Auction of Souls: Fantasy GameLit RPG Series (Pixel Dust Book 3)

by David Petrie

  Seven glanced back at the four players pursuing them. They might still leave her be if she just stepped aside.

  “Umm, hi. I’m not with them.”

  She waved, then cringed at her own words as a strange emotion that she didn’t recognize tugged at her heart. The four men just looked at her in silence. Finally, she sighed and resigned herself to the only thing she could do.

  Give up.

  Her feet however, had other plans.

  Wait, no, what the hell am I doing?

  Seven’s body moved as if on autopilot, somehow overriding every logical thought in her head. Her level one starter shoes hit the wheel’s surface one after another as she ran toward the gears. Her eyes locked on the gap between them, here heart racing like never before.

  I have officially lost my mind.

  Dropping to her knees, Seven lay down on the wheel and pulled her arms in as tight as possible. The roaring gears chomped closer with every second. She took a few last panicked gasps before her world was engulfed in darkness.

  Metal ground against metal all around her in a cacophony louder than any she had ever heard. Fear set in as the gears bit at her robes, tugging on her sleeves and threatening to devour her right then and there. It seemed to last forever.

  Then she saw the sky filled with stars… and a gun.

  “Hey there.” Piper stood on a ridge of brass that surrounded the opening where the engine wheel passed through the hull of the ship, aiming down to shoot the next person to appear from the gap. A full moon hung in the sky, silhouetting her foxlike ears as Seven looked up.

  “Hi.” Seven remained laying on her back as the wheel carried her out of the ship.

  “Congrats on not getting crushed.” Kegan held out a hand to help her up.

  “Thanks.” She hoisted her body off the engine wheel, only to realize that her situation wasn’t actually better. The surface she stood on passed back into the ship further down, and there was no telling what was on the other side. More gears? She really wished she had looked while she was inside.

  There was also the fact that there was no railing or safety feature of any kind, not that there had been any inside either. The fact that she was essentially standing on the outside of an aircraft suddenly felt very real. The scene was like something out of a ridiculous action movie. Seven suppressed a shiver. She hated action movies.

  That was when Piper spoke again.

  “Hey there.” She waved at the first of their pursuers to emerge from the gap. Then she opened fire.

  The helpless man howled for an instant, then stopped abruptly, his cry cut off by a well-placed bullet. The second of the men met the same fate before the slide of her pistol locked back, empty.

  The faunus with the metal glove appeared next, taking an arrow to his shoulder before deploying his barrier to protect himself. The man in the helmet emerged behind him. He stayed low to stay in the cover of his ally as arrows pelted their shield.

  Seven wasn’t sure if she should take up a position behind Kegan and his friends or stay at the front.

  “Fall back, Seven.” Kegan shouted.

  That answered that. Seven made a break for their back line, hoping the elf and his friends could take care of the last of their pursuers.

  The faunus with the shield pushed forward as the man in the helmet used some kind of ability to leap into the air. Again, streaks of fire spilled from his weapon. Seven knew what that meant and crouched down to avoid being thrown off the engine wheel by the blast that was sure to follow. Kegan and his friends did the same.

  The man landed with an explosion of fire. Seven felt the heat on her skin even while hiding behind Kegan’s party. The scent of burning oil filled her nostrils.

  Using the attack as a distraction, the faunus with the shield raced forward, slamming into Corvin and Piper like a plow. He kept running until he threw himself off the edge to ensure his targets went with him. Corvin fell back as Piper’s hand shot out to save him. It wasn’t enough.

  Seven shoved down the fear in her chest and ran as they both disappeared over the edge. She dove, landing on her stomach, her arm outstretched. There was no way she could catch them. She knew that much. If she tried, she would just go flying off the side along with them.

  Fortunately, she didn’t have to.

  “Let go of my tail, damn it!” Piper shouted as she clung to the edge of the engine wheel.

  “Sorry, I’m going to have to ignore that request.” Corvin responded, dangling in the wind by the fluffy appendage connected to her rear. “‘Cause, you know, I’ll die.”

  “I’m fine with that,” she called back, her knuckles white under the strain of holding them both.

  “Didn’t you just try to save him a second ago?” Seven grabbed her wrist, trying to help.

  “It was on reflex. I couldn’t help it.”

  “Hey, could you two quit arguing and climb back up?” Kegan deflected a spear that had been thrust at his chest. “I’m not exactly a melee class here.”

  The man in the helmet didn’t stop, making sure the elf wouldn’t have time to reach for an arrow. At the same time, he pushed Kegan toward the edge.

  Corvin let out a grunt as he reached up for a better hold on Piper’s tail only to slip down, catching himself with one hand. Piper let out a yelp as her grip faltered.

  “Hold on. Please!” Seven gripped the girl’s wrists tighter.

  “Thanks.” She looked up at Seven. “You’re doing good.”

  Piper’s words cut into Seven’s heart. She was actually encouraging her while dangling from the side of an airship.

  Who are these people?

  It didn’t matter, there wasn’t time to think about it. Kegan still needed help.

  “Climb faster!” Seven cried just as the elf ran out of room, with nothing but the empty sky at his back.

  “Seven.” Corvin made eye contact with her from below. “Listen, I’m not going to make it in time to help. It has to be you.”

  “What can I do?”

  “You’re a Venom mage. You have magic.”

  “I don’t even know what that means.”

  “That’s okay.” His face was calm as he spoke. “I was a Venom once. I’ll talk you through it, alright?”

  Kegan let out a grunt as he fell on his back, his head hanging off the edge with only his bow to deflect the attacks that rained down on him. The tip of the man’s spear slammed into the brass edging of the engine wheel over and over, narrowly missing the elf with each strike.

  Corvin’s eyes flicked to his friend then back to Seven. “Alright?” he repeated to get her attention.

  Seven nodded as the wind whipped through her hair.

  “Okay, you have to open your caster. It’s the bracelet on your wrist.”

  Seven looked at the leather band that hugged the forearm, a small metal chamber sitting underneath like a watch. “How do I–”

  “Just open one hand as far as it will go, that will activate it.”

  She let go of Piper’s wrist with her right hand and followed his instruction, opening her hand and stretching her fingers out as far as she could. The metal chamber on her caster snapped open, revealing a glowing green crystal.

  “Okay, good.” Corvin smiled up at her. “Now stand and swipe your hand up to open your spellcraft menu.”

  Seven gave Piper one last look and released her other wrist, leaving the girl to hold the brunt of her friend’s weight. Then she swiped upward. Four glyphs appeared before her in a grid, bathing Seven in a gentle light.

  “Woah.” The word fell out of her mouth as the realization that she had magic hit her.

  “That’s it, you only have two spells at level one. Pulse and Poison. Go with pulse, it won’t hurt him but it will push him back. Move the glyph on the upper right to the selection column in the center. Leave the bottom ones where they are. Then swipe down to cast it. Point with an outstretched hand and it will hit the first available target in a straight line.”

  “That’s i
t?” she asked as Kegan’s bow flittered off the side and into the clouds below. He threw his hands up in a useless attempt to protect himself.

  “Shit!” Seven swiped left, then down, letting her fingertips pass through glyphs. Her skin tingled on contact and the spell glowed brighter for an instant before fading away. She thrust out her hand at the man as he raised his spear for a killing blow. “Leave him alone!”

  A surge of excitement poured through her chest as a puff of energy burst into existence in the man’s face.

  “The hell?” He stumbled backward but didn’t fall.

  Seven didn’t stop. Instead, she threw her hand out and raised it to the sky, the glyphs appearing again like before. She swiped left and down, cutting the symbols in half with her hand and stepping forward as if pushing the incantation in his direction. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced.

  It was magic.

  Again she cast the spell, a ridiculous smile having its way with her as her hand swept through the air.

  She felt powerful.

  The man tried to protect his face with his spear but another pulse slapped him in the hand, sending the weapon clattering to his feet. Another pulse knocked him back, his balance shifting as he stepped away into empty space.

  Seven stalked toward her prey, swiping up again only to find the she was out of mana. A red zero showed on the readout of her stat-sleeve. She didn’t stop. The man was teetering on the edge, his arms flailing for balance.

  “Sorry.” The word left her mouth in a quiet whisper as she placed a hand on his chest and gave him a gentle push.

  “Damn it, Seven,” the man grunted in a low tone as he tipped back over the edge and fell into the blanket of fluffy clouds.

  What?

  She stood, frozen, staring at her own hand. The one that had pushed a man to his death.

  What did he just say?

  She took a frantic step back and clutched a hand over her mouth.

  How could he know my name?

  That was when she looked down at his spear laying by her feet. The one she had knocked out of his hand. The one… that she recognized.

  Oh no. She shook her head. No no no.

  Seven hadn’t been paying attention to details during the fight. How could she? Everything had happened so fast, but now, she couldn’t help but stare at the familiar weapon. It’s unique bladed tip practically screamed its owner’s name at her.

  Cassius.

  She had just killed the First Knight of her own house.

  “Holy crap, Seven.” Kegan pushed himself up. “You wrecked that guy.”

  “Could use some help,” Piper called from where she hung off the edge of the still turning engine wheel. “We’re gonna get scraped off real soon here.”

  “Oh damn, yeah.” Kegan leaped over to help.

  Seven continued to stare in horror at the spear at her feet until a happy little chime sounded in her ear. As it did, the spear began to shimmer and dissipate into glowing particles. Cassius must have hit the ground and been disconnected. She raised her stat-sleeve, barely looking at it. The words ‘Level Up’ appeared next to her name six times.

  “You gonna help? Or just stand there in awe of your badassery?” Kegan gestured to his friends hanging over the side with his head.

  Seven snapped out of her trance and rushed to aid the two reynards. Corvin seemed to be making it harder for himself, struggling to climb up Piper’s body without touching her anywhere that he shouldn’t.

  “Will you just grab my ass already?” Piper spat down at him. “I don’t want to get killed because you’re too afraid of touching a girl.”

  He rolled his eyes and reached up to grab her belt, inadvertently pulling her pants down a couple inches. Piper let out an embarrassed yelp.

  “Sorry.” He winced as he pulled himself up further.

  “That’s fine.” Piper growled through her teeth. “It’s not like you’re enjoying it, remember? I’m too young.”

  Seven started to understand a bit of why the pair seemed to be at odds just as Echo appeared from the clouds below. The fairy flew up to hover above them, fluttering her wings faster and releasing a shower of shining dust on the both of them. Then, Piper simply let go.

  Seven reached out on reflex, though neither of them fell. Instead, they just floated up as if gravity had no effect on them.

  “What the…?”

  “Flight magic.” Corvin pointed to a feather icon on his stat-sleeve as he landed next to Kegan, safe again with his feet on the ship’s engine wheel. Well, as safe as he could be with Piper glaring daggers at him.

  “Flight is one of the convenient effects of pixie dust.” Kegan elbowed Seven in the arm. “You just have to believe in fairies.”

  “What?” Seven glanced at Echo, hovering just over the edge with her hands tucked behind her back.

  “He’s kidding,” the fairy mouthed. “You don’t really need to believe.”

  “Oh.” Seven folded her arms. “Wait, wouldn’t it have been easier for you to just dust these two earlier?”

  Echo’s face went blank, showing no emotion whatsoever. Even her dull eyes seemed to unfocus in an unnatural way, as if no one was controlling her.

  “Yeah, well…” Kegan scratched at the back of his neck and gestured to girl. “This one is surprisingly inconsistent.”

  Seven glanced to the fairy who snapped back to the present and gave an enthusiastic nod at the fact that she was unhelpful.

  “Anyway,” Kegan gestured to Echo. “Mind dusting us up too, so we can all fly up to the deck?”

  The little mage responded with enthusiasm, darting up and circling above Seven’s head. A trail of glittering sparkles drifted down, settling on her hair and shoulders. It felt warm and gentle as it touched her skin. After a few seconds, a feather icon appeared on her stat-sleeve as well, though she couldn’t help but let her eyes drift back to where Cassius had fallen.

  She would be lucky to not get fired.

  “Hey, you with us?” Kegan snapped his fingers next to her ear.

  “What?” Seven suddenly realized she was almost out of space before the engine wheel passed back into the ship’s hull. “Oh.” Her eyes darted to Kegan, who was floating in place a few inches in the air. She looked at his feet dangling. “How do I…?”

  “Just look in the direction you want to go and close your right hand.”

  “Okay, like thi– oh no!” Seven shot up into the air, apparently closing her hand too fast and crashing into Corvin who in turn slammed into Piper.

  “Oh, come on!” he squealed as the other reynard swatted at him.

  Seven let her hand go limp, coming to a stop in the air, drifting weightlessly. The clouds passed by below her, a sudden jolt of fear pulsing through her before a wave of excitement shut it down.

  “Oh. My. God.” She threw her arms out like wings. “I’m flying!”

  “Yeah, yeah, you’re flying.” Kegan pointed up. “Now how about we head back to the ship’s deck? That spell only lasts two minutes and Echo isn’t exactly reliable enough to catch us if it runs out.”

  “Oh, sure.” Seven frowned at having such an incredible experience cut short. Looking at Echo, she wondered why the fairy was so bad at supporting her friends. It was like she just didn’t care to put in the effort, though something about that didn’t feel right. The girl hadn’t seemed that heartless.

  Seven shook off the thought and followed the others up to the ship’s deck, making a point of landing clear of the auction’s guards. Of course, that was when she remembered that she was supposed to be inside the theater for the bidding. That was, as long as she didn’t get fired first for killing Cassius. Not to mention she’d left Ruby back down in the engine room. Well, that part wasn’t so bad. She was glad to be free of the dumb bird.

  “Damn!” Seven caught the time on her stat-sleeve. “Only fifteen minutes. I have to get back inside.”

  “I can help with that. We have to shift this one back in anyway.” Piper hooked a thumb
back at Echo. “The rest of our house will be worried about her, and we have to sneak in to help back them up.”

  “Shift?” Seven tilted her head to the side.

  “Yeah, it’s a teleport of sorts, it will send us all directly into the theater.” Piper held out her hands. “Just grab onto me.”

  “Umm, okay.” Seven took her hand as Corvin reached for the reynard girl’s other hand. Piper pulled it away.

  “You can hold Kegan’s hand.”

  “Gettin’ really sick of this,” Kegan groaned and took her hand in Corvin’s place, then offered his other hand to the boy. “Mind grabbing that one?”

  Seven turned to find Echo, who was staring blankly into the middle distance. She poked the fairy to get her attention, then held out her hand, feeling relived when the mage grabbed hold without argument.

  “Okay, let’s get in there.” Piper moved her hands together without letting go of the others, forcing them to move along with her. “Don’t want to keep my mom waiting.”

  Seven’s ears pricked up. “Your mom’s inside?”

  “Yeah, you’ll like her. She’s pretty cool.” Piper stopped momentarily. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

  “Sure.” Seven chuckled, changing her opinion of Piper a little. “Actually, I didn’t ask, which house are you guys with?”

  Kegan opened his mouth to speak just as Piper’s fingers touched a bracelet on her wrist. His words were cut off as the world vanished around them, an endless gloom filling her vision.

  In that second, a number of facts began to line up.

  The three stowaways.

  The shift ability that was used in a heist six months ago.

  The heart emblem on Echo’s rear.

  It had all been so obvious, but she hadn’t made the connection.

  Oh no!

  Seven’s blood ran cold as the world blinked back; a small, dark room lined with crimson curtains closed in around her.

  Oh, no no no! Seven tried to step away, only to find her back against a wall as the Lady of House Lockheart leveled a pair of green eyes on her.

  “Who the hell are you?”