by Kayla Krantz
“How about you stop asking me questions and play? Everything will answer itself in time,” Rhys said, placing his hand on the stump. “I promise.”
Shawn stared at his fingers. They were long and bony, the fingernails chewed to the quick, and for some reason, the sight put Shawn further on edge. He realized then that he had never seen Rhys’ hands before. Something about them seemed...wrong. The boy always kept them tucked into his pockets or the sleeves of his jackets.
“Alright, we’re in.”
6.
THE BOYS ARRANGED themselves elbow to elbow around the stump with Rhys at one end, Shawn and Milo near him, and Jack in the seat farthest away. As Rhys looked over all his papers and spread out his dye, Jack glared at him, fingers tapping on the stump as if he were anticipating the first mistake Rhys made so he could jump him for it.
“Alright, who’s going to go first?” Rhys asked, finally looking up.
Jack narrowed his eyes. “That’s not how it works. We’re supposed to roll to determine that. I mean that’s like rule number one.”
“I think it’s up to the Game Master to determine exactly what the rules are,” Rhys said pointedly. “And that would be me. That’s enough of the interruptions.”
He waved his hand, and Jack went silent. He opened his mouth as if he were about to argue, but no words came out. Scrunching his face, he tried again, and still, no words came free. Desperately, Jack reached up a hand, nearly clawing the skin around his mouth, but the spell didn’t break. Milo and Shawn, with their eyes on Rhys, didn’t notice his struggles.
“Shawn, you’ll go first,” Rhys decided, eerie eyes landing on Shawn through the shadows.
Shawn nodded, doing his best to both seem polite and avoid making eye contact at the same time. To him, the sooner they started this game, the sooner it would all be over. “Okay.”
“Jack, you’ll be last,” Rhys said, with a tiny smile as he watched the struggles of the silent Rogue. “Now, let’s see. Our story begins with our three young heroes Paladin Shawn, Ranger Milo, and Rogue Jack, in a very strange predicament. What started out as such an ordinary night, took a turn for something else. They wandered into the woods, the shadows making it hard to see and the crisp smells of the foliage filling their lungs. They had plans to make their Halloween spectacular, but—”
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Shawn said, doing exactly that, “but this doesn’t sound like a story so far. You’re just rehashing everything that’s happened. What’s the point of this?”
Rhys’ smile stretched so wide it sent a chill down Shawn’s spine. “It ties in. You’ll see.”
“Well, I’m intrigued,” Milo said, leaning back onto his hands to better see Rhys.
Rhys turned that eerie smile to him before looking down at his notes. He cleared his throat. “Let’s see, where was I?” He skimmed his paper. “Ah. They had plans to make their Halloween spectacular, but a few things changed. First, they assumed it would be an evening like every other with them tucked into the safety of their house. Then, the woods seemed like the perfect place to spend their Halloween playing their favorite game.”
“Yet, there was someone they didn’t expect to meet in the woods. Now, how you responded to me was your very first quest. I’d say you handled it the best Milo, Jack you’ve done the worst.”
Jack opened his mouth, but no sound still came out. Shawn turned to look at him and frowned, noticing his loudmouthed friend’s silence. Jack’s eyes went wide as both Shawn and Milo looked at him. He pointed to his mouth, shaking his head, and a tiny exasperated noise came out but nothing more.
“What did you do to him?” Shawn demanded, eyes wide as he turned back to Rhys.
Rhys blinked. “Oh, that’s nothing, but a little taste of what’s to come. You see, this game shall have consequences. Choose your actions carefully.”
“Undo it,” Shawn said, drawing his eyebrows together.
“I thought you guys said you wanted a creepy game. What’s creepier than having actual side-effects? I mean, role playing can only do so much to put you in the spirit, right?”
“I’m with Shawn, this is messed up,” Milo said.
Rhys’ face darkened. “This isn’t the reaction I was hoping for.”
Shawn looked to Jack again before looking back to Rhys. “This isn’t right. Fix him.”
“No,” Rhys insisted, dark eyes almost glowing beneath the brim of his hood.
Milo swallowed heavily before he tossed his papers to the stump and stood up. “I don’t want to play anymore,” he said. “So I think I’m going to split. Mom could use me at home anyway.”
Rhys looked down, skimming over one of his papers as Milo walked across the clearing. “Milo, our resident Ranger, has finally chosen his first move, and that is to leave. Let’s roll and see what’s in store for our dear friend.” He picked up his twenty-sided dice, the clicking sound against the stump pulling Shawn’s attention. “Ooh, a three. It seems as if he’s failed.”
Milo glanced back over his shoulder just before he left the clearing. “Don’t think so,” he said, stepping into the trees.
When Milo disappeared into the shadows, some of the tension left Shawn’s shoulders. What had he been afraid of? Magic wasn’t real, and if it was, his classmate certainly wouldn’t have any. Jack was pulling a trick. That was all. Jack always pulled tricks.
Shawn flared his nostrils and opened his mouth, ready to tell Rhys to take a hike when Milo began to scream. As the quietest member of their group, it was rare to hear Milo laugh, let alone anything louder than that. In the entire time that Shawn had known him, he had never heard him make a sound as gut wrenching as the one currently rumbling through the trees. Shawn was on his feet, ready to race to his friend’s side when Milo stumbled back into the clearing, hands clamped tight over his ears.
“What’s happening to him?” Shawn demanded to Rhys.
Rhys tilted his head but didn’t move from where he had been seated. “I told you there are consequences to your decisions. We’re not alone out here. There are demons lurking in these woods,” Rhys said, reading from his notes. “And it seems that a Banshee has taken a liking to our dear friend Milo. He’s heard one scream from her. When he reaches three, he will die.”
A stunned chuckle passed Shawn’s lips. “That’s a joke.” Then he turned to Milo. His eyes looked too large for his face. “He’s joking.”
Rhys tapped his fingers against the stump, a content look on his face as he watched them struggling to understand. “Don’t worry about him, you’re up. What will you do about this situation that’s unfolded around you? Will you try to do the same foolish thing as your friend? Or will you try to figure a way to save him?”
“I want to attack the Banshee and go home,” Shawn said, reaching for his dice.
Rhys raised an eyebrow. “Surely as a Paladin you know that’s not the best move you can make.”
Shawn held his eye as he repeated his statement, “I want to attack the Banshee.”
Rhys waved his hand. “Roll your dice then.”
Shawn did, staring at the ten on his twenty-sided dice. Rhys looked down at his notes and back up. “Seems as if your hit will land, but it won’t be enough to stop her. Foolish, foolish Paladin always wanting to do the best even if it’s not the smartest.” He blinked and turned to Jack. “While I have very much enjoyed your silence, it is your turn, Jack.”
Jack took in a gasp of air. “Fuck,” he said, and his eyes widened at the sound of his own voice.
“Nice to have you back, mouthpiece,” Rhys said, tone dry. “Now, as our Rogue, what will your options be?”
“Can I punch my Game Master in the face?” Jack asked, hopping to his feet as if he were about to reach over the stump and do it anyway.
Rhys smiled wide enough to show his teeth. “Of course not. And I wouldn’t recommend you try.” His gaze moved over to Milo.
The boy had fallen to his knees, hands still clenched over his ears. Even in the darkness, Shawn could see a thi
ck liquid on his pale skin. He didn’t have to guess to know it was blood.
“I’ll be nice. I’ll give you a hint about what to do,” Rhys said. “As humans, you are incapable of hurting a spirit such as a banshee. Try to combat it indirectly.”
Jack muttered under his breath, clenching his hands into fists at his sides.
“So what’ll it be?” Rhys asked him.
Shawn wasn’t sure how he felt about that look. To him, it spoke of evil, of hopelessness. It was the way a cat looked at a mouse just before it ate it.
“I’ll make ear plugs with dirt that keeps him from hearing the Banshee,” Jack said and hurried across the clearing. He dropped to his knees, filling his hands with mud before he nearly tackled Milo to the ground.
They wrestled, Jack trying to get Milo to move his hands, and Milo holding strong. By the time Jack finally peeled his hands away, they were both covered with mud. Jack slathered the substance over his ears before Milo shakily hurried to cover his ears once again.
Rhys’ eyebrows shot up. “Impressive, Jack. Real on your feet thinking. Let’s see if it takes,” he said and rolled his dye. When the twenty peered up at them, he smiled. “Seems to have gone down without a hitch. The earplugs worked, and your friend’s ears have stopped bleeding.”
Shawn glanced over at Milo. He moved his hands and beneath, Shawn couldn’t see his ears for the strange covers over them. The blood was gone from his hands, and Milo flipped his pale hands over and over as if he thought he had somehow missed it. Slowly, he looked up from his place at the edge of the clearing. The moonlight reflected off his eyes, making them look red as he stared at Rhys, haunted expression on his face as if he were afraid that any sudden movement would bring the entire banshee situation back.
“You may approach,” Rhys said, gesturing to Milo’s assigned seat at the stump.
Milo stood up, walking stiffly back to his place. When he sat down, he kept his eyes on the table, not risking a single glance in Rhys’ direction.
“Now that was a very thrilling first round,” Rhys said, eyes moving to each boy in turn. “I’m sure that now you understand exactly what consequences I’m referring to.”
“What the Hell are you?” Jack asked, slowly plopping back down in his seat across from Rhys. “How are you able to do this?”
Rhys clapped his hands together, looking at his arrangement of dice, papers, and various other pieces as if he hadn’t even heard Jack speak. “I’m interested to see how this entire thing will play out. I have a good feeling about you lot. I think you’ll make it far.”
Shawn shivered, trying to think what the consequences would be if they failed. The banshee had been only an example, he knew that. Shawn wondered what other evil Rhys had up his sleeves. “If we did something to you, it wasn’t on purpose,” Shawn said, trying to use his most placating tone of voice.
Rhys blinked and licked his lips. “Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, trying to talk me down like you think it’ll change things, but the fact is, you never did anything to me. I’m here because you three fascinated me. You had your little group in the middle of such a vicious school, and you never let anyone bother you. Even when they tried to bully you, you would stick together, challenge them, never backing down. There’s something so admirable about that. When you approached me that first day, I didn’t know what to think of you. Each of you looked at me through your own lens. None of them were particularly tasteful, but you each tried, and you all just grew on me.”
“To sum things up, this is a punishment for being kind to you?” Shawn asked, voice nearly dripping with derision. Shawn was the one who had insisted they treat him with respect, but Jack had been right except he needed more than a counselor. He needed an exorcism.
Rhys tipped his head to the side. “I guess if you have to put a label on it, that would be the explanation though it still doesn’t completely explain things. I suppose I wanted to test you all, to see exactly what sort of strength your friendships really have.”
“Jesus,” Jack breathed.
Rhys cringed, hands doubling into fists so tightly that his fingernails drew blood from his palms. “I would appreciate if you didn’t say that again in my presence. Once is an accident, but twice. Well...” He tipped his head in Milo’s direction.
Jack blinked, unperturbed. “Why not? What are you?”
“I’ll put it this way, if you survive to the end of my game, I’ll answer all the questions you want,” Rhys said.
“I’m getting the feeling that’s not a particularly fair deal,” Jack said.
“My Momma said to never make a deal with the devil,” Milo added, looking directly at Rhys as he said it.
Shawn winced, keeping his eyes on the table. He anticipated Rhys unleashing another beast just for Milo’s courage.
Rhys cold gaze turned to him. “Well, I suppose you’re in luck then, because I’m not the devil. I’m something between him and you all.”
“A demon,” Jack surmised.
Rhys waved a hand over the pieces before him. “Only way to find out is to play.”
7.
“NOT AS IF we have any other choice, right?” Shawn asked, glancing to the dirt in Milo’s ears.
“Exactly right,” Rhys said.
“Alright. You have our full, undivided attention. We’ll play your game,” Jack said. “What comes next?”
“Let’s find out,” Rhys said and picked up his paper again. “Angry for being bested, the banshee has disappeared for now, but she lurks nearby waiting to strike again. Our Ranger, Milo, has already heard her shriek once. If he hears it twice more, then she can claim him, and she will wait for the opportunity to do so. Unscathed after the battle, our Rogue Jack, and Paladin Shawn, take the lead through the next part of our adventure. They encounter a passerby who flags them down. Warily, they decide to approach and are given a book. After the encounter with the banshee, they are uncertain what will happen if opened.” He paused to rummage through his backpack. When he emerged again, it was with a thick tome that he dropped to the stump with a thump. Slowly, he pushed it toward Shawn. “Shawn, what do you do?”
“I check the book over, but after determining it to be safe, I open it,” he said.
Rhys blinked, staring at him expectantly until Shawn mimicked the words he had just said. The book was blank on every page, and Shawn flipped through them, frown deepening. Who would carry around a book this heavy if it had nothing in it?
The roll of Rhys’ dice cut through the silence. “And you are correct. It is safe,” Rhys said, pleasant expression on his face when Shawn at last looked up. “There is a message written in red ink on the first page that you’re pretty sure is blood. It says Greetings travelers, if you are reading this message then you have accepted the quest within. You are tasked with hunting down the demons of the seven deadly sins. Only if you are successful in defeating them will you survive your quest. Failure means death.”
Shawn’s face tightened. Hadn’t he just determined the book was blank? On impulse, he went back to the first page, but the writing that Rhys had promised was there waited for him.
“You made us humans with the expectation to take down demons, but we couldn’t even fight a banshee. That wasn’t part of the quest. This is unfair,” Jack said.
“Life’s unfair,” Rhys said, eyelids drooping in barely restrained annoyance.
“Who’s our first demon?” Milo asked, soft voice cutting into the tension.
“Your first demon will be Mammon, the demon with the sin of greed,” Rhys said.
Milo bobbed his head. “Okay.”
“Now that you have accepted your quest, your journey takes you to a cave on the edge of the forest. At first, it looks like any other with stalagmites, stale air, and tiny creatures hidden in the dark. However, the longer you travel, the more you start to notice things in the cave that are valuable—a gemstone here or a piece of gold or silver there. The deeper you go, the more common these items start to be.”
> Shawn blinked, stumbling to the side as soon as he realized that the forest around him was gone. They were in the cave that Rhys had described. The gray walls closed in on them concealing a majority of the path in darkness. Milo was holding a torch, and that was the only light they had. Wide-eyed, Shawn looked down at himself. He was dressed in a suit of armor, and on instinct, Shawn glanced to his companions again, just to doublecheck that they were really here...wherever here was. Beside him, Jack and Milo were also studying themselves in wide-eyed terror. Milo was dressed like a lumberjack with a plaid shirt and jean overalls, and Jack was cloaked in black robes and a hood. There was a bag slung across his shoulder, coming to rest on his hip.
“I see you boys made it just fine,” Rhys’ voice drifted over their heads.
“What is this?” Jack howled up at the cave ceiling. “Where are we?”
“I thought I did a rather good job of explaining that.”
Shawn swallowed, feeling sick. “We’re in Mammon’s cave,” he murmured, though if that was meant to be in response to Jack’s question or information he was relaying to himself, he wasn’t sure. Shawn looked up toward the sky, but all he could see was the darkness.
“Where are you?” Milo asked.
“Fear not. Where I am is of little concern. You have a quest to accomplish, and that won’t be done any sooner with you standing around.”
“Oh, God,” Milo said, looking even paler than Shawn could believe a person could be.
“Milo, my friend,” Rhys purred. “You are up. What’s your first move?”
Milo swallowed, eyes darting everywhere as if he weren’t sure he wanted to do anything at all. “I would pick up one of the pieces of gemstones or valuables to study them and see if they are real.”
“They are all real,” Rhys assured him. “But don’t tell me. Just do what you’re going to do. Oh, just a warning, the bestial roars that you hear from the back of the cave are also real. Just keep that in mind.”
Rhys’ sentence was punctuated with a roar so loud it seemed to shake the entire cave. Jack’s eyes stretched wide, his knuckles white as he doubled his hands into fists.