Emily paled. “Wait… what did you say?”
Carl winced. “Shit. That just boosts my odds from what, 1 in 100 or worse to 1 in 10? Maybe? What would have happened if I hadn’t resonated properly?”
Mitch’s grin turned positively wicked. “You remember those crimson smears you all tried so hard to ignore when we dashed into the power hub right before the jump portal?”
Carl paled. “Oh God, please tell me you’re fucking with us.”
Mitch chuckled. “Relax. The odds of actually having a neuromatrix able to mesh with an alternate reality is actually far slimmer than 1%, but that hardly matters. You made it. That’s what counts, right?”
Carl groaned, putting his head in his hands. “Jeezus. How close did I come to dying?”
Mitch’s gaze hardened. “I was wearing the helm, same as you, buddy, because I wasn’t willing to cross until I had achieved resonance myself. Do you understand what I’m saying? You didn’t ride that mine cart into the abyss alone. We were both rolling the dice.”
A frustrated Emily pushed Carl aside, glaring at Mitch. “Mitch! What the hell were you just talking about?”
Mitch flashed a wicked smile. “What, you’re going to tell me you never had any suspicions about who you were, what you were, growing up? The fact that you look nothing like your father and were far stronger than the other kids in all your classes, including the boys? Tell me you didn’t feel like you were somehow different, with a mental discipline and a mathematical perception that absolutely blew your classmates out of the water. I’ll bet you found yourself able to pluck free the thoughts of your friends and teachers, at least when they were staring at you, and it freaked you out. And how about all those hours you’d spend just gazing into the mirror, looking at your pretty violet eyes, wondering what the hell was wrong with you?”
Emily paled. “How could you possibly know all that? How could you… Oh no.”
“Now do you get it? My brother and I shared at least some of those classes with you. You have the gift, Emily, but no one ever taught you how to ward your mind. When you get good, you don’t even have to catch a person’s gaze to read them. Or control them.”
“Or kill them,” John softly said.
Mitch nodded. “Correct. Why do you think Highlords get so much respect here on Jordia? We’re masters of the mind, the heart of Dominion power.”
“John, get out! Get out now!”
John frowned. Sade’s voice.
He shook his head in distaste, hating the skittering sense of spiders crawling across his mind.
He had made his choice. Had put 5 points into his choice. He would be as human as it was possible to be, and of Horrors and the twisted mutant abomination he had almost become? Almost become friends with? He was done with that path forever.
Mitch then waxed on about the glories of the Dominion for a while, but John was focused on an increasingly shaken Emily. “Are you okay?”
She turned haunted eyes his way. “My dad’s the sweetest guy you could imagine. And my baby brother and sister? I love them to death, but they look and act and think nothing like me.” She swallowed, lowering her gaze. “It’s only my uncle that I can relate to. He’s the only one who seems to, well, get me.” She shook her head. “We used to hang out every weekend. I’d share my life with him, and he was always so interested in what I had to say. We’d have pizza nights, watch movies, talk about life… he was really, really great.”
Beautiful violet eyes caught his own. “But do you know what the scary part is?”
“Tell me.”
“I didn’t even know which of my parents he was related to. And when I tried to tell mom about it, she would get the strangest look on her face. In fact, now that I think about it, it was curiously hard even getting the words out, like it was a secret I wasn’t supposed to share. Mom looked so alarmed when she finally realized I wasn’t just making it all up. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me I had no uncles. That I hardly ever even left the house on days off, and she had Lifebook pictures of me every weekend for the last five years to prove it!”
Emily gave a sad shake of her head. “And I have no idea what any of that even means. Except after that revelation, he never visited me again. At least, not that I remember.”
Mitch nodded. “You were coming into your power, far younger than the charts suggested, and that threw off your father’s plans for you.”
Emily glared at Mitch. “What the hell does that even mean? And wait a minute. Guys, we’re talking to a Highlord! Mitch isn’t even human! He’s a Jordian Highlord who went to our school for years, pretended he was John’s best friend, or brother, or whatever, and now we’re living in his manor, training under him, hanging out with him, and none of us are even reacting to it?”
Mitch smirked. “First off, it’s now John’s manor. Secondly, he is my brother, and thirdly, so fucking what? John just told you he was fused to an actual nightmare abomination that would make Freddy or Jason piss their pants. And he’s half-Jordian, by the way, and you didn’t bat an eye.”
Lucy nodded. “I’m cool with it, Emily,” she said, before frowning at her friend’s gaze. “I see the look you’re giving me, but I like older guys. Even if Mitch isn’t really 18, he’s handsome as hell, and he did save our asses more than once. He and Johnny both. As far as I’m concerned, they’re both Aces in my book.”
Carl nodded. "It's like he's both the game master and a high-level NPC. If he's willing to adventure with us and give us an edge so we don't like, die, since this is real life, even if we can level up like in a game, I’m cool with that.” He gave Mitch a pointed look. “Especially if he can hook a brother up.”
Mitch chuckled. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. And in case you haven’t already noticed, more than a few servants have been giving you the eye since they found out you’re a Terran that can level up, Carl.”
Carl flushed. “Well, yeah, they’re all drop-dead gorgeous but, well, I thought they were just being polite and—”
“You didn’t want to be the high schooler fumbling for words like a fool in front of a real woman just doing her job while she rolls her eyes at you. I get it, Carl. Now what you need to understand is that as far as these girls are concerned, you’re as good as it gets. Anyone who can level up, quantize their power, take in the limitless potential of their kills and blossom in years or even months in ways dedicated masters would take decades or centuries to evolve is the kind of person any girl with half a clue wants to get to know better."
Carl’s eyes widened with those words. “Really?”
Mitch grinned. “Really.”
Carl swallowed. “I wouldn’t be, like, taking advantage of them?”
Mitch laughed. “No, Carl. I made it clear that the girls were under no obligation to pleasure any man or woman they had no interest in. Though giving serving girls a token of your appreciation is accepted social custom here, there’s no obligation. The bottom line is, almost every girl working at a Highlord’s manor is hoping to catch the fancy of a powerful patron. Perhaps even find the love of their lives. And there’s no better way to tell if you’re a match for a prospective partner than through romance.”
Mitch raised his hand, as if to forestall any objection. "I know it's different back on Earth, where you can't even smell your prospective partner's pheromones, fertility, biological compatibility, or taste their soul when you make love. On Earth? Everyone's struggling in the dark. But here, Carl, here, the act of seduction incorporates all those things."
Carl’s eyes widened, his mind obviously blown. “Wow! So, like, every time you kiss a girl, or make love to a girl, you’re finding your future perfect wife? A connection of the soul?”
“Not necessarily. People like to have a good time here, just like they do on Earth. But if the girl you're partying with is actually your destined one, you'll both know it before the night is over. Or at least, she’ll know it, and she’ll go to great pains to make sure you know it as well.”
&
nbsp; Carl’s smile only grew. “So I should hook up with every girl I possibly can in my quest to find the perfect someone.”
Mitch roared with laughter while the girls frowned. “That’s the spirit, Carl! Just make sure you have a token of appreciation to offer them, and they’ll be happy to dance that dance with you any number of times, even if they’re not a perfect fit.”
Carl grinned. “I’ll fit us together somehow.” He furrowed his brow. “Tokens of affection. How do I get ahold of them?”
“Simple. You earn it. Of course, I'd love for you to adventure by our side and earn a share of whatever loot we find, but we all know wealth is an unpredictable beast. If you wanted to swear yourself to the Farreach clan in the meantime, we would take care of you VIP style, including a generous stipend. Either way, focus on your build, level up, and there’s no limit to how much you can earn, or how far you can go.”
Carl gazed at Mitch strangely for a second. “Wait, so if I formally, what, join your House, you’ll pay me just for the privilege of my being here? And the girls...”
“Love a hero with VIP status,” Mitch assured.
Lucy smirked. “Going with the hard sell, are we?”
Mitch grinned. “I have an eye for talent. I think our boy Carl is going places.”
Carl chuckled at that, and for all that he had the typical build and manner of an all-star football player, beneath that charming smile was the sharp-eyed son of a real estate tycoon.
“Sure,” he said. “We’ll see. But before we get into any binding contracts, so to speak, let’s make sure we’re all a good fit.”
Mitch saluted Carl with the glass of sangria he was presently sipping from, a discrete servant having placed a pitcher of fruit-filled wine on the pastry-laden table the moment Mitch had seated himself. “Well said, young friend. A few adventures under our belt and we’ll all be as thick as thieves, I’m sure of it.”
Carl grinned, his warm smile taking in the whole group. "Well then. What are we waiting for? Let's celebrate our alliance!" He poured himself a chilled glass of Sangria as did the others, raising his glass in a toast. "To the Farreach brothers, for saving our sorry asses. I vote we name ours the Farreach Guild. Because when it comes to adventure, the sky’s the limit!”
All of them drank to that. Training done, their impromptu celebrations began, and for all that Mitch had good-naturedly conceded ownership rights to his brother, it was clear he knew the run of the manor better than anyone, and just how to throw a good party.
Besides savoring exquisite food and the wonders of Jordian cinema, John enjoyed sharing his own adventures and basked in the rapt looks of wonder or winces of sympathy he received while telling his tale. If anything, he was afraid that sharing so much of himself, how close he had come to love, would have kept Emily at a distance. But if her intent gaze and sympathetic smile was anything to go by, she didn’t mind a bit.
And when dinner was replaced with dancing, Carl found that more than a few exquisitely beautiful servitors, both men and women, were more than eager to dance with any and all of them, whatever the state of their purse, gazing at the entire party with wide smiles and hungry eyes. And despite the entreaties of several strikingly beautiful women, it was Emily that John found himself shyly asking to dance, and the warmth in her gaze when she said yes sent his heart soaring.
When their hands clasped, John felt a spark of wonder shiver through him. And when she drew him close for a slow dance, her soft, warm lips gently caressing his own, his breath hitched, John’s world suddenly set ablaze with a hunger unlike anything he had ever felt before.
Their kiss deepened, and he was no longer the shy, awkward Johnathan of before, growing bold with a need he saw echoed in her gaze.
“Emily, I...”
Soft lips caressed his own before whispering into his ear.
“Take me to your room.”
The hungry look in her eyes sent shivers down his spine.
He didn’t hesitate, 14 Strength showing itself like never before as he literally swept her off her feet, leaping up the nearby marble staircase his mental map showed as being closest to the grand suite he had awoken within, his brothers gentle, bemused laughter echoing in his mind.
His final clear thoughts that evening were of Emily’s passionate lips locked upon his own, the scents of honeysuckle and love in the air, and the look in her eyes as she gasped, John’s kiss turning fierce as he slid into her warmth, and they both became one.
“Johnathan, I feel you!” she cried, and John caressed her so tenderly as they moved in perfect unison, having felt her take gentle roost within his mind.
He was captivated by the beauty in his arms, kissing her soft lips, making her welcome within his soul. “I adore you,” he thought, delighted by her smile.
“Is this what it means to be a Highlord?” Her eyes lit with wonder before she cried out and bucked against him, the storm of exquisite delight forever a heartbeat from release at last bursting forth, and John gasped and held her tight as they peaked in each other's arms, each feeling what the other felt, all articulated words slipping free in a tidal wave of ecstasy, desire, and sweetest affection.
John’s final thoughts as he gazed into Emily’s exhausted smile were that this was a girl he could grow to love.
“Feeling’s mutual, Johnny-boy,” she whispered in his mind as both of them slipped away in each other’s arms, savoring the gentlest of dozes, utterly innocent of the unending nightmare their lives would soon become.
23
Even as he was lost in dreams of sweetest reverie, a shimmering blue bar he had done his best to ignore burst free of previous quantized limits, forcing John to accept growth in ways terrible and profound.
Hidden Questline: Genetic Destiny I complete! You have found one of your potential soulmates, and the life catalyzed could well evolve into a super being capable of changing the entire face of Jordia, and perhaps the Dominion entire! Only time will tell. Of course, if your lover perishes before embracing the joys of motherhood, it will all have been for nothing! And it’s not like you’ll remember this dream when you awaken.
Experience Earned!
Congratulations! You have leveled up! Dominion Matrix must be catalyzed this level!
Thanks to your Tier 3 connection to Arcadia and the realms of Faerie and Dream, you can defer your level-up to be activated at will, even while you’re awake!
“John! Please wake up!”
John gasped, sensing Sade’s frantic cry, countless miles away.
Feeling a cold chill. Realizing she had been desperately reaching out to him for who knows how long. He grimaced in distaste, recalling how much he hated to be reminded of the horror he had almost become.
Saving throw versus Psionic Phantasm failed!
Perception check failed!
“John! Wake the fuck up, we got a crisis on our hands.”
John gasped, blinking into Mitch’s brilliant golden orbs, his brother looking harder and colder than he had just hours ago.
“Inquisitors below, with an entire platoon of troopers. This is bad, John.”
John’s heart lurched in his chest, his brother’s grim expression suddenly making perfect sense. “Okay, what the fuck is our play?”
Mitch frowned. “That goddamned bastard Rojan’s declaring us criminal trespassers guilty of attempted murder. He’s going to try to reclaim the estate, and he’ll put us in chains if he can possibly get away with it.”
John’s blood boiled. “After I took pity on him and spared his life? This is how he repays us? I should have killed him when I had the chance.”
Mitch’s mouth pursed into a hard, angry line. His bonhomie manner of before was gone as if it had never been. “Agreed. And the captain who witnessed everything and was pleading our case was just executed for treason, of all things.”
“But didn’t they read his mind?”
“It obviously doesn’t matter, John. I have no doubt the inquisitor below knows exactly what went down, and is
deep in Rojan’s pockets.” Mitch’s gaze hardened. “Now that I think about it, they’re going to have to kill us. If they don’t, the truth can be read by any Justiciar we stumble across.
John’s eyes widened. “So they’re perfectly willing to murder all of us, if it lets Rojan weasel out of his surrender, making a mockery of the most sacred traditions of this place. Just how fucking corrupt are these people, Mitch?”
Mitch flashed a cold, humorless smile. “Put on your armor right now. Carl and Lucy will be here in less than a minute.”
John jerked a nod, heart racing, now hearing the cold declarations of men downstairs thanks to his reactivated Hunter’s Sense.
“Shit! Mitch, they’re climbing up the stairs. We’re running out of time!”
Emily rubbed sleepy eyes, gazing at John, then Mitch, her sudden flush turning instantly to cold focus when John somehow explained what was happening in a hyper-fast thought pinged into her mind.
“Alright, what do we do?” she whispered, dressed seconds later as Lucy and a wild-eyed Carl burst into the room.
“They’re coming! They’re searching all the rooms a floor below!” Lucy squealed.
“It’s bad, guys,” Carl breathlessly said. “Men are pouring in from all the stairwells. And I heard laser fire!”
“Another Terran pretender dares the throne! Butcher everyone present! No one gets out alive!”
Lucy’s eyes widened in panic as the voices echoed up the stairs. John simmered with hotblooded rage. It was Highlord Rojan’s voice that he heard.
“Damn,” Mitch said. “I thought they’d at least go with some sort of civilized pretext.” He turned to the window. “Alright, this is going to be close. Let’s hope we can get out of here alive. John, tie up the bedding just like we used to practice.”
Queen Killer Page 34
