Playing For Keeps (Alpha World Book 4)

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “Yeah. Imagine if we had one,” Ironhand faked throwing something at the door, “poof, shield gone.”

  Karen chewed her lip, then threw a health potion at the door. When the glass broke on contact with the shield, 10% of the shield’s life vanished as well. Everyone who was watching went wide eyed.

  “Health potions, quickly,” Marysue called out.

  A barrage of potions hit the shield in rapid succession. More than was needed, but the shield vanished. Gerald slammed into the door with his shoulder again. The door flew open, slamming into the wall hard enough to come off its hinges.

  Alburet was hanging from ghostly black chains in the middle of the room, his feet dangling above the floor. His head was down, and blood dripped down his chest from the plethora of ragged wounds across his chest. Before him stood Ophelia, frowned in annoyance as she turned to face the raid force surging into the room.

  “I am not done playing with him yet, you rude little brats. Very well, I’ll do this myself then,” She flicked her wrist and a cat o’ nine tails snapped in the air, the leather bristling with dark metal spikes that dripped blood. “Who’s first, darlings?”

  People had paused in shock on seeing their guild leader in the condition he was in. As Ophelia taunted them, Gerald set his mouth into a grim snarl as he started to charge forward.

  Fluff hadn’t been first in, nor had Karen. They’d gotten into the room just in time to hear the snap of that wicked whip. Their eyes both went to Alburet, unconscious in his bonds. Before Gerald could charge, both of them reacted.

  Karen ran straight towards Ophelia, passing Gerald a step before he joined her charge. Fluffball got there first, her scream of rage echoing in the room. Her skin, normally a deep red when she triggered Rage, was so dark it was almost purple. Her claws glinted as they swung forward, raking Ophelia’s pale, porcelain skin. Ophelia looked from the wounds to the enraged Lunari in shock.

  “Bitch,” Ophelia spat as blood appeared through her dress. Her whip lashed out towards Fluff, who didn’t seem to care, intent as she was on dismembering the person who’d hurt Alburet. The blow didn’t land, Gerald having gotten there just in time to deflect it with his shield. Ophelia snarled, “You’ve made me mad, children. It’s time to show you your error in doing so.”

  Marysue checked Alburet, seeing nothing wrong with him except for one debuff. He wasn’t suffering from the same aura that was steadily draining the life from the rest of the raid. His debuff was called ‘Tormented Dreams’. Unable to assist him, she turned back to help heal her guild mates. “Stacia, I can’t help him,” Marysue called out as she focused on healing. “Can you break this debuff?”

  “Hang on, Asthore, I be comin’ for ya.” Stacia said as she reached his side. She wrapped her arms around his body, singing softly. The song pushed her mind into his nightmare, to help him break free.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Alburet tried to resist, but could only watch as Gerald left his field of view and the door shut behind him. “You are so going to get your ass kicked when they get back in here,” Alburet told her.

  A light laugh escaped Ophelia, “Oh dear, precious, idiotic child. Do you think that any of them will even survive long enough to make it through my barrier?” Her smile went from sweet to sharp in an instant, “Even if they could, they wouldn’t be in time to save you.”

  He struggled against the invisible bonds that held him. “If you haven’t heard, Alpha Company loves doing the impossible. Besides, I’m a Two-souled. Even if you kill me, I’ll just come back again.”

  “A Two-souled who has been near the master?” Ophelia’s eyes started to spark hotter as she stepped closer to him. The heat radiating from her eyes began to make his face blister slightly. “Tell me where you crossed paths with him. If you do, perhaps I’ll play with you nicely,” her hand trailed down his chest seductively. “Refuse, and I will show my claws,” she dangled a cat of nine tails just within his field of view.

  “I’m a master, so the last time I saw me was…” he began before the cat lashed out, scoring though his leather chest armor and digging a deep gouge into his flesh. He bit back the scream, his nostrils flaring. “Be clearer, or do you not know how to ask proper questions?” He spat the words out with a hiss as he struggled against the pain, wishing again that he could turn the setting all the way to the minimum.

  “Oh dear one, we have all night,” Ophelia smiled, baring her teeth. “I plan to do so much to you. By the time I’m done, you’ll be begging to tell me anything I want to hear.”

  “My wife’s a better seductress than you’ll ever be. You’re just a two-bit trollop in comparison.” Alburet sneered with gritted teeth.

  Ophelia slashed the whip across his chest again, the metal barbs digging deep furrows. Ophelia’s smile was gone, “I can smell the little Infernal slut on you, boy. She smells of Mother’s blood. A child or grandchild? I haven’t tormented one of that line since the early days of the Empire. Why not call her to you, so I can play with her? Better yet, dismiss her from your service and I’ll show you pleasures that you could never even imagine.”

  Alburet’s eyes blazed with anger, small sparks of fire leaping from his eyes. “You cheap, trashy bint, do you think you are worth more than her? You’re locked in a broken Keep with a fallen Paladin, and you think you’re better than her?” He surged forward, the bonds that had held him vanishing.

  Ophelia’s eyes showed her shock, the fire dampening as she darted backwards away from him. The cat of nine tails lashed out again as she tried to force him back. The blow did slow Alburet enough for Ophelia to utter a few guttural words. As she motioned with her empty hand, dark, ghostly chains lashed down from the ceiling, wrapping around him. They lifted him up off his feet, and as they did her smile came back.

  “Oh, you are special after all,” Ophelia giggled. “I felt the Dark Lord’s power in you for a moment there. This is going to be even more fun than I thought. Your mind is open to me now. Married your little slut, did you? You’re used to having a Succubus inside your head. I think we can play a bit, hmm?” She started to sing a song, similar to Stacia’s but different.

  Alburet had been straining against the bonds, but as she started singing, he felt his eyes grow heavy. Shaking his head, he fought the compulsion that tried to drag him down to sleep. Eyes fluttering, he was able to meet her gaze for just an instant before he dropped off to sleep.

  “I’ll kill you…” Alburet managed before his head slumped forward.

  Ophelia’s smiled broadened as she walked through the mindscape that was Alburet’s memories. “Look at all the broken memories in here. Maybe we should patch some of them up, even create some brand new ones. What do you think, darling, wouldn’t that be fun?” A dark, evil laugh bubbled out of the demented woman. “Here’s a brand new memory for you, darling. While you live it, I think I’ll play with you some more.” The cat snapped out, cutting into his chest again and blood began to flow from the wounds.

  ~*~*~

  Alburet found himself standing in an unfamiliar place, though he knew of it. It was a popular spot for couples to go to for make-out sessions outside of Vegas. A single car was off the side of the road. Frowning as he tried to figure out what he was doing there, a muffled scream caught his attention.

  Sprinting around the car, Alburet looked over the lip into the dry wash below. He could see the shadow of a man standing over a woman tied to an inflatable mattress. His rage spiked that a rapist would operate as brazenly as this.

  “Get the fuck away from her,” Alburet yelled as he leapt down into the riverbed.

  The shadow turned to face him. As it did, the woman tied to the mattress came into focus for Alburet. Kaylee lay on the mattress, staring upward with wide, frightened eyes. Duct tape covered her mouth and her black dress was shredded. Alburet froze, his breathing going shallow and rapid.

  “Kaylee?” Alburet called out to her, his voice soft and full of loss.

  Kaylee tried to say something, but
the tape stopped her. The shadow began to laugh, “Oh, you must be the person she’s told me so much about. How’s it feel, to get here in time to save her?”

  “I’ll fucking kill you,” Alburet snarled. Eyes going to Kaylee, he could see her pleading with him to help her. His hand dropped to his belt, but his gun wasn’t there. “Fine,” Alburet spat as he started forward again, “I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”

  Two shots rang out in rapid succession as the attacker drew a gun from his waist and shot Alburet clean through both knees. “Tsk. I had hoped that you would put up more of a fight. She spoke so highly of you. So certain you were going to save her.” A snicker came from the shadow.

  Alburet collapsed, as the pain tore through him. His knees had been shattered by the two bullets. He tried to scream, but the pain was too intense. Clutching at the bloody remnants of his legs, he cried.

  “Now be a good little boy and stay there while I rape her,” the rapist snickered as he climbed between Kaylee’s thighs. “If you’re really good, maybe I’ll let you bleed out on top of her.”

  “No! No!” Alburet screamed with all of his soul, as he started crawling towards the mattress.

  The shadow laughed as he slammed the butt of his gun into Kaylee’s face. “Aww, how cute. Your ‘Uncle’ still wants to save you. But that isn’t going to happen, is it?” A wild laugh came from the attacker as he pistol-whipped Kaylee again.

  Stacia appeared next to Alburet as he tried to crawl towards the attack, spurred on by the muffled scream from Kaylee. Her eyes wide, she snapped her fingers and the scene disappeared around them, leaving them in darkness.

  “Kaylee?” Alburet cried, curling up into a ball.

  Stacia pulled him into a hug, “Shh, master. This did nay happen. It be all a Tormented Dream. Ya be forced to live a lie, she pulled fragments from ya mind and crafted a thing to torment ya with.”

  Alburet felt himself relax some as Stacia held him. “This was all false?”

  “Aye, master,” Stacia said stroking his hair. “Kaylee was beaten and raped, ya know that. But ya was nay there, ya did nay have the chance to save her. This be nay real in any way.”

  “Why? Why is this even allowed?” Alburet sobbed as he clung to Stacia.

  “Shh, me lovin’ husband,” Stacia whispered as she stroked his hair. “Ya mind be fragile and the one who did this to ya is still fightin’ our friends.”

  His tears vanished as he surged to his feet, his anger flooding back in full force. “She’s still there?”

  Gulping uneasily at the intense hatred that now radiated from him, Stacia nodded, “Aye.”

  “I’ll kill her,” Alburet snarled, vanishing an instant before Stacia.

  ~*~*~

  Alburet came to with a cry of rage. His eyes flared, the flames leaping two feet from the sockets. “You want to play with me!?” The black bonds that had suspended him from the ceiling shattered like cheap glass. “I’ll show you true torment!”

  His legs buckled as he landed, dropping him to his knees. Stacia caught him, kept him from falling further and helped him to his feet. She released him, allowing him to push through the raid to get to his prey. His guild mates were thrown aside in his wake.

  Ophelia, who had been defending herself from the attacks of the raid and holding them off with ease after the initial surprise attack by Fluffball, blinked in startlement as Alburet came at her. “What? That shouldn’t be possible!” She backed away as he pushed his way through the raid to her.

  “I told you before, you dumb bitch. We specialize in the impossible,” Alburet snarled as his fingers flexed, sharp claws extending from his fingertips. He sank the claws into her arm as she drew back the whip to strike at him. “I also said I’d kill you.” His flaming eyes shone with madness. He threw her into the far wall, hard enough to leave an indent in the stone.

  The raid froze. Ophelia had been thrown a good fifty feet as though she were a rag doll. Karen, Fluff, and Gerald all moved cautiously up next to Alburet as Ophelia shook her head, pulling herself free of the wall. “I don’t have time to waste with you rabble,” she sneered. “The master is free and I must find him.” She reached into her cleavage.

  The quartet, followed by the rest of the raid, rushed at her to stop her from whatever she was doing. Ophelia just laughed at them as she pulled out a stone and crushed it in her hand. Ophelia shimmered and vanished, leaving just a slowly falling cloud of dust from the stone she’d crushed. Her mocking laughter and final words echoed around the room.

  “I’ll see you again, dear child. I can’t wait to see you again,” The echoes of her laughter faded away slowly. Alpha Company took stock of their losses.

  Gerald grunted as he looked at Alburet, who had slumped to his knees. “You okay, Al?”

  Shaking, Alburet shook his head, “No.” With that, he fell over into unconsciousness.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  When Alburet came to a few minutes later, his head was resting on Stacia’s lap. “Is the break over?” he asked, his voice a little scratchy.

  “Nay, the guild still be searchin’ the rooms,” Stacia told him as she stroked his hair. “Are ya okay?”

  “I’m a little upset about that dream,” Alburet told her, even though he felt calm. “That is not something I ever want to experience again.”

  “Al, what happened?” Fluff asked, sitting on the ground beside him.

  “Later, I can’t tell you here” Alburet told her. “Let’s just say that bitch took my worst nightmare and made me live it.”

  Karen frowned, “That is some fucked up shit.”

  Ioaniss, who was lounging nearby spoke up. “I’ve read of that ability, but never seen it used before. Records dating back to the oldest times say that Succubi can control dreams, twisting them into dark nightmares.” He paused with a wince as he glanced at Stacia, “Though she was obviously more than just that. She appeared to be Half-Vampire as well.” He paused again, some recollection tickling at the back of his mind. “I want to say I’ve heard of that combination before.”

  “Did we defeat her?” Alburet asked as he sat up.

  “She ran,” Fluff replied, touching his arm, “after you threw her across the room. Do you remember that?”

  Brow furrowed, Alburet nodded slowly, then glanced at his hands. “I had claws. I latched onto her arm and threw her like she weighed nothing.”

  “We all got loot,” Karen added, hoping to get him out of his funk. “I got a second blade I can use.”

  “I got a maul. I’m going to switch to that. My claws just aren’t doing enough damage in here,” Fluff added.

  “What did I get?” Alburet asked. A belt appeared in his lap. “A belt.” He switched out his old belt for the new one, shoving the old one into his bag. “My old one was just about done,” He got slowly to his feet, swaying. Stacia and Kitten stood to either side, helping stabilize him.

  Bob bounced on his toes, “You sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Alburet told the Imp. Turning to the others, he asked, “Downstairs next?” trying to distance himself from the dream.

  “We’re almost done,” Gerald told him from the doorway.

  “Good,” Alburet swayed again. “Why am I so wobbly?”

  “Ya have a debuff,” Stacia told him softly. “Dark Lord’s Regret. It lasts for another minute. It says ya be greatly weakened after using the Dark Lord’s Blessing.”

  Puzzled, Alburet opened his character screen and abilities but didn’t find anything called the Dark Lord’s Blessing. “I don’t have an ability called that.”

  “Aye, it be somethin’ he grants only rarely. Me be thinkin’ it be what freed ya from the chains Ophelia had ya in. It also accounts for ya bein’ able to handle her like ya did,” Stacia told him.

  “Huh, so he’s watching us,” Alburet muttered as he felt the unsteadiness subside as the debuff faded. “Well, once they are done, let’s head down to finish this.”

  Marysue spoke from near the door, “W
e’re done checking the rooms. Gerald took care of handing out the two items we found.”

  “Thank you,” Alburet told Gerald. “You’re truly a godsend. Without you guys helping me, and Kim, and Rolland, none of this would have happened. I’m just a figurehead.” His lips ticked up slightly as he ended the sentence.

  Gerald chuckled, “Figurehead, my ass. You had the connections to get us here.”

  “Alburet, are you okay?” Rolland called out from the main room.

  Alburet realized that only his group and Ioaniss were in the bedroom with him. “Huh, protecting me?”

  Karen nodded once, “As much as we could.” Her words carried a hint of bitterness, and Alburet could feel her disappointment at having failed to manage it earlier.

  “Thank you,” he kissed her, then called out toward the door, “I’m up, Rolland. Is Kim okay?”