by Ryan Attard
"The fuck are you?"
That, I understood.
I grabbed the sleeve of his white shirt and ripped it open. The black ring tattoo glistened under the neon lights. I pointed at it.
"Where is the leader of your little gang? What do you have planned? Details, please, or I'll have her bash your head in again."
He glanced at Abi, who smiled innocently. He swallowed hard and turned to look at me with wide-open eyes. "He's on the third floor holding a meeting in his office for the new guys."
"Wow, that was quick," I remarked.
"I don't get paid for this."
"Figures."
What kind of cheap nut job didn't even pay his henchmen properly?
"So why the hell were you there acting all gung-ho?"
He stared at me with almost apologetic eyes. "He's an impressive guy to listen to, our Supreme Leader. He can make you believe anything. He keeps going on about creating a new world and how we're gonna get all this money and new people to join our cause."
"Supreme Leader? Seriously, he makes you call him that?" I shook my head. "How are you getting in contact with new people? Is it that video game?"
The guy nodded. "That game is making us rich and giving us an army at the same time. That line of code was-"
That's when Abi smacked her little golden club into his lip, and he cried out in an embarrassingly high-pitched voice.
"What the hell are you doing?" I asked.
She pointed at the tattoo. The black ink had already begun to smolder, and a small rash of red skin appeared in the centre of the ring.
"He's gonna combust like the other guy at Gil's place," she replied. "I think that ring is some sort of truth detector. If he starts talking, boom."
"And if he lights up, our cover is blown," I finished. "Maybe it's also a sensory link. They'll know about us before we know about them." I sighed. "This day just keeps getting better."
As if on cue, my phone began vibrating. I fished it out, hushing Sparkles with my finger.
"Please tell me you have some answers," I said into it.
"I come to your rescue once again, brother," Gil's voice crackled on the other end. "That line of code is some of the most impressive magic I've ever seen. Listen up, because this is a little complicated. The spell uses the magic inside people to power up their in-game avatars. For normal humans, this means that prolonged playing will lead to fatigue, sickness, the shutting down of organs, and possibly even death."
"And for the ones who have stronger magic than others?" I asked.
"That's the genius of it," she continued. "Anyone with awakened magic, no matter how weak, will be able to rise through the ranks of the game quicker because their characters would be stronger. I've done some research on this. Most of the top players are at least at an adept level of magic in the real world. The majority of them either don't know what they can do or keep their abilities on a low profile."
"Are they recruiting?" I asked. It seemed to fit the profile of an insane gang run by a megalomaniac. They always wanted more people to brainwash.
"The top one thousand players from every region have been contacted, and who knows how many more they got to." She exhaled sharply. "They are building an army, Erik. I don't know where the Etherium Key fits in their scheme, but this certainly spells trouble for us. Shut this down and retrieve my device before some asinine fucker destroys the world."
I smiled at her language choice. Maybe I was rubbing off on my sister.
"Will do," I said before pocketing my phone. Then I tapped Sparkles sharply on the forehead. "It's your lucky day, Sparkles. You get to go home in one piece."
"What?"
I struck him on the neck, hitting the same nerve cluster I had used to knock out his companion earlier. His eyes rolled backwards, and his head fell limp. Hopefully he would come to long after this was over and find a way to get rid of that tattoo.
"He said third floor, right?" I said.
Abi nodded.
"Right. Let's go meet this Supreme Leader guy."
Chapter 14
Our journey to the third floor was uneventful. I heard a few people in their offices, most likely Black Ring Society guys who were late for the meeting. We ducked behind a corner, and I scouted the main corridor. A group of five were chatting as they walked towards the stairs on the other side of the hallway.
All five wore dark grey cloaks that draped heavily around them. Wide hoods spread over their shoulders like cowls, and all five of them gripped the hems of their cloaks to keep them from trailing too much on the ground.
"Hang on," one of them said as he fiddled with his cloak. "Damn thing is too small."
"Should have grabbed another one from the supply closet," another said.
"They're all the same size," said the first, as they walked away and out of earshot.
I turned to Abi and whispered, "We're gonna need a costume change. Find a closet."
"What am I looking for?"
"The grey cloaks those fools had on," I replied, standing up.
I walked over to where the guys had come out from, and both of us looked around for a closet. I immediately found what I was looking for—the closet was still open with a bunch of grey rags piled on top of each other and a neat stack of identical grey cloaks folded together. I called Abi over and passed her one of the cloaks to put on.
"Ew, it stinks," she complained.
I rolled my eyes and pulled a cloak around me. I couldn't make heads or tails of it, and Abi helped straighten it for me. Then she stepped back and stifled a laugh.
"As if I didn't have enough reason to hate this guy already," I growled.
Pulling the hoods up, we caught up to the group of five guys, silently creeping behind them, in hopes that we could follow them to the meeting site. They entered a barren conference hall, pushing through large silver doors. We followed stealthily and were greeted by a scene that belonged in an Indiana Jones movie.
About fifty people were present in the room, all of them wearing dark grey cloaks with the hoods drooped over their heads. Braziers with live fire surrounded the circular hall, and the dim lighting gave it an ominous mood. Opposite the doors, on a stage, stood one guy with a lot of gold chains and velvet—I guessed this was the Supreme Leader.
Beside him, standing like a bodyguard, was a familiar face. Luke the Pyromancer gazed over the sea of grey cloaks with a painfully bored expression.
"Greetings, fellow members of our cabal," the Leader began. His voice was raspy, hitting a certain frequency that made everyone listen to it. "I am pleased to report that with our new operation, Verdant Moon is now a success. This mission of ours has gotten us over two hundred thousand new members in this past year alone." He paused, giving that number further prominence. Old Raspy knew how to create some suspense.
"Furthermore," he continued, "we have acquired a device that allows us to travel between dimensions. It is already operational and a rift in the fabric of this astral plane has already been opened, right over Lake Michigan. Soon we will live in the world our God promised us. Soon we will no longer have to hide."
The key word in that whole speech was the word 'God.' See, I figured that most likely, this Supreme Leader idiot would be some guy with a Messiah Complex trying to screw around with people's heads and wallets.
Turns out Raspy over there was taking orders from someone other than his ego. Time to dig deeper.
"Abi," I murmured over to my left. "I need to know what I'm dealing with here. Scan them."
The hooded figure next to me nodded and fell still. What I had asked Abi to do was invasive at the most intimate level. She began secretly scanning each and every member's magic to see how powerful they were. It was the magical equivalent of hacking, and the best part was, if they were green enough, they wouldn't even know what hit them.
"All weak so far," she murmured. "Let me go deeper."
I felt her magic brush up against mine. It was not enough to set off warning signals, but I guess that was mostly
because I was expecting it. High-level wizards were sensitive to that stuff but no one here was...
Ah, shit.
I snapped my gaze at Luke and the Leader, who was still going on about how awesome their god was, and searched for any movement out of the ordinary. The Leader kept on blabbing, none the wiser.
Luke, however, stopped fidgeting and his expression became more alert. He swung his head left and right, as if expecting someone to leap out at him. Slowly, as if by habit, he took out his right hand from his pocket, and began rubbing his thumb and index finger together. The tiny spark generated by friction was unnoticeable, unless one was deliberately looking for it.
"Pull back, pull back," I whispered, and felt Abi's powers receding.
Luke's expression didn't change, but the confusion in his eyes was evident. He stopped rubbing his fingers together, and let his hand drop by his side.
"And we have nothing to fear from our enemies!" The Leader was yelling now. "They are all cowards, hiding behind cheap tricks and ancient tactics. We outnumber them, outgun them, and we will prevail!"
I did a quick calculation. A bunch of newbies who couldn't tell their elbows from their asses, one seriously megalomaniac dude, and a Pyromancer. He was the only real problem, but with the element of surprise and crowd confusion, he would be at a disadvantage.
"You guys are all the same, talking smack without the balls to back it up." My voice echoed loud and clear around the hall. The annoying grey cloak fell on the ground, and I pulled out my magic short sword, Djinn, ready for battle. I grinned at the horrified Leader.
"Why don't you try calling me a pussy to my face?"
This was right in my element. Within exactly three seconds, chaos erupted as everyone around us backed away. Most just took off, either running through the ostentatious silver doors or just hiding behind the flaming braziers. But a few geniuses had the bright idea to fight back. I guess no one ever told them that when faced with a trench coat-wearing, magical sword-wielding wizard, the best option is to run—and run far.
Two cult members bumped side by side and threw a blast of green energy at me. I had no idea what it was or what kind of magic they were using—I just ducked and blasted them back, sending them soaring into the wall. Some other guy pulled out a set of throwing knives and displayed them. He wiggled his fingers, and the knives began levitating. I felt strong arms grab me from behind, as another guy—a big one—held me tight, pinning my arms by my side. Two of those knives shot right into my abdomen but the rest completely missed.
The big guy yelled something right into my ear and released his grip. Big mistake. I spun Djinn so that the tip pointed at the big guy's balls and channeled my magic. The blade elongated, piercing his genitals and shooting past them into his leg. I twisted and the entire limb fell off. As the skinny guy with the floating knives stared at me, I pulled out one of the blades still in my stomach.
"Catch," I said, throwing the knife back at him. It spun in the air and buried itself into his throat.
A blast of heat coated the ceiling. Luke had his hands on fire and was trying to get a clear shot at me. He began blasting people at random, mercilessly removing any obstacles in front of him. The dumbass was killing off his own team. What kind of a sick fuck would do that?
I charged straight at him, throwing people out of the way. A lance of fire shot towards me. Play smart, I reminded myself. Firepower clearly didn't work on this guy. So when I thrust Djinn into the flame, it wasn't to counterattack. I redirected the heat from the flame. The lance of fire transformed to a lance of ice, and rebounded straight back towards Luke. The ice caught him in the chest but immediately melted when he channeled fire around him.
I flipped Djinn's grip so that the blade was pointing downwards and raked my other hand against the flat of the blade. Magic became static, which became a small arc of electricity. With Luke still reeling from my counterattack, I crossed the distance, grabbed Luke by the shirt, and pulled, hard. My forehead smacked against his cheek, and I drove Djinn into his collarbone. His body began smoldering as he turned himself into fire, making himself into a mass of energy and avoiding any physical injury.
Which was exactly what I wanted him to do.
Magic still has to follow the basic laws of physics. Fire was just a form of plasma, a bunch of charged particles. Which meant that if I found that charge, that energy frequency, and matched it, I could theoretically nullify his flames.
And if there ever was a time to put that theory into practice, it was now.
His fiery body coated Djinn and part of my hand. Despite the pain, I refused to back away. I applied my own magic through Djinn, and then Luke and I were in a stalemate, waging war on a subatomic level.
Finally I felt my energy match his and Luke began screaming. His power fizzled out, leaving him solid again. He slumped on the ground with a stab wound through his collarbone, reeling from the backlash of our clashing powers. He gasped twice, fighting the inevitable, before falling unconscious.
Once Luke was out, I stood up and walked towards the Supreme Leader. He was on the floor, cowering in a corner. Could this guy be any more pathetic?
"Where is it?" I asked as I grabbed his robe and nearly lifted him off the ground. Djinn's tip hovered in his direction and the bloodstains made it look even more menacing.
The Leader's eyes widened, and he swallowed hard.
"The device," I said again. "Where the fuck is it?"
"The roof," he finally croaked. "It's on the roof. Please don't hurt me."
I threw him down. "I should do humanity a favor and kill you."
"Good idea," someone behind me said. A thin bright beam of fire shot like a laser beam through the Leader's head and left a gaping black hole the size of a penny.
Luke had managed to regain consciousness again and got up clutching his wound. His outstretched index finger was smoldering. "I never liked him, anyway."
"He was your boss," I said.
The Pyromancer shook his head. "Nah. My boss is the real deal. I was sent here to keep an eye on things."
"Your real boss?"
"Yeah," Luke replied with a smirk. "You didn't think that asshole was really the one calling the shots, did you?" He let out a bark of laughter. "Geez, you guys are stupid. You have no idea how far down we go. You probably think we're some sort of gang, looking to jack up on the thrill."
"Let me guess," I retorted. "You guys are planning to take over the world."
He smiled. "This world? Nah. This one, we just wanna burn."
"Sounds like a dumb plan to me."
"You won't be laughing when you're on fire," he growled. "Just so you know, I'm the right-hand guy, the second most powerful magic user after our master."
I laughed out loud.
"What the fuck is so funny?" he asked.
"Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean to hurt your ego there." I playfully spun Djinn in my hand. "It's just that you talk way too much. Thanks for the info, Fire Boy. And the reassurance." I pointed my sword at him. "Now I know there's only one guy who's tougher than you are. Meaning, if I beat you, I only really gotta worry about one other jackass."
Luke let out a menacing growl. "Who says you can beat me?"
"Haha. You're funny there, Limpy," I said. Then I angled my head back and called my apprentice. "Yo, Abi."
"Little busy here," she yelled back.
From my peripheral vision, I saw her swing Sun Wo Kung around. The golden staff glistened majestically in the firelight from the braziers. Abi mercilessly bludgeoned guy after guy, with a grin that told me she was having the time of her life.
"Can you take care of the small fry?" I asked. "I gotta go get back the Etherium Key."
Luke sent a blast of fire at me. "Like hell you will."
I dodged, letting the flames sail past my head. "Pick your battles, dude," I said. "You're hurt and that flame was some weak shit."
"Screw you." Another blast of fire, and this time I didn't bother dodging. I lazily swiped Djinn down
wards and a trail of azure energy dissipated the flames as if it had been nothing more than a light breeze.
Luke snarled, and slapped the ground in frustration, before channeling heat through a nearby window, shattering it. Without warning, he leaped out into the air and rocketed upwards in midair, towards the roof. This cat fight had now become a race.
"Oh, hell no," I yelled, running back across the room and through the silver doors. I found the fire escape, tore the door open, and ran up the stairs three at a time.
Chapter 15
I shouldered the roof door so hard that one of the hinges bent. Energy crackled around Djinn and as soon as I saw daylight and a horribly familiar tinge of orange fire, I sent out a blast.
"Step away from the fucking device," I yelled.
The roof of the building was a flat plane of grey concrete, with a small arch at the edge facing Lake Michigan. Inside the arch, like a statue in a niche, stood the Etherium Key. Energy and ether crackled around the device. The Key itself was a small contraption and looked like a hand-held brass mirror. Its handle was a triple spiral that formed a cone, almost like a triskelion or a helix. It was half-buried into a stone pedestal and four thin metal arms came up from the edge of the pedestal to hold it in place. The mirror portion was glowing a brilliant white and emitting a thick beam of misty ethereal energy over the direction facing Lake Michigan.
Luke the Pyromancer was leaning against the arch, bent over and covered in sweat. Weak flame coated his hands but even the gentle breeze was succeeding in fending it off. He stood defiantly against the arch like a guard dog and bared his teeth.
"Come on, Torchy," I called out, deftly swinging my short sword around. "You're about to kick the bucket. Just chalk this one off as a loss and go home." Nevertheless, I took a fighting stance, ready for him to be stupid. "I hate killing off cripples," I added.
He snarled at me.
Guess I hit a nerve there, I thought.
Luke's fire disappeared, and he plunged three fingers into the wound on his shoulder. The cut widened and blood gushed out, coating his hand and chest.