“Oh my God,” I muttered as I trudged back to the house, taking a moment to verify that Little Peter’s natural reaction to recent events wasn’t obvious to any casual observers before I went inside. “I’m never going to make it to the weekend at this rate.”
21
Mods, in gaming parlance, are modifications that players make to games that change their original behavior. A particular mod might give the player a boost in combat or improve the quality of the loot that NPCs drop or even add entirely new missions. Most mods, however, just alter the appearance of the characters and objects in the game. As you might expect from a population dominated by teenaged boys, the most popular mods simply make the outfits of female characters invisible.
There’s a lot of angst in the gaming community about nude mods in MMOs. There’s a pervasive belief out there that naked characters will shock, offend, or corrupt the young and innocent and therefore any and all mods should be banned. The thing is, mods only affect the player’s instance of the game. His character could waltz through a crowded dungeon wearing nothing more than a chainmail thong and no one else would be the wiser.
Some games are explicitly designed to make mods virtually impossible, while others completely embrace the modding subculture with open interfaces and extensive documentation. Legends of Lorecraft sits somewhere in the middle. They discourage modding by highlighting the inherent risk of corrupting the game files but they don’t go out of their way to prevent you from going ahead and doing it anyway.
This brings up the related concept of boob physics. One of the critical decisions game designers have to make is how breasts should behave as the character moves. In most games, breasts are solid bumps that don’t do anything interesting. In many Japanese and Korean games, the designers apparently think breasts are made of jello. They jiggle and sway with the slightest movement, a behavior further exaggerated by the fact that most of the females in these games are extremely buxom.
Lorecraft prides itself on the realism of its character design system. That philosophy carries over into their character animation algorithms, which implement a very convincing simulation of breast movement. This combination of realistic boob physics and nude mods makes for some very distracting moments during the game. Or so I’ve heard.
The house was oddly quiet but I presumed everyone was indulging in some downtime after the evening’s excitement. I took the opportunity to consider my next course of action.
The good news was, Lilith’s black knight – Ryan Prescott – failed to capture the white queen. Unfortunately, he’d be back in action again tomorrow, after he and my bishop finished getting reacquainted. Lilith was already getting her hooks into one of my knights, the other one was obsessed by her upcoming move, and my pawn was MIA until later tonight. My only option, it seemed, was to try to get the white queen back on my side of the board. I headed for my bedroom.
To my surprise, Daraxandriel was alone in the room, hunched over her laptop with her headphones on. She was back in full demon form and her tail reared up at my approach. I stopped well out of its reach.
“Dara, where’s Lilith?” She didn’t react and her tail tapped her on her shoulder, startling her. She looked around and noticed me.
“What dost thou require, Peter Simon Collins?” she asked, slipping her headphones around her neck. She looked irritated at being interrupted.
“Where’s Lilith? I thought she’d be with you.” Leaving Daraxandriel alone was potentially risky so whatever Lilith was up to had to be important.
“She is with the waif,” she sniffed.
“What?” Getting Susie on her side would give her an ally in the enemy camp. I had to stop whatever Lilith was doing before it was too late. I ran to Susie’s door and tried to open it, but it was locked. I knocked frantically.
“Susie? What’s going on in there? Open up!”
“Go away, Peter!” Susie’s voice was muffled by the door but her irritation came through clearly.
“Is Lilith in there with you? I need to talk to her!” Susie would just ignore me until I gave up but Lilith just might be curious enough to open the door. I pressed my ear to the door, trying to figure out what they were up to, but I couldn’t make out any sounds until the lock suddenly clicked. I jumped back as the door opened just enough to show me Lilith’s amused smile.
“Yes?” she asked smoothly. “Did you need something?”
“What are you doing with Susie?” I tried to push the door wider but Lilith’s strategically-positioned foot kept it from moving.
“Girl stuff,” she shrugged. “You wouldn’t be interested.”
“What kind of girl stuff?” I insisted. I craned my neck but I couldn’t see anything from this angle.
“Peter,” she said condescendingly, “you’re a man. You don’t understand the needs a young woman has, especially one who’s just beginning to blossom like Susie is. I’m just glad that I could be here to give her the benefit of my experience.”
“She doesn’t need your experience! Susie?” I called through the opening. “What is she doing to you?”
“Nothing.” Susie’s exasperated tone sounded perfectly normal for her. “Go away and stop interrupting us.”
“You’d better go,” Lilith said with feigned concern. “This will take a lot longer if she’s distracted.”
“What will?”
“Don’t worry, we’re almost done. For now,” she added with a grin. I tried to keep her from closing the door on me but she had better leverage and the gap narrowed inexorably.
“Am I doing this right?” I heard Susie ask. “It feels weird.”
“Try a different angle,” Lilith suggested. The door thunked closed, cutting off Susie’s reply.
“Oh my God,” I breathed, raking my fingers through my hair. Whatever Lilith was teaching Susie was going to cause trouble down the road, I just knew it, but I was powerless to stop it. I considered telling Mom that something was going on in the hopes that she would intervene but she was just as much under Lilith’s spell as Susie was, if not more so.
I decided to make a tactical retreat and focus on the larger strategy instead. That meant sacrificing my knight to the black queen, at least temporarily, and making a play for the white queen while we were still alone. I took an unsteady breath, straightened my shoulders, and returned to my room.
“So, Dara, what are you up to?” I asked pleasantly, only to discover that she had her headphones back on and couldn’t hear me.
Her tail watched me closely, though, and I eyed it uneasily. I still didn’t understand how it worked. It was physically attached to her – I’d seen Daraxandriel naked often enough to confirm that – but it seemed to have a mind of its own, like an extremely loyal cobra.
“I need to talk to Dara,” I told it hesitantly. It didn’t have any visible eyes or ears but it was obviously aware of its surroundings. Its spade-shaped end hovered for a moment and then it twisted around to tap Daraxandriel again.
“I bade thee to leave me be whilst I am questing!” she told it sharply. It quailed and pointed urgently in my direction. Her glowing eyes narrowed in irritation and she doffed her headphones again. “Why dost thou persist in intruding upon my room, Peter Simon Collins?”
I almost pointed out that it was actually my room but that would derail our conversation before it even started. “I just wanted to talk,” I told her, sitting at my desk. “Lilith is monopolizing all your time.”
“She is my clutch-mate,” she said defensively. “We have not seen one another ere these many years.”
“I’m not complaining, I’m just feeling left out. You and I used to be together all the time.” I shrugged apologetically. “I’m guess I’m feeling a bit neglected.”
“Thou hast Melissa to keep thee company,” she pointed out with a frown. “Does she not please thee?”
“Well, sure, but I’m supposed to move in with her in a few days and then you and I won’t get to see each other as often. I mean, you’re my best frie
nd, after all.” I hoped I wasn’t laying it on too thick but I didn’t have much time. Lilith could return at any moment.
“Nay, Justin is thy boon companion,” she replied tartly, “or hast thou forgotten him since thy schooling ended?”
“I meant you’re my best girl friend. We have a lot in common.”
“Thou art human and I am a demon, Peter Simon Collins,” she said, shaking her head. “We are not akin.”
“Sure we are! We both play Lorecraft,” I suggested.
“As do thee and Melissa.”
“You helped me defeat Dr. Bellowes.”
“As did Melissa.”
“We sleep together in the same bed. Up until yesterday, anyway,” I added sourly.
“Melissa would gladly share her bed with thee, would she not?” Daraxandriel asked pointedly. “Her desire for thee grows daily.”
I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. “That’s beside the point. I want you, not her.”
She looked away. “Thou dost not know thine own heart,” she said quietly. “Thou art swayed by my power as a succubus but thou dost not truly desire me. I am repugnant to thine eyes, Lilith has said so.”
“Lilith doesn’t know what I like or don’t like!” I retorted. “She just wants to keep us apart. Look, you agreed to go out on a date with me, right? Let’s go, right now, and I’ll prove that I love you, Dara the person, not you, Dara the succubus. Okay?”
For a moment, it looked like she was about to agree, but then her lips tightened and her eyes blazed brighter.
“Nay!” she spat. “Lilith did caution me that thou wouldst strive to divert me from my course. I will not be distracted from my aim, Peter Simon Collins! I will have thy soul or be damned for it!” She was on her feet now, breathing hard with her fists clenched.
“What’s so important about my soul?” I shot back, furious at Lilith for twisting her around like this. “Why do you want it so badly?”
“I needs must claim a soul! Ere I fail at this, I am not worthy to be called a succubus.” She deflated sadly and fell back into her chair. “An I cannot suade thee to surrender thy soul, even giving thee thy most heartfelt desire without prior promise of repayment, I may as well reclaim my Dread Lord’s curse and live out my days as a human.”
“Would that be so bad?” I asked quietly.
“You wouldn’t ask that if you’d ever been a demon.” Lilith stood in the doorway with that hated smirk of hers. “Life as a mere human is a cruel punishment.”
“You don’t seem to be suffering,” I countered angrily. I wondered how much of our conversation she’d overheard.
“I hide my pain for Dara’s sake,” she said easily. “It’s not her fault I ended up like this.”
“Nay, Lilith, I take full blame for thy tribulations!” Daraxandriel protested. “’Twas my selfishness that led to thee taking on my curse. I shall not rest ‘til thou art restored to thy former perfection! Peter Simon Collins’ soul shall be the currency for thy release!”
“You’re a loving sister and a true friend, Dara,” Lilith smiled, her eyes sparkling with malicious delight. “I don’t deserve you.”
“Wait a minute, how are you supposed to get my soul if I don’t sign a contract?” I asked uneasily. “You promised you wouldn’t try to make me sign anything.”
“Unless you ask her to,” Lilith reminded me smugly.
“Melissa shall be thy undoing, Peter Simon Collins,” Daraxandriel said confidently, although she didn’t sound all that enthusiastic about it. “Her growing lust for thee shall inflame thine own desire and thou shalt bargain with me for its sweet release.”
“Are you still talking about that ridiculous plan? If I wanted to have sex with Melissa, which I don’t, I can just go over to her place and do it! I don’t need to give you my soul.”
“Thou art welcome to try such,” she scoffed. “I have bent the world to bring thee together and yet still keep thee apart. All shall unfold according to my will.” She crossed her arms and dared me to disagree.
“Right, well, good luck with that,” I sighed. Obviously my gambit to win Daraxandriel back had failed but this was just a temporary setback. I’d just have to try again later. At least this idiotic scheme of hers would keep her from trying to capture someone else’s soul until we figured out how to get rid of Lilith once and for all.
My phone pinged and I pulled it out of my pocket, wondering who would be sending me messages at this time of night. It was from Melissa, which surprised me. She couldn’t possibly have gotten home this quickly.
Trying to stay cool on the way home, was all it said, along with a winking emoticon. That seemed benign, if somewhat cryptic, but there was an attachment to the message. I tapped it to open it up.
It looked like a picture of the Thunderbird’s passenger seat. I recognized her satchel and her blazer lying there but a few other items had joined them. A white t-shirt with a red-and-yellow logo partially covered a black rectangle that might have been her skirt, and a loop of silky fabric peeked out from underneath.
That’s strange, I frowned. Those are the clothes she was wearing when she left. Did she have another outfit in the car? Why would she bother changing before she got home? That doesn’t make any sense. So that must mean –
My breath caught in my throat and my jaw fell open as I realized that Melissa was driving home in a convertible wearing the only articles of clothing that weren’t in the photo: her shoes. “Oh my God.” I barely recognized my own voice.
“Is there a problem, Peter?” Lilith asked solicitously. She tried to look over my shoulder but I clutched my phone against my chest.
“No! Everything’s fine!” I insisted. “I, uh, need to go!”
Lilith’s chuckle followed me out of the room and down the hall. I shut myself in the den and dropped onto the couch, staring at the photo and trying to convince myself that Melissa was just teasing me, that she wasn’t really driving home naked.
Wait, she had her blouse in the back seat, I thought, desperately grasping at the only straw I could find. Maybe she’s wearing that. It’s still wet and it wouldn’t cover her up completely but at least anyone she passed wouldn’t notice anything, right? This had to be Daraxandriel’s fault, that world-bending thing that was supposed to make me want Melissa. It’s not working, I told myself firmly. I’m not lusting after her.
Little Peter begged to disagree. Dare her to take a selfie, he whispered slyly. Demand proof.
No, I told him, I don’t want to encourage her. She’ll get herself arrested for public indecency if she’s not careful.
Isn’t this number 3 on Justin’s list? Maybe she’ll do the others if you ask her.
No! This isn’t her, Dara’s messing with her mind to get my soul. I just need to stay away from her until we figure out how to fix this.
Well, good luck with that, Little Peter said dismissively. I’ll be down here thinking about her if you need me.
“Oh God,” I moaned, letting my head fall back against the couch. I wasn’t even going to make it to Wednesday at this rate.
A knock on the door startled me upright. “Peter?” Dad called. “Are you in here?” He opened the door and poked his head in. “Are you okay?”
“Uh, yeah, sure,” I stammered. “Why do you ask?” I hurriedly slipped my phone back into my pocket.
“Lilith said you ran out of your room after you got a message from someone. Is everything all right?”
“Yes, everything’s fine, Dad,” I assured him, silently fuming at Lilith’s attempt to cause more trouble for me. “It was just a text from Melissa.”
“Ah.” He hesitated and then stepped all the way into the room, closing the door behind him. “I just wanted to thank you for keeping Agent Prescott’s visit a secret from everyone,” he said quietly. “You handled the situation well. For a rookie,” he added with a smile.
“Not until Monday,” I reminded him. “So, ah, everyone here is off the hook, right?”
“No one was on the hook
to start with,” he said firmly.
“But he was expecting to see someone here, wasn’t he?” I pressed.
Dad considered that for a moment. “He’s pursuing someone suspected of killing a young woman in New Orleans. I made the mistake of mentioning that his fugitive’s name and description were similar to Lilith’s and he wanted to see her for himself, just in case. That’s police business, by the way,” he added sternly. “Don’t tell anyone else, especially Lilith.”
“I won’t,” I promised. “So why did you make him wait until tonight to come over? Wasn’t he worried that she’d disappear before he got there?”
“That was his request,” Dad said with a shrug. “He had something he needed to take care of first. I knew he was wrong about Lilith so I didn’t argue with him.”
Except I knew Prescott was actually right about her. It was kind of strange that he waited so long to check her out. Maybe he really was setting a trap for her.
“Well, that’s over, then, I guess,” I said aloud. “Is he heading back to New Orleans or Philadelphia or wherever now?”
Dad cleared his throat self-consciously. “Well, certainly not tonight.” The double-headed sheet monster was going to be too busy doing pushups, I suspected. “He thinks his suspect is still in town, although why anyone would try to hide out in Hellburn is beyond me.”
“Maybe she’s from here?” I suggested, knowing darn well that she wasn’t. Dad shook his head.
“I thought of that. There are no other Cantrells in town.”
“It could be an alias.” I didn’t know why I was playing this game. Maybe I was secretly hoping Prescott would arrest Lilith anyway.
“Possibly. We issued a Code 20 to the patrols to keep an eye out for her.”
“I know, I saw it.” His eyebrows lifted. “Mrs. Burns – Rachel – added me to the system while I was at the station.”
Soul Mates Page 27
