Not Just Another Fae (Vegas Fae Stories Book 4) (7 page)

"Yes, well, then you have come to the wrong place."
She took a last sip and then placed her cup back on the saucer. "Now, is
there anything else? Ally or not, I do have other issues to deal with."

"No, I think that's all I need for now. I have a few
other folks I still need to meet with back home," I said as I got up from
the couch. I walked to the front of the desk. "Thank you for the history
lesson."

"Robert," Ella said as I began to turn away. "If
you need any of my warriors, you need but ask."

"I appreciate it," I replied. "But I think I
can handle it."

"As you say," she said, pushing her saucer away
and picking up some notes from her desk. "At least be careful. I can think
of no good reason that such ancient Demons should show up now. I've grown quite
fond of you, and the last thing I need is to have to find a new Fae partner just
when I was starting to like you."

"Nah." I replied with a chuckle. "I'm not
letting you off that easy." Then I opened the door and walked back out
into the hallway.

Delia suddenly appeared at my side and grabbed my arm.

"Why didn't you take her up on her offer?" she
asked with a frown. "Isn’t that why you came here? To ask for our help?"

"I did ask for your help," I replied. "Help
in the form of information that your boss just provided."

She didn't reply. She just stood there.

"Ok, listen," I explained. "You guys are
still trying to get a handle on things here. There's no reason to drag folks
down to Vegas when I'm not even sure what I'm dealing with yet, or even if
it'll show up again. But if it'll make you feel any better, if it looks like I
need any help, I promise to ask for it."

"By then it'll be too late," she replied, her arms
now crossed. "I know you, Robert. You can be... stubborn at times. Just
promise me that you'll do this one like we did that raid on the Mages, not like
some of the other times."

"Hey," I replied. "What am I doing? Am I
jumping in blindly? No, I'm here gathering intel. Look, for what it's worth the
Weres are already on it. I've asked my daughter for Fae warriors and I still
have Siegfried to call on. If I need more, I'll let you know. Jeez! I'm
starting to think you're worried about me."

"I am worried about you, and don’t be such an asshole,"
she muttered, and then took off down the hall toward the stairway.

Shit, I'd done it again. I have got to get off this roller
coaster!

Unfortunately, she was right, for the most part. I did have
a tendency to rush into things before thinking. But in my defense, I seldom had
the opportunity to plan before things got out of control. Except for the
incident with the Mages she was referring to. That one was well thought out,
and we'd not only rescued Ella during the raid, but a Weredragon as well.

"Delia! Wait," I said as I ran up to her. "I
know you’re worried, but there's just a lot going on at the moment." I
stopped and put my hands up. "Which, I know is no excuse, you've got
plenty on your mind yourself. But, I'm sorry, and I really will be careful."

"Fine," she replied. "Just promise me that
you'll consider it. Before you get into trouble. Okay?"

"I will," I said. "I should know more by
tomorrow or the next day. If I need help, I'll call."

She just nodded in reply, but at least she wasn't frowning
anymore.

"When do you think you'll be back in Vegas?" I
asked when we got back into the SUV.

"Hard to say. Things are pretty busy here, and I've got
to go to London in a few weeks. It could be a while."

"London?"

"Yes. Bjartr and Ella have been dealing with the Lilin
there. They still follow the old ways, and aren’t as well organized as we are
here. There is much confusion among them since the spell was lifted. But Ella
is planning to change that."

"I'll bet she is," I replied.

"What does that mean?" Delia asked as she turned
back onto the main road.

"Nothing," I said.

"She's doing what she has to do, Robert," Delia
explained. "Consolidating power and bringing the Lilin together under one
government. That's what we need to do to move forward. Do you have a problem
with that?"

"Of course not," I answered. "That's what I
would do if I were her. Don’t be so defensive. I was the one that freed her,
remember?" Not that I wasn't hoping that it didn't bite me on the ass
later.

"I haven’t forgotten," she replied. "And
neither has she."

I didn't say anything in reply. I figured I'd done enough
damage for one day. A few minutes of silence later, she pulled over in front of
the lot she'd picked me up at. We both got out of the SUV and I waited as she
walked around to my side.

"So I guess I'll see you when I see you," I said.

She stood there a moment before saying anything, her hands
in her pockets. Then she walked up to me and gave me a hug.

"Maybe when things are all settled we can try again,"
she said, her head on my chest.

"That would be nice," I agreed, hugging her back.

"Okay," she said, pushing herself away. "Keep
in touch."

"I will," I replied and started to walk back to
the old house and the oak tree that was my way home.

"And Robert?"

"Yes," I said, turning back to look at her over the
hood of the Sequoia.

"Be careful."

"Always," I replied.

It was getting dark and there was already a slight drizzle
as I stepped back into my yard. Hurrying toward the house, I walked onto the
patio and then slid the back door open. My daughter sat at the kitchen table.

"Nikki," I said, closing the door behind me. "What
are you doing here?"

"You're kidding, right?" she said and rolled her
eyes. "Dad! Charlie tells me you've been fighting Demons and that you need
warriors. Why would you think I wouldn’t come?"

"I also said I had it covered," I replied, walking
to the fridge to pull out a beer.

"Oh, like I haven't heard that before," she said
with a grin.

"Want one?" I asked, holding it up.

"Well, if that's all you got," she replied.

I tossed one to her and she caught it, twisting off the cap
off and taking a drink. "I can’t believe how bland this tastes after
Handion's Elf ale."

"Yeah. I tried to get him to part with a keg, but all
he did was laugh. Danu's has a pretty good brew, though. Maybe I can get them
to bottle some next time I'm there. "Have you seen Charlie or Alf?" I
asked. They were nowhere in sight.

"I think he's still back in Fae," she said. "I
haven't seen the Imp, or Lucinda, for that matter."

"Lucinda's still out looking for Bernd."

Lucinda was my cat, but again, like Charlie she was Fae. She
was also my liaison, I guess you could call her, with what I'll call the good
Dwarf faction. Bernd had been my grandmother's advisor when she was queen. He'd
also been mine.

"Okay, Dad," she said as she put down the bottle. "Enough
bullshit. What's going on with this Demon?"

"I'm not really sure," I replied, sitting down
beside her. "He just showed up the other day. Killed at least two Weres
before we found out about it. According to Alf, it's a Sumerian Demon called a Gallu.
Some kind of spawn from their version of Hell."

"Sumerian? What's it after?"

"Beats the crap out of me," I replied. "All I
know is what I told you. But the Weres are on the warpath and I can’t just let
it stay, so I guess we're going hunting. As soon as I figure out how to kill
it, that is."

"You think this is what Gaea was talking about?"
she asked.

"It's got to be part of it," I replied. "I've
never heard of Sumerian Demons, or even Sumerian Fae, for that matter, being
around." I picked up my bottle and started to take a drink, then stopped
before it reached my lips. "I never really asked, but did she tell you
anything specific?"

"No. Just that whatever had drawn the Fae here was
drawing something else," Nikki said, tapping her fingers. "That's all
she said, other than that you needed to be here to fix it."

"It would have been nice if she told had you how I was
supposed to do that," I replied.

"I wish," she agreed. "That's what we get for
meddling in the affairs of Wizards... or Gods in this case, to coin a phrase."

"Tell me about it," I said, now draining the
bottle of beer. "By the way, anything new on the Dwarf front?"

"Same same." Nikki topped the bottle and finished
hers off as well. "There's been a few sightings here and there, but no
real activity. I've got eyes and ears out, but it's been quiet. They've even
stopped visiting the other Fae, if you can believe what they say. Or, if they
are visiting some of the others, no one's talking about it. We sure haven't
seen any signs of it."

"Just because you can't see them doesn’t make them any
less dangerous," I reminded her.

"You don’t have to tell me," She replied. "I
know I put a scare into them, but I would have expected some kind of response
by now."

"It was a long time after
The Fall
before they
made their presence known again. Who knows how long it'll take them to respond
this time. Especially after the ass kicking you gave them. Just don’t let your
guard down."

Nikki’s sudden rise to power
had been unexpected, thanks to a prod from Gaea herself. It had come as a
surprise, especially to me. I didn’t have any heartaches over it, other than
hating to see my kid deal with problems like the rogue Dwarf King, not to
mention the ordinary day to day stuff. But she was making the best of it.

Actually, she'd done better than that; at least where the
Dwarf King was concerned. When his agents had tried to force a coup, she'd
kicked their butts and sent them back to their King, by the Fae equivalent of
airmail. Sometimes magic is a wonderful thing.

As far as the rest goes, I was, technically, still a king,
at least on paper. But what it meant was that she ran things back in Fae and I
managed things on this end. I wasn't necessarily happy with the idea, but who's
gonna argue with Gaea? Anyway, Nikki was handling things in Fae far better than
I'd hoped for, so I did my best to keep up my end here.

She also still worked for the local PD. She was a CSI,
though, rather than a cop like I had been before I retired. Fortunately travel
between the two worlds was a breeze and since time worked differently there,
being in both places at the same time was almost a reality. It also meant that
we thought alike, at least on most issues.

"Don’t worry Daddio," she said, using her favorite
nickname for me. "Ain't gonna happen. As you would say, I've got it
covered. But to get back on track, what do you need from me?"

What did I need? How about a Fae army and Thor's Hammer.
Better yet, throw in that singing mace. But unfortunately, I wasn't going to
get any of that.

"Just a few warriors for now. Archers would be best, if
you can spare them. Maybe a half dozen or so. Something to bolster the Were's numbers
and whoever else I can round up here," I told her. "I'll just have to
see how it goes when it shows up again before I really know."

"Have you talked to Jay?"

Jay was my son and Nikki's brother. He was also an agent in
Homeland Security. He was part of a team that worked on issues with the Fae and
other magical creatures that could threaten the country. He was also a Prince
of Fae and, as such, was tasked as a protector of the realm. This pretty much
gave him freedom to do whatever he needed to in the Fae lands, but if it
involved anything relating to the human realm, things got a bit complicated. That
didn’t mean I wasn't going to let him know what was happening, but since this
was going on here, any call I made became semi-official. Politics was a bitch.

"He's on my list to call. But since this thing is on
this side of the veil, I'm gonna wait until I know a little more. You know how
it is."

"You know if he asks, I'll have to tell him," she
said reluctantly "I can't hide taking warriors off the line while this
Dwarf thing is still unsettled."

"Not a problem," I replied, knowing that those
warriors indirectly answered to him. "I've got a few ideas that only he
can help with anyway, so I'll probably be talking to him before you do."

I could tell she was a bit uncomfortable about pulling rank.
But we'd had this discussion after she'd taken the throne. It meant a lot to me
that she took her position so seriously. Especially since, like me, she'd been
thrown into that world so recently and without any warning.

"All right," she said as she stood. "I've got
to get back and finish up a few things before my next shift at the PD."

I followed her back into the yard, ignoring the rain. She
gave me a kiss on the cheek as she reached the oak tree.

"When do you want the warriors?" she asked,
holding her hands above her eyes to keep the rain out.

"How about late tomorrow afternoon?" I said,
hoping I wouldn’t need them before then.

"They'll be here before sunset." Then she stepped
toward the tree, but turned back to look at me before crossing over. "I
love you, Dad."

"I love you more," I said as she stepped into the
light and disappeared.

I dialed Martin as soon as I got back in the house.

"Anything new?" I asked after the phone connected.

"No," he replied. There was a rumble of thunder in
the background. "Just this damn storm. You?"

"Not really. There's a chance that this thing can’t be
killed by magic alone, for whatever that's worth. But I'm still trying to dig
up more about this kind of Demon."

"Good thing I brought my shotgun then," he replied
with a laugh. "I don’t care what I kill it with, as long as it's dead."

"Whatever works. I'll let you know if I find out
anything else."

"Do that," he said and disconnected.

My next call was to Siegfried.

"Robert," he said as he answered. "I was just
about to call you."

"I take it you've got things settled over here."

"For the moment," he replied. "We are
still... mopping up, as they say."

"That's good to hear."

"There is something here that you should see," he
said. "Can you come by my office?"

"Sure," I replied. "What's up?"

"It will be easier to show you," he said. "And
we must also discuss this Demon you fought. Has it shown itself again?"

"Not yet," I replied. "But my current theory
is that it doesn’t like lightning, and with tonight's storms, I'm hoping it
won’t make an appearance. Martin has his folks out there keeping watch just in
case and I've got Sendy doing flybys as well. If it does, I'll know."

"When can I expect you?"

"I can head over there now. I'll see you in a bit"

"Excellent," he replied, then disconnected.

****

I hopped onto US 95 from the Craig on-ramp and headed toward
downtown. About 25 minutes later I pulled into the back of the Neptune's
Landing via Dean Martin Drive and wove my way around until I accessed the
executive parking level. As entered the garage, I called Siegfried.

"I'm just pulling in to a parking space," I said when
he answered.

"I'll have Michael meet you," He replied.

As I got out of the car and walked over to the elevator, my
mind flashed back to where my trip to the world of the Fae began. This level
was protected by more than just a key card. It was protected by magic as well.
If you didn't belong here, you'd never get in. That hadn’t always been the
case.

Before I knew this Fae world existed, which, believe it or
not, wasn't really that long ago, I'd snuck in here to serve a subpoena on one
of the casino bosses. Instead of a simple service, I'd wound up in a firefight
with three Mages hell bent on killing or capturing Eddie Milagre.

When it was all over, I'd saved Milagre's life and killed
two of the Mages in the process, thereby starting my spiral into a world I'd
only believed to be a fantasy. Of course, I didn’t believe magic was real, at
least not at first. Who would? But then everything started to change, and... Well,
here I am.

I snapped out of my trip down memory lane when I heard the
sound of the elevator door. Michael, Siegfried's number two, was standing
there, holding it open.

"Heard you've had a busy day," I said as I got in.

"From what Siegfried told me, yours hasn't been a
cakewalk either," he replied.

"I've had better," I agreed.

"Haven't we all," he said as he turned a key and
the door closed. "Tell me about this Demon."

"Nasty thing," I said. "We think it's a Gallu.
Some Sumerian or Babylonian Demon from their version of Hell. Reminds me of a 15-foot-tall
Minotaur on steroids. Rock hard skin covered in some kind of quill or spike,
including its tail, which it uses as a weapon. Shoots out some kind of poison,
too. I don’t have much more to go on yet. About the only thing I do know, is
that it doesn't like lightning or electricity. Latest rumor is that magic alone
won't kill it, but I'm still working on what will."

"Sumerian or Babylonian?" he said aloud. "Now
that is interesting."

"Why's that?" I asked as the elevator doors
opened.

"Two reasons," he said as I followed him out the
elevator and down a corridor. "First, I thought those kind of Fae died off
a long time ago. The Demons, too. Never heard of them making an appearance before."

"And the second?" I asked as we stopped in front
of a thick security door that he unlocked and held open.

"You're about to find out," he said as I walked
through.

We entered a large room with a raised stage or platform at
the back. Two people were already inside. One I recognized as Siegfried. The
other was a stranger. Both were standing next to a desk on the other wall,
looking through what appeared to be an old book. On the platform was a large
container. It was the size of a refrigerator, with currents of magic flowing
around it, surrounding something moving in the center. This wasn't just a box;
it was a cage. I stepped closer to see what it was holding.

The creature was human size and sickly white, with dim
flashes of blue and green which would appear at times, on various parts of its
body, usually the head. I'm not sure if it was actually corporeal, or just a
spirit, as it seemed to flash slowly in and out of phase. It almost reminded me
of the subject of an old painting called 'The Scream,' by Edvard Munch; although
there were obvious differences. The face was oval, with a round mouth that
moved in and out like a fish. Its arms were at its sides, thin and spindly, as
if they had atrophied, and its legs were withered and rubbery. It wore, if
that's even the right word, what almost looked like a veil of white mist. It
moved through the space within the cage like a snake or eel, weaving in and out
until it would strike out and hit the magic sides, then it would recoil and
retreat back to the center.

"What the hell is that?" I asked.

"That is the question," Siegfried stated, turning
back to look at me. "When we found the first victim, he was screaming
something about a nightmare. We thought it was just a Mare, a type of minor
Demon. They are a type of lesser succubus, not common, but not unheard of
either. They feed on life energy but seldom kill, usually leaving the victim
weak and tired, and suffering nightmares as well, hence the name."

"Which is why we weren't really worried at first,"
Michael agreed. "They show up from time to time, especially when we get a
lot of guests from Europe. They're more of a nuisance than anything else. But
when we found out that two more of the guests had been attacked and were
paralyzed, we realized that these were something more."

"Right before we talked on the phone," Siegfried
continued. "Michael had cornered two of the creatures hiding in a vacant
room. When I got there, I knew we were dealing with something entirely
different."

"Not easy to kill either," Michael said. "Regular
Mares are docile during the day. If Siegfried hadn’t shown up when he did, I
doubt I'd be here to talk about it. These bastards are fighters, and the way
they kept fading in and out made fighting them difficult. It was like cutting
through smoke. Fortunately, I was able to keep them in check until Siegfried
arrived with a more powerful weapon and killed the other one."

"How'd you capture this one?" I asked.

"A containment spell," Siegfried replied, nodding
his head at the other man. "We kept this one busy until Christopher could
arrive. He is our Master Mage and was on property when Michael found them."

"How do you do?" he said with a bow. "Christopher
Cox, at your service. I was able to bind the creature and then contain it in
this field. Of course, it won't hold it much longer. The creature has already
drained some of the field's magic. Soon it will find a weakness it can exploit."

"What do you mean?"

"As has already been said, this is no ordinary Mare. Observe,"
he said as he walked up to the field. He stood close and then moved from one
end to the other. The creature followed his movement, its head turning ever so
slightly as he went from one end to the other. When he returned to where he had
first started, the creature struck out, recoiling again when it touched the
field of magic that bound it.

"See how it senses the magic," he said as he
backed away. "And it never strikes at the same point. But each time it
touches it, the field weakens just a bit."

"So it's feeding on it," I said.

"Exactly," he replied, walking back to the desk. "Which
is why it seems drawn to the Fae. It's feeding on their magic."

"So what do you think it is then?" I asked, still
watching the creature move about the tank.

"Siegfried mentioned that you had fought a Babylonian
Demon," he replied, pointing to a page in the book that sat on the desk. "I
believe this to be one as well. A particularly dangerous kind, known as an Edimmu,
a type of Succubus. This one is different, more powerful. Perhaps because it is
feeding on Fae, rather than humans. Never the less that is what I believe it to
be. "Which begs the question, what are Babylonian Demons doing here?"

I heard a noise from the door at the same time that Michael
called out.

"Swords!"

Mine materialized and I felt the magic kick in just as the
door opened and Meredith stepped through. At the same time there was a surge of
energy in the room and the containment field that held the Demon flared out of
existence. The creature had seemed to be getting ready to fly at Meredith, but
the moment my sword blazed, it hesitated. That was long enough.

I rushed forward and brought my sword up in an arc at the
same moment as Siegfried and Michael, all three blades intersecting near the
neck of the creature. With a hiss like water on a hot surface, the thing burst
into mist and dissipated before it could fall to the floor. We stared at each
other as we watched it evaporate.

"Did I come at a bad time," Meredith asked as she
stepped into the room. "Or were you trying to impress me?"

"Marvelous, just marvelous," Christopher exclaimed,
rubbing his hands together. "Did you see that?"

"See what," Michael asked with a smile as he
sheathed his blade. "Other than the perfect timing, that is."

"Yes, please enlighten us, Mr. Cox," Meredith said
as she closed the door.

"It hesitated," he explained.

"So it was afraid," Michael pointed out. "But
most creatures exhibit fear in some manner. How does that help us?"

"No, no," the Mage clarified. "Let me
explain. When Meredith entered the room, the creature sensed her magic. The
fact that the cage was destroyed at the same time may or may not be
significant. But what is, is that it did not sense the Dryad's magic until he
wielded his sword. Only then was it drawn to it. Its hesitation was not from
fear, but from the appearance of a more... enticing target, as it were. Now do
you understand?"

"An interesting observation," Meredith granted.

"Of course!" I said, suddenly realizing what had
bothered me about the Gallu's attack the night before.

"Of course, what?" Siegfried asked

"It didn’t attack me until after I brought out my blade
and struck it," I replied. "It attacked Charlie as soon as it
appeared, batting me aside like I was just in the way. Maybe it was only after
Charlie because it couldn’t detect any magic from me."

"Exactly," Christopher exclaimed. "It was
drawn to the magic, like these creatures are."

"That still does not explain why they are here now, or
what will appear next," Meredith pointed out. "Have you learned any
more about Gaea's message?"

"I'm sorry," Christopher remarked. "What
message would that be?"

Meredith looked to me to answer.

While I hadn’t told many others about Gaea's conversation
with Nikki, I had told Meredith and Siegfried.

"My daughter Nikki is the Queen of our realm," I
answered. "It's a long story, but the bottom line is, she hadn’t actually
planned on taking the throne when she did. She did so only after being summoned
to a meeting with Gaea and told that whatever had drawn the Fae here was now
drawing something else as well. She also told her that I was needed here to
fight it, whatever
it
may be." I turned back to Meredith. "And,
no, I haven't."

"Your daughter met Gaea?" the Mage asked, his eyes
wide. "That's incredible, and frightening at the same time."

"Welcome to my world," I replied. "At least
we can guess that it's the magic that's drawing them here."

"But how does that help us?" Meredith asked. "Magic
is what drew us all here."

"Nor does it tell us why," Siegfried said. "We
have all encountered Demons; some have even made their homes here. But these
are not like any we have seen before. They are... Evil is the best word I can
use to describe them. As such they are a threat, and not just to individual Fae,
but to Fae-kind as a whole. I fear that from what Gaea has foretold, this may
be just the beginning."

"Tell us more about this Gallu creature you
encountered," Meredith said.

I repeated the story I'd told Siegfried and Michael, filling
in the part that they hadn’t yet heard. This time I also included what Ella had
told me about the Demons and repeated my theory about lightning.

"Assuming you're right," Michael said, looking up
from his cell phone. "We may have a day or two before the weather shifts.
At least that gives us some time to prepare." He turned to the Mage. "What
do you think, Chris? Anything in your books about these Gallu?"

"Nothing that he hasn't already told us," he said,
having turned back to the desk and flipped through a few more pages. "But
there is something else that concerns me."

"What's that?" Meredith asked.

"If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that these
Demons... these Edimmu, were most likely drawn here because of the magic
emanating from the property itself, not to mention the number of Fae guests,"
Christopher began to explain. "It is no secret that from the standpoint of
magical energy, the Neptune's Landing is like a beacon on the Strip. But that
begs the question, what drew Robert's Demon to the mountain? Why did it choose
to appear there? Certainly not because of a few Were."