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

by David Petrie

  “What…” Seven repeated, sounding like a complete idiot.

  “I take it from your intimidated expression that your new friends over in House Lockheart have told you some pretty scary things about me.”

  Unsure of what to say, Seven simply nodded.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not as bad as they must have made me out to be.” Nix gave her a warm smile without a trace of hostility.

  “Oh, okay.” Seven got a grip on herself. “That makes sense. I’m sure there’s two sides to every story.”

  “Exactly.” Nix started walking toward a table that the twins had set up to take care of the transactions.

  “So there may have been a misunderstanding between you and them?” Seven walked just behind her.

  “Hmm.” Nix stopped for a second, her fluffy ears twitching. “No, in this situation I definitely did all the things they think I did.”

  “What?” Seven stopped dead in her tracks.

  “Well, I am a villain.” The reynard laughed as if she had no shame whatsoever. “I’m not as bad as they make me out to be, sure, but I’m definitely still a bad guy by most people’s standards.” She hopped once and looked back. “But don’t worry, Karen, I don’t have any interest in you.”

  “What did you call me?” Seven’s heart leaped into her throat at the sound of her real name.

  “Please, Karen, I’ve had all night. That was more than enough time to look into you.” Nix shrugged. “I had to; you were an unknown variable. I couldn’t just ignore you. That would be irresponsible.”

  Seven’s feet simply stopped responding, leaving her standing stock still in the middle of the ruined theater.

  “Oh, don’t be like that.” Nix hopped closer and took her hand. “I don’t mean you any harm. It’s like I said. I’m not that bad.” She winked. “In fact, I could even help you out.”

  Seven’s lip trembled as she allowed the reynard to drag her toward the twins’ table.

  “If you would be willing to fill me in on whatever Max has planned, I could be persuaded to help you out.” Nix tilted her head to one side. “Maybe I could make sure that your husband’s medical bills are covered. It was a broken hip, right? He’s awfully young for something like that. A frisbee golf accident, huh?” She frowned. “If only people could be better educated of the dangers of frisbee golf-related injuries.”

  “You can’t…” The room started to spin as Seven’s breathing sped up.

  “I can.” Nix made an effort to help her stay standing. “Look, Max is not a complex man, so it’s not hard to guess what he has up his sleeve. I just want to be sure. That’s all I’m asking. In return, I can change your life. Imagine, no more money troubles. No need to bow down to Leftwitch for her table scraps.”

  “I…” Seven regained her composure, if only a little. “I don’t know.”

  She wasn’t lying. She really didn’t know what to say. Nix was offering her salvation from the financial hell she had been trapped in for months. At the same time, the offer told Seven everything she needed to know about Nix. The woman was cunning and dangerous but, most of all, cruel. To dangle an offer like that in front of her, knowing the situation she was in, was heartless.

  Max, on the other hand, might be just as bad. Maybe he wasn’t always that way. She was sure he was good once, but losing his friend had twisted him into something else. No, Nix had shaped him into what he was by taking away someone he cared for.

  It was an impossible choice. She owed Max nothing, but still, she felt for him as well as the rest of House Lockheart. They weren’t evil, just damaged. Nix, on the other hand… was something else entirely.

  “What will you do if I say no?” Seven’s voice quivered as she spoke.

  “Nothing.” Nix sighed. “Like I said, I have no interest in you.”

  “Then I refuse.” Seven answered without hesitation, surprising herself more than Nix who seemed to be expecting the response.

  “You know…” The reynard stepped forward and handed Grindstone her auction tile. “All you people with your damn integrity really make it hard for a villain to get things done. But I guess I have to respect that.”

  Seven stood dumbfounded as Nix gave Grindstone approval for a final account transfer and claimed her Nightfall coat. The reynard draped the garment over one arm and gave Seven a somber smile.

  “I like you, Karen. The world needs people like you as much as it does people like me.” The reynard patted her on the arm and walked away as if parting ways with a friend. “Remember that.”

  Seven watched her throw her new coat on and blur into the shadows of a doorway just as Max entered through it. She passed right by him without him noticing.

  Damn. So much for stalling her.

  Seven wasn’t sure if she should feel guilty. Maybe it was just as well that Max missed her. She absentmindedly handed her auction tile to Grindstone, watching Max stalk his way toward the table to claim his contract.

  “I’m sorry, your account balance is short.”

  “Wait, what?” Seven’s head snapped back to Grindstone.

  “Your balance is a thousand shy.” He placed both of her contracts on the table in front of her. “I can give you one of your contracts now, but not both. Although I would be happy to hold the other until you can get me the rest.”

  “That’s impossible, I was told there was 300 thousand in the account.” Seven shook off the encounter with Nix and planted a finger down at a ledger that he had laying open on the table.

  “I’m not sure what to tell you, there’s only 294 thousand in there now.” Grindstone began to close his ledger.

  “Wait, okay. I have extra funds for emergencies. Will you accept hard instead?” Seven dug the silver box out of her item bag, ignoring the red flags that went off in her head. The question of how Leftwitch could possibly be wrong about her account balance, or why she might have withdrawn the money faded into the background of her primary mission.

  “There should be 20 thousand in hard in this box.” Seven handed the item over to Grindstone. “Just dump it out.”

  “That’s not a problem.” The elf flipped open the lid without hesitation, tipping it upside down. Nothing came out. He flipped the box over and peered inside. “There doesn’t seem to be anything inside…”

  His words trailed off as his lips and hands began to tremble. He closed the box, only to have it snap back open, releasing a force that knocked him backward. Even Seven was pushed away as a plume of black smoke erupted from the box.

  Seven fell back as a strange manifestation poured up to the ceiling and swirled above her. She looked down at the box it had come from, wondering just what Leftwitch had hidden inside it. She glanced up at catching a glimpse of something in the smoke for an instant. A shape, something otherworldly. A shape of something unknown.

  Before she could stare at the cloud any longer, she felt a strange tingling run down the length of her forearm. She looked to her stat-sleeve as a health bar trailed down her skin.

  Grindstone’s stare traveled from his own arm, then to the box as it crumbled to dust. “Oh my god, that’s why it’s been missing. It’s been trapped in that box.” His eyes snapped back to Seven. “How could you have brought it here?”

  “Brought what?” Seven struggled to understand what was happening.

  “Brought that.” He thrust one finger down to point at her stat-sleeve as a few words appeared just above the massive health bar.

  Nightmare: The Void.

  Chapter Thirty

  “What in the actual fuck is that?”

  Max lowered his head as a plume of black smoke burst from Grindstone’s table and swirled around the ceiling. Then he noticed the lengthy health bar that traveled down his arm.

  “A Nightmare? Now?”

  “Don’t look at it!” Alastair shouted from somewhere behind Max. “It’s the Void, it will target anyone who stares into it.”

  The rest of the room’s occupants immediately averted their eyes as the lighting in the
room dimmed. The dark cloud spread itself wide to fill the ceiling. Max dropped his gaze to the floor as flashes of light came from above, casting ghastly shadows across the theater. The simple fear of the unknown screamed at him, daring him look up.

  “Just ignore it, the Void will give up and move on.” Alastair crept up to Max’s side, being careful not to look up.

  “Where did it come from?” Max tightened his grip on the handles of his guns.

  “Someone must have moved the Nightmare from its dungeon and brought it here.”

  “Could this night get any worse?” Max shook his head.

  “Oh, I’d say it’s about to.” Alastair kept his eye on the floor. “The Void was designed to be fought by a party of six. Once the boss finds everyone out on the main deck…” Alastair shuddered. “I don’t really want to think about what will happen then. And this is just phase one.”

  Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the lights in the room returned to normal. Max glanced up to catch the Void trailing off through the balcony curtains above.

  “We need to barricade the doors.” Alastair reached for a broken chair. “We can’t let Noctem’s rulers fall victim to the Void.”

  “Whatever. Right now, I’m getting my contract and finding Nix.” Max headed toward Grindstone.

  “Wait, don’t you want to know how to fight this thing?” Alastair began to chase after him.

  “Not my problem.” He pushed his way through the crowd gathered around Grindstone’s table and left Alastair behind to fend for himself. Making his way to the front of the crowd, Max ignored one conflict and walked right into another.

  “You can’t just keep my items.” Seven instead, sounding like she was going to ask to speak to the manager at any moment.

  “Excuse me, you just doomed this entire ship.” Grindstone stabbed his finger down on his table into what looked like a pile of metallic dust.

  “I don’t even know what a Nightmare is. I can’t help it if there was one hiding my belongings.”

  “Like I’m going to believe that.” Grindstone flicked the pile of dust at her.

  “Look, I need these contracts.” Seven lowered her voice as if looking for sympathy. “Christ, this is my first night working for my house. If I come back empty-handed, I won’t have a job.”

  “That’s not my problem.”

  Max winced as Grindstone used the same words he had a moment earlier. He wondered if he had sounded like a jerk too.

  It was easy enough to put together what had happened. Seven’s house must have used her to smuggle the Void aboard the ship to release if things didn’t go their way. It made sense, considering they already tried to blow up the ship once tonight. Although, from what he could tell, Seven hadn’t been in on the plan.

  Max’s heart went out to the woman. Her situation reminded him of his own, being manipulated and toyed with. Her house had been pulling her strings all night, just like Nix had pulled his for years. He shook off the thought. There wasn’t time to be feeling sorry for her or himself. He had things to do.

  “Give her the damn contracts and quit slowing down the line.” Max shoved up beside Seven while cutting everyone else in the process.

  “Absolutely not. She still owes one thousand.” Grindstone simply folded his arms.

  “That’s nothing, just take it from my account.” Max slammed his hand down on the table.

  “But she has doomed this auction.”

  “Let me rephrase that.” Max drew one of his pistols and aimed it at the elf. “Give her the shit she bought.”

  Seven’s body went rigid, clearly unsure what to do.

  “You wouldn’t dare.” Grindstone blanched and took a step back.

  “Try me.” Max gestured a small circle with the muzzle of his gun to imply that they should move things along. “And while you’re at it, give me my shit too. There’s no need to drag this out.”

  “Fine.” The elf sneered with as much disdain as he could muster. “But I want you both gone.”

  “Sure, like I’m gonna hang around here anyway.”

  Grindstone grabbed Seven’s two purchases, making a point to place them on the table in front of her as hard as he could. Afterward, he did the same with the Duelist’s Manacles that Max had bought.

  “Here is your… shit, as you put it.” Grindstone’s face suddenly shifted back to something more professional. “Thank you for choosing the Auction of Souls.” He paused for effect before adding, “Now get out!”

  Max grabbed the manacles from the table and coiled the twelve feet of chain that connected them around one arm. He had no idea how he was going to get one end around Nix’s wrist. Hell, he had no idea how he was going to find her.

  “Thank you for honoring our transaction. Sorry for any trouble that I may have caused.” Seven gave a polite bow, before turning toward the nearest doorway.

  Max did the same just as Grindstone called out to them.

  “And consider the both of you banned from all future auctions.”

  Seven turned back, looking like she’d been punched in the gut. Max turned to say something rude, but stopped. Grindstone wasn’t worth it. He shook his head and kept walking.

  “Don’t worry about him, he’ll get over it.” Max sped up his pace to leave Seven behind.

  “Wait.”

  “What now?” Max looked back.

  “Why did you help me just now?” A frown tugged at the corners of Seven’s mouth, as if she suspected him of wanting something in return.

  “You were taking too long, I had to speed things along.”

  “Oh.” Seven began to turn away.

  “I felt bad, okay?” Max blurted out the truth, surprising himself as much as her.

  “You’re not as cold as you pretend to be.” Seven’s face softened as she stepped closer.

  Max looked away and shrugged.

  “Nix picked up her coat right before you got here. She left through that door. If you go now, you might be able to catch up to her.” Seven pointed to the other side of the theater.

  “Thank you.” Max let his attitude fall away and gave her an honest smile.

  “You’re welcome.” Seven returned the gesture. “I hope you find your friend.”

  “Me too.” He started for the door. “I hope you find your place in Noctem.”

  “Me too.” She sighed as he left her behind.

  Max let his resolve fall back into place as he snapped one cuff of the Duelist’s Manacles around his wrist. He passed by Alastair, who was enlisting the help of anyone who would listen to aid him in sealing off the theater. Max didn’t look back as they barricaded the doors behind him.

  Screams bled through the lobby doors from the main deck. Apparently, the Void had already been busy.

  Max kept walking.

  “Don’t you dare die on me, Nix… I’m on my way.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Where the hell are you, Echo? Farn looked both ways down the hallway. It didn’t really matter what happened to the avatar, but still, it didn’t sit well with her to leave her alone. Not with a Nightmare on the loose. Maybe it was the Shield class in her, urging her to protect others out of habit.

  She glanced at the Void’s health bar on her wrist, then back down the hall. Echo was nowhere to be found.

  Who she did find, however, was Seven. The low-level mage was pacing in the hallway outside the theater.

  “Why aren’t you inside?” Farn jogged up to her.

  “I got kicked out. Grindstone apparently doesn’t like it if your house hides a Nightmare in your possessions.”

  “Oh, this was you then?” Farn gestured to the bar on her forearm.

  “Sort of.” The woman gave an awkward shrug just as a plume of black smoke flooded into the hallway behind her.

  “Hit the deck!” Farn shoved her to the floor as the Nightmare surged down the hall toward them. Seven huddled close and screamed as it passed by overhead. Farn did her best to cover them with the Death Grip’s energy barrier. Pi
ns and needles lit up her shoulder as a tendril of smoke grazed her.

  “I don’t want to die!” Seven screamed.

  Without any options, Farn screamed too. Then, to her surprise, the dark plume simply blew past them as if it had somewhere else to be. Farn raised her head just in time to see someone step into the hallway from the theater’s lobby. It was Kashka, Winter Moon’s Knight. She leveled her eyes on the shape and readied her claymore as the Nightmare raced toward her.

  “Come on!” The burly woman called a challenge just before the smoke passed through her body like a ghost. Her face went blank in an instant, as if her soul had been ripped from her body. She only stood for a moment before collapsing to the floor.

  “She never stood a chance.” Farn released Seven from her protective hold as they both stared at the corpse of House Winter Moon’s First Knight.

  “Why would my house want that thing on the loose here?” Seven pushed herself up.

  “I can’t imagine they have good intentions.” Farn got up as well. “You might want to get Leftwitch on the line and find out.”

  “I know, I was looking for a safe place to do that when you...” Seven suddenly trailed off, her eyes staring past Farn’s shoulder.

  “I’m not going to like what’s behind me, am I?”

  Seven raised a finger to point. “Aren’t player corpses supposed to disappear after death?”

  Farn turned to find Kashka’s body still on the floor where it had fallen. It twitched. Then a hand slapped down on the floor to push itself up. Her eyes snapped open, each socket filled with an inky black orb. It was like staring into... a void.

  “They say that when you look into the void, it looks back at you.” Farn swallowed as black liquid poured from Kashka’s eyes, spreading across her body until it was covered from head to toe with glossy wet ink.

  “Oh!” Seven suddenly dropped her eyes to the floor. “Don’t look at it. Alastair said it only targets you if you stare at it.”

  “So it would be bad if I’ve been making solid eye contact with Kashka since she got up?” Farn took a step back as the oily form hefted its claymore off the floor. “Never mind, don’t answer that.”