Cole's Haunting Melody (The Gods' Executioner Series) by A.L. Bridges Page A

but what I said was something like “Good afternoon, my name is Feros. Movie speak…?”
    “ Shimatta… ee, eigo hanashimasuka?” I ask, which translates to ‘Damn… uh, do you speak English?’ so I guess I got it right this time.
    “Yes, Treyfair-san; everyone can speak English.” Yui replies.
    “Ah, thank you Yui; as you all can no doubt tell by now, Japanese is not my forte.” I announce.
    “Enough! Why are you here , Feros?” Amaterasu demands.
    “Well, my aunt told me that you were having a meeting about me in regards to what happened to the Slavic pantheon so I figured that I would come explain myself.” I inform her.
    “You may explain your actions.” Amaterasu replies.
    “Thank you, your highness. Well, to set the stage, I had just informed my fiancée, Chezarei, of some information that I thought might have destroyed our relationship. While obsessing over this, I decided to take a walk through the forests near Lake Baikal. Veles approached me in the forest and offered me something that I thought might help repair the relationship between Chezarei and I in exchange for helping him get his wife back from Perun. Veles wanted help, I wanted Chezarei to stay; it was a win-win.
    When we got to the top of the Great Oak and confronted Perun, I discovered that Veles had lied and what he had promised me was completely unattainable. This obviously made me quite angry and I sort of lose control when I’m angry. In my defense, I’m almost certain that if someone had told me that killing all the heads of a pantheon results in its destruction, then I never would have done such a thing.” I finish.
    “Yui Onee-chan, look what I found!” Addie yells as she runs into the room, holding a rhinoceros beetle. Her tail is wagging excitedly through a hole in her kimono as she runs over to Yui’s position behind Inari.
    “ Chiho! I told you not to come in here under any circumstances!” Yui scolds in Japanese.
    I blink several times and my image of Addie disa ppears, leaving behind a young kitsune with orange ears sticking out of her head and a bushy orange tail. Two tears stream from my eyes in response to my crushed illusion.
    “Cole, are you alright?” Saraswati asks.
    “I’m sorry… but I have to go.” I quietly respond and rush out of the room the way I came.
    The earbud retracts from my right ear as I run back down the hall, making my way outside where I sit down on the steps and bury my face in my hands.
    I’m so stupid… I have to accept the fact that she’s gone and can’t come back… I have to stop letting my mind play tricks on me, but I can’t… I just can’t…
    “Treyfair-san? I apologize for my younger sister’s interruption.” Yui says. I look over my shoulder to see her hanging her head apologetically while holding onto her sister’s arm.
    “ Kora!” Yui says and lightly smacks her sister’s shoulder.
    “ Sumimasen.” Chiho apologizes.
    “It isn’t her fault… when she rushed into the room… all I saw was my daughter… heh, despite the fact that they look nothing alike.” I quietly reply.
    “The one that was killed?” Yui questions.
    “Yes … despite the fact that the part of me that cried out for vengeance has been silenced, it hasn’t made my grief lessen…” I tell her. Yui giggles in response.
    “Sorry! I don’t find that to be funny at all, it’s just—” Yui starts.
    “Don’t worry, I understand. Quite a few Asian cultures handle awkward situations with giggling; I won’t take offence to it.” I quietly interrupt.
    “Cole, are you ready to leave? Everything has already been smoothed over with the Shinto pantheon.” Cheza thinks.
    “Yeah… I’ll meet you guys back in Niflheim.” I reply.
    “I need to get going.” I tell Yui as I stand up.
    “Okay, here.” Yui says while handing me a slip of paper that includes a phone number and email address. “The next time you’re in Japan, give me a call. We can go get drinks or