Auction of Souls: Fantasy GameLit RPG Series (Pixel Dust Book 3)

by David Petrie

  “Okay, do it.”

  “That’s all I wanted to hear.” Nix winced, then snapped her eyes open, showing him the same violet color that he had seen looking back at him through Kira’s eyes before she was stolen away. Except Nix’s looked painful, filled with flecks of blue and red like stained glass. “Focus, Max.”

  “Right, yeah.” Max took a breath and thought back to his most powerful contract. He’d had a few over the years, but there was really only one choice. “I got it.”

  “Good.” Nix tightened her hand around his. “I’m making the trade.”

  Max felt a strange sensation as the system reached inside his mind. Then it was gone.

  Nix let out a yelp and fell forward against him, pressing her forehead into his chest with her eyes shut tight. Her body heaved, like she couldn’t get enough air. A couple points of damage were shaved off from how tight she held his hand. She gripped his shirt with her other hand, coiling her fingers into the fabric to hold herself upright.

  “Are you…?”

  “Shhh.” She buried her face against him. “Too loud.”

  “That power,” Max lowered his voice to a whisper. “It’s doing more than just hurting you?”

  She nodded, her tall ears brushing against his chin.

  “It’s killing you, isn’t it?”

  Finally, she pulled away from him as her eyes faded back to their usual blue. “Carver doesn’t think I’ll see another year. But I’ve proved him wrong before.”

  “Why?” Max’s hand trembled.

  “Why, what?”

  “Why even use that power?”

  “Because this…” She raised their hands together as Max felt something cold in his palm. “This is worth it. The world is won one victory at a time. So why not start here?” She pulled her hand away, leaving him holding a new contract item.

  Well, not new. Just… returned.

  Max ran his finger over the tiny object, remembering how it had felt the last time he had held it.

  Somehow, the bullet felt heavier.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Contract Name: Silver Bullet

  Type: consumable

  Ownership: unbound

  Usage: one-time only

  Basic enchantment: none

  Advanced enchantment: One-Shot

  Ability description: this bullet can kill any enemy in one hit, as long as that hit deals critical damage. Range, limited.

  Max ejected the magazine from one of his pistols and snapped the silver bullet in on top before shoving it back into the gun. It felt… different… like a weight had settled across his shoulders.

  “Listen up!” Max called to the rest of his friends. “Nix and I just destroyed my knife.”

  “Good.” Ginger shouted while dodging a tentacle.

  “I know, I’m glad it’s gone too.” He held up his pistol. “In exchange for destroying the contract, I’ve gotten back the silver bullet that I lost when we fought Death back in Rend a year and a half ago, during Carver’s quest.”

  Recognition swept across the faces of each member of his house. All except Seven, who hadn’t been with them in the beginning.

  “I’m sorry, what bullet?” The horned woman raised her hand.

  “It kills anything in one hit.” Ginger caught her up to speed.

  “Nice, you gonna miss again?” Kegan joked.

  “No.” Max lowered his gun. “But as you know, I have to land a critical or it won’t work.”

  “How are you going to do that without being able to look at your target?” Alastair called out while dropping another pouch full of ingredients into his caster’s circle.

  “I...” Max’s mouth dropped open. “I don’t know.”

  Everyone let out a groan.

  “What? I was excited to get a second chance here.” Max defended. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet.”

  A half-eaten loaf of bread hit him in the chest.

  “Farn, did you give Echo food in the middle of a fight?”

  “I did, yes.” Farn handed the avatar a second loaf since she’d thrown the last one.

  Echo took a bite, then threw that one as well. It bounced off Max’s head.

  “Thank you, Echo. Your comments have been noted.” Max held up his hands. “Now does anyone have any ideas?”

  The team went back to dodging attacks from all directions.

  “You could simply look at it?” Lord Promethium suggested. “We saw how long it took for Larkin to die; he even had time to kill himself before succumbing to the Nightmare. Surely you would be able to take a shot in that time.”

  “No. You need to walk away from this.” Nix stepped forward. “I’ll look.”

  “What?” Max spun to her.

  “Simple, I tell you where to shoot, you pull the trigger.” She shrugged. “I’m the only other Fury here as deadly as you. Would you rather it be someone else?”

  Max stood there looking dumb, not sure how to answer the question. She ignored him and started shrugging out of her Nightfall coat, only to stop when she realized she couldn’t get it off with the chain connecting them together. Eventually, she just transferred it into her inventory to dematerialize it before taking it back out again. Then she dropped it onto Max’s shoulders.

  “You can use this to hide yourself from the Void.” She helped him slip his untethered arm into the garment. “There, it suits you.”

  “You’re giving me your contract?”

  “Don’t make a thing of it.”

  “I’m not, but…” Max searched for the words. “We’re not friends, here.”

  “I know, you still hate me and all that.” The strange villain gave him a playful punch in the arm. “I just don’t care. A lot of people hate me; you’re not the first.” She pulled the hood up to activate the garment’s stealth ability. Black fog swam around the edge of Max’s vision as Nix stepped away. “There, now the Void should leave you alone. Plus you look pretty cool.”

  So many emotions stirred in Max’s head. His hatred for the woman struggled with trying to understand her actions. “What will you do if you turn into one Void’s minions before I kill it?”

  Nix answered by pulling her pistol and placing it to the side of her own head. “I don’t intend to let that happen.”

  “So that’s your plan to escape.” Max frowned and shook the manacle around his wrist.

  “Did you really think this would end any other way?” She gave him a smug grin. “I won’t let anyone take me, be it a Nightmare or you.”

  “You better not be lying about Kira.” Max said, realizing he couldn’t stop the woman.

  “There are some things that even I wouldn’t lie about.”

  “Fine.” Max turned away from her and raised his gun. “Everyone get ready. Let’s take this thing down in one hit.”

  “That’s the take charge Max I chose.” Nix leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Remember that.”

  Her words sent a chill down his spine before taking root in the core of his being, a feeling of dread building inside. He shook it off and got ready.

  The others did their best to keep the Void’s various limbs busy while Nix scanned their surroundings beside him. Then, finally, the moment came.

  “It’s the eye!” Kegan shouted from behind.

  Max spun around just in time to see the enormous eyelid open. He raised his pistol and looked to Nix.

  “Shit! The hand’s back!” He yanked on the chain between them just as the clawed fist reached for her. It missed by mere inches as she fell toward him.

  “I got this!” Farn dashed in to throw herself against a few massive fingers.

  “Me too.” Seven’s whip snapped around the Nightmare’s clawed thumb to keep it from crushing the Shield standing in its grip. Even Echo swooped in to wrap herself around the thing’s pinky. She wasn’t particularly helpful but that didn’t stop the avatar from trying.

  Max stepped out of the shadows and pulled Nix to her feet.

  “You ready?” Max ra
ised his gun back to where he thought the eye would be.

  “As I’ll ever be.” She placed the muzzle of her gun against her head and stepped behind him. Max closed his eyes and imagined the Void’s eye before him until he heard her voice.

  “Raise your gun three inches.” Her words were slow as if fighting to stay in control. He did as she instructed. “Too far, drop it just a hair and move to the left one inch.”

  The sound of Farn and Seven struggling nearby nearly distracted him, but he blocked it out. They could handle themselves. Max adjusted his aim and waited for confirmation.

  “How’s this?”

  “That’s it, take the shot!” Nix shouted, her voice laced with a dark tinge that hadn’t been there before.

  Max didn’t hesitate, taking in one deep breath of smoky air and drowning out the chaos around him.

  His pistol kicked back, tearing the night sky in two. He snapped his eyes open in time to catch a glimpse into the infinite darkness of the void just before the eye shattered like glass. The silver bullet seemed to crack the fabric of the world itself. A blast of light, then dark, then nothing.

  A shockwave of displaced air hit, blasting the clouds from the sky to leave behind a field of stars. Then a second shot rang out from behind him.

  Max flinched, remembering what the sound meant. An instant later, the manacle around his wrist snapped open, the silver chain falling to the deck. He turned around to find Nix gone.

  He stared at the empty space, unsure how to feel. All he knew was that everything had just become more complicated. Finally, he reached back and slipped his other arm into the coat that Nix had left him and turned away. He was immediately met by Ginger, who threw her arms around him.

  “You did it!”

  Before he could respond, she grabbed the collar of his coat and pulled him in for a kiss. He felt her melt against him like the first time their lips met. He kissed her back, letting her know how much he missed her. It felt like coming home, like everything would be alright.

  “Ahem.” Alastair cleared his throat.

  Max and Ginger ignored him, forcing him to clear his throat a few more times, each louder than the last.

  “Now I wish I’d stayed in the Cloudbreaker.” Drake commented.

  “Tell me about it.” Piper added.

  Finally, Ginger pulled away. “I have waited months for a real kiss with this guy, so deal with it.”

  “Ahh, guys?” Corvin raised his hand, standing by the ship’s rail.

  The rest of the team ignored him as several celebratory cheers went out from the last surviving lords.

  “Guys?” He tried again.

  Max glanced toward him amidst a round of hugs, high fives, and fist bumps. The reynard’s ears stood straight up as an irritated look fell across Corvin’s face. Finally, he shouted.

  “Brace for impact!”

  Max’s jaw dropped as he remembered that they had no pilot. He scanned the area, finding nothing but Ginger to hold on to. She apparently had done the same, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head into his shoulder as the ship suddenly slowed to a crawl.

  Everyone fell over, toppling across the deck like a pile of Larkin’s dolls. A sound like white noise drowned out their cries as a wall of water surged into the air over the Night Queen’s bow. The wave crashed down onto the deck, soaking everyone on board.

  “Oh, that’s cold.” Ginger huddled closer to Max as the ship slowed to a stop.

  “What the hell did we hit?” Max pushed himself up, taking care to help the lady of his house to her feet as well.

  “Is this a bad time to ask if the Night Queen can float?” Kegan hung his head over the rail. “‘Cause we just made an emergency water landing.”

  “There is a giant hole in the bottom for the engine wheel, so I doubt it.” Seven sat up with the help of Flint, who happily licked at her hand.

  Everyone looked at Max for what to do next, which led to an awkward silence. Eventually he pointed to the side of the ship.

  “To the lifeboats!”

  Without a word, Lord Murph shoved Lord Promethium out of the way and made a beeline for the water crafts. Lord Promethium simply picked himself up and brushed himself off. He then inclined his head in thanks to Max and Ginger before turning toward the lifeboats as well.

  “Well, this night could have gone a lot worse.” Alastair shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m glad to have finally been able to fight alongside you all.”

  “Hey!” Ginger slapped Max in the chest. “We just beat a Nightmare, so what happened to the contract?”

  “Oh, yes,” Alastair furrowed his brow. “That is weird. The system has never had to pick from this many players before; it usually only has to keep track of six. It might be having trouble.”

  That was when the familiar voice of the darkness grated across Max’s ears. Everyone else cringed as it chose a name.

  “MaxDamage24, make your offer.”

  “I’m not sure I want to.” Max stopped and stared up at the sky. “Not after the last one it gave me. I don’t even have anything to offer.”

  Suddenly, Echo placed a hand on his arm.

  “Yes, you do,” the avatar mouthed.

  “And what’s that?” Max stared at the imitation of his best friend.

  Echo simply held her hands out to her sides as if presenting herself as an option. Her dress, still wet from the crash landing, clung to her skin as salt water dripped from her hair. A sudden ache swelled in his chest. Kira had always liked the water.

  “No.” He shook his head.

  She nodded hers in defiance as the sound of waves swelled around the ship.

  “I am only here because of guilt. Because you regret not being able to save me.” Her silent words told him what he already knew, like the system was merely voicing his inner feelings back to him. “Let me go.”

  “What if I don’t find you?”

  “Then you move on.”

  “I don’t want to move on.”

  “I know.” She smiled up at him. “No one does. But you won’t be able to go forward if you’re always looking back.”

  “She’s right.” Farn joined the joined the fairy, standing at her side. “We don’t need a reminder of what we lost. We need to keep her in our hearts and wait until we find her.”

  Echo let out a silent laugh.

  “Yeah, I know, I’m embarrassing and I don’t care.” Farn pulled the fairy into a tight embrace.

  “Okay, I get it.” Max struggled to keep his eyes from welling up. “I’ll make my offer.”

  Farn let the avatar go and placed a small kiss on her cheek. “We’ll find you. I promise.”

  Echo nodded, then kissed her back, standing on her toes to reach her cheek. Afterward she stepped away and raised her head as if to say, I’m ready.

  Max reached out and tousled the fairy’s hair, getting a punch in the arm in return. He laughed, and opened his mouth to make an offer to the darkness. “I offer–”

  “Wait wait wait!” Echo suddenly flailed her arms.

  “What?” Max glared down at her.

  She reached down and unbuckled her item bag, letting it fall to the deck. Picking it back up, she shoved it into Ginger’s arms.

  “Hold my stuff, and don’t lose it.”

  “I will keep it safer than the last time I held onto your things.” The Coin hugged the pouch close to her chest.

  Next, Echo twisted the ring Farn had given Kira back during their first mission off her finger. It didn’t do anything special anymore, but the system must have understood its sentimental value. She placed it in Farn’s hand.

  “I’m going to want that back.”

  “I’ll look forward to giving it to you again.” The Shield smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek.

  “You ready now?” Max glowered down at her.

  Echo held up one finger as if there was more. She then hopped to one side and ducked behind Farn. The Shield started to turn around but Echo stopped her with one han
d. The fairy stayed there for a moment, occasionally leaning to one side or there other. Max looked to Alastair who was standing behind her, only to see him blush and look away into the horizon like there was something more interesting in the distance.

  Echo hopped back out and held her hands out to Max as if hiding something between them. He reached out to take whatever it was and she placed a piece of cloth in his hands.

  “I’m going to want those back too.” She gave him a wink.

  Max looked down and unfolded the piece of fabric before immediately wishing he hadn’t.

  “Oh, hell.” He tossed the item to the deck, the pair of bright white underwear landing at his feet. A sparking heart with a keyhole stared up at him. The custom garment contained a backup supply of mana for anyone who wore them, so of course Kira would want them back. “Gah, they were warm.” Max promptly wiped his hands on the sides of his new coat.

  Echo let out a silent laugh at his expense.

  “Yeah, yeah, very funny.” Max crossed his arms.

  Echo grinned back at him and twirled her hips back and forth so her dress swayed around her as if enjoying some kind of freedom.

  “Like hell I’m carrying those around ‘til we find you.” Max refused to pick the garment back up.

  “Okay, yeah, soooo… yeeeaaah.” Farn awkwardly bent down and picked them up, letting out a somewhat inappropriate chuckle before shoving Echo’s underwear into her item bag.

  “Classy, Farn.” Ginger placed a hand across her face and shook her head. “Real classy.”

  “What? Echo said she’s going to want them back.” Farn rolled her eyes. “Don’t judge me.”

  Max blew out a sigh and moved on, not really wanting to explore the topic any more than Farn already had.

  “Now are you ready?”

  Echo nodded happily and waited. Max held up his arms so she could tap the back of her hand against his.

  “See you soon.” He gave her a sad smile, then made his offer. “I offer my regrets.”

  “Accepted!” The voice of the darkness rolled through sky.

  Echo’s small form gave him a grateful bow as she began to shimmer. She raised her head, her silver hair sparkling in the light of the moon. Then, little by little, she drifted away into the wind. Her smile was the last thing he saw.