Return of the High Fae (Vegas Fae Story Book 1) (20 page)

She interrupted me. "Charlie? Who's Charlie?"

"Charlie's my dog," I said, laughing.
"Anyway, I thought you guys were all nuts. Then shit started happening.
The next thing I know I'm fighting friggin Werewolves over someone called a Lil
and well, here we are."

"Wait, a fight over a Lil? Do you mean that bargirl at
Danu's?"

"Yeah, but that was just the precursor. I wound up with
Martin Chibeaux's scepter and he wanted it back. Siegfried knew Martin, so I
took his side and that's about it where that's concerned." I lay back on
the warm sand. "And the rest of this High Fae stuff? Well, you probably
know it better than me." I rolled to my side and propped my head up.

"Meredith, I can see the mistakes that were made in the
past. Now, I don't know what really happened to the old bunch; but the way I
see it, I have no reason to want to go down that path. Hell, we have enough of
that kind of power play in the human world. All I can tell you is that I don't
know exactly why I'm here, but believe me, I have no desire to cause you or
your people harm."

She sat there for a moment with her arms hugging her knees,
just staring at the water. Then she lay back and turned to face me. "Had I
not been there, I would not have believed it," she said firmly. "But
you are not Loki and we have never quarreled with the Dryad, so I have no true
reason to doubt you. Besides," she sighed. "You are High Fae. How do
I quarrel with a God?"

"Enough with the God stuff. Can we just agree that I am
no threat to you?" I asked. It was my turn to sigh.

She reached over and traced her finger along my cheek. I
thought for a moment that she was going to kiss me, but she pulled away.
"Would that it were that simple."

That made me sit up. For a moment, I had thought for a
moment things were going pretty well.

"You still do not understand, do you?"

"Understand what?"

"Oh, Robert. You really have no idea about the world
you have stepped into, do you? You are as a child... Please, I do not mean to
sound condescending, but it is true. It has taken us two thousand of your human
years to drag ourselves back from the abyss the High Fae left for us after
The
Fall
. Did you think we would welcome their return with open arms?" she
asked.

"Hey, I never asked for any of this. How many times do
I have to say it? I am not them."

She leaned closer to me. "Tell me then—what of Cacilia?
Have you even spoken to her recently?"

"What does she have to do with this?" I asked,
wondering how she knew Cacilia.

"She is eldest. Is that not how the Dryad rule? She
will want to know what you have become and she will be waiting."

See what I mean about fairy tales? What else was I going to
have to deal with?

"Waiting? Waiting for what?"

"Let me show you something," she said as she stood
up. Grabbing my hand, she pulled me up and I followed her to the water.
"Here, do as I do." She knelt down and placed her hand into the
water.

I knelt beside her and did the same. At that moment, I
became one with the sea. The first sensation was my closeness to Meredith; it
was as if we had suddenly been connected. Then there were the others. I could
tell there were thousands of them. It wasn't that I could read their thoughts.
It was more like feeling a myriad of emotions; everything from contentment to
fear. Fear of what, I wondered.

Then I felt something else; panic... no, concern, and then I
felt someone, no... many someones coming our way. The feeling of concern became
overwhelming and I could feel the power in me trying to take over. I pulled my
hand out of the water. I looked out over the sea and they began coming up to
the surface, at least 20 of them. I'll be damned. They were Mermaids. Well,
Mermen actually, and they didn't look happy.

I felt my power surge again and I fought to contain it. Had
they actually been a threat, I don't think I would have been able, but I could
feel they meant me no harm, at least not yet. They were waiting for Meredith. I
turned to her.

She appeared wary, but she could see that I wasn't
responding threateningly to their presence. She stood and raised a hand.

The feeling of concern diminished and I relaxed.

Although she hadn't said a word, they retreated from the
surface, all except one. He didn't approach, but stayed close, watching. I knew
she had told them I was here. I also knew they had been ready to do battle, had
she so wished it.

"Testing me?" I asked, looking over at her. She
knew I wasn't happy.

"My apologies, but I had to be sure."

"Sure of what? Did you think I was going to attack you;
or them?"

"No, not really, but I have not ruled for so long by
being careless." She sat back down on the sand. I joined her.
"Actually, I wanted to see for myself if you were truly what I believed
you to be. Now I am satisfied."

"Really? What convinced you?"

"I felt your presence through the water. That is
something I cannot do in the mortal world. Still, I could not quite localize
it. You are not bound by the oak, as your people are. I have known the power of
the Gods and I felt that same power within you... and that, my Fae Lord, is
what Cacilia is waiting for. Confirmation."

I pondered that for a moment or two. I hadn't seen Cacilia
since that first visit. "Confirmation... and what do you think she'll do
when she gets it? What would you do?"

"I cannot say how she will react. As for me, I would do
what we are doing right now and try to gauge your intentions. She may decide to
challenge you. You may be powerful, but you are not invincible. She will know
that as well. So, I ask you again, what do you want?"

I wish I knew the answer to that question. I'd already
determined I needed friends, so I decided to start there. I wasn't planning on
starting a war with my own people. I also had to worry about the things my kids
were involved in; so it was time to get serious.

"All right Meredith, there is something I want. I'm
sure you've heard about the attacks on the Fae."

She nodded in agreement.

"I want your help with finding out who's behind
it."

"I would have done that anyway. What do you have in
mind?"

"Give me Siegfried for starters. I may also want his
help after I talk to Cacilia as well."

That seemed to surprise her.

"I'm not asking for him all the time, just that you
make him available if I need him. In addition to that, I want access to some of
your resources in the human world and no interference if I have a problem with
Cacilia. I also need your help in dealing with other Fae. As you've already
stated, I know little of what I've become, so I could use your guidance in that
area."

Ok, that was asking a lot, but it didn't seem unreasonable.
In exchange, she gained a God as an ally. Vain as it may sound, I figured that
would appeal to her. "In return, you'll have full access to Diantha,
except when I need her, of course. What else do you want?"

"I will not participate in a war with your Aunt. That
path leads to a return of the old days."

"I'm not asking you to participate in a war. I just
want him there to watch my back, in case it comes to that. I need you to
believe me. Whatever I may be, I am not the same as the High Fae of the past. I
don't want followers or slaves. I want only to be your ally, as well as your
friend."

She sat quietly for a minute before responding.
"Perhaps you are not as naïve as I first thought. I will agree to this
alliance, provided you acknowledge that being an ally does not mean we will
acquiesce to just any demand, High Fae or not."

"I never thought that it did."

"Excellent. It is settled. Business is concluded."
She waved her hand at the last Merman (Merman, is that even a word?) who dipped
back into the sea and disappeared.

The water surged and again and a wave glided up the beach
toward us. When it receded there was a wine bottle and two wine glasses. I
could only laugh at the thought of such efficient Nereid room service.

She poured some wine into the glasses and handed one to me.
She raised hers and took a drink. I raised mine also, then sipped. I was no
expert, but it was without a doubt the finest wine I had ever tasted.

"So what's next?" I asked, setting the glass down
on the sand.

"Now we must bind our agreement, using one of the ways
Fae always have. We could just say a pledge, but I think this will be more
interesting," she responded, with the hint of a smile.

That said, she pulled off her robe and pushed me back on the
sand, kissing me. Before I knew it, my robe was on the sand as well. I briefly
wondered how I was going to feel when I dealt with her in her human persona. A
few seconds later, I no longer cared.

The trip back was as fast as before, but something was
different. I hadn't come back unscathed, as it were. I still felt the magic
still within me, and I felt something else; a sense of connection, as if a wisp
of me still lingered in the Fae world. I was also back in my clothes.

"Robert, is everything all right?" I heard
Meredith asking as I shook my head to clear it.

Gone was the dark haired Fae I'd been with just moments ago.
In her place was the silver haired woman I'd first met in what seemed like a
lifetime ago.

"Do you ever get used to it?"

"Used to what?"

"The different people thing... young, old, all in a
snap. It makes me feel, I don't know, schizophrenic I guess."

Her eyes sparkled as she laughed and in a flash, she shifted
into her younger self. "You mean like this? Please. This world isn't ready
for us again. You should know that. Come, you should get back to the
others."

I stood and walked to the door. Without a word she switched
back to human Meredith and we stepped into the hallway. This was going to take
some getting used to.

"Why then? I mean, why hang out here in the human
world? Your land, uh, I mean sea, seemed pretty nice," I asked as we
walked down the hall.

"Ahh, but this is where the action is, as the humans
are so fond of saying," she quipped.

What did that mean?

"One other thing, time works differently there. You'll
find we haven't been gone nearly as long as you think."

Just as she said that I sensed someone coming. I turned to
see Laera returning, pushing a cart with some trays. We followed her to
Siegfried's office. Meredith motioned for her to go in.

"I will not be joining you, but I do look forward to
further discussions," she said with a wink.

"As do I," I whispered as she turned to leave.

"Oh, one more thing," she said, putting her finger
to her lips. "There is still much about our kind you do not know. It may
be best, how would you say, to keep a low profile until the time is right to
announce yourself to the local Fae."

"Yeah, well, I don't seem to be having too much luck at
that lately, but I'll keep it in mind," I answered.

"I hope all went well," Siegfried commented, as I
walked into the room.

"I think so; it appears that, at the very least we have
agreed to an alliance."

Siegfried gave me one of those
Star Trek
Spock
eyebrow raises, then quickly composed himself. I almost blushed, thinking he
must know how some Fae sealed agreements.

"Thank you, Laera, just leave the cart," Siegfried
said as she poured Diantha a glass of wine then placed some trays on the desk.

She nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"What did you want to discuss?" Siegfried asked,
as he grabbed some food from one of the trays.

I grabbed a sandwich and a bottle of water, then sat down on
the couch next to Diantha. All I really wanted to do was go home and top off a
bottle of tequila. Hey, it had been that kind of day. But I needed to set a few
things in motion before I could return to my not so normal anymore life.

I explained my deal with Meredith for some of Siegfried's
time and went over a few other things I needed, which included a discussion
about what I could tell Mal. I had a feeling I needed to get him involved in
whatever I was going to be dealing with. Other than that, it was pretty simple.

I needed Siegfried to make sure Diantha got settled. I also
needed a few days to figure out my next step and get my mortal life in order. I
still wasn't sure where all this was going to lead. Business concluded, and
with a kiss from Diantha, I headed back to my car for the drive home.

****

I slept the sleep of the dead. Well, it would have been the
sleep of the dead had it lasted a tad longer than 4 hours. But at least I slept
undisturbed. Needless to say, I was tired and a little cranky this morning.

I poured fresh coffee into my newly washed
Venus brothel
mug and sat down at the kitchen table. Slowly inhaling what was, in my opinion,
the mortal realm's closest equivalent to nectar of the Gods. I savored my first
sip. Then reality set in. Bastard King of the Faeries! Now what the hell am I
supposed to do? Oh, to hell with it. It is what it is. I was gonna have to deal
with it, no matter what.

A couple other things were bothering me, too. Where was
Bernd? I figured he'd pop up when something new happened. Yesterday had
certainly been something new, that's for sure.

"Charlie!" I yelled, standing up to go look around
for him. Hearing the doggie door, I turned to see him coming in the house, his
tail wagging away. "Charlie," I asked. "Have you seen
Bernd?"

"No Bernd," he said, then turned around and went
back outside.

I was gonna have to work on his conversation skills. I was
about to look for Lucy, when I felt something familiar. When I looked down, she
stopped rubbing against my leg and sat down, just staring at me.

"Have you seen Bernd?" I asked, suddenly feeling
like I was in a scene from Doctor Doolittle.

She just sat there for a second. "He will come when he
is needed," she said, then she, too, headed for the doggie door and went
outside.

I take it that means I'm on my own. Fine, I thought to
myself, as I grabbed my mug for a refill. I was just getting the pot ready for
next time, when my cell phone rang. I looked at the number. "Siegfried,
what's up," I said when I answered.

"I know you said you needed a few days, but I thought
you'd want to know the final payment for returning the necklace is ready for
you."

"Great," I replied, thinking a few extra bucks in
the bank never hurt. "Does that mean Mr. Milagre is back?"

"No, he called me this morning. At his direction, it
will be at the cage for you to pick up," he answered. "He also said
he is most anxious to speak with you when he returns."

"I'd like to speak with him as well. I'll pick it up on
my way to work. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Oh, Diantha is settled in and further
arrangements, as discussed, are in progress."

"Sounds good. Give me a day or two to complete what I
need to do, then we can go over the details."

"As you wish," he replied, then disconnected.

I finished getting the pot ready, cleaned up, then grabbed
my keys and headed to the Neptune to pick up my check.

As promised, there was an envelope waiting for me at the
cage. But it wasn't a check, it was cash. God, I love casinos. It saved me a
trip to the bank. Money in my pocket, I headed to the office to arrange a week
or two off so I could get this Fae thing under control.

Hailey was sitting behind her desk as I walked into the
office. She looked up and smiled.

"The prodigal son returns," she said. "I hear
you talked to Mattie. How did it go?"

"It went ok," I answered, making her ask for more
details.

"Ok. What does that mean? Did you find the woman, or
not?" She stood up and went to refill her coffee cup, muttering something
about me being ungrateful.

"As a matter of fact, I did. Oh, I almost forgot,"
I said, reaching into my pocket and pulling out her portion of the money I had
been paid this morning. "If I remember correctly, I promised you a
finder's fee, didn't I?"

"Hmm, I do seem to remember something about that,"
Hailey replied, batting her eyes. She reached over and took the offered
envelope. "So, I take it your chat with Mattie was at least helpful,"
she said as she opened the envelope and peered inside.

"Whoa! Are you kidding me?" she blurted out as she
removed the 20 hundreds. "Since when did we hit the big time?" she
asked, looking at me as if I had just handed her a million dollars.

"Big clients, big pay-offs," I answered, waiting
for her to say more.

"I should say so! First you start bringing in A-list
attorneys, then you tell me you and Eddy Milagre are new found friends. Now
you're paying me 10 times the normal referral fee. If I didn't know
better...," she replied, shaking her head. Sitting down at her desk, she
picked up her purse from the floor and placed the money in a zippered pocket.
Then she opened a drawer and put the purse inside.

"Seriously, Robert, what the hell are you up to? Do I
have to start worrying about you?"

Grabbing a
Hailey's Legal Services
cup, I poured
myself some coffee and leaned against the service window, looking over at her
as I stirred. "Hail, I'll admit it, it's the damndest thing. But you know
me better than that; it's just that my client list seems to have jumped a class
or two."

"I guess so... but I want you to be careful," she
replied, giving me one of her worried mother looks. "Besides, you might
actually start making real money, and then where would I be? I'd have to find a
new tenant while you move into the towers or something."

"Never happen," I said, laughing. "You're
stuck with me."

"All right," she replied. "But remember to
drop a few of my business cards. I could use some of those high class clients
myself."

"I always do," I answered. I headed into my office
to see what kind of damage I could do to my inbox. I figured I'd better let her
calm down for a bit before I tell her I was also taking a couple of weeks off.

"We'll see when they start calling," I heard her
yell from the front.

I sat at my desk and booted up the computer. Except for a
few minor inquiries that needed a rush job, most of what I had left wasn't
urgent. Some of the stuff I'd farm out to a few other P.I.'s that I frequently
worked with. The rest could wait. Once the computer was up, I went through my
caseload, divvied a few things up and sent out some emails. A few phone calls,
invoices, and hours later, I was done.

Business concluded; I had some time to think. I wanted a
couple weeks to let all that had been happening play out. I couldn't believe
nothing would change. Hell, it already had. I also had to decide what to do
next.

I sat there for a moment. I thought my trip with Meredith
would have sent up a few flags. It seemed like everything else I did had. But
why hadn't Bernd shown up? Was that a good thing or a bad thing? Shit, I had no
idea.

I guess I could have drawn out a pros and cons chart and
fill it in, but that old trick never worked for me. So instead, I thought about
how I would handle any problem.

I knew I had to deal with people, well, Fae anyway. But the
concept was the same. I needed people I could trust in case things got out of
control. Well, more out of control then they already were. I guess they didn't
have to be people, either. Now that's just a weird thing to say; even if it was
true.

I was going to have to be careful. I needed to draw as
little notice as possible. I only needed a few friends. I already had Siegfried
and Diantha, and Chibeaux would surely help out. Was that enough? If I included
Mal, I'd have a great group with a variety of skill sets, assuming I could get
him involved. Hell, I wasn't even sure if I should get him involved. Especially
since Siegfried had said that Milagre probably wouldn't like bringing in a
human.

But what the hell! It's good to be a king, or at least
thought of as one. So to me, that meant it was something I could consider. I
shut down my computer and walked out of my office. I told Hailey I was going to
take some time off, explaining that I needed a break. She laughed at that one.
Then I decided to go for a walk.

"I'm gonna walk down to Starbucks before I take off.
You want anything?" I asked her, pausing in the doorway.

"No, I'm good," she replied.

"Ok, see you when I get back," I called out, as I
walked out the door and into the street.

Without realizing it, I ended up walking northbound toward
Fremont Street, totally forgetting about Starbucks. The next thing I knew, I
was standing across the street from the El Cortez, one of Las Vegas' downtown
landmarks.

Actually, I was standing on the corner of 6th and Fremont,
next to what had once been the JC Penney building. Catty-corner across the
street had been where Sears and Roebuck had once stood. Of course, that was in
the early days of Vegas, before the corporations and massive building boom of
the '70s, '80s and '90s. But I wasn't really thinking about department stores
or Las Vegas' past as I stood here. I was thinking about mine.

Maybe it was the Fae thing; hell, maybe it was just a sign
of getting older, but all I saw as I stood there was my past. There, by the
side door of the El Cortez, I recalled a car stop of a big time pimp back in
the early '80s.

I caught myself laughing. The funny thing about it was that
my partner and I were backing up a couple of the Organized Crime Unit guys when
we made the stop. Out of the car with our guns drawn, we watched as they pulled
the pimp and two of his girls out of the Rolls Royce, while probably a hundred
tourists watched. After ordering them to the ground and putting them in
handcuffs, we went to help them up.

I grabbed one gal and my partner, long since retired,
grabbed the other. As if choreographed, we stood the two girls up and almost
simultaneously their breasts popped out of their loose tops, to the awe and
enjoyment of the tourists watching. We wound up arresting them and putting them
in our car to the sound of applause. I was just a rookie, but some calls you
never forget.

I went west, past the new downtown bars, toward the Fremont
Street Experience. Here and there, wisps of memories collided. On that corner,
I'd arrested a wanted murderer. The warrants had said he was armed and
dangerous, but he'd cried when I put the handcuffs on. Things aren't always
what they seem. Something I was quickly being reminded of.

By the time I made it to Casino Center, the canopy was
playing Frank Sinatra's
Luck be a Lady
. I smiled as I remembered the
Fremont Street of the '70s. In those days there was no canopy and the street
was two-way. This was where we'd drive up and down and meet girls. I'd met
Lynn, my ex, here one night after a university toga party. Damn, wasn't I
becoming nostalgic? I paused and looked around. Here, all the casinos were open
to the street. Something was different. Then I saw it.

Tendrils of magic started to appear. They were barely
visible, but just as I'd seen them at the Neptune, they were here. Once again,
I was seeing the magic that was Vegas. Wishes, dreams, whatever you want to
call them, wafted through the air here. More than that, they fueled the magic
within me. Like my Aunt had said, the bottle could be refilled. This was why
the Fae had come here. Vegas really was magic.

I walked back up Fremont and noticed others as well. Fae...
damned if I knew what kind they were, but they were there. A girl at the casino
entrance was some kind of Faerie; and further inside, at the tables, was
another. I even felt what had to be a few roaming around with the other
tourists. None of them noticed me. I guess that's a good thing, especially when
you're trying to keep a low profile.

Suddenly, I stopped and looked around. Something wasn't
right. It was just a wisp of something but... how do I describe it? It just
didn't smell right. I tried to find it again, but it was gone. I felt goose
bumps down my spine.

My gun was on my back but I reached for the seax, its weight
comforting me. What the hell had that been? I tried to reaching out with my
magic, but nothing else jumped out at me, so I started walking again. By the
time I got back to the office, I had almost convinced myself that I had
imagined it. I took one last look around before I got into my car. Nothing.
Hell, maybe I had just imagined it.

Damn, I wish I could be sure. That was the problem with this
magic stuff. I didn't know enough to know what to do. I thought the connection
to the Fae world I'd felt would be more helpful, at least where my magic was
concerned. I don't know what I'd been thinking last night. How was I going to
resolve all this if I still didn't really know what the hell I had gotten in to?