Cole's Haunting Melody (The Gods' Executioner Series) (22 page)

“Sure, just let me go grab my stuff. Lie down on the kitchen table and I’ll be right back.” Sara orders and runs to her room to grab her medical bag.

“Airi, you know the drill.”

I hop up onto the table and lie down. Sara comes back and Airi knocks me out.

…

One newly healed stomach and three hours later, I receive a glimpse of what it’s like to be retired
for the day: it’s boring. Doing nothing but relaxing all day is boring so I start losing it at about 2pm. By 4pm, I’m roaming around the palace practically looking for trouble.

“Cole! I need your help, bro!” Jason exclaims.

“What’s up?” I ask.

“Well
, Reyna is pregnant and a woman’s blood supply increases by fifty percent during pregnancy which is fine and dandy for normal women; they just make more. However, azeman and vampires don’t make their own blood, which is why they have to drink it. Reyna is already draining me dry and she’s incapacitated every living servant we have. She got nauseous and threw up and, well…” Jason states.

“Since I can replenish my blood supply hundreds of times faster, you’re wondering if I can help out?” I suggest.

“Exactly.” Jason replies.

“Lead the way.”
I respond.

Jason leads me into Reyna’s room and she immediately hones in on me from the bed; I have to admit, she looks pretty scary.
Reyna’s eyes remind me of a cat’s in that split second before it scratches you.

“Jason, I need you to get me a camelback, or a sports cooler with a hose that can feed directly into my mouth.” I request.

“Filled with Gatorade?” Jason asks.

“No, the electrolytes have to go somewhere while water seems to get directly converted into blood.” I tell him and Jason makes a hasty retreat from the room.

“Hey Reyna.” I greet as she hungrily stares at my throat.

“Hey Cole…
hard to focus… since you’re here… can I?” Reyna brokenly asks while visibly shaking as she restrains herself. I sit down in a nearby armchair.

“Go ahead.” I reply.

Reyna pounces from the bed and straddles my lap before biting into my neck.

“MMM!
So good!” Reyna moans as she grinds against me a little bit.

Jason comes in with a liter
-sized camelback and brings the straw/hose to my mouth; I bite onto it and start sucking down the water as Reyna continues sucking on my neck.

“I’m full
. Thanks, Cole!” Reyna exclaims 1.2 liters later.

“No problem; see you tomorrow!” I say and leave the two of them alone so Reyna can work out her other kind of lust.

(With the amount of your blood that will be in the baby, it will most likely be immune to poisons; a useful quality for a half azeman Underworld princess)

“It’s a girl?”

(Yes, but don’t ruin the surprise, Master)

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

“Hey Cole, what was that all about?” Cheza asks as I pass by the kitchen.

“Jason and Reyna are having a girl! But they don’t know yet so don’t tell them.” I reply.

(That is the opposite of not ruining the surprise)

“Okay, but what does that have to do
with why there are bite marks on your neck that are still healing?” Cheza inquires.

“Well
, Reyna needed blood so I gave her some and then Airi mentioned that my blood will grant immunity to poisons for the baby princess.” I explain.

“Oh…
Hey Cole? Can we talk?” Cheza asks and I get this urge to knock her out and run for the hills.

“Sure.” I reply and sit down next to her.

“What do you think about having a baby?” Cheza timidly asks.

My stomach bottoms out like
she just pushed me out of an airplane. My hands start shaking involuntarily. I blink and see myself cradling Addie’s lifeless corpse in the middle of a pool of blood. I blink again and I’m back at the table while Cheza is saying something that I can’t quite make out.

Blink: Addie’s lifeless eyes, bloody hair matted to the side of her head.

Blink: Cheza with her hands on my shoulders.

Blink: Tears falling from my eyes onto Addie’s lifeless cheeks.

Blink: Cheza shaking me.

Blink: Addie’s body losing substance and turning
into black smoke.

Blink: Cheza smacking
my right cheek and then backhanding my left.

Blink: Frantic grasping at the smoke as it dissipates in a futile effort to bring her back.

But she’s not coming back.

She can never come back
.

And I’m the one to blame.

I feel myself slip beneath the surface of the pool of blood as I let the darkness claim me.

…

Chapter 22
: Who needs Prozac when you’ve got
style?
Actually, I still need it.

[November 18th]

I gasp awake at 7am the next morning.

“Cole? Are you alright now?” Ch
eza timidly asks from my right.

I wrap my arms around her and pull her closer to me; I simply hold
onto her for the next few minutes, not saying a word, before I get out of bed and go take a shower. I finish up and get dressed when Jason knocks on the door.

“Hey bro, how are you feeling?” Jason asks.

“Fine. Need some help with Reyna?” I inquire.

“Yeah…” Jason admits
and I follow him out the door.

We reach Reyna’s room and I see that she is in the same state as yesterday. There’s a camelback already beside the chair so I take a seat and slip the tube into my mouth.

“Come on, Reyna.” I say and Reyna pounces.

“I’m full!” Reyna announces
a liter later. “Thanks Cole! Your blood almost seems like it’s more potent; I only need about half as much of it as I did when I was drinking from Jason and the servants.”

“Well
, I’m glad that I can help.” I tell her and leave the room.

“She’s lucky to have you around, Cole.” Maria tells me while leaning against the doorframe in the hall. “When I was pregnant with Reyna
and in the bloodlust stage, I accidentally killed dozens of servants. I nearly killed Babette, but she managed to pull through, which is why she became Reyna’s wet nurse. Thankfully, this stage will be over in a few weeks or less.”

“It’s not like I’m doing anything special…
speaking of, how did Babette come to be in your service? A live human in the Underworld is… uncommon, to say the least.” I inquire.

“Babette has been in my service for many years. I still remember the dirty fourteen year old girl that I saved from that group of soldiers years ago…” Maria states while gazing off in the distance.

“The dogs had cornered her in an alleyway in France when I happened to be flying over, returning from a summit with the previous Vampire King in Paris. Since I hadn’t eaten that night, I flew down to intervene. Dogs have always been good judges of power and ran off before I’d even changed form. The looks on the three soldiers’ faces as I turned were priceless. Their MP40’s were of little use to them that night and by the time I was finished with them, the streets were the same color as their armbands. I finished drinking from the last soldier before turning toward the girl that was too tired to cower. I walked over to her and asked if she would like to come with me, and the rest is history.” Maria recalls.

Since the MP40 was developed by Nazi Germany
and in combination with the armbands, it’s fairly obvious what Maria is talking about.

“But wouldn’t that mean that Babette is in her eighties?” I ask and Maria smiles at me like I’m so innocent.

“The blood of a vampire or azeman can do more than just change someone into one. In large enough doses, the blood results in the change; however, in smaller doses over a period of time, it slows the aging process. It also ties the lives of the two together.” Maria explains.

“So if you die, Babette dies?” I inquire.

“That is correct, in a sense. What would actually happen is she would slip into a state of unresponsiveness and her mind would die, although no one is sure why.” Maria answers.

“You said the previous Vampire King; did you mean Byron’s father?
Or the vampire that turned Byron?” I ask.

“No, I mean the vampire that Byron killed to get the position. The Vampire King is decided through formal challenges; any vampire can challenge the current king for the right to be king, which is a rather barbaric way to go about things.” Maria replies.

“How is it done with the azeman?” I inquire.

“The throne is inherited.” Maria informs me.

“Huh… Well thanks for the lesson, but I have a murder to investigate. I’ll see you later, Maria.” I reply.

“Good luck, Cole.” Maria say
s as I walk back down the hall.

I head back into, basically what is now Cheza’s and my room, and I pull on my holster and jacket
. Cheza starts to put on her suit, but I stop her.

“I’m going to make the Mount Olympus trip solo today.” I tell her.

“Oh, okay…” Cheza replies, disappointed.

I give her a kiss goodbye before making my way to Mount Olympus. I walk along the cloud path thinking that Cheza might be worrying about me because of last night.

“Iris, if you’d please.” I ask at the fountain and the rainbow gate beams down; I step through the rainbow and make my way into the palace. Remembering the location of Juno’s private quarters, I make my way there and knock on the door.

“Hello Feros. W
hat can I do for you?” Juno asks.

“May I come in?” I request and Juno moves to let me in. We walk into her living room and sit down.

“I have determined how Jupiter was killed and I need you to subtly look for the weapon. It will be an edged weapon that is all black, most likely a dagger. You should know it when you see it by the material.” I tell her.

“I think I can manage that.” Juno replies.

“Alright, let me know when you find it; whoever has it is most likely the culprit, and right now I think the culprit is Neptune. I ask that you give the weapon to me when you find it so that I can destroy it.” I say; Juno gives me a suspecting look.

“I can already kill gods without this weapon, so there is no increase in threat even if I
were to keep it, but I wasn’t planning on it.” I respond and Juno thinks it over for a minute.

“Okay, I’ll start searching for the weapon.” Juno says.

“Good; now I’m off to go talk to Neptune… He’s back from his Sea Turtle Fuckfest, right?” I ask.

“
Haha! Yeah, he’s in his room; it’s this way.” Juno laughs and leads me out of the room, down the corridor, and down a second corridor that leads towards the back of the palace.

“Here it is.” Juno says while stopping in front of a door.

“I’ll get to work on that thing we talked about. See you later, Feros.” Juno adds and leaves. I knock on the door.

“Ah, Feros.
Yes, my brother mentioned that you needed to speak with me. Come in.” Neptune says when he answers the door.

I follow him into his quarters and see that the walls are painted a sea green and the décor is all sea-themed, including giant clamshell furniture.
There are nets and colorful glass balls dangling everywhere and buoy with a bell at the top is in the center of the living room. Imagine a mermaid whorehouse… that’s what Neptune’s quarters look like. I take a seat on the couch that is essentially a giant clam with cushions in it.

“So what did you need to speak to me about?” Neptune asks.

“Let’s start with you describing the crime scene when you arrived.” I suggest.

“Well Pluto was already there, Jupiter was dead, and then we carried the body back here.” Neptune replies simply.

“What were you arguing with your brother about two nights before he was killed?” I inquire.

“What? I wasn’t arguing with him.” Neptune replies, almost imperceptibly nervous.

“Really? Because Juno says she overheard you two arguing.” I reply and Neptune gets more nervous.

“Oh, that, right…
that was nothing, just an argument about how flying fish were encroaching on his turf…” Neptune says.

“
Riiiight.” I respond.

“*Sigh* And also because I wanted to evolve a certain species of sea turtle to gain the ability to fly.” Neptune reluctantly adds.

“Is that why you killed your brother? With him out of the way you could simply take over the skies and make all the flying turtles you wanted.” I accuse.

“What? I didn’t kill my brother! If it was anyone, it was Pluto! When we originally drew lots to decide who would rule where, Jupiter was supposed to rule the Underworld, but he demanded a redraw; Pluto is the one with motive! He always hated that Jupiter was the King of the Gods despite being the youngest of us and the fact that Pluto wasn’
t kept in the list of the Twelve Olympians despite being one of the original six!” Neptune exclaims; he is quite blatantly trying to throw me off of his trail by using Hades as a scapegoat.

“Alright, I’ll go look into that.”
I reply.

I just need Juno to find the dagger and we can bust Neptune. I
stand up, exit the room, and travel back to Niflheim. Now that my part in this investigation is finished, all I have to do is play the waiting game. I sit down on the couch in the bedroom and start reading a book on my phone when Sara walks in about a minute later.

“Hey Cole?
I want to talk about what happened last night. Cheza is worried about you.” Sara says as she sits down beside me.

“What happened?” Sara gently asks.

“I don’t really know… every time I blinked, what I saw switched between reality with Cheza, and a memory with Addie’s corpse.” I reply.

“This almost sounds like you’re suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder…
I’m going to write a prescription for Fluoxetine and Nefazodone to help with your nightmares and intrusive recall. I want you to take the prescriptions to the Walgreens closest to the house and wait to pick them up.” Sara orders as she takes a prescription pad out of her pocket.

“Wait, you’re actually licensed to practice medicine?” I ask.

“Of course! What, you thought I was just digging around inside you and Rei to remove bullets without having any clue what I was doing?” Sara rhetorically asks and hands me two prescriptions. “Now go get those filled.”

I
grab my keys from the top of the dresser before touching my Haglaz rune to port to the house in Arizona. I unlock the door, go into the kitchen, and grab the keys to the Maserati from the rack on the wall. After pulling out of the garage, I drive to the Walgreens; it’s nice to travel like a normal person once in a while. I pull into Walgreens, head to the back to the pharmacy counter, and drop off the prescriptions before sitting down to wait the thirty minutes it will take to fill them.

I’m vaguely aware as
a pharmacist coming in for work punches in the access code to the pharmacy door, but stops part way through when she notices me. She turns towards me and starts shaking slightly.

“You!”
She exclaims and points a shaky finger at me; it takes me a few moments, but I finally recognize her.

“CVS lady!
How are you? Working at Walgreens now? It’s much better here, huh?” I pleasantly reply while she’s too stunned to respond. “You look good! I see that the past year and a half have been kind to you!”

“The chinchilla deviant heroin addict! You do exist
! And now you’ve come back to haunt me again!” CVS lady exclaims.

“Whoa, I am neither of those things, let alone both of them combined. I’m just here to pick up a couple of prescriptions.” I explain while CVS lady reaches a shaky hand into her purse, pulls out a pill bottle, shakes a pill into her hand, and pops it into her mouth.

“Mr. Treyfair? You’re prescriptions are ready.” A pharmacist behind the counter says. I walk up and pay for the prescriptions.

“Bye Cindy!” I say as I walk away.

“GAH! How did you know my name!?” CVS lady yelps.

“That’s actually your name? Cindy was just the first name that starts with C that I could think of because I didn’t want to continue calling you CVS lady
… Well, bye Cindy! I’ll see you at home!” I call out; I just couldn’t resist it.

“
AHHH!” I hear Cindy scream as I exit the store.

I
get back into the Maserati, drive home, drop off the keys, and port to Niflheim.

“He
y Cole, how did things go?” Sara asks.

“
Fine; I saw an old friend who apparently works at that Walgreens now.” I reply.

“A friend from school?”
Sara inquires.

“No, a pharmacist that I gave an anxiety disorder to before I died.”
I say and Sara blankly stares at me in response.

“Dinner’s ready.” Cheza comes in and tells us
. We all head for the kitchen, finding everyone is already seated and eating fried chicken when we get there.

“Hey
Rei, do you want to come to my bachelor party?” Jason asks halfway through dinner, causing me to drop my chicken leg, wipe my fingers, and stand up.

“Jason, can I talk to you for a second?” I request. Jason wipes his hands and follows me down the hall.

“Why, in the name of fuckall, would you invite Cheza to your bachelor party!?” I angrily ask in a hushed tone.

“Well she’s always been like one of the guys to me and all of us would hang out together before, so it doesn’t feel right to exclude her now.” Jason explains.

“Yeah, but she’s my fiancée now! This means that she will be silently judging every feeling I accidentally send and every micro expression on my face!” I exclaim.