by David Petrie
“Good luck.” Piper tossed him a health vial.
He nodded back. Then he jumped.
“Crap, ow, damn, oomphf.” Max tumbled down the panels of polished crystal before he losing enough momentum to slide the rest of the way down. He ignored the damage. It didn’t matter. It couldn’t.
Nix couldn’t get away, not with information on whatever Berwyn was trying to sell. If agent Dawson was right, then thousands of lives could depend on him.
He rolled on to the roof at the bottom and downed the health vial Piper had tossed him. Transport ships blazed through the sky all around him, dropping explosives and players down on the pyramid’s front gates. Spells fired into the sky from the ground in response.
“Nix!” Max pushed him off the tiles as the mercenary spun and unloaded her M9 in direction. Max tugged his scarf up over his face and held his breath. Death’s blades spun into existence, glinting through the space in front of him. Bullets sparked and clanged against the spectral steel as he kicked off into a run, his health depleting one sliver at a time.
He fired back, grazing the reynard as she sprinted toward one of the gabled windows and dove inside. It was the same space that his housemates had hidden in all week. Max slowed and held his breath, expecting her to fire back from cover.
She didn’t.
Probably waiting for me to poke my head in.
No thanks.
Max circled around to the other side rather than following her in. Then he hesitated. She might expect that. She could be watching that side, ready for him. Then again, she might assume that he would expect her to expect that. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. He did neither. Instead, he fired blind into the narrow space, hoping to wound her with a ricochet. Then he crept in.
The space was empty except for the book laying on the floor. He resisted the urge to leap for it. It was an obvious trap. Max held his breath to call up his defense.
A sword blurred in at his side, crashing into the wall with a burst of sparks as a bullet streaked down through his arm. He threw himself to the side on instinct, as another few shots came at him from above. Death’s blades whirled through the narrow space, only blocking half, unable to move freely in such close quarters. With a grunt, Max hit the wall and pushed off to dodge, pulling down his scarf at the same time. His sub-class wasn’t helping, and he didn’t need it draining his health. Using his momentum, he spun to find Nix, wedged into the ceiling with her feet braced against both walls.
He aimed up as she pushed off the opposite side and dropped down, dodging in a move that was almost a mirror image of his. They both fired in unison while darting to the sides. Both shots missed, hitting the walls and throwing off clouds of dust from the stonework. He slapped her pistol away with the back of his hand. She thanked him with a knee to the kidney as he missed and put two rounds into the wall.
Then his guns locked back empty.
Nix let out a loud, “Ha!” as Max was forced to eject his empty magazines.
He kicked one as it fell, sending it straight into her face, whacking her in the forehead.
“Ha!” he laughed back.
Then she shot him in the leg 'cause, of course, she still had bullets.
Instead of flinching, he grabbed her M9 and squeezed her hand until he pressed her finger against its magazine release. She kneed him again, this time in the stomach as her half full mag dropped to the floor with a solid clunk. He ignored it and shoved her arm away, forcing her to fire off the round remaining in the chamber before letting go.
He grabbed a fresh mag and holstered one pistol, unable to reload both at once while fighting. Nix slapped the magazine out of his hand.
He did the same to her.
This left them awkwardly pistol whipping each other with their empty guns, like a couple of children having a slap fight. None of their hits did much damage since that wasn’t how guns were intended to be used.
Eventually, she caught his arm with her free hand and jumped up, wrapping her legs around him and pulling him off balance. She rotated as they fell, landing on his chest with a knee. His lungs ached as a lung full of air was forced out all at once with a desperate wheeze. She pushed off him, lunging for the book, only to stop short as Max grabbed her tail and yanked.
“Don’t be a dick, Max,” she growled back before cracking him in the face with the butt of her pistol.
“Son of a!” Max’s vision blurred for a second.
It was just the distraction she needed to make a break for it, and make a break she did, grabbing the book and darting out the window back to the roof. She must have reloaded because she let off a few rounds as Max tried to follow her out the window. He snatched his full mag from the floor and slammed it in. Tugging his scarf back up, he called back his Reaper sub-class and leaped out sideways, firing.
The chase resumed.
Nix dashed toward the edge of the roof, most likely going for one of the balconies below to escape into the palace. Then before she could make it, a beautiful voice rang out over Lockheart’s house line.
“Get ready for the fireworks!” Ginger shouted, sounding like she was in a hurry.
“Right on time.” Her voice filled Max’s heart with joy as he braced for impact.
The world trembled as a blast of heat and flame erupted from the corner of the palace behind him. Nix ducked and stole a glance back at the sound. All color drained from her face.
The windows of each balcony detonated outward in a chain of explosions that rocked the entire palace. One blast after another went off like dominos as the destruction blew away the edge of the roof, leaving only the peak where Max crouched.
He grinned as Nix tried to run. Clearly, the mercenary wasn’t expecting the entire top floor of the building to detonate. The best she could do was leap away from the edge before the wave of destruction reached her. It was just enough to keep her alive but not enough to keep her from being launched across the roof.
Max watched her body hit the side of the pyramid like a bug hitting a windshield, releasing the book from her grip as she slid back down. He raced for the stolen contract, Death’s swords deflecting bullets as she fired uselessly in his direction.
Dashing past her, he scooped up the book with a victorious, “Ha!” Max ran, excitement carrying him through the clouds of billowing smoke that drifted across what was left of the roof.
He had the book.
He had the hard.
He had it all.
A stupid grin spread across his face, impossible to suppress as he dropped through a hole in the roof and into a bombed-out suite below. With everything going on above and the cover that the smoke provided him, he was confident that Nix hadn’t seen where he went. As long as he was quiet and didn’t do anything stupid, she’d never find him.
Max dropped to his knees in what was once a sitting area. A broken, stone coffee table was all that remained. He threw open the book and pulled his inspector from his journal to capture images of its contents. Getting out of the palace alive was going to be tricky, so he figured getting the book backed up would be his best bet. He read over a page; dates and addresses covered the paper in dense blocks of handwritten text. Of course, he had no idea what any of it meant, but he hoped that Dawson would. He started snapping pictures.
He didn’t get far.
Suddenly, Max’s body seized up as a sensation radiated out from his spine. It pulsed and throbbed with every movement that he tried to make. It wasn’t painful, but it wasn’t comfortable either. He fell limp, catching himself just enough to prop his back against the stone table. His mind raced, trying to figure out what was happening.
Did Nix have another contract? Something like the Death Grip?
He didn’t know.
Then he heard her voice, and his heart sank.
“I really didn’t want to have to do this, Max.” Nix stepped into the room and made her way around the table.
He couldn’t believe she had found him. The plan had been good. Hell
, it had been perfect. It even had his personal style of being loud and destructive. There was no way she could have gotten to him so quickly.
Then she crouched down, and his blood ran cold.
Her eyes were purple.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
“Holy crap!” Kira ducked as the entire top floor exploded against the walls of polished crystal all around her. Of course, she knew the destruction was coming, but still, it was a big-ass explosion.
Farn moved fast, powering up her gauntlet and stepping in front of her as if she expected the worst.
Kira wondered if they had used too many bombs. At the time, Max’s argument of better more than less had won out. Though now, she was a little worried that they might have overdone it. She glanced around at her surroundings, half expecting it all to come crashing down.
The barrier held, leaving the inside of the pyramid unscathed, save for a few cracks here and there. The lockdown was still in place.
“Ah, yes, well, told you we would be safe inside the pyramid.” Berwyn raised his head from where he ducked beside her.
Kira shot Farn a nervous glance combined with an awkward smile. Farn met her eyes, then froze and looked away, a smile of her own spreading across her face.
“What the hell was that?” Ripper scanned the perimeter.
Berwyn shook his head. “Amelia must have gotten a team past our people at the gates, planted some explosives.”
“Well, where the hell are Nix and Aawil?” Ripper questioned. “Aren’t they supposed to be preventing shit like that.”
Berwyn checked his journal. “They haven’t responded to any of my messages. Maybe they got caught in the blast.”
Ripper laughed. “One can only hope.” Clearly, he wasn’t a fan of the two mercenaries.
As Ripper and Berwyn talked, Kira leaned close to Farn. “Get ready for a teleport. I’m gonna try it while they’re not paying attention.”
“Damn,” Ripper clenched his fist, “the blast must have destroyed everyone’s home points upstairs. That’s going to delay some of our reinforcements.”
Berwyn started to sweat a little. “We’ll sit tight and wait. The Moons shouldn’t be able to get in here anyway.”
“What if they go for the vault?” Ripper pointed down.
“They’ll never get through the laser grid.” Berwyn waved away the concern with a hand.
Kira opened her mouth on reflex, but Farn placed a hand on her leg and squeezed before she had the chance to blurt out a correction. Kira immediately shut her mouth, realizing that it was not the moment to make jokes that could potentially blow their cover.
Berwyn stepped a few feet down the stone walkway. “Amelia doesn’t have anyone small enough to slip through the laser beams down there.” He laughed, raking one hand through his hair. “I’m pretty sure Kira’s the only one that could fit through there anyway.”
Suddenly, he froze.
It had obviously been a joke, but there it was.
Kira cringed as she watched the wheels in his head begin to turn. She was the only person he knew with the size, weight, and grace to navigate the vault’s entryway. She had also been mysteriously absent when the attack started.
Berwyn turned slowly to face her as she did her best to act casual, sitting on his throne. His face fell as a half-smile wavered up and down. “Kira, dear? Sorry, but where were you before Ripper found you?”
“Umm…” She gave him her most charming smile without saying more.
His eye began to twitch.
“Aww crap.” She winced as the Lord of Serpent’s visage contorted with rage.
He stabbed a finger in her direction and glared at Ripper.
“Kill them!”
The cruel Shield responded with a grin as he drew his sword and reached out toward Kira with his Death Grip.
Farn threw herself in front of her. “You’ll have to go through me!” She glanced back over her shoulder. “Get in the air and stay out of range.”
Kira hesitated, not wanting to leave her friend’s side.
“Please,” Farn added with a thread of desperation in her voice. Her tone made Kira’s heart ache, although she wasn’t sure why. She nodded and shot into the air.
Farn smiled at Ripper. “I guess it’s rematch time.”
She didn’t bother with her gauntlet, instead pouring its energy into her Feral Edge to unleash its true form. Crimson light climbed the blade.
Ripper’s claws glowed as well.
What followed next was a kinetic clash of metal and power that tore through the landscape.
Kira stayed close with a pulse ready to disrupt the Death Grip like she had before. To her surprise, Ripper didn’t use the overpowered contract. She furrowed her brow. It made no sense. It was like he was dragging things out, which would have been crazy in the current situation. Thinking practically, he should have gone for a quick kill. The answer struck her like a bolt of lightning.
He can’t.
The realization changed everything she knew about the seemingly unstoppable Death Grip.
It did have a weakness.
Of course it did. It had to.
Kira cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted down. “He can’t use his instakill!”
Ripper glared up at her, his eyes burning with rage, confirming her suspicion. The Death Grip must only work once per player, meaning that he had wasted his ability to use it on Farn days ago.
Kira smiled and cast a buff on Farn. The fight was as good as over.
In the bombed-out suite above, Max fought against his own body as it refused to obey his mind. He lay on his back against the stone table, his eyes locked with Nix, her violet irises staring back at him. He struggled to speak, his voice coming out thick and jittery.
“You’re the same as Kira.”
“Not quite.” The reynard shook her head. “I was the first test.” Suddenly, she winced and clutched her head with both hands, her eyes shut tight. She took a few short breaths and opened them again. “As you can see, it didn’t go as planned.”
Max looked deeper into her eyes, noticing that they weren’t as bright as Kira’s. Their violet coloring was blotchy with cracks of blue and red running through her irises.
It looked painful.
“I am what happens if the process fails.” Nix rubbed at her temples. “I can’t command the system on the level Kira can, but I still have enough power to disrupt the control over your body.”
Max choked on his saliva. “Did Carver do that to you too?”
“I ordered him to. I thought I could handle it, but I wasn’t flexible enough to form a proper bond with the beta.”
“Ordered?” Max wrapped his head around that word. “Carver worked for you?”
“He still does.” She smirked. “Who do you think faked the DoS attack on Noctem’s servers to kick Berwyn offline last night before he could have his way with Kira.”
“That was Carver?”
She gave a weak smile. “I ordered him to do that as well, though he was happy to do it. It was the least we could do considering the burden that has been pushed on that little fairy.”
Max didn’t like the sound of that. “What burden? What is she bonded with?”
“The future.” Nix stared off into nothing before giving her attention back to him. “Do you have any idea what she’s capable of? How powerful she is?”
Max had tried not to dwell on the subject. He knew what the system could do better than anyone. It had access to his mind. A year ago, Carver had used it to recreate his childhood memories. It had reached inside his mind. Kira would never hurt anyone, but with that kind of power, there wasn’t much she couldn’t do.
“That’s right,” Nix said as if reading the grave expression on his face as an answer. “A side effect of what has been done to her is that she has an ocean of power with her grasp. All she has to do is give herself to it, to let it take her.”
“You’re an idiot.” Max let out a defiant laugh. “She’ll never
do it. Do you even know Kira? She has less interest in power than I do in my taxes.”
“I know her better than you think. I’ve watched the both of you for years, believe it or not, and you're right, she lazy and lacks ambition.”
Nix picked up Berwyn’s book from the floor where Max had dropped it. “Do you know what Cline, sorry, Berwyn is selling?”
Max didn’t answer.
“It’s a particularly nasty virus or at least something similar.” She leaned in as if gossiping a secret. “They call it Verschlinger. That’s German for devourer.”
Max tried to pull away from her.
She flipped through the book. “Do you know how many people this weapon could kill?”
“Thousands,” Max said with disgust, repeating what he had been told.
She laughed, pointing up with one thumb. “Guess again?
He didn’t. Instead, he let his expression of horror do the talking for him.
Her smile faded. “Try billions.”
The word sent a chill through his heart. “What do you want with it?”
“Me? Nothing.” She tilted her head to the side. “Honestly, stopping Berwyn’s sale and giving the weapon to the Feds would be the best outcome for me. I just needed a threat.”
“A threat?”
She nodded. “Yeah, a crisis, a beast, a villain. Something to stop. As I said, I do know Kira. She might not want power, but if it’s to save others, well, she’d pay any price she has to. And really, what’s one fairy in exchange for the lives of billions?
Max felt bile in his throat. Nix was right. He struggled to raise his head, letting out a growl. “Damn it! You said you’d help her!”
“No.” She shook her head. “I said I’d do something about that pendant. Calling that help, well, you might not see it that way.”
At that, she leaned down to and took his hand in hers, raising his house ring to her lips. It shouldn’t have worked, but clearly, the rules didn’t apply to her and those painful, violet eyes. She paused as if getting into character, then took a few frantic breaths before speaking. Max’s skin crawled as his voice came from her mouth.