by Zeke Biddle
“Damn,” I say, breathing out a sigh in frustration. “I’m already tired of not knowing how anything works around here.” I sit up. The bird hops onto the ground beside me. “But you’ve given me another idea.” I turn to meet my familiar’s eyes. “Familiar, can you help us find the screaming woman?”
The eagle spreads his wings and shoots up into the air. He flies in a lazy circle.
I start to think he’s ignoring me.
When the woman screams again, the eagle gracefully starts off in the direction of her voice, easily picking his way through the trees at a casual pace, as if making sure not to miss any signs of the owner of the voice. The double vision returns, but it’s not so bad if I ignore my own sight and focus on his.
I motion for Alexandra to follow when I start moving.
I try to find the right balance of visions that allows me to keep track of where we need to go using the bird's eyes and keep track of where we are actually walking with my own. Avoiding running into trees quickly becomes a priority.
After only a few minutes of flying, the eagle settles on a branch.
With his eyes, I see three wolves pacing around a nearby tree. It takes me a few more seconds to locate the woman up in the branches hugging the tree trunk. I can’t make out much more than a vague shape because of all the leaves in the way.
“Found her,” I say, quickening my pace.
I hadn’t been completely sure Alexandra would stay with me as I journeyed deeper into the forest. I breathe a sigh of relief when I hear her footsteps behind me.
Having a warrior with a good sword is every low-level magician’s dream.
I’m just used to everyone being thrilled to see me.
Being protected by a buff woman is a little strange. But it’s kinda hot, too. If I ever get the chance, I’ll have to pick a fight in a bar and watch her crack some skulls defending my honor.
Alexandra and I pull up next to the tree where the familiar had landed and take in the scene.
“We should walk away, wizard. Those wolves will be distracted by whoever is in the tree until we are long gone,” she whispers.
“No!” I whisper back sharply. “She needs our help. Besides, if we help her now, maybe someone will do the same for us someday. Karma and all that. We might even talk her into joining our group if we save her. Three of us is better than two of us.”
“There is no two of us,” she reminds me. After a few seconds, she adds. “So what’s the plan?”
“I’m not sure. When I play these games, I’m always a warrior. The only plan I ever need is to charge ahead and swing my weapon. Since I don’t know any magic, I guess that’s still all I’ve got.”
Before I can talk myself out of it, I grip the lower end of my staff tightly with both hands, scream as loud as I can, and charge the wolves.
I swing my staff like the great two-handed swords I usually use in these games and strike the haunch of the wolf nearest me. He hasn’t bothered to turn away from his food up in the tree. He yelps and scampers away, but seems more annoyed than damaged.
I doubt he’ll stay away for too long.
As the other two wolves spread out to circle me, I take two steps back and swing the staff in a wide arc, hoping to hold them at bay. “Now would be a great time to use your pointy sword, Alexandra.”
“Is that you, Alexandra?” the woman in the tree asks.
“Eulalia? You’ve gotta be kidding me. What the hell are you doing out here?”
Apparently emboldened that we hadn’t kicked his friends’ asses yet, the wolf I’d chased away circles back and creeps closer.
With all three wolves eyeing me, I clear my throat. “Ladies, can we figure all that out afterward? I’d really rather not get eaten while you old friends say hi to each other.”
“We’re not friends,” they both said exactly the same time, ice in their voices.
7
Great. That’s just what I need. Two women who hate each other on my team.
“So, you up there in the tree,” I shout. “Got any good weapons or magic you can use to help us?”
“Sorry. I made a bit of a career shift, you could say. I don’t have much you’d find useful while I’m trapped up here in the tree by wolves!”
Of course not.
I nudge Alexandra with my elbow. “The stabby end — start poking.”
“Fine,” she says with exasperation dripping from her tone.
She wades in, swinging the sword like a machete. She hits the tree several times, but completely whiffs on all the wolves.
“How in the world do you survive battles using your sword like that?” I ask, swinging my own staff to try to distract the wolves who have suddenly turned toward Alexandra.
“I don’t actually have all that much experience,” she says sheepishly.
Perfect. A bunch of beginners and three hungry wolves. Kip must be pissing himself from laughing so hard.
“Okay, then,” I say, hoping I sound calm. “I’ve got another plan. I’ll keep them distracted. You sneak up and carefully stab them. Don’t swing the sword so wildly. It’s not an ax. Keep your eyes open. Focus on the spot you want to target, and hit the fucking spot.”
I roar a challenge at the wolves and feign like I’m going to attack. The nearest wolf lunges at me. I barely manage to pull away fast enough to escape with a scratch instead of losing my whole hand.
Still, it feels like I’ve been stabbed with little knives. I’ve never felt anything like it. Definitely not in any VR world.
This game is too realistic.
I no longer have any trouble believing that if I die in the game I’ll die in the real world.
The wolf yelps when Alexandra manages to stab it with her sword.
“Look at that! I hit it!”
“Yes. Great. Do it again. Don’t stop until they’re all dead.”
I can keep one distracted while she slowly kills it, but that still leaves the other two roaming free. I need a better distraction. My familiar screeches his support from the branches.
“Great idea,” I say out loud even though I’m pretty sure I don’t need to with our particular bond. “Come down here and make a scene. Keep those other two busy.”
I fight away the double vision and focus on the wolf in front of ground-me. Feeling like Rafiki in The Lion King, I crack my staff against its head.
It doesn’t hurt the beast, but it does keep his attention on me.
He lunges at my staff.
I jam it down his throat.
He gags, but instead of flinching away, he closes his teeth on the wood. Fortunately, it doesn’t snap right in half.
During the commotion, Alexandra steps up beside him and plunges her sword straight through his neck.
The wolf stumbles a couple of steps before falling to the ground. Alexandra pulls the sword free and shouts, “Fuck yeah! Which one is next?”
Bouncing on the toes of her feet like she knows what she’s doing, Alexandra rushes to the nearest wolf.
My eagle nips at the wolf’s tail, making it miss when it bites at Alexandra’s leg.
Without missing a beat, she stabs her sword down into its back with enough force that the blade comes out the other side. She immediately pulls the sword free and does it again for good measure before spinning to the last one.
I use my staff to sweep its back legs out from under it while my familiar grabs both its ears with its talons.
Alexandra stabs it through the throat, and just like that, the battle is done.
Or so we think.
Alexandra drops her sword to the ground and throws her hands into the air to celebrate.
The second wolf rises to its feet behind her.
The eagle has already retreated back to the safety of the branches, and I am too far away to hit it with my staff.
Alexandra is hopping around in celebration and doesn’t notice the wolf creeping up behind her.
“Watch out,” I scream.
As she turns, the wolf p
ounces. It hits her squarely in the chest and drives her to the ground. Standing above her, it growls and bares its teeth.
Anger rises deep within me.
We were so close to victory, but we got sloppy.
Once Alexandra dies, the wolf will probably kill me next. I’m just not strong enough to survive this kind of battle without a warrior to do all the real work.
My entire body starts to burn with rage. I point my hand at the wolf. “No! Bad dog!”
The heat that’s been building in my chest flares down my arm and out my hand. A ball of fire the size of a basketball shoots from the tips of my fingers. It explodes against the wolf, setting its fur on fire.
It drops to the ground and rolls, trying to put the flames out.
Alexandra does not waste the opportunity.
She grabs her sword and stabs the wolf through the eye, killing it for good this time.
I stare at my hands in disbelief.
What the hell was that?
I can’t believe I discovered magic. I don’t even know where it came from or if I can do it again, but that fireball came from me. We are still alive because of the magic that I created.
I don’t get a lot of time to celebrate the victory before something even more confusing happens.
From up in the tree, Eulalia says, “Great job, you two.”
A message immediately pops up in the air in front of me.
Eulalia Freemont has joined your harem. You currently have 1 of 5 women in your harem.
8
Eulalia climbs out of the tree, brushes her hands on her leather skirt, and says, “I never thought you and I would be part of the same harem, Alexandra, but I guess we’ll figure out a way to make things work.”
Her black leather bra and skirt are nearly identical to the ones Alexandra wears. Eulalia’s skin is dark, her eyes brown, and her face seems to exude kindness in the same way that Alexandra’s shows hardness.
She’s stunning, and I have to think of Dasandra to keep an erection from popping up to say hello.
“Like hell am I in this man’s harem,” Alexandra says. “What kind of an idiot do you take me for?”
“Oh, I just figured since the two of you were together in the Cursed Woods…”
Birds chirp as we all stare wordlessly at each other.
I have a million questions, but I’m afraid Alexandra will call me an idiot again if I ask any of them.
Do these two women know each other? They certainly don’t seem like friends.
Am I going to have to choose between them? They’re each gorgeous in their own way.
Harem?
I’d be happy as hell if either of the sexy women even knew my name back on earth. Now, I’m daring to hope I can have them both. I could get used to a life trapped in a game if things continue like this.
Needing to break the silence, I dare to ask, “How do you two know each other?”
“Eulalia is from Raven Haven,” Alexandra says as if that answered everything.
Eulalia nods in agreement. “And Alexandra has been lurking around our streets for months trying to figure out how to get the bridge to operate. I thought she’d picked the next best option and talked you into escorting her back to wherever she calls home.”
Alexandra shoves Eulalia to the ground and draws her sword.
Eulalia smirks back at her. “Letting your rage get the better of you still, I see?”
“I am a warrior, you know. That’s what we do. You used to be one, too. Or did you forget already?”
“I do not forget who I am, Alexandra. I’ve just changed as I’ve matured. I follow the Goddess now and have learned other ways of fighting, and even nurturing. Not every problem calls for just bashing things over the head until they die.”
“That Goddess of yours sure wasn’t much help when you were stuck in the tree. Good thing my sword was around to do some bashing.”
Worried they might try to kill each other, I interject. “That fireball of mine sure came in handy, huh? Did you see that? I can’t believe I figured out magic.”
Alexandra rolls her eyes but stops picking on Eulalia for the moment. “Did you figure it out, wizard? Or did you just get lucky?”
I sigh. She’s right. If push came to shove, I doubt I can do it again.
The crack of a branch is the only warning we get that we’re about to be attacked. When we all turn as one like a well-trained team toward the sound of our common enemy, I start to believe everything will work out fine for our little party.
“Spread out a little so they can’t attack more than one of us at a time,” I whisper. “But stay close enough together that we can all attack at once.”
Off to our left, something growls.
I’m just about to change my order and get us formed into a triangle with our backs to each other when Alexandra charges toward the new sound, leaving Eulalia and myself alone.
Alexandra screams and grunts as she fights whatever creature emerged closest to her.
I don’t have time to pay her any attention. A wolf growls at me. I point my staff toward it and try to get the heat to course through my body again.
Nothing happens.
“Shit.” I grab my staff in the middle and prepare to use it as a physical weapon instead of a magic one.
“Help!” Alexandra screams. “It’s got my leg!”
Eulalia sprints to her side, leaving me alone to face the wolf.
A wizard without his magic doesn’t have much chance against monsters. Still, if physical fighting is the only other option, I’m not going to lie down and die without giving it my all.
I twirl my staff above my head and reach for the bottom of it to swing at the wolf. It’s a move I’ve done a million times as a warrior. With my wizard hands, I fumble the staff and drop it to the forest floor.
The wolf sees a chance and springs for me.
Backpedaling as fast as possible, I just manage to escape his bite.
Still running backward, I crash into something behind me.
“Watch where you’re going, wizard!” Alexandra shouts when our bodies collide.
With nowhere to retreat, I’m an easy target for the wolf. His teeth grab a hold of my wrist and jerk my arm from side to side.
I scream in pain and pray for the heat that signals my fireball is coming.
Still nothing.
“Kip! If you’re there, teach me how to cast a stupid spell. Or I’ll never defeat your One-Eyed Monster.”
I’ve never been so happy to hear another man sigh. “I don’t have time for this, man. Figure this shit out yourself. Try making up a magic word and shouting it. It seemed to work for Harry Potter.”
With no better option to try, I pull myself from from the wolf’s mouth, cross my hands, and extend my arms. “Fireball Explodium!”
A fireball shoots out of my hands again, this time without any sign of the heat building up in my body first.
The fireball hits the wolf squarely in the face as it tries to bite me.
The creature falls to the ground. The sick smell of burning fur assaults my nose.
I shout the words again and cast another fireball, killing the wolf.
“One down.”
I check on how Alexandra is doing with her attacker.
She’s got scratches and bite marks all over her body.
Eulalia touches her back. After a light blue glow envelops our warrior, most of the marks are gone from her body.
“Don’t waste your magic,” Alexandra grumbles. “I wasn’t anywhere near dying.”
“Can’t you even give me a simple thank you? Go to hell, Alexandra. Die if you want to.”
Eulalia walks away from the battle, shaking her head.
I hold out my hands and shout my magic words.
A fireball does appear again, but it’s about a third of the size of the others and moves way slower. It even veers off to the right at the last second and misses the wolf entirely.
I try again. An even tinier and m
ore pathetic fireball—more of a fire pebble—pops off my fingertips and falls limply to the ground.
“Stop wasting all your magic, wizard. I’ve got this.”
Alexandra stabs at the wolf when it lunges for her neck.
She screams and falls to her knees. The wolf starts shaking its head, whipping her around like a rag doll.
I easily grab her sword away from her weak grip and plunge it into the wolf’s side.
It drops Alexandra and turns to look at me.
Before it can attack, Alexandra jumps onto its back and starts bashing its head with a rock. After a few more weak stabs from me while Alexandra continues pounding its head, the wolf finally dies.
Gasping and panting in exhaustion, Alexandra falls to the cool leaves on the forest floor.
I drop to one knee, pressing against a stitch in my side.
Eulalia returns and stares down at us with a frown on her face. “That was just pathetic. Every man for himself? We can’t win fights like that. Once a battle starts, we all need to stick together so that I can heal you both, Alexandra can do the stabbing, and Marcus can cast his fire from a safe distance. And no one complains about the others. We’ve got to work as a team.”
She waits for an argument that never comes.
“Fine. Glad that’s settled.” She points off further west into the forest. “Now, look over there. That little house looks abandoned, and we could use a place to rest. I for one could use a good sleep after a good fuck to settle my nerves. Alexandra, you’re free to join us.”
9
Eulalia shuts the door behind us as soon as we walk into one of the rooms.
The other bedroom door slams a second later. Alexandra refused to join us.
My heart’s beating so hard with anticipation that I’m not even disappointed. Okay, maybe just a little bit. The tiny room only has one little bed pressed into the corner along the wall shared with Alexandra’s room.
I sit down on the chair next to a desk on the opposite wall and try not to gawk as Eulalia removes her backpack. She sets it against the wall so close to me I swear I can feel the heat from her body.