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

by A. L. Bridges

  “Well that sucks…” Cheza replies.

  …

  Chapter 23: The Hangover Supernatural Edition

  The next two days go by in a monotonous fashion that involves daily feedings for Reyna and a whole lot of boredom that I imagine is similar to being on house arrest.

  [November 21st]

  “So do you know what is planned for tonight?” I ask as Cheza slips into her little black party dress.

  “Natasha hasn’t said much about what she’s planned, but she did mention that we were going to a cock fight, which I think seems a little inappropriate for a bachelorette party…” Cheza replies while putting on makeup in the bathroom mirror.

  “Yeah, that is a little… different. Anyway, I’m going to go pick up Ryuji and Naia now.” I tell her.

  “Alright.” Cheza replies as she’s applying mascara. I walk out of the room and down the hall to Reyna’s room.

  “Hey Jason, don’t forget you have to pick up Jericho; I’m going to pick up Ryuji and Naia now.” I shout through the door after knocking.

  “Right!” Jason replies.

  I touch my Haglaz rune to port to Ryuji’s apartment, only to find that no one is in the living room when I arrive.

  “Hey, are you guys ready to go?” I yell towards the back of the apartment.

  “Yeah, just… give us a second!” Ryuji calls back.

  I sit on the couch and wait for them. Naia comes out in a black halter top dress with Ryuji, wearing a button-up shirt and jeans (which is coincidentally the same ensemble that I’m wearing), behind her. By Ryuji’s relaxed posture and the way Naia is wiping her mouth, I’m pretty sure I know what they were just doing, but I don’t say anything as I hold out my arm.

  I port us to the kitchen of the palace and we all sit down to wait. Cheza comes out a few minutes later, followed by Reyna and Natasha.

  “Are you girls ready to go?” Hel asks as she walks into the kitchen with Maria, Sara, and Tia.

  “Yep, let’s get this night started!” Natasha exclaims.

  Hel snaps her fingers and the girls disappear. Ryuji and I stand there in awkward silence while waiting for Jason to port back with Jericho.

  “So have you heard anything about the Templars?” I inquire.

  “Reports seem to indicate that they’ve gone to ground. The murders of the four members of the Council while connected by an enigmatic helmeted assailant and the blood from another murder victim, all while taking place across the country in a time frame that is impossible by the boundaries of physics, have caused quite the mystery among normal law enforcement. Of course, those in the know knew that Feros was behind it based on the message on the bullets. Ever since then, virtually all Templar activity has ceased.” Ryuji reports.

  “Well that’s good; one less thing to worry about.” I reply as Jason ports in with Jericho.

  “Hey, were you able to get everything sorted out with the bar?” I ask.

  “Yeah, I have this girl who works part-time taking over for tonight; hopefully she’ll be able to handle it… anyway, let’s get going! To Acheron!” Jericho exclaims.

  “To Acheron!” We all shout after him and Jason snaps his fingers, porting us to Hades.

  The sign alone makes this place impressive; Acheron is spelled out in flowing, connected letters that appear to have blood flowing through them with flames dancing behind it. The architecture of the building is crazy and looks like someone sewed several metal structures together; it reminds me of the Experience Music Project building in Seattle, but this building is about ten times that size. Jason, Ryuji, Jericho, and I walk across the street and enter the building to pitch-black darkness.

  “Welcome to the best night of your lives, boys!” Byron announces and jets of fire spring up on either side of him before the whole place lights up with a round of cheers from the crowd of patrons. Two large breasted women, whom I might confuse for short ifrits if it weren’t for their black color scheme and the small, curved horns sticking out of the sides of their heads, walk over and hand Jason and I a drink.

  “To us, Bro!” Jason exclaims with a grin as he raises his glass.

  “Why are you toasting me? You’re the one getting married!” I reply as I clink his glass and we both down our drinks.

  “Hey Ryuji, are these imps or succubi?” I ask.

  “The horns make them succubi.” Ryuji whispers back.

  We all walk up the steps to the upper level of Acheron and see a gigantic cake; this thing has half a dozen layers, is ten feet wide, and ten feet tall. Suddenly a horde of strippers pops out from different areas of the cake with a tiny stripper at the top.

  “STRIPPER CAKE! STRIPPER CAKE FOR ALL!” Jason shouts and the crowd cheers. A group of strippers walks over and feeds us a handful of cake—rum cake.

  “Over here, boys!” Byron calls to us.

  We walk over to the bar where there are shots set up around flags of different countries, and some flags that must be from different planes.

  “It’s an alcohol world tour!” Byron explains. We start doing some shots and the night begins to blur.

  After the shots, Byron leads us over to another part of Acheron and sits us down in theater seats as a stage lights up. What proceeds is a show that I can only describe as a naked-female Cirque du Soleil, and it is fucking mind blowing. During the show, I receive an image from a drunken Cheza of Reyna and Natasha making out with each other. It looks like they’re having fun, but I hope that Reyna isn’t drinking, what with the pregnancy and all; although, I’m sure Maria is moderating that.

  Once the mind blowing show is over, Byron stands up and leads us to a part of Acheron that resembles an arena, which appears to be flooded with about a foot of a gel-like substance.

  “Now, we can either watch and place bets, or we can strip down to our pants and join in on the Jell-O wrestling battle royal.” Lord Byron offers as two dozen beautiful women walk into the arena.

  I look over and see that Jason has already stripped down to his underwear, deciding for us. The five of us strip down and jump over the railing into the arena. What proceeds is Jell-O wrestling of epic proportions, made even more epic when we discover that the Jell-O was made with alcohol. Every time one of us gets taken down, we basically end up doing a Jell-O shot, causing the night to become even blurrier.

  About an hour later, the five of us rinse off in some showers before getting dressed and heading back to the bar for another round of drinks. I see a blonde werewolf pass by our booth; despite the fact that she’s an adult and I wouldn’t be able to tell that she was a werewolf if I couldn’t see her aura, it’s still enough to remind me of Addie.

  “Here you go, mate.” Byron says while handing me a drink, noticing my demeanor.

  “I know what you’re going through. I lost my daughter when she was five years old; she wasn’t murdered in front of me, but she did die in my arms… It was difficult for me to cope with; I can only imagine how hard it must be for you in an age where a child’s death is no longer commonplace.” Byron says.

  “I keep seeing her wherever I go… I’ve been taking some pills for it, but it’s too early to know if they’re working…” I reply and take a drink.

  “Even after all this time, I still remember Allegra’s tiny eyes as the life faded from them due to the fever…” Byron says as he takes a drink.

  “To the lights that faded from our lives all too soon… and to the hope that they don’t darken our hearts forever.” Byron raises his glass.

  I clink my glass against his and we down our drinks, along with subsequent others as we try to chase away our memories for the evening.

  …

  [November 22nd]

  I wake up in an unfamiliar bed with a pounding head. Out the window to the right of the bed is an inordinate amount of color for the Underworld; where am I? I look to my left and see a small naked body that reeks of champagne… Did I kidnap a child and dunk her in a kiddie pool sized martini glass at the champagne room of a strip club? Or
did I just fill up a bathtub with champagne? I sit up and get a good look at her to try and figure out just how bad this situation is.

  “HOLY SHIT SHE’S DEAD!” I scream when I notice her lack of outline.

  “What are you screaming about?” Jason asks as he stumbles through the doorframe.

  “I’M PRETTY SURE I DROWNED A CHILD IN CHAMPAGNE LAST NIGHT, THAT’S WHAT I’M SCREAMING ABOUT!” I shout.

  “Relax, it’s just a dwarf.” Byron says while nursing his head beside Jason.

  “The ‘race’ kind or the ‘human with a disease’ kind?” I ask.

  “Race.” Byron replies.

  “I RAPED AND MURDERED A DWARF!” I yell. Jericho and Ryuji stumble up behind Jason and Byron to survey the scene.

  (My head is still pounding, but I don’t remember you having sex with anyone)

  Well, at least there’s that…

  “I’m almost positive that’s a hooker.” Byron says.

  “Oh, thank the Void; I only killed a hooker… THIS STILL DOESN’T RESOLVE THE CORE PROBLEM!” I shout.

  “If the core problem was you drowning and raping a child, I’m pretty sure that problem is resolved.” Jason says.

  (Cheza on line 1)

  “*Sigh*… Put her through.”

  “COLE! WHERE IN THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS!?” Cheza screams.

  “Jason’s bachelor party, where else? It’s quite common for these things to go into the next day.” I nervously reply.

  “I understand that, but it’s been THREE FUCKING DAYS! You assholes have had all of us worried because we couldn’t contact you!” Cheza exclaims as I check my phone and find that it’s dead.

  [November 22nd 24th]

  “Wait a second, it’s been three days!? Uh, gotta go! Be home soon!” I respond.

  “Airi close the connection and block all calls.”

  “Where are we?” I address the room.

  “If I remember correctly, Jason ported us to Svartalfaheimr to continue the party last night.” Byron replies.

  “Did you also know that it’s the 24th today!?” I exclaim.

  “What!? I’m getting married tomorrow!?” Jason replies and I nod.

  “Alright, first thing’s first, we need to do something with the body… got it. I’ll just dissolve it in the tub by transmuting my blood into acid.” I say and hoist the body off of the bed.

  I walk over to a door that I suspect might lead to the bathroom.

  “RAWR!” a giant eagle head says before I slam the door shut.

  “WHAT IN THE HELL IS THAT!?” I scream as I hear clawing at the door.

  “Oh, I remember! Jason took one of the griffins with us after we were done racing them!” Ryuji exclaims.

  “We rode griffins and raced them!? That is so badass!” I reply.

  “Well, it sounds hungry and since that’s the only bathtub in our suite, what do we do with the body?” Jericho asks and then all five of us shoot each other sly little glances.

  …

  “I went to check on the dwarf sometime later and found that she had been eaten by the griffin. It was at this time when Feros was forced to put the rogue griffin down. This was, without a doubt, a tragedy… but completely unavoidable.” Jason says in a press release.

  “It really does suck that we had to kill the griffin… Rest in peace, Buttercup…” Jason says as he changes the TV channel.

  “When did you name the griffin?” I ask from my seat adjacent to him on the couch in Cheza’s/my room.

  “About ten seconds ago.” Jason replies.

  “So it seems like you guys had fun.” Cheza says somewhat pointedly from the seat to my right.

  “I wouldn’t know because I can’t remember anything past the first half of the first night, which is why I didn’t contact you.” I explain.

  “So how was the bachelorette party?” I inquire.

  “Well, the cock fight was interesting… definitely not what I was expecting; there weren’t even any chickens!” Cheza exclaims. I do not even want to know what she is talking about. We sit in silence on the couch, just watching TV as I start to feel a bit nostalgic.

  “This is nice… just like old times… the three of us, just sitting on the couch, watching TV.” Jason says.

  “It’s better now that I’m not constantly thinking about a way to get Cole to love me back.” Cheza mumbles; I lean over and kiss her.

  “I agree.” I whisper.

  “Speaking of which, how do you feel about getting married tomorrow?” I ask Jason.

  “I don’t know… guess it hasn’t really set in yet.” Jason replies.

  “So what’s the game plan for tomorrow?” I inquire.

  “Well, we’ll leave at about 10am for the Citadel, the girls will get ready in a modified combatants chambers while I snap on the guys’ tuxes in another room. Then we wait until the ceremony, which starts at noon. Everyone besides Reyna will get into position, she’ll be walked down the aisle by Babette, and we’ll get married. Then it’s back here for the reception in the courtyard where we’ll eat, you’ll give your speech, we’ll have cake, and then Reyna and I are off for our honeymoon in Tahiti.” Jason explains and my breath catches in my throat; nobody said shit to me about any speech!

  “Don’t worry; you have just over eighteen hours to write one.” Cheza reassures me as she grabs my hand and I feel my anxiety wash away.

  “Thanks.” I think and give her a quick kiss.

  “It’s really creepy to see you guys do that…” Jason says.

  “Do what?” Cheza asks.

  “Talk to each other telepathically. Your facial expressions change and then Cole kisses you for no apparent reason.” Jason says.

  “Well, sorry if cute, coupley things creep you out!” Cheza sarcastically replies.

  “Hey guys, Sara asked me to let you know that dinner is ready.” Jericho says.

  “Thanks; were you able to get everything worked out with the part-timer?” I ask as everyone exits the room.

  “Yeah, she actually continued running the bar on Saturday and yesterday when she saw that I wasn’t able to make it back.” Jericho replies.

  “Wow, sounds like you found a good employee!” I exclaim as we walk into the kitchen.

  We all sit down with Ryuji, Naia, Reyna, Tia, and Sara, and we eat before I take my pills and call it a night… And by night, I mean staying up for six hours while trying to think of something to say for my speech, only to give up and go to bed at 1am.

  …

  Chapter 24: Runaway Bride

  [November 25th]

  I can barely recognize the Citadel as we walk through the spectator portion of the stadium to the guys’ dressing room/ Niflheim’s combatant’s chambers. All the white lace and flowery decorations that the decorators put up have really done a number towards making this bloodsport arena look like an appropriate place for a wedding; they even lifted the district dividers for today. I spot dozens of security guards disguised as ushers patrolling the arena. Jason, Jericho, Ryuji, and I make our way to our dressing room on the opposite side of the arena from the girls’ room. We reach the hall leading in to the dressing room, where two heavily armed guards are standing.

  “What are the guards for? It’s hardly necessary; both of us can easily hold our own.” I mention to Jason.

  “They’re mostly just a deterrent for paparazzi; this is a strict ‘no cameras’ affair.” Jason replies as we walk into the combatant’s chambers that have been remodeled with leather couches, a minibar, and mirrors.

  “How are you feeling?” I ask him, noticing that he looks a bit jittery.

  “Good, fine… great.” Jason replies.

  “No, really.” I say.

  “I’m nervous as fuck, but I’m going through with this. Reyna’s pregnant and I’m crazy about her; there’s no turning back so I can only barrel forward.” Jason responds.

  “Damn straight, Skippy! But it sounds like you could use a drink.” I reply.

  “What a coincidence, I was thi
nking exactly the same thing!” Jason exclaims and ambles over to the minibar.

  “No repeats of Halloween though! Grab me the stuff for a rum and Coke.” I request.

  “They’ve got three different types of rum, but no Coke.” Jason says while holding up the tiny bottles.

  “What!? Blasphemy! I’ll go find some.” I melodramatically announce and leave the room.

  I walk down the hall and wander around until I find a vending machine. While bending down to pick up my recently dispensed bottle of Coke, I feel someone jump on my back.

  “COLE!” I hear Lila squeal as she hangs on.

  “Lila!? What are you doing here?” I ask as I turn around and see that Charlotte and Aine are here as well.

  “We’re here for the wedding of course!” Lila exclaims into my ear before dismounting from my back to rejoin her mother.

  “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” Lila pouts.

  “Didn’t tell you what?” I ask.

  Lila opens her mouth to respond, but Aine interrupts her.

  “We have to meet Dagda and Manannan mac Lir now. We’ll see you later, Cole!” Aine quickly explains and leads Lila away.

  “He doesn’t know yet, remember?” Aine whispers to Lila when she thinks that she’s out of earshot.

  What don’t I know yet? Rather than worry about it, I port back to the dressing room, drink a third of my coke, and replace it with rum before gently mixing it. Jason, Ryuji, Jericho, and I start drinking and joking around to help Jason let off some tension.

  “COLE! Natasha and Reyna are gone!” Cheza frantically thinks.

  “Well, didn’t they just go to the bathroom or something?” I ask.

  “They left a note saying they were running away together!” Cheza exclaims and my mind flashes back to a memory of them making out at the bachelorette party; this is really not going to help Jason’s tension…

  “I’ll be right back.” I tell the room and touch my Haglaz rune, porting to Cheza’s location.

  “Why are you wearing a wedding dress?” I inquire upon seeing Cheza.

  “That’s not important right now; take a look at this.” Cheza replies and Jason’s speech before the bachelor party starts making sense, not to mention what Aine had said about something I don’t know yet.