“You should feel honored to be here.”
Iska snorted. “Honored enough to come hunt your ass and mount it on my wall as a trophy.”
“Only the elite are taken into this game. The best of the best are brought into True Fight to celebrate gaming as it should be. Real-life, hand-to-hand combat. An immersive experience you will never forget.”
“Of course everyone who’s in here will forget it. They’ll be dead, jack ass.”
“And now, a word from our sponsor.”
Iska crossed his arms over his chest. What tedious yapping was he about to hear?
“Welcome and greetings to you all, new and established gamers. It is a fine day for glory.”
Iska’s heart thudded in his chest. He knew this voice.
“It’s a glorious time to fight for liberty or death. Be strong my warriors. I expect great things from you.”
Iska’s hands clenched. He’d heard that line hundreds of times. He waited to hear more, certain he’d made a mistake and his ears were playing tricks on him.
“A dozen players remain in this game. Celebrate the fact you have reached this stage in the championship. The end battles will commence shortly. Remember, there can be only one winner. Second place is failure.”
Iska opened his mouth and roared. This was the voice that had ridiculed and mocked him with every step he’d taken as he struggled to survive as a cub.
It was his father. He was the reason Iska might lose Avril before he’d even had a chance of a future with her, a chance to see if they could be something more than fantasy figures in a game.
His teeth clenched as another roar threatened. His father had finally pushed him too far. When he found him, he would kill him.
He bowed his head and began to run. Iska would find Avril no matter what he needed to do.
There was no universe where he could lose Avril to his father.
Chapter 17
Avril tamped down the panic inside her. She’d been an idiot, letting her guard down and trusting Malka.
She’d been so desperate for an ally that she hadn’t stopped to think why this stranger would want her in her life.
It hadn’t been a coincidence Avril had found Malka. She must have laid the trail deliberately, knowing Avril would see her tracks and follow them.
As Malka had admitted, she knew a lot about Avril. She’d figure she’d be desperate to be accepted, to have someone on her side so she didn’t feel like such a loser.
Her panic was laced with anger. Malka had tricked her into this nightmare with the sole purpose of killing her.
Malka hadn’t been able to look Avril in the eye since she’d announced she was going to take her life. Maybe there was still a chance she would change her mind.
Avril shook her head. Malka was fighting for someone she loved. She wouldn’t care what happened to Avril, so long as she got what she wanted.
Avril sucked in a breath. She was the Warrior Princess. She knew how to fight in the game. Although she wasn’t experienced at fighting people in real life, she knew the moves. That was why she trained every day in the studio. Knowing how to punch without breaking a hand and how to balance herself when she kicked had helped her stay on top.
Avril could handle herself if she had to. She’d just figured she’d never have to, not for real and never to the death.
“How does this work?” she asked Malka. “I’m guessing this isn’t your first kill?”
Malka glanced at her. “They give us weapons, and we fight.”
Avril looked around the top of the hill they’d climbed. “I don’t see any weapons.”
“We have everything we need right here.” Malka gestured around the clearing. “Our fists. Branches to stab with. Rocks to bash in heads.”
“That’s good to know.” Her frantic gaze shifted around her. She could see nothing suitable for a weapon. Certainly nothing that was easy to grab.
“Whatever you find, you can use. I wish it could be another way, but I have to get my brother back. It doesn’t make me feel good knowing I have to kill you.”
Avril braced her shoulders. “Maybe I’m not going to let you kill me.”
Malka’s eyes flashed with anger and a hint of desperation. “That’s more like the Warrior Princess I know.”
“Since you know who I am in the games, you should be more careful.”
Malka laughed darkly. “You’re the total opposite of what I expected. I figured you to be some muscled former squaddie, who’d picked up virtual reality to quench their lust for the fight.”
“And who just happened to enjoy dressing up like a warrior princess in knee-high boots and short skirts?”
“Everyone has their kinks.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
“I am too. Not in a bad way. You’re a good person. I only wish you were an asshat, then I could get this over with and get my brother back.” Malka’s gaze ran over her. “I get that we all have different facades in the games. I didn’t expect you to be so timid in real life.”
Avril winced. She’d been called that so many times, she almost didn’t mind. “Who are you in the games?”
Malka was silent.
“You know all about me. At least tell me a little about you.”
Malka slid her a sharp look. “Dark Falcon.”
Avril surprised herself by laughing. She wasn’t sure if she was becoming hysterical or going mad. “You’re kidding me.”
“What’s so funny?”
“I imagined Dark Falcon to be some seven-foot alien warrior with talons and an attitude, not some run of the mill chick with... with...” Avril bit her tongue.
“Go on.”
She looked away. “Nothing.”
“I’m not impressive in real life?”
“Who is?”
Malka shrugged. “It doesn’t matter who we really are. It’s what we do now in this game that gives us our future. Our chance of a future, anyway.”
“I’m not fighting you,” Avril said.
“Then you’ll be easy to kill.” Despite the harshness in Malka’s words, apprehension was clear on her face. She didn’t want to do this.
“We can stop this. Why don’t we seek out the source of light you showed me? It could be a way out for both of us.”
“And get ourselves killed by that gang down there? Or maybe the pyro dragon will come back when it gets hungry.”
“Better to risk that than this option.”
“We’re being watched. If I don’t follow through with this, then I’ll be the one who’s eliminated. They can’t do that. I have a chance to save my brother. I have to take it.”
“Even if that means killing me?”
“I can live with it.”
“I don’t think I can.”
“You don’t get a choice. I’ve been making all your decisions for you since you came in here. Hell, I even enticed you in here.” Malka slowly circled Avril as she spoke.
Avril’s heart raced as she made sure to keep Malka in view. She sensed how desperate Malka was. Avril would be equally frantic to get back somebody she loved, but at the expense of another life? She wasn’t sure.
Malka suddenly screamed and ran toward her.
All of Avril’s joints locked as terror flooded through her. At the last second, she sidestepped Malka’s clumsy attack.
Malka wheeled around and glared at her. “This isn’t easy for me.”
“It sure isn’t easy for me either.”
Malka ran at Avril again.
Avril grabbed her arm and used her motion to fling Malka over her head and onto the ground.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” Avril backed away as she watched Malka panting. She really hadn’t meant to do that. She wasn’t even aware of what she was doing, but her year and a half of fighting in the games and her training sessions in the studio on Prodigy meant she’d reacted without thinking. Her muscle memory had taken over and made sure she was safe.
Malka attacked again,
this time with her fists.
Avril blocked the punches. Again, her instincts took over, although fists on flesh hurt more than a punching bag.
She slammed out a fist and smashed it into Malka’s nose. “Sorry.” Her knuckles tingled, but nothing felt broken.
Malka grunted and swiped blood from her nose. She got a punch into Avril’s stomach, but not hard enough to do damage.
Avril responded with a front kick that flipped Malka onto her back. “I’m so sorry.”
“Stop bloody apologizing.” Malka spat out blood as she struggled to her feet.
“I can’t help it.” It was like she had a polite form of Tourette’s. “I don’t want to fight you.”
“Your actions suggest otherwise.” Malka stepped back. “Where did you learn to fight like that?”
“By myself and in the games.” She looked down at her curled fingers and crouched position. She was ready for another attack and hadn’t even realized it.
“Well, sorry, bitch. I still have to kill you.”
They went several more rounds. Each time, Avril blocked Malka’s assault. She was clumsy. Malka wasn’t a natural fighter, and her moves grew ever more uncoordinated as she became tired and desperate.
In contrast, Avril’s moves became more confident. She was doing this. She was fighting for real. This wasn’t a game, yet she was able to protect herself. It wasn’t enjoyable, and she took no joy in the blows she landed or the blood that dripped from Malka’s split lip, but Avril was like a real-life warrior princess.
Her whole life she’d been in hiding, keeping out of people’s way and making sure everyone else was happy, no matter the cost to her. For the first time in her life, it felt like she was standing up for herself.
“Just fucking die,” Malka shrieked as she tried to grab Avril. “I need to get my brother back.”
“You’ll have to find another way,” Avril said.
“You’re nothing but a joke,” Malka spat. “You hide behind that dumb warrior princess image, but you’re a pathetic loser.”
“No worse than you, Dark Falcon. What makes us so different?”
“I have a life outside the games, a family and someone who loves me. What do you have? A bunch of money grubbing foster parents who only took you because of the cash they got? They don’t remember you. They won’t be coming to any memorial service held for you. That’s even if there is one. You are nothing.”
“I’m not the one lying in the dirt with blood on my face.” Avril tried not to show it, but those words stung. She’d spent her life being told she was worthless and would never achieve anything.
“Do you really think if you beat me that’s the end of this game?” Malka staggered to her feet. “With me gone, you’ll be alone. You don’t know this place. You don’t know how it works.”
“I’ll figure it out, just like you did.” Avril’s arms felt heavy, and she lowered her defensive position.
“Providing they keep you alive. Now they know Warrior Princess is some geek of a human who spends her life hiding from everything, they’ll lose interest. They’ll send the pyro dragon to take you out.”
“I beat the pyro dragon before.”
“You got lucky.” Malka looked down at Avril’s damaged leg. “Not all that lucky.”
It was only then that Avril felt the stinging of the puncture wounds. She’d been so focused on keeping herself safe that she hadn’t noticed they’d started to bleed again. “We don’t ha-ha-have to do this.”
“Yes, we d-d-do,” Malka mocked. “Everyone will be cheering me on and wanting to see you dead. You’re an embarrassment to the gaming community.”
“I am not.” The words came out as a whisper.
“The only reason you are in here is to die. Let me make that happen.”
“It isn’t. I’m not going to die.” Avril’s fists shook. She’d had to put up with taunts and ridicule all her life—from when she was a lanky, game obsessed kid in the foster system to her awkward time in college. It wasn’t until she’d joined My Single Alien that she’d felt a real connection with people and been accepted. Now, it was being taken away from her.
Malka lunged at her. She grabbed Avril by the throat and slammed her to the ground. “I’m not sorry about this.”
Everything Avril knew about how to protect herself vanished from her head. Malka was right. She couldn’t win this game. If she defeated Malka, there would be more opponents, and they’d be deadlier. She was living on borrowed time. Why keep fighting?
Malka’s grip tightened around her throat. She grabbed a rock and held it over Avril’s head. There was a glimmer of madness in her eyes as she stared down at Avril. “This is for my brother.”
A blur of pale blond fur slammed into Malka, and she bounced off Avril, screaming as she did so.
Avril rolled onto her hands and knees. Her mouth fell open as she saw Iska slam Malka against a tree and knock her out.
The world spun as Avril sank to her knees. Was she hallucinating? This place had sent her mad.
She heard an angry snarl and shook her head. It sounded too real, but what was Iska doing here?
Avril closed her eyes. Everything wanted to shut down. She felt like an overheating bot as her head sank to her knees. This was all a nightmare. She’d wake up in a minute and find she’d overslept and Diadora was hammering on her door, demanding she take a training session in her night dress.
This wasn’t real. None of it was real.
She forced her head up, sweat stinging her eyes. If it was real, it meant that Iska had come after her. Iska wanted to help her.
But, why?
Chapter 18
As soon as he’d dispatched the crazed human who’d been about to kill Avril, Iska turned and ran back to her.
Avril was on her knees, her head down. Her breathing came out rapid and shallow.
“Are you hurt?” He was almost afraid to touch her.
Her head rose slowly, and although she looked at him, it was like she couldn’t see him. “You’re here?”
“You must have a concussion.” Iska picked Avril up off the ground and carried her under the cover of trees.
Her arm went around his neck as he continued deeper into the trees.
“What are you doing here?” Avril’s voice was just a whisper.
“Saving you.”
“How? I mean, how did you know I was here?”
“I followed you in.” Iska kept moving, despite the almost overwhelming desire to check Avril’s injuries and heal her. He could smell fresh blood, and it made his gut clench. His longing to do people serious damage increased. “I picked up your scent trail at the bottom of the hill and followed it up.”
“This isn’t a game.”
“It’s fucking real,” Iska grunted. “I mean yes, the game is to fight to the death. It’s the rules, apparently.”
Avril’s grip tightened around his neck, and he held her tighter, needing her to know he’d keep her safe.
“That woman wanted me dead. They have her brother and told her she’d get him back if she killed me. It must be a way they convince people to come into this place. They take something they love.”
“That would work for me,” Iska said. “How did you get in?”
“It was yesterday evening. The night we were supposed to meet for our... date. You know, our gaming night.”
Iska coughed out a sigh. “That wasn’t last night. You’ve been in here for five days.”
A small sob fell from Avril’s lips. “That long? I lost track of time when I was playing. I got offered access to a new level when I tried to stop the game. That’s when they got me.”
“It must be some sort of teleportation device,” Iska said. “When you step into a new level, you’re going into a transportation beam or maybe a ship. I haven’t got a clue where we actually are. We could be on the other side of the fucking wormhole for all I know.”
“That’s what I figured out. Five days,” Avril said quietly. “It doesn’t seem
that long.”
“Everyone is looking for you back on Prodigy. Your friends are going crazy with worry. They’re not the only ones.” Iska grimaced. “I was worried.”
Avril raised her head. “Why? You don’t even know me.”
His fingers flexed against her thigh. “I do. We’ve played together for months. I might have just met the human behind the Warrior Princess, but there’s a part of you in her. I know you better than you think.”
Avril settled her head back against his shoulder.
Iska slowed as he looked around. The trees here were dense, but he needed somewhere undercover. His instincts called for him to find a den, so he could protect Avril better. Get her somewhere hidden, secure, where no one could find them.
“What happened?”
He glanced down at her. “What do you mean?”
“That night we were supposed to play, you never showed.”
Iska growled softly. “Something came up.” His own problems and his inability to be a decent Mehab surfaced like they always did.
“I thought you’d changed your mind about playing with me, you know, after we met and you found out what your Warrior Princess is really like.”
He had. He’d been a selfish idiot. “I didn’t mean to let you down. I figured you wouldn’t mind. It was nothing serious, just another gaming meet-up.”
Avril was silent for a moment as he continued to move. “I know. It meant nothing.”
Those words shouldn’t have affected him, but they did. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“If you can get us out of this game, I’ll consider us even.”
“That’s the plan.” Iska spotted the entrance to a small cave. He checked around to make sure they were alone before gently placing Avril on the ground. “Don’t move. I’ll make sure the place is empty before we go in.”
Avril nodded, her eyes already closing. It looked like she’d had the fight thumped out of her. That made him growl again. His Warrior Princess never gave up.
He headed into the cave. The ceiling was just high enough for him to stand up straight. It led back a fair distance, but there wasn’t space for more than half a dozen bodies. It wasn’t perfect but would do for now.
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