by Ramy Vance
Rasputina would have killed the child; the lich already had made that much known. What about the rest of them? Or Terra and Abby? For some people, these would have merely been interesting questions. They seemed like more to Anabelle. She couldn’t get them out of her head.
Roy was waiting for them at the hangar. “How did everything go?”
Alex crossed her arms when she saw Roy and stopped walking.
Roy shrugged as he walked over to Anabelle. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to arrest you,” he told Alex. “If you held up your end of the bargain, I’ll hold up mine.”
Anabelle wanted to hug Roy, but she wanted to get him alone first. It had been so long since she’d felt him lying against her, she’d almost forgotten what it felt like. Or that they were dating at all.
Suzuki was the one to speak up and explain everything. “Alex led us to the dragons, just like she promised. Anabelle took care of the logistics. It looks like we have a squad of ether dragons for the party.”
Roy smiled at Anabelle, his eyes lingering on her waist. “Good job. Glad you handled this one. Those dragons are our last chance at ending this bullshit with the Netherverse Gates as quickly as possible. And we still have a shit-ton to get set up. Abby’s disappeared, and I can’t find her anywhere. Even Persephone doesn’t know where she is.”
Anabelle couldn’t believe she forgot to tell Roy what was going on with Abby. She could have kicked herself. “Oh, we can talk about that later. How’s the rest of the preparation going?”
“Well, luckily, Abby left us all of her work. She was putting together a system of bombs to be planted throughout the Netherverse. The nanobots she left there have been sending back phenomenal intel. Creon’s been mapping the region. From what we can see, there’s a nearly infinite number of souls, but Tesla’s only been able to revive a section of them. He’s mostly been concentrating on areas near the two Gates, which leads me to think that the Dark One doesn’t have the resources to activate them all at once. From what we’ve seen, Tesla’s the only one on the job.”
“That’s good to hear. Anything else? I’ve kind of been out of the loop for a bit.”
“Come on, let’s walk and talk. Suzuki, Alex, what are you two going to do now?”
Suzuki pointed at his HUD. “If this is going to be as big a battle as you make it seem like, the Mundanes want in. Tell us where to go, and we’ll be there.”
Roy scratched his chin as he thought. “The Mundanes would be a good addition. We’ll send you to the orc planet. Terra’s leading the strike, and I’m pretty sure you’re already familiar with her.”
Suzuki opened his HUD and scrolled through it. “Yeah, I am. Stew’s going to lose his shit. Sandy and Beth will be stoked too. Everyone loved her. And it’ll be nice not to have to give orders.”
Roy turned to Alex. “What about you?”
Alex was glaring at Roy. The little bit of softness Anabelle thought she’d seen earlier was gone. “What exactly am I allowed to do?”
“Like I said, I’m holding up my end of the deal. You can walk.”
Alex looked from Roy to Anabelle and Suzuki. “Everything wiped clean?”
“I don’t know how many more ways I can say you can leave.”
“Good. Then Boundless wants in on this. You need as much firepower as you can get, and I have an ether dragon to boot. Use us as infantry like you’re using the Mundanes.”
Roy thought it over, chewing his bottom lip. “Unless Myrddin knows something I don’t, and if he were here, he would kill me for this, but you’re in. We’ll send you to the gnome world. Our agents Sarah and Kravis will be leading that charge. I’ll reinstate your anchors to the system. You’ll both receive briefings for your team in a little bit.”
Alex walked up to Roy and extended her hand. “Thank you.”
Roy stared at her hand for a moment before taking it. As they shook, his eyes glazed over and his lip twitched before returning to normal. He smiled at the dragonrider. “It’s going to be a fight worth remembering. Now, hunt down the science department, and they’ll be able to get you home. Third floor. It’s huge. You won’t be able to miss it.”
He turned with military precision and started to leave. “Care for a walk, Anabelle?”
Anabelle quickly caught up to him. “Where are we walking?”
“If I had my way, I’d say a broom closet if it’s closer than either of our beds, but that’ll have to wait. I know you know where Abby is, and if you haven’t told me yet, I figured you have a pretty good reason. There’s a place we can talk and no one will hear us.”
Anabelle followed Roy as he went down hall after hall, turning left and then right without any seeming reason. Finally, he stopped in front of a nondescript door. “Did you do all this just to find another broom closet to fuck in?”
Roy sighed as he opened the door. “I’d much rather be lying in bed with you then crammed into a broom closet. I know that shit gets you off, but I would prefer a soft mattress.”
Anabelle stepped into the room. “Wait, I thought you were into that closed space stuff.”
“Fuck, no. I like to spread out.”
“Hm. We should probably talk more about these things.”
“Later. Check this.”
Roy hit the light switch. The room was covered in white tiles and was empty save for two black chairs facing each other.
Anabelle looked around, trying to find what was so special about it. “I don’t get it?”
Roy took a seat in one of the chairs and motioned for Anabelle to do the same. “It’s a utility room. Myrddin put one in after he saw Harry Potter. You wouldn’t believe how many things he’s ripped off from those movies. He’s lucky Rowling hasn’t walked into this place and doesn’t follow me on Twitter.”
“J.K. Rowling has a Twitter?”
“Who doesn’t? I wouldn’t recommend following, though. She only posts trash. But anyway, the room will give us whatever we need. Myrddin and I have used it a lot for discreet conversations. Now, where the hell is Abby?”
Anabelle quickly explained the situation.
Roy stared at Anabelle in disbelief the entire time she was speaking. “Wait, are you telling me you sent one of our youngest operatives undercover without anything close to a plan? Do you know how bad an idea that is?”
“She can take care of herself. She’s smart.”
Roy jumped to his feet and started pacing around the room. “It has nothing to do with being smart. It takes years for us to train operatives to go undercover, and sometimes even longer to make sure they get put in the right place. You can’t just drop someone into a situation like that with no training. How do you know it wasn’t a ploy to get her away from the team?”
“I went with my gut. Abby knows what she’s doing. It doesn’t matter how young she is. I believe in her.”
Roy sank back into the chair. “This is going to shit real—”
A crackle of static cut Roy off. Martin popped up on a holoscreen between Anabelle and Roy. “You guys having a tea party or something?”
Roy yelped and fell back in his chair. “What the hell are you doing here? Aren’t you with Abby?”
Martin twirled as he groaned. “Don’t you pay attention to anything? Remember when you had me installed on everyone’s HUD? That’s the whole reason I was created. I’m always here. Most of my platform processing power is with Abby. In that way, I’m sort of like God.”
Anabelle had also forgotten that Martin was always around. If she hadn’t been so glad to see him, she’d have been creeped out. “What’s going on with Abby?”
“So, when Tesla offered Abby a position in the Dark One’s army, he kind of neglected to mention that the position was as a giant battery to supercharge his ability to resurrect the Dark One’s army. Who would have thought he wouldn’t have been straightforward, right?”
Roy glared at Anabelle as he got back to his feet. “Is she okay?”
“Oh, yeah, she’s fine. Abby has enough reserves to
power sixteen nuclear plants if she wanted. The problem is that she’s resurrecting a lot of ghouls. Also, you guys should come up with a better name for them. Ghouls? Really? It’s like no one’s bothered to pick up a copy of a Monsters Handbook.”
“Martin!”
“Sorry, sorry. So, yeah, Abby’s safe. She’s a battery now. Uh, what else, oh! Did you guys find the bomb info we left behind?”
Roy nodded as he crossed his legs. “Yes. Creon’s taking care of that.”
“Sweet. Okay. Last bit of info. You need to get Abby out of the Netherverse. She’s cooking up a surprise because she can’t take Tesla down, given how stressed her system is. So, be a dear and get a package from Creon and bring it to Abby in the Netherverse. He’ll know what we’re talking about. And don’t talk about it out loud. Or in any messages. Or at all, actually. Tesla has the whole place bugged. I’ve been keeping him from getting most of what’s being said and disabling his planted bugs, but he’s good. Be extra careful. AI Messiah out!”
Martin disappeared, leaving Anabelle with Roy’s anger. “He did say she was safe,” she muttered.
Roy pulled up his HUD and started messaging. “Change of plans. Terra’s not leading the strike. Cire can take care of that. She’s going into the Netherverse with you, and you are getting Abby back.”
“Sounds good to me. Is there anything else we need to take care of?”
Roy checked the time on his HUD. “We still have a couple of hours before go time. Do you want to try to relax?”
“How many hours?”
“About eight.”
Anabelle looked around the room again. “How does this place work?”
“You just close your eyes, think about what you want, and the room will take care of it for you.”
Anabelle shut her eyes tight and tried to relax. She knew what she wanted if she had eight hours to kill with Roy. It was going to be memorable.
When Anabelle opened her eyes, Roy was sitting on a lush, velvet bed, holding two glasses and a bottle of ancient elvish wine. The bottle was already open, and Roy smiled as he filled the glasses.
Anabelle took a seat on the bed, crossed her legs, and accepted a glass. “We could die tomorrow.”
Roy and Anabelle clinked their glasses together. “I can’t think of anyone I’d rather spend my last few hours with.”
“Don’t let the wine go to your head. It’s a special blend I’ve heard about. Wasn’t sure how I was ever going to get it, but here you go. Also, check under the bed.”
Roy reached underneath the bed and felt around, then pulled out a large black box. He cracked it open and his eyes widened. “There’s a lot in here.”
Anabelle leaned over and kissed Roy’s neck before whispering in his ear, “Don’t worry, we have enough time. And I’ll make sure you get a lot of rest.”
The two collapsed onto the bed, their bodies hungry for each other as they tore their clothes off and descended into passion.
Chapter Nineteen
Anabelle traveled to the orc world before the sun rose. Roy was awake by the time she was ready. He was hunched over his rifle, cleaning it meticulously. When he saw Annabelle, he smiled. "You make sure you don’t get yourself killed, all right?"
There wasn’t any point to bravado. Anabelle kissed Roy gently on the lips and told him that she loved him, then left before he had a chance to say anything else.
Now she was stepping through the hadron collider. As she walked into the orcish world, she saw Terra and Cire waiting for her.
Terra clasped Anabelle's forearm, something the elf had seen many orcs do. "What's our kid gotten herself into this time?"
"Nothing I didn't think she could handle. There was just a lot more to handle than I thought there would be."
"Roy made it sound like she was dying in the Netherverse. What's going on?"
"Don't quite know. All Abby told me was that Tesla threatened to kill Persephone if she didn’t work with him. Martin said something about her being turned into a giant battery."
"That sounds like something Tesla would do. Both him and Edison. Crazy. Not the kind of geniuses I would trust. I'd rather go without electricity."
Anabelle stared at Terra, dumbfounded. "Are you serious? You think you could live without electricity?"
Terra shrugged as she walked toward the Netherverse Gate. "All I'm saying is that you can't trust nerds. Other than Abby. The rest of them.... maybe Suzuki and those Mundanes. They seem pretty nerdy, but after that, nope. Not a one of ‘em. They think too much. An abnormal amount. You? You think a regular amount. Cire, he thinks a regular amount. But not nerds. I don't trust them."
Cire was waiting for them at the Netherverse Gate. "Good to see you, Anabelle. Are you well-rested?"
"Rested enough to finish this war," she said. "How about you?"
Terra jabbed the elf in the side. "We got to bed at a reasonable time. Do we have a decent fix on Abby's position?"
Anabelle pulled up her HUD. Martin's grouchy paperclip face stared at her as he sipped a cup of coffee. "You know where Abby is, right?"
Martin drained his coffee and tossed the cup over his shoulder. "I have a rough idea of where she is. I'll be able to guide you to the general area, but after that, you're on your own. Most of our resources were being to make sure we got a good lay of the land, and let me tell you, it was a doozy to take care of. The format of the Netherverse has been changing, almost like it’s anticipating what's about to happen. I don't know if that's the Netherverse or if Tesla has something to do with it, but that's where most of my time has been going. I figured you two would be able to figure out the rest."
Anabelle looked at the map Martin had just sent her. "Your faith in us is astounding, Martin."
"I try to give credit where it’s due."
In the distance, Anabelle could hear chanting. It was deep and slow, accompanied by war drums. "What the hell is that?"
Cire and Terra both smiled. "You have to see this," Terra said. "Cire, can you do the thing. Please?" She turned to Anabelle. "Since he became a shaman, he can do a lot of ridiculous things. This one isn't my favorite, but it's pretty fucking close."
Cire raised his hands, and his eyes glowed white. His feet floated off the ground, as did Anabelle's and Terra's. They rose into the air high enough to see over the hills.
What Anabelle saw took her breath away. For miles upon miles there were orcs adorned with war paint, carrying axes and swords and all manner of other weapons. They were chanting in perfect unison, their voices louder now, the old call to battle—the blood songs.
Terra was humming the same tune under her breath. "Pretty amazing, huh?" she asked Anabelle.
The elf struggled to find words for what she was looking at. "When you guys kept saying horde, I didn't realize you meant an actual horde. This is amazing."
"There were a lot of orcs the Dark One never got close to touching, plus those we rescued. And there's only going to be more. We're going to crush him, and it begins today."
Cire returned Anabelle and Terra to the ground as both women received pings from their HUDs.
A hologram of Sarah, Kravis, Roy, Suzuki, and Alex appeared before them.
Roy checked to see if everyone was present. "Alex and Suzuki, where are you right now?"
Suzuki answered first. "We're up near the front of the horde. We saw Cire in the air a few minutes ago."
Alex spoke next. "Just arrived at the gnomes’ camp. The little dudes were pretty freaked out when they saw the dragons, but Brath was able to calm everyone down pretty quickly. The guy is practically a legend here, I guess. I'd forgotten gnomes don't ride dragons."
Roy looked at Kravis and Sarah. "How about you two?"
"I'm ready to storm our Gate," Sarah said. "Kravis will lead the gnomes into the Gate after me."
"What do you mean?"
"You have a strike team from the orc world. The gnome world Gate should be just as prepared."
Grok stepped into sight, alongside Rasputina.
"Since Terra and Anabelle have mostly mastered the Path of the Lost, you have a shit-ton of power on one side. That could easily tip to us getting fucked over here. I'm not losing the gnome world again. This way, we should be able to apply equal pressure from both assaults. Make sense?"
Anabelle expected Roy to freak out, but he was quiet for a few seconds before speaking. "Good thinking. Completely slipped my mind. Thanks for making sure you both were covered."
Sarah smiled as she glanced at Grok and Rasputina. "I have no doubt that these two will do great."
"Okay, so, who’s going to give the speech? We must have one before we go running into the realm of the dead. That's, like, a hard rule." Roy smirked.
Everyone looked at one another. Anabelle didn't have anything to say. She'd be more than happy if someone else took care of their parting words.
Rasputina stepped forward. "I... There is no reason I should have been given a chance like this. There is nothing I will ever be able to do to redeem myself, but this...this is more than I deserve. I will do everything in my power to show you my thanks."
Although her face betrayed no emotion, tears were rolling down her cheeks. She wiped them away and stepped back.
Roy sucked a breath through his teeth. "Uh, that was not quite what I had in mind but—"
Terra pulled out her axe and turned to the horde, her back facing the rest of the group. "Cire, translate, please."
The orc stepped into the holographic conference. "Death awaits us beyond those Gates," he translated as Terra's voice boomed. "Today, we walk among the dead. We will watch them rise, and we will watch them fall. Today we look at what our bodies will one day become, and we will say, ‘Not today, Death.’ Today we will slay our fallen comrades, and we will give them the dignified deaths they deserved. We will find the Dark One and strangle the life out of him while the Elder Gods watch us in their glorious indifference.
“Not all of us will come back, and we relish that. The dead will die the most honorable deaths imaginable, and when they rise again, we will strike them down once more and give them the deaths they deserve. Those of us who live will hold our boots over the neck of the Dark One. We will bleed him dry and drink of his blood. We will tear his flesh and feed it to the dogs. We will show him the strength of the horde. We will leave only death in our wake!"
