Gamer for Love (Alpha World Book 8)

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Carradine spun to face them, a handful of chains still attached to his shadow, locking him in place. “Alpha Company… I should have known you would lick the King’s boots.”

  Gerald was suddenly in front of Carradine, crossing the remaining yards in an instant and smashing his shield to the ex-noble’s face. “We’re just here to take out the trash.”

  Fluff was there a second later, her Leap taking her behind Carradine so she could dig into the lightly armored man’s back. Bob, who had made it through with them, started lobbing Fire Blasts just above head height, not wanting to be a target. Going into the air, Alburet joined him, knowing it was about to get very crowded around Carradine. Karen made it to Carradine just as he was shaking off the stun, her dual blades cutting into him. Stacia and her Copies were a step behind her, also sinking their blades into the suddenly surrounded ex-noble. Tiny was there a moment later, barely able to get his three bodies into the fray.

  “Rabble,” Carradine hissed, “do you truly think you can stop me when I’m blessed by Stein?”

  “Bob, can you burn that buff off?” Alburet asked, seeing that the one Carradine sported was vastly hindering their ability to hurt him.

  “I can’t,” Bob grimaced. “Mother might be able to, but she’s helping Parsnew.”

  Gerald winced as Carradine’s sword felt like it carved straight into him. “How is he ignoring my armor?”

  “I don’t know, and my healing isn’t doing as much as it should,” Marysue said in a panic.

  “Mother, we need you,” Alburet called out to her.

  Mother grimaced, torn between helping the group or maintaining her song, which was the only thing helping Parsnew counteract Andrea’s attempt at corrupting her. Letting her song fade, she turned to Carradine and took a long look at him. “‘Stein’s Lackey’... a very fitting name for that buff. I cannot remove it, but I can lessen its power.”

  “Anything would help,” Alburet replied.

  Kneeling in the sand, Mother began to whisper a prayer, her hands stretched out to Carradine as she spoke. Dark sparks shot from her fingers and floated toward Carradine, who suddenly looked quite worried.

  “No, no... his power is greater than your false god’s,” Carradine said as he frantically began slashing at Gerald.

  “Tiny, stun him and keep him stunned until those sparks get here,” Alburet told the Destroyer Lord and his Copies.

  A heart wrenching cry from behind them made Alburet look back. Parsnew was being lifted into the air by her neck by her sister, Andrea’s feral smile revealing perfect teeth that almost glowed. “If you won’t listen to me, then I shall give you a gift: death without torment.”

  “Fuck,” Alburet hissed. “I’ll be right back,” he shouted to his friends, hurriedly flying at the two Angels. Andrea’s back was to him, giving him the surprise he needed to slam into her from behind. He latched onto her neck between the slow beat of her wings. “Going down?”

  “Fool,” Andrea barely managed to get out as she dropped her sister. “I’ll pull your wings off for this!” Reaching back at him, she was surprised when he was no longer there.

  Alburet let go of Andrea and dove after Parsnew, grabbing her and turning them before they hit the ground. Gasping as the wind was driven from him, Alburet rolled the weakly moving Angel off his chest, giving him only a moment’s warning before Andrea’s feet drove into his sternum. Sight wavering, Alburet knew he was in a bad spot, but he was unable to do anything.

  “I’ll join this dance,” Mother said, touching Alburet’s leg and sending health into him. “Andrea, you have damaged one of my dearest’s favorites. I was planning on staying out of the fight with your sister, but you’ve changed that.” As Mother spoke, she grabbed the Fallen Angel and threw her away from Alburet and Parsnew. “Your friends could use you again, Alburet.”

  “Got it,” Alburet gasped as he got to his feet. “I’ll leave her to you two.”

  Parsnew got to her feet, blood dripping from her nose. “Mother, this is my fight. If I fail, please do what you can for her, but don’t interfere with me.”

  Alburet looked back at them for a moment before he took to the air and went back to help his friends.

  Mother paused and backed up, “I shall aid in small ways, as I was before.” Mother began singing again, a song of sisters torn apart. The tune of anger, fear, and lingering hope filled the air, mingling with the sounds of ongoing combat.

  “I wanted to spare you,” Andrea snarled as she tore at her own dress. “To spare you the horrors of their touch! But you won’t listen... you never listen to me!” The dress peeled away to reveal black lingerie, as well as dark marks that marred her skin.

  Parsnew slowed her approach to her sister, “Andie… no matter what happened, I will never turn away from you. I will listen if you need me to. If listening will help you find your way, I will do so gladly.”

  “No, you won’t!” Andrea yelled. “You didn’t listen to me at all while I was being hurt. You weren’t there to help me nor to comfort me. I was abandoned by you and Peace and Justice. Dimitry showed me the truth about us, and Stein made me see what our parents are really like.”

  “Do you want to kill me?” Parsnew asked as she approached one step at a time. “Not what they would have you do, but you, my darling sister… do you want to carry my blood on your hands?”

  Andrea backed up, her face twisting, “Stay back.”

  The wash of conflicted emotions behind the group made them hope Parsnew was on the right track, but they had their own problems to deal with. Alburet had rejoined them, his Fire Blasts barely doing any damage. The others were having the same issue, but at least Carradine’s health was dropping, if slowly.

  “Stupid bitch,” Carradine yelled. “Kill her! That is Stein’s command. Kill your sister and Mother, then come and deal with this filth, Ashen Fall.”

  A sudden cry of rage from Andrea was the only warning Parsnew had before her throat was once again in Andrea’s hands. Parsnew didn’t try to stop her, only smiled sadly at her sister, her words barely audible as she spoke, “Peace will always forgive you, and so will I, sister.”

  Mother’s song cut off, and a very familiar tune took its place. Alburet looked back to see Mother touching the shoulders of both Angels as the three of them slumped to the ground. “A memory walk during combat?”

  “Damn meddlesome whore,” Carradine snapped. “Grinom, bring me reinforcements and kill Mother.” A large group of undead split away from the horde as Carradine was suddenly encased in ice.

  Gerald spat. Knowing the ice would last for a bit, he turned on the oncoming mass of undead. “Fine, we deal with these first. Keep them off Mother.”

  Another group followed the undead that were closing on Gerald’s group and Mother. As they charged to meet the attackers, Alburet caught sight of who was leading the group chasing the undead: Chris Eveningstar, his brother-in-law.

  As the two groups from Alpha Company sandwiched the undead reinforcements, Alburet watched one of the three casters slip past the tanks, still on a beeline for Mother.

  “Not today,” Alburet said, taking to the air to catch the offending cultist.

  As the cultist came to a stop and leveled his staff at Mother, Alburet’s shadow eclipsed him, making the man spin and bring his staff’s crystal tip in line with Alburet. The black oily beam of energy tore at Alburet, clouding his mind with pain. What the crystal didn’t do was stop Alburet’s forward momentum, resulting in him slamming full force into the cultist. The impact drove the staff from the cultist’s hand and sent it spinning across the sands. With the pain gone, Alburet ripped the axe from his back and slammed it down onto the man with all the anger he felt burning in him.

  “Asthore, help,” Stacia cried out, snapping him from his moment of rage.

  Clambering off the broken man’s body, Alburet looked back to see Stacia hiding behind Gerald. Both Tiny and Bob were missing, as were their Copies. The two remaining cultists were doing their best to hea
l the undead and find an angle to get a shot at Stacia with their staves.

  Karen appeared behind one of them, her blades driving into his back. “That’s my wife asshole, and you hurt my friends.”

  Fluff was beside her in a moment, her claws digging into the cultist’s chest. “Time to pay for your crimes.”

  Hurrying back to their sides, Alburet almost missed it when the second cultist aimed at him. Dropping out of the sky as the beam enveloped him, Alburet hit the ground hard and rolled, taking him out of line of sight.

  The next few minutes were chaotic, but they gained the upper hand on the undead once the last two cultists dropped. As they began dismantling the undead, a voice raised in joy began to sing. It was joined by another, forming a perfect duet and telling of horrors overcome and sisters reunited.

  Looking back, Alburet watched as Andrea and Parsnew rose into the air, hands held before them as the song rose and gained power. Mother was kneeling on the ground, looking far more haggard than he had ever seen her. The song sapped the energy from the undead, afflicting them with Angel’s Joy.

  “Damn you. This was but a taste of what is in store for you!” Carradine screamed as the ice fell away. “I’ll go back in disgrace, but he’ll know you’re coming and exactly what you have for help.”

  Mother staggered to her feet, her eyes going to Carradine. “No, Dog of Stein, you’ll—”

  Before she could finish, Carradine hacked apart the last chain holding him in place and drew out a crystal. Smashing it against his sword, Carradine vanished from the area.

  The battle was over almost an hour after it began. The King’s army was raising those they could, the Final Death only coming when the resurrect timer ended for the natives. When they formed up to march onward, they learned the total cost of the battle: a little over six hundred guards, two hundred Dwarves, just short of two hundred Lunari, and sixty-three Elves had fallen. Among the Two-souled, Heart’s Light lost a few dozen, Delvers lost eleven because they had been on the edges, and Alpha Company lost forty. Ironhand’s entire group had been among those wiped out, and were waiting in Stormguard for the army to open the portal outside the prison. The most missed from the Guild were Kauree Sullivan, Vanessa Brightflower, and Ivonna Darkheart. The trio of women died fighting for their Guild and world, none of them able to be resurrected in time.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  The fights were smaller during the rest of the march toward the prison, but still frequent and intense. The undead that showed up were not difficult for the raid to deal with, but the Elder Sandworms that attacked en masse were a problem. As the sun was setting, the mountains they had been walking toward were just a few miles away and the sand was being left behind as stone broke through the surface. The remnants of a large paved road had just started to become visible when the King called a halt for the night.

  A somber mood weighed heavily on those who had made it to this point. Close to fifteen hundred people had died by the time Campstones were set and tents were being erected. As dinner was being prepared, the King called for a meeting of the leaders.

  Alburet watched Gerald go toward the King’s tent, still sad over the loss of their friends. Stepping into his own tent, he found his three wives all had changed and were waiting for him, the same sadness coming from each of them. Dropping his bag and stripping his gear off, Alburet went and joined them. The group embrace started to lift their spirits some.

  A minute later, there was a knock on the tent pole and a voice said, “Lord Darkhand, the King wishes you to attend his meeting.”

  “I’ll see you at dinner,” Alburet said, collecting kisses from all three women before he got to his feet.

  Arriving at the King’s pavilion, he was ushered inside by a guard. “Good, now we can start,” Tyr said. “Darkhand, tell us what you can remember about the prison again.”

  Alburet took a moment to get his memories in order before he relayed what he had seen over a hundred days ago. When he finished, everyone looked dissatisfied except for Ioaniss.

  “That would have been the interior main gate,” Ioaniss said. “The other gate he saw would be to the prison proper. I doubt the intake wing will have anything in it, but we should sweep it, just in case.”

  “Did you find anything else in the archives?” Tyr asked.

  “The prison is separated into wings as we would expect; intake, holding, minor, moderate, and deadly. Each of those wings represented the security settings for their blocks. The security control office is said to be on the far side of the deadly wing.”

  “It still nay be a lot to go with,” Hammerhand said. “Can we nay send some Imps or Cherubim out to investigate?”

  “We don’t have Andrea or Parsnew back to help, so that will be Aria’s purview,” Tyr said, looking to the Seraphim.

  “I can order a small scouting force, but with the beams of banishment the enemy has, we might not get any word back.”

  “That is my view, as well,” Mother agreed. “I will send as many as you request. I expect to receive reinforcements tomorrow, and I have no doubt that we will need them.”

  “Parsnew did say she would bring more back with her, too,” Aria added.

  “Sire, the prison is still likely shrouded in fog,” Ioaniss reminded the King. “Until you get close enough, I don’t think they will be able to be of much use.”

  “That is a problem. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to get a better idea of what we face.” Hands clenching, Tyr seemed angry, “How is Stein circumventing the fog?”

  “The same way he does much of what he does, Sire,” Ioaniss said, gripping his friend’s shoulder. “He seems to have found some way to break the rules of our world.”

  “Then why does the Overlord not rein him in?” Tyr snapped before calming himself. “That was uncalled for. I apologize to all those present.”

  “Sire,” Benedict said, interjecting himself into the conversation, “if this is anything like the other worlds we’ve helped in the past, we will find a major subordinate of Stein in each wing, with Stein himself at the furthest point of the prison. We’ll just need to force our way into each block and silence his helpers on our way to him. The biggest thing we’ll need is the closest graveyard so we can come back if we fall.”

  “It would be best if you would be the vanguard in the fight,” Tyr nodded. “Holding the graveyard might very well take all of the non Two-souled. Are you fine with being the ones to drive into the prison while we hold the graveyard?”

  “Yes,” Benedict, Blaze, and Gerald agreed in near unison.

  “Where is the graveyard located?” Wildmane asked.

  “We don’t know, but likely inside the first gate at least,” Ioaniss replied.

  “I’m betting on one in each block,” Blaze said. “This place is supposed to be massive, after all.”

  “That would make sense. It would have given the guards a few areas to come back to if they died while working,” Tyr nodded.

  “When are you going to open the portal for reinforcements from the city?” Woodbinder asked.

  “We are an hour or more from the valley of the prison,” Roberto said. “The portal will only take a few minutes to open. I’m thinking we’ll wait until we have the gates in sight.”

  “Very well,” Tyr agreed. “Ladies, if you would be ready to send your scouts once we get close enough for me to dispel the mist?”

  “I shall have them ready,” Mother smiled.

  “Parsnew might be back by then, but if she isn’t, I will send an equal number of Angels as Mother sends Infernals,” Aria said.

  “What about our dead?” Wildmane asked. “Are we holding a wake for them tonight or not?”

  “We wouldn’t want the men suffering from hangovers when we attack tomorrow, but we don’t have enough booze to hold a proper wake, anyway,” Roberto replied. “If you can hold a wake, we only ask that you make sure none of the Pride over-imbibe.”

  “We can be helpin’ ye with tha’ lack of drink,” Hammer
hand said. “All me lads and lasses be carryin’ a keg. We been knowin’ we would be losin’ some of our number and came prepared.”

  “If you will share, we will hold a wake for all of those lost,” Tyr said before Roberto could speak. “I also ask that you provide the names of the dead to Ioaniss. We will be immortalizing them once this nightmare is behind us.”

  “Aye. I will be havin’ me followers place two kegs by each fire,” Hammerhand said. “Me second will bring ye a list before we march tomorrow, Jones.”