by David Petrie
“I still have work do here.” Her Cheshire grin faded into something more somber.
“Enough!” Farn couldn’t stop her eyes from welling up. “Just give her back.”
All Nix did was let out a sigh, as if there wasn’t a Kira left to return. The thought was too much for Farn to bear, and just like that, her hand slipped. She closed her eyes as she fell, not wanting Nix to be the last thing she saw.
That was when someone caught her wrist.
“Shit! No.” Nix threw half her body over the side holding onto the rail with one hand while she struggled to stop Farn from falling. “Are you crazy?”
Farn reached out on reflex, digging her claws into the reynard’s flesh. Nix winced as crimson puncture marks lit up her skin.
“Hold on, damn it.” Nix’s eyes widened with panic. “This isn’t how the night ends.”
“And how does it end?” Farn shouted as her hand slipped, shredding through the woman’s wrist.
“It doesn’t matter.” Nix let out a grunt of exertion. “Just grab onto the stupid railing.” Farn reached out and sank her claws into the wood. Nix pulled her hand back as soon as Farn was stable. “Look, I’d pull you up, but that would probably be hazardous to my health. However, that doesn’t mean I will just let you fall.”
“Why?” Farn locked eyes with the woman.
“Because I don’t want to.” Nix looked away just before pulling her pistol and putting a round into the forehead of Kashka’s ink-covered face below. It felt like ten tons had been cut away from her Farn’s foot as the dead weight clinging to her vanished into the night. She struggled to pull herself up with both arms shaking.
“You can do it.” Nix turned away from the rail, disappearing from view. “Just don’t give up.”
Confusion engulfed Farn’s mind as she frantically pulled herself up. She couldn’t lose her grip now. She was so close. A hand reached out to help as Ginger’s face came into view.
“Easy, now, I got you.” She pulled with everything she had to drag Farn’s armored body over the railing to safety. Finally, she collapsed to her hands and knees on solid ground.
Echo stood behind Ginger, gesturing to the help she’d brought like a magician finishing a trick. The fairy looked away as Farn made eye contact, her face burning red. Apparently, the system wasn’t over the kiss yet either.
“What were you doing hanging over the side?” Ginger helped her to her feet. “There’s void monsters everywhere, you know?”
“Yeah, I figured that part out.” Farn glowered at her before letting a smile take over. “I had one hanging from my foot up until a moment ago.”
“Oh, I’m glad you were able to kick it free then.”
“I wasn’t.” Farn shook her head. “Nix shot it.”
“You saw Nix?” Ginger’s body went rigid.
“I think…” Fan stopped to go over what had just happened in her mind. “I think she saved me.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” Ginger stepped closer. “Why would she do that?”
Farn just stared off in the direction that Nix had gone.
“I don’t know.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Please don’t eat me, please don’t eat me.” Seven stumbled across the carpet after being pushed by Farn. Her first thought was that the Lockheart’s Death Knight had shoved her as a way of slowing down the void monster. That way she could get away while it was busy killing her.
Seven turned around, finding the hall empty. There was no sign of either of them. Kashka must have been targeting Farn all along.
“Did Farnsworth just protect me?”
The thought threw her for a loop. The only members of Lockheart that she felt comfortable with were Kegan and the rest of the JV-team. As far as Max and Farn were concerned, she was still a little wary. Now, though, she was starting to reshape her opinion of them. They had both helped her in the span of fifteen minutes.
“Could they really be the good guys?”
That was when her thoughts traveled back to her house and the Nightmare that Leftwitch had unleashed upon the ship.
“Maybe I should worry about myself first.”
She started off toward the lower deck to avoid the fighting that was sure to follow Void’s appearance. As she walked, she raised her house ring.
“What just happened?”
Leftwitch responded immediately, like she’d be sitting there waiting.
“You opened the box, huh?”
“Yes, I opened the box. The account balance changed, so I was short.” Seven wasn’t sure what had gone wrong.
That was when Leftwitch started laughing.
Her outburst went on uncomfortably long, tinged by an arrogance that made Seven’s skin crawl. It felt like the woman was laughing at her. Eventually her employer settled down.
“Finally.” A few last chuckles trailed off. “Finally. I can’t even explain how glad I was that you mentioned the amount of money you spent. I was able to pull some of the funds out of the account to make sure you’d open the box.”
“You wanted this to happen?”
“Of course, I didn’t have Cassius race all over Noctem to find and capture that Nightmare for nothing. I even blew a contract to do it.”
“But I just got banned from all future auctions for bringing that thing on board.”
“Oh.” Leftwitch paused. “I guess that makes sense.”
“No, it doesn’t. None of this makes sense.” Seven fought back the urge to raise her voice. “Grindstone said that I’ve doomed this whole ship. Why would you want that?”
“Look, Seven,” Leftwitch sighed. “Obviously I haven’t been completely honest with you.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“But what’s important is that you have carried out your role perfectly. Without you, the auction would have simply ended and everyone would have gone their separate ways. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“So, what? I was just some kind of Trojan horse?”
Leftwitch laughed. “That’s a great way to put it.”
“But what happened to trying to keep the peace? Isn’t that why you wanted me to purchase contracts?”
“Hmmm. Yes and no.” Leftwitch sounded smug. “I just wanted to get some contracts for myself and keep them from being used against me.”
“And you got that, so why release a Nightmare on the ship?”
“Same reason I planted a bomb. To kill all of Noctem’s rulers.”
“So it was all about world domination then?”
“Oh god no.” Leftwitch scoffed. “I have enough work to do running Lucem, the last thing I want is another city to deal with.”
“Then why bother?”
“Simple. Viewers.”
“I don’t…” Seven’s mind hit a wall, not understanding what killing Noctem’s leaders had to do with Leftwitch’s night show.
“Look, Seven, you’re an accountant. You of all people should understand how much money the Late Nite show makes off ad revenue and sponsors. I just need a way to increase viewership.”
“So everything tonight has been about money?”
“What else?” Leftwitch spoke as if it should have been obvious. “Back when the House of Serpents fell six months ago, the resulting power vacuum threw half of Noctem into chaos. No one knew what was going to happen, and they needed someone to tell them. My online views went up by the millions for months. Just imagine what would happen if all of Noctem’s rulers were killed at once.”
“It would be a free for all.” Seven’s voice came out as a whisper.
“Exactly.” Leftwitch sounded undeniably proud of the situation she’d created.
“That’s horrible.” Seven made her way towards the lift where Corvin had fought a few of her housemates earlier.
“Is it though? This is all just a game. Whatever happens in here doesn’t really matter.”
If it had been a few hours earlier, Seven would have agreed, but now, the statement made her hea
rt ache. Lockheart was fighting to stop whatever Nix was up to, the F.B.I. was running operations in Noctem, and an innocent player was missing. There was so much more going on in the virtual world than she’d ever imagined.
It all mattered.
Seven hesitated, wondering if any of Noctem’s secrets had anything to do with her. She still had a mortgage and debts to pay. Did she even have the option to care about what happened?
Seven balled up her fist, hating herself for being so blind to her own employer’s actions.
She wanted to care about everything.
“Why didn’t you at least tell me any of this?”
“Would you have been able to go through with it without giving yourself away?” Leftwitch asked matter of factly.
Seven didn’t answer.
“That’s what I thought. And that’s what made you so important. Why did you think I hired someone with no experience in Noctem? I needed a player that could get this done without realizing what they were doing. I needed someone oblivious to Noctem’s ways, because the best cover is one that you believe is true.”
“You used me.” Seven’s blood began to boil.
“You’re an employee. I gave you an assignment. It may have been unorthodox, but you will be paid well for your time. I’m sorry that you feel used, but this is business and if you don’t like it, you can always quit.”
Seven closed her eyes and released a sigh. She knew what that meant. Leftwitch was putting her in her place and reminding her that she didn’t have a choice. What made it worse was that Leftwitch was right.
A wave of exhaustion swept over Seven’s body, like a part of her had died inside. No, it wasn’t just dying, she was killing it. She slammed her fist into buttons on the inside of the lift shaft, snuffing out the ember that had been flickering inside her all night. Then, finally, she dropped her fist to her side and turned her back on Noctem.
“So what do I do now?”
“Nothing.” Leftwitch sounded pleased with herself. “You’ve accomplished everything I sent you there to do. All that’s left is to come home.”
“How?” Seven couldn’t help but frown. “I’m currently trapped on a doomed airship thanks to the Nightmare we set loose.”
“I think Van Halen said it best.” Leftwitch paused for effect. “Might as well jump.”
“Jump?”
“Yes.”
“But I’ll die.”
“Oh, definitely.”
“But–”
“Oh, don’t be a baby. You’re going to get killed by something on that ship. Might as well go out on your own terms. You’ll just respawn back here in Lucem. You can give me the contracts that you’re carrying and enjoy a nice bonus for a job well done.”
Seven staggered as she made her way to the lower deck of the ship. The sound of people fighting for their lives drifted down to her. She pushed it out of her mind and resigned herself to her fate.
“Okay, I’ll meet you in Lucem as soon as I can.”
“Good, I’ll see you then.” Leftwitch went silent, like she had gotten what she wanted and didn’t have time to continue holding her hand.
Seven pushed herself forward, dragging her feet. The sounds above made her want to cry. She felt ashamed for the part she’d played so far, as well as for what she was about to do.
Holding up her hands to the sides of her head, she blotted out the sounds of combat. Then she took a deep breath and kept walking, trying her best to ignore the voice inside her screaming for her to stop. None of it was her problem, she was just doing her job, and that job would take care of her from now on.
That was all that mattered.
Seven reached the side of the ship. There wasn’t much point in stalling. She was just a pawn, and her time was up.
She let out one last defeated sigh, then climbed up onto the rail.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Max stepped out onto the deck of the Night Queen, one pistol held at his side while a coil of silver chain dangled from his other hand. He closed his eyes and took in a breath, drinking in the madness of the fighting that surrounded him. The sounds of battle engulfed him as he opened his eyes and focused on his singular goal: Nix.
Where are you?
He stalked forward into the chaos, scanning the deck for his target. Making a point to keep his eyes moving, he never lingered on any point for longer than a second. The void creatures that littered the deck seemed to ignore him for the moment, too busy slaughtering the rest of the players on the deck.
A mage beside him died as two ink-covered corpses fell upon them with daggers in their hands, each dripping with black fluid. The mage pleaded for help as Max passed by. He ignored them, not wanting to waste the time or ammunition to come to their aid.
It was all just a game. It wasn’t like they were really dying. The mage’s calls for help were cut off with a sudden croak.
Players across the deck met the same fate one after another while they ran for cover. As they fell, more victims came running up from the lower levels in search of a way off the ship. The result kept the battle flowing in a continuous wave of death. Max just hoped that Nix hadn’t been caught in its wake.
That was when he saw it, a dark blur passing in and out of the shadows, running up the stairs toward the ship’s landing pad where a transport had set down a moment before.
Oh no you don’t.
Max took off at a sprint, weaving through the deck, even shoving players out of the way. He hit the stairs to the landing pad in record time. The blur was almost at the top. He had to slow her down.
“Nix!” he shouted at the top of his lungs as he took aim at where he thought her legs would be. The shadow turned, and for an instant, a pair of eyes and furry ears came into view.
He squeezed the trigger and a muzzle flash lit up the deck, reflecting in a dozen glossy, black eyes. A spurt of crimson light flew from the shadow’s lower half.
“Gotcha!” Max raced up the stairs as Nix stumbled into view near one of the Night Queen’s many hanging lanterns. She spun around as she fell and pulled her gun to return fire. A three round burst poured down the stairs. The railing beside Max exploded into wooden fragments. He ducked to the side for an instant before throwing himself up the stairs in pursuit.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Max reached the level she was on.
“Away from you, for starters!” Nix shouted back, limping for a moment before the damage to her leg faded away. He leveled his gun at her head, getting a smirk from her in return. “Haven’t we been through this already tonight? You can’t shoot me.”
“I don’t intend to.” Max stepped closer dangling the silver chain and manacle from his wrist. Nix blanched, her eyes flicking to the contract item in his hand then back to his face.
“Hold on a sec. We can talk about this, can’t we?” She shoved her pistol behind her back like she hadn’t just shot at him a moment before.
Max didn’t stop.
“I thought not.” She nodded to herself before shooting him in the leg right where he’d hit her. “Fair’s fair.” She waved and jumped up to grab one of the ropes that held the canopy of lanterns that stretched across the deck. She fired several rounds, hitting the connecting points with precision to send many of the lanterns crashing to the deck as she swung down on a loose rope.
“Damn it!” Max limped after her.
She hadn’t been heading for the landing pad to escape. No, she was trying to take out some of the ship’s lighting to make it easier to move around in the shadows. Nix laughed the whole way down to the deck where she plowed into a group of void creatures. They swarmed around her.
Damn it, she must have made eye contact with some of them.
Acting fast, Max threw one end of the chain he carried over the only rope remaining and leaped off the stairway. He took aim as he slid down, executing two enemies before he dropped to the deck and rolled to a stop.
“Hey there.” Nix was right there waiting with her gun drawn. The we
apon barked, sounding like an explosion at close range.
A streak of pain tore through Max’s cheek as a burst of smoke and flame lit up his vision. Silence took over, filling his ears as a subtle ringing that grew to a defining whine. Max fell to his side and placed one hand against his cheek, glancing at his health.
Only five percent down?
Had he dodged somehow? He thought about activating his Reaper sub-class but shook his head. The defense that it provided only worked at range. It would be useless up close where he needed to be.
Nix adjusted her aim, ignoring three players, dripping with darkness, that closed in behind her. She fired again, blowing a hole on the deck beside Max’s head as he rolled. The scent of gunpowder and sawdust filled the air.
Max pushed up to one knee and took aim at Nix. She winced in anticipation, still wearing the smirk that reminded him that he couldn’t pull the trigger. His jaw tightened. He had to do something.
Shit!
Max retargeted and put a round in one of the void creatures behind her. Nix fired back, the bullet slamming into his arm and knocking him over.
Down thirty percent heath.
He hit the deck with a grunt and rolled to get her back in his sights. That was when a black form grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head back. A second brought a blade to her throat, ready to end her.
Max responded in an instant, firing two rounds. Crimson light exploded from the possessed players’ eyes. That was when Max noticed something unsettling.
Nix’s smile never faded.
Even when surrounded by enemies with a knife at her throat, her confidence was unshakable. She wasn’t even trying to fight back. It was as if she didn’t care, or she knew he wouldn’t let her die.
Nix glanced up, making eye contact with another few players on purpose, to pull their aggro her way. Then she gestured to Max as if to say, “Get on with it.”
His eyes widened as he realized she was using the enemies as distractions. Max needed to stay close. He needed to get his contract locked around her wrist. She put another bullet in the deck beside him, forcing him back.
