I talked quietly with the others as the Succubae who had captured the three would-be assassins released the hold of their sleep spells on their captives. The girls kept a tight hold of them so they couldn’t make a run for it once fully awake. Not that they would have much luck with that, given that this barren sky island was only roughly thirty meters in length at its widest point. Beyond that was a very long drop to the tropical rainforest below. There was nowhere to run.

Because of its small size and barrenness, we had used this island to extract our first samples of the element I was calling Inannium, after my predecessor, the Goddess who had created this beautiful domain and the ore that made these islands defy gravity. I figured that the small island would also serve well to question our captive audience. If they chose to run and fall, after I told them of their situation, well, that was on them.

Their legs hadn’t been bound when they were completely stripped and searched by my loyal priestesses, only their arms behind their backs and the knotted gags that would keep them from biting down on those cyanide capsules hidden among their normal teeth. A quick scanning spell to search for anything dangerous while they were stirring showed that my sister was right to be suspicious of such measures. They all had a cyanide tooth and some sort of locator implants, not that the ‘protestor’ needed either with that watch he’d been wearing, but it seemed that whoever was holding that one’s leash believed in redundancy.

Since those killer teeth were going to be a problem if they weren’t removed, and I couldn’t count on them not being bobby-trapped in case someone tried to remove them by force, I removed them the easy way. Thanks to my scanning spell on each of them, I was already aware of which tooth was the deadly one for each of them, so I teleported that tooth out of their mouth, one captive at a time. Between the obvious pain from that and the Succubae having released them from the sleep spells, they woke up pretty fast.

I waited until they were all fully aware and starting to struggle before I cheerfully offered, “Good morning! I hope you all slept well and are in a chatty mood.” My aura was still projecting my Justice aspect for now, which was appropriate given why we were here, and something of a relief since I wanted to talk to these guys without having to yell from out of my aura’s range so they wouldn’t turn into drooling idiots. Lillith was keeping her distance to not influence them as she hovered above us and watched the proceedings from just outside the range of her aura.

My only answer was muffled, angry shouting, so I frowned at the captive trio. “Yes, yes, I know. You’ll die before you talk. I’m sure that sounds very brave under any other circumstances, but you should know that your deaths aren’t going to stop me from getting the information I want from you. You may indeed die before you talk, but you will talk. Hey, Sis, why don’t you introduce yourself?”

Nishalle sauntered toward the trio of captives and then crouched, lowering herself to their level so they could all see the grin on her face, the white of her teeth a sharp contrast to her dark blue skin and her fangs on prominent display. Then, just before speaking, she stopped grinning as she glared at them intently, her glowing red eyes looking like they might just burn holes through them. “Hey, boys, I’m Nishalle, Demigoddess of the earth, darkness, owls, and death. I’m also the very pissed off sister of the Demigoddess that one of you attempted to murder with an anti-materiel rifle. How’d that work out for you guys?”

“Obviously not very well,” Harley said with a disgusted snort. “I mean, they didn’t kill Robyn or Empress Taelya, they’re captured, trussed up, bare-ass naked, and about to spill all their secrets. I’d say this falls under a worst-case scenario, at least for them.”

“It’s great for us, though, obviously,” Pete added cheerfully. “I get to watch my girlfriend work, and she’s so sexy when she’s deadly.”

Harley gave another dismissive snort as she countered Pete and leaned into the good cop role. “Come on, big guy, look at how terrified they are. There’s no reason to kill them or make them any more uncomfortable than we have to. I’ll bet you twenty that they’re gonna start singing in a way that’ll even put Robyn to shame as soon as we take off those gags.”

“I dunno, Harley, it looks to me like they’re about ready to bite down on those poisoned teeth. That or they’re constipated,” Lissany interjected, shaking her head before giving our captives a sad look. “Sorry, guys, you may think death is the end, but if you take that route, it’ll only be the start of your suffering. Nishalle will make sure of that.”

That got their attention. The three didn’t stop struggling against the Succubae holding them down, but their eyes did dart toward my sister. It was time for me to step in. “Don’t worry, Liss, I already removed those cyanide capsules, so if they want to die before they talk, they’ll have to find another way. Did you guys know that, as a Demigoddess of Death, Nishalle can claim souls?” I asked the last of our captives as I put a vicious smile on my face.

“I already claimed your souls while you were out cold,” Nishalle told them as she loomed over them with an almost feral grin. “When you die, I’ve got dibs on them. All I need is a spirit shepherd to pull your tainted souls from your corpses and send them to hell. My hell. My lackeys there will enjoy torturing you for eternity, and they will get the answers we want.”

Rei casually stepped forward to stand beside my sister, looking very grim. Usually, he didn’t like seeing people hurt, which was why he had chosen to become a Priest(ess) when we were making our characters for Apocalypse Dawn, so he could help the sick and injured. These guys had tried to kill me and Robyn, though, so he looked tense. He had since the shooting, and his voice was uncharacteristically empty of empathy as he said, “You may not believe her, or hope that she doesn’t have access to a spirit shepherd, but I am a spirit shepherd and you assholes just blatantly tried to kill my fiancée and our friend. I’ll be only too happy to rush you off hell before your bodies even start to cool.”

I stepped forward to wrap Rei up in my arms and tenderly kissed him, feeling some of the tension from the situation leaving his body as I did. He was too good, too caring and playful, for this kind of blatant intimidation. I’d never seen him this pissed before, not even when we first met while he was still Jess and dealing with his parents disowning him for being who he was. But then, that bullet had gotten pretty damn close to my head before my shield spell stopped it and he had been watching helplessly from the crowd.

Still, he and Daenyss were usually the ones to keep me in check when I started to get a little too Fae. Neither of them looked particularly invested in holding me back right now, though. For Rei, I knew that was because he loved me and that had looked like a far closer call than it actually was. It hadn’t even come close to draining my shield spells, but I imagined that was a small consolation.

With Daenyss, it was a little more complicated. I knew that she loved me, and we had become very close since she became my Attendant, but I could feel her belief in me as much as I could from my Priestesses. Even before I became a Demigoddess, she believed in me and loved me without a doubt. Yet, as innocent as she could be at times, she also knew very well the darkness that people could bear within them. I think that the poor, sweet Nymph just hated to see such darkness directed at me so blatantly and publicly, like when she gets in a tizzy when she thinks people are disrespecting me, only much worse. She was pissed.

“Hey, I’m okay, and so is Robyn. It’ll take more than that to take us down,” I whispered to the pair as I caressed both of their faces lovingly. Then I gave each of them one more tender kiss before turning my attention to the assassins. “Now that you know what’s going to happen to your souls when you die, let me tell you your current situation. We are in my domain, so if you’re hoping for someone to track you down with those implants, that’s not happening. I make the rules here, and those signals won’t leave my domain.”

I let that sink in for a moment before gesturing at the barren island we were on, and the edge not even five meters away, with the long drop to the ground beyond. “We are also on an island in the sky, roughly three thousand meters above the ground. In a moment, these lovely ladies holding you are going to let go, and you have two choices. One, you stay where you are and nod your head. I will take that to mean that you are willing to give a full confession in front of a camera. What happens after that will depend on the crimes you confess to and how cooperative you are.”

“Option two is fuck around and find out,” Nishalle added with a withering glare at the captives.

“Right,” I agreed. “You might try to resist or escape, but I guarantee that you will be dead and on your way to hell before you can even make the attempt. It will also be extremely difficult for you since your arms will remain bound behind your back, and your gag will stay in place until you agree to a confession. You could also gamble on us lying and try to kill yourselves. If that’s your plan, go right ahead and run off the edge of this island, and Nishalle will get answers from you in hell. I won’t stop you from jumping.”

“The ‘protestor’ was going to run. I could tell by the way that his eyes darted to the side toward the pile of clothes and equipment we had taken from them. I could see the moment he decided that he probably wouldn’t have a chance in his current state against Pete and my two Guardians, who were standing between him and that goal. His eyes then snapped toward the edge of the island with only brief hesitance before that hesitancy was replaced with steely determination.

One of the shooters, the younger-looking of the two, looked terrified as his eyes darted from Nishalle to me, and then straight back to my sister. It looks like someone heard about the last attempt on my life by the DCA in Toronto, and just how badly that had gone for the people involved. The other had a calculating look in his eyes, like he was already concocting a ‘believable’ story to ‘confess’ to me.

Well, this was certainly interesting. The one who hadn’t taken a shot and who would likely have the most plausible deniability seemed the most eager to die with his lips sealed. That probably meant that he had some juicy secrets. It could be an act, and maybe he wasn’t willing to actually go through with it, but I didn’t think so, and there was really only one way to find out. So, I said, “Chalise, you may release your prisoner.”

As I thought, he made a run for the edge of the island and didn’t hesitate to jump off. My wings were out, and I was following immediately, grabbing his leg before he could fall too far. “Wow, would you look at this view! You would have splattered pretty hard down there. I bet you wish you had wings right now, too, then maybe you’d have a hope for escape,” I offered cheerfully even as he started kicking at me with his free leg to try to shake my grip.

I flew back to the others and dropped him unceremoniously on the ground in front of Chalise, and the Succubus quickly got him back in a firm restraining hold. “No hesitation there at all,” Nishalle said while her glowing red eyes focused on him in a glare. “I’ll give you props for dedication, but not for intelligence. My sister said she wouldn’t stop you from jumping, not that she wouldn’t stop you from falling. Make no mistake, your souls do belong to me now, and you will spend an eternity in my private hell when you die, but we will be getting proper confessions out of all of you while you still live.”

I nodded as I looked toward the one whom I had just stopped from becoming a red smear on the landscape below. “You see, we weren’t too sure about you. You’re obviously not working for the same people as our other two would-be assassins here; your gear isn’t the same. So, I figured you were working for a different player, but you could have just been there to spy and get a read on the situation for your boss, whoever they are. If you were innocent and just there to observe, you would have been somewhat cooperative. Being that willing to die before we can get you to talk, though, that means you have some juicy secrets to spill.”

One by one, I cast a truth spell on each of our captives and then questioned them while filming the confessions/interviews with my phone. First up was our suicide happy idiot, Agent Michael James Kingsley of the CIA. He was there to try to kill me for Uncle Sam and had no idea about the other attempt being made on my life.

Kingsley had received intel that I would likely be Robyn’s special guest and crossed the border two days before the press conference under a false identity. The gun was stolen from a Vancouver PD officer, and the plan was apparently to wait until the press conference was well underway before moving somewhere close to the front of the crowd to get a clear shot at me. I was his primary target, but everyone close to me was considered a target of opportunity as well. I guess the DCA or CSIS hadn’t shared any intel about me, though, because if they had, he would have known I could stop bullets before they hit me.

What I found interesting was that the CIA seemed to want to kill me even though I hadn’t been seen on American soil. They considered me a wild card and a possible unifying figure for all the Changed and wanted me out of the picture before I could gain too much traction. Right now, they largely considered me to be some sort of whack job and cult leader, citing my ‘delusions’ about being a Goddess and the Empress of an imaginary country, but were afraid of what I could do if I actually got a following among the Changed in the States.

Rude. I have always maintained that I’m a Demigoddess, not a Goddess. Still, I was going to have to send them a message, and now I had just the idea on how to do it.

The two snipers were Damian Carter and Jack Matthews, both from the CSIS, and they were shipped to Vancouver just to assassinate me and Robyn. They didn’t know why, but they were trained not to ask questions when the orders came from above. These orders did indeed come from above, too, from none other than Bryan Shaw, the Director of the CSIS.

Well, at least I now knew who was calling the shots. But did Shaw go rogue, or was he acting under orders from the Minister of Defense, like I suspected since we had captured Jonesy? It was about time that I found out and cut off the head of the snake.

We spent that night in Varuus’kiel, having a late dinner before subjecting our three captives to the Wild Hunt. My people were feeling particularly vengeful when I announced that the three had been part of plots to assassinate both me and Robyn Reyes. I was half afraid that they might actually kill them during the hunt, which was why I specified that I wanted them left alive.

Nobody had ever been killed during the Wild Hunt before, just made to wish they were dead, and I didn’t want anyone to do something they might regret later in anger. Rarely people were killed for their crimes when their punishment was announced after the hunt, but that is extremely uncommon. We Fae like to make people truly suffer from the punishments we give them, and we are willing to spend a very long time ensuring that they do.

Sure, they can suffer in Nishalle’s hell once they’re dead, but it would be so much more satisfying having these three live long lives with some lesser, arbitrary punishment while knowing that they only have eternal torment to look forward to when they finally do die. Thankfully, that suggestion and Robyn asking for mercy seemed to be enough to rein in the most vicious and angry of us. So, when the Wild Hunt was over, our captives were merely exhausted, scraped, bruised, and suffering from a plethora of small, painful, but relatively harmless cuts all over their bodies.

For their punishment, I had to get a little creative since I wanted to send a little message to their organizations. I placed a magical compulsion upon each of them. For the rest of their lives, whenever someone asks them a question, any question, they will have to respond with the unblemished truth. No deceptions, not even little white lies to make someone feel better.

Not a great compulsion for someone in their line of work, and it would be especially entertaining once I sent their confessions to the media. Mostly because every time they answered a question in that way, they would follow up by saying, “I fucked with the Fae, honesty is the price I pay.” I also told them exactly what the punishment was and why they were receiving it, so they could answer honestly if asked.

My Mahair and the other Queens seemed particularly pleased with this punishment. It was relatively harmless, at least compared to what they had tried to do to me and Robyn, but they would pay a tangible price for their actions for the rest of their lives. After that, they were Nishalle’s problem. Hopefully, this would also get the message out that people shouldn’t fuck with the Fae. We didn’t want to hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it, but for those who cross us, we will exact a price.

Very early the next morning, I had Whisper send the confessions of the would-be assassins to all the same media outlets that we sent the phone recording to, along with a location and a simple message saying, “The early bird gets the worm.” That location was the west precinct of the Vancouver PD. I did say that I would bring those assassins to them when I was finished, after all. Unfortunately, it was only six o’clock when we dropped the three off, and the precinct wouldn’t be opening until eight. I wondered who would find them first, the cops or the media.

Whoever found them would be in for a surprise. The failed assassins were still buck ass naked, save for gags, the ropes binding their arms behind them, and a red ribbon with a bow each, just for shits and giggles. I was sure there would be so many questions for them. It would be glorious.

We had barely gotten back to the safehouse so I could get prettied up for my meeting later today with the Director of the CSIS when I saw Loki, Thor, and Sif waiting for us. I guess Loki and Sif must have been keeping an eye on us because they both had huge grins on their faces as Loki, in female form today, said, “Taelya, you do know how to have fun! The ribbons and bows were a nice touch.”

I grinned at the God(dess) of mischief. “Oh, there’s more to come. Do you want in on this? Have you ever been to Langley?”

Loki’s eyes lit up, as did her cousin’s. “I assume this has something to do with that CIA agent who was sent to kill you?” Sif asked.

“Yeah, I’d like to send their director a little message. All I need you to do is get inside their headquarters and place something on his desk without being seen,” I replied, still grinning. “Do you think you can do that?”

“Just who do you think you’re talking to?” Loki huffed. “That’s child’s play to someone of my talents. It has to be funny, though, so make sure it’s worth my time.”

I leaned in close and started to explain my plan to the three Norse Gods. Thor, of course, thought it was a terrible idea, but Loki and Sif were both giggling, grinning, and ready to make some mischief by the time I was finished explaining what I had planned. I almost wished I could be there to see it go off, but I wanted to time it so that it was happening while I was dealing with the Director of the CSIS.

He was my real target, at least until I knew who was pulling his strings. I needed to deal with this; they had crossed me one time too many and gone too far by putting Robyn in the crosshairs. I needed to deal with the CSIS, the DCA, and whoever was at the top of the totem pole in one sweeping move. The CIA was an annoyance, but until now, they had not crossed me directly. They would get a warning, for now. Hopefully, between that and me making it clear during the press conference that Varüus’kiel would not offer either our tech or services to countries that mistreated my people, they would realize that they should back off.

Daenyss made a nice breakfast for everyone, including the three Norse Gods, as I explained my plan for later this morning and made preparations. My little gift for the Director of the CIA didn’t take long to conjure up. It did take me a while, though, to find a detailed enough current video feed of the area of Ottawa where the CSIS headquarters was located so that I could create a portal there.

I could have sent Nishalle there to scout things out and act as an anchor for our teleport later, but there was a big problem with that. It was daytime, and Nishalle worked best in shadows or darkness. Thankfully, Harley was getting better at using her anti-perception field, and she thought that she could stay in that state for long enough to find the CSIS Director and stick with him until we were ready to visit.

She had looked at a picture of him while we were eating, burning it into her memory so she could find him easier. I also had Lillith accompany her, staying invisible and watching from above, just in case there were any hiccups. I would have sent Lillith alone with an invisibility spell on her, but that just means she can’t be seen, and there could be accidents. Lillith was a warrior, not a spy, and Harley’s anti-perception field seemed to make it so she couldn’t be seen, heard, smelled, or touched, which was much better for our purposes. Lillith was mostly going to be there in case the shit hit the fan and to send me updates as needed, and Harley had let Lillith create a temporary mental link between the two of them to keep tabs on her.

So, after I sent the Unicorn Beastkin and my High Priestess through the portal, Daenyss and I quickly retired to the bathroom to get me presentable for a meeting with Director Shaw, and possibly whoever was pulling his strings. Daenyss was insistent that I had an image to maintain, after all, and it would probably take Harley a while to find Shaw. A nice bath with Daenyss would help to ease the stress I’d been feeling since the press conference as well.

It was eight-thirty when Lillith informed me that Harley had found the man she was looking for. I was as ready as I was going to be, and he was currently alone in his office, though it was 11:30 there, so if I wanted to jump him before he left for lunch or something, we would probably have to hurry. “Everyone ready to go?” I asked as I looked at the others.

Loki and Sif had the package and seemed eager to get going, while Thor was trying really hard to look serious and like he wasn’t amused by their enthusiasm for what was essentially both a prank and a threat. My team was ready to go too, fully armed and armored. Nishalle and Lissany moved to stand protectively to my left and right, respectively, while Pete’s large form stood behind me. Rei, Daenyss, Salem, and Kinara were sticking as close as they could without getting in the way of my protectors, and Venika was hovering over Lissany’s shoulder.

Loki cast a teleportation spell, and as soon as she and her companions vanished, I cast one of my own. One moment we were in the living room of the safehouse, and the next we were inside an unfamiliar office, with the Director of the CSIS sitting behind the desk in front of us. The others wasted no time in getting to their work.

Before Shaw could even register our sudden appearance in his office, Lillith and Harley both appeared to take their places among my entourage, and Salem and Kinara were casting forcefield spells to block the door and window and prevent Shaw from either trying to bolt or getting reinforcements. As soon as he noticed us, he reached for his cell phone, only to have it shoot away from under his grasping hand and crash into the wall behind him, thanks to a quick spell from Venika. “Wha…” he started to say in a somewhat choked voice as I drew the sigils for a spell and spoke them under my breath.

“Good morning, Director Shaw,” I offered with a smile that was not friendly at all as I made a hole in my aura to keep him from turning into a drooling idiot and cut off whatever he was about to say. “I would have Daenyss introduce me, but I’m sure that you’re very aware of who I am. You have had people trying to kill me after all. I have some questions for you, and you are going to answer them honestly.”