Visceral: A GameLit Fantasy Adventure (Nullifier Book 2)
Page 23
He smiled warmly, hearing that. Guess Ana could light fires in anyone.
Zhao was tending Priyanka and Troy, who’d sustained minor wounds in the final battle. Troy still seemed ecstatic, telling Priyanka about her confrontation with Edwin, Priyanka chiming in with encouragement and awe. Her good humor had survived the battle. I was starting to think it invincible. Even the sight of Chen’s body only made her falter for a moment.
“You were her friend, when you were Enlightened?” Priyanka asked.
“Yeah,” Troy said. “If I’d known she and that guy she hung with had fled to join you, I might’ve tagged along.”
Priyanka, Troy, Zhao, and Jeremiah stood guard before the final chamber, which Ana insisted contained “fat loot”, while we went to check on Heather.
Yao had come for us. But somewhere along the way, my doubt had been cleansed. I knew before I saw how the runes on the blue tower blazed bright yellow.
All Enlightened were gone, perhaps fearing the red death. Heather was on the top level. I hugged her.
“I did it!” she said. “And you! Your hand!”
My new fingers laced in her hair. Despite everything, she still smelled of lilacs. The scent came tinged bittersweet, for I knew that once I was back in Atlanta, I’d never be able to stomach the flowers again.
But this was not Atlanta. We were here, alive, and together. I kissed her then, maybe hoping her touch could redeem my many failures. Not that I was sure I needed redemption anyway. I’d kept trying, hadn’t I, until I’d succeeded? Maybe I just wanted to kiss her.
“How did you do it?” Ana asked.
“Yao was up here. I caught him in the middle of some ritual and told him I was here to raise the defenses. He said something and led the Enlightened away.”
“What did he say?” Ana asked.
“I don’t know, I can’t read sign language,” Heather said. “But he gave me this.” She held out a round stone, about the size of a fist, painted with green symbols. “He pointed to his eyes and ears. I think it’s a scrying orb.” She touched one of the symbols, and a red dot blinked to life on its surface. Another press and it went dim again.
“That’s cool, I guess.” Ana hesitated. “Maybe put it in a box somewhere?”
“For now,” Heather said, “but we can use this to invite him over. I promised him, if he came to us, we’d try to heal him.”
“You mean, like, his voice?” Ana sounded dubious, and I was too. But it was worth trying.
“Yeah. I think he has a lot he wants to say, and no one to say it to but Edwin.”
“I guess. But he’ll have to bring a sacrifice.”
Heather frowned as she stashed the orb. “That’s grim.”
“You’re telling me.”
The four of us sat down on the ramparts, letting our legs dangle over the void, watching the city as the sun warmed away the lingering night chill. Heather was reluctant to leave the tower when the mana she had devoted to powering the defenses could run out at any moment, and I wasn’t going to leave her until I needed to.
Ana stretched out. “I’m going to go count our loot!”
“What are we going to do with all the money?” I asked.
She counted on her fingers. “First off, we get us the best gear we can get. Secondly, we need a garrison; this castle is too big to defend with eight people. And third, once we’re comfortable, I want to set up an adventurer financing firm. An empire based on success, if you will.”
Farrukh snorted. “With the city beset by orcs?”
“There are still the caves beneath the city,” Ana said, “and we have plenty of enemies within the walls as well. The more business partners we can outfit, the better our chances of surviving.”
“Business partners?” I asked. “Not your personal army?”
“Leading the rebels turned out well,” Heather said.
“Those who follow me will be responsible for their own fates. I’ll lay out our strategy, but I’m not going to become like him,” she said. “Either of them. If I do, you three have the responsibility of making me see the error of my ways.”
I thought of Emily’s head on the tower stairs. Grief gripped me, for only a second. She’d committed no greater sin than following the wrong leader. “I promise. But I don’t think it’ll come to that.”
“Nothing corrupts like power,” Farrukh muttered. “But I’m sure our paladin will prove me wrong yet again.” He poked her side, which made her squirm. “Now when do I get my pizza?”
“All right, you, come with me,” she said, getting up. “I need help counting, and these two deserve some time alone.”
I gave him a wink, and he, being Farrukh, didn’t miss it. And he, being Farrukh, scowled in return. Then a grin broke across his face. I wished him luck, though I thought the conclusion foregone.
Heather and I were left alone. Our fingers were loose in one another’s.
“We’re not out of this yet,” she said.
“We’re together,” I said, relishing in the truth of it. We sat beside each other, in that radiant tower, watching the orc armies encircle our city. They’d find me a troublesome weed to uproot.
Afterword
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed Visceral, please consider leaving a review, following me on social media, and/or joining my newsletter. Nullified, the final book in the Nullifier trilogy, is coming in 2022 — the best way to not miss it is by signing up to the newsletter via my website. Regardless, thank you so much for your support!
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About the Author
Jacob R Ford discovered his passion for writing in high school despite dreadful English teachers and completed his first novel when he found himself surprisingly unemployed one university summer. Since then he has worked tirelessly (and often tiredly) to pursue his dream of being a fantasy author. With two books published and writerly business cards on the quick draw, he now introduces himself as such, though the words still feel surreal on his tongue.
When not writing, he can be found engineering software, making music, or mourning the temporary closure of Historical European Martial Arts clubs.
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