Mania and the Executioner (36 page)

“This is actually kind of nice. I mean, this hill isn’t
, but it is quiet and we are here alone…” Cheza says after about thirty minutes.

“Cheza
, I’m not going to have sex with you in the snow!” I joke.

(His
front lawn, in the snow. Laughing so hard ‘cause Scotty doesn’t know! Scotty doesn’t know!)
17

Cheza and I both start laughing as I
spot some kind of ice structure in front of us. The structure sits in a natural bowl on three sides; I wonder why neither showed up on the maps. I stop laughing when an arrow sticks into my left thigh.

“HOW DID I NOT SEE THIS COMING AFTER LAST NIGHT!?” I
scream as my helmet engages.

A
second arrow flies into my right thigh as Cheza draws the Synergistic blades. With the helmet engaged, I can clearly see the archers as one of them lets an arrow fly at Cheza. I knock her to the ground while I pull my gun and fire two rounds before using my gun to bat the arrow away from me. I notice that the archer’s auras are unusual: white outlines, but their centers all have an icy white to them with various shades of blue.

(Incoming: 2, 10
, and 11)

I do a sideways flip to my left while firing a total of six rounds
as the arrows pass underneath my head. The three archers hit the snow in sprays of red as I land; I have the JHP rounds loaded so I’ve blown rather large chunks out of them. I wrap my hands around the carbon fiber shafts and rip the arrows out of my thighs as ten more enemies come out of the ice structure, each with a single-edged curved blade. Unlike the archers, these ones are wearing body armor and helmets.

(Obliterate)

I whip out the Obliterator as all ten come at me. I spin forward to build centrifugal force, adding extra momentum into my swing, and I let the Obliterator fly at neck level.

“COLE!” I hear a voice shout. I l
ook past the ten soldiers and see Natasha coming from the ice structure.

“Natasha?” I ask incredulously,
thoroughly confused as I twist the hilt of the Obliterator so that my swing flies harmlessly over the soldiers heads. “What are you doing here?”

“What the hell are you two doing here!? Didn’t you see my note?” she
angrily asks.

“Yeah, you said you were going to visit your gr
andparents, so why are you he—oh.” I reply as the realization suddenly dawns on me.

“Wait, so why are you two here? And why didn’t the checkpoint at the bottom of the slope report anything?” Natasha asks.

“Tia told us to come here; she said it would help Cheza with her control. As for the bottom checkpoint, they probably didn’t report anything because I ported us about a mile from here.” I answer.

“And Tia doesn’t know you can port so there’s no way she would have known that this coul
d even happen…well, come inside; my grandfather undoubtedly wants to speak with you.” Natasha says.

“Princess!
They just killed four of our people!” One of the soldiers protests.

“If you assclowns don’t hurry up, they will be dead. Get going and bring them to Pinga!” Natasha shouts and then storms inside before I have the chance to ask the obvious question. If I remember correctly, Pinga is a goddess of medicine in Inuit mythology
.

I help Cheza up bef
ore we follow Natasha into the structure that I now recognize as an igloo. Inside the igloo is a tunnel that is about 10’x10’ and leads down at a ten degree angle. I see Natasha about one hundred feet down the tunnel stopped in front of a reinforced steel wall and door that look as though they belong on a battleship (and is roughly 18 feet underground if my estimate is correct).

“OPEN THE
DOOR DAMNIT!” Natasha screams and the door opens.

We follow her through the door where two burly men are standing guard…is it just me or were their ears kind of pointy? We walk into
a circular atrium that has eight separate passage ways and is made entirely of ice. Cheza and I follow Natasha through the third passage way on the right and I notice that most of the people that we pass also have pointy-ish ears. I also notice that everyone is either glaring angrily at me or warily staring; something tells me that they don’t get many visitors.

“Sooo…princess?”
I ask when we catch up to Natasha.

“COLE! YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO USE THAT UNFAMILIAR TONE WITH ME WHEN YOU WERE BALLS DEEP IN MY ASS YESTERDAY!” Natasha screams at me
, causing roughly thirty people to turn and look at us.

“Yes mistress!” I yelp in response. Natasha gets this kind of satisfied smile when she looks around and then she keeps walking.

“Care to explain what that was about?” I ask quietly.

“I’m not really a princess; my grandfather is simply the chief and has ordered everyone to call me that because he knows I hate it. So in response, I try my hardest to act like the opposite of a princess.” Natasha explains.

“Oh, so that’s why you were screaming about anal sexploits in the middle of a crowded hall.” I say.

“No, I did that because I love seeing your face when you’re uncomfortable.” Natasha tea
ses with a surreptitious smile.

“Anyway, we are almost there; get ready to port out of here in case things go south.” Natasha says with a wor
ried look suddenly on her face.

We walk up to a large set of metal double doors. Natasha takes a deep breath and then push
es them open. Inside there is a fit man with eastern European features, who appears to be in his sixties, on an elaborate throne of ice. Beside him, there is a younger Inuit man on a less ornate throne of ice. The thrones are on top of a raised metal platform that is roughly three feet high; the rest of the room is made of stone (walls, floor, ceiling).

“Cole, Chezarei, this is my grandfather Jorgen and that is Akhlut.” Natasha says with a certain amount of malice.

“Her fiancé.” Akhlut finishes with a sleazy smile that makes me want to smash his face in with a rock.

“Not by my choice!” Natasha adds angrily.

“Natasha! Now explain why you have brought the man that just nearly killed four of our people into our home!” Jorgen shouts.

“This is my friend Cole and he wouldn’t have
nearly killed anyone had they said something before they shot him in the legs and most likely shot at Chezarei.” Natasha says defending me.

“How do we know that he didn’t start the altercation!?”
Akhlut asks accusingly. Man, I really do not like this guy.

“Because if Cole had been the one to start it, then he wouldn’t have been hit by the arrows in the first place!”
Natasha exclaims.

“This baby-faced pansy doesn’t lo
ok that tough!” Akhlut rebukes.

(Fla
sh forward and drive your Sic dagger hilt-deep into his chest)

It is taking a great deal of self-control to not do as Airi says and kill this asshole; most likely because I really want to do so. I feel Cheza grab my hand and all my anger just dissipates.

“Excuse me, Sir?” I say while addressing Jorgen. “Chezarei and I came here today because an Aztecan goddess told us to come here so that Chezarei could learn to control her power.”

“Explain why I should overlook your transgression!” Jorgen shouts. I think his volume is slightly uncalled for
, but only slightly.

“Besides, this girl isn’t even a full elf so she can’t even use her power!” Akhlut imparts.

“Asshole, did it look like I was talking to you!?” I ask, my anger towards Akhlut bubbling over.

“NOBODY TALKS TO ME THAT W
A—” Akhlut shouts before Jorgen silences him.

“Listen here boy; I will overlook your transgression if you fight in The Cage.” Jorgen says with a smile slowly spreading across his face.

“I will fight against as many enemies you wish to pit against me. However, if I win, you have to teach Chezarei and allow Natasha to marry whoever she wishes.” I tell him.

“HA! LIKE YOU’RE IN A POSITION TO MAKE DEM
A—” Akhlut shouts before Jorgen silences him again.

“Agreed, but you have
to enter The Cage in only your underwear and without any weapons.” Jorgen says.

“Deal.”
I inform him.

“Good, the match will begin in an hour.” Jorgen says as he and Akhlut stand and walk towards the door.

“Oh and by the way, be prepared to fight to your death!” Jorgen says, his back turned as he walks out the door.

“Hehe…that won’t be a problem.”
I chuckle as I feel a smile creep across my face.

“Uh
, Cole? Are you aware that you pretty much just asked to marry me if you win?” Natasha asks.

“I what?”
I ask in a stunned fashion.

“Cole, it did sort of sound like you were asking to marry her…” Cheza says quietly.

“Shit! Cheza, I swear that wasn’t my intent! It was just obvious to me that Natasha doesn’t want to get married to that asshole and I really want to ruin his day!” I explain.

“Cole, you don’t need to explain it to me…what did he mean that I’m not ‘full elf’ though?” Cheza asks softly.

My mind reels back to when I overhead Kira talking about Cheza’s fae blood.

“My guess is that you are like Natasha and o
ne of your parents was an elf. At least it would explain why both of your auras have a frosty white in them.” I tell her.

“Am I correct in that assumption Natasha? That one of your parents was a snow elf and the other was human? Is that why your grandfather treats you like shit and broke your shoulder when you were ten?” I ask while connecting all of the dots.

“Yeah…that’s correct. My father fell in love with a human and ran away with her. When my mother died giving birth, he reacted poorly and drank himself to death. After that, my grandmother took care of me. My grandfather trained me to fight but in reality, he didn’t want anything to do with me. One day he just couldn’t take it anymore and he broke my shoulder.” Natasha explains while avoiding eye contact and absentmindedly rubbing her shoulder.

“We should probably start heading over to The Cage now. Are you sure about this Cole?”
Natasha asks.

“Of cou
rse! I get to help you and Cheza, and I get to ruin the day of two assholes! I don’t see a downside!” I tell her.

“Oh
, so anal sex with Cheza and I was just implied as a reward for your efforts? Did you think it was going to be that easy? Well I’ll have you know that I totally am that easy!” Natasha jokes. Natasha and I laugh, but Cheza doesn’t seem to be in a joking mood.

“Don’t worry Cheza
, I’ll be fine.” I reassure her while feeling her growing concern.

We follow Natasha through a series of passages for about fifteen minutes until we reach a huge room with basketball stadium-style seating that
must be able to fit around one thousand patrons. In the center of the room is a gigantic chain-link cube that is approximately 30’x30’x30’. The cube has a three foot tall ice base that sits on the steel floor of the room, which is about ten feet below the first row of seating. Each side of the ice floor has a barred door that leads to a passage out of the stadium; it reminds me of the passages that lead to the locker rooms in sports stadiums.

“So
, give me the run down on what kind of people I’ll be fighting.” I tell her.

“Well, some may be soldiers that have been ordered to kill you; some may be soldiers that want to kill you; and some may be regular Cage fighters that would enjoy killing you.” Natasha replies as I feel Cheza grow more
apprehensive.

“I meant more
along the lines of what styles of fighting and what weapons they’ll be using…how grave of injuries can Pinga heal? Is she the same Pinga from Inuit mythology?” I ask.

“Yes she is
, and she can do as much as reattach severed limbs; just finish it quick and try not to kill everybody Cole.” Natasha says with a somewhat sadistic smile as I see people starting to find seats.

“Come on; let’s go into the combatant’s chambers.” Natasha says and walks out
of the stadium.

Cheza and I follow Natasha down into the combatant’s chambers, which is like any locker room I’ve ever be
en in. I strip down to my boxers as I hear the stadium start to get louder.

“You two should get up there so you can get good seats.” I tell them.

“Sure, just be careful out there Cole.” Natasha says and starts to walk out.

Cheza doesn’t say anything; she just kisses me before running after Natasha.
Five minutes later, I hear the stadium roar, followed by Jorgen’s voice booming throughout it. He is speaking in a language that is completely unfamiliar, but I think it may be Greenlandic. I hear the stadium roar again as I feel Cheza’s rapidly growing concern. About thirty seconds later, I hear my name as the door opens.

I’ll take that as my cue.

Chapter 33: I’ll Just Buy My Own Damn Cake!