked. "The leather is the finest the sea can produce
and acts like an armor that will slow down most blades and arrows. You will
also find that the color will subtly change with our surroundings. It is also
waterproof."

Of course it is. Why shouldn't a Water Fae have waterproof
wear?

"You will want this as well," she said as she
reached into a pack and handed me a belt with sheaths for my sword and seax. She
fastened one on herself and I saw that she carried both a sword and bow.

"Expecting trouble?" I asked as I fastened the
buckle and extended my sword, sliding it into the sheath provided.

"I hope not," she answered. "But the lands we
now go to have become wild and foul creatures are known to roam there. It is
best to be prepared."

"Where exactly are we going?"

"I will explain all during our journey there," she
said walking back into the water. She stopped at about knee depth and placed
her hands in the sea. A boat began to take shape, similar to those I had seen
in my own Fae lands, but more complex and comfortable as well. As it fully
formed she motioned me to board and after jumping on she turned the bow toward
the sea. The water was like glass and soon waves swelled behind us pushing us
forward like a surfboard. I sat back to enjoy the ride.

"Can I ask a dumb question?" I inquired after we'd
been moving for a while.

"Of course," she answered as she sat down beside
me on the plush sea leather cushions.

"We're going to a river right?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Why can’t you just transport us there?"

"Normally I would be able to do so, but as I said
earlier, this place is within the Underworld, the old realm of Hades.  The Nymphs's
of the rivers we now travel to all perished during
The Fall
so I cannot ask
them for entry. We must travel the old way to the outer bounds of the sea and
then to the center of the Underworld via the river Styx. From there we will
find the Stygian marshes where the rivers converge outside the gates of Hades.
There we will find what we seek."

"It’s a good thing we have our own boat then," I
said with a laugh. "I'm all out of coins to pay Charon, the ferryman."

"Actually," Meredith replied. "Charon plied
the river Acheron and demanded payment from the souls to enter Hades only after
Hermes brought the souls of the dead to the marshes of the Styx. We're going to
have to work on your history. Especially since your line is so bound to that
plane."

"I stand corrected. Wait, what do you mean my
line?"

"Your ancestor Persephone was the daughter of Demeter
and later the wife of Hades. Because of this your line is forever tied to the
Underworld."

"I hadn’t really looked at it that way," I observed.

"Do not look so sullen," she said after a moment.
"Hades itself is not our destination nor will we pass through the gate in
any event."

"I'm not sullen. It's just that every time I turn
around I learn something new, or something I should have known. It's a bitch
when everyone knows more about you than you do," I replied. "But
enough of that. How long is it going to take to get there and what can we
expect?"

"Although the way is long forgotten many souls may
still reside there. Those that could not cross the Acheron were said to be
doomed for a time to wander the marshes, stuck between the living and the
dead."

"Don't tell me we're going to be facing Zombies?"

"Zombies? Not exactly," she replied. "It is
said that those that walk the marshes are mindless and have no memory or will. If
any are still left they should not attack us, but could still be a hindrance.
It is best to be prepared."

"Who says all this shit, anyway?" I said, thinking
aloud. "Whatever… can they be killed if necessary?"

"As I said, they are neither alive nor dead, so I do
not know if killing them is the right phrase. But, if you sever their heads
from the body they should cease their movement. Let us first see if they become
a problem before we become too concerned."

"If you say so," I said. I was going to ask more
but the boat suddenly slowed, the smooth water beginning to turn to waves as
the sky dimmed.

"We are approaching the boundaries of the sea,"
she said. "The entrance is close but we must slow as the way becomes more
treacherous." Meredith stood and went to the bow, guiding the boat through
the ever increasing waves with her magic. "Once we reach the Styx it will
calm down." Suddenly, the boat began to heave and sway and the sky
darkened. "We are almost there, you should hold on now."

I stood up next to her and grabbed onto the rail. In front
of me was a maelstrom bordered by blackness. I grabbed tighter as she steered
the boat towards its center and held on as we fell in. Expecting something like
a bad rollercoaster ride, I was surprised when the violent storm disappeared
and we once again sailed on smooth water. Releasing my grip I looked around and
saw that we were no longer on the sea. Instead, we slowly glided down a murky
river. It was twilight and mist was forming along the banks. It was almost impossible
to see beyond the shoreline, even with my magically enhanced sight.

"Where are we now?" I asked as I sat back down.

"We have reached the Styx, the river of hatred,"
she replied. "Do not gaze too long into the water, strange things can be
found there."

"How much longer to the marshes?"

"It is difficult to say, time has no meaning here and
each experience it differently. There is also one more thing you must know."

"What's that?"

"Swear no oaths, even in jest or anger, while we are on
this river. The Styx is sacred to the Gods and as a High Fae you would be bound
by any oaths sworn, no matter how foolish or inadvertent."

"Good thing to know," I answered, promising myself
I'd try not to say anything that would get me into trouble.

"It may be a good time to rest," she said, taking
a seat and leaning against me. "The boat will let us know when we have
arrived."

I took the hint and laid my head back, my arm around her. Comfortable,
I cleared my mind and just drifted along with the waves. We must have fallen
asleep because a sudden jolt awakened us. Meredith and I both stood and
although the mists were thicker, I could see that we had stopped against a rock
strewn coastline. Reeds and tall grasses grew beyond the meager beach and I saw
a rocky path not too far from where we came ashore. Looking behind I could tell
that we were no longer on the main river but must have turned down a tributary
as the water wasn't much wider than a stream.

"It appears we have arrived," she said as she threw
a pack across her shoulders and slid on to the rail, straddling the side of the
boat.  "Ready?" she asked as she slipped off the sides and into the
water. I followed and within a few steps we were on the bank.

"What's the plan?" I asked.

"The rivers all converge here, at the Stygian marshes, near
the gateway to Hades. Although will still have to cross the Acheron to reach
the gate itself. First we must cross the marsh and find where the Lethe streams
in so that I may retrieve some of the water. Then we must cross the river to
the gate and find the spring of Mnemosyne."

"How will we cross that if there is no ferryman?"

"I will take care of that," she answered.

She began to enter the marshland and I followed. The air was
thick and mists flowed around me drawing shapes in the dim light. Most
disconcerting was the absence of sound as I knew it. Especially since the
tweaks I'd gotten from the Dwarf in my own Fae lands. My sight and hearing was
vastly improved yet even our steps seemed muted here. It was as if something
drew the very sound out of the thick air before it could reach my ears. We'd
walked a mile or two before she stopped and knelt, holding her hand up to
caution me.

"What do you have," I asked as I crouched down
beside her.

"Something is not right," she replied, pointing
ahead. Where we had once traversed tall but lightly spaced scrub and grasses, before
us the foliage thickened into a wall. Tightly packed scrub brush and vines
blocked our path and the mist made it impossible to see more than a foot or two
ahead. She pulled her sword and started to cut through but it was if the blade
was blunt. That or the vines were more than they seemed.

"Let me try," I said, pushing my way past her. I
pulled the sword of Cronus and hacked through the brush like paper. Whatever it
was, it was no match for the sword I carried. A few steps later the way was
clear.

"It is a wall," I heard her say. "But for
what reason…"

"I think I can answer that," I said, not letting
her finish. I thrust my blade forward and into the creature that was clawing its
way towards me. It still moved and reached for me so I twisted the blade and cut
upward. It stopped as soon as the blade split through its head. "I'm not
sure about his memory but he was definitely not mindless." I bent to
examine the creature. It had clearly once been human but something had changed
it. It was now a hideous caricature of its former self. "If I was guessing
I'd say that whoever or whatever crafted that wall was keeping these things
in."

"Or keeping us out," she countered. "No
matter, we must get to the Lethe to complete our task." She started to
move forward but I stopped her.

"How much farther ahead is it?" I asked. I could
see more of these things ahead, just visible in the mist. Since they weren't
rushing us maybe whatever was dampening the sound coupled with the twilight
would keep them from noticing us or attacking in packs.

"It should be a short distance that way," she
said, sniffing the air and pointing to my right a bit. "But I cannot tell
for sure in this haze."

"Ok, then I'll lead. Stay on my back and yell if we
need to change direction."

The ground before us was different as well. Although on our
way here the earth had been damp, the way hadn’t been muddy. Here my feet sunk
into the ground at each step. After a distance, Meredith tapped my shoulder.

"Behind us," she exclaimed.

I turned and saw three more of the creatures moving towards
us from different directions, their hands outstretched. Meredith didn't
hesitate as the closest clawed at her, severing its head with a swipe of her
blade. I dispatched the other two and backed up to look for more. There were
still others visible in the mist but they seemed not to be interested in us at
the moment.

"So much for not attacking," I said, turning to her.

"Yes," she agreed. "This is most disturbing.
Fortunately the riverbank is just ahead."

We slogged another hundred yards or so, fighting a few more
of the creatures on the way when Meredith stopped at the bank and turned
around.