by Kirk Dougal
Card shouted, and I spun, wondering how the soldiers had flanked us already. But it was not the men from Tsamib that caused his cry. Instead, a whirling ring of air and fire was expanding over the ground, growing large enough to reveal a moonless night on the other side. A cool breeze caressed my cheeks.
“Come on!” Card shouted.
He pushed DeBrest toward the gate. The duke staggered into the dark, and Card reached down to help Saleene up the final feet of the sand hill. Suddenly, he stiffened, jerking up and down, one arm flying out to the side. I was close enough to see his eyes fly open.
The avatar's real owner was trying to regain control again.
Men breached the dune behind me, screaming my death to the skies. Heat flamed down my arms in response. I picked up Bree's corpse with one hand, her body bending at the waist. With one step forward, I threw her the final few feet through the opening, her body plunging into the black beyond. Two more steps, and I grabbed Card with both hands, spinning like a shot putter, and tossed him after Bree, his body still twitching violently. I jumped after him, pain exploding in my back…
…and I tumbled across the Red Boar's courtyard. I rolled to my feet, ignoring the way my armor pulled against my shoulder, and readied my sword. I expected a soldier to be on top of me, weapon unleashed in my direction.
But no one was there. Only a small window of the gate remained open, no more than the width of my chest, and Yemaya was already closing her hands over the ball of light between her palms. An arm shot through from the other side, wildly waving a curved sword, and then the gate slammed shut with a thud, the still wiggling arm flopping on the ground with the sword.
“So,” Yemaya said, turning to face me. “Did you have a successful adventure or should I let your new friends come to Maegdon?”
I bent over and puked until my stomach ached.
Chapter 41
I stood and sheathed my sword, throwing a sneer at Yemaya but still enough out of breath from being sick that I could not tell her what she could go do to herself. DeBrest stood near the corral fence, leaning over, my pack clutched to his chest.
“Duke,” I said. “Bring me the heart.” I glanced at Card out of the corner of my eye and let my head dip. He nodded in return and brought his hand into the open, the stones still wound around his fist.
I reached into the pack and removed the jars, still wrapped in a blanket to protect them. I lay it on the ground and went back for the box before I crouched down. The ends of the cloth flopped back and slowly each jar emerged from the folds. When all five were visible, I glanced up.
“We didn't know which one was your sister's heart,” I said. “So, we brought them all. We were a little busy running for our lives from the angry mob.” I stared at Bree's body as I spoke.
Yemaya ripped her gaze from the jars and glared at me. “So, you discovered I was Oshun's sister.”
“Yes,” Saleene said. “We know the whole story.”
Yemaya laughed. “You think you know the story, girl. You don't know half what you think you know.” She stared at the jars again. “Good, they used mummification. It's just as we hoped.”
“We?” I asked. “You had a partner that helped kill your sister?”
“Partner, yes. But not to kill her.” Yemaya reached for a jar, picking it up and reading the glyphs on the side before placing it off to one side. “Liver. No, Oshun was my partner. She sacrificed herself for us.” Another jar passed through her hands. “Intestines. Ah!” She lunged for the third jar. “Her heart!” She clutched the container to her chest and whispered. “Soon, Oshun. Soon we will be side by side again.”
“What do you mean sacrificed herself?” Saleene asked. Her voice held an edge, showing her displeasure at the conversation. “You killed Oshun.”
“Yes, I did. But I killed her to be able to live this long so I could bring her back to life.” Yemaya sneered. “Do you think she wanted to live the rest of her life in a temple, worshiped but never touched, chained to a life of boredom and responsibility with a group of humorless Holy Mothers? No. She wanted that no more than I wanted to live mine married to a spineless, inbred whiner in order to help father secure more lands and wealth. No, we wanted to escape what we were told were our only choices in life.” She glanced down at the jar in her hands before looking up again.
“So, we devised a plan. My magic was the strongest so I killed her and used her life to extend mine. That was the price Oshun paid. I've lived more than 300 years alone—no friends, no family. That was the price I paid.” She gestured toward her face and skin, flashed her fingernails at my face. “This is the price I paid.” She pulled back one of her sleeves and revealed a pasty-skinned arm covered with thin scars that wound their way from her elbow to her wrist in a pattern. “This is the price I paid to bring Oshun back.” Yemaya let the sleeve drop and reached inside the robe, removing an ivory rod, wrapped with intertwining gold and silver strips that made me dizzy to stare at but held my mesmerized gaze.
“The Rod of Bartylus,” Saleene said, the words barely reaching me.
“Yes, girl,” Yemaya said, looking at the rod as she spoke. “With the Rod of Bartylus, I will resurrect my sister, using her heart and the body of a…volunteer.” She smiled, her pointed teeth glinting in the low light. “Perhaps your friend, if you're done with her body.”
Saleene moved so fast, her dagger was still ringing when she stepped sideways to stand between Bree's body and Yemaya. Flames of blue lightning danced along its edge as Saleene pointed it at the other woman's chest.
“You will never touch my friend's body,” she said. I noticed Card walk up behind Saleene, his attention stuck on Yemaya.
“Everybody stay calm,” I said, moving between them. I waited for a three count, the trio trading steel-edged glares as the silence rolled on. I faced Yemaya. “Giving you Bree's corpse was not part of our deal, Yemaya. We've upheld our end. Now it's time for you to do the same.”
She shrugged and backed away. “As you wish. Your friend paid the price for your dealing with magic. There's always a price.” She gestured to the north. “Three days ride on the Queen's Road, you'll find the village of Coalton. In the hills above the village, there is a castle.”
“The last dragon slayer lives in the castle?” I asked.
Yemaya shook her head. “No, that lord's manor was destroyed many years ago by a dragon before the slayer completed his task. But as penance, he has lived on the grounds ever since.”
I looked over my shoulder at the others. “We leave for Coalton tomorrow morning. Duke, go check on the horses and make sure they'll be ready for us.” I returned my attention forward again. “Yemaya, thank y…”
The rest of the words stuck in my throat. Yemaya had disappeared with all five jars.
*****
Saleene gulped down the rest of her mug and slammed it on the table, catching the bar maid's attention and signaling for another.
“It's going to be a long day tomorrow if you're riding with a hangover,” I said.
She stared at me for a few seconds before reaching back and untying her braid. Running her fingers through the silver mass, she untangled the plait until the hair flowed like a cape past her shoulders. “I don't care. Bree deserves the memory.”
“More than you know,” I said. “Bree always thought of you first. And not just in Quest Call.”
Saleene grabbed the ale from the serving woman before she had a chance to sit it down, slurping half of it before she stopped.
“You don't think I know that she wanted more than the game? We found each other on my second week inside Quest Call, and we adventured together for almost two years.” She started to raise the mug but then sat it down again. “I told her she was my friend, but I didn't like her the way she wanted me. We didn't judge each other.”
The harsh laugh escaped before I could stop it. Saleene's head snapped up, eyes boring into my skull. “Don't laugh about my friend, Beast. It won't end well.” Her hand dropped to the dagger hilt
.
I shook my head. “I'm not laughing at her. I'm laughing at you.” Another chuckle escaped. “Bree was a man in real life.”
Saleene's glare broke and she blinked. “No…she was…I mean. Bree was a man?”
I nodded.
Saleene looked down at the table. “I never knew. We were together for so long.” She glanced up again, raising the mug to her lips. “Why didn't she tell me?”
“Because you know him in real life.”
I wore most of the ale she spit out of her mouth, the rest dribbling down her chin. “I can't…she…he couldn't…” Saleene swallowed, wiping her arm across her mouth. “How do you know?”
I ran my hand over my face, removing as much of the ale as possible. Saleene blushed when she realized what she had done.
“Bree let her guard down the night she saw us coming out of the bedroom,” I said. “I figured it out when I found him and we talked it out. And before you ask, I won't tell you who he is. That's up to him to decide if he wants you to know.” I leaned forward. “But if he does, I want you to remember everything you two went through inside the game. Remember how bad you felt when you watched Bree die. Remember that he is the same person that was your friend. Then you can decide how you want to treat him on the outside.” I sat back and took a drink, glancing toward the door to see if Card and DeBrest were done checking on the horses.
That was when I saw him.
The same young man I had noticed on the night we left for Tsamib was standing near the front of the tavern, the gold soaring eagle standing out on his white robes. He returned my stare.
“We're ready to go in the morning,” DeBrest said as he sat down, already waving for more ale. “The horses were fine.”
“What is it, Beast?” Card asked, sitting on the bench beside me but looking in the same direction as me. “Do you see something?”
The young man tilted his head toward the bar and walked that way.
“I'll be right back.” I checked my sword and put my hand on the knife at my waist as I moved, my gaze never straying from the white-robed figure. I stepped beside him, turning my body so I had a free hand to fight if needed.
“It's about time you showed up,” he said. “Resetting as an acolyte for Dziewona was my way of catching your attention, but I was beginning to think you weren't coming back to finish the investigation into Dinas Farwolaeth.”
“Samson?”
The young man turned, a grin splitting his face. “Took you long enough. I thought we'd never have a chance to talk without the others overhearing.”
“You won't believe what you've missed,” I said, the words tumbling out of my mouth. “We had to go to Zamani to find… Wait! What're you doing inside Quest Call again? Card told me your family was attacked.”
Samson nodded. “They're safe now. Tower made some changes on the outside, but that's not important right now. He wants to know what you found and your plan.”
“It's the yooks!” I said. Two men at the end of the bar glanced up when I said it, and I realized how much my voice had carried. “Come on, let's talk about it at the table with the others.”
“Won't they…”
“They already know everything and have stayed inside to help,” I interrupted. “In fact, I need them to tell you their names and the addresses where their bodies can be found on the outside. After what happened to your family, they need protection.”
We walked over to the others, the trio watching us the whole way.
“Look who I found,” I announced when we sat down at the table. They stared at him. “This is Trellac.”
Realization settled over the group and Saleene and DeBrest pounded him on the shoulder, giving him a warm welcome.
“Man, I'm glad you reset,” DeBrest said. “You were really kicking some ass on the plain before you died.”
“Are you going to join us again?” Saleene asked.
Samson shook his head. “No, I'm only here to hear RJ and Card's report and get the information back out to our bosses.” He hesitated. “They know everything?”
“Yes, they know about the FBI.” I leaned close. “But that's not important. It's the yooks.” Samson just stared at me, his eyebrows lifting in silent question. “Look, we know the terrorists are meeting inside the games for training and to plan ops,” I continued. “But that's not all. The big limiting factor has always been money and how to get it to the terrorists in the field, especially since we've had such success cutting off transfers in the last fifteen or twenty years. But now there are yooks. Unregulated funds that flow from country to country without anyone knowing where they're coming from or where they're going. The yooks are the real key.”
“But the exchange rate is ten thousand game dollars to one in real life,” Samson said. “It would take massive amounts of gold in Quest Call to make any difference outside.”
“And who has more gold than anyone else in a fantasy game like Quest Call? I asked.
Samson stared at me for a few seconds before his eyes opened wide. “The dragon!”
“Exactly. We thought the dragon was there for protection and to help destroy the surrounding countries and steal their wealth, and that was probably part of it, but the terrorists also needed the dragon's gold, jewels—anything that was worth money on the outside. And just like the yooks are unregulated on the outside, the game programmers aren't limiting the money on the inside of the games. In fact, they are packing them full of ways to get gold to make it more interesting to the players.”
“So they were helping to create wealth for the terrorists and didn't even know it.” Samson shook his head in disbelief.
“No one knew it,” I said. “The programmers, the game companies, governments around the world—no one.”
“I've been thinking about that,” Card said. “I think someone did figure it out and discovered a way to make money from it for themselves.” He gestured with his hands as he spoke, the words coming faster as he spoke. “I've been thinking about Pagul and the Horde. All they cared about was getting as much gold as possible, not matter what they had to do.”
“Yeah,” Samson said. “But lots of gamers run their avatars that way.”
“Right, but let's say they found someone to pay them for grabbing all the gold. They were using the games for income on the outside.” Card looked at me. “You told me that Pagul and some of the Horde went straight to the castle, straight to what we believe are the terrorists, as soon as they could with everything they could take.”
I stared back at Card, the memory of Pagul driving the loaded wagon through the front gates of Dinas Farwolaeth fading into Gwen's hearing in the courtroom. The agent across the aisle had said the same thing, that he had found a way to make a little money on the side from his gaming.
“Back when I was a kid, they used to have companies that you could hire to level up characters, earn you experience points,” I said. “They called it farming.”
“I think that's what is happening here, too,” Card said. “The terrorists weren't happy with just taking what the dragon had. They need to keep replenishing the funds so they're hiring people to earn money in game for them.”
I rubbed my hands across my face. When I glanced up again, Samson looked as sick to his stomach as I felt. Card was sweating and even Saleene and DeBrest appeared to understand the gravity of the situation.
“This could be happening in every immersion game that has a yook exchange around the world,” I said. I turned to Saleene and DeBrest. “This is even bigger than I thought. This might be a good time for both of you to get out of the game and stay away.”
“I'm in,” the duke said. “You know why I want to help.”
Saleene remained quiet for a few seconds, staring at the mug sitting between her hands on the table. Finally, she glanced up.
“I'll stay and help,” she said. “I wouldn't be able to live with myself if people died because I didn't help you get to Dinas Farwolaeth.”
I nodded at them both. “Okay
, then I want you to tell Trellac your names, your real names, and the addresses where your bodies are while you're inside. He'll make sure the FBI gets you under protection.” I turned to the other agent. “Then you get outside as fast as possible and tell Tower what we know.”
*****
I had just removed my shirt when a knock sounded at the door. I waited until Card wrapped the stones around his hand before I released the latch and looked into the hall. Saleene was standing there, and she waved me close.
“Bree's gone,” she said. Saleene had insisted we place her body in the room, still afraid Yemaya might come back for her friend's corpse to serve as a host for a resurrected Oshun.
“Did she reset?”
“I think so,” she said, folding her arms across her body as if she was cold. “All her gear is gone. Bow, quiver, sword, pack—everything. There's no reason for Yemaya to take all that if she found Bree's body.”
I nodded. “We'll keep an eye out. She knows what we're doing. Maybe she'll try to join us again like Trellac did.”
Saleene stared at the wall, nodding slowly. “I guess I'll just have to be ready for that, either inside or out.” She turned and walked back to her room.
Chapter 42
Calling Coalton a village was an overstatement by Yemaya. As we rode down its one street, I stared at the couple dozen buildings that still stood, most of them houses, but also at least one general store judging by the goods in the window and a tavern that I hoped had at least a couple of beds for us to sleep in with a place to shelter our horses. It had rained most of the day, and I was soaked to the bone. All I wanted now was a chance to change into some dry clothes, eat a good meal, and then curl up under a thick blanket. I wondered if the time we had spent in the blistering heat of the Zamani desert made the weather feel even colder here.
“Look at it,” Card said, tilting his head toward the mountain rising to the west of the town.
I turned in the direction he indicated, feeling my head craning back, taking in the steep sides until I finally saw the top through the rain and gloom. Not enough sunlight remained to see anything well at this distance but I thought a wall and a parapet clawed its way toward the blackening sky.
