by Natalie Grey
“You hungry?” he asked.
“A little.” Jamie’s stomach grumbled loudly. “Ravenous, actually. I just can’t face being in a restaurant.”
“Takeout, it is.” Kevin handed his phone over and pulled away from the curb. “If you go into my favorites there, you’ll see the places that deliver. Whatever looks good to you. I’m easy.”
“You’re getting a call.” Jamie handed the phone back.
Kevin looked at the screen and grimaced. “Hit Ignore, would you?” When he saw Jamie’s curious expression, he gave a half-embarrassed shrug. “Long story.”
“I have literally nothing else to do,” Jamie pointed out.
“You have food to order,” Kevin reminded him.
Jamie ordered them both food and then craned around to look at the gray clouds and the Seattle skyline. His own phone rang, and he looked down to see Evan’s number. He hadn’t ever given Brightstar an official resignation, he realized now.
Whoops.
Kevin’s phone rang again the next moment, showing the same number as before, and both men started laughing. They were wearing the same expression of resignation and guiltiness.
“I’ll tell you if you tell me,” Jamie offered. “Of course, you know what’s going on with me.”
“You didn’t exactly explain it,” Kevin pointed out. “But I gather you hightailed it out of there after the boss went down. It’s good that you managed to get your stuff. Assuming that is your stuff.” He looked over. “You didn’t steal a bunch of VR equipment, did you?”
“No.” Jamie laughed, then shivered. “Uh, can I turn the heat up?”
“Sure. Let’s stop somewhere to get you a sweatshirt, too. I’d offer you one of mine, but you’re tall.” Kevin looked around, clearly thinking, then pulled into the exit lane to head to a nearby mall.
“And what about you…?” Jamie asked pointedly.
“This feels like an uneven trade.” Kevin sighed as he took the exit in a quick, controlled curve. “Eh, it’s no big deal. I just met, you know…the One.”
“What?” Jamie looked down at the phone. “Do you…shouldn’t you call him back?”
“No, because he’s boring as sin,” Kevin said bluntly.
“I thought you said—”
“He is,” Kevin said. “He’s exactly what I’ve been looking for for years. Thought he didn’t exist. Loves the same shows I do, doesn’t mind the video games, has a good career, likes to travel, great taste, all of it. And I found him—and he bores me to fucking tears.” He sighed as he pulled into the parking lot of the mall. “I just got a promotion at work, and I have the job I’ve wanted, also for years, and I hate that, too.” He shut off the car and considered for a moment. “You don’t need to hear all of this right now. You’ve had a day. Let’s get you some warmer clothes and head home for food.” He got out of the car.
“Or…” Jamie said, also getting out, “we could get me warmer clothes, get a bottle of tequila, and then go home for food.” He gave a grin. “Our lives both went to shit.”
“So let’s get shitfaced?” Kevin asked, looking bemused.
“Pretty much. Get all the ranting out of our systems.”
“You’re on.” Kevin led the way into the mall. “But I’m going to teach you to like port because tequila is disgusting.”
“That’s because you’ve never had good tequila,” Jamie asserted confidently. “Trust me, I’ll have you converted by tomorrow.”
“A lot of people have said that to me over the years,” Kevin told him philosophically. “Of course, they were all female. And talking about something else.”
Jamie guffawed but sobered quickly. “Thanks for giving me a place to crash.”
“Anytime,” Kevin said easily.
The best thing about having Dan and Dhruv as enemies, Harry had decided, was that they were clever enough to make good connections. They understood the playing field well, and their instincts were well-honed.
He could use their hunches now to lay his groundwork. They had identified the relevant players, and it was up to Harry now to make better use of those players than they could.
After all, he understood now that their defiance was only to be expected. He could not ask for anything more than that. It was the nature of humans to resist kings, so a king must be ready to hold his throne.
Callista has your throne. The thought was unwelcome and made him clench his teeth in frustration.
That was temporary. There was enough chaos in the world to push anyone to the throne, but most of them could not hold it. What would set Harry apart was the fact that he could. No matter how many people tried to stand in his way, he would find his rightful place. This was a test, nothing more.
He did not even entertain the thought that the test would find him unworthy. These tests were nothing more than smelting metal to burn away the impurities, and when they were passed, only the king would remain, stronger than before.
His choice—his first choice—was simple. There was someone else who had been wronged as he had, and who knew Callista.
What should have been easy, however, fell to ruin almost at once.
“Hello?” The man’s voice was cautious. “Who is this?”
“Jay?” Harry kept his voice casual, although his pulse sped up. He was so close. Things were falling into place perfectly.
How had he ever doubted himself?
“Who is this?” Jay repeated.
“Harry,” Harry said. “I take it you know that name.”
“I know you showed up at Gracie’s apartment,” Jay replied, and his voice was cold as ice. “I know you made more than a few people’s lives a living hell. What I don’t know is why. Why you’re doing any of this.”
“I’m happy to explain,” Harry said. “After all, that’s why I called.”
“That’s…” Jay’s voice trailed off. “Bullshit,” he said finally. “If you wanted to explain, you’d be calling Gracie. You’d be calling Dan and Dhruv. I’m not someone you need to explain to…unless you want something from me.”
Harry decided to welcome this. “I need something,” he corrected. “Not want, need. Something you need as well.”
Jay said absolutely nothing. There was the distant sound of a car stopping and the brief dinging of a key in a lock. Jay was still there—Harry could hear him—but he wasn’t saying anything.
Harry took a deep breath and prayed for patience. “You understood that Dan and Dhruv weren’t good leaders. You spoke the truth, hoping that they would understand it and correct their course, and instead, they fired you. They never even apologized, did they?”
Still Jay said nothing.
Harry was beginning to lose his temper. “You follow Callista because she offers you an alternative.”
Jay snorted now. It was clear he didn’t think much of that assessment. “How about, instead of telling me what you think you know about me, you tell me what you want?”
“You know that Dan and Dhruv—”
“No,” Jay said flatly. “No persuasion, no backstory. Tell me what you want in plain language, or I will hang up this phone.” There was a pause, then he added with a half-laugh, “I wondered why no one had just talked to you, and I get it now. You’re insufferable.”
Harry gritted his teeth and tried to say the words Jay wanted to hear. “I must persuade you, do you understand that? Or Metamorphosis Online will be destroyed. I know you don’t want that. I know Callista doesn’t want that. I suppose Dan and Dhruv do not, either, but all they see is a cash cow. Tell me what you want, Jay, and I will—”
“Insufferable,” Jay repeated. He was clearly smiling. Harry could picture him shaking his head. “You are fundamentally incapable of seeing other people as anything other than objects. Obstacle courses. You can’t figure out how to work with someone.” He paused. “All you can see is what you want, so you dress it up in morals and make it some epic struggle. You’re as bad as they are.”
The line went dead.
&nb
sp; Harry stared down at the phone, his lip curling in anger.
Jay wasn’t going to help him. Jay had been corrupted, turned to a useless, pointless cause: loyalty to a false queen. A true king would be resisted, Harry knew that, but didn’t he also deserve loyalty? Didn’t he deserve someone standing at his side? If Callista was a false queen—which she was—then why did she have a team at her back?
There was a moment of doubt, but only one.
Then Harry’s head came up. Kingship, true kingship, was lonely. He had known it when he wrote Yesuan’s quest, and he was beginning to understand the truth of it now.
But where Yesuan had failed, he would succeed.
He just needed a new ally.
Chapter Six
Gracie woke up to an empty apartment and sunlight streaming in the windows. She’d slept until almost noon, which was hardly a surprise, given that she’d been up so late. When she went to bed after speaking to Dan and Dhruv, it was to stare up at the darkness. Sleep stubbornly eluded her, and she wasn’t sure when she’d finally dropped off.
Alex, of course, would be at work, mainlining coffee. She smiled as she stumbled out into the living room, finger-combing her hair into some semblance of order. It wouldn’t have felt right to do last night’s quest without Alex there.
The coffee that had been fresh that morning was long-since cold, but there was a waxed-paper bag on the counter. Gracie peeked inside and gave a grin. A bakery had opened nearby, and Alex had mentioned wanting to try their pastries. Apparently, he’d decided to do so this morning. A note next to the bag said,
I recommend the bear claw. I seriously considered eating yours and just not telling you I’d gotten you one.
Gracie chortled as she pulled the bear claw out and took a bite, then her eyes drifted closed. From the crunch of the almonds to the warmth of the cinnamon sugar, it was heavenly. She put some coffee in the microwave and slouched back to the bedroom to retrieve her phone.
All of last night was coming back to her in a rush now, and she found herself blushing. None of it felt real. Yesterday, she’d been considering avoiding the Yesuan’s Haunt run entirely and pining secretly over Jay.
Today…
She thought back to the times in Night’s Edge, to the boss fights they’d gotten through side-by-side in the melee. She’d saved his ass a dozen times, and he’d done the same for her. When there was a bear charging at you, or a giant with a huge mace, it didn’t matter that it was all pixels. It took courage to stare the boss down, and courage to sacrifice yourself for someone else.
She’d done the same for everyone in the guild at one time or another, but she knew it was different with Jay.
She just hadn’t dreamed he felt the same.
She came back to herself staring at the wall, the bear claw forgotten in one hand and the mug of coffee forgotten in the other. Her cheeks were on fire, and when her phone buzzed, she practically leapt out of her skin. Setting the coffee and pastry on the counter, she fished her phone out of her pocket and flushed an even brighter red at the name on the screen.
You up yet, lazy?
Rude, she typed back. She took a picture of herself with the bear claw, agonized over her disheveled appearance, and deleted it.
She really sucked at this.
For your information, she told him, I have been up for at LEAST 10 minutes, and I’m having a very healthy breakfast. She sent a picture of the coffee and bear claw.
Like a boss, Jay texted back. Dots appeared to show that he was typing. They were there for a long while, but all that appeared was: Do you have time to talk?
Gracie’s stomach seemed to fall out of her chest, and she swallowed hard as she stared at the phone.
Another message appeared: Dan and Dhruv said they talked to you. There’s some stuff you should know about that whole thing.
A pause, then, Anyway, if you have time, I want you to have at least one day off from this shit if you want it.
Gracie sighed with relief, shook her head, and gave herself a stern talking to. Jay had been happy to hear what she said last night since he felt the same way. She needed to get over this stupid idea that everything was going to fall apart.
Nah, she texted back. If evil doesn’t sleep, neither do we.
Hahahaha
Meet you online? she asked him.
I’m not sure that’s wise
I’m a queen now, remember? And I want to find out what my powers are. Besides, she added, even if they CAN hear us, I want them to know we’re comparing notes.
It’s not QUITE that simple, Jay texted back, but I’ll see you there. Where are you?
Outside Kithara, Gracie told him. I’ll see you there.
She wolfed down the rest of her bear claw, taking gulps of coffee between bites, and pulled her hair back before logging into the game. She’d left her VR suit crumpled on the ground last night, walking away from Dan and Dhruv and Metamorphosis and all of it. Now, she hesitated before putting it on. Jay was right; a day off would have been nice.
But she was right, too—she wasn’t going to take a day off and come back to find that her enemies had closed ranks and she was barred from the one place she felt truly at home.
The sun was sliding down toward the horizon when she logged in, and she stood in the tall grass and waited. It wasn’t long before Jay appeared on her mini-map, and she turned to watch him approach, feeling the instinctive leap of recognition at the sight of him.
He stopped for a moment, looking at her, then emoted a smile before he walked the rest of the way.
“What?” Gracie said, smiling back.
“Nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.” She was grinning.
Jay took a breath deep enough that she saw the movement in his avatar. “I wish I could kiss you,” he said finally. Almost sheepishly, he added, “Being in armor makes me braver.”
Gracie gave a peal of laughter. “So, what, we have to have all our dates at a Renaissance Faire or something?”
Jay started laughing as well. “See, that’s what I like about you—you’re a problem solver.”
Gracie reached out to give him an affectionate shove and nearly overbalanced. “Crap, I keep forgetting you aren’t actually there. We’ll, uh…” She swallowed hard. What was she nervous about? “We’ll have to fix that at some point.” She could hear her blood pounding in her ears.
“I’d like that,” Jay said, and the sound of his voice sent shivers up and down her spine. “You know, it was very hard to stay focused in the meeting this morning.”
“Mmm?” Gracie glanced at him, then processed what he’d said. “The meeting… Wait, did you speak to Dan and Dhruv today? Like, in person?”
“Yes, I did.” Jay rubbed at the back of his neck. “Uh, okay, so…I did something. I can undo it; don’t worry.”
“What did you do?” Gracie raised an eyebrow before remembering that the expression wouldn’t come through. “Look, I can’t imagine you doing something really crazy without checking in with the rest of us. Right? Jay, tell me I’m right.”
“You’re right.” He was smiling. “I…I guess Sam talked to them about giving me my job back, so they called me in to make an offer. I took them up on it.”
“What?” Gracie’s jaw dropped. “Wait, back up—”
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you more later, but basically, Sam pointed out that I was a popular employee and did good work, and they said they were willing to give me a second chance.”
“A ‘second chance’?” Gracie repeated. Her tone was dangerous.
“Oh, I know.” Jay nodded. “Infuriating, right? They’re giving me a second chance when I was the one who was right all along? Yeah. But I thought…” He sighed.
“I don’t think they can hear us,” Gracie said. “Harry would have made sure he was protected.”
“Hmm.” Jay considered. “They said they were offering an olive branch,” he said finally. “That was what they told me, at least. They hadn’t wanted you
to win like you did, but you had, and they were going to find a new way forward. I thought that was worth entertaining. I want them to keep trying to work with people they don’t agree with instead of trying to undercut them.”
“That makes sense.” Gracie set off through the grass, jerking her head for him to follow. The sun was setting, and she knew all of a sudden where she wanted to go. “And the part you’re not sure about saying out loud?”
Jay laughed. “There were times when it would have helped us to have someone on the inside. Do you remember telling me that? When you said it, I’d just quit, and I felt like an idiot. You were right.”
“Hmm.” Gracie considered that. The hill was winding upwards, and above them, the sky was beginning to fade.
“You’re going back to the starting zone,” Jay said, realizing where they were. “To where we first met.”
“We first met over there,” Gracie said distractedly, pointing.
“Oh. Ah…” He cleared his throat. “Funny story about that.”
Gracie stopped and looked at him. “Funny story?”
“You remember talking to the hill warden?” Jay asked. When she stared at him silently, he actually took a step back. “Oh, dear. I thought I’d told you.”
“You were the hill warden?” Gracie demanded. “No, you did not tell me. You told me the riddle? You started the whole damned thing?”
“I was just inside the character,” Jay clarified. “It was programmed to say that to anyone who asked about the kobolds or what was in that direction. I know I told it to at least a couple of other people, too. No one else bothered to try to figure it out, though.”
Gracie sighed and then started laughing. “Just when I think this whole thing couldn’t get any more ridiculous. Wait, the hill warden is there now.”
“Mmhmm. There might or might not be an actual person in there.”
“That’s creepy as shit, man. It’s like walking through a store filled with mannequins and thinking some of them might be looking at you.” Gracie started walking again, giving the hill warden a wide berth. “Okay, so you were the hill warden. Huh.”
