Otherlife Nightmares: The Selfless Hero Trilogy (42 page)

Chewing at his lip, Runner nodded his head slowly.

“Which means you’re fully Awakened.”

“You mentioned that before. Awakened.”

“Yes. Awake to the fact that your world isn’t as it should be. Your world is a fiction. A story. Written by people who seek entertainment and pleasure. They then inhabit your world as a means of escape.”

“You’re one of them.”

“I was. I am no longer.”

“Are you a god?”

“Asked twice in one day? No. I’m not. Nor is anyone who made this world. How to explain… imagine a storyteller. Except that as this person tells the story, everything comes to life. This is that.”

“I see. I think I understand. At least partially.”

“Right, then. As much as I fancy the idea of spending some serious quality alone time with a beautiful woman in her bedroom, I’m afraid I have to ask the terrible questions.”

Faye nodded her head at that, her posture and face revealing nothing of her thoughts.

“Would you be willing to join my cause?”

“What exactly is your cause?”

“Ultimately? Free all the countries of Tirtius, then unite them into a three-state kingdom.”

“With you as the emperor?”

“No. Perhaps the head of a minor member state. I do want to consolidate Vix as my own base of operations. I imagine eventually all of Tirtius will unite in an empire-like fashion. I have no desire for that to be me however.”

Faye stared him down instead of responding.

“What? I don’t want anything like that. I have enough problems with the responsibilities I have. ‘Heavy is the head that wears the crown’ and all that.”

“Your goal is to end the war?”

“Yes. I’ve already achieved a lasting stability in both the Sunless and Barbarian nations. Next is the Human. To do that I’ll need to put Jacob’s head on a pike and then pass the leadership of the kingdom back to the royal family. Preferably someone who can work with the other two nations.”

Faye leaned back into her chair, as if her interest in the conversation ended.

“I’ll join you.”

“What? No questions about job? Pay? Nothing?”

“Wait, what? You said I’d serve in a similar capacity but that I’d be your personal…well…slave.”

Runner slapped the table and laughed.

“Hardly. Don’t need slaves. Need talented individuals. I don’t think I’ll make you a general quite yet, but you’ll definitely be my strategist and tactical adviser. Pay will be equivalent to whatever you were making previously plus a five percent increase. People should always be paid more for a promotion.”

Runner stood up and held out his hand to her.

Faye looked at him with a stunned expression.

“Time’s wasting. I have artifacts to build, tanks to put together, goddesses to tease.”

“You mean all of that, don’t you? Hiring me and artifacts and goddesses and…” She trailed off, looking at him as if she were recalculating her original choice. “I should have asked about money. You would have paid me more.”

“Most certainly. Not anymore though. Don’t worry. A lot of room for growth and bonuses. Come along now. I don’t bite. I mean really, you should know. Who do you think was holding onto you the entire drive back? I made sure my hands didn’t roam and I tried very hard to make you comfortable.”

Her eyes widened a bit at that. Maybe she hadn’t thought about it. She’d probably thought they were going to simply end her.

Standing, she took his hand in hers and gripped it firmly.

“Fantastic. Brighteyes, Angel, Minxy, would one of you be willing to officiate an oath of loyalty?”

“I’ll do it!” chirped Amelia from Faye’s bed. She’d appeared much as her sisters always did—out of nowhere. “Besides, Brighteyes has me all trained up for the most part. Have I mentioned she’s a great teacher? I figure I’ll eventually be the little general’s prime anyways. Her interest is my interest. If you get my meaning, in more ways than one.” She looked at him through lowered eyelashes and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Got it. By the way, Minxy, do you like leathers? I mean, is that your preferred fashion?”

“Why, gonna buy me something? I’ll tell you what you can give me, won’t even cost you a copper,” said the goddess, eying him up and down.

“Down, Minxy, down. Be good. This is important.”

Huffing, she crossed her arms under her chest and eased up on the sex kitten act.

“I like leather armor, but I’m not against dresses and the like. Prefer pants and shirts.”

“Got it. So…clothing like a man but accentuate your womanly figure, and work with colors that benefit your hair and eyes. Yes?”

“I love you.”

“Minxy…”

“Yes, that.”

Sighing, Runner turned back to Faye, who looked very lost, staring at Amelia.

“Ah, this is Amelia. Goddess of thieves and assassins. Soon to be the prime deity of your old homeland. Amelia, this is Faye. I haven’t settled on a nickname for her yet. Kinda leaning towards Sparky, though. I like her, Minxy, so be nice.”

“’Kay. I’ll be good,” Amelia agreed. “Sparky?”

“She charges the air around her. It’s her eyes. They’re like little storm clouds, building up the atmosphere. Sparky. Lightning is a mouthful and Storm…ugh. I dunno why, but Storm seems like a really horrible name to me.”

“Huh. Sparky isn’t bad. She does give off that impression, now that you mention it. The blonde hair helps. I like Duckling more though. Or Gosling.”

“Huh. Not bad. I like them. But I’ve got a lot of animal-focused nicknames already. Minxy, Rabbit, Kitten. Ya know?”

Faye turned back to him, her lips opening and closing twice before she spoke.

“I swear to serve you faithfully and loyally. I will nev—”

Runner quickly pressed his hand over her mouth with his left hand, pulling her closer with his right.

“Ah ah, let’s not use the word never. Final words like that tend to screw things up. Let’s go with the first part. Minxy?”

“Witnessed, yeah, yeah. Hey, I’ve got a great idea. We have this bed right here and it looks pretty comfy. I bet if we both got in the bed we’d both be pretty comfy. Bring Sparky over here.”

7:47 pm Sovereign Earth time

11/19/43

Runner sat down on a park bench. Spreading himself out, he set his arms on the back of the bench and leaned his head back, trying to relax for a moment.

Outside of this morning, and dinner, his entire day was spent building “basic” artifact gear. Srit kept him company, asking him question after question. She offered little in the way of information in the way she had previously—she still wasn’t fully up to normal capacity.

It had been a very successful evening in the end. Everyone in his immediate group, from Thana to Faye, now owned a set of armor made by him. They weren’t special in any way but they’d work. He had even emphasized that point by naming each item the same as its real world equivalent.

Queen Helen had spared no expense when he asked for materials to outfit his people. Her only request had been a set for herself, which he happily made. Even in her colors to boot, rather than his standard black and red that he chose for everyone else.

That took up his day right up till it was time to eat.

Dinner had been as much fun as breakfast had. Faye had joined them and for the most part remained quiet.

Sophia started to really open up after she found common ground with most of the group: their mutual understanding of their world and Runner being an idiot.

She had been the victim of the dress he stole on Brunhild’s behalf. Unfortunately for her, that led to him stealing another one of her dresses. Her anger lasted only an instant until Runner told her his plan for it and where the last went. Then she’d gone through a large number of them, showing them off one at a time for him so he could figure out which one he wanted.

This time it was a full dress patterned in the dark black style with red accents Sophia seemed to favor.

It came down to her ankles, and the entire shoulder to forearm was also covered in the abyssal black material. Thankfully it didn’t look constrictive when Sophia had tried it on for him. Truth be told, the bottom had looked as if it flowed when she moved.

Sophia definitely owned the name Grace.

He hadn’t been sure if Sophia made the dress have a sexy undertone or if it was the dress itself. Hopefully the dress. Ernsta was an alluring woman in her own right and it would be a disservice not to match it to her.

“My Dark Angel?” Runner finally said to the open sky above him. No one else happened to be in the park at this hour.

“My little lamb,” Ernsta said, appearing seated on the bench next to him. Runner was mildly surprised that she chose to be so close to him. In point of fact, she had positioned herself squarely at the point where his arm would pass around her.

“What can I do for you on this fine evening, Angel?”

Ernsta dropped her eyes, staring at her feet.

“Ah, a poor way to start. My apologies. First, here. A gift.” Runner popped open a trade window with his left hand and put the dress in. He was unwilling to move his right arm as it rested behind her.

“Simply accept the trade, think ‘Inventory’ in your head, and then put this where your current clothes are. I’m positive you’ll like it.”

Ernsta eyed the window like it was a snake. Her hand came up and pressed the button. Hovering there, it flicked left, then right, then stopped as her clothes swapped.

Leaning back, he eyed her appreciatively. The dress did indeed have a small sexual quality to it, though Ernsta filled it out in all the right ways. Sophia had the curves, but Ernsta could definitely hold her own in different ways.

“You do look lovely, Angel. Very fitting, as well. Should you use the cowl thing I imagine it’ll blend seamlessly together.”

Blue eyes finally meeting his own, she slowly became the inky blackness he remembered. Her features could be seen in there, though they were heavily shadowed. Her eyes burned blue flames. Like stoked coals in the dark of night.

Despite himself, he felt his heart skip a beat and he smiled. He already felt he was on the hook for four other women, but he had to admire her for what she was.

“Terrifyingly beautiful, Dark Angel.”

“You mean that,” came back a dry hiss.

“Yes. Why wouldn’t I say what I mean? I mean your eyes are amazing. And yeah, it blends wonderfully with the dress. So, what did you wish to speak of?”

Seconds ticked by as she kept her gaze on him, her black mask of death still in place. Eventually it began to recede, her face coming into focus.

“You delivered on your promise. In fact, you did far more. Where I had no priesthood before, I now have a rapidly growing religion. Those who swore to me before and those who swear to me now. They witnessed me. Nearly all of them now worship me. They’re converting almost as fast as they swear their oath. They spread my name and my word. Quick as a forest fire,” Ernsta said quietly, her head turning to face forward as she spoke.

“I have a champion. He is everything one would want in a champion in my particular domain. I saw the traces of your handiwork in him, by the way,” she accused. She lifted her hand and used it to emphasize her words.

“A nudge here, a few words there, and a single idea and he’s a whirlwind of death. Screaming my name. He prays for me to change his race as he says he always felt trapped as a Sunless.”

“Oh? I can fix that. I’ll hit him up tomorrow morning,” Runner promised.

Ernsta began laughing brokenly, her hand dropping to land on her knee.

“Angel? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Runner. My sweet, darling little lamb. I come to you with violence, and you empower me. I come to you for a favor, a simple sword I desire. You grant me it in a way that cannot be measured. There is no equal to the weapon you granted me. And you left it in a box as if it were nothing to you, waiting for me. I bring you a problem I cannot solve for my champion, and you sweep it away as if it were a spilled cup of milk. To be cleaned and dismissed. Should I be praying to you instead? Should I worship you as the one who listens to the gods?

“I’m a goddess, and I feel powerless compared to you. I could kill you with a thought, yet I fear you. On top of that I want nothing more than to protect you. I watch you. I watch you constantly,” Ernsta whispered. Her fingers clenched into her hands as if she fought off a sudden compulsion.

“My sister would never admit it, though she feels the same. I suspect she watches you as I do. And speaking of sisters, my newest one. You’ve now created your own little pantheon. You’ve even started to give us flattering uniforms in your own colors. And yet I love this dress. It’s wondrous and fits me exactly. Not my figure, but me. Me as I perceive myself to be.”

Pressing his lips together, Runner felt conflicted. She was right on all counts. Yet he had never lied to them. He told them up front everything he wanted to do. Turning to face her more directly, he placed his hand on her own to get her full attention.