by Jason Segel
“What?” I demand. “He wants to eat me!”
“He’s starving!” Kat shoots back. “Tell him you’re sorry.”
“No way,” I respond.
Kat shakes her head and kneels down beside the giant. “We apologize for stealing your belt. We need to speak with the Elemental of Albion, but before we can, we have to gather three prizes to give him. We’re hoping we can convince him to release you and any other creatures from the realm.”
“I’ll be free to go?” the giant asks, snorting some of the snot back into his skull.
“Hopefully,” Kat says.
“But no more eating Children or avatars,” I add. “Stick with beasts from now on.”
“Most realms no longer have beasts,” Bird says.
“Then he’ll just have to learn to love salad,” I snap. “You get the point, right?” I ask the giant.
He grunts in response, reaches over for his pants and digs into a pocket. When he stands up again, he’s holding an iridescent gold feather.
Beside me Bird gasps, snatches the feather and proceeds to examine it. “Is this from the Phoenix of Fife?” she demands.
The giant nods bashfully.
“You ate it?” the Child asks. The giant’s head sinks even farther. Disgusted, Bird holds the feather out to me. “They said it was the last bird in Otherworld. It had wings the color of fairy gold. It never hurt anyone unless they tried to steal a feather. Then it would pluck their eyes out with its beak.”
“Don’t give it to me,” I say with a grimace. I want no part in the eating of magical creatures.
“You have to take it,” Bird demands. “It was one of the realm’s most difficult prizes. You have three of them now—tooth, belt and feather. You may visit the Elemental of Albion.”
I should feel relieved, I suppose. Instead all I feel is nauseous.
* * *
—
It appears that the Elemental of Albion is the only thing in Otherworld that hasn’t changed over the decades. We find him sitting cross-legged on the floor of his cave, eyes closed as if in a trance. The spiderwebs that surround the Elemental make him look hazy, like he’s only half there. Nothing seems to have been touched since Max Prince visited the cave. A thick layer of dust covers the pile of discarded offerings behind the Elemental, but I can see the scroll that Max left behind.
The Elemental doesn’t budge as we approach him. One of the spiders that’s built its home here emerges from the Elemental’s beard to see who’s come to visit. It’s a giant specimen, and it seems eager to welcome us to its web. We steer clear of its silky strands as we take our seats before the ruler of Albion. The moment our legs are crossed in front of us, his eyelids open, revealing his strange opalescent eyes.
“What have you brought for me?” the Elemental drones.
“A tooth from the dragon that lived in Castle Carlisle,” I reply, laying the first of our prizes out in front of him.
The Elemental examines the tooth with his fingers, just as he did when Max paid his visit. “Well done,” he says at last. “The dragon is a fearsome monster. Her sister was defeated years ago, but no one has managed to conquer this beast. What else have you brought for me?”
“We have brought you the giant’s golden belt buckle and a plume from the Phoenix of Fife,” Kat says, passing him the belt and golden feather.
The Elemental takes both and examines them thoroughly. Once they pass the test, he gently sets each one aside. Kat must sense how nervous I am. She grabs my hand and squeezes as we wait for the show to begin. His eyes spin in their sockets until ordinary irises and pupils appear. As if he’s just woken up from a long sleep, the Elemental takes in his surroundings and sweeps the spiderwebs away from his face.
“You are the first guests in Albion to complete three quests. You are formidable knights and you have earned a wish. What is it you desire? Wealth? Power? I can make your fondest dreams come true for as long as you remain in Albion.”
“You have been asleep for a very long time,” Kat tells him. “The guests are gone. We want you to leave this cave and see what’s happened to your realm.”
“That is your greatest desire?” the Elemental inquires skeptically. He turns to me. “Do you concur?” he asks.
I hesitate for a moment. If it were up to me, I’d have asked for the scroll and figured the rest out later. Then Kat pinches my side. “Yeah,” I grunt. “What she said.”
I hear the cracking and creaking of old bones as the Elemental rises from the spot where he’s been sitting since time in Otherworld began. Slowly he walks to the mouth of the cave. There he stands silently, looking out over his realm for what feels like another hundred years. At last he turns around. The grief on his face is too terrible to witness, and my eyes drop down to my feet.
“What have I done to offend the Creator?” he asks. “Why has he visited such ruin upon me?”
Kat rises to join the Elemental, and I follow. “The Creator is gone,” Kat tells him. “Otherworld is now ruled by the Children of Elementals and beasts.”
The Elemental blinks. None of it makes any sense to him. I’m guessing he never left his cave long enough to make any Children himself.
“Your realm can be restored,” I assure him. “It won’t return to the way it was, but the land can heal. I’ve seen it happen before. Volla, the Elemental of Gimmelwald, brought her realm back to life once.” I don’t mention that Gimmelwald is gone now, and Volla herself is missing, presumed dead.
“The forests will grow again? The river will be blue?” the Elemental asks. It would be so much easier to say what he wants to hear. But I know that Kat never lies. She won’t even exaggerate.
“We don’t know,” Kat tells him. “All we know is that you must release Albion’s creatures from your realm. There’s no longer enough food here to support them. They’ve been forced to eat one another.”
I see the horror on the old man’s face turn into a steely determination.
“I will grant your request,” he informs us. “And I will make you a promise as well. I will not sleep until my realm is restored. This cave and its contents are yours if you’ll have them. I shall not return here again.”
He steps off the edge and vanishes. I look over the side, expecting to see his body splayed out below. But before he could plunge to the base of the cliff, the spiders that live inside his beard and clothes shot webs at the cliff walls. I watch as the silken strands lower the Elemental of Albion safely down to the ground. When he lands, he gently wipes the webs from his robes and sets off across his land.
* * *
—
I will never question Kat’s genius again. She got everything we needed while doing the right thing. I grab the scroll Max left behind, blow off the dust that’s collected on one side and carefully unroll the paper. It’s so old at this point that the edges crumble as they brush against my fingers.
The ink has faded over the years, but the handwriting remains legible.
If someone told me a week ago that I’d be writing this letter, I would have said they were fucking insane. I still think it’s crazy. Then again, I’ve seen some shit lately that makes this seem totally normal.
I was warned to stay away from the Company. I was told they were making things that could destroy the whole world. I should have listened, but I didn’t.
The Company has a secret lab in Manhattan. I got in good with one of the engineers, and he gave me a tour. (I don’t remember the exact address. It’s a white building on Franklin Street in Tribeca.) I saw some seriously sinister shit in there. If they know I saw it, I’ll be dead soon. If I say what it was, you’ll think I’m nuts.
My family knows something’s wrong. I can’t tell them what I’ve seen or they won’t last long either. They already suspect it has something to do with the Company. They say there’s someone out there wh
o might be able to help me. I find it hard to believe such a person exists, but I’m leaving this letter here just in case. Maybe he or she will be able to find it. If not, this letter will stay here with this crazy old geezer until the end of time.
I look up from the scroll. We’re standing at the edge of another rabbit hole, and there’s no telling what we’ll find at the bottom.
“So there’s another secret lab. What do you suppose he saw?” Kat asks. “Do you think they have more people trapped in capsules?”
“No clue, but if it shocked Max it must have been pretty bad,” I say. “We’ve got to get back to New York.” I reach up to remove my headset. We can’t waste another moment.
“Not yet,” Kat says, reaching out to stop me. “We have plenty of time. I bet barely a minute has passed in our world. Let’s take the letter back to James Ogubu and see what he thinks it could mean.”
I shove the scroll into my pocket and we climb back down the cliff. Bird said she’d wait for us while we paid a visit to the Elemental, but when we reach her vehicle, she’s nowhere to be seen.
“Maybe we shouldn’t have left her alone,” Kat says.
“Do you think something could have eaten her?” I ask. Who knows how many starving creatures were still in the realm?
We get our answer when five human-shaped figures appear from behind a trash tower. One of them has Bird in a choke hold with a weapon aimed at her temple. It’s been so long since I’ve seen NPCs that I almost mistake them for guests. But no five players would ever choose to sport identical outfits—particularly ones that make them look like a fascist boy band.
“Come with us,” one grunts.
They aren’t pointing their guns at us—only at Bird. The NPCs seem to know we can’t be injured. That means they know we’re humans wearing headsets.
“How could we turn down such a charming invitation?” Kat says. “But would you mind telling us where we’re going?” I think Kat’s trying to buy time, hoping I’ll figure out what to do. But my brain isn’t cooperating. Every plan I can think of ends up with Bird dead.
“You have five seconds to come with us or the Child will be killed.” The lead NPC won’t be stalled.
“If you kill the Child, you won’t have anything left to bargain with,” I point out. I think it’s a very smart observation, but Kat clearly doesn’t.
“Stop,” she hisses at me. “We’ll come with you,” she tells the NPCs.
That’s not an option either, I’m afraid. It doesn’t matter who they’re taking us to see, I have no intention of sharing the scroll in my pocket with anyone. I wonder what they’ll do if I make a break for it now. I know Kat will be fine—she’s wearing a headset. The worst-case scenario is that she ends up back at setup. But what will happen to Bird if I manage to escape?
Kat knows what I’m thinking. She’s shaking her head. She does not approve at all. And she’s right. If the scroll falls into the wrong hands, it could put our entire world at risk. But it’s still not worth the sacrifice of a single sentient creature. I’ll have to figure something else out.
“Fine,” I say. Just as I take a step toward them, the NPC holding Bird lets go of her and flies backward into one of the towers. The structure immediately collapses, burying him in a mountain of garbage. Bird bolts in our direction, and the other NPCs watch her go, too stunned to follow.
For a brief moment, I start to wonder if I’ve acquired superpowers. Then a skeletal old man appears. His back is bent and his robes faded, but he’s still a force to be reckoned with.
“Have the old laws been completely forgotten?” The Elemental’s booming voice makes the trash towers quiver. “Your kind is bound to the realm in which you were conceived. Why are you in Albion when you belong to Imperium?”
Imperium. I should have known. I’m starting to think that the rumors Bird heard about the Empress were true. I have a hunch she’s a human like us.
“Speak!” the Elemental shrieks, but the NPCs remain silent. They refuse to follow his orders. “Then perish,” he says. His mouth opens into the gaping black hole we saw on Max’s video. The force of his scream shatters the soldiers. All that’s left of them is a fine black dust, which falls out of the air and collects in small piles where their feet once stood.
The Elemental’s mouth closes and when his face reappears, his eyes immediately lock on Bird.
“You don’t belong here either.” He shuffles toward her. “What kind of creature are you? Are you one of those who’ve brought destruction to my realm?”
Bird glances over at Kat as if hoping she might have the answer.
“Her name is Bird, and she is the one who brought us to Albion,” Kat tells the Elemental. “She showed us where to find the prizes we brought to your cave. Without her assistance, we couldn’t have helped you.”
The Elemental’s tone instantly softens. “Then I am in her debt. What can I give you in return?” he asks Bird. “I offer you the same reward your companions turned down. You may have whatever your heart desires, as long as you remain in Albion.”
“Is this guy serious?” Bird asks us.
I have to laugh. “I doubt he’s ever told a joke in his life,” I say.
Bird turns back to the Elemental. “May I have a few minutes to think about it?”
“Yes. A few minutes, but no longer,” he replies. “There is work to be done here, and I can’t put it off any longer.”
Bird nods thoughtfully. “Then I will have to turn down your offer. I need to fly these two back to the White City. It’s my responsibility.”
“We’re not returning to the White City now,” Kat tells Bird.
I lift my eyebrows. That’s news to me.
“The Empress sent those soldiers to find us. If she’s watching, the last thing we want to do is lead her to James Ogubu. We have to get out of Otherworld.”
She’s right, as always.
“Time moves more slowly in our world,” Kat tells Bird. “We may not return to Otherworld in your lifetime. Thank you for everything that you’ve done. May the wish you’ve been given offer the hope you’ve been searching for.”
Bird’s pale blue skin flushes a lovely red, and a wave of heat passes over me. I think she may have just figured out what she wants.
“Hey, what are we going to do with our avatars?” I ask Kat. “We need to leave them somewhere safe.”
“I was thinking we could have them sent back to setup,” Kat tells me.
“We’ll have to die three times,” I say. “You really want me to stab you? Or were you looking forward to shooting me first?”
“Not too keen on murder-suicide,” says Kat. “I’m hoping our new Elemental friend will save us the trouble and do the honors.”
“You’re kidding.” I can’t imagine a worse way to go.
“Nope,” Kat says. “Don’t you want to see what it’s like?”
“Absolutely not,” I tell her. But I know I’m going to find out anyway.
With the Elemental’s inhuman shriek still echoing in my skull, I pull off my headset. I plan to thank Kat for one of the most horrible experiences I’ve ever endured. But the first person I see is Nasha Ogubu. I have no idea how long she’s been standing there, waiting for us to emerge. It makes me feel a little self-conscious. I don’t like being watched—especially when I’m wearing these ridiculous haptic booties.
“Okay, I’m pissed,” I hear Busara announce. Her headset must be off as well. “Dad knows who you work for, but all he’d say is you’d tell me when it’s time.”
“What’s going on?” Kat’s back now too.
I’m expecting a family brawl to break out at any moment, but Nasha isn’t paying her daughter any mind. She’s heading across the room toward me.
“Mom! Are you listening?” Busara shouts. “It better be time for you to tell me who you work for or I’m out o
f here!”
Nasha wheels around. “I can’t tell you for the same reason your father can’t. The information could fall into the wrong hands.”
“Do you guys really need to do this now?” I groan. “My head is literally about to explode.”
Nasha stops in front of me and grips the railing of my treadmill. “Simon, who was in the room at Rikers when you spoke to Max Prince?”
She’s not asking out of curiosity. My brain may be scrambled, but I can tell the answer is going to be important. I try to think back to my visit. “No one as far as I can remember—aside from the guard.”
“He was one of ours. Do you think anyone else could have overheard your conversation?” Nasha demands.
“I have no idea.” I step off the treadmill and remove my haptic gloves. I spot Elvis lurking in the doorway. He must have come in behind Nasha. “I doubt anyone would be able to make sense of our conversation anyway. What’s this all about?”
“Max is dead,” Nasha says.
“No.” The news feels like a kick in the gut. “I just saw him! He can’t be dead!”
“It’s true,” Elvis says.
“Oh my God. What happened?” Kat asks.
“We don’t have final confirmation yet.” Nasha keeps her eyes on me as if my face might hold the clue she’s been looking for. “But our people inside Rikers say it might have been a suicide.”
“How can you be sure that he’s dead?” Busara asks.
“Come with me,” Nasha orders. “There’s something all of you should see.”
She leads the four of us out to the living room, where a laptop sits open on the coffee table. A video is paused on the screen. We gather behind Nasha as she takes a seat in front of the computer and hits Play.
A title slide instantly appears—the type is simple black on white.
Max Prince is dead.
The slide vanishes and is quickly replaced by another.
A chip embedded in his body was monitoring his vitals.
