Of Gods and Fae Read Online Free PDF Page A

I
walked over to the doors, turned and nodded to them all, and then left the room
before anyone could ask another question.
    I swung by the casino and stopped in a coffee shop for a
cup, then took the long way back up to the executive offices to wait for
Milagre. I suppose I could have gotten some from his secretary, but I needed
the walk to clear my head. I wasn't sure if my little show had accomplished
much but at least I'd made my presence known. We'd just have to see if that was
going to be a good thing or not.
    As I opened the door to Milagre's office, the sound of a
clap… clap… clap… greeted me. It was the attorney, Gerald Cornwall. He had been
in attendance before I stepped in and was one of the Fae I had met before. He
was also one of the most powerful attorney's in town and from what Bernd, the
dwarf, had told me, a descendent of Artemis, the huntress, although he wasn't a
High Fae as I was. Nonetheless I guessed he was pretty powerful in his own
right.
    "A remarkable display of magic," he commented as I
walked into the room. "And you told them absolutely nothing, you should
have been a politician."
    "Thanks, I think…" I replied. "Where are the
others?" I asked, meaning Milagre and Siegfried.
    "Oh, they're still in the meeting. I left early to talk
to you."
    I walked over to the bar behind Milagre's desk and poured
myself a small glass of Midelton, neat, then gestured at Cornwall who gave a
small nod. Pouring a second glass, I went back and handed one to him before
sitting down on the couch.
    "I'm curious as well," he said. "Why haven't you
revealed yourself until now?"
    I started to respond but he stopped me.
    "I'm not trying to question your motives, call it
instead, an observation. I have followed some of your career. I remember when
you were a police officer and I did know that your business existed. But yet
there's never been even a hint of the Fae about you."
    "If you're not questioning my motives then what's your
point?" I responded.
    "Like I said, I find it… curious."
    "And as I have stated, I had my reasons." I said with
a hint of agitation in my voice.
    "Well then, let's leave it at that, for now. It was not
my intent to offend you" He moved over to the other end of the couch and
sat down. "The reason I ask is that you should know that this Marissa has
been here before."
    "Has she?" I asked. Of course, I knew the answer.
Diantha had told me about meeting her some 40 to 50 or so years ago when Marissa
was searching out the Fae. That meeting had sent Diantha into hiding until I
had found her and restored her youth by returning to her the Dragon's eye,
given to her by Apollo. It was the source of her longevity and beauty.
    "I remember her," he said, raising his glass
before taking a sip. "Of course I didn't know what she was then, but then
I didn’t know what you were either."
    "Interesting, I'd like to hear about it." I downed
the rest of my glass and set it down on the table.
    "I thought you would," he replied with a smile.
    "It was after the war, WW II, that is. Vegas was a
different place then, smaller and unsettled. But the magic was growing and that
drew the Fae here." He turned to face me. "Did you fight in any of
the human wars?" he asked.
    Still digging, I thought to myself. "No, I was a little
too young for Vietnam," I replied, throwing him a bone.
    "Ah, well, it doesn’t really matter," he continued,
ignoring the comment about my age. "Suffice it to say that when gambling
started drawing humans to this place the magic drew the Fae. Not many, but a
few… those bold enough to leave their planes of safety and thus begin to
explore the new world. Of course, some were already here, but a least a few Fae
found their way back from hiding.
    "I had assumed the role of a young attorney and settled
here with the first Fae that arrived. That would have been the late '40s, after
the war. That's when I first met Milagre, as a matter of fact. Of course he was
using a different name then, as were we