The Blood Eagle In The Big Easy Part 11

Shaking my head sadly I reluctantly turned and sat upon the Throne of Comus for the first time in nearly a hundred years. "You can't use my own weapon against me." Leaning forward I gripped the Scepter and it responded to my touch as it grew several feet in each direction, the brilliant blue sapphire elongated into a long spear tip while the emerald created a counter balance. "I tried to warn you." Holding the now nine foot spear I slammed it into the dais sending ripples of power throughout the room. "Leonard, would you like to see the will of Comus?"

Leonard shook and pulled himself to his knees. "You can't be... there isn't anyway that you could be...You're lying!"

Standing there I watched as the realization of what was happening rolled through the room like a tidal wave. Looking at Leonard sadness filled my soul. I slowly made my way down the dais. "Didn't you find it odd that the Gatekeeper before you gave you just one unbreakable law?" Pausing before Katherine I swept the glowing sapphire tip through her bindings causing them to fall to the floor. "That law stated that the Progenitor was allowed free reign." Anger crept back into my voice as I neared the cowering man. "I allowed you to sit upon the Throne of Comus in the hopes you would become a better man than you had been in the past." Leonard scrambled back against the closed doors trying to force himself through. "I was wrong in doing so." Stopping a few feet away from him I knelt as I held Gungnir, the spears true name, firmly in my grasp. "Leonard?"

Leonard looked at me as he whispered. "Yes?"

"I would run if I were you." Expanding my will through Gungnir I forced the doors open. "Pray we never meet each other again."

He shuffled his feet back pus.h.i.+ng his rather large hindquarters through the threshold before scrambling to his feet. He stopped and turned to me his voice shaking as he spoke. "You should have killed me." Hatred rolled off him in waves. "I would've killed you on the spot and your little wh.o.r.e too." He shook violently as he gathered what little courage he had left as he turned and ran as fast as his feet would carry him from my sight.

*I suppose that makes me a better person.' I thought to myself, *Or it makes me a fool.' Turning my attention to the silent room behind me for the first time since his departure, many sat with their mouth agape and shock was the emotion of the moment.

Silence reigned as I strode through the room and up the stairs to the Throne. Taking my seat I looked out over the Kings and Queens that a.s.sembled before me as I cleared my throat once more to address them properly. "Greetings to you one and all Kings and Queens of the Mystick Courts of Comus." My voice seemed to magnify itself slightly with each word until my voice filled the room vibrating the walls.

Each member of the court stood as they gave me a bow before taking to their knee. Even Katherine surprised me by following their lead before she spoke. "My liege what is your will?"

Taken aback by her acquiescence to my will I didn't answer right away until I saw Katherine give me a glowering look. It let me know that all was right in the universe once more. "Rise and be at ease." I waved them to their feet. "First and foremost, anyone who wishes to relinquish their posts may do so now with no questions asked."

I paused for a moment as three newly appointed members of the court vacated the premises behind their master before proceeding. "Secondly, it appears that there are several posts that need filling." Leaning back in the throne I felt uncomfortable. "I will leave the particulars of that in your capable hands. A new Gatekeeper should be appointed by the close of day."

"Your will be done." Katherine intoned as the room fell in sync.

"My final request." Standing as I spoke and proceeding down the stairs with Gungnir in hand and a heavy heart, I was filled with a weight I hadn't known in many years. "Please keep my secret safe."

Katherine smiled as something wicked flitted through her eyes. "Of course my liege."

By her tone I knew there would be h.e.l.l to pay as soon as we were alone but it was a price I was willing to pay to keep those around me safe. "Thank you all for your continued service to the greater good." Bowing as I spoke I stood beside Katherine and gave her my best *I'm so innocent' smile.

She followed me as I left the room. Feeling the effects of the beating she leaned against me as I forced the doors open, leaving the MCC to deal with the inner workings of the day to day politics. "So you're really Comus?"

The Staff of Gungnir clacked on the marbled hallway as we made our way through the building. "I've had many names over the years, Comus is but one of them."

"Is there anything else I should know?"

"I'm sure that you would think so."

She grabbed my arm and swung me around as she glared at me. "For heaven's sake Viktor, stop with all the cryptic mumbo jumbo."

I opened the front door for her, bowing slightly as she stormed through it. "Where do you want me to start?" I asked her as I Followed in her wake to my car. "Do you want to know about how I don't know my true name or nature?" Clicking the key fob I unlocked and opened the pa.s.senger's side door for her. "Get in line!" Closing the door I walked around and climbed in the drivers seat. "I don't know some of those answers myself." Shaking my head in anger I started the car and put it in gear. "It isn't as if you were totally honest about your heritage when we met!"

"Oh h.e.l.l! That was forty years ago. Get the h.e.l.l over yourself!" She growled giving me the finger in the process. "Maybe you could have said something around the time I gave birth? Don't ya think?"

Trying to keep my emotions in check and my foot off the gas I glowered at the world at large. "Like what? Oh by the way honey I know you're pregnant with my child but there's a few things you should know." I slammed my hand on the horn as someone cut me off. "I'm over twenty eight hundred years old and I have no idea who I am or where I came from! Surprise!"

Katherine rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. "Sounds pretty stupid when you say it like that."

"Never get's any better no matter how I say it!" My anger faded quickly and I realized that I was more embarra.s.sed than anything. People counted on me, trusted me, and I didn't even know who I was. I was ashamed that my secrets had been laid bare in the light of day.

She reached out and touched my hand as she spoke gently. "How about an easy question." Her eyes were filled with understanding and kindness as she gripped my hand once more. "How did you wind up here in New Orleans of all places?"

Bowing my head slightly as I kept my eyes on the road ahead I told her everything. It had been nearly two hundred years ago when I found my way to the city. Louisiana had recently become a state in the union. I ran across an old medicine man who had been injured fighting a kappa. I nursed him back to health and he introduced me to the local spirits. Many were benevolent but many more were not. One day I was gravely injured when I was attacked by a group of marauding werewolves. One of the spirits saved me on the condition that I swore to serve those under his protection for at least one hundred years plus one day. I owed him my life and promptly made a blood oath with the land. That was the start of things. Later the men and women who formed the Krewe of Mystic had a n.o.ble idea, so I aided them in their tasks. We came up with the entire Comus concept so I wouldn't have to be a part of the day to day actions of the court yet be able to maintain the directives they had set forth by enforcing the will of Comus once a year.

It was a good plan actually. Leonard wasn't the first douche to become Gatekeeper and I was sure he wouldn't be the last. This was the first time though that I had ever felt a need to throw one out of office bodily. And since that had happened I would be holding on to the Scepter. It was one of the few things I had yet to collect of my items I had lent out over the centuries. The Scepter was a beautiful piece of art as well as a deadly weapon. Who knew, it might be just what I needed to kill Gullveig once and for all.

"So were you ever going to tell me all this?" Katherine questioned.

"Maybe one day but more than likely no, no I wasn't." I confessed.

"And our daughter, is she like you? Will she live forever?" she asked hopefully.

"I honestly don't know, but I suspect she is at least partially like me. I just don't know if that means she will have a longer than average lifespan or not." I replied.

Katherine laughed. "Twenty eight hundred years is definitely not average." She took my hand once more squeezing it tightly. "Thank you for coming for me today. I think he meant to put me in level four."

I blinked. "They would have killed you down there."

"Yes they would have." She agreed.

I sighed heavily. "Look, I know that you have had a real s.h.i.+tty day but I still need to ask you for something and you're not going to like it."

She smirked and said. "After finding out that someone was going to let you die in a horrible way I think I can handle a little favor."

I nodded. "I need you to track someone for me and I need you to do it quickly."

She made a face and cringed a little. "Oh... sure I can do that. Just, just get me the blood and I will get you their location. I need to let Sam know I am safe before we start."

"She's at my office along with some other key members of your staff. They didn't exactly feel safe waiting for Leonard to come pick them up."

She smiled and nodded. "Thank you for that, but don't think for a second that this conversation has been put to rest. We still have much to talk about. That is if you're willing..."

"You of all people probably deserve an explanation. I will do my best to answer what I can." We made the rest of the trip in silence. Thankfully it wasn't a very long one.

Chapter 15.

Opening the door for Katherine I waved her in as I gave her a slight bow. That at least garnered a smirk as she swept past. I was of course left in the dark as to what she was feeling as her mood swung between anger and understanding. Last I heard they made pills for such a condition but I doubted I would be lucky enough to have a doctor prescribe them for her. Catching sight of Samantha on the second floor Katharine gave her a wave as she made her way up the stairs. Thankful for the distraction I stopped off at Justine's desk, who without a word handed me several dozen pieces of paper with messages from Kira. After the first three I skipped to the last one which brought a smile to my face.

"You know they make these things called computers these days." I advised her. Not able to keep the mirth out of my voice I pocketed last the message before dropping the others on the counter. "A single email could have saved a tree or two. We're supposed to be going green, remember?"

Justine looked at me knowingly. "Please! If I sent you an email you would have junked all but the last message without even reading them."

I had to admit she had a point. Kira was demanding combat pay for transporting Owen! She was being particularly colorful about her demands. "I can't imagine that babysitting someone would require combat pay." Mumbling more to myself than Justine.

"She thought you might say that." Justine pulled a thumb drive off the counter in front of her and handed it to me. "After I watched the video I have to agree that she more than deserves the extra pay."

Leaning forward I dropped my voice as I became concerned. "Did she have to discharge her weapons?"

Justine rolled her eyes as her cheeks turned crimson trying not to laugh. "I would have if I were her!" Picking up the thumb drive I stuck it in my pocket as she teetered on the verge of laughter. "This Owen character is a full blown diva!" She wiped tears from her eyes as she spoke. "He has promised to sperm her as a special favor to bring her back to the world of men."

My mouth began to quiver as I tried not to laugh at the absurdity of the comment. "Who says that s.h.i.+t?" Coughing to try and hide my amus.e.m.e.nt I leaned over the counter and whispered. "Please tell me you are recording the live feed on the dashboard camera."

Justine's face was nearly purple as tears rolled down her face. "Wouldn't have pa.s.sed on that for the world." She shrugged thoughtfully as she spoke. "I thought streaming it in the cafeteria would get me shot but I was sorely tempted."

Now that would have been funny, but costly for everyone involved, especially my bank account which from the sounds of things was going to suffer immensely. Kira was many things including daddy's little girl and she would make me pay for the indignity of someone promising to sperm her as a favor. "Thanks for using good judgement for the both of us."

"Oh," Her laughter faded as she grabbed some paperwork from under her desk. "Billy dropped by earlier and insisted on leaving a blank check for the deposit on the apartment." She handed me the check with a shrug.

Taking the check I tore it in half and handed it back to her. "Please mail this back to him with a note that I cashed it will you?" She nodded as I crossed the room to the stairs. It wasn't long before I heard Katherine and Samantha talking.

Samantha was sitting at Kira's desk quickly taking notes as Katherine leaned over her speaking quietly and quickly. "Make sure to reschedule all my appointments for sometime next week." Katherine caught sight of me and waved me over. "Just a sec, I got a few things to handle with Samantha and then we can get to our business."

"Take your time." I was in no hurry for her to put me or herself through the turmoil she was about to delve into.

Katherine was many things to many people but at her core she was a creature of great power. I suspect it was for that reason alone that she was able to bear my one and only child. One of the many talents she inherited from Achelous was the innate ability to use blood magic in ways that most mortals could not even begin to comprehend. There was a cost though. It forced the user to mingle their soul with whomever's blood they were using. Sometimes this was a wonderful bonding between two people or it was as simple as the oath I had taken a few hundred years earlier to serve those under Hustahli protection. Other times however, it was darker if not nearly perverse, and using someone's blood to track them landed somewhere in the middle between the two. It was dangerous, filthy and absolutely wrong to perform such magic but somedays it was the only choice.

"Don't forget to feed the cats." Katherine finished, Samantha nodded as she scribbled the last of her notes and giving me a weak smile as she left to fulfill her bosses wishes.

Katherine followed me into my office and took a seat opposite me. Hanging my head in shame my voice shook. "You know I wouldn't ask you to do this if I had a choice."

Katherine's smile was genuine as she leaned back in her chair. "Of all the people I have ever known, you are the only one who has never asked for anything for themselves." I started to object but she waved me off as she chuckled. "Even now you hesitate to ask when you need me the most." Leaning forward her eyes twinkled with magic. "You should leave the blood on your desk and give me until morning. After that he will be all yours."

Pulling the ziploc bags containing the b.l.o.o.d.y mattress samples out of my jacket, I placed them on the desk and stood up to leave. As I walked toward the exit I stopped and put my hand on her shoulder. "Thank you..." Again such a simple phrase that seems so inadequate to express my grat.i.tude. She took my hand gently and squeezed, exchanging glances with each other and understanding what this had cost each of us .

I a.s.signed two of my best agents to stand guard outside my office door until morning to ensure Katherine wasn't disturbed, then I headed for my car to pick up the Staff of Gungnir before heading home. Gungnir had returned to its normal size and demeanor as the Scepter of Comus before leaving the MCC, but even so I quickly gave up trying to conceal it under my jacket. So I just marched up the street and through the doors leading to my apartment garnering more than few surprised looks from those who recognized it.

Not wanting to wait for the elevator I took the stairs two at a time until I was standing outside my front door. A I turned the key and let myself in Gungnir sprang to life once more as I registered a rather large shadow resting on my couch in the darkness. "After the day I've had, you have a free pa.s.s." Nodding at the patio door that stood partially open. "Leave now and I won't even bother chasing you."

The lights flicked on of their own accord. Mir was sitting there in all his grandeur, perhaps a few feet shorter than the last time we met, but still more than impressive. He had abandoned his living armor for more mundane blue jeans and an overly tight t s.h.i.+rt. "Now that would hardly be sporting now would it?" He answered.

Closing the door behind me I walked to the kitchen as the Staff of Gungnir returned to a more manageable size. "So now we are corporeal?" I waved in his direction as I grabbed a tumbler and poured myself a three finger shot of whiskey.

"Not as of yet my lord." Mir bowed his head slightly as he eyed Gungnir. "You know that Gungnir has many shapes and sizes depending upon your need."

Downing the first gla.s.s of whiskey, I poured myself another. Thankfully I never have hangovers, which I suppose I owe to the nanites that were running rampant through my body. "I suppose the implants in my retinas allow me to see you?"

Mir gave me an approving look as he walked over to join me in the kitchen. "There is a lot of history stored in the archives." He continued to eye my whiskey hungrily as he spoke. "With all the head trauma I wasn't sure you were capable of figuring that part out."

There was a twinkle in his eyes when he spoke and the sides of his mouth quivered. "I'm sorry but did you just make a joke?" Grabbing the bottle and another gla.s.s we moved to the library. Taking a seat next to Mir I poured two gla.s.ses and sat them on the table between us.

Mir eyed the whiskey enviously. "Thank you for your generosity." He hung his nose over the gla.s.s as he inhaled deeply. "I can almost remember what it smells like."

Putting my gla.s.s down I looked curiously at Mir. "You weren't always..."

"A hologram? Otherworldly being that only you can see?" He leaned back in his chair as he smiled wistfully. "No, no I wasn't always like this. Long ago I was like you in many ways."

"You were a royal?" Leaning forward as curiosity took over. "Do you remember anything other than what you told me?"

Mir hung his head as he sighed, weariness clouding his face as he leaned back. A gla.s.s appeared in his hand full of what appeared to be whiskey. "I can't let you drink alone!"

"What the h.e.l.l?"

Mir chuckled after he took a long drought. "Its an illusion yet it reminds me of what a good aged whiskey would taste like." He held the gla.s.s in his hand and took another drink from a gla.s.s that never seemed to empty. "To answer your question, yes I was a royal, or at least a part of one."

Pouring myself another gla.s.s I shook my head. I had to wonder how you could be part of a royal and not be one of them. "How does that work exactly?"

Mir's face relaxed for the first time since we had met. "Exactly?" He shook his head and laughed. "I have no idea! I just know that it does." The Eye appeared to hover a few inches above his outstretched palm. "I am the eye and the eye is from the Allfather, thus I am only part of a royal."

I wondered what it must be like to be pure energy. "I see you have adapted to the current dress code. I take it you've been watching Simon Cowell to find a s.h.i.+rt that tight." Mir shrugged his huge shoulders as he leaned back.

"The man has good taste!" Mir chuckled. "Don't hate the player, hate the game!" His face contorted with discomfort at the last few words.

Face palming myself I shook my head. "Oh, dear G.o.d in heaven don't ever say anything like that again."

"Not to worry I won't." He shook his head and his long hair s.h.i.+fted around his face. "That was entirely disconcerting."

"Yeah for the both of us."

Mir took another drink as he lost himself in thought. "I've missed this."

"Missed what?"

He stood and paced around the fire. "Even though I slept through what appears to be several hundred lifetimes I was still aware of my loneliness." The words. .h.i.t me like a freight train. I had never considered the fact that he was a living being, let alone had feelings. "It's good to speak with someone even if we are practically strangers."

As much as I hated to admit it I could understand more than most the feeling of not belonging and constant loneliness. Something in his voice tore at my soul. He was more alone than I had ever been. "I am always available to talk if you want."

A smile broke across his face making the scars across it to ripple in the firelight. "A generous offer and one I will take advantage of once I am through with my research and repairs."

"Speaking of *repairs'," using the air quotes around the repair as I still found it a completely foreign concept, "I noticed a few enhancements in my abilities."

"Ah yes, I do hope you approve sire." He raised his gla.s.s in my direction as he inclined his head.

"That's the second time you have addressed me in such a manner. Is there something I should know?" Tilting back my fourth gla.s.s of whiskey, warmth spread through my body as the alcohol finally took effect even if it were temporary. "It's a pretty serious one eighty from how our last conversation ended."

"To be fair, few peoples manners are where they should be when they first wake." He took yet another sip of his imaginary brew as his mind worked quickly to explain. "While I may not know who you are exactly, only the Allfather or his appointed representative can wield Gungnir." His eyes looked past me as he recalled things I could not. "You are the starborn and as such I owe you respect."

"Starborn?" Something about the name struck a chord deep within me but it was a tune I couldn't remember the rhythm to.

"Less of a t.i.tle than a fact." Mir rubbed his chin as he struggled to convey it's meaning. "You were to be our savior from the darkness yet in the end they still came." His hands trembled as the pain and sorrow overtook him. "Many were saved, but many others were lost. I don't know how or why we are in this place but I can only hope that it will help us in our fight against Jormungandr, the world killer."

"Jormungandr? Who or what is that?" As I spoke the words images suddenly raced through my mind of a heavily armored serpentine machine large enough to wrap itself around the sun, terrifying me. Somehow I knew that this is what destroyed my worlds. It had to be the alcohol clouding my mind because rationally nothing like the beast that I had seen in my mind could truly exist and for the first time in my life I was the one who wished to remain in the world of fantasy. As Mir closely watched me he leaned forward, cupping his face in his hands as he did so.