Mania and the Executioner by A. L. Bridges Read Free Book Online Page B

and head right, towards the elevator. Something is amiss but I can’t figure out what…
    “ Where are all the bodies?” I ask, figuring what is amiss.
    “The Agency’s people came by while you were sleeping and hauled them all off. They’ll fix the door and the bullet holes while we are gone.” Natasha answers.
    We go up to the heliport where there is an ‘executive’ style helicopter waiting for us. Ten minutes after settling in to the comfy leather seats, we’re on our way. When we get close, I can see lava spewing out of the Kilauea volcano and into the ocean. We start to land near the crater and I see half a dozen other helicopters that are similar to ours. I also see that there are tiki torches to guide people from the landing zone; my only question is how they stay lit with the helicopters kicking up so much dust upon landing.
    “Okay, here is the game plan,” Tia says when we land but before we have left the cabin. “Keep quiet and let me do the talking. If shit hits the fan, we leave.” We nod in response. We walk into this cave as Tia and I fall back behind the girls by about ten feet so we can talk.
    “What can I expect if things go wrong?” I whisper at a volume that I know Tia will have no issues hearing.
    “We will end up fighting our way out.” Tia answers at a similar volume. I don’t like the sounds of fighting that many gods.
    “So we will have to fight through over a dozen Illapa’s? I vaguely remember breaking a bunch of shit when I fought the singular version a few days ago.” I say sarcastically.
    “Don’t worry! Illapa was a pantheon head from a stronger pantheon than this one. Our chances still won’t be good but at least they will be existent!” Tia says.
    “What about in terms of speed and strength?” I ask.
    “ Since I haven’t seen you in action since you merged with your Drive, I’m not sure about you. However, I should be able to match them in speed, except for Pele, and Pa’ka. As for strength, I should be able to match them except for Ku and Pele. However, I am hoping that two hundred years of friendship will mean something to Pele and she will at least buy us time to escape.” Tia responds.
    “Any special powers that are similar to Illapa’s lightning?” I ask.
    “Well most do. Pa’ka can summon gales when outside. The Poli’ahu can probably freeze things at close range so fire a few rounds into each of them before trying to take them close. Kamohoali’i can turn into any kind of aquatic animal, partial transformations too so watch out for shark heads and octopus tentacles and jellyfish stingers. Ku has no special powers, but he is one of the pantheon’s heads and one of the four great gods. The other three great gods are kind of prissy and don’t have any applicable combat skills so they aren’t heads.” Tia replies.
    “If Ku is a great, then why is Kamohoali’i the leader?” I wonder.
    “Ku isn’t much of an idea man, so to speak.” Tia answers.
    The cave passage i s about twenty feet wide by fifteen feet high and goes on for about three hundred yards before opening up into a large cavern. The cavern appears to be made of obsidian and consists of a large, block U-shape table and a ton of chairs, arranged so that the opening of the U faces the tunnel. The center of the U is an area about fifty feet wide by seventy feet long. In the center are two smaller tables on either side; the right side has three seats and the left side has eight. We take the first four seats on the right side that are closest to the tunnel. A dozen or so of the other seats are already filled with various Hawaiian deities but I can’t figure out where the rest of the Polynesian pantheon is, until I notice that there is a camera in each corner. In the age of technology, people don’t actually need to come to meetings.
    The debaters enter the room wearing business attire. Starting with the left side: four pacific island women with long white hair and white eyes; a pacific