Jewel of the Fae

by Tom Keller

  "Let's say you're right," I said. "How does that help us? We're talking what? 2,300 years ago? Not too many doors that we can knock on that are still around from that time period."

  "Perhaps not," he said, settling down on the floor. "But it establishes that the necklace was not destroyed in the fire that killed the last person known to possess it." He bent over and picked up a clay tablet. "Give me time. I believe this lead, as you would call it, has merit."

  "Okay," I said, walking into the kitchen. I thought that, while certainly interesting, the mere description was thin evidence. But Alf had a way with research, so I figured I'd give him the benefit of the doubt, for now.

  "Keep looking then," I said, almost tripping over another tablet. I stopped and turned back. "By the way. Can you try to keep the place clean? I don’t know how you can find anything in this mess."

  "As you wish," he replied with a bow. "But I was only working in here because of the incessant sound from your device… your cell phone. It has been making an infernal noise since yestereve."

  "My phone?" I asked, turning to walk down the hall to my office. I'd left it in a drawer before going to Hades. Pulling it open I saw that there had been several calls from the same number. Although not unusual, it was one I didn’t recognize, but they'd left a voicemail, so I punched the appropriate key on my cell.

  "Lord Hades," a sultry female voice said. "My name is Sitre, daughter of Thoth. I have a message for you from my father." The message continued with a time and location to meet. She'd also added it would be worth my time to attend. Although it had been left two days ago, the meeting date was later tonight.

  To be honest, under normal circumstances, I would have blown it off. I mean, I don’t give out my private number too often, but I still get bullshit solicitations all the time. But since she'd specifically claimed to be the daughter of an Egyptian God, and had called me Lord Hades, I figured it was worth the follow up. You see, most beings from the magical world use other means to convey such a message. Don’t get me wrong, damn near every Fae or Demon on Earth has a cell phone. But when you’re summoning the equivalent of an old-world God, there are certain formalities, even if you're the daughter of a God yourself. Well, at least, there were supposed to be. Hell, I had an Aurae, a sky Fae, that handled those kinds of things for me. So why should I be surprised if his daughter played the same role. But I'm getting off track. Anyway, the God of Hades walks into a bar… I'll let the next part of the story go on from there.

  Doesn’t look that much different, I thought to myself as I walked into the place later that night. The place, to be exact, was a bar. Skinny's by name. It was a throwback from the old days of Vegas when serving up good liquor and decent food at reasonable prices was the norm. Of course, they'd added a few more slot machines since I'd last been in here, but that was to be expected these days. It had also changed hands a few times since I'd been a regular here in the 80s and 90s. Don’t look so aghast. This was the kind of place you came to after a hard day's (or night's) work and grabbed a beer and a bite to eat with your co-workers before heading home and calling it a day. Just to repeat the process once again until you got to your RDO's and could spend time with the family. (That's regular days off for those of you that were wondering.)

  I can’t speak for other professions, but back when I was a cop, I led a double life. Four days police sergeant and three days normal person. Unless you got called back in, then normal person didn’t apply. It's just the way it was. You gave the Department your all when you were on duty, and your family the same when you were off. But I'm not here to give you a dissertation on what a cop's life is like. Nor was I here in the bar to reminisce.

  I made my way to the counter and ordered a beer, then then sat down at a quiet table in the back to wait for my mysterious caller. I didn't have to wait long. The sultry, dark skinned beauty wearing a skin tight black dress that walked in made me think I was in a crime noire film from the 40s. I could almost hear it in my head. This dame waltzes into my office like she owned the night. Only this wasn't the right decade for a description like that, and it wasn't my office. It was a bar, but you get my drift. She noticed me immediately and walked my way. I stood and pulled a chair out, motioning for her to sit. It never hurt to play the gentleman.

  "Lord Hades," she said, accepting the chair. "I am Sitre, daughter of Thoth. I thank you for meeting with me on such short notice."

  I'd always been curious about the Egyptians. Unlike my Greek and Roman ancestors, their Gods hadn’t faded out of existence. As times changed they just stepped into the shadows, knowing that eventually the wheel would turn their way again. Smart, when you think about it.

  "Please. Call me Robert," I said, sitting back down. "May I offer you a drink?"

  "Wine, please," she said, nodding. "Thank you."

  I caught the bartender's attention and ordered her a glass of red.

  "Now, what can I do for the daughter of the Egyptian God of Knowledge and Wisdom?"

  "My father sends his greetings," she said, tipping her glass before taking a sip. "He requests a face to face meeting… one God to another. He begs that you come to Goodsprings tomorrow night while the moon is still full."

  "Goodsprings?" I asked. "Okay. But why didn't he come himself? Not that I don’t appreciate your company. But sending you in to set up a meeting, even if you are his daughter, seems just a tad cliché. Or have I just been watching too many old detective movies?"

  "My father is in the area to perform an ancient rite," she said, smiling. "Unfortunately, he cannot stray from his duty during the ceremony. Since I was in town for a trade show, he asked me to seek you out, and request that you meet him at a neutral location when he is finished. Goodsprings is far enough from Vegas to avoid unnecessary attention. I hope you understand."

  "Of course," I replied, looking at the moon tables using my cell phone. Neutral location? Not sure why that was necessary, but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Why not? "Agreed. I'll be there tomorrow night."

  "Thank you," she said, then reached into her clutch and pulled out a card. She placed it on the table and slid it toward me. "Be there at moonrise. He will be at the Pioneer, using the name Joseph Ghally." That said, she stood up, and without another word, walked out the door.

  Not exactly a great conversationalist, I thought, glancing down at the card. It had the name of the well-known saloon on it, with the address on it. Not that you could miss it. It was on the main road as you first got into town. Well, if nothing else, it would be a nice diversion from what I'd been dealing with in Hades.

  Not that there was much I needed to do in the other world at the moment. Diantha had Hades covered. As for Nyxia, while my status as the father had certainly gone up where that was concerned, Kyras and the Keres had their own traditions and views of how she should be raised. Especially while she was still an infant. For now, that meant they would let me know when I was needed. It's almost funny. In the Fae world, I wasn't married, wasn't divorced, but still had to deal with what was the equivalent of a child custody agreement. Of course, I could visit any time, but still.

  Then again, I didn't get to speak with too many of the old Gods that often. Come to think of it, I haven't really spoken to any of them. Except Gaea and Ouranos, of course, and that didn’t really count. So I guess that was worth something all on its own. I gave it a few minutes, then finished my beer before dropping a twenty as a tip and heading out to the parking lot.

  "Anything," I asked, stopping by my car and leaning against the door. I'd driven the Corvette with the top down. It was a '57. A gift from Gaea for… well… let's just call it services rendered. Although I hadn’t sensed any danger, I'd brought Charlie along, just in case.

  "No," the big dog replied, stepping out from the shadows. He stopped to sniff at a parking spot a few spaces over. "She came and went alone." He lifted his head and turned to me. "What message does she bring?"

  "Thoth wants a face to face," I replied, opening the door of
the Vette. "He wants to meet at the Pioneer in Goodsprings while the moon is still full. Which just happens to be tomorrow."

  "What would an Egyptian God want from the Lord of Hades?" Charlie asked, jumping into the passenger seat. "I believe this request is more than it seems."

  "You're probably right," I replied, putting the car in gear and heading out of the parking lot. "She could have saved a trip and told me this on the phone. But I'm going anyway."

  "As am I," he said, lifting his head above the windshield.

  "I wouldn’t have it any other way," I said, laughing as the big dog's jowls flapped in the wind.

  The next morning, I did a little research on the Egyptian Gods. Since he had gone to a lot of trouble just to arrange a meeting, I figured it was best to keep it on the low down. So rather than asking any of my Fae contacts, I just used the Internet. Being cautious, I used a TOR browser, no reason to leave any tracks. You never knew who was trying to get a bead on what I was up to. Trained investigator, remember?

  I’m not going to bore you with everything I found out, but I will say that what I discovered was interesting. Thoth was one of the older Egyptian Gods. I might have mentioned that he was the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, as well as other things. He was also the arbitrator between good and evil. Helping keep the universe in balance, and the scribe of the Underworld. Keeping records on everything, including the ritual weighing of the heart. That’s the one where they weighed the deceased heart against an ostrich feather. Coincidently, the feather belonged to Maat, the Goddess of Truth and Justice, who just happened to be Thoth’s wife. The point is, this guy was no slacker. No, he was the real deal, at least as far as Egyptian Gods go. But what did he want with me? I guess I’d find out soon enough. In the meantime, I had a few housekeeping items I had to take care of.

  In the human world I was still a P.I. Oh sure, I didn’t take that many cases anymore, I didn’t really have the time, or the inclination. But I had a few regulars that I still handled things for and I needed a place to work out of. I’d moved out of Hailey’s and hung my shingle at Malcolm Smitt’s office. Mal was my old partner back when I dealt in computer crime at the P.D. He was also Sendy’s boyfriend and part Fae himself. After stacking Alf’s mess on my home office floor and giving him a stern warning to keep the rest of the place clean, I headed downtown to catch up with paperwork.

  Mal was deep in conversation with a Half-Elf from the Neptune when I walked into the office. Working on some computer program that was giving them problems. Magic and technology co-exist just fine but try and mix them… well… let’s just say it isn’t always pretty. I grabbed a cup with the badge from the P.D. on it from the cabinet and then filled it with coffee, saying my hello’s before I went into my office to play catch up.

  To be honest, it was mostly phone calls and emails. I’d farmed out most of my human world work to a few trusted associates. Anything they couldn’t handle would be filtered through Mal’s office. He’d let me know if there was something I had to deal with personally. It still took most of the day to get caught up, so I had Sendy pick up Charlie and bring him to the office. With my last phone call done, the two of us made our way to the parking lot and eventually onto the freeway toward Goodsprings.

  Some folks might wonder if I was running on all cylinders. Bernd had warned me that the Dwarves had hired assassins and I still had a pretty decent list of enemies all on my own. Yet here I was driving to Goodsprings some 40 miles away in my white and maroon, 1957 Corvette with personalized plates. Not exactly in the spirit of keeping a low profile. But, then again, who in their right mind would think that Vette next to them with the big dog in the passenger seat was actually being driven by the God of Hades? It didn’t really matter of course. Hades wasn’t called the Unseen One for nothing, and the car, being a gift from Gaea, had a few surprises of its own. Three quarters of an hour later, I took the turn off toward Sandy Valley and headed up the 161 a bit until we hit the only bar in town.

  The Pioneer Saloon was one of the Las Vegas area’s hidden gems. Nestled in the tiny town of Goodsprings, the saloon first opened in 1913 and still contained the original bar and brass rail footrest from when it was built. Even the stamped tin tiles purchased from Sears and Roebuck when the place was first built are still on the walls. Oh, and the bullet holes resulting from a card cheating incident back in 1915 can still be found on the back-room’s wall. It’s a popular place, not just for locals but tourists as well. Clark Gable once spent a lifetime there waiting for news when his wife’s plane crashed into nearby Mt. Potosi. Some say Carole Lombard’s ghost still visits the place, along with the miner that got shot cheating at cards. Not to mention several other past patrons, and the prior owner, who was sought out for permission before the bar could change hands.

  I drove by the place and went up a few streets before turning and pulling over a couple blocks away. I was sure this meeting would be on the up and up, but even unseen Gods have to watch their back. Promising Charlie a steak, I let him out and drove up the back way into the parking lot. In case I forgot to mention it, the place was a popular stop for motorcycle and off-road enthusiasts due to the many trails that passed through the desert and led back to Las Vegas. One of the human patrons was just getting out of a four-wheel drive vehicle as I pulled into a spot beside him. After shooting the breeze with the guy for a bit, we made our way to the front and went inside.

  Walking up to the cigarette burn stained bar, I told the bartender who I was looking for. He waved a waitress over and she escorted me out to the back patio, which was lined with whiskey barrels aging in racks on the walls. Pointing me in the direction of the fire pit, I ordered a beer and walked past the tables to the corner. Seated in a comfortable chair was a conservatively dressed, 30’s looking, dark haired gentleman, wearing glasses. He stood to greet me as I walked up to the table.

  "Mr. Hoskins, " he said, reaching out his hand. "I am Joseph Ghally. "

  "Pleasure to meet you," I replied, shaking his hand. "Please, call me Robert."

  "Very well, Robert," he said, as the waitress returned and set my beer down. As she walked away, he gestured for me to sit. "Thank you for coming."

  "How could I resist?" I said, sitting down and taking a sip of my beer. "Although I'll admit to being surprised. I didn’t know any of you guys were still around."

  "We prefer it that way," he replied, picking up his glass. "You must remember, it has been many years since your kind walked among us. One of our brethren from the old world, that is. Because of your war, we thought you had all departed from this realm. Your return was… unexpected."

  "Yeah, well," I said with a chuckle. "You weren't the only one that was surprised. For what it's worth, that wasn't my war. But why show yourself to me now?"

  "As you say," he replied. "It was not your war." He took a drink and placed the glass on the table. "Much has happened since the fall of the Gods. People change, and those they worship change with them. Peaceful contact between the various Gods is rare. Rarer still when they fight amongst themselves as your brethren did. We have been watching you. You are not like the Gods that came before you."

  "Yeah," I replied. "I get that a lot. What's your point?"

  "Others have noticed this as well," he said, putting his hands together. "Osiris was asked to convey a message for another. Since I was already enroute to this plane, I agreed to convey it to you."

  "I'm all ears," I replied. "What exactly is this message?"

  "The Lord of Hell wishes to speak with you," he said, leaning back to wait for my reaction.

  "The Lord of Hell?" I repeated. Well, that was certainly unexpected. I gave it my best to not look shocked. "Let me get this straight. The Lord of Hell, and I'm assuming here that you mean Satan, wants to see me."

  He nodded.

  "Okay," I said. "So, the Devil contacts Osiris, the God of the Egyptian Underworld, who then contacts you, to pass this message on to me? Seems like a lot of trouble just to set up a meeting and it's not like I'
m hard to find. I've dealt with a few of his followers a time or two already. Why go through you?"

  "As I have said," he replied. "Contact between the various Gods is rare. But it was Anubis that the Devil contacted. He is the God of the Dead and has interacted with him in the past. Since you both rule in the Underworld, Anubis passed the message onto his mother, Osiris. It was she that passed it on to me." He leaned forward. "She thought it best that I be the one to deliver this message to you. The universe must maintain its balance and I have often been involved as an arbitrator between Gods."

  "I see," I said, sitting back and letting this sink in for a moment. Keep the universe in balance? Where had I heard that saying before? Still, this was sounding more and more like a kid's game of telephone with the message passing through several layers. I hope it hadn’t changed as much as the one's in the game does.

  "Hmm," I said. "I can't recall being in a direct dispute with the Devil. Although I'll admit that Beelzebub and I have had our differences. Of course, he's not around anymore, or at least so I hear." I raised my glass in his direction. "But you have my attention. What does he want to speak to me about?"

  "That, I am afraid, I am not privy to," he replied, leaning forward. "However, I have been assured that his intent is honorable. I would not be meeting you in this manner if it were not."

  "Okay," I said, drawing out the word. Honorable wasn't one of the first things I thought of when the Devil came to mind, but whatever. "I suppose my next question should be where and when?"

  He casually reached into a back pocket and pulled out what looked like a scroll held tight by a red string. Handing it to me, I realized it was just a plastic-coated document and the string turned out to be a simple rubber band. I opened it to reveal a map.

  "GPS coordinates?" I asked, almost in disbelief as I looked down at the numbers that were written below the X marks the spot.