by Tom Keller
"What was that all about?" Kathy asked a minute later, looking over the now murmuring crowd.
"I have no idea?" I replied, my attention focused on the curtain which was now moving again.
The audience began to clap as the curtain rose and she appeared back in the center of the stage. She was standing on her own, although her attendants were watchful and stood right behind her.
"Thank you. Thank you," she said, motioning to quiet the applause. "I'm fine. Thank you." She brushed her hand over her forehead and took a drink of water. If she was nervous about the statement, she didn't let it show. "Whew! You would think that after 3,000 years I'd have this down by now. Unfortunately, as you may have noticed, sometimes the visions have a mind of their own."
That got an immediate laugh and more applause.
She said a few more words and then gave a final bow. As the curtain fell and the lights came on, we were reminded by the narrator that t-shirts and other mementos of tonight's performance were available just outside the doors. I had to laugh. Ancient Oracle she might have been, but this was still Vegas.
We left the showroom with the rest of the crowd, eventually making our way through the casino and back to the parking lot where Nikki said her goodbyes.
"That was certainly strange," Kathy remarked as we got in the car.
"Which part?" I asked as I put the car in gear.
"That last vision," she replied, looking over at me. "What do you think God or mortal means? It didn’t make sense. No one's seen the Gods for thousands of years."
"Maybe not," I said, downplaying it a bit. "But it's probably just part of her act. You know. Something to stir up the crowd and keep them coming. Kind of the Gods still walk among us kind of thing. She was supposed to have been given her power by Apollo, after all. Besides, you can't deny that magic is real. Especially in this town."
"You're probably right," Kathy agreed, then the conversation slowly drifted to the restaurant's view of the city and her meetings tomorrow.
An hour later I was standing at the counter lost in thought when Kathy came out of the bedroom.
"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked, walking into the kitchen.
"Just thinking about work," I replied, looking up.
"When aren’t you?" she asked with a bitter smile.
"I'm sorry," I replied, now noticing that she was dressed for bed wearing one of my long sleeve shirts instead of something less revealing that I would have expected her to be wearing. "For what it's worth, now I'm thinking that you might have forgotten to pack pajamas."
"I was feeling a bit nostalgic," she replied, her face lighting up. "I hope you don’t mind."
"Not at all," I said, knowing an opening when I saw one. "Hold that thought for a second." I walked around the counter and through the kitchen, opening the door to the garage. I opened the outside refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of wine I'd seen when I first checked the place out, then went back in and placed it on the counter in front of her. She picked it up and looked at the label.
"Where did you find this?" she asked with a laugh. Kathy wasn’t a big drinker, but once upon a time, we'd stumbled upon a peach wine she really enjoyed. It wasn't expensive, but it was hard to find. I don’t know if the Robert in this world saved a few or bought more, but I'd found several bottles in the outside fridge. "You're just full of surprises today, aren’t you?"
"I have my moments," I replied, taking the bottle from her. I pulled open the drawer and grabbed a corkscrew. Uncorking the bottle as Kathy reached into a cabinet to take out two wine glasses.
"You certainly do," she said, setting them down in front of me.
"Thank you," I said, filling the glasses and handing one to her.
"For what? Agreeing with you?" There was a twinkle in her eyes as she raised the glass to her lips.
"I'll consider that a bonus," I said, knowing that look as I took a sip of the wine. "But the thank you was for inviting me to come with you tonight… and for staying." I turned to her and put my hands on her waist, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath the fabric. "I had a really nice time."
"Me too," she replied, her arms encircling my neck as she pulled me toward her and hugged me.
I leaned down and kissed her, savoring the hint of peaches on her soft lips as she pulled me closer. I felt her smile as she drew her head back for the briefest of moments. Then she kissed me again, harder, and her hips and breasts pressed into mine. Suddenly, I became lost in her embrace. The taste of her lips… her tongue, the smell of her skin and hair, together they transported me to a place where nothing else seemed to matter.
Eventually, our lips and bodies parted. My hand found its way underneath her shirt, the touch of her skin electric against my fingertips. As I felt them slip beneath the waistband of her panties, our eyes met, and I pulled her closer.
"Kathy," I said, fumbling for the words. "Do you want… I mean, should we…"
"Shhh…" she replied, placing a finger against my lips. She kissed me again, no further words were necessary as she took my hand and led me toward the bedroom.
****
By the time I woke up, Kathy had already dressed and was reading the paper at the kitchen table with a mug of coffee in her hands.
"Anything good in there?" I asked, pouring myself a cup.
"There's a story about last night's Oracle show," she replied, holding up the paper. "No pictures, but they mentioned your name."
"That's all I need," I replied, looking at the story. Fortunately, there wasn't much to it. The article only mentioned me in the part where Death's kiss came up and even then only to the fact that it had occurred on live TV. They thought the oracular statement was a reference to the Keres, as they were the only ones that regularly traveled the various Underworlds. Since interaction with humans hadn’t happened in thousands of years, some felt that this might be the start of something more. But even though I hadn’t been mentioned anywhere else, it was enough that it would probably cause me grief.
"They're just speculating," Kathy said, taking back the paper. "It seems like anything to do with the Oracle is big news here and everyone has their own interpretation."
"Hey, did you find the keys to the car?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Right here," she replied, picking them up from her lap and dangling them in front of her. She put them down and laid the paper on the table. "Rob, about last night."
"Yeah. I had a really nice time," I said, taking a sip of my coffee.
"Me too. But maybe it's better if I stay at Nikki's place tonight," she said, looking down.
"Sure," I replied, having expected something like this. "Whatever you think is best."
"I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea," she continued. "We both know nothing can come out of it. As soon as your beeper goes off you'll be Lieutenant Hoskins again and I've still got a business to run in LA. Even if you eventually retire, I know you'll never leave here, and I'm not coming back, at least not permanently."
Hell, I knew it wouldn’t last forever, and Gods know what their relationship here was really like, or how bad I'd changed things for the Robert Hoskins that belonged here. Still, it had been nice while it lasted, short as that was. But she was right, in more ways than she knew. Gaea had other plans for me, of that I was sure, even if I didn't have a clue as to what they might be. Whatever the case, Kathy was better off away from me. I didn’t have to like it to know that it was true. Now I just needed to finish the conversation without making things worse.
"Of course," I replied, sitting down next to her. "Just don’t ask me to be sorry it happened."
"That's not what I meant," she said. "I'm certainly not. I hope you…"
"You don’t have to say anything else," I said, cutting her off. "We're good. Anyway, if it makes it any easier, just leave the car with Nikki. I can pick it up later."
"Thank you," she said, placing her hand over mine. She glanced over at the clock that hung over the sink. "Oh… I'm sorry, but I have to
get going. My first meeting is in 45 minutes and I don’t want to be late."
"Go… get out of here," I said, getting up and walking to the sink.
She came over as well, rinsing her cup before kissing me on the cheek. "Goodbye, Robert," she said, grabbing her purse and suitcase. Before I could offer to carry it for her, she had wheeled the suitcase out through the doorway to the garage and was gone.
Chapter 7
A small wooden seating area, open to the sky, sat in the middle of a pond, surrounded by beautiful trees, shrubs, and flowers of all descriptions. Garden Faeries and Nymphs flitted about, tending to their various duties as water bubbled out from the rocks and into the pool. The sound adding to the soothing environment. Fed by the spring, a meandering stream flowed throughout the grounds. This was the Neptune's Tea Garden. Similar in style to a Japanese Tea Garden, except for the Faeries, of course. Meredith sat sipping her tea at a table in one corner. They must have closed the place just for her. At Siegfried's direction, I crossed a small wooden bridge and walked up to her table.
"Ahh… Robert," Meredith said, standing up as I approached. "So good of you to come." She raised her hand and a Fae waitress appeared out of nowhere. "Tea?"
There was no reason to hide her true form in this world. Unlike the sixtyish, grey-haired, matriarch of the family I was used to, she was in her Fae persona. She looked exactly like all those Elves and Fae you read about in stories. Looking like someone in their mid-thirties, her long hair was braided and hung low upon her back. She had deep blue eyes, with just a hint of green, and pointed Elfin ears. Unlike the business suit she wore last night, today she was wearing slacks, with a blouse the color of sea foam. I'd seen her in this form before, of course, and not just last night. This was her true Fae form, and she was as beautiful as she had been in my world. She was also dangerous. As Queen of the Nereid and owner of the Neptune and several other casinos, she was without a doubt the most powerful Fae in the State, if not the country.
"Yes," I said, taking a seat. "I'll have whatever you're having."
"Bring us some more Tieguanyin," Meredith said. The waitress was gone and back in an instant, setting down my cup and a replacement teapot before nodding and disappearing again.
"Thank you," I said, looking up over at her. "Now then. How may I be of service, ma'am."
"There is no need for such formality, Robert?" she replied, lightly touching my hand before pouring some tea from the pot. "I thought we were beyond that. Please, call me Meredith."
"I'm sorry, Meredith," I said, picking up my cup. "It's been a long week."
"Indeed it has," she replied, nodding. "Then I hope last night's evening at the Neptune made up for it somewhat."
"Yes, it did," I agreed. "Thank you for that."
"Although I must admit to being somewhat surprised that you were accompanied by your ex-wife," she said, taking a sip of tea. "I wasn't aware that you were seeing her again."
"Oh… it's not like that," I said, doubting that there was anything Meredith wasn't aware of. At least as far as any topics that would come up in this meeting were concerned. "Nikki's husband was supposed to go, but he was on duty so she asked me to fill in. It's kind of hard to say no to my daughter. If you know what I mean."
"Indeed I do," Meredith replied, putting her cup down. "That's wonderful. I was hoping it was something like that. We are quite happy with the work Kathy has been doing for us. As a matter of fact, we are considering offering her a rather large contract extension. But I wanted to talk to you before we did so. It will require her to remain out of state and I did not want to complicate things if you were back together. I am glad to hear that is not the case."
"No, it isn’t," I said, a little angry at her having opened with the equivalent of a show of force, even if it did sound like it was for my benefit. The Meredith from my world would have never done that. "I'm sure Kathy will do well with whatever you have in mind for her. She's put a lot into that company and deserves to be successful."
"I agree. We will say no more about it," Meredith replied, leaning forward. "Now, tell me all about the Keres."
"Well, it's like this," I said, giving her the same story I'd told the others.
"Even the Oracle mentioned it in her show. She must have been quite surprised that someone would speak with her, especially a human," Meredith said when I was finished. "For thousands of years they have refused all attempts at communication. But you must have seen the Keres before. Tell me, what was different this time?"
"I'm not sure," I replied, trying to decide how much to say. "I'd just cut off a bunch of slave collars and was angry. I don't know what I was thinking about when I confronted her. I think it caught her off guard more than anything else. Anyway, I was surprised as anyone when she didn’t try to kill me and kissed me instead."
"Of that I am sure," Meredith said, nodding her head. "Now, one last question. Do you think you can speak to her again?"
"I have no idea," I replied, realizing this was what she wanted to know all along. I wasn't sure I liked where this was going. This world had its own rules and the Keres were the most feared of all the Fae. Even though Meredith was at the top of the food chain, that didn’t mean that she was the only powerful Fae or Demon out there. An alliance with them would cement her power base for a very long time. But I had my own ideas where the Keres were concerned. I'd have to tread lightly. "It's not like I can just make a phone call. They only seem to show up when a warrior dies violently."
"Well then, Robert," Meredith said, as her lips formed into a grin. "Knowing your reputation in that area, I doubt that seeing one again will be a problem." She reached over and placed her hand on mine. "If you do get the opportunity to speak with her again, I would like to know. Whatever the others may think of them, the Keres are still of the Fae. Perhaps together, we can remind them of that. They would be a great asset to our ranks."
"I'll see what I can do," I replied, glad that she hadn’t questioned me about Diantha's statement.
"That is all I ask," she said, smiling. "Now, as to why I asked to meet with you. I understand you are eligible to retire. Have you made any plans yet?"
"No," I replied, figuring I'd play it cool. I had no idea what this Robert had planned and there was no mention of it anywhere I had found. "I haven’t given it much thought.
"Well then," she said, leaning closer again. "We have recently acquired a new property on the Strip. I expect to take possession in the next few months. Which means Michael's spot at our downtown location will be available. I'd like to offer that position to you if you are interested. You don’t have to decide now, but I would like you to think about it."
"That's very generous," I replied. "I'll certainly give it some thought."
"Wonderful," she replied, picking up her napkin and daintily dabbing at her lips. "Then I'll have Michael get in touch with you." She got up and waved at Siegfried who was just now coming across the bridge. "Now, I must go give Kathy the good news. I look forward to meeting with you again soon."
Siegfried escorted me back to the casino and then asked me to chat a while in one of the small Italian themed coffee shops. It was weird. He'd been a close friend back home but here we were just acquaintances. That's not to say he didn't know this Robert. There was apparently a close relationship with casino security and the police. Not that that's unusual, but they seemed to share a lot more information and casework here. Which kind of made sense since the Fae held so much political power in this world. At least it didn’t seem one-sided, from the war stories he'd told, they gave as good as they got. Eventually, we finished up, and I made my way back to the parking lot and to my car.
I'd originally hoped I'd get to see Kathy again. Of course, that was now out of the question. Instead, I spent the rest of the day getting a feel for the town. I don’t mean the Strip and Downtown casino areas. I mean the town itself. Like I said, it was laid out a lot like Vegas in the '70s, but there were differences, many of which did nothing to help me admire t
he place.
Not to sound like an ass, but the town looked like it had been split by class or species. With a few notable exceptions, like where I lived downtown, prosperity seemed to flow downward from west to east. Although Summerlin hadn’t existed back then, the area where it had been located was a thriving high-class community of wealthy Fae and humans. Mansions and well-spaced grounds gave way to smaller homes the closer to the city you got. Middle-class Fae and humans, and the occasional Demon, seemed to be placed along the areas on both sides of the Strip, especially toward the south. As for the east side, there, the tract homes were replaced by apartments the further away from the city proper you went. That only went so far though. As you made it to the foothills of Sunrise and the Frenchman Mountain, larger and custom homes, mostly built by Demons, sprung up to take advantage the view of the city they offered.
Prostitution was legal here, albeit dominated by Demons like Succubi and Incubi, and the nightclubs and brothels could be found along what would have been Paradise Road in my world. Golf courses and other tourist attractions remained close to or on the Strip. As for Boulder Highway, it was still a commercial area, dotted by car dealerships, motels, and other businesses, with the occasional small casino or bar the further south you went.
Then there were the magic shops. Like I mentioned before, you could buy spells at shops all over town. There was even a discount magic emporium. Nothing dangerous, at least not on the surface, but a fire spell was still a fire spell. More importantly, you could buy spells that put food on the table or mow your lawn. Everyday things that could make life a little easier. Why waste time putting on makeup or shaving the old way? You could buy a spell that did it faster and better, or at least so they claimed.
By now it was dark, and I found myself driving back toward 5 Points East and a high-density apartment area where I'd chased down gang members back in the '80s. Here, judging by the looks of the residents, it had transformed into a sort of Demon town, with the occasional down on their luck Fae and human eyeing me as I drove by. Probably not the safest place to be. Demons were still the lowest creatures on the totem pole for the most part and they weren't very fond of cops. Although I was off duty and armed, I was still a moving target for anyone but an idiot that didn't recognize the undercover police car I was driving. I decided to head back home when I spotted the temple on Charleston and Pecos.
