by Eden Redd
Tears streamed down the elf’s cheeks as she pressed her head to his chest, “Thank you, Luis. Thank you, my brother.”
The two players held each other in the dim moonlight, hearts beating pure.
***
Wine flowed as Deidra and Ro continued to talk about their plans to please a certain paladin. Jon watched them for a long moment before he stood with wine bottle in hand. Deidra glanced over as Jon gave her a rosy smile. The paladin turned and began walking toward the beach without a word.
Renner stood with goblet in hand, watching the tall paladin step onto the sand and walk toward the small waves and large stones dotting the sandy view. Long seconds ticked away before the rogue put the goblet down and followed the paladin as he swayed with each step.
Jon walked to the water’s edge and looked out to the light purple sky, staff in one hand and wine bottle in the other. The paladin took a deep swig before letting his arm drop to his side and marveling at the beautiful ocean night. A shadow crept up behind him, cloak around their body.
Jon let out a cleansing sigh and took another swig before letting his arm drop again, “Came to look at the beautiful ocean?”
Renner melted from the shadows but did not move to Jon’s side. Instead he stayed a few feet behind the paladin, cloak billowing slightly in the breeze.
“Actually, I thought we should talk,” Renner said with an even tone.
Jon nodded, not turning around, “We can talk about anything. We had a great victory tonight. It seems we now have an edge in the war. I hope Thorrin is up to the task.”
Renner kept his gaze, “I was thinking, we should talk about why you forced us to fight the Dread Lord.”
Jon didn’t move.
Renner continued, “Funny, we could have worked the situation out and retrieve the band without removing the ghost paladin keeping him in place. The door could have held back the Dire Mage a lot longer yet your staff reacted to the ghost. It never did that before when we were fighting in Moon Haven or in the cemetery.”
“My staff acts strangely around the undead. Sometimes it is unpredictable,” Jon said without looking back.
Renner brushed his cloak aside, revealing a sharp dagger, “You must think I’m an idiot.”
Jon’s head tilted forward, “I can sense that you are not. I must confess under these beautiful stars, I did dispel the paladin’s ghost. I needed to be sure that Thorrin would be the one to rise to the occasion. He needed to have this victory.”
Renner took a step closer, “Why?”
Jon turned his head slightly, an eye looking at the hard expression in Renner’s face, “My partner insisted that he should have a happy moment before all the pain.”
Renner gritted his teeth, “You’re coming back with me.”
Jon smirked as he turned and faced the rogue, “No, this is where you have an unfortunate accident.”
Renner watched as an aura glowed around the paladin. Lifting up his staff, Jon stared at the rogue with a smug smile and narrow eyes. Renner felt the flame of rage as he gazed at the tall paladin. A breeze caressed the rogue and paladin before their bodies flashed toward each other, weapons in hands.
***
Ro turned to the beach, pointed green ears twitching, “Did you hear that? It sounds like fighting.”
Deidra’s smile turned sickening wide as she looked at the goblin, “I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Ro looked out to the beach as a clanging sound rang out again and again, “No, someone’s fighting!”
Ro reached up a green finger to tap her armor on when a hand reached out and grabbed her by the wrist.
“It’s nothing. Let’s keep talking about what we’re going to do to Thorrin,” Deidra said with half closed eyes.
“Let go,” Ro growled and mentally called up her armor.
The goblin was about to mentally tap her armor into existence when arcane circles appeared around them. Deidra kept her firm grip as red skeletons emerged from the ground, boney hands reaching for the tiny paladin. Ro’s eyes widened as she was about to activate her armor but she never had a chance. A red boney hand touched her skin and sent draining ripples throughout her body. The goblin cried out but only for a moment as a hand wrapped around her mouth. The goblin struggled in Deidra’s grip as several Bloody Bones reached up and clawed at her prone form, draining and clawing at her, an unnatural hunger in their dark gazes.
***
Thorrin and Vass sat in the small clearing, talking about how they would arrange the family gathering. Time lost all meaning but Thorrin was okay with that. He was enjoying his time with his sister. For once in his life, she wasn’t acting like a lunatic; instead she seemed like a normal person. She insisted there should be a party and she wanted to invite most the family. Thorrin simply sat and listened as Vass treated it almost like planning a wedding.
“Mom could make her famous roast pork over rice. I need you to keep Lisa and Sarah’s hands off of him while we prepare. We can invite everyone in the neighborhood except Mrs. Torres because I think she still hates me. You like wine so you should bring like ten bottles,” Vass gushed.
Thorrin watched as she spun on and on until she suddenly stopped. Eyes turning to Thorrin’s smiling face, the elf grinned.
“I must sound like a happy idiot,” Vass said with warm eyes.
“You are,” Thorrin grinned.
“Jerk,” Vass said and punched him on the shoulder.
The moment flowed like a peaceful river before Vass let out a sigh, “We should go back. I’m sure they’re wondering where we are and I think Deidra and Ro will want to show you a good time.”
Thorrin kept his smile, “What do you think of Deidra and Ro?”
Vass’s smile faded, “I like Ro. She really came out of her shell around you. I sometimes listened in and she is a sweet girl…..” Vass trailed off.
Thorrin raised an eyebrow.
Vass looked to the paladin, “I don’t know about Deidra.”
“What makes you say that?”
The elf held her knees to her chest, “Something’s not right. She’s a rogue but I haven’t seen her around or ever heard her name until that night in Moon Haven. I thought maybe she was a new player but she has skills like she’s been playing for a while.”
“Lukken is a big place,” Thorrin said politely.
Vass nodded, “I know but something doesn’t add up. I didn’t have a chance to tell you but when we were over the wall in the cemetery, she….,” Thorrin cut her off with a raised hand.
The paladin could feel it, the creeping death as a dozen undead surrounded them and began converging on their location. The player unhooked a hammer and slowly stood up. Vass could see the concern written in Thorrin’s eyes and stood up with him. The elf drew a white dagger with one hand and a black dagger with the other. The two players put their backs to each other in the small clearing. Thorrin scanned the dark woods around them, dim lights appearing in the distance, coloring his vision and signaling the dead as they drew closer.
***
Renner heaved as bruises bloomed on his cheek, neck and hand. Jon stood, shoulders moving up and down to deep breaths, cuts and slashes running along his neck, face and arms. The rogue and paladin were taking a breather as they eyed each other. Hit points hovered at twenty percent. Renner was holding back, wanting to take the player back to camp alive. Jon wasn’t holding back, dishing out a lot more damage than Renner was prepared for.
“You won’t be taking me back. No one will believe a rogue over a paladin,” Jon heaved.
Renner wiped sweat from his brow, “I don’t need anyone to believe me, just my family.”
Jon gave the rogue a wicked leer, “Family? More like a crazy bitch and her stupid blind brother. You fucks deserve everything you get. If this was reality, I would be kicking your ass up and down the street before the police took away your whore girlfriend.”
Renner’s humor and goodwill melted into the abyss as he grinded his jaw. The dagger twirled in
his hand as he sheathed it in one smooth move. Jon kept his wicked smile as he charged, aura blazing.
The rogue reached into his cloak and pulled out his crossbow. Barely aiming, he pulled the trigger as his other hand reached back into the cloak. Jon smacked the bolt out of the air with his staff and he was on the rogue. Staff up, he brought it down, slamming it into Renner’s shoulder. Hit points drained as Renner grunted.
“You’re dead!” Jon shouted with cold insanity in his eyes.
Renner pulled his hand from the cloak with a fistful of crossbow bolts. With one quick jab, he drove the half dozen points under the Paladin’s armpit where there was no armor. The bolt points stabbed into him as shock washed over the paladin’s face.
“No, you’re fucked,” Renner said with a cool tone as he turned away and leapt.
Jon reached under his arm, grabbing the shafts of the bolts as runes glowed to life. The paladin let out a yelp as he pulled them from under his arm. As he began to heave them away, the runes flared and exploded. Renner hit the ground and rolled away as the top torso of Jon went up and shattered into fragments of light. The bottom legs fell to their knees and then fell forward, shattering into shards of light.
The rogue quickly rolled to his feet, pumping his legs as he ran toward the campsite. Renner leapt onto the grassy ground and pushed himself as fast as he could. Eyes drank in a number of red skeletons as they held Ro to the ground. The goblin whimpered as they drained her hit points slowly. She tried to reach up and heal her damage with healing spells but her limbs refused to work. The red skeletons looked down with indifference as her life bled away. A bolt struck one in the back of the skull. One bloody bones looked to the other, reaching for the bolt when runes glowed and exploded. The remaining skeletons let go of the goblin as they turned to Renner running full tilt, white dagger in one hand and crossbow in the other.
The remaining bloody bones marched toward him but he closed the distance in moments. White dagger flashing, he cut them down, slicing along the lower spine and then moving to the next with liquid grace. Every skeleton fell in half before shattering into shards of light.
Renner fell to his knees, hands taking hold of Ro.
The goblin blinked as her body didn’t move but her voice worked, “It’s Deidra….She ran off to Thorrin and Vass…..Go to them…”
Renner nodded, gently placing her down and bolting toward the woods.
***
An alert popped up in Thorrin and Vass’s vision, indicating a party member has died and a small picture of Jon appeared.
Thorrin turned his gaze to see red skeletons emerge from the woods and hold their advance. They stood in a circle, not moving and watching silently. Thorrin was about to counter attack when a shadow melted from the clearing edge. Vass turned her eyes as brother and sister stared in shock.
Deidra stepped from the darkness, hood down and face in full view. Blonde hair spilled down over her shoulders as she walked with calm, even steps. A 2D screen glowed by her hand as she stepped to the edge of the clearing and stopped. The rogue’s eyes centered on Vass as her mouth worked.
“….Please…hurry….she has a gun. She is holding the nice woman that lives there hostage. She keeps screaming she is going to kill her. I’m scared something terrible is going to happen….,” Deidra said with feigned panic.
“Deidra?” Thorrin said as his brow shifted up.
“….Oh my god! She just fired a shot! I’m on the floor; I can’t see anything but I heard a gun go off. Yes, I will stay on the line,” Deidra said and tapped the 2D screen, muting the call.
“Deidra, what the fuck are you doing?” Thorrin said and took a step closer.
The blonde rogue lifted up her chin in a smug smile. She looked to Vass, ignoring Thorrin.
“You deserve this you fucking bitch. I wanted to be here to see your face when they come in after you. They may even shoot you while you’re in bed. That would truly make my night,” Deidra said with distilled malice.
Thorrin stood in front of Vass, “Deidra, what the hell is going on?”
The rogue leered as she watched with pure hatred in her gaze, “I didn’t want you to see this but time was running short and I had to do it now before she left Florida. Your fucking sister killed my sister and my family is going to get justice!”
Thorrin’s mind spun as he wondered how this could have happen. Faint memories came roaring back as his eyes widened in disbelief. Images of the night in the bar crashed into his mind and heart. With a hard grip, he took another step forward, eyes on the smiling woman.
“Jessica?”
Deidra kept her smile, “Sorry I had to drug you. I was having a wonderful time but I needed access to your MEG console. The program could only find her if we spent hours together in game so it could trace her signal. With you passed out, I could finally upload the program and find out where the bitch was hiding.”
“Was that the police you were talking to? What did you do?” Thorrin asked while a flame lit up his heart.
Deidra crossed her arms, “It’s called swatting. SWAT teams should be on their way to see if there is actually a threat. They won’t take a chance on it being a hoax and they can be on edge when they show up so try not to be too twitchy.”
Thorrin’s fire roared into a storm as he was ready to launch himself at the rogue when a hand touched his shoulder. Face turning, he looked into Vass’s eyes, pain and guilt filling them. Stepping past the paladin, Vass stood ten feet from Deidra, hands at her sides and daggers sheathed.
“Jessica, I’m sorry what happened to your sister. I didn’t know she was going to kill herself. She told me she was going to a party and buying for friends. I never would have sold it to her if I knew she was going to commit suicide,” Vass said with her head bowed.
Deidra looked to her, unimpressed, “You fucking cunt. An apology will not bring Cindy back from the dead. The drugs drove her to suicide. Instead of running, you should have turned yourself in. Now my sister….is gone…..and they have stopped looking for you…,” tears welled up in Deidra’s eyes.
Thorrin stood by his sister’s side, “Jessica, tell them it’s a hoax. Stop this before it goes too far.”
Deidra let out a crazy laugh, “It’s already too late! They are coming for her. Either they shoot her or she ends up in prison. Either way, my family will have justice served! I’m sorry you have to witness this but I couldn’t let it go any further. I couldn’t risk her slipping away again.”
Deidra glared at the elf, mouth twisting, “You destroyed my family! Cindy was so young and beautiful and you killed her! I don’t care if it was an accident, you sold her the drugs and that makes you a murderer. Think about that when you sit in a cell for the rest of your life!”
Deidra tapped the 2D screen and changed her whole demeanor, “Please hurry! I think she’s going to kill the old woman!”
The rogue tapped the screen and it blinked away before looking to Thorrin, “You deserve better. I know you have a good heart, Luis. I had to get Jon to try and convince you to go to Moon Haven. I had to work it out so we would all spend time together so I could locate your sister. I already scouted out the cemetery and knew this was too big of a chance to give up. I’m sorry I used you but if the police wouldn’t do anything about it then I knew I had to.”
An insane glee filtered into Deidra’s eyes and mouth, “You couldn’t see that I was a Shadowmancer. It’s like a rogue but with a sub set of abilities to raise and hide from the dead. If you want to start over, I could teach you. We could love and adventure together. I will do whatever you want to help ease the loss of your sister.”
Thorrin’s eyes sagged, “Then stop this….”
Deidra closed her eyes and shook her head, “Anything but that. Once it’s over, I’ll suck your cock until you feel better.”
Thorrin’s eyes narrowed as his brow formed a hard V, “I’ll go to the police about this! I’ll tell them everything!”
Deidra opened her eyes, lips still twisted into
an insane smile, “Go ahead. They won’t believe a family of criminals over my family. We have great lawyers; the best money can buy. I already have my alibi set up with many influential people. They will lie to protect me. It’s not like the movies; the truth will not set you free.”
Deidra shifted on her feet, eyes on Thorrin, “Even you know what she did was wrong, oh holy paladin. She is getting the very thing she needs, punishment for her crimes. Maybe with some time, you will see my side of it. Until then, look for me in the game. We can….,” Deidra’s eyes looked away and she drew her two batons.
From the shadows, Renner burst into view, dagger in each hand. Deidra turned, batons parrying daggers and sparks flying. Renner’s arms flashed and Deidra’s batons turned into a blur, blocking each strike. Red skeletons remained still as their master whispered her commands. Renner moved like a storm, striking harder and harder. Deidra bent her knees and flipped into the air. With a twist of her wrists, blades popped out of the ends of the batons. When she landed on the ground, they flashed with silver light against Renner’s daggers.
Thorrin turned to Vass, hands on her shoulders, “Take the helmet off and get out of the house!”
Vass pressed her hands to Thorrin’s ribs, eyes shifting away, “It’s too late. I just heard them breaking down the front door. They’re shouting and moving through the house. I’m home alone. Abuela is out with her friends.”
Tears filled the elf’s eyes as she clutched at her brother, “I’m sorry I did all of this. I’m sorry.”
Thorrin held her tight, “We will fight this. The whole family will fight this. Don’t give them a reason to shoot. Don’t fight back and go willingly. Don’t say anything until we get a lawyer.”
“Little brother, don’t waste your life on me. Go to college and make a better life for yourself. It was bound to happen but I’m glad we got to spend time together.”
Renner grunted as sparks flew. Deidra laughed as she expertly parried everything Renner dealt out. The rogues slashed at each other like two shadows. Limbs and bodies moved so quickly, it was hard to see. Renner heard everything as he fought and he pushed it down so he could teach this witch a lesson. Instead, he couldn’t land a blow. Deidra moved like a dancer, bending and swiping with elegance and grace. Cloak billowing, she lashed out again and again, parrying every incoming dagger point.
