by Ella Summers
“And so I have. Look.” Logan pointed out a flickering ceiling light.
Alex watched it for a few seconds. The light always flickered in just the same way, at just the same interval.
“And that.” Logan indicated a pipe on the wall.
Water dripped slowly from the leaky pipe, hitting the concrete floor in sharp, staccato notes. But where there should have been an ever-growing pool of water on the ground, there was only a tiny, unchanging puddle.
“This is fake,” Logan declared.
“We’re not here,” Alex realized. “At least not really. This is a simulation.”
“It’s a game.” Understanding dawned on Sera’s face.
Only a moment ago, Kai had looked like he’d wanted nothing more than to bolt out of here. His posture had changed. It was both very relaxed—and bursting with energy that had nowhere to go.
“I’ve heard tales of this technology,” Logan said. “It was designed by a disgraced businessman.”
“Nightstar.” Alex said his name, a name she hadn’t spoken—or thought of—in years.
Surprise crinkled Logan’s brow. “You know of him? Years ago, Nightstar was a big player in the criminal underworld, though he shied away from the spotlight. Most people have never heard of him.”
“Alex and I aren’t most people,” Sera declared.
“We know about Nightstar because, a long time ago, we were coerced into playing in one of his games,” Alex added.
“I see,” Logan said. “I myself was never in any of Nightstar’s games, but another assassin I once knew did partake in one. His name was Venom, and he actually used the games to get close to one of his targets, a mage.”
“That’s really messed up,” Alex told him.
“The magical elite are well-protected. The games were the only way Venom could reach the mage, who it turned out was quite addicted to these games.” Logan’s tone was perfectly pragmatic, as though he would have done the same thing.
“And did Venom succeed? Did he manage to kill the mage?” Alex asked.
“Yes, however he did not survive the family’s vengeance.”
Ah. Hence Logan’s use of the past tense when he’d talked about knowing Venom.
“How was the family able to kill Venom?” Sera asked. “Aren’t assassins supposed to be good at hiding?”
“Yes, we are. But the mage’s family didn’t send their own people after Venom. They hired another assassin to track down and kill the one who’d assassinated their son.”
Alex had a feeling she knew where this story was headed.
“That hired assassin was you,” she guessed.
“Yes,” Logan confirmed. “Venom was sloppy. He got addicted to Nightstar’s game. I cornered him outside one of the gaming facilities. Honestly, I have never truly understood the appeal of simulations. They’re so fake.”
“It depends. The one Sera and I were in—it was very real,” Alex told him.
Sera added, “But in order to make it that real, Nightstar had to capture a bunch of powerful fairies, completely imprison them in their own minds, and then run the whole game off their collective mind-altering magic.”
“You’re talking about Mortal Coil,” Kai said. “You two played in Mortal Coil.”
Once upon a time, Mortal Coil had been the most popular game in the world. Its success had boiled down to two things: verisimilitude and wish fulfillment. The game let you play with all kinds of magic you didn’t possess in real life, and it was so convincing that it made you forget it wasn’t real.
“Mortal Coil. That’s right.” Alex looked at Kai. “But how did you know about the fairies? Did you read about it in the news?”
“The details regarding the captured fairies never made it into the news,” replied Kai. “The Magic Council made sure of it.”
“Of course they did,” Logan said. “The Council wouldn’t want to admit that bad things were happening in the world, completely outside of their control. You want everyone to think that nothing is outside of your control.”
“And for good reason,” said Kai. “Look at what nonsense people get up to when they think they can get away with it. Nightstar was one of those people. He thought he could chain four fairies to an enormous water tank, stick a crown full of magic lights on their heads, and then use them to power his whole game world. And, worse yet, he thought he could do all that without getting caught.”
Alex exchanged glances with her sister. “That’s a pretty accurate description of the center of Mortal Coil.”
“You didn’t read about it.” Sera’s eyes grew wide as they fixed on Kai. “You were actually there.”
“Yes.” Kai indicated himself and the commandos. “We were.”
“Talk about a blast from the past.” Alex looked at Callum. “Rogue Roger.” Her gaze slid over to Dal. “Sam Surefire.” And finally she came to Tony. “Detective Darkstar.”
But Sera had eyes only for Kai. “Duke. Duke was you.”
His eyes were just as wide. “And you were the cute mercenary with the long, gold-red hair and impish smirk. Ruby Dragon.” Kai nodded at Alex. “And your sister with the dragon tattoo: Scarlet Slayer.”
Kai and Sera stared at each other, as though they were each seeing some new, previously-undiscovered part of the other. It was an almost intimate moment, so Alex left them to it. She took a look around the room.
“This simulation is as good as Mortal Coil,” she commented. “Pretty convincing. Pretty real. But not real enough.” She glanced down at the leaking pipe, then up at the flickering light. “Ok, so we’re stuck in here. Now the question is how do we get out?”
“Honestly, I’m surprised you dimwits figured it out.” The words fired from Marek’s mouth, but his voice was not his own. It was so deep, so sardonic.
The box at Logan’s feet—the Convictionites’ supposed weapon—disappeared, vanishing completely, as though it had never even existed. Magic rippled around Marek, Tony, Dal, and Callum. Particles of illusion dissolved into the air, and they were now four men Alex had never seen before in her life.
7
Revenge
Kai’s eyes narrowed as they locked on to the man who’d impersonated Marek. He wore a tailored suit, like he was some kind of businessman, but his wide build told Alex he didn’t spend all his time behind a desk. And his shaved head, bright pink tie, and the tattoo peeking up from his high neckline told her he wasn’t a boring, run-of-the-mill kind of businessman.
“Nightstar,” Kai addressed the man.
“Kai Drachenburg.” His knuckles cracked. “The one who landed me in prison.”
Kai glanced at the three men beside Nightstar. The one with the long, red ponytail had impersonated Tony. The man with the spiky black hair had played the part of Callum. And the third man, whose very short and swirly black beard looked like a tattoo, had pretended to be Dal. Each of them was a mage. Alex could smell it in their magic. Most likely, they were Convictionite supernaturals who were assisting Nightstar with his simulation.
“Where are my men?” Kai demanded.
Nightstar met his demands with mocking laughter. “Your men were knocked out the moment they entered this building. The Convictionites were waiting for them. You see, we knew you were coming—and all about your secret plan to end the Convictionites. I must say, they aren’t too pleased about it. But they will be quite pleased that you, who all played a part in so wrongfully imprisoning me, are now yourselves imprisoned.”
“Sounds like he’s the one who’s pleased,” Sera commented to Alex. “With himself.”
“Indeed I am.” Nightstar grinned. “Finally, after all these years, I will have justice.”
“Hate to be the unwanted voice of reality,” Alex said. “But not all of us here were part of the group that ended your reign of terror on those poor fairies. Logan wasn’t. Marek wasn’t.”
“I’m sure that of all people you, the Black Plague, are familiar with the concept of collateral damage.”
Ale
x rolled her eyes. “And I’m sure that of all people you, Nightstar, are familiar with the concept of not counting your chickens before they’re hatched.”
“I’m no one’s collateral damage,” Logan added.
Alex nodded. “What he said. Plus, we are going to get out of this simulation, you know.”
“We shall see,” Nightstar replied, unfazed.
“As fun as it is to listen to you toot your own horn, what is the real point of all of this?” Alex asked him.
“After you ruined Mortal Coil, I was disgraced. Imprisoned for years.” A dash of annoyance peeked through his confident smile. “But the Convictionites got me out of there. They are very interested in my work, you see. Work I was forbidden to do by the Magic Council. You turned me into an outlaw; you labeled my genius criminal. That is the point of this.”
Alex looked at her friends. “It’s like talking to a wall, people.”
“The Convictionites were trying to trick us into giving away the location of the Magic Council’s secret meeting. That’s why your phone didn’t work,” Logan told Kai.
Kai’s brows drew together. “We’ve been keeping our meeting locations secret since the mess with the Grim Reaper. The Convictionites would have had us travel there ourselves, to the meeting chamber, inside this simulation. And then they would have attacked the Council chamber in the real world, taking out its members all at once.”
“So the anti-magic weapon is real?” Alex wondered.
Nightstar shot her a sly smile.
“Real or not, you failed,” Logan told him.
Nightstar shrugged. “It was worth a shot. I told the Convictionites you were too devious to fall for it.” He didn’t look torn up about the Convictionites’ failed plan. “No matter. I still get to play with you all in here. I still get to exact my revenge.”
“You won’t be exacting revenge on anyone,” said Logan. “We’re getting out of here right now.”
“Do you really think it will be that easy? The exits aren’t clearly marked.”
Logan took a step toward him. “Irrelevant. We will get out. And you will move out of my way.”
But Nightstar didn’t move, even as Logan’s glare turned glacial.
“I suppose this is the point where you threaten me,” Nightstar said lazily.
Logan drew his knives.
The game master smiled at him. “This is fun.”
Logan, perfectly serious, perfectly humorless, threw the knives. They shot through the air toward Nightstar like missiles—then disappeared before they even reached him.
“My game, my rules,” Nightstar declared with victory in his eyes.
Kai was already shifting into a dragon when the game master turned to face him, shutting down his magic mid-shift. Kai flew back and collided with the wall. Alex’s spells died on her hands. So did Sera’s. The sisters looked at each other in shock.
Nightstar just laughed.
“Magic Breaker?” Sera whispered to Alex.
Alex shook her head, frowning. “Already tried that. Something in this simulation is blocking our Dragon Born magic.”
“He’s afraid he’d lose to us in a fair fight,” Sera replied loudly, glaring at Nightstar.
“Nice try,” Nightstar laughed. “But you aren’t going to goad me into helping you.”
Kai wasn’t giving up. He was on his feet again, fists clenched, a look of total concentration on his face. His magic was blocked, but he looked like he was trying to shift into a dragon through pure willpower alone.
Nightstar laughed at him.
Kai kept trying. Dragon scales began to ripple across his skin.
Nightstar’s laughter died on his lips. “None of that now.”
He flicked his hand toward his minion with the tattoo-like beard. The man shifted into a massive dragon, roaring as he grew bigger and bigger. He lifted up his massive dragon foot.
“Drachenburg,” Logan said to Kai. “I do believe he is about to use your own move against you.”
The agitated cracking of Kai’s jaw was audible even over the roar of the usurper dragon.
The dragon stomped down. Kai rolled out of the way. The dragon’s tail swung at Logan, who tried to evade, but he was now as slow as a human. The tail smacked him against the wall.
Alex hurried over to Logan, checking him for injuries. “You all right?”
“Fine.” He winced. “None of this is really happening. It’s fake.”
“You don’t have your abilities anymore either, do you?”
“No. And it’s agitating.” Logan scowled. “Nightstar is agitating.”
“We’ll take care of him.”
“Yes, we will.” Logan got to his feet. “Once the playing field is once more level.”
Alex glanced at the dragon. He was certainly powerful, but he was also stupid. He looked like he didn’t know what to do with his powers. Like he’d never used them before. Obviously, he didn’t possess those powers naturally; Nightstar had granted him dragon-shifting magic for this simulation. Which meant the clueless dragon was stomping around wildly, like an oversized toddler. Still, clueless or not, he could do a lot of damage.
“Can you run?” Alex asked Logan.
“I’m insulted you even have to ask.”
Alex chuckled. “All right then.”
They started running after Sera and Kai.
“Ok, we’re running…” Sera puffed. “Now what?”
“Well, there were exits in Nightstar’s last game,” Alex remembered. “So there must be exits here too, though Nightstar claims they are well-hidden.”
“Of course he would say that,” replied Sera. “But we got into this simulation, so we must be able to get out.”
“Maybe in the same way we came in?” Alex said. “Worth a shot. What’s our closest entry point?”
“The one that Marek and the commandos took in,” Sera said.
“Then let’s go.”
They ran toward the front entrance, but soon found their path cut off by two of Nightstar’s minions. Red Ponytail and Spiky Head stood in the corridor, blocking their way. Red Ponytail let loose a magic wind blast that shook the walls as it sped toward them.
They all ducked back around the corner. The blast whipped past the intersection and hit the wall they’d been standing in front of just a few moments ago.
Sera gaped at the sizable hole the mage had blown in the solid concrete wall. “Sure glad we weren’t standing there.”
Then they ran back the way they’d come.
“Maybe we should,” Alex said as they ran.
“Should what?” Sera asked her.
“Should get hit.”
“Did you hit your head or something, Alex?”
“Think about it, Sera. Back in Mortal Coil, what happened when someone died in the simulation?”
“They woke up.”
“Thereby leaving the simulation,” Alex said.
“I don’t know, Alex. What if this simulation is different?” Sera asked. “What if when we die here, we actually die?”
A fireball raged down the hallway in front of them. They ducked into a closet, trapped, surrounded.
“What choice do we have?” Alex pointed out.
Sera frowned.
“I’ll go first.” Alex stepped toward the closet door.
Sera snatched her hand. “This is reckless, even for you.”
Alex glanced over her shoulder and winked at her sister. “Na, this is just another day in my life.” She started to walk again.
Sera held to her hand. “We’ll do it together.”
Kai took Sera’s hand. “All of us.”
And Logan took Alex’s hand. “Agreed.”
Then they all ran at the fire-wielding mage. Flames enveloped them. Alex was on fire. She was burning. Pain split through her body. Screams burst from her lips. Black spots danced in front of her eyes. And then she passed out.
8
Awake
Alex jolted awake, breathing heavily, dren
ched in sweat. Sera held one of her hands, Logan the other. Kai held Sera’s other hand. They were all linked. Everyone was waking up now.
Alex looked around. They were in a warehouse, empty except for the machine they were hooked into. Alex yanked the tubes out of her arms, and the final silver sparkles faded from them.
“My magic is coming back,” she commented.
“Mine too,” said Sera. “Kai?”
He clenched his fists, punching forward. A burst of wind magic burst out of his fists, blasting a gigantic hole in the wall.
“Everything seems to be in order,” he declared with satisfaction as dust snowed to the ground.
Alex turned in a circle on the spot. She saw Marek and the commandos, chained in a ring to a stone pillar across the room.
Logan made it to them first and broke them free. “I’ll be right back.” Then he ran off in a flash of supernatural speed.
Tony pulled off the cloth that covered his mouth. “Damn Convictionites were waiting for us when we entered,” he reported to Kai. “Nearly thirty of them. Hit us with some kind of electrical field that knocked us out. When we came to, we were chained up in here.”
“There was an anti-magic field running through those chains,” Callum said. “We couldn’t get free.”
“Though Marek tried,” Dal added.
Marek stood up, his steps shaky. His head was bleeding.
“What happened to you?” Alex asked him.
“I spoke to one of the Convictionites.” Marek touched his forehead and winced. “He didn’t like what I had to say.”
“Such eloquent insults I’ve never heard,” Callum said, sounding impressed. “Wish I’d had a pen to jot them down for future use.”
Marek looked quite pleased with himself.
“Don’t stand up too tall, or you’ll pass out,” Logan said. “You’re looking quite pale.”
Marek jumped in alarm. “Where did you come from?”
“All around.”
Logan had reappeared in the room right beside Marek’s shoulder. He’d moved so fast and quietly, like those few minutes without his abilities had fueled a need in him to push his power to its limits.
