Iska

by Arcadia Shield

“Yes, do you know him?”

  “His reputation is not great. Don’t get me wrong; he’s a decent bounty hunter. We’ve had a drink together a couple of times. He makes a good living catching criminals.”

  “There’s something you don’t like about him?” Avril asked.

  “His tactics can be underhanded. He doesn’t always play by the rules, and he doesn’t stop until he gets what he wants, no matter who stands in his way.”

  “It sounds like you’re describing yourself,” Ivy said. “You seem to be forgetting that you were only released from prison a month ago.”

  “That was the old me. My reputation is outstanding.” Karn shrugged as he looked around the group. “Okay, it’s getting better. I’m a reformed alien now I have responsibilities.” He kissed Ivy’s cheek.

  “Sure you are. Back to Avril’s date with this dangerous Mehab,” Ivy said. “You don’t think she should get involved with Iska?”

  “It’s not even a date,” Avril said swiftly.

  “What is it?” Ivy asked.

  “We’re doing what we always do. It’s just that now we know who we are in real life. We’ve played alongside each other for months. He’s a great fighter.”

  Karn laughed. “With a dodgy reputation.”

  “He’s always been decent toward me. We’re trying to get to know each other for real.” Avril hesitated. Was this what meeting up with Iska was all about, she wanted him in her life? The thought was terrifying. She’d spent so long alone that it felt natural. Inviting an unpredictable alien into her life should be the last thing she wanted.

  “Maybe you should stick to role-playing,” Ivy said. “Real life seems too complicated for you.”

  Avril ducked her head. “You’re right. It’s probably nothing. I need to go, though. It’s nice to see you all.” She hurried out of the office, her insides churning. Ivy could be right, and she was making a mistake by getting involved with Iska.

  But she wasn’t, not really, not any more than she already had been. It was like she said, now Avril knew the face behind the warrior disguise. Iska wouldn’t change how they operated inside the game. He’d still be Fang, and she’d still be Warrior Princess.

  She wasn’t even sure why she’d called their get-together a date. She was excited about hanging out with Iska and looked forward to an evening of gaming with him. Maybe that was all this was, a growing friendship. Another friend would be great. He was her new super-hot, super scary friend; that was all.

  Avril entered her living quarters. She shrugged out of her jumpsuit and pulled out her red warrior dress. She felt better as soon as she was in it. This was a better version of herself, someone she was proud of.

  She covered the dress with a long jacket before opening a message link to Iska. I’m ready to kick some enemy butt whenever you are. She sent the message before leaving her quarters and heading to the holo suite.

  Avril could link into the holo suite from her room but liked to get away from everything that was familiar and always hired a private booth to play in. The booths were soundproofed, and no one could hear or see into any of the games. It was her private refuge.

  She got to her holo suite booth and logged in to the game. She checked for a message from Iska. There was no reply.

  It didn’t matter. She was early and eager to start the game.

  Avril checked the stats of the game and was pleased to see her position was the same. No one had bested her previous score.

  She tapped her fingers against her thigh. She wanted to start. Where was Iska? He should have logged in by now.

  Is this mission too tough for you? Have you chickened out? She sent the message to him. That was sure to provoke a reaction. He loved a challenge.

  Five minutes later, there was still no reply.

  Her nervous excitement drifted toward annoyance. Why wasn’t he responding? He’d agreed to this game. He’d seemed eager. They loved playing together.

  Avril’s heart sank as the minutes ticked by. It must be her. After Iska had had a chance to think about it, he’d realized Avril wasn’t worth making the effort for. They might have played together if he didn’t know the real her, but he’d decided not to waste his time playing with such an oddball.

  She left it another five minutes before typing out a simple message.

  It’s your loss. She hit send before she changed her mind.

  Who was she kidding? A hot alien like Iska must think she’s a joke.

  Avril blinked back the tears, positioned the virtual reality headset over her eyes, and looked for some monsters to kill.

  She’d prove to everyone she was good enough, no matter what it took.

  Chapter 8

  It had been two days since Iska had failed to show for his gaming session with Avril. He stared at the messages she’d sent him as she’d waited for him to show.

  His nose twitched as he read the last one. It’s your loss. It was. He felt like a dick for letting her down. He enjoyed their gaming sessions together.

  Iska had resisted the urge to go into the game ever since he’d been a no-show. He didn’t want to encourage Avril and make her think they could be anything more than gaming buddies. It was better this way. His life was complicated, and his latest bounty was proving to be a bigger challenge than he’d anticipated.

  With Dingbat out of action, Iska only had his own skills and resources to fall back on. Not that he didn’t have shit hot skills, but with Dingbat around, he had double the amount of eyes on the ground, plus Dingbat never got tired. He would work all night if he needed to track a bounty.

  Iska raked a hand through his fur and leaned back in his seat. His leads were cold, and his bounty had disappeared. Iska wondered if he’d left Prodigy. If the bounty headed into space, it made his job that much harder. He didn’t want to leave here yet. It felt like he had unfinished business on the station.

  Iska’s fingers tightened around the tablet he held as the information on his latest prey slid into view.

  He was hunting another Mehab, which was unusual. But this wasn’t any old scum sucking Mehab. This was his older brother, Tythe. He was wanted for murder. Tythe had killed in their father’s name.

  His eyes narrowed as he stared at the arrogant expression on his brother’s face. He’d always been the favorite of the litter and had been the first born—older by five minutes. He never let Iska forget that pointless fact. He’d been the biggest and strongest and had been quick to oust Iska from the den, something his parents didn’t try to stop.

  Iska had almost died the night he’d been abandoned. If it hadn’t been for his older sister, Sabe, discovering him shaking with fever and hunger outside the den, he would have perished.

  Sabe hadn’t exactly been kind to him, but she’d taken pity on her runt of a brother, giving him food and water and making sure he lived. The rest had been up to him.

  Once Iska had gotten the label of litter runt, life had been a constant struggle. His family didn’t want him, and they tolerated him being around. His parents couldn’t have cared if he’d lived or died once his brother had thrown him out. He was an embarrassment and not one they wanted to be associated with.

  It was why Iska had been so quick to leave, abandoning his family as soon as he could protect himself, and become a bounty hunter.

  Not that he wanted anything to do with the family business. His father was a sly, deceitful, twisted bastard. He eliminated any competition without question. It seemed he’d now drawn Tythe into the same brutal patterns of behavior.

  But Tythe had made a mistake. He’d been seen and identified as the killer. The Council of Representatives had placed a large bounty on his head, and Iska wanted it.

  This was a game changer. Not only was it a chance for revenge against the bullying and ill-treatment of his older sibling, but it was an opportunity to show his father he had been worth keeping alive. He might even gain an ounce of respect from him after years of neglect and ridicule.

  His door alert pinged. Iska hopped
up and unlocked it. He was surprised to see an attractive brunette human standing outside. “What do you want?”

  Her eyes narrowed a fraction. “You’re friends with Avril, aren’t you?”

  Iska’s gaze ran over her. “We know each other. Who are you?”

  “I work with Avril. I’m Vegas Munro, her boss.”

  “Is Avril in some kind of trouble?” Iska couldn’t imagine Avril doing anything to annoy her boss.

  “That’s what I’m trying to find out.” Vegas peered over his shoulder. “I don’t suppose Avril’s here?”

  “Why would she be here?”

  Vegas twisted her fingers together, and concern filtered across her face. “She’s missing.”

  Iska drew in a slow breath. “I didn’t know that. How long has she been gone?”

  Vegas’s expression hardened. “Since the night of your date.”

  Iska scrubbed his brow. That was two days ago. “Our date? I wasn’t aware we were dating.”

  “The night the two of you gamed together. Avril was excited and looked forward to spending the evening with you.”

  Iska’s shoulders sank. Now he felt like a real piece of shit for standing her up. “She told you that?”

  “Not in so many words. Avril can be shy, but I could tell from the way she bounced out of her chair about a dozen times in an hour. She was looking forward to you getting together.”

  Iska shook his head. “It didn’t happen.”

  “Your date?”

  Iska grimaced. “I didn’t go.”

  “You stood her up?”

  “It wasn’t exactly a date. We made vague plans to have a game together. I got busy. Avril would have understood. It was nothing serious. We didn’t make a firm commitment.” They had, but like the idiot he was, he’d let her down.

  “You didn’t see her that night? You didn’t play together?” Vegas’s gaze went past Iska again as if she was trying to see if Avril’s brutalized body lay behind him.

  He blocked her view by placing an arm across the doorway. “No, I didn’t see her.” Iska’s heart thudded in his chest. Had something happened in the game?

  Avril was obsessed with climbing the ranks and winning that damn trophy. Could someone have snatched victory from her and she’d gone into hiding because she was upset? It meant a lot to her, but she wouldn’t do anything stupid if she missed out, would she?

  “Did she send you any messages that night?”

  Iska gestured Vegas into his room. “She sent a few. She was waiting for me before starting the game.”

  “Let me see them.”

  The abrasive tone of Vegas’s voice made Iska’s fur prickle. He kept his anger in check. She was only looking out for her friend.

  Iska opened his comm link and showed Vegas the messages.

  “You didn’t reply to these?”

  “As I said, something came up. I can’t go messing around in these games whenever I like.” Now he was getting pissed off.

  Vegas studied him carefully. “How well do you know Avril?”

  “Better than she thinks I do.”

  “Meaning?”

  “We’ve played alongside each other in these games for months. You get to know a person, no matter how well they hide behind their gaming character. She’s got amazing skills as a top-ranking player. I invited myself into one of her games, and she accepted me.”

  “Avril doesn’t know who you are outside of the games?”

  “We met for real a week or so ago.”

  “How did you know it was her?”

  “I asked her.” Iska left out the fact he’d stalked Avril from an illegal fight, jumped her, and pinned her down. That wouldn’t look at all suspicious to Avril’s nosy friend. “She admitted she played. She has all these cute little warrior sayings she comes out with when fighting. Avril said one to her friend, and I just knew it was my warrior princess.”

  “Your warrior princess. Do you think you have a claim on Avril?” Vegas crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Shit! No, she’s not mine. We’re not together. I meant that...” Actually, he had no clue what he meant. Avril was a character in a game, nothing more.

  “Do you like her?”

  Iska shrugged. “It’s not relevant. All I know is that she likes to dress up as some kind of warrior and go slaying ogres.”

  Vegas let out a sigh. “This isn’t like her.”

  Iska shook his head. “I don’t know what to say. We never met up the night we were supposed to. If it’s any help, she uses the private booths in the holo suite area. Have you checked there?”

  “That was the first place I looked. Avril’s been known to spend too long in a game. I’ve had to drag her out a time or two. It’s been getting worse lately. You don’t think she’s getting addicted to gaming?”

  “No. She wants to win the tournament. Avril’s only a few hundred kills off of getting in the top five percent. You get there, and you’re guaranteed a place in the final. I think she can win this.”

  “I don’t care what she wins. I need to know where she is,” Vegas said. “You definitely haven’t seen her?”

  “No, lady, I haven’t. You need to be careful to keep that accusing tone out of your voice. Some of us aliens aren’t all that friendly when we get accused of something we haven’t done.” An uneasy feeling slid through Iska. He always listened to his gut. It was telling him something was badly wrong with Avril. You don’t vanish from a game. Something had happened, and he felt responsible. If he’d been playing alongside her that night, he’d have seen if anything dodgy went down and could have stopped it.

  Vegas eyed him suspiciously. “Look out for her. Let me know if she gets in contact again. I’m worried about her. Avril rarely misses a day of work unless she’s really ill. This is out of character.”

  “Maybe she hooked up with someone and is enjoying herself. I’m sure it’s nothing.” Nothing that he couldn’t fix now he knew there was a problem. If there was one thing Iska knew how to do, it was find people who didn’t want to be found.

  “I hope you’re right.” Vegas followed Iska back to the door. Her expression hardened as she studied him. “I don’t like to think of anything bad happening to Avril.”

  “You and me both.” He stood at the door and watched as Vegas walked away.

  As soon as she was out of sight, he hurried out of his living quarters. It was time to go on the hunt and find out what had happened to his missing Warrior Princess.

  Chapter 9

  Avril’s plasma blade struck down the final gremlin. She was on fire in this game. Her skin tingled as she watched her points climb higher. Nothing could stop her. Every slice of her plasma blade hit home, and every move she tried was successful.

  Inside here, she was invincible. She’d even forgotten about Iska and the fact he’d let her down by not showing for their date.

  She’d been working her way through a barren-looking wasteland, with nothing much to see other than stunted trees and bare rocks.

  Since she’d been in the game, Avril had jumped another level. As her warrior self, she was incredible.

  She couldn’t remember the last time she’d taken a break. Her warrior outfit stuck to her skin and her head ached, suggesting she was dehydrated.

  Avril checked her surroundings to make sure there were no new attackers. “Okay, bad guys, time out. I need five minutes rest.” Time out was her programed command to halt the game, back everything up, and save her current progress.

  Nothing happened.

  She tried again. “This is holo suite booth fourteen. Pause the game. I need a time out.”

  The game remained active.

  A sliver of unease tingled down her spine. “Computer, check the status of the game.”

  “Game is operational,” the computer said.

  “Why is the game not pausing?”

  “Game is operational,” the computer repeated.

  “I understand that. I need a break.”

  “New lev
el opened,” the computer said.

  Avril’s eyes widened as she saw the familiar glowing archway beckoning her toward a new level. “It can’t be. I’ve only completed five challenges here. There must be another dozen to do before I move up a level.” The higher you went in a game, the longer and more difficult the challenges became. There was no way she was supposed to level up.

  “New level is open,” the computer repeated.

  Avril crept toward the archway. Something felt different. She looked around the gaming landscape. This was too easy. Could it be a trap? Was she walking into danger when she should avoid this level?

  She pulled out her plasma blade and prodded the archway. Nothing happened.

  She ducked her head through and gasped. It was a more welcoming environment than the dry dust of her current level. This new level was cool and green and full of vegetation.

  Temptation crept in, but still, she hesitated.

  “New level will close in ten seconds.”

  “Wait! Are you sure this is right?” Avril didn’t want to lose the chance to progress. “Check to make sure the game is not malfunctioning.”

  “New level closing in five seconds.”

  Avril holstered her plasma blade and jumped to the new level. For a few seconds, she felt suspended in the air. Her panic rose. It was a trap. She should have followed her instinct and not gone through the door.

  A popping sound echoed around her. The archway blinked out of view as her feet landed on soft green grass.

  “Wow! This is realistic.” A gentle wind brushed across Avril’s skin, and her nose was filled with the scent of damp, warm vegetation.

  The sound of running water beckoned Avril. She followed the noise, eager to quench her thirst and stop her head aching.

  She found clear running water and scooped up handfuls, drinking until her stomach protested.

  Avril tipped the last handful over her head and rested with her back against a tree.

  That felt better. She could carry on. Still, she wanted to know how long she’d been playing. From the ache in her feet, she’d been standing for a long time. It also felt like she hadn’t slept for ages.