by Terry Schott
They read minds. I forgot that part. Janet took a breath and nodded. “I do.”
The godling pursed its lips, tilting its head. “That would be an odd thing to do.”
Janet said nothing.
The little girl’s expression softened. She shrugged and smiled. “Okay.”
Janet frowned. “Are you serious? You’ll let me leave?”
The girl’s lip trembled and she nodded. Janet could see tears in her eyes. “I wish they had let me leave. So much pain.” She sniffled, then smiled. “Yes. You can go.”
Janet couldn’t believe her good luck. “Thank you so much, I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am—”
“Hurry.” The godling’s smile disappeared and energy began to move from the ground and into her legs. “I am fighting what they made me to do. I can’t stop the hunger for long. Go. Now!”
Janet turned and limped toward the stone ring. When she reached it she took a large step over and then dragged her back foot. She felt it brush against a stone and threw it higher to clear the obstacle.
She hit the ground and turned, breathing a sigh of relief as she noticed the stone that she had brushed was still in place. If she had broken the circle, the godling could have gotten free.
“That was unkind.” In a flash, the godling rushed to the edge of the circle, first looking at the stone and then glaring at Janet, eyes blazing with blue-white energy. “That was unkind.” The tone of her voice rose. “You should have moved the stone.”
“That’s why you let me out? To break the circle.”
“I told you to hurry!” The girl sank to her knees, head bowed. “Your leg did not work. You were supposed to drag a stone out of place.”
“I did.”
The godling looked up, her eyes cruel and hungry. “Not enough.”
Janet got to her feet and turned away from the circle.
“Come back!” the godling called. “I’m hungry. You were supposed to let me out. If I don’t feed, I will go back into the ground.:
“Good,” Janet muttered and kept walking, fighting the urge to look back. She kept walking until the child’s calls faded, then collapsed to the ground and closed her eyes to rest.
***
The godling knelt at the edge of her prison, the ground beneath her dark and black. When the full moon was directly overhead, she stirred. She touched the ground with her finger and a streak of silver light appeared in the ground. The godling twirled her finger. The light expanded, filling the circle once more. The godling’s gaze drifted toward the stone that the dwarf had disturbed.
She smiled.
A tiny sliver of light crept between a crack and leaked out into the ground beyond the circle.
49
Xander imagined that the Dark Lady would be beautiful, but he did not expect it to affect him so powerfully.
He looked up at her, sitting on a midnight-black throne upon a dais, and was overwhelmed.
Overjoyed to be alive. Willing to die. Ecstatic and grief-stricken at the same time. He felt all of those emotions and more. Kneeling on the ground at the foot of her throne, Xander knew that he loved her more than anything now, or ever.
“I am yours.” The words came out in a whisper. A voice in his head told him that he should look at the ground, avert his eyes, but he couldn’t. He wouldn’t. Her beauty demanded to be seen.
The goddess’s ruby red lips curved upwards into a smile. “Of course you are mine, sweet Xander. How could it be otherwise?”
His eyes fluttered. The music of her voice seemed to touch his soul. Pluck at its strings like an instrument.
The Dark Lady raised one hand and traced a pattern into the air. He felt another surge of pleasure, then suddenly he could control himself, although just barely. His lower lip began to tremble.
“Your devotion is flattering, but we’ll get nowhere if you keep on like this.” She sighed and wiggled her fingers.
The flood of emotion dimmed and his self-control returned.
“Better?”
“In a way.”
“I know what you mean.” She pursed her lips and blew a stray lock of midnight black hair out of her eyes. “You miss loving me so much, but are thankful that you can breathe again.”
“My love remains, Lady.”
Her laughter reminded him of wind chimes and warm honey. “I am pleased to hear you say so.” She turned her head and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “I think you will provide me with considerable entertainment. I have waited for this moment for a very long time. You are my first gamer, you know.”
Xander frowned. “Gamer?”
She smirked. “That’s what you are called, right?”
“Yes, but how did you know that?”
“I know a few things of you and the place you call arth. I understand that my world is nothing more than a game to be played by your people. But I would like to learn more of your world. Much more.” She watched him for a moment, and then her smile faded. She leaned toward him, eyes narrowing.
He gasped, overwhelmed again by his desire. “I am yours,” he whispered.
“Yes.” The she leaned back in her throne, the smile returning. “I think you will entertain me a great deal.”
Xander bowed his head and closed his eyes. “I will do whatever you command.”
“Well first you must become a Death Stryker. I have no use for those who lack skills. You must leave me and become a hero among your class.”
He raised his head and opened his eyes. She strode down the steps of the dais, the midnight silk of her dress parting with each step to reveal shapely legs. When she reached the bottom step she leaned toward him, and tilted up his head. Xander sighed.
“Yes,” she whispered. “You will become the greatest Death Stryker the world has ever known. That would please me.”
Xander nodded, unable to speak from sheer love.
The Dark Lady nodded. “I dare not keep you with me too long.” She tilted his head to one side. “Before you leave, I must give you a gift to show how much you mean to me. Would you like that, sweet Alexander?”
“Yes, my Lady.”
She gripped his chin tighter and frowned. “I see two perfect eyes in your head. This dream form must match your waking body.” Her fingertips touched his cheekbone just below his eye and he gasped at the icy coldness emanating from her nails.
“Be still now,” she muttered. “This will only take a moment.”
Intense, cold, agony lanced through his skull, shooting through his entire body. He gasped and the image of the Dark Lady blurred. Blackness overwhelmed him and he sank to the ground as consciousness fled.
50
Sebastian heard the tavern door open and half-turned towards it. Ezref entered and lingered at the bar for a few moments. When he was certain that no one was paying attention to him, he made his way to Sebastian’s table.
“Well?”
Ezref nodded at the serving maid wiping the table beside them. “Two ales, lass.”
“Any food?” She straightened and tucked the cloth into her apron.
“Drinks will do the trick for now.”
She grunted and headed for the bar. Ezref watched her walk away, a smile on his face. “She’s cute.”
“We’ll be putting down roots here, then?”
Ezref laughed. “Maybe for a night or two.”
“Then what? Did you learn anything from your friend?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“Like I told you, we’re safe.”
“No one is looking for us?”
Ezref smiled, leaning back in his chair as the serving girl set the ale on the table. “On your tab, boys?”
The apprentice made a show of looking her up and down. “It’s like you’re reading my mind.”
“Aye.” Her stern expression. “And a filthy one it is at that.”
“You have no idea.”
She nudged him with her hip. “Maybe I’d like to.”
&nbs
p; “That can be arranged.”
“I work ‘til after supper. Meet me out back after.”
Ezref winked. “Can’t wait.”
She smiled and moved to the next table. Ezref watched her go, frowning as he noticed Sebastian’s expression. “What?”
“You were saying?”
“Huh? Oh right.” He took a sip from his mug. “The Council is looking for us, but they have no clue who or what they’re looking for. The way we closed the tower down made them suspect a powerful crafter. I’m an apprentice, no one’s ever seen you, and my master—” he shrugged. “It’s him they’re looking for, but they won’t have any luck there, will they?”
“No.”
Ezref raised his mug. “It seems that we are safe, then.”
“Well, that’s a relief.” Sebastian reached for the second mug. “It does raise a different question though. What do we do now?”
Ezref leaned closer and spoke softly. “We have enough coin to keep us fed and lodged for a very long time.”
“Here?”
“If you like.”
“No.” Sebastian frowned. “I do not like.”
“Why not?”
“There’s more to life than living in a tavern.”
“I guess.”
Sebastian grunted. “I thought you wanted to be a wizard?”
The apprentice laughed. “I don’t think we want to provoke things by travelling around the countryside crafting magic.”
“Why not? You said they can’t track us.”
“They can’t.” Ezref sighed. “Crafting is expensive business, though.”
“You just said that we have a good amount of money.”
“To eat and sleep.” The young man shook his head. “But magic…buying basic components and equipment, even to cast the few low-level spells I know, would soon use up our money. Plus we don’t know enough magic to get work. Not many want to hire someone to cast a light or web spell.”
“Your spells are useful on a campaign.”
“Yes.”
“We could adventure.”
Ezref stared.
“Find someone willing to take us on. Build from scratch.” He waited for a response. “What?”
“That’s a dumb idea.”
“So is staying here, living in a tavern and chasing bar maids.”
Ezref frowned.
“Was this your dream when you became an apprentice?”
“No.”
“You took a lot of crap from that dark old bastard so he would teach you his craft.”
“That’s true.”
“Doesn’t make sense to throw your hands up and give up on your dream simply because there’s been a bit of a setback.”
“Ha! Bit of a setback.”
“Okay.” Sebastian grinned. “A serious challenge, then.”
Ezref took a drink of ale and wiped his mouth with the back of one hand. “You don’t want to give up?”
“Hell no. If you ask me, we’re only getting started.”
“You’re an odd one, Sebastian.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m not sure I meant that as a compliment.” The apprentice tilted his head and watched the bar maid. She noticed and smiled. He sighed. “I suppose we could adventure some.”
51
The door to the boardroom opened and Isaac appeared. His eyes flicked toward Kara as he walked past her.
She pushed away from the wall and caught up to him. “Well?”
He shook his head. Kara pursed her lips. Neither spoke until they were alone in his office. He dropped into his chair, leaned forward and rubbed his face with both hands.
“That bad?” Kara sat and crossed her legs.
“They are idiots.” He leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.
“What was it today?”
“Projections.” The word came out as half groan, half sigh.
“In what area?”
“You name it. Release dates, expected subscription figures, how long people will play each session, how best to monetize the system, spend per player versus time played.” He waved a hand. “Charts, graphs. Nonsense. These morons want to spend all their time looking at numbers on a spreadsheet that can’t be spent and don’t determine the definition for success here.”
“That’s what happens when people with money get involved.”
“I guess.” He nodded, still looking at the ceiling. “In this day and age, I expected more billionaires to be gamers.”
Kara laughed. “Really?”
“What’s so funny?” He frowned. “The first video games came out over a hundred years ago. Every kid plays them before they can walk. It makes sense that even a seventy-year-old business tycoon spends at least some downtime playing video games.”
“That’s a good point.”
“Right?” He leaned forward and drummed his fingers against the desktop. “But apparently that’s not the case with this group. Out of five thousand investors, only two hundred of them wanted to enter the beta version of Blades.”
“Two hundred and thirteen.”
Isaac scowled and Kara laughed. He shook his head and smiled. “Wow, yeah. Way more than two hundred. What am I complaining about?”
“The rest sent their children or grandchildren in to play.”
“Still, if more who actually wrote the cheques went in, they wouldn’t be out here to hound me about trivial garbage. Plus they’d be experiencing the game firsthand which would increase their excitement and solidify their belief in what we are going to accomplish when Blades VR does go live to the public.”
“That’s still a long way off.”
“Oh god.” He shook his head. “I’m not strong enough to hear this kind of talk from you too, Kare.”
She laughed. “Sorry.”
Isaac sighed. “From concept to release, it takes the average video game five to ten years to hit the market, and that’s programming which only involves a couple of dimensions. The scope of creating one hundred percent accurate digital reality…” He spread his hands.
“I know.”
He raised one eyebrow. “I had to admit to them that it might be another ten years on top of the regular timeline.”
“At least.”
“I left those two little words out.”
“Did you assure them they would see return on their investment before then?”
“I did. Told them that during that time there will be a lot of people entering and playing the game as we perfect it. They and their people will continue to be the first invited to participate.”
“And they will see money returns in less than six months.”
He smiled. “That seemed to calm them down. I also added that they would get their original investment back more than three times over before the next four years have passed.”
“Bet they liked that.”
He grinned. “It was at that point that every single one of them begged me to take more money now.”
“Which you agreed to do.”
“I didn’t want to seem rude.”
Kara laughed. “It’s nice to know that money isn’t going to be a problem.”
“If only it were such a simple issue as cash.” He shook his head. “The actual challenges are a much bigger headache.”
“On that note”—Kara looked at her phone and stood—“the development team is outside and ready to meet.”
He groaned. “Bring them in.”
***
Isaac watched the middle-aged man with balding hair and a patchy blond beard place the last sheet of paper face down on the table in front of him.
“That’s all I have for updates, Isaac.” He adjusted his brown-rimmed glasses, glancing furtively at one of his colleagues before looking back to the pile of notes in front of him.
Isaac sniffed. “What was that, Abe?”
The man shook his head but did not look up. “What?”
“That look you shot to Ben.”
“Nothing.”<
br />
“Okay.”
Abe cleared his throat and met Isaac’s eyes. “Well, it’s the issue with avatar/player swap.”
“I thought we agreed that would wait until the next phase before we worry about that.”
“Yes.”
Isaac raised his eyebrows. “Something happen to shift priority?”
Again, Abe cleared his throat. “Some of the players might need a rest.”
“A rest? Aren’t they all lying unconscious on tables while they play?”
“Of course.”
“Sounds like they couldn’t rest any harder if they tried.”
Abe shook his head. “That’s definitely not the case. We are seeing degrees of mental fatigue from the constant connection to VR.”
“What kind of fatigue?”
“It’s very faint.”
“Within expected levels?”
“For the most part.”
“How many exceed ‘the most part’?”
Abe shuffled his papers.
“Less than ten? More than a hundred?”
“Over a thousand.”
Isaac frowned and glanced at Kara who pursed her lips and made a note in her book. “That’s more than I was expecting to hear.”
“Like I said, it’s minor at the moment.”
“Minor enough to leave them connected to the game?”
“Of course.”
Isaac felt the muscles in his shoulders relax. He hadn’t even realized they’d been tense. “That’s good.”
Abe adjusted his glasses. “Another few weeks, though.”
“Any chance it will fix itself over time?”
Abe shook his head.
“Sebastian said that a self-correction could occur.”
“Yes.” One corner of Abe’s eye tightened.
“You don’t think the mental fatigue will lessen as the player’s bodies acclimate?”
“I know we aren’t supposed to bring this up, but—”
Isaac smiled. “It’s fine.”
“It is?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“We need Sebastian to deal with this.”
“No. You don’t.”
Abe leaned closer. “Only for a few hours. Days, tops.”
“Sebastian isn’t available for this tiny stuff at the moment, Abe.”
“But it’s not going to stay tiny. I know if he took a qui—”
