Ari made her way back to the Crown Conference Room where Chip was waiting for her. After Soda’s headquarters were destroyed by Spika, and Floyd had challenged her supremacy, it stopped construction of her new lair in its tracks. Since then, nobody had really been in charge, which turned out to be incredibly unfortunate because nobody was really keeping an eye on the big picture. Ari felt a wave of anger before realizing that there was no guarantee that Soda or anybody else could have seen this coming whether or not they were paying attention.
The conference room, like everything in the Galactic Ambassador, was top-notch.
Breakfast was delivered to the conference room while she was in the courtyard. In the corner, coffee was brewed and fresh pastries and fruit were set out in a spread that would have ordinarily made Ari’s mouth water. Point to you, Galactic Ambassador, even in the face of an apocalyptic event, you deliver the best. She made a note to herself that if she survived this thing, every employee here was getting a medal.
“Hi, Chip. How are we doing?”
“We’re good,” he said, munching on a pastry. “Up and running. The only thing we need right now is the password.”
Ari crossed the room and poured herself a cup of coffee. Despite the anxiety she felt, she decided a delicious pastry couldn’t be the worst idea right now. End of the world or no, she still had to eat. She picked a nice strawberry one with filling oozing out of the side. Yes, medals.
“What about you, Chip? Are you all right? He hadn’t shaved in days, his tee shirt was dirty, and his hair was messed up. He shrugged. “I’m alive. So far, so good I guess.”
Ari was concerned for him. “I’m sorry,” she said. “This has been hard on all of us.” She forced a smile.
Chip nodded, taking a bite of his pastry. She noticed he was eating, but he’d left the coffee untouched. “Not a coffee guy? Oh yeah, you like that energy drink. What’s it called?”
“Slurp,” he moaned sadly. “Believe me, I’ve been all over Arcturis looking for it, but I can’t find any.”
That at least partially explained his disheveled state. Ari crossed the room to the hotel phone. She knew he needed that energy drink, and if anybody was going to be able to deliver, it was this hotel. She picked it up and dialed. “Hello? Yes, this is Ari in the Crown Conference Room. Yes, that Ari. The Overlord Candidate. I’m sorry to bother you, but I have a 9-1-1 request for as much Slurp energy drink as you can get your hands on. Yes, ASAP, please. I appreciate it.” She hung up.
“Do you really think it will work?” Chip asked. His face was hopeful.
“I take it you’ve never called a five-star hotel concierge before,” Ari answered. “If there’s a drop here in the city, they’ll find it, okay?”
3
Ray paced back and forth, trying and failing to not worry Chipmunk, his troll. But he couldn’t help it. Chippy might be a giant, terrifying, full-sized troll capable of handling almost any physical fight, but he was emotionally sensitive. And Ray had taken care of him since he was just a kid.
The doorbell rang. It was another delivery for Chipmunk. Ray had his entire Christmas list delivered early, just in case everything didn’t work out the way he hoped with this whole alien invasion extinction wave thing. At least Chippy would have a distraction. For now. The last thing Ray needed right now was a moody troll on his hands.
He walked across his giant mansion and received the delivery. “Hey, Chipmunk! You’ve got more packages.”
The giant, lumbering troll thundered over to inspect them. He was excited at first, but then stopped to give Ray a quizzical look.
“It’s okay, buddy. I’m okay. I haven’t been sleeping well. But everything will be just fine. Probably. Maybe.” Ray went back to pacing. Chipmunk dragged the packages loudly across the large living room and into his bedroom.
Think, Ray. He couldn’t take it anymore, it was driving him crazy. The dice. His dice. They weren’t speaking to him anymore. It’s like they weren’t even awake. It was the weirdest thing. Why would they awaken just before the first alien invasion, then go to sleep again when everything got even more serious? It made little sense. It was like… what was it like? He thought about it. It was as if communication was cut off somehow.
He ran to them, determined to throw them and question his fate, even if they were still dormant. It was all he had to go on right now.
He stopped when he reached the converted Vega Halo Dice machine in the middle of his living room. Something had changed, he could feel it. He took another step forward and peeked in. They were awake! The dice were awake and sizzling with energy. But this time they looked different.
“Hello, beauties. Good morning,” he said as he scooped them up to feel their energy in his hand. He froze. How odd. It’s like the dice were complaining. Complaining about what? They demanded that he throw them. Of course I will throw you, he thought. I’ve been waiting and waiting for you to wake up. Why wouldn’t I throw you?
His relationship with the die was cooperative. They had chosen him. Sort of. At least he had chosen them. And then he and they had worked for years forging the proper magical bonds necessary for communication. In all the time since, they had never let him down and vice versa. This felt different though. The dice didn’t seem to have news or secrets; they were angry. Again, they squealed at him to throw them into the halo machine. They had things they needed to get off of their chest.
Ray took a deep breath, assured them he would do as they asked. Then he threw them. They zipped and hummed with electricity as they sorted themselves out with pinging and clanging making their way through the machine. Then they got to the bottom and went silent again. “No!”
Ray peered forward into the machine, hoping that they had at least left him a message before going dormant again. So he could understand what they were so upset about. Ten seconds later he was running for his portal, and there was one name in his head. One person he absolutely had to speak to right now. Ari.
Darduk the Devourer stared at the Interdimensional Rift he created. He smiled. It was as black as his soul and oozing green light, probably on both sides. Green was his favorite. He took a few steps to the left to get a better look at it. Yes, very satisfactory.
He shouted, and his men gathered around him. The word man didn’t fit here, that ship had sailed a long time ago. He chuckled at his own joke, Viking ship. Sure, they had started out as men, just as he had. And just like himself, they were now something else. Something more. Something terrible. He smiled. “Today we feast.”
“Today, you feast,” a voice said behind him.
Darduk’s anger burned. He turned his head to confirm what he already knew to be true. His second in command had dared to defy him. “Huke,” he said loud enough for the rest of the men to hear, “I’ll give you ten seconds to kneel and beg my forgiveness. If you do it quickly, I may even leave you with most of your limbs.”
Darduk ground his teeth in anger. Fifteen seconds ago, he had been in a great mood. Victory was at hand. Everything was waiting for him on the other side of the rift. But Huke had to screw it all up with his insubordination. Now he had to take care of this before they could go through the rift. He took several steps toward Huke, who still stood before him. He would not kneel? Another wave of fury made its way through his system. “What is the meaning of this?”
“You feast. We return. We began as Vikings, pillaging and plundering, and enjoying ourselves. Food, gold, women, electronics, the whole deal.” Huke was spitting every word, juices flowing down his face. “Now, you’re only interested in energy. For yourself. For the ring. You will return full, and the rest of us return empty-handed. And all because you have become an intergalactic political lackey.”
Darduk took a moment to process this. Huke was right. He was in league with powerful people. And what’s wrong with that? It had gotten them all rich beyond their wildest dreams. And it was further truth that Darduk hadn’t even considered his men in quite some time. “Is this how all of you feel?”
There was hesitant nodding of heads but there were no loud cries of agreement.
Good.
“Well, I have good news for you then. This is the one. The galaxy we’ve been waiting for. There is an energy source on this capital planet that will fill me up for years to come.” He drew his sword for the first time in eons. A dramatic gesture that felt surprisingly good. For a moment, he almost felt like the Viking he used to be. “And I promise that we will not leave this galaxy to come back through this rift,” he used his sword to point to the rift for emphasis, “until every single one of you is satiated.”
Loud cheers erupted. Darduk soaked it in and waited for the sound to die down. “All except one.” In one smooth movement, he turned and plunged his sword into Huke. Huke’s expression twisted into surprise and then agony and then no expression at all.
Darduk removed his sword so the body could fall to the ground. Then he looked over his men again. “Anybody else have any objections?”
None did.
Something was bothering him though. He addressed them again. “Who has changed you from slightly intimidating Vikings to the dreaded terrors of space? Me, that’s who. And how did I do that? With the magic I got through very, very illegal sources.”
He smiled and paused here to allow the men to chuckle with him. Then he cut them off, “I created you, I created this rift, and I have transformed countless galaxies. Let me be clear, stick with me and you’ll have everything you ever wanted. But if you people cross me, well, next time that defiance will be met with a less than natural death.”
He watched them squirm, knowing this was what they feared most. Having transformed into something more than human, they well understood that things much worse than death awaited them.
“Okay, the first one to bring me a towel to clean the blood off of my sword gets to be my new second in command.”
The fact that he utterly did not mention what the oracle said about this particular foray didn’t bother him in the least. The organization he worked for promised that if they didn’t do two things, then none of them would survive. “Find the treasure. Kill the Staar girl,” he said. “Those are our orders, but you are to bring the girl to me. She’s mine.”
Darduk glared at his men. He made these people the interdimensional terrors they were and they would follow him. To hell and back if necessary. “Oh yeah,” he said, “send in the weird little cloaked things. They can do most of the work for us.” They had already programmed them to take over this galaxy in general, and one person in particular. Today, he would feast on Staar.
4
Ray barged into the Crown Conference Room. “They said you’d be here, Ari.” He was still wearing the ceremonial black robes he had worn to the Kruxx negotiations. He had a wild look on his face, which was even more gaunt than usual. The last few days had taken its toll.
Ari rolled her eyes at him and tried to pretend she was busy even though she wasn’t at the moment. “Not now, Ray. I’m trying to figure out how to save all of our asses from an alien invasion.”
That’s when she realized with a jolt she was also still wearing the same clothes from the Kruxx negotiations and that she probably didn’t look any better than him. She sniffed. She could also use a shower. Ick.
The door opened and closed again. This time it was Kirian.
“Oooh,” Kirian said. “Pastries. Hi, Chip. Ray.” She crossed the room to grab a pastry. Then she sat down next to Ari. “What’d I miss?”
“Nothing,” Ari answered. “Ray just got here and we’re waiting on Soda. Hey, we need Fleek and I can’t get a hold of him, will you text him for me?”
“On it,” Kirian answered. “Why is Ray here?”
“Hi Kirian,” Chip said, his voice squeaked. He cleared his throat before he turned back to Ray. “Master Oracle?” he asked in awe.
“Oh yeah,” Ari said. “Master Oracle or Ray to his friends-this is Chip, he’s my IT guy. Chip, this is Ray. Whatever you do, Chip, hang on to your wallet.”
“Hey, that’s not fair. I was never in it for the money,” he said with a flourish of robes. “I was in it for the power. And I’d have had it too if it weren’t for this stupid invasion. Wow,” he said, “that seems like an eternity ago, not just a few days.”
Ari frowned and realized that she agreed with Ray on that last point. The Overlord Contest was bad enough, but the last few days had been the worst. She’d give anything to go back to her normal life. To the way things were before the alien invasion, before the magic ring, and before the mental image of Soda doing yoga.
Ari smiled, seeing that Chip was already star struck. It was going to be a big morning for him. They were just getting started. “I don’t know why Ray’s here,” Ari said, answering Kirian. “He got here right before you. Hasn’t even grabbed a pastry yet.”
“Rude.” Kirian shook her head with a smirk.
Under any other circumstances, Ari would have enjoyed all of this. Immensely. It was all she ever wanted, all of this fun interplay between friends. Too bad it had come at the end of the world. And with Ray. “What is it, Ray? And you’re welcome to some coffee and breakfast.”
Ray’s face twisted into a frown as he stared at Ari, and he already had his jagged finger out to make some kind of point, when he seemed to change his mind. “Is there a cherry one left?”
“Probably,” Ari answered. “How’s Chipmunk?”
Ray crossed the room to inspect the pastries. “He’s stressed out about all of this.”
“Well, I’m doing my best, Ray. Look,” she pointed at Chip, who was still manning his post at the keyboard, “Chip got the Secure Overlord Information Command Center back up. It’ll tell us everything classified about Hitherware. With any luck, there will be information that will help us.”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Ray insisted with his mouth full. He pulled out his dice, which were glowing lime green. “I rolled the dice, Ari.” He swallowed. “They said the only chance our galaxy has is if you use the ring.” He took a few steps to get closer to her. “The very special ring I gave you at the holidays.”
Kirian shot Ray and then Ari a look. “Ari, did you and Ray get engaged or something? Because I gotta tell you, I did not see that coming.” Kirian made eye contact with Chip and pointed at Ari. Then she said, “Ari doesn’t always make good decisions.”
“That’s not true.” Ari argued. “I make fantastic decisions most of the time. And for the record, the answer is no. There’s no engagement. Not now, not in the past, not ever. Just a gift I didn’t see coming. Look, Ray. I’m not going back to my apartment in Vega to get a magic piece of jewelry.”
“Magic jewelry?” Kirian jumped in. “That sounds at least semi-serious. How long have you two been dating, anyway?”
“We’re not dating!” Ari said. “Not dating. Not engaged. Nothing. It was just a gift. Got it?”
The room got silent.
Ari took a breath. “Ray, the only way we will win here is if we figure out what’s coming and how to stop it.”
“I’m serious, Ari. You’re wasting time,” Ray insisted. “I rolled the dice. They clearly said the only chance we have to win this thing is the ring. And you’re the only one who can use it. You have no idea what the dice went through to get that message to me. Something’s wrong with the dice, Ari, look. No magic. The magic isn’t getting through.” He pulled the dice out of his pocket to show her.
“Says you,” Ari answered.
“Said the dice. They know things, Ari, they’re never wrong. You know it. And they used the one moment they had to send me the message about your ring.”
Ari finished her pastry and set the plate down. “I don’t want to put on a magic ring and turn into a unicorn and hope for the best or whatever,” Ari said. “I want to figure this thing out. I want to win fair and square.”
Ray rubbed his temples with his fingers. “This isn’t about winning and losing, Ari. And it certainly isn’t about fair. It’s about life an
d death, and you know it.”
Ari knew that Ray was right, but there was no way she would admit it. A text came through to her phone. She glanced down at it. Soda wasn’t thrilled, something about pulling her out of a yoga class. Who does yoga at a time like this? “Thank goodness. Soda and Drexyl are on their way.”
There was a knock on the door. An employee wheeled in a beverage cart with cases of Slurp piled up on top.
Chip let out a squeal and ran over to the cart.
Ari thought he would kiss the host.
The host turned to Chip. “I’m sorry, sir. These aren’t chilled to our usual specifications, but we were told that time was of the utmost importance.”
“It’s perfect. Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Chip said. Then, without a word, he turned and ran out of the room.
“Where did he go?” Ray asked.
Ari shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s okay, he usually comes back.”
“Will there be anything else?” the host asked Ari.
“No, we’re good. Thank you so much for finding that energy drink. It means the world to him.”
“Yes, Ma’am. I got that.” The host turned to leave and was almost run over by Chip coming back. He was carrying a large container of ice from the hotel icemaker down the hall.
“Thanks again,” Chip chirped on his way past.
The waiter closed the door.
Then the door opened again, this time without a knock. An angry and sweaty Soda made her way into the room, followed by Drexyl. Ugh, she was wearing yoga pants. “Okay, people, what was so important that you had to drag me out of a yoga class? For your information, I was well on my way to at least dying in a peaceful state of mind.”
That’s when it hit Ari that she could have asked for the password over the phone. She was trying to figure out a way to phrase an answer to Soda’s question that didn’t make her seem like a jackass when Chip just blurted it out.
Overlord Alliance: Book 2 of the Neon Octopus Ally Series Page 2
