by David Petrie
Most of the palace’s other visitors had been directed to the same area, all of them standing in the sand with Max. Having them all in one place must’ve made them easier to protect. Then again, it also made it harder for anyone to escape.
Ginger stepped closer to him. From her expression, she was thinking the same thing. Kira and Farn moved closer to each other as well. They had to get out of there.
Max scanned the perimeter, making note of how many of Berwyn’s men were guarding each exit. The doors to the upper levels were closed, probably locked from what he could tell. Using flight magic was out. That just left the ground floor. It would be tough, but they could make a break for it. Fight their way out if they had to.
Most of the Serpents weren't much to worry about. The only ones that might be a problem were Nix, Aawil, and Ripper. Though, he didn’t see Aawil or Ripper. They were probably the ones taking down his friends as he stood doing nothing. That just left Nix, whom he still wasn’t sure was an idiot or not.
Watching her with his peripheral vision, Max finally got a better look at her gun. What he saw filled him with a sense of dread, not because he didn’t recognize the gun but because he did. Like his, it had a modern design, without all the silly details that most fantasy guns had. Instead, it seemed to be based off a Beretta M-9 with an extended magazine and folding fore-grip. She held it at a low angle with both hands, her finger resting to the side of the trigger guard.
Like his, the gun had a third position on its select fire switch. If it was true to the model of gun it was based off, then it was probably a three-round burst. He only recognized the gun because he had used it in over a dozen games over the years. As far as he knew, the pistol wasn’t available in Noctem. The only explanation was that it was a contract item. Even worse, having a contract could only mean one thing—she was dangerous.
Just as Max was debating on whether to rush the other Fury or not, he heard a commotion at one of the doors to the pyramid.
Ripper and Aawil emerged, followed by a group of Serpents. They seemed to be walking in formation, as if leading their captives while keeping them surrounded to make sure they couldn’t escape. That was when the alarm bells stopped.
Max tightened his grip on his guns.
“We’ve got the intruder,” Ripper declared, almost sounding eager.
His words sent a chill down Max’s spine as if the guy couldn’t wait to execute his friends. He had to act fast, holding his breath as he started to raise his guns. Then his mind crashed into a detail that he had almost missed. Intruder? Had Ripper just said intruder? As in, singular? Did one of them get away? If so, then they might not be as screwed as he thought. The only question was if it was Kegan or Corvin.
Ripper stepped aside as the Serpents lead their captive into the middle of the beach. Suddenly, everything changed.
It wasn’t either of them.
An elven woman stood proud as if she had no regrets. She had pink hair and wore a ridiculous set of gear that suggested a Japanese school uniform. The emblem of a Breath Mage adorned her hand. She glared daggers at the Lord of Serpents before her, defiance burning in her eyes. Ripper gave her a shove hard enough to throw her into the sand.
“Hold on there.” Berwyn stepped between them. “No need to be rough.”
The Shield backed off. “We caught her in your study going through the books. She ran but didn’t make it far.”
Berwyn knelt down to the elf. “Oh, Luka.” He sounded sad. “You’ve been a part of our house for over a month. Why would you betray us now?”
That was when Max noticed she wore the same house ring as the rest of the Serpents.
The woman laughed. “You think you have it all figured out, don’t you?” Her voice was dripping with venom.
Berwyn deflated. “Have I not been good to you?”
She pushed herself up to her knees slowly, as if stalling to choose her words. “Sure sure, but there’s more to life than a bit of hard and private beaches. The rest of the world won’t stand by while you destroy it.”
He sighed and lowered his head, only to raise it up again a second later. “Okay, who’s paying you, and what city are you reporting back to? Thrift? Lucem? Maybe even Tartarus? I always figured those rogues would be a problem at some point.”
“Paying me?” She smirked as if he had missed the point completely. “Are you really that simple? I have a conscience, unlike the rest of your snakes.” She gestured towards Ripper. “I actually care about the world. I don’t need to be paid.”
“So you’re a rebel then? That how you see yourself?” He opened his journal and scratched in a couple lines. With a final, decisive slash of his pen, her house ring melted off of her finger, leaving a puddle of gold in the sand. “Fine, you want to be treated like an enemy, so be it. You’re out of the house. I’ll advise you not set foot in my territory again. I’ll be giving orders to kill you on sight.” He put away his journal and turned away.
“Do whatever you want to me—throw me out of the house, kill me, or put bounties on my head. It doesn’t matter.” Her nostrils flared. “Someone else will take you down.” She started to stand, and for a moment, she made eye contact with Max.
He could have sworn he saw her smile at him.
“Ripper, make sure she leaves the palace however you see fit.” Berwyn didn’t even look back at her, his voice holding a layer of disdain.
From the look of Ripper’s excited grin, it was obvious to Max how he would choose to remove her from the palace. Execution was about as efficient as one could get, but strangely, he didn’t draw his sword. Instead, he just held out a hand, his clawed gauntlet outstretched in her direction.
Suddenly, the woman bent backward and fell into the sand. Her entire body twitched as if she was in pain. She spat a slurred insult at Ripper as her spine locked in a heaving arch. Glowing particles of crimson light began to drift from her body to his claws. Patterns of spiraling lines burned across the surface of his gauntlet. The class emblem on her hand dimmed and faded as her health drained.
Max couldn’t believe his eyes. Ripper hadn’t even touched her.
The dark Shield slammed his fist closed as if crushing an insect, tearing what remained of her life from her body. A cloud of embers burst from her form in one bright mass, like a root pulling free from the ground. Then the elf fell limp in a crumpled mess.
A wave of nausea rolled through Max’s stomach as her body began to dissipate, drifting out across the sand. His gaze snapped back to Ripper’s closed fist.
The gauntlet was definitely a contract item, but even with that, it was overpowered. Whatever the ability was, it had hit her from over ten feet away. From what Max could tell, it couldn’t be dodged. Otherwise, the poor elf would have done something. It wasn’t that insta-kill abilities were uncommon when it came to contracts, but most had a drawback, like only working once or carrying a heavy cost to use. Hell, even Amelia’s blade required her to at least cut skin for its venom to work. Whatever Max had just witnessed was just broken.
Berwyn stepped up the stairs to the patio area to address the rest of his house along with his guests. He spoke in a voice loud enough to be heard without yelling. “This might be a House of Serpents, but that doesn’t mean that we can have snakes within our ranks. I don’t mean this as a warning but as a plea. We may be building be an empire, but I am not Vader. I ask you all to stay with me through the months ahead. Continue together, so that the rest of Noctem can follow our example. As one house, one empire, and one world.”
His words must have washed away the memory of the moment before because the rest of the Serpents gave applause without hesitation. In turn, their excitement relieved the other guests, many of them joining in as well. Even Ginger clapped; granted, she also looked like she might throw up. Max followed her example, shoving his conscience to the back of his mind. His stomach rolled again.
The only holdout was Kira, and Berwyn’s gaze fell to her as she stared at the spot where Luka’s body had been. A
s the Serpents and their guests began to disperse back into the palace, their Lord returned to Kira’s side.
“I’m really sorry you had to see that. Sometimes running an empire,” he let out a long sigh, “well, let’s just say it gets messy. I know that’s not really an excuse and Ripper’s Death Grip doesn’t really make us look like the good guys. I hope you won’t let it ruin your time here.”
“Yeah, that was a bit much.” Kira gave a weak smile.
“But spies have to be dealt with,” Ginger added before Kira got herself into trouble, “and might I add, that is one hell of a contract item. What did you call it?”
“The Death Grip?” Berwyn glanced back at his Knight. ”It’s easily one of the most powerful items in all of Noctem. It’s Ripper’s claim to fame.”
“I’ll say.” Max nodded, trying to seem envious about the overpowered ability. “It makes our contracts look a lot less impressive. Right, Farn?” He nudged the Shield, indicating that they both had at least a couple contracts between them without saying more.
Farn let out a surprised laugh as his elbow rubbed against her ribs, but she recovered quickly. “Speak for yourself. Mine are pretty epic.”
“That’s pretty big talk.” Berwyn smiled once again, just as charming as before. “Maybe you could knock Ripper down a peg or two. Honestly, he could use it.”
“Maybe.” Farn laughed.
“Anyway, I’ll have to go through my study and make sure she didn’t see anything that could be a problem. I’m sorry that this kind of spoiled the evening, but why don’t you head back to the theater and finish the movie. There should be time enough for that before you have to log out. Oh, and if you want, visit the beach tomorrow night. It’s one of the best places to swim in all of Noctem.”
“That sounds like a good idea to me.” Ginger gave an eager smile. “And Kira loves the water.”
Kira’s eyes widened.
“Perfect. I hope you like it.” Berwyn grinned.
“Thanks, I will.” Kira’s face flushed as she looked at her feet.
Berwyn bid them farewell and headed off to his study.
Max watched him go, then exhaled, releasing the last thirty minutes of tension from his body all at once.
“What the hell did we get ourselves into.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Kira stood on the beach, staring at the sand where the elf, Luka, had died. Her fists were clenched so tight her knuckles went white. “I did this. That contract is horrible. And it’s my fault it exists.”
Her words cut right to Ginger's heart. “No, it’s not.”
“I broke the contract system. That thing exists because of me.”
“Don’t be an idiot.” Max holstered his pistols. “Contracts are pulled from the user’s subconscious; it has nothing to do with you. If anything, it just tells us about what kind of sociopath Ripper is.”
After everything that happened on the beach, Ginger didn’t really feel like going back to the theater and sitting through a movie. Fortunately, neither did anyone else. Somehow, even Kira had lost interest in shoving handfuls of popcorn into her mouth. Considering all that, Ginger thought returning to their suite upstairs was for the best. Plus, they still had a couple house members missing in action.
They didn’t stay missing for long.
Ginger narrowed her eyes as soon as she walked into the suite.
“Well, well, well. Glad you could make it.” Kegan sat on the couch, wearing a smug grin. He sipped a club soda that he must’ve taken the liberty of pouring himself from the bar.
Corvin sat beside him in one of the chairs, a little less smug with his hands folded in his lap. Kira raced across the room, jumping on the couch next to the Leaf so that he almost spilled his glass.
“We thought you’d been caught.”
“Yeah, what the hell happened?” Max walked over with a little more dignity.
Kegan set his glass down as Kira bounced on the cushion next to him. “No idea. We had just made it into the second part of the vault corridor when the alarm bells sounded. Thought for sure we were toast, so we made a run for it. You can imagine our surprise when the alarm shut off with us still running free.”
Ginger glanced at their hands, noticing that they didn’t have their house rings on. “And you took off your rings so you wouldn’t blow our cover if you were caught. That’s why you weren’t on the house line?”
Kegan leaned back with his hands behind his head. “We’re really thinking like criminals now. Pretty smart, huh?”
“It really was, actually.” Max sat down across from him. “It dawned on me way too late that the rings would blow our cover. I was starting to freak out.”
“We all were,” Farn added, leaning on the back of the couch behind Kira.
“I wish I could take credit, but it was all this guy’s idea.” Kegan hooked a thumb in Corvin’s direction.
The reynard froze, avoiding eye contact for a second, then accepted the compliment with a nod. Then he leaned back and threw his feet up on the table in victory. The sight warmed Ginger’s heart. It was nice to see the Blade resisting his meek tendencies and showing some pride.
“How did you both get away with Berwyn’s people all running around?”
“Umm, we hid.” Corvin deflated.
“I don’t like the sound of that, umm.” Max frowned.
“It wasn’t a big deal.” Kegan poked at his drink, pushing it along the table’s surface nonchalantly. “We just ducked back into that shop on the first floor that you guys ditched us in.”
“And?” Ginger raised an eyebrow.
Corvin took over, “We kind of hid behind the counter on the floor. The NPC just ignored us since we were on her side of the counter.”
Kegan cleared his throat and swiped his hand back and forth near his throat, giving him the international signal to stop talking. Corvin’s ears twitched as he glanced between the Leaf and the Lady of his house before he continued. “We dove behind the counter when someone came in to search the place. We were just lucky they didn’t look down and that the NPC ignored us.”
“No points for style, but at least you didn’t get caught.” Ginger laughed, picturing the two curled up together around the NPC’s feet.
“Yeah, but more importantly,” Kegan leaned forward, getting to the meat of the discussion, “if it wasn’t us that set off the alarm, who the hell was it?”
Ginger shuddered, remembering the unfortunate Breath Mage. “It was just some random Breath Mage named Luka. Seemed to have infiltrated the Serpents and broken into the royal study. She got caught pretty fast though, so I doubt she found what she was looking for.”
Max let out a defeated sigh. “And then Berwyn’s Shield killed her with some overpowered contract that literally tore the health from her body without even touching–.”
“Wait a sec,” Kegan interrupted. “Was this Shield named Mack_the_Ripper by any chance?”
Max furrowed his brow. “I didn’t check his full name, but Berwyn calls him Ripper, so probably.”
“Crap, the Death Grip’s here.” Kegan slapped a hand against his head.
“What? You know him or something?” Farn asked.
“Not personally, but damn, this just got a lot worse.” Kegan grabbed his drink and downed the last of it in one gulp. “He used to run in the same PVP circles I did. He wasn’t much to worry about before he got that damn gauntlet, but man, after, he was pretty much unbeatable. The only reason I never got paired with him was because I wasn’t considered a challenge. Eventually, no one was. That’s when he stopped doing matches altogether, or more accurately, people stopped betting against him so the guys that ran the cages in Tartarus wouldn’t let him fight. He sort of disappeared after that. I guess he found a new calling.”
The room fell silent as that sunk in.
“I think I should fight him.” Farn blurted out almost casually, getting puzzled looks from the entire room.
“I’m sorry, what?” Ginger questioned, havi
ng trouble comprehending what would prompt such an insane suggestion.
The Shield shrugged. “If we’re worried he’ll be a problem, then we should learn everything we can about him and whatever that Death Grip thing does. Maybe I can find a weakness if I challenge him.”
“And what if he kills you?” Max threw out his hand in her direction.
“Then my death will probably kill the romantic mood that Berwyn is trying to build and buy Kira another night without him putting the moves on her.” Farn patted the fairy on the head. Kira leaned into the gesture and nuzzled the woman’s hand like a loving pet.
“Aww, thank you for the sentiment, but I still prefer that you not die for me.”
“I don’t like it,” Ginger thought about the idea, “but we do need to learn about that Death Grip ability. So picking a fight with him might make sense.”
“Maybe I should challenge Nix while we’re at it.” Max leaned forward. “I’d like to know what she can do as well. Something about her has me worried.”
“She seems harmless enough, but then again, she is a mercenary, so you never know.” Ginger shrugged, then turned back to Kegan. “What did you guys find out about the vault’s entry corridor?”
Both members of Lockheart’s black-ops team shuddered in unison. Kegan spoke first.
“There’s a puzzle lock at the entrance, and we’re pretty sure the hallway fills with water if you get it wrong. Beyond that, we ran into twelve mid-level guard NPCs.”
“Twelve?” Max’s eyes widened.
“Yeah, we had to murder them. It wasn’t fun.”
“That’s kind of impressive.” Max gave a whistle.
“Yes, it was. We’re pretty badass.”
“Sure, sure, and after that?” Ginger skipped past the Leaf’s boasting.
Kegan chuckled. “Oh, the second hall’s a laser grid.”