Xander closed his eyes. He imagined her face before him, the large, dark eyes framed in an oval face of such breathtaking, alien beauty he’d been humbled by the sight of her during their first meeting.
But it hadn’t been a relationship born from lust. He’d never felt such unrelenting and painful male urgency until the day he met Thandie Kruger. He’d had to beat off in his office restroom before attending the remaining afternoon patients.
“Have you spoken with her family?”
“A few messages over the year. After what happened, I didn’t exactly feel worthy of talking to them. Ylona would have been ashamed of me.”
Oshiro placed a hand on his arm. “No. You were put in a horrible situation, and many others would have lacked your restraint.”
“Restraint? Yuki, I put that man in the hospital.”
“You stopped. While I do appreciate you’ve taken complete responsibility for your actions, punishing yourself long after the deed for a crime of passion serves no great purpose.”
“Maybe, but it’s how I feel.”
“If you had it to do over, would you do it again?”
Xander swallowed. “A good person would say no.”
“You are a good person. Emotions such as anger are human emotions, and in people like you, with Lexar blood, you’re fighting against genes. Had he repeated such a vile, irredeemable thing to a Lexar, he’d be dead. That is how things are in their culture.”
“But I’m not a Lexar.”
“Only half, but…” Oshiro studied him from across the table. “How do you feel about that these days?”
“Like a monster, more often than not. This new development doesn’t help.” Especially when he had to fight against instinct during their mission to Loki 4, constantly resisting the urge to drag her beneath him and out of danger. Thandie was a marine. She didn’t need his protection.
“I will pull up whatever information I can, but you should speak with one of the Lexar. I could get in touch with—”
“No, that’s all right. I’ll figure it out.”
Oshiro nodded. “Very well. If you change your mind, you know where I am. Now, go and enjoy your day off the ship, Xander. You’ll appreciate that you did. I am told the new romantic comedy is worth your twenty quid.”
Oshiro was right. Xander even paid to watch it a second time. Afterward, he wandered the city streets and breathed in the fresh, unrecycled air. No matter how much he loved ship life, nothing compared to the feel of the sun on his skin. Nothing beat the fresh breeze on a spring afternoon.
“Evening, sir.”
Xander jerked around and came face to face with a member of the assault team. Lopez had his arm around a gorgeous woman in a gold-trimmed cream tunic. A crimson shayla covered her hair, hanging loosely around her face before wrapping neatly over her shoulders. Her skin carried the rich and warm tone associated with the desert people inhabiting Astreya, and she resembled her Persian ancestors as much as Xander resembled the people of 21st century Mexico.
“Evening, Lopez. How’s liberty been for you? You recover okay?”
“Never better, man. Thanks for getting me back on my feet. Have you two met?” Lopez glanced from Xander to his companion. “Most of us assume all you officers know each other and share laughs behind our backs.”
Smiling, his date offered a slender hand to Xander. “Not officially, no, though we exchange many reports.”
“I suppose I’d be correct to assume you must be Lieutenant Shahid. Pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.”
“Nisrine,” she corrected him gently. “We’re all off-duty now, are we not?”
“Nisrine it is. Just make sure you call me Xander in return to make us even. Both of you. I hear enough Commander this and Doctor that while on the Jemison.”
“Wicked. We were just about to catch a movie,” Lopez told him. “She picked some rom-com that I’ll sleep through, but you’re welcome to join us, mate. I’d appreciate the company.”
Nisrine swatted him. “You are not allowed to sleep through the movie, but Xander is allowed to join us if it will keep you awake.”
Xander grinned. “Actually, I saw that one twice already this afternoon. You’ll have to suffer with your girlfriend alone.” It didn’t sound like a horrible offer, but his rumbling belly demanded sustenance. Overpriced popcorn wasn’t enough. “You two have fun. It’s really not bad.”
Lopez shot him a betrayed, pleading expression as the couple headed off.
He enjoyed supper for one at a family diner by the seaside. There was fresh salt on the wind and the crashing tide washing over the shore reminded him of Elora and distant, fond memories of when he’d had another home.
He nursed a glass of wine and watched the sunset, its canvas of deep colors inferior to the pastel sunrise he’d enjoyed that morning. Or maybe it had something to do with the shared company, of having Thandie at his side. Briefly, he envied Lopez and Nisrine until he swallowed the bitter taste of jealousy.
The right company improved everything. With that bleak thought in mind, Xander returned to the ship alone.
Chapter Six
At the end of his relaxing day, Xander elected to visit his favorite online videogame over an hour or two in the gym. He showered, changed into fresh shorts, flopped into his desk chair, and donned his virtual reality equipment.
Realms of Spellbound had been the most popular virtual reality online game in the UNE for ten years running. Users played out fantastical roles as magicians, legendary creatures, or dark entities in a setting replicating 21st century Earth.
The game was the perfect escape from reality, his subscription a gift from Ethan to get him through his year-long desk sentence at Valencia Naval Base.
Within seconds of activating the neural components, weight gradually settled over Xander’s limbs, comparable to falling asleep after a long and exhausting day. He surrendered to the sensation of falling backward through the air. Weightlessly, he floated until the digital world suddenly snapped into existence.
He awoke on the other side in a crowded city zone teeming with fellow gamers. He’d picked a popular place to log in, sitting beneath a cafe awning on the side of a crowded street bustling with pedestrian traffic. His current location was styled to resemble downtown Los Angeles.
An urgent message accompanied Xander’s party invite from Vincent Knight, Ethan’s role-playing avatar. Accepting the in-game teleport delivered Xander to Olde London, where he managed to team up with Ethan and Gareth, arriving on the tail end of an argument about the game’s class options.
“Look. Everybody knows that Templars are just overpowered paladins,” Ethan grumbled.
“Whatever, man. You guys would have gotten your arses kicked if I wasn’t there with the holy water on the last raid.”
Ethan opened his mouth to fire off a witty retort but noticed Xander approaching. “Look who finally decided to show up. Get lost along the way, mate?”
Xander snorted derisively and brought up the HUD menu. The holographic user display allowed him to see a 3D representation of the map.
“I’m surprised to see you here after your hard partying last night. Feeling all right, or should we worry about you keeling over at the first mob we meet?”
“Shut it,” Ethan grumbled. “I’m online in cyberspace, which technically means I’m resting and asleep.”
“Not the same kind of rest. The digital world creates constant stimuli that—”
Ethan stared at him. “Can you not?”
“Fine. You ready to hit this storyline quest?”
“Completely ready. My assignment says we need to take out a warlock landlord of an apartment building in Newham. Boss is in the penthouse level.”
Xander nodded. “Gotcha. I’ve been there before to hunt for magical components, but I’ve never explored beyond the streets. The quests in that area are rated for groups of three or more.”
Taking the lead, Gareth guided them to a dark and dirty side of London where the sm
og stank of chemicals and filth. The darkening night sky pulsed and undulated with magical flickers as they fought their way through the undead guarding their destination.
Skeletons and zombies were child’s play, an easy task to vanquish despite a hoard of them ambling through the streets. Xander dispatched one after the next until Ethan’s fireball spell cleared the stoop, wiping out a zombie doorman. Once defeated, the monster disappeared and left behind its gear.
Gareth plucked a black coat up from the ground. “Either of you want this? Looks nice.”
Ethan glanced at it wistfully. “I’ve got too many costumes already. I don’t wear half the shit I paid out-of-game money to buy.”
Xander shook his head. “You keep it. I’m cool wearing my character’s uni… Hey, what’s that?” A gilded gleam from the empty coat’s pocket caught his eye. He dragged a key out. “Guess we’ve got our way inside now.”
Except the large door didn’t have a visible keyhole and they spent another ten minutes feeling it from top to bottom and shining flashlights over it. Xander scratched his head and leaned down for a closer inspection, while the other two searched the wall for a secondary hidden entrance.
“You’ll never get in that way,” a feminine voice chimed from behind the group.
Xander turned to face the speaker behind them and came face to face with three nymphs, nature spirits in female form with shamefully sexy bodies.
The redhead of the group stepped forward, voluptuous and curvy in a maple-leaf gown. A second dryad stood behind her, a brunette covered in green moss resembling a lace bodysuit. The third woman appeared to be a sylph, the type of magical creature associated with wind and storms. Her pale blonde hair danced around her face on an ethereal breeze, as did the scant silk covering her body. Name bars identified them as Varine, Annalise, and Zephyr.
In the digital world and the real one, Xander went rock hard.
Dammit. Had it really been that long that his body was reacting to digital pixels?
Gareth scoffed. “Like you know how to get in.”
“You need a rogue with a high enough search skill, or a powerful disillusionment spell,” the redhead continued. “The keyhole is there, but they have it trapped.”
“Ah, sexy triplets. Wanna join us?” Ethan offered without consulting his mates. Gareth kicked him indiscreetly. Xander wanted to tell him to do it again, because he recognized Annalise from a large raid two months earlier, and she’d almost gotten their party wiped.
“I hope you learned how to play better since last time we met,” Xander said. Ethan elbowed him where his kidneys belonged. It didn’t hurt, failing to register as more than pressure. A group message flashed across his lower field of vision, telling him not to be rude. Xander rolled his eyes.
Annalise’s porcelain face contorted into a scowl. She swept a hand toward Gareth. “Your tank rushed the room and drew the whole horde on us. Don’t blame me for being squishy and attractive to mobs. Besides, we’ve gained levels since then.”
He glanced at her viewable stats. “Yeah, I see. You ranked up. Congrats.”
“Anyway, Zephyr can see the lock, so why don’t you give her the key?” Varine cut in. She wriggled between Gareth and Ethan, choosing to link arms with the latter.
“Hell, why not?” Ethan said.
Xander frowned but even he could see the logic in having more people alongside them for the dungeon ahead. Sighing, he passed over the key.
They didn’t have to wait long once Zephyr used one of her abilities to release the trapped entrance. The heavy metal doors slid open to reveal the gore-stained lobby occupied by warlock sentries. The moment Xander stepped inside, the computer-controlled enemies took notice.
The game had been designed with faction play in mind, undead enemies the intended prey of Templars like Gareth. He unloaded a hail of bullets at the approaching targets, putting his real-life military prowess to good use.
Plantlife burst through the floor to their right, a barrier spell cast by one of the nymphs. From that moment, the fast pace of battle didn’t allow them much time to communicate beyond occasionally shouting commands or begging for Xander’s healing spells.
Together, the six of them swept through one floor after the next, making quick progress through a dungeon rated with a two-hour completion.
“Do you have to lag behind so much to explore?” Gareth hissed at Varine.
“It normally takes her longer,” Zephyr muttered while Annalise nodded in agreement. “She’s still getting used to the controls.”
“Do you know how many resources and good gear you’re passing up?” Varine held up an enchanted amulet to prove her point. “Anyway, our Beast Charmer can use this more than me. I’m not even the right level.”
When she dropped the golden disc in Ethan’s hands and batted her lashes at him, Xander bit back a snicker. Even in a game his friend attracted the ladies.
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” Ethan swatted the dryad’s ass and palmed one cheek. She wiggled against him in a sensual shimmy, dragging her fingers down his chest and taking her role as a seductress of men seriously.
“No problem. Better it go to someone who can use it.”
“A gun would be more useful,” Gareth grumbled.
Ethan rolled his eyes. “I don’t know how Flidais tolerates you in her group,” he said, referring to Gareth’s usual gaming partner, “if you complain nearly as much around her as you do with us about the item drops.”
They ascended and cleared five more levels before reaching the top where the dungeon boss resided. Zephyr scouted ahead and returned, manifesting in a cool breeze. “He’s huge,” she whispered. “He had two health bars, guys. Two.”
Ethan threw his arm around Xander’s shoulders. “We can take him. We have the best healer in the game. What sort of cover are we looking at in there?”
“Furniture, most of it broken. A long kitchen counter to the left when you first go in. A doorway behind him, if you can get past. I have a friend who completed this run twice, and she said as long as the healer is on point, it’s golden.”
“So, a basic penthouse layout. Got it. Xan—Juan, you try and get behind that counter so you can cover us for healing,” Ethan directed, nearly slipping in what name to use. “Hayden and I will keep him locked on us while the ladies add the Damage-Over-Time spells.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Ethan summoned a bear as his animal companion. The large creature stepped through a dimensional rift that looked like a molten circle of glass, then stood protectively beside him. “Let’s do this.”
Zephyr conjured mist to conceal their charge through the penthouse door then propelled Xander toward his assigned cover with a gust of wind magic.
Before Ethan and Gareth made it halfway to the boss—a demon-summoner named Landlord Kuminor—three imps appeared in puffs of flame. The warlock chanted, then Gareth turned his gun on Ethan and shot him in the chest with a critical hit that depleted a third of his health bar. The telltale sign of a mind control spell surrounded him in shades of red.
One of the nymphs swore.
Xander cast a healing spell on Ethan. Meanwhile, Varine cast a cleansing over Gareth while Zephyr darted in toward the imps with her blade drawn. Once they had Gareth back on their side, they took the fight to the boss and defeated it with teamwork. As much as he hadn’t wanted the ladies to join them, it had become painfully apparent that they’d have never survived without their magical spells.
The warlock collapsed to the floor as a motionless silhouette that smoked and glittered with bullet holes before vanishing. It left behind a pile of loot, gold coins, and gear to be split amongst the party members.
Satisfied with the experience points and his share of gold, Xander passed on the other items.
Zephyr shook out her designated prize and grinned. “I’ve needed a new set of robes.”
“Like it matters,” Gareth said. “Once you put them on, they’ll just become a set of leaf-shaped nipple pasties
and a flower-petal thong.”
Xander struggled to hold in his laughter. “Good game, everyone. We need to meet up again soon sometime.” The alarm timer flashing above his HUD warned him that it was nearly time to log off for bed. He wanted to rise bright and early for his duties the next day.
“Certainly. I gotta work tomorrow, so how about seven p.m. standard, Saturday?” Annalise asked.
Xander thought ahead briefly. Logging on to clear his head and get Thandie off his mind had worked. “Brilliant idea.”
“You guys have fun. I’m booked on Saturday,” Zephyr said with an easy smile.
Varine remained by Ethan’s side, held close with his arm around her waist. The two exchanged quiet whispers and flirty glances. Gareth sent Xander a private message, predicting the inevitable outcome.
“Varine is still new to the game. I promised to offer her a tour of the local common areas,” Ethan said, oblivious to their secret conversation.
Then Gareth sent him a message. What did I tell you?
Xander rolled his eyes. You didn’t have to tell me anything. I guessed it myself.
Ethan was lucky that STDs didn’t exist on the galactic net.
“Thanks for allowing us to join you,” Annalise said. “This was an absolute blast. See you soon.”
Xander logged off and lay back in his seat for a moment until he awakened completely from the virtual world. The feeling returned to his limbs and fingers, banishing the paralysis of lucid dreaming. Eventually, he pulled off the headset.
A message reached his console from Gareth less than a minute later.
Are you going to be all right, Xander? it asked. Something about you seemed off a few times tonight.
Had Gareth sensed that through the game, with the shield of the internet between them? The man was a stronger psychic than Xander had anticipated. Inhaling deeply, he waited a moment before he typed out his response.
For once, he didn’t lie.
No, I wasn’t. But I will be soon.
“That was fun last night, don’t you think?” Thandie closed her locker and crouched down to lace her boots.
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