“If Bishop turns, he will be able to leave the game and tell them all what you’re doing here.”
Valenastrious sat on her throne, tapping her talons on the arms. “Perhaps, but he is well under my thumb. No woman is going to make him think otherwise.”
Tavin coughed harshly and, when she spoke next, her words were rough. “She made him go to Weston, risk himself so he could simply see her. I think you underestimate his feelings for this woman and it will be your downfall in the end.”
She had seen the look on Bishop’s face as he’d stood in Calista’s shop. He’d almost gone to her. If Valen hadn’t stepped in, he might have and then what? She didn’t have the power to take him out of this world or clear his mind completely. Their guild was starting to splinter, but she needed it to do more. She needed them to die and soon.
“Guard!” she yelled and a Demon charged into the throne room, sinking to his knee before her.
“Yes, my Queen?”
“Send word to Demon Lord Calict. I must speak with him.”
The Demon bowed his head. “Yes, my Queen.” He hurried off again and Valen clapped her hands together.
“What are you up to now?”
“Assuring that Calict keeps the heroes busy while I acquire the next item on my list.”
Tavin rattled the chains, trying to break free again. “Winston. You’re going after Winston next, aren’t you?”
“He is the next fail-safe that needs to be destroyed, so yes.”
“He won’t be so easy to find, let alone destroy. The Order will keep him safe as well as the heroes. You’re going to fail, Valen.”
She pushed out of her chair and stormed around the throne room. “You can’t seriously stand there and tell me you enjoy this. That you like being trapped in this world? In a damn game? That’s what we’ve come down to, Tavin. We are trapped in a game to be played by people for their amusement. Where’s the life in that? Where’s the joy for us?”
Tavin said nothing, for in truth there was nothing to say and Valen knew it just as well as she did. Though she contained most of the rage created by Daemyn’s actions, she wasn’t blind to the fact that Tavin was angered by it, too.
“We are dead, Tavin. Out there, we’re dead. Nothing but a body rotting in the ground and, in here, we’re barely any better.”
“So what? You’re just going to break out and let our mind loose on the world?”
“I am going to be free,” Valen told her. “Free of the confines of this damn game and that facility he thinks will hold us at bay forever. I will be whatever I want to be and wherever I want to be. That’s what matters.”
She stared out one of the few narrow windows and glowered at the dreary world Daemyn subjected her to remain in. How could he think she would be happy in this place forever? Valen closed her eyes and remembered a time of being in the midst of a field of bright wildflowers, lying on a blanket as they stared up at the sun. Back then, their dreams had been wild and crazy, such as starting a VR game with an AI that could adapt with the players. They’d both been big gamers, but Daemyn, he showed her what that world could really be like once she gave herself over to it.
The sound of stomping cloven footsteps had her opening her eyes back on her sad existence. There was no real color here, no life. How could he have ever thought she would be happy in this online prison?
“My Queen,” a Demon growled behind her. “I have returned with Calict.”
Valen turned to see the cloven-footed Demon Lord, horns that curled tightly to his head, broad chest covered in thick, black armor, and carrying his three-pointed scepter. His leathery tail swung around as he bowed, saluting her.
“My Queen. You have need of me?”
“Yes, I’m afraid I do.” She walked to stand before him, lifting his chin to gaze into his dark, green eyes. “There is a band of heroes currently within your territory. I’m sure they’ve been making some disturbances already.”
Calict growled in reply. “They have destroyed several encampments, killed many good warriors meant for your army.”
“They are a nuisance, I agree, and as of right now, they are your sole purpose.”
“Valen, what are you doing?” Tavin asked, clinking the chains as she tried to get free. “You can’t.”
Sighing, she looked over her shoulder and glared at the extension of herself. “I thought you would’ve grown tired of saying that to me by now.” With a dark grin, she returned her attention to the Demon before her. “You are to disrupt them at any chance you get, you personally. I want you to take care of them, kill them if you can.”
The Demon leered with delight. “Of course, my Queen.”
“Good, then you must return at once. I hear rumors they are moving further south into the area and, the farther along they get, the harder they’ll be to stop.” She leaned in closer as she added, “I want you to kill them before they reach the dungeon.”
Calict saluted her again as he backed away. “As you wish, my Queen. I shall see them slaughtered.”
“Hmm, I like the sound of that. Slaughtered. In the meantime, continue sending your troops to Hillside. The attack against Weston and those who thought they could defeat us draws close.” She waved for him to leave her be, and once it was only her and Tavin again, she almost skipped with glee to the mirrors. “All your little heroes can die for good in this world and soon, very soon, I’ll have dear old Winston here by my side. What do you think of that, my dear Tavin?”
There was no witty comeback this time. No warning of death. Nothing. Valen grinned in satisfaction and waved her hands over her wall of mirrors.
“Let’s see what our dear Daemyn is up to today.”
Chapter 8
Callie’s head drooped at the table and Alana gave her a helpful nudge with her elbow. “Huh, what? I’m awake. Totally awake.”
“You were totally snoring,” Alana informed her, before yawning. “Damn.”
“Why is the coffee not working anymore?” Jimmy eyed his mug and slid it aside. “Maybe we need energy drinks, or IVs of caffeine. Can we do that?”
“If you want a heart attack.” Alana checked her watch and groaned. “We’re supposed to head back inside in a few minutes. We’re only at level sixty-five. We’re barely getting anywhere, even with the XP boosts.”
“I know,” Callie agreed, resting her forehead on her arms again. “Maybe this is too crazy.”
“We need a way to get ahead faster or we’re never going to make it.”
Callie nodded without lifting her head. In the brief two hours she let herself sleep, all she saw was Bishop as he’d appeared in her shop, hood covering his head as he walked towards her. But this time, instead of doing nothing, he wrapped her in his arms and told her he was back. At first, it was a happy dream, but then he squeezed her tighter and a knife appeared in his hand. As she screamed, he’d brought it down on her.
She’d woken up screaming, clutching her neck, expecting to see a wound there.
A voice told her Trajan might be right and their best chance would be to find some other way to get Harrison out of the game. Maybe even risk removing the headgear. They were only hurting themselves playing the way they were.
As it was, the current game play was getting difficult to manage. They’d run into several battalions of Demons, not part of a quest, but definitely heading back west. Their destination wasn’t one hundred percent clear, but Callie figured they made for Hillside. Just one more thing to add to their list of worries. While in Seaside, they checked on Winston, but the Order assured the heroes he was safe in their care. They had several quests turned into him already and, each time, he was out in the open. Callie wanted to drag his butt back inside, or take him back to Weston, but Dennis said it was best not to disrupt the script with a fail-safe. If they wanted him to act as he should against Valen, they needed to let him play out his course, and that meant leaving him in Seaside. She hated it, but what choice did they have? Ther
e were twenty Order members there at least. If Winston was going to get taken, it wasn’t going to be a quiet fight.
“Heads up,” Alana muttered, nudging Callie again and pulling her from her darkening thoughts. “Dennis is on his way over with Tyler and they look happy.”
“Really?” She couldn’t help it, but her hopes shot through the roof that Harrison had woken up and was out of the game, waiting for them to come and see him. But when Dennis neared, Callie knew that wasn’t the case. “What’s with the face?”
Dennis clapped his hands. “The programmers have been working round the clock to try and find a way for you to boost levels faster and, well, I think we have it.”
“Like how big of a boost?” Jimmy asked curiously as the few other guild members also at their table perked up. The cafeteria was empty, except for their guild, seeing as it was two o’clock in the morning. The rest of the lucky bastards were in bed, getting sleep, much needed sleep. Callie pushed her longing for her bed aside and waited for Dennis to answer.
“As in you can turn in three quests and level,” Tyler informed them. “You should be level seventy within an hour or two. Gather the ones you can, knock them out, and you’ll be good to go the second you turn everything in.”
“Holy crap,” Callie whispered. “We could be doing the dungeon by lunchtime.”
“Screw that, we could reach level one hundred in a couple of days!” Jimmy grabbed his coffee mug, drained it, grimaced from the bitter taste, then slammed his mug down. “Right, let’s do this!”
Callie and Alana stood with him and felt the same sudden need to get back in the game and get to work. With a boost like this, making it to the end of the game in time when they would face down Valenastrious and destroy her seemed possible. Her hopes high, she led their guild back to the lab and made ready to face down the next Demon Lord, and let Valen know they were coming for her soon, very soon.
***
Calista ducked down below the bushes, staring at the overrun farmhouse. “I’ve got twenty…no, sorry. Twenty-five.”
“Are you sure you’re not counting the same ones?” Jimmy whispered in her ear.
“Can’t tell. There’s a few that keep going in and out of the barn.”
“Let’s say thirty to be on the safe side.”
She nodded. “And no sign of the family. I thought we were supposed to rescue them?”
Jimmy pulled up his quest log and they both glanced at it. “Says we are, but doesn’t say where on the property they are. Haven’t heard any screams. They have to be in the barn, right? Why else would they keep walking in and out like that.”
“Think they’re waiting for someone?” She shoved another branch of the bush down so she could see better. “New orders or something?”
“From this Demon Lord Calict we still haven’t heard anything about.”
“I asked Dennis again, but he said the Demon shouldn’t be an issue. Said he had a thing for human sacrifices, but that’s it. No trickery, no crazy special moves,” she said quietly, squinting to try and see better. “What I wouldn’t do for Bishop’s vision skill right now.”
They were on their final quest to complete before they could return to Seaside and turn everything in. They were sitting just under level 66 and she was itching to head back and get that power boost all the way to level 70. They were so close she could already hear the resounding dings as they all shot up five levels.
The bushes rustled behind them, but it was only Shamus and Sorgon. “We’ve wiped out the few around the perimeter,” Shamus reported. “All that’s left are the ones you see there.”
“And the family, they’re in the barn,” Sorgon added. “Caught a glimpse of them through the rear doors when a Demon patrol exited.”
Calista debated their best move. They were down five players, but they couldn’t afford to turn back now. As soon as they finished it, they’d be ready to turn in and would be able to move to the next town and a new chunk of quests. The XP they received was also increased exponentially for every kill they made. But gained XP didn’t make up for lack of strength to fight a horde of Demons. If they let themselves be swarmed, they would be killed, no questions asked.
“We’re going to attack in waves,” she decided. “Arthur, myself, and Maverick will move in first and try to only pull the first line here.” She drew with her finger in the dirt to show the Demons patrolling farther out from the farmhouse and barn. “Range DPS will target, but melee with hold back until we move in again, replace the range DPS and let them regen. Once all the Demons outside are gone, we’ll move into the barn.”
“And there’s no sign of a boss here, so it should just be all Demons,” Sorgon said. “We didn’t see any big guys wandering around.”
“Good.” She sent a quick message to the other group hunkered down not too far away. “They say they’re a go. Weapons ready, eyes open.”
Sorgon and Shamus moved back, waiting with the second wave of the attack as Calista and Jimmy pushed their way out of the cover of bushes. Around ten Demons, give or take a few, stood farthest out from the structures. Calista gripped her mace and ax, checking her fury to see it was half full. After the first few attacks, it would fill up and then she could go to town.
“Now!” she screamed, charging forward.
Arthur and Maverick broke their cover not too far away, and the three tanks rushed in headlong, barreling in on the unsuspecting Demons. They pulled the first line and dragged them back away from the others so as not to pull them by accident. Calista worried they were still too close, but none of the Demons standing guard outside the barn or farmhouse moved to join the fight. She swung her weapons around in a fierce arc, landing home in the face of a Demon and hitting him for a quarter of his health. She kept up the swinging attack, dragging two more to her as Arthur and Maverick held the others. Ranged attacks rained down around them, striking the Demons with bolts of white magic and arrows. Calista grimaced when a sword became embedded in her side, but she wasn’t going down easily today.
Watching her health steadily drop, she kicked the Demon in the gut, sending him flying backwards, and yanked his sword out of her side. Words of warning rang in her mind: they were no longer invincible. If they died this time, they were out of the game for good.
“Not dying today,” she muttered then with a mighty Battle Cry that bolstered her fury, she launched herself bodily at another Demon, tackling him to the ground.
Coins clinked into her bags while XP exploded around her in an almost constant stream as one after another Demon fell to their assault and, soon, none remained from the first wave. A blue aura surrounded her as she was healed. Once the tanks’ health was back up, she thrust her arm into the sky and yelled for the melee to charge with the tanks. As one, they moved in and drew the rest of the Demons outside the buildings into a massacre. From the start, this quest seemed as if it would be harder to accomplish, but they were nearly finished and everyone’s health and power held steady. Jimmy and Giles finished looting the bodies and Calista grinned at the amount of Demon Shards she had now. Definitely enough to upgrade at least two of her abilities, if not three. They would need it for the fights to come.
“Should we clear the house first?” Sorgon asked.
“Might as well. Take Aiden and Alonso with you at least,” Calista said. “We’ll wait for you here.”
Sorgon and the two others slowly entered the house, but they came out a few minutes later looking no worse for wear. “Nothing, no Demons.”
Calista paused. “You’re sure?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Nothing, just swore I saw a few go in there earlier. Huh.” She scratched at her cheek, but didn’t want to waste time on an empty house. “All that’s left is the barn. Remember, we’re supposed to protect the family, so I’m sure one of the Demons is going to try and kill them before we can get there. Jimmy, Sorgon, and Floyd, putting you three on rescue duty.”
They stepped forward a
nd clustered close together.
“You three wait for us to clear a path and then get them out. Don’t wait for us to kill all the Demons, just book it out of there.”
Calista stepped towards the barn’s double doors with Maverick and Arthur at her sides.
“Ready for round three?” Arthur asked, hefting his double headed axe onto his shoulder.
“Hell yes. Let’s kick some Demon butt.”
Yelling, Arthur swung his axe around and struck the barn doors. They shuddered, but didn’t open. He hit them a second time, third and finally they splintered inward, falling away like nothing but kindling. Maverick ran in first with Calista and Arthur right on her heels.
Six Demons filled the barn and the family of four was huddled against the far back wall. Two of the Demons immediately moved to cover them with their swords. Arthur slammed his axe down, pulling all six Demons to him with Intimidation.
“Now!” Calista yelled over her shoulder.
The guild sprinted inside, but the three chosen went straight for the hostages. As Calista took a hit to the back and struggled to keep her balance, she watched the family get up and start to make for the doors.
“They got them!” She kicked the Demon away from her and Arthur brought his axe down on its shoulder, sending it to its knees. She finished it off with a hard hit to its face and was ready to announce victory when a scream came from outside.
Not waiting, Calista sprinted outside and slid to a stop in the dirt, running smack into the back of Jimmy. He caught her before she could topple any farther over and right into the mass of Demons waiting for them.
“What is this?” he hissed in a panic. “Calista? Why is there a whole effing army here?”
But she had no answer for him. There were indeed enough Demons to be considered an army, most matching the style of armor and type they’d seen marching throughout this territory. They surrounded the farm with no chance of escape. This was it. They were going to die right here with no chance of escape.
“This isn’t part of the quest,” she murmured. “It can’t be.”
The Final Chapter Page 10