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

by A. L. Bridges

  “The one that was killed?” Yui questions.

  “Yes… despite the fact that the part of me that cried out for vengeance has been silenced, it hasn’t made my grief lessen…” I tell her. Yui giggles in response.

  “Sorry! I don’t find that to be funny at all, it’s just—” Yui starts.

  “Don’t worry, I understand. Quite a few Asian cultures handle awkward situations with giggling; I won’t take offence to it.” I quietly interrupt.

  “Cole, are you ready to leave? Everything has already been smoothed over with the Shinto pantheon.” Cheza thinks.

  “Yeah… I’ll meet you guys back in Niflheim.” I reply.

  “I need to get going.” I tell Yui as I stand up.

  “Okay, here.” Yui says while handing me a slip of paper that includes a phone number and email address. “The next time you’re in Japan, give me a call. We can go get drinks or something.”

  “Sure. Here,” I say as I pull out my phone and dial the number. “Now you have my number too. Feel free to call if you need anything.”

  “Thank you, Treyfair-san.” Yui replies.

  “Before I go, I have to ask, what did you mean about what you said before you disappeared in the park? About the yatagarasu?” I ask.

  “You have a particular energy about you that I’ve only ever felt in Lady Benzaiten and other members of the Buddhist pantheon. I was simply implying that you had the energy of a god in you.” Yui explains.

  “Hmm… well, see you around.” I reply and touch my Haglaz rune.

  Back in Jason’s room, I kick off my shoes and flop onto the bed, face down.

  “Cole? Are you okay?” Cheza gently asks.

  “Not really…” I reply. I feel Cheza climb into bed with me and lay into my side.

  “I’m here for you if you want to talk about it.” Cheza whispers.

  “Thanks Cheza.” I reply.

  “I’m here for you too, Cole.” Natasha says as she crawls into bed on my other side.

  “Thank you, guys.” I whisper as I drift off to sleep.

  ****

  Chapter 10: Lord Motherfucking Byron

  I wake up to find myself back at the temple. I walk down a corridor and see a bushy silver tail disappear around a corner at the far end of the hall. I rush down the hall and follow after her, only to see her disappear around the corner at the opposite end of the hall.

  “Addie!” I call out to her as I continue to chase her.

  The chase lasts for what feels like hours, when I finally turn around a corner to a dead end. Addie is just standing there with her back to me, facing the wall.

  “Addie?” I ask as I slowly approach her.

  “Come on, Addie; let’s go home.” I say as I reach out.

  As I set my hand on her shoulder, her body turns to smoke and blows away, leaving me alone in the corridor.

  ****

  [November 2nd]

  Two weeks without an Addie related dream isn’t a bad run, I guess… seeing that it is only 7am, I slide up towards the headboard and leap over Cheza to get out of bed without waking either her or Natasha. I make my way to the kitchen where I hear laughter. I round the corner to find Hel and Maria chatting at the table.

  “Good morning, Cole; did you sleep well?” Maria asks as I pour a cup of coffee.

  “Not really. What are you two doing?” I inquire.

  “We’re planning for the wedding before the planners come. So I guess this is technically preliminary planning to decide what we want the planners to plan.” Hel responds.

  “That’s not confusing or anything.” I mumble while sipping my coffee.

  “Well, it’s bound to be confusing; this is a royal wedding after all. There will be on the upside of two thousand guests in attendance.” Maria says.

  “Holy shit! Why are there going to be so many people?” I ask.

  “Well, there’s the family and friends, key players in the vampire hierarchy, and certain Underworld citizens are going to be invited, as well as multiple gods from various pantheons. With their plus ones, attendants, and/or bodyguards, there will be roughly two thousand people attending this wedding. And then the ceremony will be broadcast throughout the Underworld for those that can’t attend.” Hel explains.

  “So has a date been set yet?” I inquire.

  “We are currently planning on having the wedding on November 25th.” Maria replies.

  “Why so soon?” I question.

  “With a bastard child on the way, the sooner Jason and Reyna get married, the better.” Maria explains.

  “Yes, I suppose that makes sense.” I reply and finish my cup of coffee.

  “Hey bro. How did your meeting with the Shinto pantheon go?” Jason inquires as he walks into the kitchen.

  “Well, things are smoothed over… for now at least.” I tell him.

  “Cool. Say, can you come with me to settle a dispute as part of my princely duties?” Jason asks as he pours coffee into a mug.

  “Sure, it’s not like I have anything else planned anyway.” I reply.

  “Good. We still have a few hours to kill before we have to be there so I’m going to go take a shower.” Jason replies.

  “Okay, I’ll go do the same.” I say and head back to the bedroom.

  Cheza and Natasha are still asleep so I quietly grab some of my clothes from the dresser, spotting a clean jacket neatly folded on top of the dresser, and head into the bathroom. After my shower, I return to the kitchen to make bacon and waffles. The girls wake up at about 8:30am and groggily walk into the kitchen.

  “Waffles?” I ask. The girls nod sleepily and take their seats at the table.

  “I’m going to help Jason out with some errands in a couple of hours.” I inform them as I serve them breakfast.

  “Okay… we’ll stay here and talk about wedding stuff with Reyna.” Cheza answers.

  I sit down and join them with my breakfast. After breakfast, I return to the room to read for an hour until Jason knocks on the bedroom door.

  “Ready to go?” Jason asks, dressed like a billionaire playboy, i.e. an expensive Italian suit without a tie and several buttons of his shirt undone.

  “Yeah, let’s get going.” I say as I pull on my jacket.

  Jason grabs my shoulder and black mist swirls around us. We land on a street corner, the dark blue sky indicating that we’re still in Niflheim. We enter what appears to be a butcher’s shop, where two men are arguing.

  “Martin, Antonio. I’m glad you both could join me.” Jason addresses.

  “What is the meaning of this Prince Jason?” one man addresses.

  “Well Martin, as you both know, I’ve done business with the two of you for quite some time. You’ve always had amicable dispositions towards each other, so imagine my surprise when I hear that you two are engaged in a turf war that has already killed three civilians.” Jason says.

  “Who is that?” the other man, Antonio, asks.

  “This is my friend Cole Treyfair—” Jason starts.

  “FEROS!?” Martin exclaims as both men start visibly freaking out.

  “We would both appreciate it if you could handle your shit and come to a peaceful agreement.” Jason says with a light amount of venom.

  “We understand, Prince Jason! We shall split the territory equally and end the war immediately! Don’t you agree, Martin?” Antonio nervously replies.

  “Yes! That sounds entirely agreeable!” Martin quickly adds.

  “Glad you two can see eye to eye! Now keep that up so we don’t have to come back down here.” Jason says with a smile and walks out of the shop as I follow.

  “Let’s go get some lunch; I need to talk to you about something.” Jason says.

  “Did you bring me along just so you could use my name to scare your old drug dealers into submission?” I ask.

  “No, I just told you I have something that I need to talk to you about!” Jason replies.

  Jason grabs my shoulder and black mist envelopes us again as we port
someplace else that is also in Nifleheim. He walks up a set of white stone steps and into a fancy restaurant.

  “Ah, Prince Jason! Would you like your usual table?” A maître de asks.

  “That would be perfect, Benoit; thank you.” Jason replies.

  The maître de grabs two menus and we follow him to a booth in the back. We begin flipping through the menus when a chef comes over to the table.

  “Welcome back Prince Jason, and as I’ve heard, congratulations on your engagement!” The chef exclaims.

  “Thank you, Pierre. I think we’ll go with the salmon today.” Jason politely replies.

  “Of course, Prince Jason; I’ll have it out post haste.” The chef says and retreats to the kitchen.

  “Their salmon here is amazing.” Jason says by way of explanation for ordering on my behalf.

  “So what did you need to talk to me about?” I ask.

  “Ahem… Cole, will you be my best man?” Jason asks.

  “Was it not already implied that I was going to be?” I reply.

  “I thought so too, but Reyna insisted that I make a show of it.” Jason says.

  “Well, this outing did help me realize exactly how much weight my name carries in the supernatural community, so it wasn’t a complete waste.” I respond; now I have to go about planning a kickass bachelor party… in less than a month.

  We get our meal and I learn that Jason wasn’t exaggerating; the salmon is amazing.

  “So, when are you and Rei getting married?” Jason inquires during our meal.

  “I’m not sure yet, but I think you might have just offered a solution to my name problem… Anyway, I think we’ll end up having a small wedding sometime soon; at which, you will be my best man, of course.” I tell him.

  “But of course!” Jason exclaims.

  We finish our meal and head to the front of the restaurant. Jason pulls out his wallet to pay, but the maître de stops him.

  “This one is on us, Prince Jason, as an engagement present.” Benoit says.

  “Why thank you, Benoit! Give Pierre my gratitude as well and tell him that the salmon was excellent, as always.” Jason requests.

  “I can do that. Have a good day, Prince Jason, and congratulations on your engagement once again.” Benoit replies.

  “Thank you, Benoit. See you around.” Jason responds, grabs, my shoulder, and ports us back to the palace.

  “Huh… that’s strange; I don’t think mother was expecting visitors.” Jason absentmindedly says as he walks out of the bedroom.

  I grab my holster and throw it on, not liking the implications of Jason’s statement, before catching up with him. I follow him down the hall, past the meeting room, and into a sitting room with black leather furniture that I’ve only passed through, maybe twice. Sitting on the couch, talking to Maria and Hel with his back facing us, is a vampire with short, curly, brown hair and an Oxford accent.

  “I have already eliminated the other Counts and Countesses that were at your dinner party and thus, had a motive to wish you harm. However, as my way of saying sorry for allowing something like this to happen on my watch, I would like to plan your son-in-law’s bachelor party. Oh, speak of the devil.” The man says as he turns around.

  The man has a pale complexion (as to be somewhat expected with a vampire) regal facial structure, and a cleft chin. He looks familiar, but I can’t place where I’ve seen him…

  “Jason, Cole, this is King Byron, King of the Vampires.” Maria introduces.

  “Holy shit! Your Lord Byron! Lord motherfucking Byron!” I exclaim.

  “Who’s Lord Byron?” Jason asks.

  “He was an English poet in the seventeenth century. He is often accredited with authoring The Vampyre, a short story about an aristocratic vampire that set the precedent for vampires being portrayed as suave hunters instead of as monsters. He also kept a menagerie of exotic pets and kept a bear as a pet during his college days after the school wouldn’t let him keep a dog; they had to allow a bear because their rules were worded in such a way that never forbade them.” I explain.

  “To be fair, The Vampyre short story was authored by a friend of mine; it just happens to be based on me, which was before I was turned into a vampire in Greece. Prince Jason, it is a pleasure to meet you.” Byron says while standing up, walking around the couch, and holding out his right hand. I notice that he’s only about 5’9” or so and that he has a certain pomp to his step. Rather than correct him, Jason just steps in front of me and shakes his hand.

  “Likewise, King Byron.” Jason says.

  “Yes, well, as I was saying, by way of apology, I would like to host your bachelor party.” Byron says.

  “I believe that can be arranged and I’m sure my best man, Cole Treyfair, would be happy for the assistance.” Jason replies in a not so subtle name drop.

  “Ah, so you are the notorious Feros!” Byron exclaims without a hint of fear.

  “Yes, but don’t hold it against me.” I reply.

  “I’ll try not to haha!” Byron laughs.

  “Well my number is… can you remember it?” I ask.

  “Quite. I’ll give you a call when I have a free moment. Now, I really must be going; I have a meeting to get to in San Francisco. Good bye.” Byron says and exits the room, taking a left towards the front door, which I just realized that I’ve never used.

  “So that was interesting… how did he know you were here, Maria?” I inquire.

  “He did not say…” Maria thoughtfully replies.

  “What are the chances that his offer to set up the bachelor party is a trap?” I question.

  “Slim to none. King Byron is not stupid and he would not set up something so blatantly obvious; nor is he suicidal enough to try something with the infamous Feros around.” Maria says with a sly smile.

  “If you say so… where are the girls?” I ask.

  “I believe they are in Reyna’s quarters.” Hel replies.

  “Thanks.” I say while Jason and I head for Reyna’s room. As we are walking down the hall, my phone starts ringing.

  “Hello?” I answer, seeing that it’s from Ryuji.

  “Cole, I need your advice. Naia and I are planning on having sex for the first time tonight and I’m sort of new to this whole thing. What do I do if she’s on her period?” Ryuji asks.

  “The only thing you can do: say nothing, dip your pen in the ink well, and hope it comes out clean. Pretty much the same rules apply for anal.” I reply.

  “Alright.” Ryuji says.

  “Is that Ryuji? Ask him if he wants to be a… a… what the hell do they call the guys that stand behind the best man?” Jason asks.

  “I believe they’re called groomsmen. Ryuji, Jason is asking if you can be a groomsman because he has no other guy friends.” I say into my phone.

  “Hey!” Jason objects.

  “Yeah, I’d be honored. Reyna actually just asked Naia if she could be a bridesmaid so this works out.” Ryuji says.

  “He said yes.” I tell Jason.

  “Cool. He’s coming to the bachelor party, right?” Jason asks.

  “Jason wants to know if you’ll be coming to the bachelor party; The Lord Byron will be helping me plan it, and by helping me, I mean he’ll be doing most of the planning because I’ve never even been to a bachelor party.” I relay to Ryuji.

  “Of course I’ll be there… how is Lord Byron planning the party? Didn’t he die nearly two centuries ago?” Ryuji asks.

  “It appears not; he’s actually the Vampire King.” I reply.

  “Wow.” Ryuji says.

  “Yeah. Well, you and Naia have fun tonight. Make sure you’re gentle with her; she hasn’t had sex since… never mind, it’s not my place to say.” I respond, realizing that I already fucked up by revealing that much.

  “What!? She told me she was a virgin! She’s not!?” Ryuji frantically asks, seriously freaking out.

  “Listen to me carefully, Ryuji. I never told you any of this and you sure as hell don’t know any of
this, got it?” I ask.

  “Yeah, I got it.” Ryuji replies.

  “*Sigh*… When I knocked Naia out to verify some information after Addie’s death, I saw the majority of her life. The only person I saw her have sex with was Horus, and she was less than willing, if you know what I mean; she was also only about fifteen years old.” I tell him.

  “Shit… Cole, what do I do?” Ryuji desperately asks.

  “Be gentle, be compassionate, and if she starts crying, be understanding. And finally, remember that foreplay is mandatory; don’t be an asswipe. The only time when you can throw foreplay out the window is when you are screwing in a public place and the cops are most likely coming, if you just killed someone and the cops are most likely coming, if you are on the lam and the cops are most likely coming, or if she says ‘quit dicking around and get in here already!’ and/ or the cops are most likely coming. Really, foreplay can be neglected in any situation where you are being pursued by the law or following her orders.” I tell Ryuji.

  “pursued by the law or following her orders.” Ryuji mumbles.

  “Are you taking fucking notes!?” I incredulously ask.

  “Well, yeah… I figured this kind of called for it.” Ryuji replies.

  “Called for leaving a paper trail consisting of a stenographed transcript for information that I specifically told you that you don’t know and I never told you? You would make the worst criminal ever.” I tell him.

  “Yeah, you’re probably right…” Ryuji admits.

  “Anyway, just remember the first four things I said and you should be fine.” I reply.

  “Thanks Cole! Let me know when the party is so I can make arrangements.” Ryuji says.

  “Okay, talk to you later. Oh, and if you don’t already know, her tail is really sensitive. Good luck!” I exclaim and hang up.

  Jason and I walk into Reyna’s room as Natasha hangs up her phone.

  “How does your phone work down here?” I inquire.

  “Gift from Carla given your proclivities to visit other planes. She wanted to make sure I could be reached no matter where I was; speaking of which, there’s an assignment that I could really use your help on.” Natasha says.