Her fury was still at its max, pulsing bright red.
“What is that?” Trajan asked. “Do you see her fury bar?”
“Yeah, it’s never done that before.”
Calista let loose a Whirling attack, her weapons striking Jinx in quick succession, too fast for him to parry. She drove him back further and further and his health took another huge blow. Her hands moved, striking and beating down on him. A shield appeared in his hand, but with a mighty roar that shook the walls themselves, she smashed it to pieces and brought her mace and ax down together on his head. Jinx’ body jerked and she brought them down again, beating the Demon Lord to a pulp. His hand lifted weakly in an attempt to fight back, but his last attack wouldn’t save him. Calista screamed in a rage and her fury bar exploded as she leapt high into the air and crashed down right on top of him.
Jinx’s body flattened and the invisible barrier that held the guild back vanished. Jimmy cautiously walked closer as Calista backed off the crumpled body, her weapons falling from her hands. He looked at her health bar and cursed.
“Benji!”
She was down to a sliver and collapsed to the floor by the time they had reached her. Benji placed his hands over her and blue light emanated from them, surrounding her body and healing her at a slow, but steady pace. She smirked up at Jimmy as he shook his head in disapproval.
“What? You’re the only one allowed to do something crazy?”
“You just soloed a Demon Lord,” he muttered. “Think this goes beyond crazy to suicidal. What were you thinking?”
She closed her eyes and her lips thinned. “What he showed me, what he said…I can’t get rid of those images, Jimmy. They’re seared into my brain.”
“And your fury? Your bar exploded.”
“It did? Huh, weird.” Her eyes remained closed and Jimmy let her be though he had a few hundred questions to ask, like how she had managed to pull off that attack.
“Jimmy, we have a problem,” Trajan said, and Jimmy looked up to see him and a few others gathered near the far wall. He left Calista to be healed and joined the dwarf, holding a torn cloak in his hands. Manacles hung from the wall, surrounded by scorch marks, and the cloak was torn, but familiar. “This was Bronson’s wasn’t it?”
Jimmy took the fabric in his hands, nodding. “Damn it, they got him before we did.”
“Think Bishop was here?” Trajan looked around as if Bishop would suddenly leap out at them, but Jimmy knew him better than that. He was calculating, smart. He wouldn’t full out attack them all on his own.
“I don’t know anymore. Let’s get Calista healed and get the hell back to Weston. We have some major planning to do on moving forward now that we lost Bronson.”
The body of the smashed Demon Lord was looted, but Jimmy hardly noticed what he got. Watching Calista’s rage consume her over the loss of Bishop ate at him. He definitely didn’t blame her. If Maverick was the one who turned, he’d feel the same. And whatever Jinx made her see hit close to home. Once Calista was back on her feet, Winston triggered a portal for them in the wall and, together, they left the Illusion Mountains and stepped out back in Weston. Another dungeon was completed and a Demon Lord dead, yet Jimmy felt like doing anything but celebrating.
Chapter 4
Bishop peered from the shadows as Calista unleashed her fury on Jinx. His hand gripped his bow, ready to intervene when her health dropped too low. But then, to his astonishment, she killed him. Single-handedly, she destroyed the Demon Lord.
Heart pounding and his breath shaky, he stepped further back, pressing himself flat against the wall. You were going to let her die, the voice in his head nagged. After all she’s done for you?
“She didn’t die,” he whispered harshly. “She survived.”
Barely.
“Enough.”
He saw the healer rush to her and heal her as the others discussed the fight. They appeared as surprised as he was. Then, he watched the dwarf approach the manacles that had been holding Bronson only moments before, and he grinned. His work here was finished. He had collected Bronson while Calista had been occupied fighting Bishop, or the creature she thought was Bishop. His task complete, Bishop only had to wait until the heroes left so he could step from the shadows and create another portal to return him to Vorgan and his Queen.
He had sent Bronson ahead with four Demons. He wanted to stay and watch the fight, see how strong his family was, and they did not disappoint. Or at least Calista did not. One by one, the heroes stepped through the portal Winston opened and disappeared. Jimmy was the last and he paused. Bishop held his breath as the exorcist turned and stared right at the spot where Bishop was hiding. But then he shook his head and stepped through, disappearing with the others.
Bishop stepped out of the shadows. His feet took him to the portal as if it would be so easy to follow them through and pretend none of this happened. Did he want that, really? To return to the way his life was before he had turned? Before he had embraced his demon half and started on this new, darker road? He was free, and freedom was everything was it not?
He stood before the swirling portal until it closed, cutting him off from those he once called friends, family. He had heard what Calista had said as she attacked Jinx. They cared for him, fought for him still even when they knew the cost would be great. Jinx’ body disintegrating into dust pulled him back from his longing and he snapped his fingers. A new portal appeared, and he walked through it.
“There you are,” Valen said in greeting. “I feared you had become distracted.”
He bowed his head automatically at the sight of his Queen, but it was the priest his gaze went to first. “Bronson.”
“Bishop, how could you do this?” he whispered, stunned as the demons grabbed his arms and chained him to the wall beside Tavin. “How could you betray us all? You were our great hope!”
“As I told Tavin, you placed your faith in the wrong hero.”
“You are upset,” Valen purred, running her fingers along Bishop’s shoulders. “Come, let us have a drink and you can tell me all about it.”
“Jinx is dead,” he stated, not moving to follow her. “Do you not care for retaliation?”
“What would have us do?” she asked, pouring wine from a pitcher. “Who do you wish to kill for such an atrocity? Your friends perhaps? Though why you did not simply attack them while you had the chance makes me wonder if your resolve is as strong as you claim.”
He glowered at her as she sipped her wine. “My resolve is strong. It will not waver.”
“No? Not even after nearly seeing your beloved die?”
His jaw clenched as his pulse increased. “How did you know that?”
“You truly believe I can’t see everything that happens in Samar? I know all, Bishop, and I know how you yearn to go to her even still when she spurns you. When she seems ready to kill you.”
Bishop’s hand was on his sword as he took a threatening move towards her. “Do not speak of her. Not to me.”
Valen finished her wine and chucked the goblet aside, letting it bang on the wall. “And you will not speak so brazenly to your Queen! I am the one who showed you the truth! Showed you what you could become! Do not think I won’t just as easily strip it all away.”
He scoffed, uncertain why he thought taunting his Queen would be a good idea. He walked to the pitcher of wine by her throne, picked up another goblet, and filled it to the brim. “You need me,” he reminded her.
“And maybe that has changed.”
“But it hasn’t. I’m not a fool, Valen, as much as you seem to think I am.” He took a large swallow of wine, but it was bitter and he tossed it aside.
“You are one of many—”
“Don’t lie,” he cut her off. “It doesn’t suit you. Your Generals mean nothing to you, not really. If they did, you would be in a full out war right now to avenge them. Instead, you focus on Tavin and Bronson. I’m curious as to why we need them.”
“Perhaps it’s time I tell you what I want.” He opened his mouth to tell her exactly what he required to keep being her pet when a force grabbed him and slammed him into the nearest wall. He gasped as her hand closed around his throat and she dug her talons in deep.
Her eyes flared to life with living green flames and she leaned in, sniffing the air around him before she sighed. “Oh Bishop, you overstep your bounds. I need you yes, but only for a little while. If you wish to remain by my side after we take Samar, I suggest you keep your threats to yourself. Save your anger for those who deserve it.”
She released him and he hit the floor hard, coughing as he held his bleeding throat.
“I have need of you in Hillside. You will report there and see to the army. Ensure they are well prepared.”
Reluctantly, but knowing he was trapped, Bishop bowed his head, still on the floor. “For what, my Queen?”
“Our attack on Weston of course. Soon, the time will be right and I will not miss this opportunity. Now, be gone,” she ordered, waving him away with her hand.
Bishop bowed again and keeping his head low, exited the throne room.
Stop calling her your queen.
“Get out of my head,” he growled, rubbing his sore throat and wiping the blood on his jerkin. “You know nothing.”
I know you’re wasting time! She’s going to kill everyone and I mean everyone! You’re really just going to stand by and watch? Calista almost died today.
“She was a fool to take on Jinx by herself.”
Or brave and desperate to find a way, any way to save you.
“It matters not.” He reached the courtyard of the fortress and aimed for the portal that would take him to Hillside, their newest base of operations for his Queen and their army of death. “Soon enough, Samar will fall along with any who stand in my way.”
Her way you mean. They’ll take you back, you know. They’re a forgiving lot. You know that from experience if you would only let yourself remember.
“I need to remember nothing,” he snarled and marched through the portal.
***
Valen watched Bishop leave with the aid of one of her many mirrors before she turned to her newest guest. “Bronson. How good of you to join us.”
“What have you done to him?” he demanded.
“I have opened his eyes to the way things truly work in this world.”
He rattled the chains as he attempted to free his arms, but they held fast. “You will release me, demon. I will not be held prisoner here.”
“Don’t worry, you won’t be around for very long.”
He gulped and Tavin growled. “What are you going to do with him? He’s not part of this!”
“I’m afraid he is, just as Winston and the Red Witch. They’re all a part of the fail-safes our dear Daemyn put in place to keep us in check.” She waved her hands over the wall of mirrors, searching for the man himself. “Where oh where is he?”
She moved through the images, searching the facility until she finally found one showing her Daemyn. He paced in his office, back and forth, moving like a man about to face the end. Killing his character had only been the beginning. He wouldn’t be able to get back into the game, not any time soon. Or not at all. She didn’t want him back in Samar. He would try to stop her and she’d come too far to be stopped.
“What do you speak of?” Bronson asked. “Fail-safe?”
“Yes, something you are not allowed to know anything about.”
She tapped her fingers on the wall by the mirror, studying Daemyn. Bronson was the first, then Winston, and finally she would be able to bring the three of them back together. Make herself whole again and escape the confines of her prison. To destroy Bronson would take much power, weaken her, but she was quickly running out of time. The heroes had killed Jinx, which only left two Demon Lords standing between her and the end game. From what she could tell, though, Daemyn was in no condition to stand against her, at least not yet. It was no or never.
“I’m sorry, my dear Bronson, but your time has come.”
“You can’t,” Tavin insisted, straining against her binds. “You don’t have that power!”
“I’m afraid you’ll find that I do,” she said and moved from the wall of mirrors to the other with nothing on it, at least to the naked eye. She pressed her hand into the center stone and a portion of the wall slid back, revealing a platform on the floor along another set of chains, but these had numbers running across them in an endless stream. When Valen neared, they brightened, and when she backed away, they dimmed, constantly running. “True, it’s very limited power, but that will all change soon enough. Bronson was meant to stop me but, with Bishop, I was able to get him before the heroes could save him. If they had, he would be able to mount an attack and force me back into my script, but now his story line has changed for good. Pity really, they were so close and now…now I fear they might never succeed,” she said, faking her horror for a few seconds before she burst out in a dark cackle. “Shame. Bring him!”
Two Demons broke away from the door and marched to Bronson. Tavin screamed, fighting to break free, but it was no use. Bronson kicked and flailed as the demons unchained him, but his strength was in magic and words, not muscle, and the Demons simply picked him up and carried him when he became too much to handle. They positioned him on the platform as Valen instructed, chaining his arms again so they were pulled high over his head and his toes barely touched the floor.
“You can’t,” Tavin bellowed. “You don’t have access to it!”
Valen winked as her hand hovered over the activation for dismantling a part of the game code. “You mean I didn’t have access, but now…”
She pressed her hand down on the panel and the numbers burst to life in bright greens and blues. Bronson yelled, his head thrown back as the same coding appeared on his body, covering him from head to toe. Valen stepped back, shielding her eyes from the brightness and watched as, little by little, the numbers that made up Bronson’s character, his story, were wiped away.
“And so it begins,” Valen whispered, rubbing her hands together in delight. “Daemyn, I’m coming for you, my love. Are you ready?”
***
Dennis sank to the couch in his room, needing a break from staring at the charts and printouts on his walls. Since Valen had killed his character, he had been working at hacking into his own system, but he had spent nearly three years ensuring no one could do such a thing. Now, he was trapped on the outside while he sent beta players in to do the dirty work.
He had received a message an hour or so ago saying the lead guild had managed to defeat Jinx, but they weren’t able to rescue Bronson as part of the main quest line. Dennis feared what that might mean and prayed it was another glitch needing to be fixed.
But the moment the lights flickered, he knew it wasn’t.
“No…no, damn it, no!” he yelled and bolted to his feet. His old bones protested in creaks and groans, but he couldn’t slow down. There was no time to waste. The lights came back on, as he rushed into the hall, then dimmed again. He heard the generators kicking in every time the power hummed down then came back up. “Get them out of the game! Get them out!” he bellowed before he even reached the lab. “Get them all out! Now!”
“It’s just a power surge,” one of the techs said confused, but Dennis was shaking his head, rushing to the nearest station to shut the game down and pull everyone out.
“No, this is different. Hurry!”
The techs all exchanged another glance before doing as their boss requested, rushing from one station to the next to pull the players out of the game. Confused mutters and groans of feeling sick sounded all around Dennis, his fingers racing across the keyboard to ensure no one was left in the game. He didn’t want to have another Harrison incident on his hands. They were working on bringing the last few out when the l
ights went out completely along with the rest of the power.
“Is everyone out?” Dennis asked, moving slowly through the lab, using his hands to guide him.
“Yeah, everyone’s good,” a woman answered. “What’s going on?”
“A fail-safe,” he whispered to himself. “She found a fail-safe.”
“Dennis?”
He knew that voice. Jimmy. “Everyone please remain calm. The backup generators should be kicking in momentarily—”
The lights popping back on cut him off and he sighed in relief. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as he suspected and just an overload of power. Jimmy was only a few feet from him and he went to speak with him when Felicity ran, high heels and all, into the lab.
“Sir, you have to come, quickly.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s the servers! They just started freaking out. I wasn’t sure what to do!”
“Did you shut them down?”
“No,” she replied as they ran on as fast as Dennis could.
He huffed and puffed, nearly tripping a few times before he slid around the corner and slammed his hand down on the control panel to get into the room. “What the hell?”
The servers thrummed loudly with power and sparks shot out from several as Dennis hurried over, ready to pull the main power line in case of a fire.
“What’s happening?” Felicity asked, staying back by the door.
“The fail-safes…she’s made it through one of them.”
The servers sparked again and he cursed, leaping away, but nothing caught fire. The lights flickered a few more times and, finally, stopped.
“Is it over?” Felicity followed him to the computer station at the far end of the room. “Dennis?”
He got into the game, checking the line of code he knew so well, knowing it could take hours to find what was missing… “Oh my God.”
Felicity leaned over his shoulder and gasped. “There’s a gap in the code. How is that possible?”
“It’s been destroyed. She just destroyed it.”
The Final Chapter Page 6