Glitch Kingdom

by Sheena Boekweg

  I would have smacked him, except for the swell of pain on my left side. I clutched my side and glanced down. The poison was still in me, trapped under the breastplate, tearing through my flesh, the ache sharp and wheezing. My bones felt weak.

  Activate breastplate. The metal warmed, and the pain slowed. I’d thought the breastplate would have just healed me once and for all.

  But that had never been my luck.

  “Let’s go,” I said.

  McKenna hovered above us, her shattered wings barely keeping her afloat, a single tear glistening on her cheek.

  “No one blames you, you know,” I said. “It’s not your fault the game got screwed up.”

  Ryo inhaled sharply. “No, it’s not.”

  But I didn’t blame his mother for this either. Sometimes things just go wrong. Life wasn’t like a video game; there wasn’t always one villain you could kill and things would be better.

  “I don’t think I should go with you,” McKenna said. “I’m not supposed to be in the next scene.”

  “Screw that. We need all the help we can get,” I said. She was a Rogue with crafting expertise, great aim stats, plenty of charm, and ranged attacks. She’d be useful.

  OW. The pain in my ribs flared again.

  “There’s plenty of blame to go around,” Ryo said, “but you didn’t hurt anyone on purpose. It’s just good Dagney didn’t get your part.”

  I pressed my stomach. “Yeah, you’d all be dead.” I meant it as a joke, but it was true. If I didn’t know, I’d have played much dirtier than McKenna did. I really would have. “This isn’t your fault. And you’re great so long as you don’t shoot anyone with your poisoned daggers.”

  Activate breastplate. The pain softened.

  McKenna landed and disarmed the blades. They fell to the ground and then kept falling.

  “How many bloody blades do you have?” Grig said.

  “Oh, one more.” She tugged a massive dagger from her boot. Then she reached beneath the helmet covering the side of her face and pulled down a thin tube. She jammed it into the blade launcher on her handless wrist and test fired. A splash of water hit the ground. “Maybe I could act as a healer?”

  “Mother of Mercy, is that a hibisi Super Soaker?” Grig asked.

  She sprayed him in the mouth, and his stats shot up.

  “I’ve got about five gallons,” she said.

  “Where did you keep it?” I asked. Her finely cut dress lay flat against her body.

  Bluebird’s eyes were shaded in worry. “We’ve got to hurry.”

  Right. I turned to Ryo. He had the boots. He sighed. “Please. Please don’t make me do math.”

  “I’ll trade you for them…” The pain started pulsing again. Oh, this was going to be annoying, I could just tell. I let out a growl. “What do I have to trade?”

  His eyes seemed concerned. “Here, let me carry your bag.”

  I gave it to him gladly. The thing was starting to get heavy, or else, my legs seemed weaker. “So you’re saying you want everything?”

  “They are very useful boots.”

  Activate breastplate. The pain stepped back into hiding, and I managed a weak smile. I put on the boots while Bluebird and Grigfen raided the ballroom for loot.

  When they were done and before the pain came back, I stood. “Everybody hold on to me.”

  Grig rested his arm on my shoulder, and Bluebird tucked in, touching my lower arm. I stood between McKenna and Ryo, holding both of their hands.

  On the way from the Kneult harbor to the Island of the Savak, I’d added up the percentages it had used to make it across the ocean, but the Kneult shore was about ten miles closer to the Island of the Savak than our kingdom. 35 percent.

  Activate boots.

  We transported back to the docks in one step. Nailed it. Yes. It just took the whole game to finally master the boots, but finally I did that.

  “Whoa,” Bluebird said. “That’s like—”

  “Incredible!” Grig finished her sentence. “But…” He pressed a fist to his mouth. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”

  McKenna splashed his face with hibisi.

  Ryo burst out laughing.

  I scowled. The wound in my chest was acting up again. “Don’t waste it.”

  From the slight smile on McKenna’s face, I think splashing Grig in the face was worth whatever hibisi it took.

  The city seemed empty, frozen, like the Kneult city. Of course. There was no one here to play.

  “Those boots would have been very useful,” McKenna said as she shook out her wings and we turned toward the castle. “Those flights back and forth were…” Her face darkened. “It’s probably for the best I couldn’t use them.”

  I squeezed her hand, and then squeezed too tight because overwhelming pain had come back with a vengeance. Activate breastplate!

  The city skyline flickered with static, like it had caught up to us being here. Flames erupted, buildings fell, and a dark green haze settled over the city. The drumming of battle music started.

  I growled.

  “Don’t look at me,” McKenna said. “This wasn’t the Savak.”

  Bodies broke through the ground, skeleton arms reaching through the city, Lurchers floating above, swallowing Whirligigs with heads that spun.

  “HORDES OF UNDEAD!” Grigfen shouted, both his hands held above his head.

  “I’ll take point,” Bluebird said, grinning. “McKenna, you keep Grig’s healing up.”

  He flexed his fingers. “It’s magic time.”

  I growled under my breath and then grabbed my brother by his collar. “We don’t have time for this.”

  “Wut?” he protested.

  “Grab hold,” I said to everyone. “Let’s just get to the throne room and win this thing already.”

  I measured the distance to the castle and fast traveled us to the steps.

  “Fifth floor, center of the building,” Ryo said, his eyes measuring my expression.

  A Lurcher swarmed at us, and Grigfen shot a wave of ghostlight to knock it over. Wasteful.

  I stepped up and fast traveled toward the throne.

  The throne room seemed larger than I remembered; the arched ceiling lifted nearly a story higher. The glistening room was cleared of every other piece of furniture. Mosaics glinted on the polished walls, while large arched windows opened to the damaged sky. In the back of the room, on a raised dais, light struck a large golden throne. We stepped inside, the hall doors slammed shut behind us, and the battle music played.

  I flexed my fingers and muttered under my breath. This could never just be simple.

  The throne was suddenly occupied.

  “Hello, Nephew.” King Edvarg sat on the throne, his legs long and spindly, his eyes sunken, and the whole room buzzed with a pale green light.

  “A lich king on the throne! A lich king on the throne!” Bluebird squealed.

  Grigfen looked at me with big kohl-streaked eyes. “Can we, Mum?”

  I made a face and then palmed my axes in each hand. “Oh, go play.”

  McKenna leapt up, her gold wings spreading before she flashed invisible. Grig and Bluebird rushed forward, Grig’s hands waving in giddy ridiculousness and Bluebird’s head down, her focus deadly.

  I almost felt sorry for Lich King Edvarg.

  “Left!” Grig shouted. Bluebird ducked and rolled while Grig sent a wave of ghosts over her left shoulder. The bones converged into a skull-and-bones monster, nearly half the size of the king.

  McKenna sprayed Grigfen, lifting his health back to full strength. His magic creature roared.

  Meanwhile Bluebird sneaked behind Edvarg’s back and started doing some major damage, flipping one way, twisting another, stabbing his ghostly flesh.

  I worried for a second when King Edvarg clawed at her, but her armor’s endurance was so high that her health barely budged. He knocked out Grig’s skeleton monster and then flashed green.

  “To cover!” I shouted. Shouting sent a wave of pain into m
e again, sharp and oozing.

  OW.

  Breastplate.

  King Edvarg roared and shot out a wave of bones. Bluebird blocked the ones from hitting Grig and then rushed forward again before the last bone fell.

  I gripped the axes but didn’t move.

  “Why aren’t you playing?” Ryo asked, watching me carefully.

  I grimaced. “I am. I’ll step in if I need to, but my job right now is to protect you. We can’t win until we put the rightful heir on the throne.”

  A glowing skull rushed toward us. I swung the Axe of Destruction and the skull flew back, striking the right side of Edvarg’s head. The black ooze struck and started melting his flesh.

  I loved these axes.

  “Why aren’t you?” I asked.

  He didn’t answer right away. His health was fine, but his eyes were dim. “I’m just ready to go home.”

  I swallowed. Home. What was that going to be like? What were we going to be like?

  “Okay, let’s end this.” Activate breastplate. “McKenna, watch Ryo!” I ran forward while Grigfen and Bluebird kept Edvarg’s attention on them. I glanced up. 1%. I flew to the ceiling, kicked off the wall, and chucked the Axe of Destruction. I fell. 1%.

  I landed by Ryo’s side and then almost collapsed with the sudden crushing pain.

  BREASTPLATE.

  My axe continued to spin from where I threw it, blade over handle, blade over handle, and then lodged into the side of Edvarg’s bony neck. The black ooze bit through him.

  He fell with a heavy boom.

  We froze.

  McKenna landed. “We did it!”

  “Wait.” Grigfen threw his hands out.

  “No, it’s okay,” Ryo said. “This was his third form. He’s dead.”

  As if to prove it, the throne lit up. It matched Ryo’s uniform, gilded gold with bronze and silver foxes, covered with purple jewels.

  Ryo let out a breath and then jogged up the dais.

  I offered a small smile. We had every item, and he had all our loyalty. This should work.

  Ryo sat on the throne and nothing happened.

  38

  DAGNEY

  I HATE THIS GAME SO MUCH.

  “What else do we need to do?” I kicked Edvarg’s fallen body. A bit of poisonous gas expelled, so I stopped.

  “Maybe you need to be in costume?” McKenna said. “Should you be wearing the armor?”

  “We’re a team, though,” I said.

  “That makes sense to me,” Bluebird said.

  “Yeah, it’s worth trying.” Grig pulled the crown off his head and offered it to Ryo. A jewel on the throne lit. He didn’t have to trade for it. The rules must be different for me because I was Trader class.

  “Yes,” Bluebird said. “It’s working.”

  “Well, I have three pieces.” I crossed up to the dais to hand him my axes. Ryo stopped me.

  “The Breastplate of Healing,” Ryo said, his voice low. “You can’t. You can’t take it off.”

  I touched the metal covering my stomach.

  “That means you have to be the one to win,” he said, like that didn’t cost him anything.

  It was his mom’s game.

  And I got to win it. I GET TO WIN IT.

  The ceiling cracked through with a glitch.

  QUICKLY. “Okay, fine. Let’s do this.”

  “How do you win?” Bluebird asked.

  I raised my hands in defeat. “I don’t know. Ms. Takagi took over my seer vision so I didn’t get to hear my win condition.”

  What do I do? I thought I was an assist character, so I could win as a member of Ryo’s team, but win by myself? How—ow. Activate breastplate.

  I couldn’t even think solid sentences right now. How was I going to figure this out?

  “Here.” Ryo handed me all the armor he had. The jewels dimmed like someone had snuffed them out.

  So he couldn’t just give me the armor.

  “Well, then what about this?” Bluebird asked. “You’re Trader class, Dagney. So maybe you have to trade for the victory? Or maybe you should marry Ryo and win by marriage.”

  Ryo and I shared a quick look. I knew getting married in video games was a thing people did sometimes, and it didn’t actually mean anything. But Ryo meant something to me. We’d had enough blurred realities. I didn’t want to cheapen it. And besides, if I was going to win, I wanted to win on my own.

  “Let’s try trading,” I said.

  But what could I trade? Ryo already had my bag, the gloves, Grig’s crown, and the throne. Every gilded inch of that throne was made for him. He was the main character. He was the one who was supposed to win.

  I had nothing worth a kingdom.

  Nothing. Except my heart.

  Nope. Not going to say anything that cheesy.

  My hands turned clammy. Activate breastplate.

  But the breastplate didn’t slow my panicking heartbeat. There had to be another way, and I swear if I had full access to my brain I would have figured one out, but this would work. It had to be something Ryo would value, something that came at great cost to me.

  MY PRIDE WAS A COST TOO HIGH. Not going to do that. I stared at the pixilated ceiling that was ready to swallow us all. The light so bright it burned my eyes. Light bright enough to dim the pain that was starting again.

  I didn’t have time to argue with myself about this.

  But, oh gosh, I’d look so stupid. And what if Ryo didn’t say it back? What if … I couldn’t. Nope. I needed to make a list of pros and cons, and not be dying, or in the middle of a story that wasn’t my own to know for sure. I couldn’t untwist my barbed wire heart enough to give it to him, not until I knew how he would treat me when he saw me in real life.

  I couldn’t just say it, not until the game was finished.

  I let out a breath and shook my head.

  I hated this.

  “Ryo…” Oh gosh. Don’t do it. “I love you, you ridiculous boy.” Oh my gosh. “Will you trade my heart for your kingdom?”

  I covered my eyes with my hands.

  My heartbeat thrashed. Activate breastplate.

  This was so embarrassing. I was going to die and it wasn’t even the game that was killing me.

  Ryo pulled my hands away from my face. His glistening eyes were soft. Happy. “Dagney. It’s okay. It’s okay.”

  “It’s so embarrassing.”

  He cupped my cheek and shook his head. “It’s not. I love you too.”

  “Really?” I whispered.

  He cocked a lopsided grin. “And that means I get to keep all your stuff.”

  I hit his chest.

  He kissed my nose.

  “I happily accept your trade.” He led me to the throne and helped me sit.

  The jeweled throne lit. Ryo slid my axes into their sheath on my back and held the gloves open for me to slip my hands into. The items, one by one, added to my inventory, and the jewels lit a soft pink.

  He placed the crown on my head and then grinned at me like he had a joke hiding behind those eyes. I smiled back. I felt like some kind of warrior princess and barely noticed the pain, still swelling. Light ripped through my eyes, streaks of white shooting from my arms, from my skin. The victory music rose to a crescendo, and the muscles at the back of my neck relaxed, as though the game had released its grip on my brain.

  Ryo and Grig wrapped their arms around each other’s shoulders, both of them grinning as wide as the skies above us. Bluebird watched the sky as it tore through the upper floors. And McKenna dabbed her cheeks with her blood-soaked sleeve, and turned away so her back was to whatever cameras were watching.

  Every one of the other player’s loyalty had shifted pink.

  But not one of them brighter than my own.

  39

  MCKENNA

  I never wanted to face this music.

  But when the light touched me, I felt a release in my brain and then a shift in my senses. The soundtrack changed to the murmur of voices and a sharp bee
ping that drummed in time with my heart. My beautiful clothes transformed into wires and needles and tubes. Someone grabbed my hand as I tried to yank out the tube in my throat.

  Black spots dotted my vision.

  Someone called out my name. I fought emerging from this dark pit.

  I fought that voice.

  But it was my dad’s voice calling me “princess,” so I had to answer.

  The world seemed so dim when I opened my eyes.

  There weren’t enough people here.

  And it was my fault. No matter what they said. No matter the part I was playing. I was the one who killed them.

  My dad’s clothes were covered in wrinkles, his hair matted to a greasy forehead. He lifted his thumb and gave me a smile from where he sat at the base of my hospital bed.

  I turned away.

  He didn’t need to see my tears.

  I was alive.

  And maybe one day that fact wouldn’t fill me with guilt.

  Ryo

  When I woke in a different world, my mother was there waiting for me. I lifted my weakened arms, tugging at tubes and wires and everything she’d used to keep me living.

  I wrapped her in a hug. We made it. We made it out.

  Her shoulders shook. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay, Mom. I’m okay.”

  She pulled back. “I wanted you to live in a world where he still did. I painted that world with my grief and it almost killed you.”

  I wiped her tears from her cheeks. “Dad would have loved it.”

  She held my face in both hands. And I knew she was holding her whole world.

  Grigfen

  When the white pixels in the sky found me at last, they sent me home.

  Her bed was across from mine. I pulled the wires off me and then stood on wobbly legs. I crossed through protesting doctors and nurses until I reached her bed. I fell next to her. The nurses and doctors tried to stop me, but I ignored them and took her hand in mine. Her skin was cold, so I rubbed her fingers to warm them up and pulled the blanket over her shoulders.

  “It’s all right, love. It’s over. You can wake now.”

  Her eyelid twitched. I pulled her hand to my lips. Then I lay back on her pillow. The wires across her forehead were cold against my neck as I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, my legs pressing against hers.