Otherlife Nightmares: The Selfless Hero Trilogy (34 page)

No sooner had his words left his mouth than Katarina’s hand closed on his collar and jerked him over the table and into a deep kiss.

7:02 am Sovereign Earth time

11/17/43

Morning came early. It had been a long night.

Runner stared up at the stone ceiling of his cell. Looking over to his left, he found a naked Katarina in all her glory sleeping on her side.

Her face had the look of contentment. Peace. Her left hand rested on his chest while her right hand clasped his arm. She had needed quite a bit of reassurance. He felt her insecurity was deeply rooted in her royal self, more than her actual worth.

Turning his eyes from the sleeping beauty, he faced the ceiling again as guilt rolled over him. Even in this he felt it had ended up being wrong. He’d taken everything from her and promised her nothing. Less than nothing. Promised her he would have done the same to her companions.

It’s done. So be it. Whatever.

Runner did his best to slough off the negative thoughts.

Can’t put the genie back in the bottle.

Truth be told, he felt incredible. Last night had done wonders for his mood, his sanity, even his heart.

Katarina’s fingers tightened, her fingernails scratching his chest lightly.

Smiling, he turned his face to watch Katarina wake up.

Her eyelids fluttered and then opened, her black eyes staring into his. Unmoving, she watched him for several seconds before her pupils dilated abruptly.

“Yes, it really did happen. Yes, you were amazing. And yes, I’d love to do that again. If you’re up for it,” Runner said brazenly.

Katarina’s face became the color of her hair. Her left hand dipped down and grabbed the sheets. Yanking them up over her head, she hid herself from his view.

Laughing, he tugged the blanket out of her hand and leaned in to kiss her gently.

“Maybe later, then.”

Runner swung his legs out of the bed, stood up, and dressed himself. Giving her the bed to collect herself, he moved over to the side table and went over his potion inventory.

Humming to himself with a grin, he divided the potions in half. Putting them into separate bags in his inventory, he let his mind off its leash to wander.

Thinking about the day and what could go wrong, he decided to build an insurance policy.

In a spur of the moment action he pulled a basic gold ring out of his inventory and crushed it in his hand. Fracturing neatly into four pieces, the ring was no more. He nodded his head at the clean breaks, pulled a small princess-cut ruby from his pack, and set it on the table in front of him.

After crushing a second silver ring, he fused two of its four pieces with two of the first ring. Bending a third piece into a circle for the ring’s setting, he nodded.

Moving the four ring pieces, the setting, and the ruby to his left hand, he pulled up his abilities with his right hand.

Selecting
Stealth,
he bound it to the ruby. The four ring pieces and the setting received
Throat
Strike
,
Silence
,
Blink
,
Cleanse,
and
Disarm.

Rapidly heating the ends of the shattered pieces and the crown, he fused it all together. Stuffing the ruby into the molten setting, he began the task of smoothing the edges with his fingertips. All in all, it took him no more than thirty seconds to fashion it from start to finish.

He held the ring up in the palm of his hand, knowing it was as complete as it was going to be.

Mist covered the small electrum alloy ring and then solidified. Unsurprisingly to him, the dull artifact creation sound played.

Pale yellow all the way around, the band was now a solid color. Gone was the original alternating color of gold and silver. Sturdy yet pretty, it seemed fitting for Katarina.

Glancing over his shoulder, he found Katarina sitting in the middle of the bed, the sheets held up to her chin, watching him.

“Don’t get me wrong, Kitten, having you naked in my bed is a damn fine way to start the morning but I think we’ll be summoned soon. Also, here.”

Runner took a few steps and put himself in front of her, holding out the ring.

“Should prove useful. Ah, I didn’t name it. Sorry.”

Taking the ring from his fingers, Katarina smiled bashfully.

Then the door flew open. Standing in the door frame were two royal guards.

The guards’ eyes went from Runner to a naked Katarina in his bed, the ring in her fingertips, and back to Runner.

“So…” Runner started. Then gave up on even bothering with an explanation. “Yeah. Maybe we should go to the throne room. King’s waiting and all.”

Without words, the guards hustled Runner from the room, Katarina trailing along behind uninvited.

Shoved roughly into place in front of the king, Runner sighed and brushed his hands over his clothes.

Surrounding him on all sides was the nobility of Kastell. Apparently this was an event that couldn’t be missed.

“Your guards could seriously do with a course in manners. When’s the continental breakfast? I’m also going to need a turndown service,” Runner said glibly, meeting the king’s stare.

“My king, we found the princess in his room,” the guard tattled.

Not waiting for this to get even further out of hand, Runner decided to get to the point of it. Targeting the king, Runner called up
Persuade
and hit him with it full force.

“King Markus, I charge you with the defense of your nation. Even now, forces range far and wide in your country, killing your subjects, raiding your fields, and destroying their homes. You sit here, hidden from the fighting as your people fight and die. As your allies, the Sunless, fight and die for you,” Runner intoned, doing his best to force every ounce of his massive charisma into it.

“Stand with me, help me fight off the foes of your nation, help me protect your people. Together we can crush them and meet them on the field. Separately we will both fall. King Vasilios’ forces will be forced from the field and will start falling back towards their own country. If we do not act, we will all fail. I need whatever soldiers and crafters you can spare, resources to construct weapons of war, and your desire to stave off these invaders.”

Runner felt like he’d said it well. That he’d listen and they could quickly move on from this and chase out their mutual foes.

You use Persuade on King Markus

King Markus is not Persuaded

And that was that.

“I’ll not have you speak to me in such a way. No, we’ll do no such thing. We’ll broker you to the human army in exchange for their departure. Maybe it’s time for us to rise up against my dear ‘cousin,’” King Markus spat at Runner.

“No, I am king here, I write the laws. You’re nothing but a commoner.”

Runner saw no way around it then. Calling on Ernsta here and now would damage her ability to be their patron later, but there was no choice.

“Runner, known as Breaker,” Queen Helen said. Her voice had the same quality as her daughter’s. It boomed in the room, and all were quiet. Including the king. “I would ask you a question. Why was my daughter in your room?” Queen Helen’s eyes flicked behind him and back to him. Taking a chance, he glanced over his shoulder to find Katarina beside him, decked out in all her equipment.

Sighing, Runner turned back to the queen with a smile.

“Because I love her and care for her well-being. She was brave enough to tell me first, while I was a coward who needed her to take the first step. She feared your husband would trade her off like a horse. To that end, she was trying to force the situation so that it could never happen.”

Queen Helen’s eyes leapt from him back to Katarina. Long seconds passed as she watched her daughter.

“Katarina, your blade.”

“An artifact.”

“How?”

“Runner made it.”

“Named?”

“Yes.”

“You named it?”

“Yes.”

The rapid-fire exchange between mother and daughter left Runner feeling like he was missing an entire conversation even though they were talking right in front of him.

“Now see here, this is my court and I’ll—” King Markus fell silent as Queen Helen’s great axe slammed into his neck and the throne behind him. The wood splintered and the back half of the royal chair cracked.

From full health to zero in one strike, the king’s head sat atop the blade that separated it from his neck.

He died before he knew what happened.

Quest Updated

“°úÆ▀█╪╓”

Experience Reward: ,-./╨ of current level

Reputation: ▼▄╚

Fame: ╩╦═

Money: ░¡↕

Standing from her throne, the queen made an indelicate grunt and faced those present.

“I tire of this. This is my court. I shall rule hereafter. Anyone who would challenge my rule may step up now.”

Immediately the nobility started to eye each other and their queen. They might not fight her but Runner had the opinion that they wouldn’t follow her either. Now would be the time to invoke Ernsta.

“Queen Helen, I offer you greetings on the behalf of Lady Ernsta, she who is Death. She has taken a personal interest in your country and its people’s plight. She has bestowed much upon my troops, and I, in our fight at your doorstep.”

Lights dimmed in every corner of the room as Ernsta appeared in a flash of dark blue mist.

She came into existence beside the dead king. She reached into the dead man’s chest, ripped out his squirming soul, and tossed it to the floor. Humanoid like with discernable features it looked very much like the king.

Writhing on the stones, it flailed as the mouth howled without noise.

Stepping down from the dais, Ernsta eyed Queen Helen and moved to stand beside Runner.

The soul flopped around for a few seconds, then grew still and burst apart into nothing. All eyes were on Ernsta in her casual banishment of King Markus to nonexistence. There would be no afterlife for him. There would be absolutely nothing.

Queen Helen dropped to her knees before Ernsta. Runner had to respect her. Either she was insanely quick on the uptake or truly did worship Ernsta.

“Lady Ernsta, I welcome you to my country and my home,” intoned the queen.

“Rise, Helen. I find your dispatch of your husband pleasing. He has caused Runner many casualties. Avoidable casualties. I may be the incarnation of death, but even I have more respect for life than he did. I will send whatever deity he prayed to amends in exchange, but I refuse to allow him a pleasant afterlife.”

Queen Helen stood alone on her dais. The entirety of the court could now be found plastered to the walls, trying in vain to blend into the very stones.

“My queen, I attribute my victories and the morale of my army to Ernsta. Without her guidance and presence, I truly believe we would not be having this conversation and Kastell would have fallen. My troops know Ernsta awaits them and give themselves wholly to the cause. Your cause.”

Not even a second later, Helen nodded her head to Ernsta.

“I thank you, Lady Ernsta. I believe with such a deity as our patron that we could build our nation to great heights. I would ask you to become our prime.”

“Are you certain? I am allied with my sister Brunhild, who is the prime of the Sunless nation. We find ourselves at odds with Rike and Rannulf,” Ernsta warned.

Runner noticed Helen’s eyes flick to him for a moment before returning to Ernsta.

Smart. Very smart. Dangerous. Need to be on my toes with her.

In Runner’s mind, Queen Helen had put the connection between him, the Sunless army, Brunhild, and Ernsta together in seconds.

“All the better, Lady Ernsta.”

“It is done then. The enemy will attack on the morrow. My champion shall be there. He is Stefan. He will report to only you if I do not have a task for him. He shall join your people as a citizen and act in my stead for the betterment of our nation and my name. Rule well, Queen Helen, you have my blessing,” Ernsta said with an outstretched hand. The queen was enveloped in a dark blue mist as Ernsta sanctified her.

Then Ernsta was gone. Queen Helen’s eyes returned to Runner, who smiled at her.

“Queen Helen, King Vasilios sends his regards and wishes you well. I act in his stead and his desires. As his ranking general, I recognize you as the only ruler of the Barbarian nation and second Ernsta’s approval of your leadership.”

Once more silence settled over the room after his little speech. Everyone there could read between the lines. Ernsta, the new goddess of the nation, and the general of King Vasilios both regarded Helen as the rightful ruler and supported her.

Politics in Kastell had irrevocably changed in the span of a day.

Chapter 14 - Cut off the Head -