by David Petrie
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chaos filled the hall as the entire House of Serpents practically exploded out of the rooms one after another. Berwyn must have called them back to their home points to defend the palace.
“Watch it.” Nix dodged a pair running for the stairs. They paid no attention to her. Why would they? She hadn’t done anything to raise suspicion. She was just a mercenary in the employ of the palace lord.
“Lead the way.” Max lowered his head to her ear. “No one will stop us if they think we’re working with you.” There was a tremble in his voice.
Poor guy, Nix thought.
He was just a regular player. Sure, he’d seen some stuff last year, but he wasn’t cut out for espionage and theft. Nix, on the other hand, was in her element.
“Good thinking.” She gave his stomach a playful slap with the back of her hand.
He turned back to Farn and Kira. “Stay frosty.”
Nix rolled her eyes at his words. Someone has been watching too many movies. That was when a system chime sounded in her ear. She got moving and checked her journal on the way.
- New Message -
From: Lord Berwyn
Find Kira and get her to the pyramid. I’m going to lock it down, but I want her safe with me first. The palace shield will hold for now. Get her!
Nix snapped her journal shut and rolled her eyes again. Berwyn wasn’t taking anything seriously. Here they were with his palace under siege, and he was still trying to nail a fairy. At least he was consistent. It wasn’t like the palace mattered to him anyway. Nix had assumed he’d only taken the place so he could store his dumb book in its vault. As for the whole conquest thing, that was probably just out of boredom.
Whatever. It didn’t matter now. Her plan was almost finished. All she had to do was get that book before Max.
“Wait!” Kira grabbed the back of Farn’s cape, who, in turn, grabbed the back of Max’s vest.
“Hold up.” He held up a hand, refraining from grabbing Nix as well.
She turned back as the fairy swiped open her spellcraft menu and set up a quick incantation. A puff of glowing feathers popped into existence above her head and floated down around her.
Nix checked her stat-sleeve, finding a flight icon next to her name with a two-minute timer. “Good thinking.”
Who need stairs when we can fly?
Nix hopped the railing and let herself fall between the stairs and the crystal obelisk at their center. Floors swept past as members of the Serpents rushed down the steps around her. Using the flight spell to break her fall, she landed safely in a crouch. Max and Farn dropped in behind her, followed by Kira, her wings dematerializing as soon as her bare feet touched the floor.
They ran for the entrance to the sub-levels. Farn stayed behind to keep watch as Nix and the others leaped down the stairs. With Kira’s flight spell still active, there was no need to land. Instead, Nix took off down the hall toward the vault. The others followed suit, flying straight to the puzzle lock on the first door.
“I’ve got this.” Max touched down and punched one of the buttons.
The heavy door rolled out of the way, and he flew down the rest of the stairs, stopping just before he reached the guards. Suddenly, he raised his house ring as if hearing something from his team. “What do you mean you’re not ready?”
Nix eyed him, wishing she could hear what was being said on the other end of the conversation.
He shook his head. “Damn, the guys aren’t gonna make it. We’re going to have to take out the guards ourselves.”
Nix shrugged. “So this plan fell apart pretty fast.”
“Maybe not.” Max sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as he was her. “With all the noise upstairs, I doubt anyone will hear if we use our guns down there.”
“Oh good,” Kira jumped in. “At least something is going our way.”
“Here’s to the little things,” added Nix with as little enthusiasm as she could. “What’s the plan?”
Max rested his chin in his hand for a second then glanced to his wrist and snapped his fingers. “Still thirty seconds of flight left on the spell. We can do this. Just cover me.”
Nix furrowed her brow. “Okay, but what–”
“No time. Twenty seconds left.” He lifted off the ground and flew straight into the hallway below at top speed.
Nix ran down the stairs after him just as he reached the first pair of guards. She drew her gun, ready to fight. Max rotated in the air, flying upside down and backward as he pulled his pistols from shoulder holsters. The flight spell canceled as soon as he did, and he took aim at both guards.
Crimson light exploded from their heads as they lurched back. Max didn’t stop there, using his momentum to carry him to his next target before their combat algorithms could respond. He fired again and again, streaking halfway through the hall before hitting the floor. He continued to slide as the first six guards fell like dominos.
Finally, he slammed into the opposite door between the guards and the alarm’s pull chain. His pistols roared against the remaining enemies until the slides locked back.
Two targets remained, a Coin and a Blade, each ready to strike. With their focus on him, Nix simply walked up behind them and deposited a round into the back of each of their heads. “Okay, that was pretty damn impressive.”
“Well, my name is MaxDamage.”
“24.” Kira crept into the hallway as if she wasn’t sure it was safe yet. “There’s a number at the end.”
“Thanks.” Max pushed himself up and reloaded before hitting the button on the next door. “Okay, Kira, you’re up.”
The door slid to the side, revealing hundreds of blue beams, crisscrossing through the hallway beyond. The fairy’s eyes widened.
“We don’t have all day.” Nix gave her a light push.
Kira took a deep breath, then slipped out of her dress and tied her hair back with a ribbon. With a shaky first step, she transferred her weight to the pressure sensitive floor.
Nix held her breath and waited.
Max did the same.
The alarm remained silent.
The group let out a collective sigh as Kira crouched down and spread out across the floor, her body being light enough to avoid setting anything off.
Nix had to admit, she was impressed.
The fairy slid her body through the beams with precision, even with the attack going on outside. Her movements were so graceful, a part of her began to understand what Berwyn saw in her as she slipped a slender leg through the space. A moment later, she shifted to an awkward crab walk. It was far less attractive than the movies made avoiding laser grids seem. To make matters worse, each movement looked exhausting.
Kira had to stop and rest every time she got into a position that didn’t involve struggling to hold herself up. It was unnerving to watch. Nix found herself wincing each time the fairy passed by a beam. Just a fraction of an inch was the difference between success and blowing the entire operation. Nevertheless, Kira stayed calm, eventually slipping out the other side.
“Oh my god, I never want to do that again.” The fairy stretched and stepped off the pressure plate. “You guys ready?” She held out her wrist, shaking the bracelet of black beads back at Max.
“Shall we?” He offered his hand to Nix.
She took it and shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
The world around her winked out, surrounding her in an empty void, only to pop back into being a moment later.
“Woah.” She wobbled, leaning on Max’s hand for support. “That was weird.”
Max ignored her and raised his house ring. “We’re in. Everyone, stand by in the suite. Kira will teleport up as soon as she’s clear of the vault’s silence effect. Be ready to shift on my signal.”
Kira snatched her dress off the floor, but before she could get it back on, the sound of an explosion rumbled through the hall.
It was close.
Too close.
Nix twitch
ed her ears. The attack outside grew louder. “I think the palace shield just fell.”
“That explosion must have destroyed one of the crystal obelisks.” Max slammed his hand against the wall. “Damn, Amelia must have gotten a team inside somehow to take down the shield.” He let out a growl and turned to Kira. “Be careful.”
“When am I not?” She threw on her dress and took off down the hall.
Once she was gone, Max slapped the button on the final vault door. The mechanism rotated and clicked as if unlocking dozens of tumblers. Then finally, the door opened.
“What the hell?” Max’s eyes bulged.
“That’s not what I expected,” Nix added as she looked down.
There was no floor, just a thousand-foot drop. The space was almost the size of the palace itself with torrents of water pouring down the walls. At the center floated a platform containing several trunks, certainly filled with Checkpoint’s freshly replenished hard.
On top of one chest sat a book.
The book.
Nix pretended she didn’t see it.
“What the hell?” Max repeated. “There’s no bridge. How are we supposed to get over there?”
Nix stared down at the crystal blue water that filled the bottom of the pit. Patterns of reflected light blanketed the walls and refracted through millions of droplets that drifted through the air.
“Well, we can’t just stand here.” Nix swatted at the globules of water that floated near the door.
“Hey.” Max grabbed her hand.
“Not really the time.” Nix gave him a sideways look.
“No, the water moved.” He let her go and thrust his hand into the space.
As soon as his fingers crossed the threshold, Nix noticed some of the droplets move toward him, stopping when he pulled his hand back. “That’s different.”
He reached into the vault again, keeping it there as the water moved, collecting in a layer that pooled in front of the door. A thin, translucent surface formed where the floor should have been.
“Oh, I don’t like the looks of that.” Max took in a sharp breath. “I don’t suppose you would consider me a gentleman if is suggested that ladies go first.”
Nix scoffed and gestured for him to get moving.
“Thought so.” He held on to the wall and took a step forward to test the surface, then he took another. The water rippled around his foot but held firm, leading him to release his hold on the wall. “I really do not like this.”
Nix began inching her way out as well, pressing down with her foot to check how firm the puddle actually was. Once she was satisfied, she hopped twice and splashed around. “I don’t know. It’s kind of neat.”
Max continued on, cautiously moving with his arms outstretched like a tightrope walker. The water shifted and pooled to remain beneath him. The liquid would probably stay with him no matter where he stepped, but still, he seemed uncomfortable with the view below.
Nix shook her head and decided to have some fun as she crouched down into a runner’s stance. With a laugh, she took off at a sprint, splashing Max on her way by. His face blanched as he wobbled.
He regained his balance. “Is that necessary?”
Nix gave an answer by skipping through the empty air around the center platform, trying to remind him of Kira so that he might let his guard down.
Finally, he let out a sigh and dropped his hands to his sides before walking the rest of the way to the platform. He must have realized how foolish he looked. There was nothing to be afraid of, or at least, the fall wasn’t at the top of the list. No, that list was led by something else.
She eyed the book, trying not to be obvious about it. The contract item was just sitting there on top of a trunk, a gold zero set into its cover. She had to get to it first; everything was riding on it. Nix hopped on to the platform between him and the book, taking a moment to admire her surroundings as water fell all around them. She didn’t want to make a break for the book too soon.
“Hey, so I was just doing some math. Are we going to be able to get all of the hard out just by teleporting? With whatever’s happening upstairs and all, this might not work.”
Max shrugged and took a step towards the book. “Yeah, well, we thought we’d have more time to work.” He took another step. “We’ll have to just take what we can.”
“I guess you’re going to have to move quickly then,” she commented, letting a Cheshire grin take over before hopping toward the book.
Max’s eyes widened as he made his move as well.
Too slow.
Nix pulled her M9 and snatched up the Berwyn’s contract.
Max froze for an instant, his eyes darting around the room in panic. Then he reached for his guns.
“Oh, no you don’t.” She gestured with her pistol.
“Okay, okay.” He thrust his arms up.
“I’ll be honest,” Nix made sure to look as smug as possible. “I really like you guys, so I don’t want to ruin your plan. So I’ll just take this one little book and let you have all of this hard. Sound good?”
Max let his arms fall back to his sides. “Sorry, but I can’t let you do that.”
“Ah, so there it is.” Nix let out a long breath; it was time to finish things. Time for the fun to end. “You’re working with the Feds, huh? I figured Luka and her bland-looking fiend Rando had roped you into their little operation. So I guess we’re at an impasse then?”
Max didn’t make a move. “How did you know Luka was a fed?”
Nix made a motion with her gun that suggested a shrug. “You would be surprised at how much I know. I have a lot of irons in the fire.”
“And what do you want with that book?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Nix tucked the stolen contract under her arm and winked.
“What about Kira?” He narrowed his eyes. “You said you’d help her.”
She shook her head. “I wasn’t lying about that.”
“Then do it.”
“I don’t have to. She can do that on her own.”
“What does that mean?” He stepped closer.
“It means that you don’t need anything from me anymore.”
Max glanced around as if thinking of what to say next. “What about the, ah, pendant? What is it doing to her?”
“You’re stalling, why?” Nix raised her gun to aim at his head.
A stupid expression fell across his face. “What? Nothing, I’m not–” Then suddenly, he leaped forward, almost falling until he slammed into the floor at her feet.
“What the?” she sputtered as his hand darted out.
Max smiled back up, his fingers clasped around her ankle and his other hand bringing his house ring up to his mouth. “Now!”
She opened her mouth to speak as the world blinked out around her. She only got out two words.
“Fuck me.”
Chapter Fifty-Six
Pop! Nix appeared, standing with her gun drawn and clutching Berwyn’s book against her chest. She was ready for anything.
Then the floor moved.
She wasn’t ready for that.
The new room tilted to the side at a sharp angle as noise surrounded her, disorienting her further. It didn’t help that Max still held one of her feet anchored in his grip. Her best option was to shoot him, but instead, she fell face first into a small, round window. Her cheek smushed against the glass with an undignified squeak.
The horizon outside passed by in a blur as she looked down on the crystal pyramid. Dozens of transport ships tore through the sky, circling the palace like vultures.
What the hell?
Nix peeled her face off the glass just as the room rocked again, sending her tumbling down to the floor.
“Ow.” She rubbed at the back of her head as pieces began falling into place. Obviously, she wasn’t back up in the suite where Max had said they were going. The rumble of a transport ship vibrated the floor beneath her.
“Easy now.” Kegan appeared from behind her, an
arrow drawn and pointed down at her head.
“Don’t make any sudden moves.” Corvin rested his blade against her shoulder.
Max stood up and drew one of his pistols, gripping a handrail that ran along the ceiling of the cabin for support. “Drop the gun and give us the book.”
She did neither. “So I take it Kira didn’t teleport back to the suite, huh?”
A smug grin took over Max’s face. “No, she did. We still need her to pick up Farn and Ginger before Berwyn figures out anything, but she made a quick detour first.”
“She teleported to the Reliqua’s center, didn’t she?” Nix closed her eyes and let her head fall against the metal floor. “That’s why you were stalling. You were buying her time to fly to your ship and hand off the Shift Beads.”
Then something else occurred to her. “But how did you get your ship ready so fast?” She let out a sudden mirthless laughed as she worked it out. “You already knew about the Winter Moon’s assault. The attack didn’t disrupt the plan.”
“The attack was the plan.” Max held his guns out and leaned forward to suggest a bow. “You were right, using Kira to teleport the hard out of to the suite was going to take too long. It made more sense to transport it to the Cloudbreaker and run with it all at once. We just needed to cover our escape. Fortunately, Berwyn and his Serpents have made plenty of enemies.” He leaned down. “Amelia didn’t even need to be convinced when I suggested an alliance over drinks a week ago. All it took was a cut of the hard.”
“What about that attack on the Catacombs? Were you in on that too?”
He grinned.
“What better way to gain someone’s trust than to save them from assassination. Although, Amelia did take things a little too far by not letting the rest of her house in on the plan. Apparently, she wanted it to seem authentic.”
Nix scoffed. “It seemed pretty real to me.”
“Yes,” Max deflated a little. “Kira getting hit was not part of the plan, but it worked out.”
“And the palace shield?” Nix tried to buy time to think. “You couldn’t get your ship close enough to use the Shift Beads with the barrier active. So I’m guessing Amelia didn’t really get a team inside to take it down? Did she?”