by James Hunter
Fast-forward a few years, and here I was, three feet taller, bulkier, and wielding a magic sword against monsters. The godstone flared, sending a gentle pulse of warmth surging down my limbs. I walked to the marble railing and gave the sky the finger. “Fuck you, Ares. I’m doing fine for a gamer dork. I held the city. I killed Praxidike. And I came within inches of killing Earl. I’m now a level-twenty-two war god. Ozzy was wrong about me, you were wrong about me, and fuck Necro Earl. He’s wrong about me too, and I’m gonna show him.”
A salty breeze kicked up, brushing over my cheeks as I leaned my forearms against the railing. Still, I couldn’t keep fighting like this, there had to be a different way. A better way. I grunted and shook my head. Yeah, there was definitely a better way, but damned if I knew what it was.
“Jacob?” Asteria’s voice came from inside my room.
I straightened with a tired groan, turned my back to the rolling waves, and padded back inside, pushing my way through the gauzy curtains.
The shifter sat on my bed, very naked. Flickering candles threw shadows across her breasts and the shapely curve of her slim, perfect thighs. She was gorgeous. Beyond gorgeous. Her blue-tinged skin was silky and flawless, and her black, pixie-cut hair framed her perfect heart-shaped face. She stared at me longingly, the light reflecting in her golden eyes, a ghost of a smile stretched across full lips made for kissing. She was happy to see me, but then she was always happy to see me.
Still, her whole demeanor was soft and gentle, respectful of my sorrow. I couldn’t believe the losses. And without more Thymos Crystals, rebuilding the southern gatehouse would be impossible. I regretted the pillboxes we’d built on the western walls. It seemed they might go unused.
“Come, Jacob,” Asteria murmured, rubbing her hand over the sheets as though she could read my mind. “Let us rejoice in life and love while we can.”
I wasn’t in the mood … but then she shifted her posture, chest popping up just so. And that was the end of that conversation. The godstone practically erupted with fiery approval; my sex drive instantaneously engaged. What better way to take my mind off my troubles?
I took off my toga and strutted forward. The days of battle and building had left my muscles sculpted, and the added points to Strength certainly helped too. I was well below ten percent body fat. I was a fucking stud, now. The envy of every other man. That didn’t help you save Vara and Brontia, though, did it? some insidious voice whispered inside my head. The voice sounded suspiciously like that bastard Earl, though I knew it was really just my own self-doubt.
I grunted, fixing my eyes on the smooth planes of Asteria’s belly, and shoved my quiet fears away.
I dropped onto the bed and crawled forward like a prowling lion, pressing against Asteria as my mouth found hers. Her lips were soft, perfect, and she tasted faintly of raspberries and Mountain Dew. She looked innocent, but I knew from personal experience that she had a definite animalistic side to her. She growled, lacing her hands around my neck, then rolled. Suddenly our positions were swapped; she was on top of me, straddling me, her face filling my vision. She pressed in closer, her skin hot against mine as she ran her tongue along my lower lip.
Slow, patient, teasing.
On my left, I felt the bed sag. Oh shit. Someone else had joined us.
I turned my head and Asteria dipped in lower, nibbling the side of my neck. I found myself staring into Loxo’s face. She was naked, her dark skin gleamed in the candlelight, and a sly, eager smile was etched into her face.
“Uh, hello, Loxo,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
Loxo laughed softly, the sound wicked and far from innocent. “I used my Shadow Cloak ability to hide in plain sight. This is my Sneak Attack ability.” She shot me a wink. “And I think we both know exactly why I’m here.”
She slinked across the bed on all fours, hips wiggling, dark chocolate eyes fixed on mine while Asteria sucked on my earlobe, apparently indifferent to Loxo’s appearance. The Huntress moved like a shadow, darting in to steal a kiss instead of asking for one. She tasted like cinnamon and campfires—earthy, spicy—and her lips were warm and wet. Both women smelled so different, and yet, their scent was perfume in my nose.
I finally broke the kiss before I lost all control. “Loxo, Asteria, this isn’t a good idea. I kind of see myself as monogamous.”
Loxo rolled her eyes. “This again? Before, when I was alive, we made love often and you were insatiable. What has changed?”
“You’re not remembering it right.” I failed to stifle a groan as Asteria ground her pelvis on me. “You and I were just friends.”
“Friends with benefits,” Loxo said, reaching forward, tracing the tip of her fingernail along my belly button. “Is that not a term from your time? And I find the idea of monogamy suspect, especially for a war god.”
Still, Asteria wasn’t saying anything. She was kissing my neck even more insistently, a deep purr breaking from her chest like a content cat.
“Or perhaps you think we will mind, yes?” Loxo asked, quirking an eyebrow. She moved, not waiting for me to answer. I watched, enthralled, as the Amazons kissed each other.
Yep. That cleared things up. Obviously they had no issues with a threesome. Me?
Well, I was getting over my issues real quick, helped along by Asteria’s constant grinding. The godstone was a personal sun inside my chest, lust radiating out in waves. “But …” I said, then trailed off since I had no excuse and I wanted this more than anything in the whole world.
Loxo pulled away from Asteria and gazed into my eyes. She pressed a finger against my lips before I could say more. “No, Jacob. No more excuses.” She reached down and ran her hand between Asteria’s thighs and mine. “Your desire is obvious, and I want this too. Once again I found a whip around my throat, death stalking my path. This is what I want to do with my life. Will you deny me, knowing how fleeting life can be?”
“Rejoice in life and love,” Asteria whispered, fingers running through my hair.
The godstone burned brighter, hotter. Yes, yes, yes. I was outvoted, three to one.
The spirit of the gem thundered in my head. Take them, War God. Love them! Satisfy them as only the god of war can!
I growled and used my god-strength to toss both women on their backs.
They gasped and giggled and looked up at me with shining eyes—both ready and eager. Throwing caution and inhibition to the wind, I moved, letting myself be consumed by the moment. By the passion. By the press of naked flesh and the gentle caress of wet lips. It’s hard to say how long it lasted … but it sure as hell seemed longer than I ever would’ve thought possible.
And … it … was … awesome!
Eventually, we collapsed in a sweaty mess of tangled limbs as the moon rose over the ocean and filled the room with a silvery glow.
Since leveling up as a war god, I needed less sleep, but a few hours of shut-eye would help me restore more Essence Points.
Too bad I didn’t get the few hours.
It felt like I’d just barely closed my eyes when Loxo shot up beside me, shrieking bloody murder. Her fists clutched at the air, her body was clammy with night sweats, and her eyes rolled back into her head. “Hades! He seeks me! To torture me! To unmake me! To unforge me! Help me, Jacob Merely, help me, War God!” She flailed, grabbing at the silky sheets, legs thrashing madly.
“Wake, sister, wake!” Asteria called out with concern in her voice.
I managed to get Loxo’s arms down onto the bed as she bucked and twisted against me. Then she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she burst into tears, body quivering.
Asteria and I pulled her in tight, holding her as she wept. When the sobs finally subsided, Loxo sniffed and obliterated the tears on her cheeks with the back of one hand. “I have shamed myself and every Huntress who has ever lived,” she muttered, a slight tremble beneath the words. “Forgive me, Artemis, lady of the moon, for my outburst. Forgive me, Jacob, god of war, for my weakness.”
&
nbsp; “Hey, it’s okay, Loxo,” I said, voice gentle and soothing. “But you said something when you were having your nightmare that I need to know about. Is Hades looking for you?”
Loxo gulped and pressed her eyes shut tight, as though trying to block out some terrible vision. “Yes,” she said after a few seconds, cracking her eyes. “It is best for me to tell you now, before the memory fades like morning mist in the jungle.”
“Uh, I’m listening,” I said.
Loxo swallowed hard again, steeling herself. “While we Amazons are dead, our souls travel across the River Styx, and the Ferryman, he hides us from Hades because if Hades finds us … if he discovers our souls in his dark realm, he will torture us until we serve him. It is rare, but it is possible. Fortunately, Charon has no love for Hades. The Ferryman is sympathetic to our cause, so he hid me. But I felt Hades searching for me, always searching. He has spies among the living and among the dead.”
I glanced over at Asteria. “Did you know about this?”
Asteria shook her head and grimaced. “No, but we must tell Phoebe and Myrina. If this is true …” She faltered, lips pursing into a thoughtful line. “If this is true, then every Amazon that dies is in danger of being perverted. Turned against us.” She shuddered.
I grumbled. “I knew this constant resurrection thing had consequences. Losing Amazons is one thing, but if Hades grabs one of their souls, and if I brought them back …” My voice died in my throat.
“A Dark Amazon,” Asteria mused.
Loxo hugged me tight, still trying to recover from the nightmare. We were quiet for a time. “Okay,” I finally said, pulling away from the Huntress. “Let’s go talk to Phoebe and Myrina about Loxo’s nightmare. This complicates things, and we need to figure out what to do with this info.” Quickly we stood and dressed. Well, Loxo and I dressed, anyway. The Huntress slung a toga around herself while I opted for my full battle attire, because who knew when a Porta-John full of shit would fall into the jet turbine my life had become.
Asteria, though, chose to go completely naked—not at all unusual for the shape-shifter—which I really didn’t mind. Once upon a time it was awkward to have her strutting around naked; now I just enjoyed the view.
Before we left, Loxo drew me aside. “Thank you, Jacob, for allowing me to share your bed. If I’m going to die today, at least it will be with a headful of good memories.” She reached forward and grabbed my crotch.
I brushed her hand away and hugged her close, brushing her lips in a quick kiss. “No one is dying today. But could you keep this to yourself? I don’t want everyone to know that I’m sleeping with another Amazon.”
Loxo dug an elbow into my ribs. “Why, are you afraid that your bed will be full of horny women every night? Asteria said Ares solved that problem by sleeping in the temple. There was enough room for dozens of us.” She cocked an eyebrow.
“Yeah, sure, that would be awful,” I lied. I’d seen the orgies Ares had thrown in the temple. The godstone burned, wanting to recreate the bacchanal of drunk lust, but I was a guy from Rockford, Illinois, that went to church every Sunday. For me, two women would be more than enough.
Besides, I had a full plate trying to save the world. We had less than two hours before the 6 a.m. battle. And that was if the forces of Hades didn’t strike us early.
We needed something to even the odds. We needed a cheat code.
NINE
Cheat Code
It wasn’t even 5 a.m., but Lycastia City positively buzzed with activity. Newly created Battle Wardens danced across the training ground, bathed in orange torchlight and silver moonbeams. More seasoned veterans patrolled the walls and the boulevards where the flames from braziers glimmered off bronze armor and steel katanas. I glanced up at the stars overhead, cold stains of light already vanishing to the creeping fingers of gray morning light.
Loxo was up there somewhere, running recon with Toxaris.
The pair of them searched for the secret tunnels Necro Earl and the forces of Hades were using to get so close to us without warning. There had to be a secret cave entrance somewhere.
Had to be.
As I moved down the cobblestone street, enjoying the cool morning air on my way to the chow hall, I pulled up my interface.
I’d leveled up twice, and I needed every edge I could get over Earl Necro Earl. I had twenty Attribute Points to burn and a pair of Ability Points. For a moment, I thought about dropping points into Wisdom, but then decided against it since that would only raise my Control Limit and I already couldn’t make enough Amazons to hit my max. So instead, I dropped twelve points into Intelligence, boosting my Divine Essence and Miracle Damage, five points into Strength, and the last three into Fortune.
I studied my character sheet while my armor expanded to accommodate my added muscle and extra height—I’d leapt up another six inches in a matter of seconds.
Satisfied, I toggled over to my skills section, trying to decide what in the hell I wanted to do with my Ability Points. So far, I’d focused less on the Path of War abilities—I wasn’t much of a tank—and more on my Crafting and Miracle skills. Though I was getting better in close-quarters combat, I still felt the most at home commanding from a distance and unleashing ranged spells or healing my frontline fighters. I pulled up the Path of Miracles Tree:
I studied the tree for a long minute, feet crunching over the loose gravel beneath my sandals. I was genuinely conflicted. Burning Aura was a badass skill that had a huge benefit to all the Amazons around me, but now that I knew Hades was gunning for Amazon souls in the underworld, I decided it made the most sense to max out my Healing Touch. After all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure—or so they say. Whoever they are.
I couldn’t help but grin at the irony as I dropped the first point into Healing Touch. Back IRL, when I’d been obsessed with WoW, I never played a Healer. Ever. But then, the pixels and code were never in danger of being tortured and brainwashed either.
Nice! Now, I could heal multiple Amazons even from a distance, though the spell price more than quadrupled, jumping from eleven to fifty-five Essence Points. Still, totally worth it. The next point felt a little impulsive, but I couldn’t help myself: Plague Locust. I’d wanted the ability since becoming war god, but it had been locked until level twenty-one. But I was level twenty-two now and had a point ready and waiting. I just couldn’t resist, and ended up using my final point to unlock the new miracle:
I rubbed my hands together in anticipation. Holy shit, but I couldn’t wait to try that out.
By the time I exited from my interface completely, I was at the chow hall. Myrina, Phoebe, and Asteria were already waiting for me, munching on the lush spread laid out at my Command Table.
There were plates of fried meats and breads as well as basketfuls of fresh fruit. I’d shown Brontia how to make donuts, because, uh, donuts. ’Nough said. She’d learned to love the pastries, though she did point out that they were basically fried cake. For breakfast. The thought of the Rune-Caster sent a railroad spike of sadness and worry straight through my gut. Brontia was gone now, dead. And worse, she might be running for her life in the underworld right this minute.
I took a seat, loaded up a tin plate with a small mountain of food, and began to debrief with my generals.
When I told them about Loxo’s revelation regarding the dead Amazons, Myrina frowned while Phoebe stood and paced, hands folded behind her back. Asteria kept right on eating, shoveling food away like a dump truck hauling garbage—not a huge surprise since she’d heard the tale firsthand.
I kept my eyes on Phoebe, though, since she was clearly pissed. Instead of talking, she messaged. This is just fucking great. So now we have to check every Amazon we bring back to make sure they aren’t going to turn around and backstab us? I’m sick of losing sisters. I’m sick of these constant attacks. This is fucking bullshit. Losing Brontia? Vara? Our gatehouse? Such fucking bullshit. And now this, right on top of the pile. Fuck!
Myrina’s jaws tight
ened, but she remained quiet.
Asteria ate loudly. She sucked down a hunk of sweet meat, followed it up with a donut and a fistful of figs, then attacked a pineapple. The pineapple—another thing I’d shown Brontia how to create—didn’t stand a chance.
We all turned to watch the shifter eat. It was like seeing a great white feed, juice running down her chin and sluicing over bare, blue skin. She didn’t seem to care in the least, though she did notice our glances after a few seconds.
“What?” She talked with her mouth full. “Why are you looking at me? I am very hungry. And I thought I would try your human food for once. I enjoy the fried cake, but krill satisfies much better.”
Asteria, as a shape-shifter, needed a buttload of calories to keep her metabolism running smoothly. So she ate all the time, and wasn’t too picky about what she crammed into her craw.
“You can eat more quietly, sister,” Myrina murmured, her eyes still troubled.
Asteria shoved another donut into her mouth, smacking loudly. “Not sure I can, Myrina. I do not think you understand. I am very hungry, but this food? It is not right.” She tossed the remainder of the donut down, brushing the crumbs from her hands as she stood and stretched. “If you require me, I will return, but until then, I will break fast on the bounty of the sea!” She quicksilvered into an eagle and flew off into the steely gray of the early morning.
I turned to Myrina and Phoebe. “Krill must be yummy, I guess. Do we need Asteria for this?”
Myrina answered, “No, Jacob, while my sister might be our greatest weapon, she does not have the head for strategy. Now is the time for planning. Let her be free while she can.”
