Feros and the Underworld Prince

by A. L. Bridges

  ‘That probably wasn’t the right thing to say,’ I realize after Cheza breaks my nose and storms out of the room.

  “Having girl troubles?” Hel asks; she must have come in while Cheza was leaving, which I was unable to notice because it is a little hard to see through my involuntary tears.

  “Yeah a bit, although it is mostly just my stupid mouth. Is there something that you needed ma’am?” I ask.

  “Well I just wanted to thank you for your help. With this insurrection quelled, the last remnants of my father’s plan have gone up in smoke. I was able to get you reinstated at the University of Washington so you can finish your degree, if you’d like. The Agency has already taken care of your social security number and your death certificate so that you are officially alive.” Hel replies.

  “Wait, what about Loki and the war?” I inquire.

  “Nobody seems to know where my father is, but the war is nonexistent now. It seems that Chezarei can no longer be used for my father’s plans because her blood has become diluted.” Hel explains.

  It seems that I inadvertently protected Cheza simply by giving her my blood. I feel kind of lost now… the only thing that had been on my mind before I died was protecting Cheza, but that isn’t even necessary anymore.

  “What about the vampires and the werewolves? Weren’t your brothers sort of like their kings?” I ask.

  “Not exactly; they ruled over or controlled those they created, but vampires and werewolves have been around longer than my brothers and I. Both have their own hierarchies and tend to govern themselves. The ones that my brothers created have freedom now so they’ve just assimilated into the existing structure.” Hel explains.

  “Speaking of your brothers, why were they so easy to kill? Jormungandr was supposed to be a god according to the mythos, but Cheza easily killed him with a couple of ice spikes. Apep was similarly easy to kill for a god.” I mention.

  “Fenrir and Jormungandr weren’t gods, just a type of demigods. I would be the same if I hadn’t been promoted to this station by Odin. As for Apep, his defeat ages ago caused a drop in status so he wasn’t a god.” Hel answers.

  “Huh…” I reply. So what do I do now?

  “I guess going back to school wouldn’t be too bad of an idea… is Jason going to be coming back to school with me?” I ask.

  “No, he will have to remain in the Underworld because he is still technically dead.” Hel informs me.

  “Oh…” I reply quietly, feeling guilty.

  “Jason will be able to return to Midgard eventually; even I’m able to return to Midgard for one day in exchange for every year I spend in the Underworld because my body is half alive.” Hel explains. Well, that explains how she met Jason’s dad and how Jason managed to be born on earth.

  “It’s about time for you and Chezarei to return home. Bring the winged girl with you; she doesn’t belong here anyway. Consider this a parting gift.” Hel says and approaches my bedside.

  Hel kisses the tips of her index and middle fingers on her right hand, and touches my Haglaz rune. There is an intense burning sensation, but it isn’t nearly as bad as it was when I first received the Haglaz. I look down at my right pectoral and see that the H-shape has a second bar in the center that is parallel to the first one.

  “This should allow you to port to the Underworld from anywhere, except from other pantheon’s domains. That is the reason that your triskele doesn’t work here.” Hel explains.

  “Thank you ma’am.” I reply.

  Hel gives me a curt nod and leaves the room. I spend the next five minutes getting dressed and then Jason, Reyna, Cheza, Naia, and Nahid re-enter the room. Cheza just stands there, glaring at me with her arms crossed across her chest, before Jason speaks up.

  “Well, it’s been real, CT. Next time you come back, I’ll show you around Niflheim; it’s pretty much the Hollywood of the Underworld.” Jason says.

  “Definitely! Thanks for your help Nahid.” I say.

  “It was thanks to you that we were able to catch Saquib so just consider us even.” Nahid replies.

  “Naia, since you apparently aren’t supposed to be in the Underworld, you are coming to live with me.” I say. Cheza’s eyes narrow in response, but Naia looks rather pleased.

  “Why does he get two winged harem members…” Jason grumbles.

  “You had better not be including Lila as a ‘winged member’ or you’ll be on the receiving end of a left hook in about five seconds.” I tell him.

  “What!? Pfft, no! I wasn’t including Lila! I was talking about… SMOKEBOMB!” Jason yells as he flicks all of his fingers out in front of his face, and runs out of the room.

  “Idiot… alright you three, hold on.” I say to Reyna, Naia, and Cheza while holding out my right arm. Naia and Cheza grab on, but Reyna looks reluctant.

  “Don’t worry; I can take you down here to see him anytime you want.” I whisper to Reyna.

  “Who said this has anything to do with Jason!? Maybe the mere thought of touching you repulses me so much that I don’t want to do it even if I have to stay in the Underworld!” Reyna snaps.

  “Whoa! Is it really necessary to hurt my feelings in order to lie to yourself?” I ask.

  “I’m sorry…” Reyna replies quietly.

  “Apology accepted. Now I’m making up your mind for you.” I say and touch my right shoulder blade.

  Chapter 11: WILSOOOON!

  “Oh my! There is so much color!” Naia announces when she sees our front yard.

  If this is her response to Arizona, her mind will be blown when she sees parts of this world that are actually colorful. I walk up to the front door of the house and stop. Returning home from the Underworld feels weird… I feel anxious for some reason… well, here goes nothing.

  “WELCOME HOME COLE!” Sara and Tia shout as I open the door. I step inside and they both rush over to hug me.

  “COLE! WHAT IN THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOUR ARM!?” Sara screams.

  “Eaten by Apep so I made a new one.” I explain quickly.

  “Who is this?” Tia inquires.

  “This is Naia, I met her in the cage we were being held in; she has amnesia and doesn’t even remember what she is. Oh, and she’s invisible unless she wears that bracelet. She’s going to be staying here for a while.” I inform them.

  “Based on your description, I might have an idea of what Naia is. Let’s sit down and have some lunch while we talk about it.” Sara suggests.

  “Alright; I’m going to go change my clothes first.” I say and head towards my room.

  “I need to get going; if I leave now I should be able to make it back in time for my afternoon classes.” Cheza says as I head towards my room.

  She must be going to ASU now. I walk into my room and see that it is almost exactly as I left it. I start changing into a clean t-shirt and cargo shorts when I hear whispering.

  “Chezarei, have you told him yet?” Tia asks.

  “Told him what?” Cheza asks, sounding slightly annoyed.

  “About Jarrett.” Tia clarifies. “Chezarei, you have to tell him!”

  “I don’t have to tell him anything!” Cheza expounds. “Now I have to go or I’m going to be late.”

  My stomach bottoms out as I hear the front door slam shut. Is this how Tom Hanks felt when he finally got off of that island in Cast Away? And I don’t even have Wilson to help me through it…

  “Hey Airi?”

  (No, you may not call me Wilson, Master)

  So much for that plan.

  Maybe I’m just jumping to conclusions… or maybe this is a situation that calls for crying in the fetal position while hugging a volleyball. I lie down on my bed and stare up at the ceiling for a little while. I guess that my relationship with Cheza is over; not all that surprising considering that it has been over a year. It’s not like I can even get angry with her; after all, I am the one who told her that I wanted her to be with someone else. It’s my fault that things are like this, but I never expected that I would co
me back from an explosion… Wait a second, how did I come back? My body was destroyed and yet here I am, living and breathing. A knock at my door interrupts my thoughts.

  “Cole? Are you alright?” Naia quietly asks as she enters my room.

  “Hey Naia… yeah, I’m fine… just thinking, that’s all.” I respond.

  “Something tells me that you are not telling me the truth…” Naia says as she sits down next to me on my bed.

  “Things are just a bit different now that I’ve come back.” I reply.

  Naia doesn’t say anything in response, she just sits there with me. After about five minutes, I decide that we should go get lunch so I start to get up.

  “AHMM!” Naia moans loudly.

  “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?” I shout as I see that her tail is underneath my hand. I grasp her tail and stroke it gently.

  “MMM!” Naia moans in response with her mouth closed. Well this is interesting.

  “Cole… can you please… release… my tail?” Naia begs while breathing heavily with tears in the corners of her eyes.

  “Oh, umm, yeah… let’s go get some lunch!” I exclaim awkwardly.

  We exit my room and walk to the kitchen where Tia and Sara are sitting at the table, looking displeased with me. I look over to find that Naia’s face is red and she is still breathing heavily, as an added plus.

  “Cole… we understand that you must be upset… but that doesn’t mean you can just jump into bed with the nearest girl.” Sara says with a motherly tone.

  “No, you’ve got it all wrong; we weren’t doing anything like that. Tell them Naia.” I reply.

  “Well Cole and I were on his bed; he took advantage of his position, and caused me to feel good.” Naia explains.

  “COLE!” Sara and Tia yell simultaneously.

  “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU! TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS YOUNG WOMAN THAT CAN’T EVEN REMEMBER WHAT SHE IS!” Tia screams while standing up to slap me.

  “Whoa, all I did was grab her tail by accident when I was sitting up!” I defend.

  “Yes, and it felt good…” Naia says quietly.

  “Well alright then. So I think I have an idea as to what Naia is. Based on your description and her appearance, I’d say that she’s a jinni; however, her color is unlike any jinn I’ve ever heard of. The Marid water jinn are blue in color, the Ifrit fire jinn are red in color, and the ghoul shape-shifting jinn are a grey-ish green in color, but there aren’t any races of jinn that are purple.” Sara explains.

  “Well, why don’t I just take her to the jinn… homeworld? And see if anyone recognizes her.” I suggest.

  “No, you can’t do that because nobody knows where the jinn world is.” Sara says.

  Something isn’t right here; there is no way that her mother, Saraswati, wouldn’t know where the jinn world is.

  (I feel threatened)

  “Don’t worry Airi; just because there is a jinni in the house, doesn’t mean that you have been replaced as my Genie!”

  (Damn straight! So long as you do not forget to whom you belong… Master)

  When we are finished with lunch, Sara catches my attention and motions to her room. I follow her while Tia leads Naia to the couch and shows her the wonders of television.

  “You can’t take Naia to the jinn world.” Sara says after I shut her bedroom door.

  “What? Why?” I ask.

  “All accounts say that the jinn are a very prideful and arrogant people and that their social structure is set up a lot like humans; now, in a society full of the most arrogant people you can think of, what do you think would happen to someone that was different from everyone else?” Sara inquires.

  They’d be shunned or treated as worthless; I can see where Sara is going with this. In a society like that, it isn’t even beyond the stretch of imagination to suggest that Naia may have been given away instead of taken.

  “Now, moving on to your problem: what are you going to do about Cheza?” Sara asks.

  “What do you mean?” I ask even though I know what she is talking about.

  “So you don’t love her anymore?” Sara inquires.

  “Of course I do! It’s just that… she can’t have a normal life with me; I’ve already resigned myself to the fact that I won’t have one. My future is most likely going to involve joining The Agency and fighting until I die or I’m old enough for an administrative position. I don’t have the right to rob her of normalcy… have you met her boyfriend?” I ask.

  “Yes.” Sara replies.

  “Does he seem like a nice guy?” I inquire. Some part of me is hoping that he isn’t just so I can trump my own argument about normalcy.

  “If I say no, what would you do?” Sara suggests.

  (Kill him, chop up his body and pack it into seven parcels that will be strategically placed in seven garbage cans around the city so that when you look at the locations on a map, it forms a smiley face)

  “Airi is telling me to kill him, chop up his body, and place his remains in garbage cans around the city that form a smiley face when you look at a map.” I respond bluntly.

  “Speaking of which, Cheza hasn’t mentioned Airi in a long time; do you know anything about that?” Sara asks.

  “Airi told me that our connection has been broken, but it can be reestablished if I give her more of my blood.” I reply.

  “I see… so what is your plan? Are you going to go back to school?” Sara inquires with a motherly tone.

  “Well I was thinking about going back to school; Hel told me that I’ve been readmitted to U-Dub. However, it will be difficult to even go outside with this.” I say while gesturing to my silver arm.

  “That’s an easy fix, Cole. We will just have to get a latex sleeve made for it. Until then, just wrap it in medical gauze or cloth bandages.” Sara suggests.

  “Okay, I just need to have it so the sleeve doesn’t cover the hole in the palm or I won’t be able to make a draw if it becomes necessary.” I explain.

  “That should be doable. As for school, I think it would be a better idea for you to stay nearby… in case Naia needs you!” Sara exclaims like she just came up with that explanation on the spot.

  “ASU only started classes last week so you wouldn’t be too far behind; I could have you signed up for classes and starting there tomorrow.” Sara says in a rather obvious ploy to get me to go to the same school as Cheza.

  “That actually doesn’t sound too bad…” I reply, ignoring the fact that this is a ploy… perhaps I’m not ready to give up on Cheza after all.

  …

  Chapter 12: I don’t want to sound jaded or anything…

  [September 9th]

  After the hour drive to Tempe, thirty minutes spent finding a parking spot (which was much easier in the Maserati than it would have been in the Mercedes SUV, which Cheza took), and another twenty minutes trying to find the building, I was a little exacerbated by the time I finally reached my organic chemistry class. I enter in from the bottom of the auditorium and find a seat about halfway up as the professor starts his lecture. I take out a notebook and start taking notes on things I’ve already learned. I took my first quarter of organic chemistry at UW before Jason’s death, but ASU is a semester university so I have to take the first quarter material again until I start to learn something new, which will be in about eight weeks.

  About halfway through the class, I notice a girl staring at me out of my peripheral. She is pretty cute, slim with African and Asian features, but I can’t figure out why she is staring at me. Maybe she recognizes me from the frat party that I pretty much crashed… I really hope not; that isn’t the impression I want to make on my first day. Or maybe she is just staring at the ton of bandages that are wrapped around my left arm…

  Class ends and I decide to head to the library to try and kill the two hours I have before my next class starts.

  ‘Hayden Library has really interesting architecture to it; it looks like it’s made of sandstone with an almost Aztecan feel to it,’ I decide as I walk
through the grass covered courtyard towards the library.

  “COLE!” I hear someone shout so I turn around. The girl from my organic chemistry class, who I now see is about 5’8”, is walking toward me.

  “I knew that was you when you walked in to class! How are you even here? Are you a ghost!? Or were you on some sort of secret assignment that required you to fake your death and deceive Rei?” the girl asks. Her voice sounds familiar as she talks, but I can’t quite place it until she says Rei. This is Katie, Cheza’s friend and kind of her supernatural confidant after I saved Katie’s life at Cheza’s graduation party.

  “I guess Cheza didn’t tell you that I came back huh? Let’s grab some coffee and I’ll tell you all about it, Katie.” I tell her.

  “Alright, but I’m surprised that you know who I am haha!” Katie says cheerfully.

  “Yeah, Cheza has told me about you and it just clicked when I heard you call her Rei.” I explain.

  In actuality, Cheza hadn’t said anything about Katie, but I wasn’t about to say that I’ve overheard the two of them talking over the phone on multiple occasions because of my extrasensory hearing. We grab iced coffee at a nearby café and sit outside.

  “So how are you here? I know you died protecting Rei, I spent a lot of time with her trying to help her through it, but I also know that a body was never recovered. So why did you fake your death?” Katie inquires.

  “I didn’t. I died in a massive explosion and spent the last six months in the Underworld with amnesia; I’m not sure about the other nine months. I came back just yesterday.” I explain truthfully because Katie already knows about the supernatural so it would be too difficult to come up with a convincing lie.

  “Wow… what was the Underworld like?” Katie asks in amazement.

  “A very grey city, but the sky had colors, which made it slightly less depressing than Seattle.” I joke and she laughs.

  “Haha… I can’t believe that Rei didn’t say anything; I mean, we live in the same house and I saw her this morning!” Katie exclaims looking slightly peeved.

  “Yeah, that is a little strange.” I reply and then my hearing picks up a conversation.